Courses Per Capita

[grodney]

Using course #'s from today and using July 1 2012 population estimates, here are the states listed in order for courses per capita. 2005 figures were with courses as-of 06/23/2005 and 2000 census.

Rank	State-----------	Courses	 Population 	 Pop/Course 	2005	2005 Rank
1	Iowa------------	188	 3,074,186 	 16,352 	 28,974 	1
2	North Dakota----	39	 699,628 	 17,939 	 49,400 	5
3	Wyoming---------	31	 576,412 	 18,594 	 44,889 	4
4	South Dakota----	43	 833,354 	 19,380 	 34,311 	2
5	Kansas----------	121	 2,885,905 	 23,850 	 51,700 	6
6	Vermont---------	26	 626,011 	 24,077 	 101,471 	16
7	Montana---------	41	 1,005,141 	 24,516 	 41,009 	3
8	Minnesota-------	213	 5,379,139 	 25,254 	 54,060 	7
9	Alaska----------	28	 731,449 	 26,123 	 104,489 	17
10	Wisconsin-------	213	 5,726,398 	 26,884 	 69,658 	9
11	Idaho-----------	59	 1,595,728 	 27,046 	 64,698 	8
12	Maine-----------	46	 1,329,192 	 28,895 	 91,066 	14
13	Nebraska--------	64	 1,855,525 	 28,993 	 74,403 	11
14	Colorado--------	128	 5,187,582 	 40,528 	 74,160 	10
15	Mississippi-----	72	 2,984,926 	 41,457 	 118,527 	18
16	Oregon----------	91	 3,899,353 	 42,850 	 87,728 	12
17	Oklahoma--------	88	 3,814,820 	 43,350 	 90,807 	13
18	Michigan--------	202	 9,883,360 	 48,928 	 141,978 	22
19	Kentucky--------	80	 4,380,415 	 54,755 	 122,478 	20
20	New Mexico------	38	 2,085,538 	 54,883 	 121,270 	19
21	South Carolina--	86	 4,723,723 	 54,927 	 143,286 	23
22	West Virginia---	33	 1,855,413 	 56,225 	 226,043 	31
23	Missouri--------	107	 6,021,988 	 56,280 	 174,850 	27
24	North Carolina--	164	 9,752,073 	 59,464 	 141,216 	21
25	Arkansas--------	49	 2,949,131 	 60,186 	 334,175 	37
26	Indiana---------	103	 6,537,334 	 63,469 	 160,013 	24
27	Illinois--------	188	 12,875,255 	 68,485 	 170,127 	25
28	Ohio------------	160	 11,544,225 	 72,151 	 222,611 	30
29	Delaware--------	12	 917,092 	 76,424 	 97,950 	15
30	New Hampshire---	17	 1,320,718 	 77,689 	 411,929 	42
31	Tennessee-------	83	 6,456,243 	 77,786 	 203,189 	29
32	Washington------	86	 6,897,012 	 80,198 	 245,588 	32
33	Texas-----------	287	 26,059,203 	 90,799 	 170,917 	26
34	Utah------------	30	 2,855,287 	 95,176 	 203,015 	28
35	Alabama---------	50	 4,822,023 	 96,440 	 247,061 	33
36	Virginia--------	82	 8,185,867 	 99,828 	 283,141 	34
37	Pennsylvania----	120	 12,763,536 	 106,363 	 409,368 	41
38	Arizona---------	52	 6,553,255 	 126,024 	 320,665 	35
39	Georgia---------	78	 9,919,945 	 127,179 	 430,866 	44
40	Louisiana-------	31	 4,601,893 	 148,448 	 343,767 	38
41	Nevada----------	18	 2,758,931 	 153,274 	 333,043 	36
42	California------	241	 38,041,430 	 157,848 	 372,216 	39
43	Hawaii----------	8	 1,392,313 	 174,039 	 605,769 	47
44	Florida---------	96	 19,317,568 	 201,225 	 420,589 	43
45	Massachusetts---	33	 6,646,144 	 201,398 	 488,392 	45
46	Connecticut-----	17	 3,590,347 	 211,197 	 681,113 	48
47	Maryland--------	27	 5,884,563 	 217,947 	 378,320 	40
48	New York--------	70	 19,570,261 	 279,575 	 903,641 	49
49	New Jersey------	22	 8,864,590 	 402,936 	 1,202,050 	50
50	Rhode Island----	1	 1,050,292 	 1,050,292 	 524,160 	46

 

[mashnut]

Nevada seems like an outlier to me. Most of the other large, sparsely populated states end up higher on the list, Nevada just really doesn't have any courses outside of the handful in Vegas and a few more up by Tahoe.

Good stuff, thanks for putting that together!

 

[bradharris]

I'm kind of surprised to see NH at 30. I would've guessed bottom ten. We don't have many courses, but I guess our population is pretty low too.

Another interesting graphic would be to see courses per PDGA member for each state.

 

[grodney]

In other news, I remember when John Houck produced a line of premies with the "First to 50" stamp (I still have one), celebrating Texas being the first state with 50 courses. Texas now has 287, and 29 states have 50+ courses. Wow.

Rank	State-----------	Courses
1	Texas-----------	287
2	California------	241
3	Minnesota-------	213
3	Wisconsin-------	213
5	Michigan--------	202
6	Iowa------------	188
6	Illinois--------	188
8	North Carolina--	164
9	Ohio------------	160
10	Colorado--------	128
11	Kansas----------	121
12	Pennsylvania----	120
13	Missouri--------	107
14	Indiana---------	103
15	Florida---------	96
16	Oregon----------	91
17	Oklahoma--------	88
18	South Carolina--	86
18	Washington------	86
20	Tennessee-------	83
21	Virginia--------	82
22	Kentucky--------	80
23	Georgia---------	78
24	Mississippi-----	72
25	New York--------	70
26	Nebraska--------	64
27	Idaho-----------	59
28	Arizona---------	52
29	Alabama---------	50
30	Arkansas--------	49
31	Maine-----------	46
32	South Dakota----	43
33	Montana---------	41
34	North Dakota----	39
35	New Mexico------	38
36	West Virginia---	33
36	Massachusetts---	33
38	Wyoming---------	31
38	Louisiana-------	31
40	Utah------------	30
41	Alaska----------	28
42	Maryland--------	27
43	Vermont---------	26
44	New Jersey------	22
45	Nevada----------	18
46	New Hampshire---	17
46	Connecticut-----	17
48	Delaware--------	12
49	Hawaii----------	8
50	Rhode Island----	1

 

[chrishysell]

where did your number of courses data come from? I know that the PDGA list is way low on the number of courses in Va.

 

[grodney]

It's from DGCR. Default query, which excludes extinct, temporary, and practice. Same as what's shown on the %Completed tab of your profile.

 

[davistd0]

I threw together a spreadsheet similar to this with course data from DGCR. I took into account course ratings, and course density in terms of both population and land area to create an informal ranking of the best disc golf states. I will try to post it soon.

 

[scarpfish]

Always fun to read this kind of data, but I wish people would look into the context behind these numbers more. The quality of disc golf in a particular area shouldn't be defined by political boundaries drawn up decades before the game was in existence.

 

[mashnut]

Always fun to read this kind of data, but I wish people would look into the context behind these numbers more. The quality of disc golf in a particular area shouldn't be defined by political boundaries drawn up decades before the game was in existence.

One counterpoint is that state laws and regulations vary, so it might be easier to put in a course in one state compared to a neighboring state. Then the state line actually does matter.

 

[rd.bittle]

Truth.

 

[Steve West]

Here's how many courses each state would need to install to catch up to Iowa. My conclusion is that 72% of the courses in the U.S. haven't been built yet.

California	2,085
Texas	1,307
New York	1,127
Florida	1,085
Pennsylvania	661
Illinois	599
Ohio	546
Georgia	529
New Jersey	520
North Carolina	432
Virginia	419
Michigan	402
Massachusetts	373
Arizona	349
Washington	336
Maryland	333
Tennessee	312
Indiana	297
Missouri	261
Louisiana	250
Alabama	245
South Carolina	203
Connecticut	203
Colorado	189
Kentucky	188
Nevada	151
Oregon	147
Oklahoma	145
Utah	145
Wisconsin	137
Arkansas	131
Minnesota	116
Mississippi	111
New Mexico	90
West Virginia	80
Hawaii	77
New Hampshire	64
Kansas	55
Nebraska	49
Delaware	44
Idaho	39
Maine	35
Montana	20
Alaska	17
Vermont	12
South Dakota	8
North Dakota	4
Wyoming	4
Iowa	0

 

[scarpfish]

One counterpoint is that state laws and regulations vary, so it might be easier to put in a course in one state compared to a neighboring state. Then the state line actually does matter.

This is certainly a matter holding the west coast states back.

What I'm trying to point out though is that in a theoretical alternate universe, how our existing state lines are drawn could have turned out differently, and therefore the data derived from those boundaries would have turned out differently, even with every real world course in the ground and in the exact same spot that it is. Imagine if the existing six New England states were all one state, if existing California or Texas were each split into three, or if Mecklenburg County, NC (where Charlotte is located) seceded from the rest of NC and became its own state.

The other thing I point out is that growth of disc golf courses seems to be more city-metropolitan centric than state centric. If a disc golf mecca like a Charlotte, Kansas City, or Cincinnati has a state line running through it, both states appear to reap the benefits.

 

[OTGSMan]

Interesting to see how it works out by some cities; Example Nacogdoches, TX @ 29,500 pop. and 63 baskets= >500 people per basket. how does your city compare?

 

[mashnut]

Steve, those are interesting numbers, but probably not realistic relative to actual land available. Iowa has a lot of cheap land and a lot of parks, the densely populated areas of states like NY, CA and IL already have most of the land developed and the rest is prohibitively expensive.

 

[bradharris]

This is certainly a matter holding the west coast states back.

What I'm trying to point out though is that in a theoretical alternate universe, how our existing state lines are drawn could have turned out differently, and therefore the data derived from those boundaries would have turned out differently, even with every real world course in the ground and in the exact same spot that it is. Imagine if the existing six New England states were all one state, if existing California or Texas were each split into three, or if Mecklenburg County, NC (where Charlotte is located) seceded from the rest of NC and became its own state.

The other thing I point out is that growth of disc golf courses seems to be more city-metropolitan centric than state centric. If a disc golf mecca like a Charlotte, Kansas City, or Cincinnati has a state line running through it, both states appear to reap the benefits.

New England illustrates this quite well. RI is at the bottom of the list with just one course. Even it's neighboring states MA and CT are in the bottom ten. So it seems like RI is an abysmal DG destination. However from RI, Hartford and Worcester are fairly close with a great number of courses.

Meanwhile, up here in NH, we're sitting at number 30 with seemingly more courses than our neighbors to the south. However, go to the northern part of the state and the options in driving distance are significantly worse than they would be in RI.

Maine gets a really nice listing at number 12, so that must be a great state for disc golf right? If you're in the portland area, yes, but cut out southern Maine and the rest of the state is pretty barren as far as disc golf goes (of course, that's where most of the population is centered as well).

A per-capita measurement as a whole is probably not a very good measurement of the availability of disc golf in a state. A better measurement would be course coverage based on area (area/courses). Of course, courses aren't evenly spread so even this number is misleading.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Very cool. Thanks for crunching the numbers and posting! :thmbup:

 

[rd.bittle]

This is all cool info guys. Thanks.

 

[davistd0]

Always fun to read this kind of data, but I wish people would look into the context behind these numbers more. The quality of disc golf in a particular area shouldn't be defined by political boundaries drawn up decades before the game was in existence.

I completely agree that state lines do not act as definitive boundaries bewteen disc golf areas. But when trying to quantify disc golf across the U.S., breaking it up by state is the easiest way to go. Since building a course really depends on the town itself, comparisons should be done on a town-to-town basis. But there are too many towns so they would need to get grouped into larger areas. The state lines already exist as a good way of defining one area from the next.

 

[The Valkyrie Kid]

Here's how many courses each state would need to install to catch up to Iowa. My conclusion is that 72% of the courses in the U.S. haven't been built yet.

California	2,085
Texas	1,307
New York	1,127
Florida	1,085
Pennsylvania	661
Illinois	599
Ohio	546
Georgia	529
New Jersey	520
North Carolina	432
Virginia	419
Michigan	402
Massachusetts	373
Arizona	349
Washington	336
Maryland	333
Tennessee	312
Indiana	297
Missouri	261
Louisiana	250
Alabama	245
South Carolina	203
Connecticut	203
Colorado	189
Kentucky	188
Nevada	151
Oregon	147
Oklahoma	145
Utah	145
Wisconsin	137
Arkansas	131
Minnesota	116
Mississippi	111
New Mexico	90
West Virginia	80
Hawaii	77
New Hampshire	64
Kansas	55
Nebraska	49
Delaware	44
Idaho	39
Maine	35
Montana	20
Alaska	17
Vermont	12
South Dakota	8
North Dakota	4
Wyoming	4
Iowa	0

Hell Yes! I can't wait for all these courses to be built. When's the grand opening? I need to mark them all on my calendar.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Highbridge has more than 2 baskets per person in their population.