Germany is about half the size of Texas yet it’s home to 24 disc golf courses as well as many outstanding disc golf players. While there is no doubt that soccer is the number one sport in Germany, many disc golfers hope to make the flying disc sport a close second.

Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Wikimedia Commons

In Mainz, a town in the Frankfurt-Rhine Main region, a group of German players are working hard to expand disc golf in Deutschland. They created a short public course at the Mainz Volkspark and a longer challenge on the Mainz Greenbelt near the historic Citadel.

One difficulty that has been common in Germany for visiting disc golfers, is that many of the park users have no clue what the baskets or teeing areas are for, and the parks tend to be busy on evenings and weekends, making a game of disc golf nearly impossible with the baskets used for picnic items. For now, players will have to hit the course in the early morning hours or on the weekdays.

The good news is, according to Ernst Schneidereit on DiscFly.com, is that when he and the Mainz disc golf group were playing, a group of about 30 teenagers were receiving instruction on how to play in their P.E. class. There’s a good chance that the sport will be spreading quickly in the near future.

In the meantime, the country is home to some great disc golf professionals, including the top ranked in Germany, Simon Lizotte of Bremen. Lizotte was the winner of the 24th Berlin Open held back in mid-June. Finland’s Jussi Meresmaa followed in second, while Germany’s Dominik Stampfer of Heidenheim placed third.

Lizotte also had a victory at the Haus Solling Open in April, and had a third place finish at the Swiss Open.

The second ranked disc golf professional in Germany is Christian Plaue of Grebenstein, Germany. He was the winner of the Ostpark Open in May, the Albuch Classic held in Söhnstetten in August, and the Potsdam Open in September.

Dominik Stampfer of Heidenheim is the third ranked disc golfer in Deutschland. Stampfer was the winner of the Austrian Open held in Zell am See, Austria in August. He was followed in second place at that event by Karl Seper of Wein, Austria. Stampfer was also victorious at the Big Hill King in Ofterschwang, Germany in June, followed there by Christian Schmidt.

A tour of disc golf courses in Germany sounds like a great vacation right about now. Anyone else?

The first time K.C. Dermody played disc golf was in the spectacular Black Hills of South Dakota. She has since become addicted to promoting the sport, and enjoys playing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She welcomes comments and suggestions, with the goal of promoting the sport of disc golf throughout the world. Find her on www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter.

More from this contributor:

Disc Golf in Australia: A Look at the Top Players and Australian Disc Golf Championships

A Look at Disc Golf and the Top Dutch Players in the Netherlands

Workout Routines to Improve Your Disc Golf Game

Introduce Your Teen to Disc Golf: Consider a Set of Discs This Christmas

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