Colorado has become a disc golf destination. In 2022, three of the top seven disc golf course (DGC) destinations in the U.S. were in Colorado: Beaver Ranch in Conifer and the Valmont and Johnny Roberts courses in Boulder. As far as the number of courses total, the state ranks 11 in the country with 302 DGCs and is tied for eighth place, along with Indiana, for the most DGCs added, per capita, in the U.S. from 2020 to 2022.
With those statistics bearing out the sport’s rise in popularity, James Steindler, The Sopris Sun’s contributing editor and myself, reporter Jeanne Souldern, met with Mike Hernandez and Nic Kingsbury, two Valley residents and devoted disc golfers, for some Disc Golf 101.
Upon arrival at the 18-hole course next to Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) Spring Valley campus, you are met with a stunning view of Mount Sopris. The natural beauty of Colorado’s courses is another reason they’ve become a popular disc golf destination.
Hernandez and Kingsbury both work at Aspen Ski Company and, admittedly, spend every free moment they can playing disc golf, sometimes solo but most often with friends.
Kingsbury, originally from Minnesota, started playing about 13 years ago and recently played in an amateur tournament, where competition brackets are set by age group and skill level.
About a year ago, Hernandez started a dyed disc business, High Country Discs (@highcountrydiscs on Instagram). He buys blank plastic discs and then prepares a stencil or free-hand design to apply to the disc and then mixes, applies and heat-sets the dye. After rinsing and drying, the result is a customized and vibrant disc design.
One of Mike Hernandez’s High Country Discs. Photo by James Steindler
The two would prove to be patient instructors, taking us through the introductory physics involved in manipulating a disc, through the air and to a desired destination: inside a basket framed with metal bars and chains.
Ideally, a well-designed course will have a mixture of partial and completely wooded areas, to ones in the open. Natural obstacles, like brush, trees and rock formations, can test a player’s patience but also push them to improve their throwing accuracy. The terrain at the CMC course makes it advisable to wear hiking boots or other sturdy footwear.
Many of the same rules of golf etiquette apply to disc golf, including letting a group playing behind you “play through.” Kingsbury said while he and his friends play for the sake of camaraderie and fun, “We also want to be stewards of the game by not leaving trash behind and being respectful of others, whether they’re other players or people walking the trails” on mixed-use courses, like CMC’s.
In Carbondale, Gianinetti Park, also known as Bert and Ernie Park, has a nine-hole, par-26 course that, Kingsbury explained, is a “great beginner course to practice your short game, like putting, and play at a slower pace.”
Hernandez, an avid golfer, said part of the popularity of disc golf is that courses are free and open to the public and equipment can be purchased at a minimal expense. There are also no tee times to book; it’s simply a matter of sending a group text to friends to decide on a course and a meet-up time.
Some local disc golfers have built online communities, like the “Roaring Fork Disc Golf Club” Facebook page, where members post about league play. It is also a way to report lost or found discs, which sometimes get caught up in trees or lost in heavy brush.
As we finished our basic primer of disc golf, I realized we’d enjoyed a mini-hike in the fresh air and beautiful surroundings, encouraged one another, and gave constructive feedback on play. And, we also laughed a lot — all solid reasons to try disc golf.