(12-14-24) Miles Early (17) of Clive, Iowa is hooked on disc golf. Whenever or wherever he is…his backpack of discs are right next to him.

A sport that continues to grow around the world…you can find a course just about anywhere you are. The popularity of the sport continues to expand.

Miles Early

From golfwithdiscs.com –

Global Milestones

  • 15,205 courses worldwide—a 100% increase since 2017.
  • 3.4 new courses built daily, with shorter designs leading growth.
  • The U.S. added 75% of new courses, surpassing 10,000 in total.

Disc Golf Participation Rates 2024

  • 21.9 million rounds scored on UDisc in 2023, with over 1 million rounds monthly.
  • 1.4 million players used UDisc, marking a 17% increase from 2022.
  • Female player participation grew by 15% year-on-year.

Global Reach

  • 87 countries now have disc golf courses, with new additions in Greenland, Cyprus, and Mongolia.
  • Finland leads globally with 1,068 courses, nearly six times its traditional golf courses.

Community and Accessibility

  • 89% of courses are free to play, making disc golf one of the most accessible sports.
  • Players spent 42.4 million hours on courses in 2023, equivalent to over 15 million Taylor Swift concert viewings.

Global Disc Golf Participation Rates: Insights for 2024

Disc golf’s inclusivity is a significant factor in its rapid growth. The 2024 reporthighlights several demographic trends that illustrate the sport’s broad appeal:

  • How many people play disc golf in 2024? Over 1.4 million active userslogged rounds on UDisc, but the total player base is estimated to be much larger.
  • Disc golf demographics by age and gender: While the sport historically skewed male, women’s participation is rising quickly, with 15% year-over-year growth.
  • Disc golf participation rates by region:North America leads globally, but Europe, particularly Finland, continues to dominate in player density.

This past year Early won a non-sanctioned night tourney that was posted online at Porter Park in Roscoe, Illinois …his first win.

He is a junior member of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) that is the sanctioning body of many events around the U.S.

Early, who is a Junior at Waukee High School, had success during several summer tournaments in PDGA events.

Early has used a variety of discs during his career, most recently he has made Goliath Discs as one of his first choices when he digs into his backpack.

Goliath Discs is a disc golf disc manufacturer based out of Northwest Iowa. We are a faith based company that believes that if you believe, you can achieve.

Early has deep Stateline roots, his Dad Brandon is from Van Wert and his mom Keri is from Celina.