For councils and land managers
Why councils say yes
We asked Australian councils that have built courses what made the decision easy. Their answers were consistent: it costs little, it uses land other sports can’t, and it gets people outside who don’t play organised sport.
Low cost to build
A starter 9-basket course can be installed for around $10,000 with volunteer labour. Fully finished courses with concrete tee pads and signage have cost $25,000 to $50,000.
City of Clarence, Tas“It was so cheap to build that is the selling point.”
Little upkeep
No greens, no irrigation, no line marking. Courses need the mowing or slashing the reserve already gets, with tee pads laid flush so mowers pass straight over.
City of Kingston, VicTwo courses, maintained at relatively low cost by the open space reserves team.
Uses land nothing else can
Treed, sloping or irregular land that can’t take a sports field often makes the best disc golf. Courses share space instead of taking it over.
City of Kingston, Vic“Suitable use of existing land sites which may not be suitable for other infrastructure.”
Free, unstructured and inclusive
No club to join, no field to book, no season. Families, teenagers, older people, NDIS groups and people who don’t play team sport all use the same course.
Latrobe City Council, VicYear 9 students asked for free, non-traditional ways to get active. The course now hires out discs and is part of the local PE curriculum.
Activates quiet spaces
More people in a reserve means more passive surveillance. Idle land, such as a closed golf course or an old plantation, gets a regular, low-impact use.
City of Moreton Bay, QldLists “activating and increasing use of public open space” among the main benefits it weighed.
Brings visitors and events
Disc golfers travel. Players look up courses on apps like UDisc and plan trips and stopovers around them. Tournaments fill local accommodation and cafés.
City of Mount Gambier, SAIts two-day annual tournament “attracts lots of visitors to the City”, which Council counts as a direct economic benefit.
The health and visitor case, in numbers
Councils asked for health and economic evidence. These figures come from players’ scoring apps, so they are minimums: most rounds are never recorded.
One round of disc golf
SourceUDisc course report, Wagga Disc Golf Course, 2025. An 18-hole round takes 60 to 90 minutes.
Four public courses in Canberra, in one year
SourceUDisc report for Australian Disc Golf, 28 Sep 2025 – 27 Sep 2026, recorded rounds only.
Visitors and events
- Canberra: 206 players travelled 50 km or more to play the city’s courses in the past year, and recorded 664 rounds while there.
- Wagga Wagga: in its first year, at least 29 players travelled 50 km or more to play the new course, 16 of them from 250 km or more. Travellers told the club they stopped in Wagga because they found the course on UDisc.
- Mount Gambier: council counts its annual two-day tournament as a direct economic benefit because of the visitors it brings.
- Latrobe: within a year of opening, Mathison Park hosted a 44-player summer event and the Victorian Masters.
To put a dollar figure on an event, multiply visiting players and their families by nights stayed, then by the average daily visitor spend from your council’s or state tourism body’s visitor data. ADG can supply event registration numbers.
Support from the national body
Australian Disc Golf can back your project
Letters of support. ADG can write to council in support of a local course proposal, confirming the sport’s national framework, insurance and club affiliation. Clubs can request one through the ADG contact page.
Up-to-date figures. ADG’s annual reports have the latest national numbers on membership, events and growth, for use in reports to council.
In their words
Councils, and the clubs that worked with them, told us how disc golf came to their parks. Each started differently: a club proposal, a youth consultation, a reserve management plan, or a pop-up event.
“Unlike many organised sports, participants do not need to join a club, book a field, or commit to regular competition. People can simply visit a park and play at a time that suits them.”
“Council funded 1000 discs which were made available for borrow at library under same system as book borrowing… Now just looks after itself.”
“More than 700 discs have been hired by community members within the first nine months.”
“They were surprised at how easy it was to install a course, the low cost compared to other sports, how community friendly the sport is and how positive the community is.”
“The Association… had a strategic plan and demonstrated need for additional courses which made it an easy decision for Council.”
“We called it a trial that kept the public at arm’s length.”
Common concerns, answered
These are the questions councils have actually raised, with what has worked in practice.
Is it safe to share a park with walkers, dogs and kids?
Yes, when the course is designed for it. Most Australian courses are shared spaces with walking tracks, bike paths, picnic areas and playgrounds. Tees are placed so players can see every path that crosses a fairway, throwing lines point away from roads, playgrounds and fences, and signs tell players to give way. The risk is much lower than ball golf, which is why disc golf doesn’t need a park to itself.
Councils have found it useful to bring every affected team into the risk assessment early. Kingston worked with the Department of Education because its course shares land with a primary school cross-country route.
Who is liable if someone gets hurt?
Clubs affiliated with Australian Disc Golf can provide a certificate of currency for $20 million public liability cover, which is the level most councils ask for. ADG-sanctioned club events are also covered. Ask ADG for current details before you submit your proposal.
Will anyone actually use it?
The four public courses in Canberra recorded 12,152 rounds by 815 app users in the past year, and that is only the share of play logged in an app. In Sydney, the busiest free course is estimated to see around 250 rounds a week. At Latrobe’s new course, more than 700 discs were hired in nine months, and a local college added disc golf to its PE program.
For current national figures on membership, events and growth, see ADG’s annual reports.
Club membership is the wrong measure. Most players are casual and never join a club. Look at rounds played, disc hire, and school and community group bookings instead.
What about maintenance, long grass and snakes?
A course needs the same mowing or slashing as the reserve around it. Where council can’t raise mowing levels, clubs often take it on under a maintenance agreement, as in Wagga. Mown fairways mean less long grass, not more. Removable baskets in capped in-ground sleeves can be lifted out if a site must be cleared.
Raised at Bundoora Park (Darebin, Vic), where council has asked for a trial event first.
What if neighbours object?
Talk to neighbours before the design is finished. On the Central Coast, council and a retirement village’s management both supported a course, but residents didn’t, and the project stopped. A come-and-try day, a community survey, or calling the first stage a trial gives people a chance to see it before they decide. Kingston surveyed the community about each site before building.
What about vandalism and theft?
It happens occasionally. In its first year Wagga had a basket removed, stickers taken, some graffiti and a tee pulled up. Use baskets that lock into in-ground sleeves, budget for a spare, and agree who replaces stolen equipment. A busy course is watched by its users.
Environmental and cultural heritage?
Courses use the landscape as it is, so there is little clearing or earthworks. Some sites still need flora, fauna or heritage checks, and these can be costly for a volunteer group. Councils can help by flagging early which surveys a site needs. Latrobe allocated $12,000 to monitor forest trees after visitation to Mathison Park increased.
Will cars and events overwhelm the car park?
Day-to-day play is a few people at a time, spread across the week. Events are booked through council’s usual parks events process, where parking can be planned. Start with a small trial event if parking is a concern.