If you want to start a disc golf club in England, you do not need everything to be perfect on day one. Most clubs begin with a small group of players meeting regularly at a local course, park or temporary layout. This guide explains the practical first steps and shows how the English Disc Golf Association (EDGA) can help new disc golf clubs become more organised, visible and sustainable.
How to start a disc golf club
A new disc golf club usually needs three things to get moving: regular players, a clear place to play and a few people willing to help organise activity. The structure can stay simple at first, but it helps to agree the basics early.
- Gather a small core group of players who want to support the club.
- Choose a club name that clearly links to your town, area, course or community.
- Agree where the club will normally meet, including the course, park or venue used.
- Set up a public contact route, such as an email address, website page or social media profile.
- Decide how players will hear about sessions, events and changes to plans.
- Identify basic volunteer roles, such as club lead, secretary, treasurer and welfare contact.
Basic documents for a new disc golf club
Simple documents help a club explain how it works, welcome new players and deal with common questions. They can also be useful when speaking to councils, landowners, funders, schools or community partners.
- Club constitution: sets out the club name, purpose, membership, committee roles and how decisions are made.
- Code of conduct: explains expected behaviour at sessions, events and in online spaces.
- Risk assessment: helps organisers think through hazards such as shared public space, weather, disc impact, first aid and junior attendance.
- Insurance notes: records what cover the club has or what questions still need to be checked.
- Welfare contact role: identifies who players, parents or volunteers can speak to about welfare or safeguarding concerns.
EDGA is preparing simple examples and templates for these documents. These will be grouped in the Club Templates and Club Support Resources sections.
Running beginner-friendly club sessions
Disc golf grows fastest when new players feel welcome. A club does not need a large committee or a full events programme to be useful. Regular, friendly sessions can make a big difference.
- Publish clear session times, meeting points and contact details.
- Explain whether beginners need their own discs or can borrow equipment.
- Give a short safety briefing before play starts.
- Use formats that help mixed ability groups play together.
- Make it clear how juniors can attend and whether a parent or guardian must stay.
- Keep a simple record of attendance, incidents and volunteer roles.
Working with courses, parks and landowners
Many disc golf clubs are linked to a specific course, park or local playing area. A clear club structure can help councils, landowners and venue managers understand who is organising activity and who to contact.
If your club uses a public park or shared space, it is useful to be clear about permissions, course etiquette, safety expectations and how the club will respect other users of the site. Over time, EDGA’s Club Directory and Research and Data work will help show where disc golf activity is happening across England.
What EDGA can help with
EDGA can help new and developing clubs think through the basics of club structure, useful documents, local course links and future support. Sharing accurate club information also helps build a clearer national picture of disc golf in England.
- Guidance on basic club setup and volunteer roles.
- Example templates for club documents.
- Signposting to funding, governance and safeguarding resources.
- Support with connecting clubs to the wider disc golf network.
- Future routes towards club listing or affiliation when those processes are confirmed.
Club listing and affiliation
EDGA is developing a light touch club listing and affiliation process. This is intended to help clubs share useful public information and, where ready, show that they have basic governance, welfare, insurance and risk arrangements in place.
This process is still being shaped and will be confirmed before applications open. Guidance on this page is provided to help clubs prepare; it does not mean that a club is listed, affiliated, approved or accredited by EDGA.
Updates will appear on the Club Affiliation page as details are confirmed.
Start with one practical step
If you are forming a new disc golf club, start by writing down your club name, main contact, usual playing location, regular session plan and the people helping to organise activity. From there, you can build simple documents and improve the structure over time.
For informal questions or examples from existing clubs, you can follow and contact EDGA via the English Disc Golf Association Facebook page.