Disc golf in Finland

Disc golf (in Finnish: frisbeegolf) is a popular sport in Finland played at the recreational, club, and international competition levels.[2][3]

Disc golf in Finland
Hole #9 at Padasjoki DiscGolfPark in Padasjoki
Governing bodyFDGA
First played1980s[1]
Registered players2,815
National competitions

Disc golf in Finland is governed by the Finnish Disc Golf Association (FDGA, Finnish: Suomen frisbeegolfliitto). Its mission is to promote the sport and to "organize disc golf activities in Finland together with its approximately 150 member organizations."[4]

Popularity

Disc golf is the fastest growing sport in Finland.[5] According to the Finnish Research Institute for Olympic Sports (KIHU), it is more popular among Finns than ball golf, volleyball, basketball and tennis.[6] The country is frequently called a model country for disc golf,[7] a Mecca,[8] and a hot bed.[9]

In June 2020, there were 2,815 active PDGA members and 2,985 expired memberships,[10] an increase from June 2015, when there were 1,434 and 686, respectively.[11]

The popularity of disc golf in Finland has been variously attributed to Jussi Meresmaa’s marketing know-how,[12] the fact that disc golf is taught in gym class curriculums, and that municipalities build courses to attract new taxpayers.[6] Finland's proximity to other disc golf hubs around the Baltic Sea, namely Estonia and Sweden, is also a factor.[13]

Courses
A disc golf basket in the snow at the Meri-Toppila course in Oulu
Main article: List of disc golf courses in Finland

Approximately 7% of the world's disc golf courses are located in Finland. Some of the most notable ones include Puijo DGP in Kuopio, Kaatis in Vihti, Pikkarala Frisbeegolf in Oulu.[15] In 2019, Helsinki topped UDisc's list of Top 5 Disc Golf Cities outside the United States.[13]

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.[16]

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.[11]

Budget Sport, a large Finnish sports equipment retailer, sponsored the 2015 European Open and features disc golf equipment prominently in its retail stores.[11][17]

Manufacturers
See also: List of disc golf brands and manufacturers

As a country, Finland has the second largest number of disc golf equipment manufacturers, second only to the United States. Major Finnish disc brands include Discmania, founded by Jussi Meresmaa in Tampere, Finland, Westside Discs, 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 golfers at the now-defunct Yyteri beach course at sunset in Pori

Disc golf courses are marketed by Finnish municipalities and on tourism board websites.[18][19][20]

Åland Islands

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

[21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

Mass media

Coverage of disc golf tournaments is mainstream in Finland. It is not uncommon for major tournaments and local competitions to get coverage.[26][27][28]

Television

Disc golf gets frequent coverage on national television since the 2005 European Championships.[29] In 2013, the final round of the European Open aired for 90 minutes nationwide on YLE.[11]

Podcasts
  • Frisbeegolf Keskustelu

YouTube channels
  • Disc Golf Finland - 12,200 subscribers and 2,078,572 views[30]
  • lcgm8 - 10,100 subscribers and 3,981,505 views[31]
  • SkyBlue - 2,900 subscribers and 610,170 views[32]
  • Natural Born Disc Golfer - 2,660 subscribers and 131,828 views[33]
  • Frisbeegolf Ruka - 1,130 subscribers and 495,144 views[34]
  • frisbeegolfradat - 1,630 subscribers and 538 375 views[35]

Competitions
2011 disc golf European Open champion David Feldberg practicing at hole 1

Notable Finnish disc golfers
  • Pasi Koivu
  • Jussi Meresmaa
  • Seppo Paju
  • Leo Piironen
  • Väinö Mäkelä
  • Eveliina Salonen
  • Jalle Stoor[36][37]

See also

References
  1. Tuomikoski, Mikko (29 June 2018). "Frisbeegolfin suosio kasvaa kuin nälkäinen teini – Suomi on lajin suurmaa". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. "Frisbeegolf-opas - Säännöt & Ohjeet Aloittelijalle". Veikkausbonukset.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  3. "Disc Golf in Finland (2017) - The SpinTV". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. "Briefly in English". Suomen frisbeegolfliitto. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  5. Dahlström, Sebastian (12 July 2019). "Swish genom luften och klirr i kedjorna - frisbeegolf är Finlands snabbast växande idrottsgren". svenska.yle.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  6. Toivonen, Kari (12 August 2019). "Now it is Official – Disc Golf is Enormously Popular in Finland". Parked. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  7. "Suomi – frisbeegolfin mallimaa". Frisbeegolfradat.fi (in Finnish). 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  8. Woods, Josh (10 November 2017). "The Nordic Anomaly: Finland as a Disc Golf World Leader". Parked. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  9. Öhberg, Tony. "Finland Is a Hotbed of Disc Golf". Finland Today | News in English | finlandtoday.fi. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  10. "PDGA Player Search - Finland". Professional Disc Golf Association. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. Parcell, Zach (16 June 2015). "Want disc golf to grow? Follow Finland's lead". All Things Disc Golf. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  12. "DiscGolfPark". Spin18. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  13. Williamson, Alex. "Top 5 Disc Golf Cities — International: #1 Helsinki, Finland". Release Point - The UDisc Blog. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  14. "PDGA and Disc Golf Demographics". Professional Disc Golf Association. 11 February 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  15. Williamson, Alex. "World's Best Disc Golf Courses: #1-#100". Release Point. Archived from the original on 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  16. "Case Finland". DiscGolfPark. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  17. "Näin valitset frisbeegolfkiekon". Budget Sport (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  18. "Frisbeegolf". www.salo.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  19. "Frisbeegolf". Oulun kaupunki - www.ouka.fi (in Finnish). 20 April 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  20. "Exercise benefits everyone in Finland". thisisFINLAND. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  21. Mäki, Ville (12 May 2020). "Åland Islands To Become Ambitious Disc Golf Destination Between Swedish And Finnish Coasts". Ultiworld Disc Golf. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  22. "Turning Åland into Disc Golf Island". Discmania Store. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  23. "16 Courses. 4 Months. 1 Island Dream". PDGA. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  24. "All In On Disc Golf: Åland Islands' 16 Course Gamble". UDisc. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  25. "World-record Disc Golf Course Project (Åland Disc Golf Park) is live!". Discmania Youtube. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  26. Toivonen, Timo (4 March 2019). "Suomeen voitto frisbeegolfin ammattilaiskiertueelta – nelinkertainen maailmanmestari kaatui Yhdysvalloissa". Ilta Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  27. Niemeläinen, Jonne (4 March 2019). "Nyt tehtiin frisbeegolfin historiaa: Eveliina Salonen voitti ammattilaiskiertueen osakilpailun Yhdysvalloissa". yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  28. Manner, Santtu (3 March 2019). "19-vuotias suomalaislupaus otti historiallisen voiton suuressa frisbeegolf-turnauksessa – kaatoi nelinkertaisen maailmanmestarin". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  29. "Disc Golf European 2015 - Finnish YLE TV2 National TV Broadcast (International simulcast)". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  30. "Disc Golf Finland". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  31. "YouTube". www.youtube.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  32. "SkyBlue Disc Golf". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  33. "Natural Born Disc Golfer". www.youtube.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  34. "Frisbeegolf Ruka". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  35. "frisbeegolfradat". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  36. "Players - Disc Golf Metrix". Disc Golf World Tour. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  37. Williamson, Alex (6 March 2019). "Solid Finnish: Salonen & Stoor Are Big News In Finland". Release Point - The UDisc Blog. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
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