St. Cloud disc golfer has won World Championships, built courses, and continues to promote the sport
Not every disc golf player can end up as a two-time world champion like Tim Mackey, 68, of St. Cloud, but seniors can have fun playing, and get exercise too, he said.
“People our age remember the Frisbees from the old days, and can get out and play,” said Tim. “It’s a good low-impact exercise that challenges your body and your mind, because you have to think about your shot while enjoying nature and the great outdoors in the park or wherever the course may be. Playing disc golf is really a nice thing for all ages.”
Then there’s the time factor, Tim said. “The nice thing about disc golf is that you can play a round of nine or 18 holes in an hour or so, half the time of ball golf.”
And cost.
“Most disc golf courses don’t cost anything. Most of the 290 courses in Minnesota are free, in public parks. Sometimes a donation box asks to help keep the course operating. Only a couple of courses in Minnesota cost anything: Bryant Lake Regional Park in Eden Prairie has a fee to enter the park, but then you can play disc golf free. Another is East Bethel’s private Blue Ribbon Pines Golf Disc site, which requires a daily fee.”
Litchfield has an unusual golf disc course, Tim said. “On a very small piece of property by the Blessings Church, somehow the guy designed 18 holes. Courses like that are few, and sometimes add odd things, like statues or waterholes.”
But that can create safety issues. “Most disc golf courses are in public parks with other activities going on, a walking trail, playgrounds, running tracks, and everything has to be taken into consideration, making sure visitors can use all the areas in the park as they wish.
You don’t want discs flying onto the walking trail, for example. Sometimes smaller communities put a park in but nobody has a lot of design experience, which can lead to a lack of safety and quality control. That’s the biggest thing.”
Creating Disc Parks
Tim should know, as he has helped construct hundreds of disc golf parks, many in Minnesota, but also all over the United States.
“I started my Frisbee career at Winona State in the 1970s, where I was introduced to the national qualifying events being held by Wham-O, who had bought the rights to Frisbee from the inventor, Walter Frederick Morrison. They modernized the disc by putting flight rings, concentric ridges that add turbulence and holds air against them for longer flight.”
From that, Tim said, “The idea was to attend these qualifying events and score points, which would get you invited to the World Frisbee Rose Bowl. I attended twice, and won both years. That’s how disc golf became more and more popular.”
But few courses existed, Tim said. “So I built a temporary course for a lesson outdoor curriculum at Winona State University. And the need for more courses grew from there.
Getting more courses made required a lot of cold calls to park departments in Minnesota, and meeting with park department directors, but disc golf courses were new to them, so there were always hoops to go through. It’s a big project, which always required many preliminary designs and meetings with the park department. Some thought it was only a fad, so I had to convince them, until they eventually realized a disc golf course in the city would be a nice additional amenity to the park system, and the final approval was given. I told them, like in ‘Field of Dreams,’ ‘If you build it, they will come.’ It will get played on.”
As Tim created more courses, he realized most important was making sure the city understood liability and safety issues. “And the course should allow all skill levels to enjoy themselves. I always told the department in charge that it would be a full-service course. I would lay out two tee pads, one short and one long, so both novices and advanced people can still enjoy playing on that course.”
Pro Freestyler
During those early years, Tim was a pro freestyler participating in Frisbee contests, as well as doing Frisbee shows at schools. “I was hired by Sunkist and North Dakota Assemblies to do Frisbee shows for schools and universities, showing some tricks and how the Frisbee worked.”
He also attended different disc golf events around the country. “The Disc Golf Association put together a tour, so I got to attend different disc golf events around the country. Sponsors helped with expenses and travel, and there were cash awards, or products, which really helped out. From 1978 to 1982 I was a full-time Frisbee player, until I finished my college degree and got a teaching job in 1982. For the next four years I did both at the same time, teaching during the school year, and then the summer was my time to design golf courses and play in events.”
Disc Golf vs. Ball Golf
Ball golf is measured in yards. “And in disc golf, it’s feet, and like ball golf, footages will vary, trying to use the design of the holes to require a curve or roll,” he said> “Disc holes can vary from 150 to 1,200 feet.
The baskets are bolted down and locked for security, or someone would take it to their house or cabin for putting. The city or local disc golf community has keys to unlock them, and change the baskets to offer a different playing pattern.” There used to be only two disc golf manufacturers, Tim said. “Now 15 are coming out with their own models of disc golf Frisbees.
So the Professional Disc Golf Association has a standards committee that examines each disc for the standard weight, and decides whether or not it is viable. Most times they get approved.”
Scoring for disc golf is like ball golf, Tim says. “Both have stroke play or match play, with identical rules. Differences include a disc getting stuck in a tree, which incurs no penalty any longer, but requires playing the disc from six feet away--and a few other minor things. Other than that they play pretty similar.”
Ball golf players use different clubs, and disc golf players use different discs. The internet identifies different golf discs as distance drivers, made to travel further. Fairway drivers are designed for control and distance, while hybrid drivers blend the distance and fairway drivers, with more power and distance. Approach discs work better where a putter would not work. Putters are for short-range shots.
“Thus every player can have a duffel bag filled with a variety of disc golf Frisbees for different course uses.”
What Tim likes most about disc golf is the camaraderie. “People are willing to help each other, and teach new people how to play. Formerly Frisbee had a stigma as a hippie sport but that has changed. It’s more standard now, families and youth playing it, along with seniors. That’s what’s really enjoyable, seeing people playing courses I designed, or whatever the case may be. I also love watching the flight of the disc. I really enjoy that.”
Finding a Course
Most people today travel, and disc golfers want to find a course on their way. They can use the course directory and find courses within 15 minutes off the freeway. Minnesota has 290 courses, and is rated in the top six in country courses installed in the nation.
Disc golfers can go to www.pdga.com/course-directory to find locations all over the world.
Speaking of the world, “The Minnesota Frisbee Association is hosting the World Masters Disc Golf World Championships in 2025 for both professionals and amateurs. Any person 40 or older can play in the World Masters.”
That will take place in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. “The metro area has 20 courses, and the top six courses will be chosen to be used. About 900 players will be coming to Minnesota next July to play and compete.”
“Disc golf is a great sport, and the courses are free to play. When I play I get friends to go with, or family to have grandkids to play.”
Tim said the benefits for seniors and elders are many. “They can get out into nature, and even if they can’t navigate the entire nine or 18 holes, most courses have a practice basket before normal course. Seniors can just play that, putt a bit, or back up and play further away. If mobility only allows a certain energy and time to play, there’s a lot of flexibility to choose in how much they like to play and enjoy.”
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