A Brief Summary of Fort Collins Disc Golf Course Use
Participants pose after a successful clinic with professional disc golfer Ella Hansen at Edora Disc Golf Course, hosted by Northern Colorado Disc Golf Club on October 30th, 2022
Status of Current Courses
Disc golf is as popular as ever in Fort Collins! With substantial growth in the sport, both among casual and more regular players, the courses have higher levels of use than ever - but the growth is not even. One course in particular, Edora, has seen a substantial growth compared to others (Figure 1). Likely due to recent investments in the course and its superior quality in terms of tee pads, baskets, restrooms, and other ammenities. Several courses are underutilized, likely due to baskets or tee pads in need of repair and/or limited hours of access. Opportunities to increase access, quality, and compatibility with mixed-use park goals are abundant. Northern Colorado Disc Golf Club is enthusiastic to help serve the community however we can!
Edora Dominates Course Use
According to data from UDisc…
- There were over 1400 rounds by over 400 unique players at Edora in May of 2023 - even with all that rain!
- There has already been 700 rounds and 300 unique players at Edora just in the first two weeks of June! Nearly double the traffic from this time last year!
- Visitors from 28 U.S. States, Canada, and Australia played Edora in May alone!
UDisc likely only accounts for a fraction of the course traffic - users must manually enter their scores into the paid app. UDisc estimates that 1 out of every 5 rounds gets scored on the app, we suspect this is likely an overestimate of how many people use UDisc and likely under counts the many casual players and families that enjoy the course on the weekends. Even assuming UDisc’s estimate is accurate, that means there is an average of 25 rounds an hour at Edora in a 9-hour day.
An important note is that Ultra, which is a private course catering to high-skill players, likely has a disproportionately high number of players tracking their rounds in UDisc due to its many competitive leagues and events hosted there. Very few casual players or families play at Ultra and so it is more important to look at the trend, rather than direct comparisons between the two leading courses.
Regardless - it is clear there is a strong, growing demand for quality disc golf in Fort Collins!
Figure 1 - Top panel shows the number of rounds logged on the paid disc golf app, UDisc, each month from January 2017 until May 2023. The bottom panel shows monthly unique players across the same time series. Data from UDisc strongly underrepresents the total use of the course, as only a small portion of players log rounds in the app.
Top Issues at Edora
From discussions with club members and park goers, as well as my personal observations as a leader in the community, the top 3 issues at Edora are:
- Basket placements have (mostly) not been moved since the renovation
- Overgrowth on holes 10 and 11
- Overcrowding of the course
Potential Solutions to Main Issues
Basket Placements
Movement of the baskets is consistently the most frequent comment raised by players at leagues and in casual rounds. The players are enthusiastic about the new layout and want to see it shine! Northern Colorado Disc Golf Club is ready and willing to help in facilitating this in whatever way that best serves the community!
Overgrowth on holes 10 and 11
We recognize the great importance of natural habitat restoration (in fact - I, John, am a professor in the CSU Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship and advise students on restoration ecology projects! I have previously written on the compatibility of disc golf and pollinator conservation before) and think disc golf is perfectly positioned to be compatible with these goals. At present, however, there is substantial vegetation growth on holes 10 and 11, with much of it being non-native, weedy bindweed and burr clover. Bindweed can dominate restoration efforts and burr clover can pose a hazard to humans and dogs when it sets seed. The overgrown vegetation is causing course backups, lost discs, and also some park goers to skip these holes by crossing the train tracks - an obviously hazardous and undesirable activity.
We love the new holes and we would be delighted at the opportunity to discuss mowing patterns that are compatible with restoration and recreation goals. This would alleviate the recreation issues described, and allow restoration crews to focus on fewer, high-value patches.
Overcrowding of the course
A long-term goal of Northern Colorado Disc Golf Club is to ensure sustained and accessible growth of the sport of disc golf. We believe there is ample opportunity to grow access to the sport through course improvement and new course installation. The success of Edora’s renovation to date clearly demonstrates - if we build it, they will come!
Conclusion
We thank the city for providing excellent recreation via this wonderful sport that is affordable, accessible, and adaptable to different landscapes, land-use goals, and mixed-recreational activities. Northern Colorado Disc Golf Club is thankful for the time of the park staff and looks forward to the opportunity to work with the city to sustain the sport’s growth and expand opportunities to show the local community what this sport has to offer for families, tourism, and the local economy. Thank you greatly for your time!