As winter takes its grip around Scandinavia, the discgolf season is over for everyone but the most dedicated players. For the Swedish discgolf brand Latitude 64° it has been a busy year, with the goal to make the best discs, bags and course equipment on the market.
If you´re not familiar with discgolf, it could be described as a cousin to golf – just as complex and just as fun. The main difference is simple: Instead of hitting golf balls into holes in the ground you throw discs at chain devised baskets.
In 2006, Latitude 64°s first disc saw the light, and since then they have created a full spectrum of drivers, midrange discs and putters – all you´ll need at the discgolf course. Four enthusiasts, Tomas Ekström, Svante Eriksson, David Berglund and Johan Åström founded the company in the Northern town of Skellefteå, which happen to be situated at the latitude of 64 degrees.
Considering discgolf is mostly known as a sport for the summer, it may seem extraordinary to start a discgolf brand in a town with long dark winters. But the sport is known to be addictive, so maybe it´s not that strange after all.
Svante: "We had played discgolf for almost 20 years and felt that we could beat the aerodynamics and designs of the existing brands. After all we had competed at the biggest tournaments around the world and the designers of the existing brands didn´t quite have that history. It has been a long journey with quite a bit of frustration to get to where we are now and we are obviously happy that we didn´t give up during the hard times. With the knowledge we have now it is a beautiful thing to design new products. Much more joy and a lot less frustration."  The four founders have taken part in the evolution of the game, from being rather obscure to becoming a sport with professional players and international tours and events. Even though they now run a successful discgolf business, they still love to play themselves. For instance Tomas and Johan recently challenged the international top players in the European Open in Helsinki. The competition was won by another Latitude 64° team player, Jesper Lundmark, who is among the highest rated players in the world according to the PDGA, the Professional Disc Golf Association. He ended up a few throws ahead of the legendary 12–time World Champion Ken Climo, USA. Previously playing for the American brand Innova, Jesper recently teamed up with Latitude 64° as a player and as a co–designer in disc development. Changing team suited him fine since he´s also from Skellefteå. Latitude 64° is also lucky to have Birgitta Lagerholm, World Champion in 2004, as part of the players´ team.
After last year´s success with products like the midrange disc Core and the fast driver Riot, Latitude 64° has released five new drivers and one putter in 2009. Among the new releases, the fairway driver |
 Striker soon became a major hit, and during the spring of 2009 there were few other discs on the market that gave rise to as many discussions on the discgolf forums as the Striker, with threads like "Strikerholics Anonymous". The development of a new disc is a complex process. So how does it work?
Svante: "Several things go in that process. Depending on the purpose of the disc we have to look at different aspects. Beginner products obviously will have to have different flight characteristics than a disc made for world class players. Speed and glide are other things we discuss for our upcoming products. Who will benefit from using the disc we are designing? In what situation on the course will it fit? These are the type of questions that arise when we design a new disc."
Developed by enthusiasts far away from the media spotlights, discgolf has steadily increased in popularity and has become a sport with a commercial side to it, but still it has managed to stay accessible, relaxed and inexpensive. All you need to get started is a  |
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 disc and some time to spend. Just as in traditional golf, the joys could come from sinking a long putt or making a nice drive from the tee, but hitting a tree or miscalculating the wind might on the other hand lead to severe frustration. Just as in golf there are numerous strategic elements, such as planning your throw and to select the right disc for the job. To play safe or risky is a matter of personality and tactics.
"Discgolf is like poker", Svante explains. "It takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master. The variation in the sport is also very high. If you want to be good you have to master several throwing techniques and also have the knowledge and experience to make the right decision on the course. It´s very similar to golf but in our opinion more varied. You always strive to find the perfect throw, the perfect putt, the perfect round."
The addictive side of the sport is shown in the fact that many of the old–timers who played the game in the early eighties are still playing, although they have picked up a lot of new people along the way.  Few sports or lifestyle activities have the same ability to get people hooked. Discgolf is for women and men, young and old, professionals and amateurs. If you like, there´s also a universe of technical aspects to dig into, connected to everything from plastic types to all the things that affect the flight of the discs. Or… you could just play. However, the best way to describe a discgolfer´s passion for the sport may be to refer to the simple fact that it offers good exercise, excitement and lots of fun! And that´s probably why it´s such a fast growing sport.
The interest in discgolf in Skellefteå surpasses the interest for the sport in the average Swedish city by miles, with local papers that cover the sport frequently. Svante explains the interest and media exposure as a result of tradition. The city has produced some of the best players in Sweden since 1994 and up to date. First Tomas was #1, then Svante, followed by Jesper Lundmark.
The discs in today´s discgolf don´t have much in common with the |
  ones that were the hottest available in the old days, when they were still Frisbees. The golf discs have evolved further and further away from the type of flying discs that you would use on a day at the beach, to become more streamlined and fly much farther.
Today, a moderately advanced player will be able to throw a modern driver 100 meters and beyond, not to mention the "big guns", such as young Linus Åström in the Latitude 64° team, who throws discs much longer. Linus himself might even say that he´s got the "Norrlandspush".
In increasing extent the discs have become design objects, with functional abilities like grip, durability and aerodynamics as well as aesthetical values, including graphic designs, lustre or even optical effects. Some of the discs from come in brilliant, eye–catching chameleon plastic, which literally change colours between gold, green and red depending on the light reflection.
To anyone with the slightest sense of aesthetics – these discs are true objects of desire! Some people even buy them as collectibles. |
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  Latitude 64° has also made several limited specialty prints suitable for collectors and for those who appreciate non–regular designs, such as a series of discs with print designs by Swedish music artists Wille Crafoord and Mange Schmidt, and their association called Frisbeefrämjandet. Wille and Mange are devoted discgolfers (for some reason musicians seem to be well represented in this sport) and Wille even brings his own caddie to the course; his dog that is.
Wille: "The idea behind the discs that we design in collaboration with Latitude 64° is to create a full line of golf discs, for all needs. 12 discs with numbers, like in golf, with low numbers for drivers and high numbers for midrange, approach shots and putts. All of our prints have names that refer to musical highlights from the careers of me and Mange. So far Relalalaxa, Giftig and Plast can be found in the discgolf stores, and these will be followed by the upcoming Hur E D Möjligt? and Glassig. The discs will be complemented by a series of equipment and clothing. Our association Frisbeefrämjandet organizes a competition each year, a competition that is more casual than the official championships. It´s more like a frisbee carnival with |
numerous merry activities as a celebration to the sport of discgolf."
Traditionally, the motives on the discs have been dominated by illustrations of animals or things related to flying. But today the graphic designs and names of the disc models could be inspired by just about anything. So how do you decide the print and name of each new disc?
Svante: "We more or less brainstorm until we come to an agreement. This can be a fast process sometimes but more often it will take quite some time. Pro–drivers will get a more aggressive look than a beginner disc but in general we try to do something that will catch your eye. Sometimes we change the name on the disc after we have thrown it and held it in our hands the first time."
Unless you are a natural (or supernatural) talent you will soon discover the complexity of the game. Keeping control of your disc will be a challenge, but fortunately there are "easy" discs that will help you make decent throws quickly. Even though the pros carry bags with various discs you only need one disc to get started. Out of Latitude 64°s products, the midrange disc Core will be an excellent choice for a one–disc round, not too hard to handle but at the same time a disc that you would like to keep in you bag as you get better too. The pros use it as well. And yes, it comes with sparkles if you like! Even in chameleon!
So where can you play? Well, there are several nice courses all over the Nordic countries. In Sweden, two of the highest acclaimed discgolf courses are Järva Discgolf Park in Stockholm and Discgolfterminalen in Skellefteå (where else?), both suitable for international tournaments as well as for amateurs.
When you visit a well–kept and carefully designed course, the beautiful surroundings where nature meets course design will add yet another value to the sport. I usually play at Järva Discgolf Park in Stockholm, which is situated within reach from the subway. The terrain is versatile with open fields, tight woods and green hills, which form the base of an exciting course design with 27 holes. In the shop at Järva you will be able to buy or rent a disc for your first round.
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 If you get interested in trying a round of discgolf, there might be a course in your home town, so check it out! You might want to find out about opening hours and seasons at your local course. Although some courses have minor fees for playing, you can forget about green cards and expensive equipment. Just bring your disc and get to the course. If George Costanza in Seinfeld can play discgolf, then so can you!
The outdoor photos in this article are shot at Järva Discgolf Park and Discgolfterminalen. Team players appearing on the images are Linus Åström, Jesper Lundmark, Daniel Strandberg, Birgitta Lagerholm and Tomas Ekström. |
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