Psst… some good news (at least for me) — I finally got out to play a round of disc golf this weekend.

To be fair, it was but a nine-hole course. But it was disc golf nonetheless. And, it was on a course I had never played, which brings my total to 19 courses played. That’s quite a small amount from other people, I know. But it’s slowly growing!

It got me thinking to many of these courses I’ve played and the things I liked and disliked about them. But in the end, it was always an experiences and a course added.

From object courses to well-maintained ones, I’ve had the chance to play on some fun and cool course. And I look forward to the many more I’ll add in the coming years.

Before we get to this week’s poll question, however, let’s check back to last week’s and see the results and what some people thought.

Turns out people can spend some money playing this sport.

While it’s true that the sport, overall, is cheap (one needs but a disc and a place to play), it can become quite expensive when you factor in more equipment, travel and fees associated with tournaments and leagues.

But, in the end, it appears that many of our readers can keep it on the cheaper end. Of the 202 people who placed a vote, 47 percent (94 votes) said they spend between $100-$499 per year.

The prices went up after that. In second was $500-$999 (19 percent/39 votes), followed by $1,000-$2,000 (15 percent/30 votes). Ten percent (20 votes) of the people chose less than $100, and nine percent (19 votes) said more than $2,000.

Jeremy G says:

I’ve probably spent between $75 and $100 on new discs within the past 12 months (minus a few bucks here and there on trade-in’s) and about $50-$75 on tournament entry fees. I don’t see that being a lot of money considering how much disc golf I’ve gotten out of it. Along with the fact that I have about twice as many discs as I need. I carry a starter bag with about 12 discs so if I lose one, I just grab one of my extras. If you’re smart about it, disc golf is a fairly inexpensive habit compared to other sports. One softball bat alone costs more than my entire disc arsenal!

As an avid softball player, those bats can be expensive. I have a few guys on my team who have spent more than $300 on a single bat — and have more than one of them!

Kevin Morrow said:

It’s still a cheap sport. Last Saturday was the proof. There were several groups of new players at my local course with one new disc and having a blast. That’s all you need to enjoy DG, a public course and a disc.

Very true. And I can fully appreciate those who play the game that way!

Paul S. notes:

I am in the $100 – $499 category this year. I don’t think I will be quite that high next year. I bought a new bag, a basket, and experimented with many discs this year. That experimenting has lead to a group of discs I am very happy with and will likely only buy some spares next year. Unless I play a lot of pay courses next year, I should stay under $100. If you compare disc golf to my other major hobby, fly-fishing, it is very cheap. I definitely spend over $1,000 on fly-fishing a year.

That sounds a lot like me (minus the fly-fishing gear). Having the ability to keep it to less than $100 really shows how great of a game this is.

Daniel Burke says:

I spend about $100-300 a year on DG, I guess. I only buy a few discs a year, but they are always nice ones. I don’t play in any real tournaments, but do go all out for the Ace Race every year. For my birthday, I go play at Chattooga Belle Farm(3 hr drive from my house), and for my friend’s birthday, we go camping down at the IDGC. So that is where most of the money goes. As it stands though, even with gas prices to drive up to an hour away, it’s still cheaper than any of the other hobbies I have.

That seems like a nice way to do it. A few discs, a few disc-golf trips and a lot of fun!

Those who commented this week seemed to be in the lower ranges. But a few people noted that as one gets more and more serious, the costs rise. That’s probably when the game goes from a recreational hobby/sport to a true sport.

If one plays in 5-10 tournaments per year, he or she is likely looking at at least $150-$300 in tournament fees alone. Factor in travel costs and things associated with it and the costs rise. Too, people who play more seriously go through discs a bit more, experiment more etc.

In the end, this sport can be cheap. We’ll be discussing the costs of the sport in a future article here at Rattling Chains.

Now, back to this week’s poll.

I’m curious how many courses you have played. There’s not a ton around me and I’ve figured a way to play 19. But I know that has to be a small number for most. Some people live in areas where disc golf courses are very commonplace.

So let us know how many you’ve played. And drop a comment about your course number — do you plan disc golf trips? Is it something you always do when traveling? Or are you lucky enough to have many courses within a drivable radius from your home?

[poll id=”31″]

If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, ideas or anything else, feel free to e-mail me and the crew at: pj [at] rattlingchains.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!