While not every Discovery Zone will have the benefit of a flat piece of land like our prototype Discovery Zone in Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON (Greenwood Park) does, many will and will be suitable for fully accessible play. It’s one of the core benefits: they can be built in an empty field with new tree plantings and still provide a welcoming learning environment.

The informative welcome signs introduce the sport, explain what you need to play, and include a dedicated QR code connecting new players to information about where they can buy or borrow discs and how to find local players and clubs. The instructional tee signs with both left- and right-handed visuals, tips on technique, three different throws to learn per hole, and QR codes with additional instructional resources help replace the need for an existing player to introduce you.

Finally, the small footprint of a course with only 100-foot holes gets Discovery Zones into parks that could never have hosted traditional disc golf courses. This brings disc golf to the people instead of forcing the people to go find disc golf.

The reviewer states: “This is not a course for disc golfers and probably should not be on UDisc.”

I'm fascinated by this statement. A beginner walking onto a Discovery Zone with a disc for the first time is a disc golfer. A child throwing 30 feet is a disc golfer. Someone practising a forehand for the first time is a disc golfer. Someone throwing from a wheelchair is a disc golfer.

So who, exactly, is a disc golfer?

Playing 18 holes, throwing 300 feet, carrying 20 discs, playing league, or knowing your PDGA number are not requirements of being a disc golfer.

UDisc agrees. Discovery Zones were featured just last year as part of the Disc Golf Anywhere series (UDisc: Disc Golf Anywhere: Disc Golf Discovery Zones, Ontario, Canada, 29 Oct 2025).

The question isn’t whether Discovery Zones are ‘Real Disc Golf’. It’s ‘Who gets to decide who disc golf is for?’

Disc golf has one of the most welcoming communities I've ever encountered. It also has an unfortunate streak of gatekeeping.

Sometimes it appears when a short course isn't considered a “real course.” Sometimes it's directed at beginners throwing high-speed drivers, families playing too slowly, children or pets on the fairway, recreational players who don't know the rules or etiquette, or facilities that prioritise accessibility over difficulty.

Usually it isn't intended to be cruel.

But imagine encountering disc golf for the first time, finding a facility explicitly built for people like you, and then discovering that experienced players have publicly declared that it isn't worthy of being called disc golf.

That's not protecting the sport. That's pulling the ladder up behind us.

Discovery Zones aren't intended to replace traditional disc golf courses. Fluent designs those too. We love long drives, technical woods golf, championship layouts and difficult holes. Our recent course launches in Woodstock, ON (Pittock Conservation Area), and Fredericton, NB (Killarney Lake Park) are testaments to that!

Discovery Zones exist alongside them.

They're the playground beside the hockey rink. The bunny slope beside the black run. The driving range beside the golf course. And someday, the kid learning to throw a 100-foot hyzer at Mathison may be standing on the first tee of an 18-hole course.

When that happens, I hope the disc golfer standing beside them remembers that everyone in this sport was a beginner once.

The future of disc golf isn't just about building better courses for the people who already play. It's about creating more ways for the people who don't play yet to discover that they can.

Addressing the review

In closing, I want to address each of the questions and assertions in the review directly. There are answers to each of them. More importantly, I hope the next time any of us finds ourselves at a course that wasn't designed specifically for us, we take a moment to consider who it was designed for before deciding whether it has value.

"How does a novice get discs here?"

The welcome signage points them towards equipment resources via QR code.

"The best way to learn is from a player."

The system doesn't reject the value of existing disc golfers. The Local Resources page actually encourages beginners to connect with local clubs, leagues and experienced players.

"This is in a pretty remote area. Is it used at all?"

I recently asked them how the first six weeks went and whether they received any feedback from the community...

“Yes, we had some good feedback. I think it’s well used.”
- Josh Storey, Supervisor of Parks, Recreation & Facilities, Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen

Remember that Discovery Zones are aimed primarily at new players (though they’re still great for practising approach shots too), so UDisc stats aren’t going to be the best gauge for whether a practice and instructional installation with only 4 holes and a putting station is performing. We’re working on ways to measure performance, but this is a work in progress.

"This is not a course for disc golfers and probably should not be on UDisc."

On that point, Scott Stokely would disagree. One of the most experienced teachers in disc golf has partnered with us specifically to help make quality instruction available to people who don't already have a disc golfer standing beside them.

UDisc has also recognised that not every round needs to be about competition or keeping score, adding the ability to play without scoring at all. That fits perfectly with a Discovery Zone, where someone might be learning to throw for the first time, practising a particular skill, playing casually with their family, or simply having fun without worrying about what number goes on a scorecard.

Discovery Zones are places to play, practise and learn, and UDisc is an excellent tool for helping people find them. UDisc itself featured Discovery Zones in its Disc Golf Anywhere series in 2025, so whether they belong on UDisc seems like a question UDisc has already answered.

"The idea of the disc golf discovery zone is poorly worked out!"

Discovery Zones are new, and we're still learning from every one we build. We'll continue refining the concept as we see how different communities and new players use them.

But they aren't poorly worked out. Every element has a purpose: the short holes, small footprint, accessible layouts, instructional signage, left- and right-handed throwing instruction, multiple skills on each hole, Putting Stations, QR-linked instruction, equipment resources and connections to local disc golf communities. They're all responses to specific barriers we've identified that can make disc golf difficult to discover and learn.

You don't have to like Discovery Zones. They weren't designed for everyone. That's kind of the point.

Thank you for reading! If you're interested in learning more about Disc Golf Discovery Zones, check them out here.

Kevin.