The Disc Golf Growth Report

2026

It's easier to find than Dunkin' Donuts

Here's an appetizing fact: In the United States, there are more disc golf courses than Dunkin' Donuts shops.

It gets even tastier. Disc golf also outnumbers fast food titans like Domino's and Taco Bell, too. Courses are sneaky in their spread.

Disc golf is out there, you just don't know it. Instead of being boosted by fancy slogans or long-forgotten mascots, though, there's UDisc. It's your one-stop shop to find disc golf courses near you. And, unlike fast food, it's free.

Born in California, raised around the world

The world's first disc golf course was built in 1975 in Pasadena, California, right in the backyard of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with a backstory that traces its roots to toy company Wham-O. Fifty short years later, disc golf has skyrocketed at a rate seen by few other forms of outdoor recreation.

• Today, there are 17,287 disc golf courses in 99 countries
• Rwanda, Tanzania, and The Bahamas each welcomed their first course in 2025.

While 17,000+ courses in 50 years is impressive enough, most disc golf infrastructure has been installed in the last decade: The number of courses worldwide has almost tripled since 2015, and more than 1,100 courses have been built per year for six consecutive years.

• 3 new courses opened per day in 2025, resulting in tremendous access for people looking for a fun, free activity nearly anywhere.

Disc golf: The surprising sport the world's happiest countries have in common

Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway are perennially in the top 10 of the World Happiness Report (Finland has topped the list every year since 2018). While their rankings can be largely attributed to these countries' strong social safety nets and penchant for generosity, we'll add an additional data point that we suspect contributes to their feelings of positivity:

They are all crazy for disc golf.

The key for these countries: Accessibility, both in location and course composition.

• Disc golf courses in each country's capital cities helped more people discover the game. From there, the game has trickled out to small towns and recreation centers.
• In Iceland, in particular, 9-hole courses are the norm, and they accompany other park amenities like swimming pools and bounce pads.

That abundance has resulted in a wide range of people finding their new favorite pastime.

"You have people of every age playing together, every ethnicity, every background," said Magnús Freyr Kristjánsson, an administrator in the Reykjavík Disc Golf Association. "Every physical status as well – we have really tough athletes and regular Joes. That plays a big part in why it seems so open."

Looking for more smiles? Take it from the Nordics: Disc golf adds to the joy.

Disc golf's 5-year growth wave – is your community keeping up?

The obvious upshot of more disc golf courses? More disc golf activity.

The headline stat:

The number of players in that period has nearly tripled.

• There were 21.2 million rounds of disc golf recorded by players using UDisc in 2025.

More than 2 million disc golfers find courses, keep score, and document their disc golf journey with the UDisc app.

Those huge numbers have laid a stable foundation for further growth, but there's still plenty of opportunity for you to be the hero who introduces your town to the game.

• Meeting the needs of underserved constituencies was a big reason Montgomery County, Maryland, installed Northwest Branch DGC this past year. It garnered more than 2,200 rounds played in its first three months of existence.
• "The disc golf community was really underserved in the county and the region. This definitely fills that void," Montgomery County Landscape Architect Evan Dintaman said. "Pickleball is a big growing sport, but I think disc golf is number two or three on that list. We look at where we're underrepresented as far as our amenities and we invest there."

UDisc's Disc Golf Health Index outlines the places where the most people can be served with this high-quality, low-cost recreation. Explore.

Disc golf's short game: Outrunning new golf builds by a huge margin

Compared to traditional golf, disc golf is experiencing a monumental upswing.

Per the National Golf Foundation, traditional golf experienced a marginal gain in U.S. course supply from 2022 to 2024, with 17 net new courses built.

In that same three-year period, disc golf inventory in the U.S. increased by 1,650 courses.

Crunch the numbers, and that means disc golfers built 97 new courses for every 1 golf course over those three years.

• Outside the U.S., another 1,534 courses were added. It's a truly global game!

Disc golf has been able to accomplish this growth with a smaller footprint, too: 9-hole disc golf courses are being built at twice the rate of 18-hole courses.

• This isn't something new, as the trend of short courses going in the ground at double the speed of their longer counterparts dates back to 2020, with "pitch and putts" and "pocket courses" providing the perfect path for new players.

Bringing these smaller, more family and beginner-friendly courses to your town is the smart way to kickstart your disc golf community. New disc golfers who play their first round on an easy course are more likely to play a second round.

The low-cost, low-time commitment recreation your community needs

Got $15, 90 minutes, and transportation? Congratulations – you're ready to play disc golf!

That's how easy it is to get started with the game. Played with similar rules to traditional golf, disc golf also finds players flying down the fairway. Instead of a ball and clubs, though, you throw a plastic flying disc similar to a Frisbee, but more aerodynamic – to a metal basket.

Your first disc costs $15 or less – roughly the cost of a sleeve of golf balls – and most disc golf shops have a used bin where you can find one even cheaper. You can also rent discs for free at libraries!

• Ready to get started? Find a disc golf store near you.

Wait, only $15? you must be thinking. That doesn't sound like golf.

That's because it's better: There are no greens fees at the overwhelming majority of disc golf courses; they are mostly housed in public parks, so you can walk on and play.

• No tee time? No problem.

You'll save more than just money. You'll save time, too.

Disc golf courses are shorter than golf courses, which means they don't require a cart and can be enjoyed in less than half the time.

Average time to play a round

You'll get a nice walk, some vitamin D, and still be done in time to run your weekend errands. On a workday, you can squeeze in a round and still make it home in time for dinner (or sneak in a short course at lunchtime).

It's as healthy as hiking, but way more entertaining

Fancy some fresh air, but need more engagement than just a little extra elevation? Try disc golf.

With an abundance of free courses within arm's reach, disc golf is probably as close to you as your nearest hiking trail. And it ups the fun factor by adding a game to the excursion, where you get to take in the sights, get exercise, and throw a Frisbee-like disc. Who could say no to that?

In a single round of disc golf, a player nets an average of:

All told, disc golfers who used UDisc in 2025 hit the course and racked up loads of benefits.

That doesn't factor in the mental health benefits that come from going outside and getting in touch with your inner child, too.

"Play improves mental health and also cognitive health," said Kirsti Pederson Gurholt, Professor Emerita at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. "It keeps your brain very active, and you have to reorganize yourself and relate to others when you play a game that is also social."

It's a 'multi-generational' activity that connects all ages and skill levels

One of the most appealing aspects of disc golf? Its low barrier to entry makes it accessible to a wide range of ages and skill levels, according to Montgomery County, Maryland, landscape architect Evan Dintaman.

He recalled a recent Wednesday with rare January warmth – around 60 degrees – where he went to his county's new course, Northwest Branch DGC, and saw more than 30 people out for a round.

At 10 a.m. In the middle of the week.

Not only was he floored at the midweek turnout ("It wasn't a holiday"), but a young family caught his eye.

"A dad was there with his two kids, one maybe 3 years old, maybe one 5 years old. The 5-year-old picked up a disc occasionally, but they were largely just out having fun, roughhousing, having a good time," Dintaman said. "I couldn't imagine that with many other sports, where you can take two kids by yourself and get some recreation in. You couldn't go play pickleball or go play tennis with two kids pent up on the court. It really proved to me it really is a very multigenerational sport."

Disc golf courses serve more people (and are quieter) than pickleball courts

Pickleball is still having a moment, and rightfully so. Its smaller footprint and lower cost compared to tennis make it a boon for parks and recreation departments looking to cater to an ever-growing audience.

Wait, smaller footprint and lower cost than its traditional predecessor? Sounds like disc golf, too.

• According to a UDisc survey of organizers who opened courses in 2025, the typical cost to build and install a new 9-hole disc golf course is between $9,000 and $18,000.
• That's a fraction of the $28,000-$37,500 estimated to build a single pickleball court.

But it's about more than just budget. While disc golf bests pickleball in the cost category, it also boasts more capacity.

Let's look at the two on a players per hour basis to generate their daily throughput:

9-hole disc golf course
4 players per hole x 9 holes x 12 hours = 432 players served daily

4-court pickleball facility
4 players per court x 4 courts x 12 hours = 192 players served daily

Disc golf serves more than twice as many people as your typical pickleball facility, for a fraction of the cost to install. And we still haven't heard of any efforts to shut down disc golf due to noise complaints, either.

So, when you're looking for your next recreation offerings, substitute the constant "ping" for the occasional "ching." Your residents (and their neighbors) will thank you.

Disc golf is a destination-worthy investment that brings people to your town

"If you build it, they will come" isn't just a line from classic cinema. It's a serious selling point for disc golf.

In a January 2024 survey of more than 1,200 disc golfers who use UDisc, 90% said they traveled more than 20 miles / 32 kilometers the previous year to play disc golf.

• Of those, 58% said they took a trip specifically to play disc golf. So they weren't just traveling to a far-away home course or sneaking it in on a business trip.
• These numbers are almost exactly the same as compared to a survey conducted in December 2022, showing disc golf travel isn't going anywhere – but the players are.

As a case study, take a look at Faylor Lake DiscGolfPark in Beaver Springs, Pennsylvania. The Keystone State's best course since it opened in 2022, it's a free venue that attracted travelers from 40 states and six countries in its first 18 months of existence. Lodging booked up at an unexpected pace, and local decision-makers took notice.

"It's hard to believe, it really is," Snyder County Commissioner Joe Kantz said. "A year and a half into it, and that's the kind of statistics we've had already? It makes you wonder what it's going to look like 10 years from now."

Disc golf is community-focused, environmentally friendly land use

Disc golf isn't just beneficial to the people in a community. It provides an opportunity for recreation to serve as land stewardship and conservation.

Take Bear Mountain, a top-5 course in Colorado several years running. Owner Dan Hart partnered with a local forester to design the course so it promotes wildfire prevention standards. Hart has built not just a destination for disc golfers, but also a "half-mile defensible fire line between the neighborhood and the national forest" that protects his community from disaster.

In Illinois, the revitalization of the Fel-Pro RRR disc golf course inside the McHenry County Conservation District proved disc golf could exist harmoniously in a multi-use park without jeopardizing the ecosystems the district was dedicated to protecting. As a bonus, the course revamp created awareness of the conservation district's mission.

"It amazes me what a draw the course has become for the park," said MCCD Parks and Fleet Supervisor Ben O'Dea. "We went from 5-10 to 40-50 cars in the lot on any given day, and it has drawn a new demographic to the park for sure."

And in Canada's largest city, a growing partnership between ChainLink Disc Golf and the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority has brought the best of both worlds: New recreation that meets the values of "connecting communities with green spaces" while coexisting with stringent environmental standards.

If linking your community with the outdoors, while also preserving it, is your goal, disc golf delivers.

Facts and figures in the Disc Golf Growth Report are primarily derived from course and participation records collected from players who use UDisc, the leading smartphone app for disc golfers. Our team also conducts interviews with players, as well as in-app and email surveys, which are referenced throughout. The information in this year's report is the most accurate and up-to-date presentation of how disc golf is played on UDisc, including figures for previous years.

External sources used in the report include Dunkin', Taco Bell, Domino's, The World Happiness Report, Fish Golf Brah-dcast, The Compendium of Physical Activities, National Golf Foundation, and The Sports Facilities Companies.