---

Headquarters/Austin Press Release January 05, 2010

20th Annual World's Biggest Disc Golf Weekend May 1st and 2nd 2010

A Million Throws a Day

Disc Golf is becoming more and more popular. It is now played in over 50 countries. The sale of golf discs has been growing consistently for the last five years at a rate of 15-20%... making disc golf “the world’s the fastest-growing sport”. There are over 3,000 disc golf courses worldwide. Texas, there are close to 180 courses, and central Texas has become a hub for the sport and for disc golfers.

On the weekend of May 1st and 2nd, over 10,000 flying disc enthusiasts will be getting together around the world “just to play a round.” The occasion is the 20th annual World’s Biggest Disc Golf Weekend, which will be taking place on over hundreds of disc golf courses globally.

The WBDGW is headquatered and was created in Austin, Texas in 1991 by John Houck, a two time world champion in Freestyle Frisbee and disc golf's #1 course designer. This year we hope to have over 150 cities and 15 countries participating worldwide. This event can be incorporated as part of an existing tournament or hosted as its own special event. The emphasis is on fun, learning about disc golf, and enjoying the game.

This year we are raising money for the Disc Golf Foundation and Council on At-Risk Youth (CARY). Our headquaters in Austin will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each disc and shirt to these two non-profit orginizations.

“It’s a lot of fun, and people get addicted to it, just like ‘ball’ golf,” according to Austin’s John Houck, the creator of the World’s Biggest Disc Golf Weekend and the world’s premier disc golf course designer. Today, the event is held in countries as far away as Australia, throughout Europe, Japan and across the USA in 30 states.

The very first event was held at Zilker Park -- the first course Houck designed -- in Austin, Texas. The permanent disc golf course has been in Zilker Park for 23 years, and the number of new people playing keeps increasing.

Like their traditional golfing counterparts, the disc golfers will be hoping that their “drive” will be long enough and their “putts” accurate enough to result in lots of “birdies.” But instead of woods and irons, these golfers will be handling Super Soft putters and Sirius drivers—high tech descendents of the original Frisbee disc.

In disc golf, players see how many strokes (throws) it takes to get from the tee to the hole. The hole in this case is a metal contraption commonly referred to as the basket, which consist of a set of chains hanging over a basket. As the disc flies in, it hits the chains, stops, and drops into the basket.

One of the goals of the World’s Biggest Disc Golf Weekend is to introduce the game to thousands of new players who are attracted by the novelty, health benefits, and low cost of the game. Although there will be some recognition for top scores, the event is essentially non-competitive. Registrants will receive an event t-shirt and special golf disc for $25 entry fee. Discs themselves usually run $12 or $15. “It’s a great deal for the players,” says Dee Leekha Houck, the event’s worldwide chair. “We just want them to come out and have a good time.” We will have volunteers on hand to show everyone how to throw and which disc to use for different types of shots.

Since par on a disc golf course is at least 54, and most players are expected to shoot over par, organizers are predicting that over one million throws will be recorded on thousands of scorecards.

For those who want to play in the event, John and Dee Houck recommend that players register as soon as possible to get first choice of tee times. This year’s local events are held at Circle R Ranch in Wimberley on Saturday May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd and at Zilker Park on Sunday, May 3rd from 8am to 6pm.

For more information, call Pascale at 512-970-9001 or visit www.wbdgw.com. The World’s Biggest Disc Golf Weekend is sponsored locally by Millennium Golf Discs, HouckDesign, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Innova Disc Golf, Belgium Brewery, Outhouse Design and Wham-O. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

The Central Texas Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Council on At-Risk Youth are two local non-profit organizations who can benefit greatly by local public attendance as they will be receiving $4 for every entry if you mention one of these organizations as you register for the event. You can also just show up if you didn’t get time to register.