Play Ultimate Frisbee? Now say hello to Disc Golf
Started in the early 1900’s by a group of friends throwing tin lids into circles in the sand, it was once called Tin Lid Golf. Modern Disc Golf was introduced in 1976 in Canada. This sport is now one of the fastest growing sports in Malaysia, with Beasts Unchained being the 2nd officially sanctioned event by PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) held in Malaysia, and both were held in Johor Bahru.
If you’re wondering what Disc Golf is, it is exactly what you think it is, golf using discs, or specially designed Frisbees. The goal is to throw a Frisbee into a goal located on a field. It’s played using rules similar to golf. The concept and game itself is simple, but difficult to master. Just like golf you have different difficulties of the goals you’re hoping to score.
Introduced in Malaysia in 2018 by Eric Grover, a teacher at Crescendo-HELP school, who started living and working here during this period. Once he started working in JB, he was surprised that the sport itself hadn’t reached our shores, as Ultimate Frisbee is such a big sport in Malaysia. Eric decided to then try to introduce Disc golf to locals. “In the beginning it was hard, because I didn’t have an outlet, but what made it easy is that I reached out to the Ultimate Frisbee crowd. Through that, I managed to convince some of their players to play Disc Golf,” said Eric.
As the amount of players grew, so did the amount of courses and Johor is now home to 5 courses located in different parts of the state and there are also 2 courses in Kuala Lumpur.
Speaking to one of Malaysia’s top players, Redha Fahmi Radzuan “I started Disc Golf late July last year, I used to be a huge Ultimate Frisbee freak, but I transitioned to Disc Golf thanks to Eric. I really enjoy Disc Golf as you only have yourself to rely on. With Ultimate Frisbee you need to have a team to play with and that’s sometimes not possible. You can’t blame anyone else if you play badly. It’s also because I love nature and Disc Golf courses around the world are usually in very beautiful places and it also have to adhere to PDGA standards.” Redha is also joined by his fiancé, Nur Hareesa bt Shahaini, who’s also one of Malaysia’s top female players.
If you’re interested in in giving Disc Golf a try, you can visit their Facebook page @Disc Golf Malaysia. The members are very responsive and you’ll be welcomed with open arms.
