Who invented the catching Basket for disc golf?
In 1977, Headrick and his son Ken developed the modern catching basket for disc golf, US Patent #4,039,189, titled Flying Disc Entrapment Device, which they trademarked “Disc Pole Hole”. The Disc Pole Hole created a standardized catching device that had a chain-hanger that held vertical hanging rows of chain out and away from a center pole.
What happened to Ed Headrick's disc golf discs?
As per Ed Headrick wishes, his ashes were incorporated into a limited number of discs. The discs were given to friends and family and the limited remaining discs are for sale with all proceeds going to a 501 c (3) nonprofit to fund the "Steady" Ed Memorial Disc Golf Museum at the PDGA International Disc Golf Center in Columbia County, Georgia.
Who invented the disc golf pole hole?
The first was the Frisbee (U.S. Patent #3359678) in 1966 as an employee at Wham-O. The second was the basis of all disc golf targets today, the Disc Golf Pole Hole (U.S. Patent #4039189) in 1975.
Who invented the disc golf target?
Headrick coined and trademarked the term "Disc Golf" when formalizing the sport and patented the Disc Pole Hole, the first disc golf target to incorporate chains and a basket on a pole. He started designing the target because he was tired of arguing over what counted as a scoring disc with his friends.
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Who invented the disc golf basket?
Ed HeadrickHistory. Disc Golf Association's Mach 1 Disc Pole Hole disc golf basket was invented by Ed Headrick. It was the first formal disc golf target to incorporate chains and a basket on a pole, and became the Technical Standards used by the PDGA.
When was the first disc golf basket invented?
In 1977, Headrick and his son Ken developed the modern catching basket for disc golf, US Patent #4,039,189, titled Flying Disc Entrapment Device, which they trademarked “Disc Pole Hole”.
Who created and patented the disc golf Pole hole?
Disc Golf Pole Hole Patent image courtesy of the Disc Golf Association. In 1965, George Sappenfield #376 worked as a recreation counselor during his summer break from Fresno State University. While playing golf one afternoon, he thought that perhaps the kids on his playground could play golf using Frisbees.
Who is patented designer for the modern Frisbee?
Ed HeadrickA company designer, Ed Headrick, patented the design for the modern Frisbee in December 1967, adding a band of raised ridges on the disc's surface–called the Rings–to stabilize flight. By aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O sold over 100 million units of its famous toy by 1977.
What is the oldest disc golf course?
Oak Grove Disc Golf Course1975 Oak Grove Disc Golf Course located within Hahamonga Watershed Park in Pasadena, California becomes the world's first permanent disc golf course.
Who is the oldest disc golf?
Don ShinnDon Shinn, 96, is the oldest person to compete in a Professional Disc Golf Association event.
Are disc golf discs patented?
No patents on any specific disc mold. Generally they're for concepts/processes more than individual products. The beveled edged disc. The Thumbtrac.
What country first invented disc golf?
La Cañada FlintridgeDisc golf / Place of originLa Cañada Flintridge, commonly known simply as La Cañada, is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of Southern California's San Gabriel Valley, it is the home of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Wikipedia
What country invented golf?
ScotlandGolf originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland, in an area close to the royal capital of Edinburgh. In those early days players would attempt to hit a pebble over sand dunes and around tracks using a bent stick or club.
Did the man who invented the Frisbee turn into a Frisbee?
When Walter Morrison died in 2010, his family cremated him and turned him into the very toy Morrison invented in 1955, then under the name Pluto Platter. It would later become one of the most successful toys of all-time under the new name adopted by Wham-O: the Frisbee.
Is Wham-O still in business?
Wham-O continues to hold the leading market share in flying discs, and produces other classic toys such as the Superball. The company makes more than 70 products, mostly toys designed for active, outdoor play.
What is the person who has the disc called?
The person with the disc is called the "thrower" and has ten seconds to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower is called the "marker" and counts out the stall count. Substitutions. You can only replace players in the game if there is an injury or after a point is scored. Change of possession.
Who started the Professional Disc Golf Association?
In order to focus on creating the rules and standards for the sport and game as well as to create a self-sufficient dues-paying membership base, Headrick began the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA). Through the PDGA, Headrick and fellow disc golfers like Victor Malafronte worked to come up with the first rules and standards, which were printed out in small binders. Ed headed the PDGA until 1982 before turning the daily operation over to be run independently by an elected body of disc golf players. Headrick was PDGA member number 001 and today there are over 130,000 PDGA member numbers, with over 46,000 active paying dues members,. PDGA continues to be the overseeing body for the sport of disc golf, with an elected Board of Directors.
What was the first disc golf club?
Disc Golf Association. In 1976 "Steady" Ed Headrick and his son Ken Headrick started the first disc golf company, the Disc Golf Association (DGA). The purpose of DGA was to manufacture discs and targets and to formalize the game for disc golf. The first disc golf target was Ed's pole hole design which basically consisted of a pole sticking out ...
What was the name of the invention that Headrick invented?
With the flying saucer, Headrick envisioned not a better selling toy, but a redesign and invention of something bigger. Headrick's solution was the Frisbee design which was awarded U.S. Patent #3359678, and is the Frisbee disc design the world is familiar with today.
How many disc golf courses are there in the world?
Ed and his company DGA revised and obtained patents for basket designs until his death in 2002. Today there are over 7000 disc golf courses installed throughout the world, the majority of them using baskets modeled on the Disc Pole Hole DGA baskets Headrick designed.
What is the PDGA?
PDGA continues to be the overseeing body for the sport of disc golf, with an elected Board of Directors. In 2002, Headrick suffered two strokes while attending the Professional Disc Golf Association 2002 Amateur World Championships in Miami.
What is the name of Ed's skill with Frisbees?
His skill with the Frisbee earned him the nickname "Steady". Target shooting with Frisbees became Ed's new passion and he saw tremendous potential in Frisbee Golf as a legitimate game and sport with dedicated courses that regular people could play and even compete in tournaments.
What did Headrick and Ken do?
Headrick, his son Ken and his friends created object courses through the city and parks. They would walk and challenge each other to hit things like trash cans, signs, trees, etc. with their Frisbees. Some nights Ed, his son Ken and his friends would sneak on to golf courses to play rounds of golf with discs.
When was disc golf invented?
The first formal disc golf course was built in Oak Grove Park, (Pasadena, California), by Headrick in 1975 and was an instant success.By the time of his death, Ed has designed over 200 courses.
When was disc golf established?
Disc Golf Association, (DGA) was established in 1976 by Ed Headrick to form a new international sport and to promote the installation and use of disc golf courses around the world.
What was the first disc golf game?
Since that time disc golf evolved from man’s natural competitive nature. Early games used targets of trees, trash cans, light poles, chicken wire baskets, pipes, and coeds. The game was formalized when Headrick invented the first Disc Pole Hole catching device, consisting of 10 chains hanging in a parabolic shape over an upward opening basket, US Patent 4,039,189, issued 1975.
What is disc hole?
The Disc Pole Hole™ became the equivalent to ball golf’s “hole” and was installed in the first standardized target course (what was then known as Oak Grove Park Pasadena, California).
When was the Friz pole hole installed?
Ed and Ken Headrick with their Friz Pole Hole installed in Oak Grove Park March 19, 1976. In 1976 Ed replaced his Pole Holes which were just poles cemented into the ground with the first DGA Disc Pole Hole that where the first disc golf targets to use chains to stop a disc.
When was the Frisbee invented?
Then came the ancient word “scaling” (to throw a thin flat object so that its edge cuts through the air). Pie pans, film can lids and toy flying saucers were the recent predecessors of the modern Frisbee which was invented in 1964 by Ed Headrick, US Patent 3,359,678. He also formed the International Frisbee Association which had over 112,000 members by 1972.
Who is the father of disc golf?
Disc Golf History. “Disc Golf” as it is known today began with “Steady” Ed Headrick, the father of disc golf, modern day disc sports and the driving force responsible for the modern era of Frisbee sports. Disc Golf Association, (DGA) was established in 1976 by Ed Headrick to form a new international sport and to promote the installation and use ...
Who invented disc golf?
During the mid-1970s, Ed coined and trademarked the term "Disc Golf" and standardized the sport by inventing the Disc Pole Hole, the first disc golf target to incorporate chains and a basket on a pole. Headrick founded the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) and Recreational Disc Golf Association (RDGA) as governing bodies for professional, competitive amateur, and family-oriented play, and worked on standardizing the rules and the equipment for the quickly-growing sport. Headrick abandoned his trademark on the term "Disc Golf," and turned over control and administration of the PDGA to the growing body of disc golf players in order to focus his passion for building and inventing equipment for the sport.
Who is the father of disc golf?
Ed Headrick is known as "The Father of Disc Sports," and “The Father of Disc Golf.”. Ed was nicknamed “Steady” Ed for his composure and accuracy while making the toughest throws under pressure, traits he exhibited throughout his life.
What is Ed Headrick most famous for?
More than any of his many lifetime accomplishments Ed Headrick is most popularly remembered for his vision of turning a toy—the Frisbee—into the basis for a host of disc sports that have become a part of the lives for millions of people.
What was the first step in marketing the Pro Frisbee?
One of Ed's first steps in marketing the Pro Frisbee was to create a new marketable concept for plastic flying discs used in sports. A toy's shelf life is short-lived. A sport can grow by creating its own avid following. In 1967 Ed established "The International Frisbee Association (IFA)" and began a membership drive to build interest. With Ed at the helm, the IFA established the standards for emerging Frisbee tournament events such as Distance and Freestyle.
Where is Ed Headrick's disc golf museum?
The discs were given to friends and family, and some were sold with all proceeds going toward funding the "Steady" Ed Memorial Disc Golf Museum at the PDGA International Disc Golf Center in Columbia County, Georgia.
What did Wham-O Ed do before joining Wham-O?
Before joining Wham-O Ed worked for Pioneer, a water heater and plumbing company. While working for Pioneer Ed came up with an idea that was unheard of at the time: he devised a network of plumbers across the United States that would guarantee that a Pioneer water heater or garbage disposal would be installed within 24 hours of being purchased. At Pioneer Ed had gone from Salesman to Vice-President, as Pioneer went from one of the smallest manufactures of hot water tanks and garbage disposals to one of the leading manufactures. Ed had a passion for inventing, marketing his ideas and playing. Ed decided that it was time to move on from Pioneer. Working for a toy company was what he saw as a perfect fit.
When did the first Frisbee championships take place?
The sport took off quickly. Ed “rented” the Rose Bowl and got Pepsi to sponsor the First Rose Bowl World Frisbee championships in 1974. The tournament sports were standardized using Wham-O’s trademarked Frisbee discs. For his marketing vision Ed has become known as the "Father of Disc Sports."
Who invented the disc golf?
From Frisbees to Disc Golf. “Steady” Ed Headrick #001 is considered the Father of Disc Golf. Of his dozens of patented inventions, two of them hold infinite importance to our sport. The first was the Frisbee (U.S. Patent #3359678) in 1966 as an employee at Wham-O.
When was disc golf invented?
In the years leading up to DGA’s founding in 1976, the sport was already moving quickly. In 1975, “Steady” Ed installed the first official disc golf course at Oak Grove Park in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, with the targets being nothing more than permanent poles placed into the ground for targets. Disc Golf Pole Holes would later replace the poles in the ground in 1976, causing a massive increase in disc golf traffic on the property.
What is PDGA in disc golf?
The PDGA was a players organization in which local clubs provided a feeder program of new players and money to build new courses for this new sport of disc golf. It was all brand new, and nobody—probably not even Ed—knew exactly where it was going but the PDGA generated a steady source of income and gave Ed a way to pay for mailing newsletters and other costs of running a growing organization.
What year did the Datsun B210 win the American Flying Disc Open?
They called the event the American Flying Disc Open (AFDO), and to attract the attention of the Frisbee community, they put up a brand new 1974 Datsun B210 to be awarded to the winner. Jim Palmeri #23 (left) handing Dan "Stork" Roddick #003 (right) the keys to his prize for winning the 1974 American Flying Disc Open.
What was Ted's plan for the PDGA?
Ted, using a map of the USA with push pins where courses existed, assembled a database of courses and matched up course pros with many of the courses. He then called each pro—this was before email existed—to schedule tournaments and by winter he had a PDGA pro tour scheduled for 1983. This tour would serve as a qualifier for the second Disc Golf World Championships to be held in Huntsville, Alabama.
How many disc golf events were sanctioned in 2015?
2015 ended with a total of 2,590 events, including seven that were on the PDGA National Tour, 12 PDGA Majors, and 100+ A-Tiers. As with every year, we are on pace to easily surpass that number, with 3,000+ events already sanctioned for 2016.
What year was the Eagle disc made?
Coincidentally, 1983 was also the year a new disc company called Champion Discs (now known as Innova) debuted with its new proto Aero, then called the Eagle. The Eagle, designed by another future DGHOF member Dave Dunipace #987, represented a quantum leap in technology and instantly became the hot new driver that everyone was throwing.
Who started the disc golf industry?
Disc Golf Association In 1976 "Steady" Ed Headrick and his son Ken Headrick started the first disc golf company, the Disc Golf Association (DGA). [3] . The purpose of DGA was to manufacture discs and targets and to formalize the game for disc golf.
When was disc golf invented?
Disc golf was first invented in the early 1900s. The first game was held in Bladworth, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1927. Ronald Franklin Gibson and a group of his Bladworth Elementary School buddies played a game of throwing tin lids into 4-foot wide circles drawn into sandy patches on their school grounds. They called the game Tin Lid Golf and played on a fairly regular basis. However, after they grew older and went their separate ways, the game came to an end. It was not until the 1970s that modern disc golf would be introduced to Canadians at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships in Toronto and Vancouver, BC.
What is a disc golf tee box?
A disc golf tee (commonly referred to as a tee box or the box) is the starting position of a hole. The PDGA recommends that the tee box be no smaller than 1.2 meters wide by 3 meters long. The tee box is usually a pad of concrete, asphalt, rubber, gravel, or artificial turf. Some courses have natural turf with only the front of the tee position marked or no tee boxes at all and players begin from a general location based on the course layout.
What was the first disc golf target?
Ed Headrick's Flying Disc Entrapment Device Patent 4039189. The first disc golf target made with chains that became the standard for disc golf. In 1977, Headrick and his son Ken developed the modern basket catch for disc golf, US Patent 4,039,189, [4] titled Flying Disc Entrapment Device, which they trademarked "Disc Pole Hole". The Disc Pole Hole created a standardized catching device that had a chain-hanger that held vertical hanging rows of chain out and away from a center pole. The vertical rows of chain came together forming a parabolic shape above and angling down towards a metal basket that attached to and surrounded the center pole, and could catch a disc from all directions.
How many holes are there in disc golf?
Disc golf courses. Most disc golf courses have 9 or 18 holes, and exceptions most often have holes in multiples of three. Courses with 6, 12, 21, 24 or 27 holes are not uncommon. The PDGA recommends that courses average 200–400 ft (61–122 m) per hole, with holes no shorter than 100 ft (30 m).
How many disc golf courses are there in the world?
There are disc golf courses on every continent, including 24 in Latin America, 8 in Africa, and one in Antarctica. The Åland Islands have been defined as the world's largest single disc golf park, with one course in each of the 16 municipalities of Åland. Country. DGC.
Why is it better to throw a disc or a driver?
Because the physics of a disc require "snap" or "flick", which means putting spin on the disc, new players generally find that throwing a distance driver accurately can be somewhat difficult and will require experience with golf disc response. This is why it is better for players to begin with fairway drivers, long drivers, or even mid-ranges, and incorporate maximum distance drivers as their strength and disc control increases. Most players that are starting off will be most likely throwing lighter discs.