When Is National Disc Golf Day & What Is It?
“Just like any other holiday, no one person or company owns or directs National Disc Golf Day. We all share it and we all celebrate it in our own way.”
Why have a National Disc Golf Day?
In 2016, PDGA Minnesota State Coordinator Jason Wilder #17523, former PDGA Memberships Manager and Throw Pink Co-Founder Sara Nicholson #33589, and several others registered National Disc Golf Day with the National Day Calendar to be celebrated on the first Saturday in August.
PDGA: ORIGINS OF NATIONAL DISC GOLF DAY
Wilder said, “It seems like you always hear it’s the National Day of something. Sometimes something comes up and people might say, ‘Oh that’s so cool!’ and I think there are a lot of people that would get a kick out of National Disc Golf Day. It’s just another way to reach people that may or may not have never heard of the game. Either way, this is something that might motivate them to actually go out and give it a try.”
Beginner-Friendly Disc Golf Discs
What do you do for National Disc Golf Day?
If you're already a disc golfer, think outside the box. Instead of simply going to play disc golf, go out and do something different to help grow the sport. Go out and teach someone to play. Sign someone up for their first tournament. Donate some used discs to someone at your local course that could use some new equipment. Get involved with a different community group (church groups, Boys Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America, local schools, etc.) and see if they are interested in learning about the sport.
Whatever you decide to do, even if it just going out and playing a round with your friends, make sure to take pictures and videos. Put them up on social media and use the hashtag #NationalDiscGolfDay to help spread the word!
Why is National Disc Golf Day the first Saturday in August?
"The National Day Calendar has an application to fill out and each question requires a lot of detailed information," Nicholson explained. "There has to be an official organization involved and significant historical dates with real meaning to even get through the first step of the process."
Wilder contacted, “one of the earliest names in disc golf, ‘Lightnin’ Lyle” Jensen #102, one of the original 100 disc golfers around the country to receive a letter from ’Steady' Ed Headrick #001 himself, the Father of Disc Golf,” and together landed on the first weekend in August to coincide with the first Rochester Flying Disc Open held in 1974. Nicholson also discovered that Headrick's patent for the Disc Golf Pole Hole was issued in August of 1975 (U.S. Patent #4039189).
