Disc Golf

Disc Golf Competition: 2007, 2008, Bachelor party

History of the Frisbee
With a lot of inventions, it is sometimes not easy to point to one difinitive inventor, as is the case of the frisbee. Several people have claimed to have invented the Frisbee, but since I am from New England, I prefer the local version.

The Frisbie Baking Company (1871-1958) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, made pies that were sold to many New England colleges. Hungry college students soon discovered that the empty pie tins could be tossed and caught, providing endless hours of game and sport. Many colleges have claimed to be the home of 'he who was first to fling.' Yale College has even argued that in 1820, a Yale undergraduate named Elihu Frisbie grabbed a passing collection tray from the chapel and flung it out into the campus, thereby becoming the true inventor of the Frisbie and winning glory for Yale. That tale is unlikely to be true since the words 'Frisbie's Pies' was embossed in all the original pie tins and from the word 'Frisbie' was coined the common name for the toy.

The word 'Frisbee' is pronounced the same as the word 'Frisbie'. Rich Knerr (Wham-O) was in search of a catchy new name to help increase sales, after hearing about the original use of the terms 'Frisbie' and 'Frisbie-ing'. He borrowed from the two words to create the registered trademark Frisbee (r). Sales soared for the toy, due to Wham-O's clever marketing of Frisbee playing as a new sport. In 1964, the first professional model went on sale. Ed Headrick was the inventor at Wham-O who patented Wham-O's designs for the modern frisbee (U.S. patent 3,359,678). Ed Headrick's frisbee with its band of raised ridges called the Rings of Headrick had stablized flight as opposed to the wobbly flight of its predecessor the Pluto Platter.

Today the fifty year old Frisbee(r) is owned by Mattel Toy Manufacturers, only one of at least sixty manufacturers of flying discs. Wham-O sold over one hundred million units before the selling the toy to Mattel.

The History of Disc Golf

Ed Headrick, owner of the Disc Golf Association, Inc.(r) founded the game of Disc Golf in 1976. The sport is played by an estimated four million recreational players in the United States and increasing. Headrick's inventions include the Wham-O Superball that sold over twenty-million units and the utility patent for the modern day Frisbee, which has sold over two-hundred-million units to date. Mr. Headrick led the Advertising program, New Products program, was Vice President of Research and Development, Executive Vice President, General Manager and served as CEO for Wham-O Inc. over a ten year period.

In Aug 2002 Ed Hendrick passed away and his ashes were molded into a limited number of memorial flying discs, which were distributed to his family and friends.

Like ball golf, disc golf is typically played on an 18 hole course, and the object of the game is to have the lowest score. Disc Golf has a tee off area and instead of a "hole" there is a metal chained basket that the disc must land in. Discs are made specifically for drivers, approach shots, and putting.

The REAL History of the Frisbee
While this is all believed to be the history of the frisbee, the truth is, the Conway family has been "flinging discs" since before the invention of the wheel. Back in the day, Jebidiah Conway became famous for hunting Wooly Mammoths and Saber toothed tigers with a circular flying object. Other cave dwellers at the time used rocks, sticks, and primitive bow and arrow, but not Jebidiah, he wanted to try something a little different and fun.

Jebidiah used a circular object with a blade on the edge, so he coincidentally also invented the circular saw! On the right you can see the mighty Jebidiah hunting a wild horse beast from a cave found deep in the woods of Maine.

And if you need a great place to play in Massachusetts, check out Borderland Disc Golf in Easton/Sharon, MA. If you are interested in learning more about disc golf, check out www.pdga.com.

Disc Golf Glossary