A message from the Father of Disc Golf…

Disc Golf is my life. Seldom is there a life that is so gratifying. Please share it with me. In 25 years of working with young people, my sport Disc Golf has changed many lives. Wandering people who have graduated from High School with no purpose in life have faced up to realities, given up drugs and other escapes from reality and found a new way. In short, they have learned to deal with themselves while surrounded by people who share their needs and desires. They have found an amazingly simple game that makes no demands, has no limitations, and provides a mechanism with which they learn to deal with themselves on a very personal basis through Disc Golf.

Thus we have a new generation of young and old whom we can welcome into our home, our parks, and yes our lives, with confidence and open arms. The vast majority set examples for others on a daily basis. They share their lives, teach others and most of all, they clean up other peoples trash! These are the people that are of an age that many park directors fear, people who would otherwise present the biggest, most serious problems are enjoying a form of recreation unheard of 25 years ago. They gather in large numbers to participate in their sport, unsupervised on facilities that cost less than a tennis court and little to maintain. Newcomers are soon converted to regular players by the example of others. The unwanted soon leave to live out their problems and fantasies someplace else.

You will never be sorry if you install a Disc Golf course in your facility. You will be honored by the players and take great comfort in the fact that Disc Golf will change your park and perhaps you will be as fortunate as I am and Disc Golf will change your life as it has mine.

If you need additional information on the over 800 park departments who have gone before you, we will happily provide you with a course directory at no cost. You may also wish information on the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) with over 12,000 paid up members and 200 touring pros. Or perhaps, information on the newly formed Recreational Disc Golf Association (RDGA) with a total of an estimated 2,000,000 recreational players nationwide. The 1997 PDGA Worlds Championship, held in Charlotte NC, had 344 players and a purse of $51,902. Ken Climo, a young man from Florida, won for an amazing 7th year in a row. He sets the finest example for the World of Disc Golf with true humility and grace. He introduced his parents at the awards ceremony then turned to me and said, "This is my other father without whom I would not be here."

The 2001 PDGA Worlds Championship, held in Minnesota, had a total of 785 Amateur and Pro players and a purse of $64,000.*

Please read the following pages and join us in our enthusiasm for Disc Golf.

Thank You for your time,

Ed Headrick
The Father of Disc Golf



About Ed and The DGA:

The Disc Golf Association, Inc.® is the leading manufacturer of disc catching devices for the sport of Disc Golf. Ed Headrick, owner of the DGA founded the game of Disc Golf in 1976 and the sport is now played and enjoyed by an estimated two million recreational players in the United States and is rapidly growing in popularity.

Ed Headrick founded the 112,000 member IFA (International Frisbee Association) and the 16,000 member PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association), which he turned over to the players to run in 1983.

In addition to the 26 years of running the DGA, Ed’s accomplishments include development of the Wham-O Superball that sold over twenty-million units and the Mechanical Patent for the modern day Frisbee, which has sold over two-hundred-million units to date.

Mr. Headrick led the Advertising program, New Products program, was Vice President of Research and Development, Executive Vice President, General Manager and served as CEO for Wham-O Inc. over a ten year period.

And he's also Handsome and Humble!

*Disc Golf and PDGA Demographics-updated with 2001 data.

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A tribute to Arthur K.“Spud” Melin.
Co-founder of
Wham-O, Inc.