The game of disc golf as we know it today is an excellent recreational and competitive activity.  Part of the reason that the game is so great is that it embraces two distinctly different perspectives about the nature of disc golf, both of which adds favorable dimensions to the game that would be lacking if disc golf were based on only one or the other.

One perspective is labeled the “golf” perspective, and the other is labeled the “Frisbee” perspective.

The basic difference between the two is small but succinct.  The Frisbee perspective comes from people who were established Frisbee players before they discovered the concept of disc golf.  This perspective adapts the game of golf to fit the traditional flight characteristics of the flying disc and to fit the traditional types of activities in which Frisbee enthusiasts partake.

The “Frisbee” perspective stems from the early guts players of the IFT and the Frisbee culture of the original “International Frisbee Association”.  For many of the early Frisbee enthusiasts, the Frisbee and its associated activities was a true subculture, and the Frisbee itself was a sacred object. The game of golf fit in to the activities of Frisbee players play based on two of the most traditional activities of Frisbee play outside of the standard throwing and catching activity; throwing the disc for distance, and how accurately a person could throw at a designated target.  The main concern of the Frisbee perspective was “how can the golf game enhance my Frisbee experience?”.   The Frisbee players were not concerned with emulating the golf game per se.

The golf perspective comes from non-Frisbee playing people who were avid golfing enthusiasts before they were introduced to the concept of disc golf. This perspective adapts the flying disc to fit the characteristics of the traditional golf game.

For the avid golfer, the main concern, was “how can the flying disc enhance my golfing experience?”.  The golfing enthusiasts were not concerned with preserving the culture of Frisbee.

Most disc golfers sit somewhere in-between these extremes of the disc golf perspectives, and the sport evolved with elements from both schools of thought.

Click here to read about The Golf Perspective of Disc Golf, part 2 of 2.