U.C. Berkeley Campus
Berkeley, California
| Address: | Berkeley, CA 94704, Berkeley, CA |
| GPS: |
37°51'49.5"N 122°16'5.6"W Maps | Directions |
| State: | California |
Disc Golf
The UC Berkeley campus is home to one of the most historic disc golf courses in the world, an object course established on the university grounds in 1970 by the Berkeley Frisbee Group. That date matters enormously to the sport: Berkeley was one of the very first object-hole disc golf courses ever created, alongside pioneering courses in Rochester, New York, and Queen's Park in Toronto, which makes a round here a genuine walk through disc golf history on a beautiful university campus.
What makes it an "object course" is the charm. Rather than the metal baskets of a modern course, players aim at man-made and natural features around campus: light poles, statues, fountains and archways all serve as targets, turning the university's architecture and grounds into a playful, improvised course. It's a creative, low-key way to play, and it connects today's players directly to the earliest days of the game, when disc golfers everywhere invented courses out of whatever the landscape offered.
There are a couple of important courtesies that keep the tradition alive. Players are asked to play on weekends only, when the campus is quieter and there are fewer students, faculty and visitors moving between classes, which keeps flying discs well away from the weekday crowds. There is no fee to play. Common sense about throwing near people, windows and delicate campus features is essential on a course whose "targets" are shared public spaces.
The setting is a real bonus. The UC Berkeley campus is one of the most beautiful in the country, with historic buildings, groves of trees, open plazas and the Campanile bell tower presiding over it all, and playing a round is a lovely excuse to wander the grounds. The San Francisco Bay Area's mild climate makes it playable much of the year, with the campus at its most pleasant in spring and fall.
For disc golfers, a round on the Berkeley campus course is part game, part pilgrimage: a chance to play the sport the way its earliest practitioners did, throwing at fountains and archways on the grounds of a great university where the game itself helped take root. Bring your own discs, come on a weekend, and enjoy a piece of living disc golf history.
More Information
A History Of Disc Golf - v1.4 — Morley Field Disc Golf Course
From what we can tell... 776 B.C. Discus throwing becomes one of the Pentathlon events at the Greek Olympics. The winner of the event received the Discus. 1644 Edward Frisbie of England settles in Branford, Conn. 1848 William Russell Frisbie is born in Wallingford, Conn. 1869 H.
https://www.morleyfield.com/blog/2009/10/08/a-history-of-disc-golfDisc Golf History – The History of Frisbee and Disc Sports
"I saw something flying towards me. I couldn't see what it was, and then it hit me." :) Disc Golf Using Tin Lids was Played in Canada in 1926. According to The Complete Book of Frisbee, disc golf's earliest recorded history was in 1926 in Bladworth, Saskatchewan, Canada. Ronald Gibson and a group of his…
https://discsportshistory.com/disc-golf-history/
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel & camp on durable surfaces
- Dispose of waste properly
- Leave what you find
- Minimize campfire impacts
- Respect wildlife
- Be considerate of other visitors
Directions
From Berkeley, California
- Head west on University Ave toward Martin Luther King Jr Way (79 ft)
- Turn left at the 1st cross street onto Martin Luther King Jr Way (0.6 mi)
- Turn left onto Dwight WayDestination will be on the right(0.2 mi)
From Hwy 80, take University Ave. exit, go east on University Ave. (toward the hills), course starts just north of Barrows Hall, campus maps at West Gate entrance.Courtesy of DiscGolfUnited.com
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