Disc Golf Tourism – A HUGE UNTAPPED MARKET?!

There are tens, if not hundreds, of profitable private disc golf courses around the world. One of the most famous examples is Maple Hill in the USA. But disc golf courses can be more than just profitable for the course owners, they can also bring in MILLIONS of euros/dollars to the local community! Here are two examples from Europe:

Example 1: Heinola DiscGolfPark World in Finland.

According to research, Heinola DiscGolfPark World, better known as Kippis, located in Finland and named one of the world’s top five courses, brought in over ONE MILLION euros to the Heinola area in 2024!

Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences students Ville Lind and Sulo Saarela examined the Kippis’ customer profiles in their thesis. Their survey received 962 responses, of which 705 were from visitors.

Lind and Saarela’s study explored visitors’ spending habits. The 705 visitors were asked to estimate how much money they spent on various services during their visit. A visitor was classified as someone traveling to Heinola from over 32 kilometers away. On average, visitors spent 36.70€ on restaurant services, 41.30€ on groceries, and 34.10€ on accommodations.

According to UDisc, the global disc golf scoring platform, 72% of Kippis’ visitors came from over 32 km away and represented 18 different countries. UDisc recorded over 10,000 visits at Kippis and visitor counters showed 35,000 rounds played there in 2024. However, not all players use UDisc to record their rounds.

By correlating UDisc’s percentage of tourists with visitor counter data, an estimate of the total number of tourist visits can be calculated. Conservatively, assuming tourists played 30% of the 35,000 rounds at Kippis, the spending impact is as follows: 385,350€ on restaurant services, 433,125€ on groceries and 357,788€ on accommodations. This means that, using a very cautious estimate, Kippis brought at least 1,176,263 € to the Heinola area in 2024.

Study source in Finnish – https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/870639

Article text source in English – https://www.discgolfpark.com/fi/2025/01/24/heinola-discgolfpark-world-visitors-brought-over-one-million-euros-to-the-town-of-heinola-in-2024/

Article in Finnish – https://www.heinola.fi/ajankohtaista/heinola-discgolfpark-worldin-matkailijat-toivat-yli-miljoona-euroa-heinolaan-vuonna-2024/

Example 2 – Åland Islands Disc Golf Project is already Paying Off!

In May 2020, the Åland Islands (pronounced oh-lahnd) announced a plan to increase tourism that was unlike any before it. An autonomous region of Finland that speaks Swedish, the Islands were going to become home to 16 disc golf courses after just a few months of construction. The hope was that the sheer density of courses would attract disc golf-loving Finns from the mainland, nearby Swedes, and other international travelers.

The Åland Islands disc golf project cost less than €200,000/$232,000 upfront and is now generating millions per year & local businesses are feeling disc golf tourism impact!

But are those rounds turning into significant cash for Åland Island businesses? By Adamczak’s accounting, yes. His measures indicate that disc golf brought in about 3,000 tourists in 2021 who accounted for 12,000 overnight stays on the islands. Since statistics suggest that the average Åland tourist adds €85/$99 USD per day to the local economy, Adamczak believes disc golf added over €1 million/$1.16 million to Åland’s tourism earnings this year.

Here are some key numbers from a data scientist, Mats Adamczak, for him it is all about the numbers. And so far the math shows that disc golf has been and will continue to be a significant tourist draw for Åland.

Here are some of the most eye-catching stats from Åland Islands disc golf so far:

• Initial costs quickly recovered – Åland spent roughly 160,000€ to build courses, and that was recouped via tourist spending just a few months after courses opened.
• Tons of plays – In 2021 alone, there were more rounds logged on Åland (35,000 as of October 2021) with the scorekeeping feature of the popular UDisc app than there are citizens of Åland (just under 30,000). That’s a stat no state in disc golf’s birthplace – the U.S. – came close to matching within the same timeframe. Of course, not every player uses UDisc, so Mats also has devices installed that count the number of players who visit a course. They show over 130,000 rounds of disc golf played in Åland since the courses opened. In July 2021 alone there were nearly 19,000 rounds played.
• Earning a million – Based on surveys of tourists and other metrics, Mats estimates that disc golf added over 1.4 million € to the Islands’ economy in 2021. He projects exponential growth of that total in years to come.
• Staying power – The average disc golf tourist stays on the Islands four nights. Other tourists average 1.8 nights.
• Growing interest – Online searches for ”disc golf Åland” in Finnish and Swedish have recently far outpaced searches related to an industry the Islands have spent millions on in the last decade: traditional golf.
• Easy marketing – Many pro disc golfers have YouTube channels with significant followings and are on the lookout for interesting places to film vlogs. Åland’s big project has attracted a few well-known Finnish pros, resulting in hundreds of thousands of YouTube views and plenty of free hype for the Islands’ courses.Additionally, popular disc golf media outlets have excitedly covered Åland’s project, including the Professional Disc Golf Association, Ultiworld Disc Golf, and UDisc.

Continue reading here – https://udisc.com/blog/post/tiny-islands-big-bet-on-disc-golf-tourism-paying-off
And here – https://www.discgolfpark.com/sv/2022/02/24/case-aland-islands/

Why are the best disc golf courses pay-to-play courses and are they profitable?

Short answer: Yes, they can! Long answer? Continue reading here – https://discgolffanatic.com/are-disc-golf-courses-profitable/

Are Disc Golf Courses Profitable?