Golden Gate Park Disc Golf Course

San Francisco's disc golf course runs in and around Marx Meadow on the north side of Golden Gate Park, roughly between 23rd and 30th avenues. It exists because of a long volunteer campaign: the San Francisco Disc Golf Club formed in the late 1990s to advocate for a course, the Recreation and Park Commission approved a pilot at Marx Meadow in September 2003, and a nine-hole trial ran from 2005 until 2007. Construction on the full layout began in October 2006 and consumed every weekend for six months. The 18-hole course opened March 31, 2007, paid for with tens of thousands of dollars in private donations and more than 4,000 hours of volunteer labor, and the club still funds and maintains it under the Recreation and Park Department's guidance.

It is a moderately wooded, mostly flat course that asks for placement rather than distance — the club describes it as fun for beginners and a challenge for experts. The scorecard sets three pin positions: Pin A plays to par 54, Pin B to par 59, and Pin C to par 62, with hole 17 the longest at 441 feet from the C pin. Marx Meadow and the major park paths are out of bounds, and holes 7, 14, 16 and 18 carry mandatories. It's free with no tee times, with parking and restrooms in the park; expect company, and keep groups to four or fewer.