Disc golf in Estonia

Disc golf (in Estonian: kettagolf[2]) is a popular sport in Estonia, where it is played at the recreational, club, and international competition levels.[3]

Disc golf in Estonia
Basket at Maarjamäe kettagolfipark, a beginner-friendly 10-hole course outside Tallinn
Governing bodyEstonian Disc Golf Association (EDGL)
Registered players864 (June 2020)[1]
National competitions
Estonian Open

Disc golf in Estonia is governed by the Estonian Disc Golf Association (EDGL, in Estonian: Eesti Discgolfi Liit). Its mission is to promote disc golf as an exciting and accessible sport.[4]

Popularity

Disc golf is the fastest growing sport in Estonia. It has enjoyed an exponential surge in popularity since the early 2010s,[5] quickly making Estonia a hotbed of the sport, together with Finland.[6] In the PDGA's Year-End Demographic Report for 2019, Estonia had 930 active members, 135 courses, and organized 44 PDGA-sanctioned events.[7] In June 2020, there were 864 active PDGA members and 628 expired memberships.[1]

The surge in disc golf popularity in Estonia is generally attributed to its close proximity to disc golf hubs around the Baltic Sea, namely Finland and Sweden. Rene Mengel, Estonian disc golf pioneer and the country's main disc golf promoter, attributes the success of the sport to a large number of disc golf courses throughout the country, and to the fact that disc golf discs can be purchased from local retail stores in Estonia in addition to specialized online retailers, helping make the sport accessible.[3]

Courses
A sign at an Estonian disc golf course warning about flying discs

Approximately 2% of the world's disc golf courses are located in Estonia. Some of the most notable ones include Maarjamäe kettagolfipark and Nõmme seikluspark in Tallinn, Keila, Männiku, and Tõrvandi.[9] In 2019, Tallinn was rated #4 on UDisc's list of Top 5 Disc Golf Cities outside the United States.[10]

As of June 2020, with its 156 courses,[11] Estonia has the highest density of disc golf courses per square kilometer of any country, and the second-highest number of disc golf courses per capita, after Iceland.[12]

Discgolfi Rajad is a disc golf course directory exclusive to Estonia. It allows players to filter courses by one of Estonia's 15 counties (Estonian: maakond, plural maakonnad) and provide hole-by hole information in addition to maps.[11]

Market

Disc Golf Metrix is a highly popular Estonian disc golf website. Between a third and half of its traffic originates from Estonia. [13][14] It facilitates tournament management and allows players to keep track of their progress. In February 2020, the FFFD selected Disc Golf Metrix as its tournament management solution for the 2020 National Tour, the most prestigious tournament in France.[15]

Manufacturers
See also: List of disc golf brands and manufacturers

Founded in 2017, Disctroyer is Estonia's first and only manufacturer of PDGA approved discs.[16] Trindem OÜ manufactures the Discrait basket, which was certified by the PDGA at the Championship level in April 2017.[17]

Tourism
Disc golfer putting in Keila

Estonia is a popular destination among Finnish disc golf enthusiasts.[3] Disc golf courses are marketed on Estonia's official tourist information website, and they are available as a map layer.[18][19]

Mass media

YouTube channels
  • DiscSport Europe - 1,890 subscribers and 187,737 views[20]
  • Eesti Discgolfi Liit - 884 subscribers and 133,184 views[21]
  • DiscFish - 640 subscribers and 154,835 views[22]

Competitions
Disc golfer teeing off
  • Estonian Open – A-tier PDGA event[23]
  • Innova Baltic Tour Pärnu Open[24]
  • Baltic Disc Golf Championships Alutaguse Open[24]
  • WFDF 2019 World Team Disc Golf Championships[5]

Notable Estonian disc golfers

Notable disc golfers include Albert Tamm, Silver Lätt, and Estonia's top women's disc golfer Kristin Tattar, who was the first European to win the US Open.[25][26][27]

gollark: There are various misfeatures allowing generation of stupid amounts of money.
gollark: Playing a very broken game.
gollark: Over the past 12ish hours.
gollark: People are making horrendously giant quantities of money. My exploiting of one issue is barely having an effect.
gollark: The central bank balance is dropping impressively fast with all of the exploiting taking place.

See also

References
  1. "PDGA Player Search - Estonia". Professional Disc Golf Association. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. "EKI keelenõuanne". Institute of the Estonian Language (Eesti Keele Instituut) (in Estonian). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  3. "Estonia - Next hub for disc golf in Europe?". Discmania. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  4. "ARENGUKAVA 2020 - 2024" (PDF). Eesti Discgolfi Liidu (in Estonian). Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  5. "Estonia to host the WFDF 2019 World Team Disc Golf Championships". World Flying Disc Federation. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  6. Eisenhood, Charlie (20 May 2020). "PDGA Fully Cancels 2020 National Tour; Pro Worlds Tentatively Rescheduled for September". Ultiworld Disc Golf. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  7. "2019 PDGA Year End Demographic Report - Memberships, Courses, and Events" (PDF). Professional Disc Golf Association. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  8. "PDGA and Disc Golf Demographics". Professional Disc Golf Association. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  9. Vrooman, Steven. "WThe Most Popular Courses — Europe". Release Point. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  10. Williamson, Alex (16 April 2019). "Top 5 Disc Golf Cities — International: #4 Tallinn, Estonia". Release Point - The UDisc Blog. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  11. "Discgolfi rajad - Discgolf Eestis – rajad, pargid, kaardid ja muu seonduv informatsioon". www.discgolfirajad.ee (in Estonian). 20 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  12. "Disc Golf Courses in Estonia - Disc Golf Course Review". www.dgcoursereview.com. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  13. "discgolfmetrix.com Traffic Statistics". SimilarWeb. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  14. "discgolfmetrix.com Competitive Analysis, Marketing Mix and Traffic - Alexa". www.alexa.com. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  15. "France Disc Golf". www.facebook.com. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  16. "DISCTROYER | Estonian first disc golf company start up story". DISCTROYER. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  17. "Target Your Championship Course With Discrait". Professional Disc Golf Association. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  18. "Mäetaguse Disc golf, Estonia". Visitestonia.com. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  19. "Map of Estonia". Visitestonia.com. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  20. "DiscSport Europe". YouTube (in Estonian). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  21. "Eesti Discgolfi Liit". YouTube (in Estonian). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  22. "DiscFish". YouTube (in Estonian). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  23. "Basic Facts". Estonian Open 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  24. "Innova Baltic Tour | About". Innova Baltic Tour. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  25. Ruus, Kaspar (22 September 2019). "Võimas! Kristin Tattar võidutses discgolfi USA lahtistel meistrivõistlustel". DELFISPORT (in Estonian). Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  26. Roosna, Märt (27 October 2018). "Kettataltsutaja inspireeriv edulugu. Nelja aastaga nullist maailma parimate sekka". DELFISPORT (in Estonian).
  27. UDisc Staff (26 August 2019). "Do Ratings Take A Dive In Estonia?". Release Point - The UDisc Blog. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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