Photo: Brandon Beers

Basic Disc Golf Component Terminology:

Tee Pad, Basket, Par and more...

• Tee Pad - The location or designated area in which the first throw of the golf hole is suppose to take place from. Tee Pads are typically be made of concrete or rubber. A portion of a side walk or a utility marker flag or spray painted box may also be used as a tee pad.
• The Basket - Born of the original tone pole, the game of Disc Golf advanced rapidly with the invention of “Steady” Ed's Disc Pole Hole or “Basket” as it is commonly referred to by disc golfers. Once a disc comes to rest in the trapper basket, the hole is considered complete.
• Throw - The act of advancing the disc towards the basket. This can be accomplished by many different throwing styles; Backhand, Forehand, Rollers. Each throw is counted towards the player's score.
• Lie - the spot where the disc comes to rest. This is often marked by a mini-disc marker.
• Par - like in ball golf, each disc golf hole has a posted par. The par is the desired number of strokes that a player would need to complete the hole. To the competitive disc golfer, every hole is a par three, making the total par for 18 holes always 54. This serves to simplify the game.
• Drive - any throw off of the tee pad, or a throw from the fairway designed for maximum distance.
• Approach - usually the second shot of a hole, designed to place the disc within putting distance.
• Putt - The final throw(s) of the hole aimed at getting your disc to come to rest in the trapper basket. Any throw within the circle ( 10 meter radius).
• Ace - known as a hole in one in ball golf. An ace occurs when a player makes their first shot, or drive, into the basket. One of the unique practices in disc golf is to have all participants in the ace group or all spectators sign the "ace disc." Aces are more common in disc golf than ball golf as the top pros boast as many as 100+ aces in their careers.
• The Circle - This is what helps defines a true disc golf putt. If a player is throwing his/her disc at the basket with in a 10 Meter or 30 Ft circle of the basket, they must follow an additional set of putting rules defined by the PDGA. Basically if you're in the circle, your disc has to come to rest in the basket before any part of your body touches past the mini marker towards the basket. Failure to do so can lead to a “falling putt” penalty stroke.