Riverside disc golf park

Abstract

Disc golf is quickly becoming one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities due to its low-cost and ease of play. While the number of disc golf courses built each year is increasing at an exponential rate in the U.S., these courses are not being designed by design professionals and therefore lack applied expertise in aesthetic, environmentally sustainable, and pedestrian-friendly design principles. This project responded to these trends by focusing on the design of a pedestrian-friendly, multi-use recreational park at Riverside Regional Park in Indianapolis that will improve the ecological conditions of the park and will feature Indiana’s first disc golf complex with multiple courses varying in difficulty that is capable of hosting professional-level events. This design illustrates how landscape architects can encourage outdoor recreation and take advantage of disc golf’s rise in popularity by designing exemplar disc golf courses as a featured activity in parks with other outdoor recreational opportunities. Please note that this report uses terms that are unique to disc golf throughout. Definitions of these can be found in Appendix B for the reader’s reference.