Disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

(in fi, frisbeegolf) is a popular sport in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

played at the recreational, club, and international competition levels. Disc golf in Finland is governed by the Finnish Disc Golf Association (FDGA, fi, Suomen frisbeegolfliitto). Its mission is to promote the sport and to "organize disc golf activities in Finland together with its approximately 150 member organizations."

Popularity

Disc golf is the fastest growing sport in Finland. According to the Finnish Research Institute for Olympic Sports (KIHU), it is more popular among Finns than ball golf,

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. The country is frequently called a model country for disc golf, a Mecca, and a hot bed. In June 2020, there were 2,815 active PDGA members and 2,985 expired memberships, an increase from June 2015, when there were 1,434 and 686, respectively. The popularity of disc golf in Finland has been variously attributed to Jussi Meresmaa’s marketing know-how, the fact that disc golf is taught in gym class curriculums, and that municipalities build courses to attract new taxpayers. Finland's proximity to other disc golf hubs around the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, namely

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, is also a factor. ;Number of PDGA members at Year-End. ;Number of Courses at Year-End. ;Number of Events at Year-End.

Courses

Approximately 7% of the world's disc golf courses are located in Finland. Some of the most notable ones include Puijo DGP in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

, Kaatis in Vihti, Pikkarala Frisbeegolf in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

. In 2019,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

topped

UDisc UDisc () is a disc golf app for scorekeeping, statistics, and discovery for smartphones and tablet computers running the Android or iOS operating system. The app is also compatible with Android's Wear OS and Apple Watch Apple Watch is a li ...

's list of Top 5 Disc Golf Cities outside the United States. Most courses in Finland are located in public parks or sporting areas and can be played for free. Commercial courses are generally found around sports complexes, ski resorts, spas and camping areas.

Market

Finland is the disc golf market share leader in Europe. In 2014, Spin18 estimated the total value of the European disc golf industry to 16 million Euros, with Finland accounting for more than half of it, at around 9 million Euros. Budget Sport, a large Finnish sports equipment retailer, sponsored the 2015 European Open and features disc golf equipment prominently in its retail stores.

Manufacturers

As a country, Finland has the second largest number of disc golf equipment manufacturers, second only to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Major Finnish disc brands include Discmania, founded by Jussi Meresmaa in

Tampere, Finland Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa Regions of Finland, region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the Tampere u ...

Westside Discs West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham E ...

, which is associated with Dynamic Discs and Latitude 64˚, Viking, Obsidian, and Prodiscus, which also manufacturers discs for Missouri-based Full Turn and Australian Fourth Circle Discs.

Tourism

Disc golf courses are marketed by Finnish municipalities and on tourism board websites.

Åland Islands

In May 2020, Mats Adamczak e Åland’s Chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses, approached DiscGolfPark with the ambitious project of turning

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

into a "disc golf island" by building 16 new courses by the end of the summer, one for each municipality in the autonomous region. At the time of the press release, there were only two courses on Åland.

Mass media

Coverage of disc golf tournaments is mainstream in Finland. It is not uncommon for major tournaments and local competitions to get coverage.

Television

Disc golf gets frequent coverage on national television since the 2005 European Championships. In 2013, the final round of the European Open aired for 90 minutes nationwide on

YLE Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

Podcasts

* Frisbeegolf Keskustelu

YouTube channels

* Disc Golf Finland - 12,200 subscribers and 2,078,572 views * lcgm8 - 10,100 subscribers and 3,981,505 views * SkyBlue - 2,900 subscribers and 610,170 views * Natural Born Disc Golfer - 2,660 subscribers and 131,828 views * Frisbeegolf Ruka - 1,130 subscribers and 495,144 views * frisbeegolfradat - 1,630 subscribers and 538 375 views

Competitions

David Feldberg at 2011 Disc Golf European Open

European Open (disc golf) The European Open is a PDGA-sanctioned major disc golf tournament held in Nokia, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with ...

Notable Finnish disc golfers

* * * * * *

References

External links

Suomen frisbeegolfliitto
Finnish Disc Golf Association (FDGA)
Frisbeegolfradat.fi
Finnish disc golf course directory {{Disc golf, state=expanded Sport in Finland by sport