Disc golf is awesome…especially if you’re an older person looking to have some fun. Disc golf can offer some tremendous variety to your life, including the ability to get some good exercise, spend time with friends and family, and play the sport for almost no money.
In this post, we will be talking about a few different things. The first is why you, as a older person, should pick up disc golf as a new hobby. Next, we will get into what you’re here for: the 17 best disc golf tips for seniors. At the end, we’ll show you how you can get into disc golf and where you can play at. So stick around for a bit after the tips list.
But real quick…
What are the 17 best disc golf tips for seniors?
1. Disc selection – beginner discs at first
2. Stay away from high-speed distance drivers
3. Understable discs
4. High glide discs
5. Light discs
6. Have fun
7 Always stretch
8. Work slow and be patient
9. Technique
10. Improve your distance
11. Improve your putting
12. Try out doubles disc golf
13. Play at your own pace
14. Buy a basket, a net, then continue to practice
15. Improve your physical fitness
16. Take care of your body
17. Read our post, “101 Disc Golf Tips to Take Your Game to the Next Level”
Why should I start playing disc golf?
There are a ton of awesome reasons to play disc golf. In fact, I wrote about 13 of them here in this post. By why should play disc golf as a senior? Here are 3 reasons for you.
1. It gets you moving: disc golf is a really awesome exercise in and of itself. You’re constantly moving on and around the course, trekking over hilly terrain, and hiking up to a mile or more per round. This movement can be extremely beneficial for you if you’re older. UpliftingMobility.com’s article, “10 Health Benefits of Walking for Seniors,” states that walking for 30 minutes or more per day can help you reduce blood pressure, sleep better, lose weight, stay mentally sharp, and help your heart by improving circulation. So just imagine what a full round of disc golf 3 or 4 times a week could do for your health!
You can also check out our top-ranked article, “The 17 Best Health Benefits of Disc Golf,” for more.
2. It’s inexpensive: I love this sport for a bunch of reasons. But one of the main reasons is because of how ridiculously inexpensive it is to play. As a younger guy, I don’t always have a ton of money lying around, so it’s nice to be able to have so much fun with a hobby that doesn’t really cost me that much. That’s disc golf all the way.
As for seniors, this can be a huge benefit as well. I know a lot of folks who are older and love to play ball golf. But the average joe, like myself, doesn’t have a pile of cash to sink into clubs and greens fees in relation to ball golf. Ball golf is really expensive. So instead, try disc golf. You’ve got the same idea, with different, much cheaper equipment.
And the best part about the cost? Almost all the courses that you can play on are free. I love it when I can head out to play and not have to spend a dime to play. Even the nicest courses in the world cost only a few bucks for the whole day.
If you’re looking for the true price of disc golf, check out our article, “How Much Does it (Actually) Cost to Play Disc Golf?”
3. You can play with friends and family: while disc golf is fun to play, it’s even more fun if you can share your experience with friends and family. I always spend time with friends out on the disc golf course. As an older person with kids and grandkids, you can connect and bond over a really great hobby out on the course. So try it out!
The 17 Best Disc Golf Tips for Seniors
Alright, so this is what you’ve been waiting for. And I promise you these tips won’t disappoint.
1. Disc selection – beginner discs at first
The first few tips in this post will be looking at disc selection because the discs that you choose will be just about the most important thing you do. As a new player, and as an older person, you will want to maximize your ability to play according to which discs you select.
As you grow older, your flexibility, mobility, and physical strength start to decline. So you’ll be looking for discs that help you maximize distance and accuracy. What you really want to think about before you play is the selection of all your discs. You may think that you can just grab some discs and throw and you technically can do that. But there are discs designed for beginners, intermediate players, and advanced players.
To take a quick look into the different kinds of discs that you can play with, check out our post, “What Are the Different Types of Disc Golf Discs?”
With all this in mind, I want you to understand that you will be throwing beginner discs. Remember: beginner discs. Even after you start to develop good technique, accuracy, and speed, you may still want to throw these beginner discs to help you with the accuracy and distance of your throws.
2. Stay away from high-speed distance drivers
If you were able to check out that post in the last tip, you will see that there are 4 types of discs: putters, mid-range discs, fairway/control drivers, and high-speed distance drivers.
As a senior, I want you to completely disregard high-speed distance drivers. Do not use them. Even though they are called distance drivers, they will not help you get that distance. Why? Because they have to be thrown at a very high rate of speed or they won’t fly correctly (hence the “high-speed” part of the name). And since you probably don’t have the strength or mobility to get these discs up to speed, I suggest that you stick to beginner discs that don’t require a lot of speed.
Speed is the first number in the flight ratings system series of 4 numbers. Speed varies from 1 to 14. You want a disc with a speed rating of 7 or below.
For a great beginner disc that doesn’t require a lot of speed, check out the Innova DX Leopard fairway driver here on Discgolfunited.com.
3. High-glide discs
Next up, continuing with these disc selection tips, you will want beginner discs that have a lot of glide. Glide allows the disc to stay in the air longer. And longer time spent in the air means more distance. That’s what you want. Seniors need more accuracy and more distance out of their discs. Low speed and high glide allows you to gain much more distance.
Now glide is the second number in the disc golf flight ratings system. You can get a disc with a glide rating from 1 to 7. Seniors should look to get a disc with at least a 4 glide rating or more.
One of the best gliding drivers on the market is the Latitude 64 River. I love this disc. Get it here on Infinite Discs.
4. Only understable discs
The topic of stability in disc golf is tough. We wrote a stability guide that you can check out here if you would like. But the general consensus with beginners – and for seniors, too – is that you should almost always stick to understable discs.
Why understable? Well, with rhbh throwers, understable discs turn to the right when first thrown. This can help you keep the disc a little bit straighter. And if you’re a senior, understable discs can help you gain just a bit more distance on your throws. Understable discs don’t have to be thrown as hard to fly correctly.
You see, understability has to do with the third flight rating in the flight ratings system – high-speed turn. This is basically how the disc turns when it’s first released from your hand. Now turn is measured from 1 to -5. +1 means almost no turn and -5 means a lot of turn. For a rhbh thrower, a disc with a lot of turn will turn to the right when released flat and is considered very understable.
For a really awesome disc that is a great starter mid-range for seniors, check out the Discraft Stratus (link to InfiniteDiscs.com).
5. Light weight discs: less than 165 grams
Now that you understand what kind of discs you will need for your new senior hobby, it’s time to think about another factor that will help you out on the course: light weight discs. Yes, after you figure out exactly which discs you want, you need to find them in a very light weight. And you want light discs because you are able to get a little bit more momentum and velocity on your throw if you can throw the disc harder. Heavier discs will be thrown slower and that will equal less distance.
You see, discs themselves are measured in grams. When picking the weight for your discs, only buy discs that are 165 grams or lower. As an older person looking for more distance and speed, you want light discs. Stick to the 165 gram or lower rule and you will come out fine.
For a great post on discs for seniors/beginners, check out the, “37 Best Disc Golf Discs for Beginners (You Need These).” Although it’s titled for beginners, these will be the discs that you will be most successful with on the course as a senior.
You can also check out more of Infinite Disc’s options on their site here. They’ve got a ton of different options for light weight discs under 165 grams.
6. Have fun
So now that you’ve gotten your discs all picked out for play, I want you to remember something before you head out to the course. This tip is very simple: make sure that you go out and have fun while you play.
Disc golf is a game that is made to be fun. From the competition to the challenge of getting better all the way to sinking your first ace. Disc golf is meant to be fun.
To learn about disc golf and how to get better, check out our post,“Disc Golf 101: A Step By Step Beginner’s Guide.” Truly learning the game of disc golf can help you do better on the course and have a ton of fun.
7. Always stretch
Alright, so you got your discs and you’re ready to have some fun. Next, you will head out to the course for some action!
When you get out there, just like myself, you will be tempted to just hop onto the course and immediately start throwing. Do not do that. Instead you need to wait a few minutes and stretch out your body (and not just because you’re older – but definitely because you’re older).
The range of motion that you will go through is extreme, from your calves all the way up to your shoulders. The standard disc golf throw involves alot of muscles, joints, and tendons. And you need to keep those body parts healthy if you want to keep playing. Stretching before your rounds will help you do that.
The great thing is that we have a really awesome stretching guide to help you out. You can read, “The 17 Best Disc Golf Stretches to Improve Your Game,” here on the site.
8. Work slow and be patient
As you start playing, you’ll notice that disc golf is tough. No matter who you are, or what age, it will take some time to get good at the game. This will be the frustrating part at the beginning, but you will soon start to improve. Work slow when you are playing. Don’t try to ramp up the pace and get better quickly because it won’t happen. Be patient with the game and you will be rewarded.
9. Technique is key
Understanding and learning proper technique is one of the most important concepts in all of disc golf. You have to learn good technique or else all of your practice, strategy, and time will be for nothing. Technique is the primary concept for which you will be throwing in disc golf.
Now there are a few different ways that you can throw a disc: backhand (most common), forehand (common), and tomahawk (similar to a baseball pitcher). There are different types of throws, but we will keep it simple for this post. For throwing, you want to have good technique with everything you do. But today, as you may just be starting out, I suggest learning backhand only and develop that way of throwing first. You can learn the other throws once you get better.
Backhand throwing is very similar to how you would throw a normal frisbee disc. I’m sure you have thrown a frisbee at some point in your life. Almost everyone has. If you haven’t, you’ve probably seen someone throw one. You will start straight, take a few steps, bring your dominant arm (along with the disc) across your body, then back across to throw the disc. Easy, right? Well, no, not with a frisbee disc.
Here are a few quick steps for throwing a disc. Before you do this, remember to take all of this slowly. Do not rush as you can end up injuring yourself.
Step 1 – Your grip is important: grip the disc with about four fingers underneath on the rim of the disc and your thumb on top of the disc.
Step 2 – Use good hip rotation: you will start to walk forward and you will want a good hip rotation as you bring your arm across your body. Do the best you can with the mobility you have.
Step 3 – The reach back: bring your arm across your body and reach back as far as you can. You want almost a straight arm on the reach back at the peak of that reach back.
Step 4 – Look away from your line of sight: even though it may feel weird to look away, still do this as it helps your body rotate more and get more momentum behind the disc.
Step 5 – Lead with your elbow: as you come back through with your disc, bring the disc into your chest and lead the throw with your elbow first.
Step 6 – big, strong final step: get a good strong lead step with the same side foot as your dominant throwing arm. Throw with right arm, step with right foot.
Step 7 – The follow through: after you release the disc, make sure you allow your body to follow through and spin in the direction you are already rotating. That will put less strain on your body and guarantee that you don’t injure yourself.
For our all-inclusive guide on technique, check out our post, “7 Steps to the Best Disc Golf Technique and Perfect Throw.”
10. Improve your distance
As you start learning the game, you will soon understand that distance plays a big factor in actually getting to the basket in a decent number of throws. Distance is important because you have an amount of feet between you and the basket. If your throwing distance is lacking, you’ll have a hard time achieving a decent score. So this part of the game is crucial. You need to learn the game and then focus on improving your distance.
Don’t worry too much about this at first. But once you’ve played a few rounds, and picked up the core fundamentals of disc golf, check out our complete set of distance tips called, “The 27 Best Disc Golf Distance Tips for Beginners.”
11. Improve your putting
As an older person, you may have tried out ball golf a few times. And because of that, you will probably understand that putting is really important to any golf game. Disc golf is the same. Good putting is crucial to your game and can make or break your round.
We’ve got an extensive list of tips for you in our post, “The 12 Best Disc Golf Putting Tips for Beginners.”
12. Try out doubles disc golf
We’ve already established that when you first start out, you won’t be very good. So instead of trying to play at your competitive best, try out doubles disc golf.
What is doubles disc golf? Doubles is playing with a friend or family member where both of you throw and the next throw is from the best shot out of both of you. You choose the best shot and play from there. If you’ve ever played ball golf, this is also called Captain’s Choice.
It’s a really fun, no pressure way to play the game that can help you improve just a little bit. If you are by yourself, try throwing two shots and playing from the best one. You can also play “worst shot doubles” and play from the worst shot of the two. That’s a little bit tougher and can make you want to play better (so that you never have bad shots).
If you would like to learn the rules of doubles disc golf, check them out here on PDGA.com
You can also check out my doubles disc golf guide here.
13. Play at your own pace
Make sure that as you get better and better, continue to play at the pace you want to play at. A lot of people think that as you get better, you have to always continuing speeding up the pace of your game. Some people suggest that you can’t throw multiple times per hole or take a mulligan in your round. Some say you have to play faster, enter tournaments, or take the game super competitively. Well you don’t. Play disc golf as slow or as fast as you want to. And play however you want to.
14. Buy a basket, a net, then continue to practice
If you read any of my other tips lists on this site, you’ll notice a few common themes. One of those themes is about the need for an extensive amount of practice. I’ve never put a number on the amount of practice you’ll need if you want to get better, but you need a lot of it.
Obviously you want to get out on the course and play. That’s the most realistic way to get reps in. But if you just can’t get to the course, there are three other great ways to put in the work to get better.
1. Open field practice: this is a simple way to practice. Find an open field. Practice throwing.
2. Personal practice basket: if you really want to improve, buy a disc golf basket for your home. It can go in a garage or a backyard with ease. Grab a basket here off of Amazon.com or you can check out our post, “11 Reasons Why You Need a Disc Golf Basket,” here on the site.
3. Large practice net: if you want to get better at driving from the comfort of your home, try getting an at-home practice net. I got this practice net off of Amazon and installed it in my garage. Now I can throw whenever I want. You can also put a hula hoop, some tape, or bungie cords in the middle to make a target to throw at.
15. Improve your physical fitness
Physical fitness is super important. Since you’re getting older, you may understand that you need to keep your health in check so that you can keep on moving. While disc golf is good exercise, it’s tough to get to the course every day. So you need another way to keep your fitness up. With that, I suggest you get a cheap gym membership if you don’t have one already. You can easily get some good cardio and other exercise in at a gym.
You can also strengthen the muscles that are used for disc golf. We’ve got a great post called, “The 12 Best Disc Golf Exercises to Keep You Fit,” that can help you out with this. If you want to improve your disc golf game, you need to workout some more.
16. Take care of your body
After you’re done playing and working out, you need to make sure that you take care of your body. Exercise and disc golf can be a huge physical stressor, and if you’re not careful, you can get injured. Now there are multiple ways to do this. Let me show you how I do it.
1. Ice: after rounds, I grab some ice packs and Ice down my knees and my throwing arm. I suggest an ice pack that has a velcro wrap like this one so that you can pretty much just wear it around and ice your soreness away.
2. Heat: you’ve probably heard of the Icyhot brand once or twice. We just talked about ice but you’ll need heat as well. The combo of hot and cold on your sore body can really help you heal. You can grab one of those cold/heat packs from the link in the last paragraph or check out this page on Amazon for Icyhot products.
3. Inflammation reduction: too much inflammation in the body can hinder healing and cause injuries. As you get older, inflammation can really be an issue because the body does not repair itself as well. Add in some inflammation to the equation and boom…there’s the injury. I use Penetrex inflammation cream A LOT and it tends to work very well. It is a little pricey, but to me, it’s well worth it. Grab a tub of Penetrex cream here on Amazon.
4. Compression gear: this just stuff works. Compression clothing and sleeves are supposed to promote better blood flow to the compressed region of the body. I like this stuff because it just makes your body feel great. Check out some gear here (link to Amazon). I would suggest you get some of the copper infused compression wear as it is supposed to be more helpful for your healing. But almost all compression gear is good as long as it compresses a bit on your body.
17. Read our post, “101 Disc Golf Tips to Take Your Game to the Next Level”
This blog post is absolutely epic and is essentially the basis for our book, “The Disc Golf Player’s Manual.” In this post, we highlight 101 tips that can take you from beginner to intermediate to advanced player in a very short time frame. This post is fine tuned for you, so be sure to head over to it and take it all in. If you do that, you will surely be able to improve your ability to possible get way more pars during your round. You can check out our book today!
Great job!
If you’ve gotten this far, you must really want to learn more about disc golf and everything about it. If you’re interested in more frequently asked questions, you can hit up our FAQ page here. If you’re looking for how to start playing disc golf check out the resources below.
Disc Golf 101: A Step By Step Beginner’s Guide
How Much Does it (Actually) Cost to Play Disc Golf?
How Many Discs Do You Need to Play Disc Golf?
Related Content
You can also check out some more of our awesome related content.
9 Weird Tricks to Improve Your Disc Golf Game (Forever)
The 12 Best Disc Golf Putting Tips for Beginners
The 27 Best Disc Golf Distance Tips for Beginners
The 50 Best Disc Golf Drills to Change Your Game Forever
Don’t forget
You can also grab a copy of our book, “The Disc Golf Player’s Manual,” here on the site. It’s packed full of extremely practical tips and tricks to help you immediately start improving on the course!