Disc golf games marking and damaging trees in Adelaide’s parklands

A sport for all is growing in popularity across the city’s green spaces, but so too is the havoc it is causing on beloved trees in the area. Take our poll.

Elizabeth Rushbrook and William Brennan with the trees damaged by the disc golfers. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Having survived threats of bulldozing and overdevelopment, Adelaide’s parklands have now encountered another unexpected threat – plastic frisbees.

In the hands of experienced disc golfers however, frisbees can travel anywhere from 50 to 140 km/h, and several trees in the city’s green belt have been peppered with hundreds of misdirected hits.

According to an expert commissioned by the Adelaide Park Lands Association (APA), “repeated impacts of this nature can lead to long-term stress for the trees, and potentially leave them vulnerable to disease or pests, particularly borers”.

Trees damaged by the disc golfers. Picture: RoyVPhotography

APA president Shane Sody was surprised how much damage the frisbees were causing. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Three native Australian blue gums in King Rodney Park, home to the state’s largest disc golf course, have been marked out for further protection.

SA Disc Golf spokesman William Brennan said with more than 300 active players across the state – a figure that has grown rapidly since the Covid pandemic – it was inevitable that a few frisbees would travel in the wrong direction.

However, he said the sport’s peak body was working with the APA and Adelaide City Council on possible solutions, which included art-decorated guardrails around trees and moving target areas to avoid unintended misfires.

“As a sport it’s more accessible than golf and more integrated into the community,” Mr Brennan said of disc golf’s growing popularity.

“Whereas with sports like soccer, football, where the use of the pitch is more exclusive, disc golf is open to anyone. Pretty much anyone can buy a frisbee and try it out.”

APA president Shane Sody said “it was surprising that frisbees have managed to cause that much damage”.

“We want to see disc golfers keep using the parklands because it’s a terrific use of what is supposed to be an open, green and public space,” Mr Sody said.

“But some of these trees are pressing a hundred years old and it would be an absolute tragedy for the city to lose them.”

The Adelaide parklands date back to the 19th-century and were National Heritage-listed in 2008.