The first-ever disc golf tournament in the Philippines is set to tee off on March 4-5 in Amadeo, Cavite.
The Disc Golf Association of the Philippines (DGAP), in cooperation with the Philippine Disc Golf Association (PDGA) and in partnership with Figtree Companies’ (FTC) Kavanah Communities, brings Lipad Pilipinas Open 2023, a competition for professional and amateur disc golf players from the Philippines and around the world, vying for a professional championship title.
Disc Golf, also known as Frisbee Golf, is very similar to golf, but instead of using golf clubs and balls aiming for a hole, disc golf players use discs and aim for a disc golf basket. The objective of every disc golf fame is to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws, starting from a tee area and finishing with the disc coming to rest in the basket.
In the Philippines, the popularity of disc golf started in 2021, when Jon Mough, an American residing in Tagaytay City, introduced the game to Figtree Companies, a growing community developer, as a means to engage the people in the communities where they operate. Mough and FTC worked with the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) to develop the ROAD TO DAMASCUS Disc Golf Course, the first and only 18-hole disc golf course in the Philippines located in Minatok West, Amadeo, Cavite.
“Disc golf has a lot of potential for Filipinos. It transcends age and gender. It equals the playing field. We are training players as young as six years old up to seniors at 70,” says Franco Pedregosa, president of DGAP and FTC. “This partnership was initially a community-building effort for our projects during the pandemic. However, we saw the Filipinos’ interest and ability in playing disc golf, so we decided to go to more communities to introduce the sport.”
FTC worked with Luisa Bartolome, sports coordinator of the PDGA, and spearheaded the introduction and growth of the sport in the local communities, specifically the Kavanah Communities.
Bartolome states, “Disc Golf has been a way to enable communities, bring people together, and during the pandemic, where a lot of people were at its lowest, a means to keep them motivated, active and connected.”
Aside from Lipad Pilipinas Open 2023, the group has actively engaged various communities nationwide since 2022. These include Disc Golf Clinics in partnership with Tarlac, Aurora, Naga, Baguio, Pampanga, Amadeo, and Cavite communities and partnerships with universities such as the University of the Philippines Diliman.
The group also plans to continue to hold Disc Golf clinics and tournaments in the following locations: Ilocos Norte, Baguio, Tarlac, Davao, Naga, Amadeo, and Palawan.
“We look forward to continuing introducing and growing the sport in the country through clinics and competitions,” Pedregosa said.