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This study examines the domestic overnight travel motivations of Finnish disc golfers, with a specific focus on the concept of serious leisure. Data gathered from 989 Finnish disc golfers were divided into clusters based on the serious leisure inventory and measure model. The results indicate that disc golfers are generally interested in travelling domestically to participate in disc golf, and that they tend to share common push and pull motives. Preferences for general destination attributes and specific disc-golf-related destination attributes tend not to vary significantly between the clusters. Although the relationship is not strictly hierarchical, disc golfers who are more serious tend to report higher mean values than their more-casual counterparts. Disc golfers travelling to play their sport expect well-maintained and versatile courses and tend to prefer courses they have not previously visited. Factors related to the quality of courses are significantly more influential in disc-golfers’ motivations to travel than those associated with the destination in general, such as accommodation or nightlife. This knowledge is vital to inform marketers as participation in this relatively new sport continues to grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for outdoor recreational activities is rising. Therefore, it is important to pay more attention to their environmental impact and sustainability. However, there is a lack of methodology for measuring the impact of novel recreational activities, such as disc golf. This research aimed to address the existing environmental problems with disc golf in Estonia and elaborate on the methodology for assessing the environmental impact of disc golf courses and using it as a teaching tool for rising environmental awareness of the students. Based on existing research, the environmental impact assessment methodology for disc golf areas was developed and tested. The developed methodology is relevant for discovering negative impacts and for minimizing them. It could be used as an assessment tool for service providers and destination managers. Using the methodology as practical exercise proved to be an effective tool for rising the student's environmental awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research manuscripts in sports (disc golf, cycling, and motorsports in particular) and the automotive industry have demonstrated the need for improved predictive capabilities of Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes aerodynamic simulations. This paper presents work performed to improve these capabilities for golf discs. The relatively new Lag elliptic blending k–ε turbulence model and the well-established k–ω Shear Stress Transport model were trialed in golf disc computational fluid dynamics analyses in this study. The predictive capabilities of the Lag elliptic blending k–ε turbulence model were improved by modifying its closure coefficient values. Closure coefficient values were taken from a study correlating the standard k–ε model to test flow cases. Turbulent kinetic energy increased for the Lag elliptic blending k–ε turbulence model simulations. The increase in turbulent kinetic energy produced a more energetic wake and evidence of more accurate flow structures. As an apparent result, the force and surface pressure coefficients of the Lag elliptic blending k–ε turbulence model simulations matched the experimental data more closely than the k–ω Shear Stress Transport model. Sports researchers, sports equipment designers, motorsports engineers, and automotive engineers may find this research helpful since it has been shown that many Reynolds Average Navier Stoke turbulence models underpredict turbulent kinetic energy and overpredict wake size for bluff bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent are racial, socioeconomic and health characteristics of US counties associated with access to a specific recreational resource – disc golf courses? We contribute to the literature by using a national scope and exploring how these relationships vary along the rural-urban continuum. We use data from six sources to (1) map the county-level locations of disc golf courses, (2) provide descriptives of the sociodemographic and health characteristics for US counties, including by rural-urban distinctions and by presence/absence of at least one disc golf course and (3) show via multivariate logistic regression the relationship between these county-level variables and the presence of at least one disc golf course for US counties and by rural-urban distinction (N = 3,138). Disc golf courses exist throughout the US, but are prevalent in the upper Midwest, the mid-Atlantic I-95 corridor, the Pacific Coast and New England. A greater proportion of urban counties have disc golf courses than rural counties. Counties are more likely to have a disc golf course as poverty and the percent of black residents decrease and as educational attainment and percent of residents under age 25 increase. However, when looking only at urban counties, the relationship between poverty and disc golf availability reverses – poverty is positively associated with the presence of a disc golf course. Healthier counties are associated with a higher likelihood of disc golf presence but do little to improve model fit. The findings provide evidence in favor of both sides of an ongoing empirical debate about racial and socioeconomic inequities in access to recreational resources. At the national level, the findings support the many studies showing that poorer, black communities tend to have fewer activity-supportive resources than richer, white communities. However, the results also partially support several urban-based studies that have refuted these relationships. While contributing to this important debate, we also argue that disc golf courses can be creatively built in areas with fewer financial resources, thereby lessoning the inequities in access to health-benefiting public recreation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disc golf is experiencing immense recent growth that, in 2020, noticeably outpaced the steady growth seen in the sport over the past decade. This spirited movement has vaulted disc golf into the position of a suddenly and perhaps unexpectedly emerging sport. "Growth" has become a central paradigm around which the sport (its institutions and participants) concentrates. Alongside this emergence, social and political issues emerge, unexpectedly for some, from the sport's (recent) past that serve to challenge its present trajectory. To examine these emergences, I develop Derrida's associated concepts of hauntology, absence/presence, and the trace to draw out and play with connections between the sport's emergence issues. Revolving around "growth" as a central paradigm, production, excess, access, diversity, inclusion, toxicity, and sustainability all appear as related issues in the sport's emergent present. Beginning with empirically based vignettes, I question the present social material condition of disc golf. This questioning, and emerging understanding, proceeds by drawing connections between the present condition of social relations in the sport and social and political theory. Here, I draw on an array of post-structural and political-economic theory during my analysis to carry through the vocabulary established by a hauntological framework and a sense of play. The resulting deconstruction provides both a playful vocabulary and conceptual apparatus for analyzing disc golf's emergence and the status of other emerging sports. This process, in turn, demonstrates the transformative potential of embracing the decentering, disruptive potential inherent to 'play' in the double sense. The "play" of writing (with language) and the "play" of direct action that promotes difference to challenge fixed positions that are central to producing cultural phenomena, such as disc golf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we introduce a computational methodology for golf disc shape optimization that employs a novel disc shape parameterization by cubic B-splines. Through application of batch Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations and Machine Learning, the disc parameterization yields functional relationships—so-called shape surrogate models—between the flying rotating disc shape and its flight characteristics. The shape surrogate models facilitate free and constrained optimization in both single- and multiobjective settings, such that both aerodynamic (drag and lift) and structural (mass and moment of inertia) features of the disc are addressed simultaneously. Further, the Professional Disc Golf Association rules for permissible golf discs can be cast as nonlinear constraints for the computational optimization problem. The proposed numerical optimization method yields disc drag coefficient values as low as 0.48 (unconstrained) and 0.52 (constrained) and lift coefficient values as high as 0.26 (unconstrained) and 0.19 (constrained). The presented numerical optimization results also describe the many design tradeoffs between the discs that target long flight range (so-called drivers) and the discs that target flight at low speeds (so-called putters). Moreover, novel optimal rule compliant designs are presented for driver-type and putter-type discs, as well as their compromise, the so-called mid-range discs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines relationships between media and the growth of disc golf. Using the 50 United States as units of analysis, four indicators of disc golf activity are measured. The volume of coverage and framing of the sport in traditional media are measured using a content analysis of 2920 newspaper articles. Social media activity by state is measured with a random sample of 2551 individual profiles from disc golf groups on Facebook. This study shows that disc golf's historical and regional growth are positively correlated with the volume and favourable framing of the sport in news media. Social media use is also positively correlated with regional growth. However, measures of the sport's commercialization did not change over time and are not correlated with regional growth patterns. Non-normative sports may develop through two processes: One driven primarily by commercialization, and one that relies more on grassroots efforts to grow the sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why have some small, emerging sports communities grown faster than others? To begin answering this question, the analysis presented here considers the case of disc golf, a flying disc sport that has grown rapidly since the early twenty-first century. This research conceptualizes the disc golf community as a new social movement and examines how the news media has influenced its development. Drawing on a large, diverse sample of local and national news materials, this study finds that the volume of disc golf news coverage is correlated with reliable measures of the sport's growth. In addition, a content analysis of 2920 newspaper articles is used to identify the news frames that may promote, or attenuate disc golf's "grow the sport movement." The theoretical and methodological contributions of this study shed further light on the complex relationship between the news media and the evolution of small, non-normative sports movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disc golf is rapidly increasing in popularity and more than two million people are estimated to regularly participate in disc golf activities. Despite this popularity, the epidemiology of injuries in disc golf remains under reported. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and anatomic distribution of injuries acquired through disc-golf participation in Danish disc golf players. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study conducted on Danish disc-golf players. In May 2015, invitations to complete a web-based questionnaire were spread online via social media, and around disc-golf courses in Denmark. The questionnaire included questions regarding disc-golf participation and the characteristics of injuries acquired through disc golf participation. The data was analyzed descriptively. Results: An injury prevalence of 13.3% (95% CI: 6.7% to 19.9%) was reported amongst the 105 disc-golf players who completed the questionnaire. The anatomical locations most commonly affected by injury were the shoulder (31%) and the elbow (20%). Injuries affecting the players at the time of completion of the questionnaire had a median duration of 240 days (IQR 1410 days), and the majority (93%) had a gradual onset. Conclusions: A 13.3% point prevalence of injury was reported. Most injuries occurred in the shoulder and elbow regions, and were gradual in onset. Injuries affecting the players at the time of data collection had median symptomatic duration of 240 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discus, disc golf and ultimate Frisbee are all sports that utilise rotating disc projectiles. The aim of this study was to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) examine the flow over a disc and in doing so determine which CFD model is most suited to examining the aerodynamics of sports disc projectiles. All of the CFD analysis was carried out using ANSYS-Fluent V6.3. The study initially compared experimental and CFD data of flow around a simple non-rotating parametric disc, with a thickness to diameter ratio of 0.1. Aerodynamic coefficients and surface flow visualisations were compared. Three models within ANSYS-Fluent gave steady converged solutions; standard k-å, realizable k-å and standard k-ù. The standard k-ù model gave unrealistic aerodynamic coefficients and was discounted. The two k-å models were used for the second stage of the study, simulating the flow around a disc golf disc, called a Floater. The geometry of the disc was captured using a 3D non-contact laser scanner. Aerodynamic coefficients and surface flow visualisations showed good agreement between the two k-å models. The standard k-å model was deemed the most suitable for a study of flow around a sports disc, mostly due to its more accurate simulations of the parametric disc. The results were used to further examine the flow, looking at separated flow on the discs surface with increasing angle of attack and the structure of the wake. The study identified which CFD model is most suited to the simulation of flow over a sports disc and in doing so provided a platform for using CFD for future disc aerodynamics studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban natural areas offer a multitude of environmental and social benefits including recreation. As new forms of recreation quickly emerge, managers often make decisions with limited knowledge about the activities, participants, and environmental implications. We illustrate a two-pronged approach to evaluating environmental concerns of disc golf as an emerging recreational activity, which is conceptually similar to traditional golf, but clubs and balls are replaced with discs that go into baskets instead of holes. A media content analysis was conducted to assess public concerns about disc golf between 1995 and 2010, while a biophysical assessment measured disc-golf-related impacts at four courses in central North Carolina, USA. Results of the media analysis suggest growing environmental concerns associated with disc golf, while the biophysical assessment revealed evidence of tree and ground impacts. Managers could use such contextual public opinion and onsite physical data to inform decisions on permitting emerging activities and adopting sustainable practices, to gauge potential conflicts, and to frame communication to the public in ways so as to increase acceptance and compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the diffusion of disc golf across the continental U.S. We provide a descriptive analysis of the spatial distribution of the sport beginning with its formal inception in 1975 through 2010. We investigate the role of common macro-level factors in determining the diffusion of sports facilities, such as population and land availability. We also consider the role of micro-level factors in influencing the diffusion of disc golf at the individual level. Our results demonstrate that disc golf has diffused rapidly and thoroughly throughout the U.S. Several disc golf regions have developed, including the upper Midwest, the mid-Atlantic I-95 corridor, and the Pacific Coast. Population has been an important determinant of diffusion patterns, with contagious diffusion evident at the local level. Disc golf facilities can be found in demographically diverse communities, however the overwhelming majority of disc golfers are white, creating an unintentional cultural barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aggregate demand for outdoor recreation has increased in recent years, thus presenting managers with the challenge of providing opportunities for outdoor participation and at the same time preserving in a sustainable way the ecosystem in which those activities take place. The identification and assessment of environmental impacts as a result of modern urbanization have become a top priority among conservationists and managers. This study examines the ecological footprint of a popular urban recreational activity: disc golf. Three ecological markers were selected as indicators of ecological degradation: soil erosion, soil compaction and density of vegetation cover. Results indicated that disc golf significantly increases soil compaction, which yields greater soil erosion and a decrease in vegetation cover. The findings of this study call upon managers and professionals to pay closer attention not only to the ecological degradation associated with outdoor recreational activities but also to the solutions that would lead to a long-term sustainable management. Since some of the ecological degradation is caused by human behavior, a focus on behavioral interventions should be an essential component in finding a relatively inexpensive and sustainable solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spin-stabilised sports disc, more commonly known as the Frisbee, is used for a variety of recreation and sporting activities. Frisbees have unique flying characteristics compared to other sports projectiles because they depend on spin for stability during flight and, at typical launch speeds, aerodynamic lift is greater than or equal to the weight of the disc. In this paper, a six degree of freedom mathematical model of a spinning disc wing is developed and a simple analytical expression derived for the disc roll rate in straight and level flight. It is shown that dimensionless disc trajectories will be similar for similar values of a parameter based on the ratio of the disc static margin to the disc advance ratio. The mathematical model is implemented as a simulation in Madab using steady model parameters obtained from wind tunnel tests and unsteady parameters from flight tests. Simulation results are shown to be in reasonable agreement with limited available experimental flight data. The effect of launch conditions has been investigated using a series of numerical experiments. It is found that flight path curvature in the horizontal plane increases with decreasing advance ratio, as expected. Pitch angles at launch for maximum range and maximum duration are approximately 10° and 20° respectively. Also, the locus of disc landing position as a function of launch roll angle has been shown to be an 'S' shaped curve, with the straightest flight occurring for an initial roll angle of -6°. Finally, the simulation has been extended to include the effects of hypothetical control inputs, enabling simulation of novel Frisbee manoeuvres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the 2005 Keystone Center Childhood Obesity Policy Summit organized by National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Keystone, Colorado. The students researched a particular aspect of childhood obesity to prepare themselves for the weeklong mediation adventure in the Colorado Rockies. Hiking, Frisbee golf, ice cream social and tourist time in near-by Breckenridge and drum circle are the additional activities included for the students.