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Course Density by State: Complete Stats

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Luke@DiscTrips

Bogey Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
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Location
Boston, MA
On another thread we were juggling discussions about both course density and course quality (two very different things!) by state, so I thought I'd start a new thread focusing just on the less-exciting but more quantifiable one: course density.

Two factors here, equally weighted in the rankings:

A) Square Miles per Course, or, put another way "Lowest Mileage On Your Car." Based on the state's physical size.
B) People per Course, or, put another way, "Lowest Wait-Time At The Tee." Based on the state's population.

Inputs: State Square Mileage, State Population, State Course Count.

I can also post portions of the two separate rankings (size only, and population only) if anyone's interested. (I'm kind of a spreadsheet geek)

Enjoy...

1. IOWA (178 sq. mi./course, 22,134 people/course)
2. WISCONSIN (417 sq. mi./course, 41,803 people/course)
3. DELAWARE (482 sq. mi./course, 78,615 people/course)
4. MINNESOTA (489 sq. mi./course, 41,251 people/course)
5. ILLINOIS (499 sq. mi./course, 110,798 people/course)
6. KANSAS (504 sq. mi./course, 38,027 people/course)
7. OHIO (621 sq. mi./course, 123,300 people/course)
8. VERMONT (640 sq. mi./course, 56,478 people/course)
9. KENTUCKY (650 sq. mi./course, 80,028 people/course)
10. INDIANA (671 sq. mi./course, 113,309 people/course)
11. NORTH CAROLINA (690 sq. mi./course, 116,167 people/course)
12. COLORADO (690 sq. mi./course, 56,529 people/course)
13. MAINE (730 sq. mi./course, 52,688 people/course)
14. MICHIGAN (762 sq. mi./course, 99,721 people/course)
15. SOUTH DAKOTA (773 sq. mi./course, 23,418 people/course)
16. SOUTH CAROLINA (842 sq. mi./course, 115,992 people/course)
17. PENNSYLVANIA (874 sq. mi./course, 172,678 people/course)
18. NORTH DAKOTA (959 sq. mi./course, 26,655 people/course)
19. NEBRASKA (972 sq. mi./course, 44,364 people/course)
20. OKLAHOMA (1,003 sq. mi./course, 78,637 people/course)
21. OREGON (1,096 sq. mi./course, 65,745 people/course)
22. MISSISSIPPI (1,127 sq. mi./course, 85,847 people/course)
23. MONTANA (1,210 sq. mi./course, 34,209 people/course)
24. IDAHO (1,250 sq. mi./course, 48,368 people/course)
25. CONNECTICUT (1,336 sq. mi./course, 318,392 people/course)
26. TENNESSEE (1,351 sq. mi./course, 146,589 people/course)
27. WYOMING (1,415 sq. mi./course, 34,855 people/course)
28. VIRGINIA (1,425 sq. mi./course, 175,275 people/course)
29. MASSACHUSETTS (1,472 sq. mi./course, 379,397 people/course)
30. MARYLAND (1,520 sq. mi./course, 330,491 people/course)
31. MISSOURI (1,584 sq. mi./course, 133,600 people/course)
32. NEW JERSEY (1,628 sq. mi./course, 668,148 people/course)
33. ALASKA (1,726 sq. mi./course, 48,820 people/course)
34. WEST VIRGINIA (1,731 sq. mi./course, 129,431 people/course)
35. TEXAS (1,739 sq. mi./course, 144,875 people/course)
36. NEW HAMPSHIRE (1,934 sq. mi./course, 187,975 people/course)
37. FLORIDA (2,097 sq. mi./course, 304,187 people/course)
38. GEORGIA (2,268 sq. mi./course, 216,926 people/course)
39. RHODE ISLAND (2,696 sq. mi./course, 528,916 people/course)
40. NEW MEXICO (2,733 sq. mi./course, 85,648 people/course)
41. CALIFORNIA (2,946 sq. mi./course, 279,032 people/course)
42. WASHINGTON (2,955 sq. mi./course, 157,766 people/course)
43. ARKANSAS (3,050 sq. mi./course, 157,489 people/course)
44. ALABAMA (4,750 sq. mi./course, 185,114 people/course)
45. NEW YORK (5,252 sq. mi./course, 521,560 people/course)
46. UTAH (5,287 sq. mi./course, 165,333 people/course)
47. LOUISIANA (5,307 sq. mi./course, 252,541 people/course)
48. ARIZONA (6,521 sq. mi./course, 264,115 people/course)
49. HAWAII (15,795 sq. mi./course, 320,847 people/course)
50. NEVADA (46,888 sq. mi./course, 366,483 people/course)

(disclaimer: Once again, this is NOT reflective of course quality!)
.
 
Neat list, but I think your #'s may be off a bit for PA.

From 2006 Census
Population: 12,440,000 +/-
Area Sq/Mi: 44,816
Courses listed on DGCoursereview for PA: 72

Your people per course is correct.
Courses per SqMi.--> 622
 
Last edited:
PA_Disc said:
Neat list, but I think your #'s may be off a bit for PA.

From 2006 Census
Population: 12,440,000 +/-
Area Sq/Mi: 44,816
Courses listed on DGCoursereview for PA: 72

Your people per course is correct.
Courses per SqMi.--> 622
Click to expand...

I went with total square mileage per state (PA=46,058), and your number is land mass (not counting water) per state. Yours is arguably a better choice, but it's gonna be a pretty negligible difference when every state is treated the same way. (Plus, courses themselves are often part-land, part-water, right?) :)

One other way to look at it in support of total sq.mi.: Think about driving past a lake to get to a course... the more water there is in a state, the less space there is for courses (which should be reflected in these stats).

Nice catch, though -- thanks.
 
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I look at spreadsheets everyday for hours on end....this is the single greatest use of a spreadsheet ever!
 
Wow, Iowa's in a league of its own, isn't it?

The big Western states can be a little misleading, of course; here in Oregon, for example, all but 2 of the 90 courses are in the western half, so if you lopped off the empty eastern desert, our ranking would jump into the top ten. If you only considered the western THIRD, it'd be in the top five!
 
I am shocked to see that Washington is not lower. tO think that it is just below CA. is crazy. Wish I was in Iowa right now. = )
 
Thanks man, that was really cool to look at. :cool:
 
Wow.. NY is pretty low on the list. I guess living in Rochester has it's good points with 9 courses within 25 miles of my house.
 
I was looking forward to weeks of "my state is better because we have better courses." "No my state is better because you're a jerk'" And you went and ruined it with your science and logic and stuff.

And why does Iowa have so many more courses than the states around it?
 
The damn shame about Iowa is, once we DO figure out how to rate by quality they are going to be right up there in the top 10. Good courses. Lots of courses. Lots of GOOD courses.

Of course, very few people outside of Iowa know this because you have to go to Iowa to find this out. I like disc golf and all, but willingly spending my free time in Iowa is over the line!
 
I'm sorry, but wasn't it "Field of Dreams" that stated this best:

Is this Heaven?
No, it's Iowa!
 
Texconsinite said:
Two reasons

1)Lots of open space

2)Nothing else to do
Click to expand...
Actually, a lot of it also has to do with the parks departments having a history of encouraging outdoor activities, as well. I'm not all that familiar with all of the states, but I know outdoor activities like hunting, fishing and biking are popular in IA, WI, MN, KY, IN, IL, KA, and OH. I'd guess the same is true for the Southeastern states that people mention as being good disc golf states as well. It's a lot easier to get land and money allocated when the residents and government are already in the mindset to find ecological and fun ways for pepole to use the space. Plus, any of the land that's being used as conservation for the sake of conservation (not that that's a bad thing) is prarie land and not horribly condusive to disc golf. No one is fighting to keep the prime disc golf land 100% pristine.

I'd guess that most regions you find that have a really good disc golf scene will have a lot of those same charictaristics.

Of course, very few people outside of Iowa know this because you have to go to Iowa to find this out. I like disc golf and all, but willingly spending my free time in Iowa is over the line!
Click to expand...
Is it bad when the best reason to visit is a fringe sport? OK, farming and a fringe sport. ;)

Actually, Des Moines has gotten to the point where if you have some other good reason to be here, your off time won't be completely miserable. People just don't think to come here because you can go to Kansas City or MPLS/St. Paul and get at least as many good courses and there's a lot more to do. In Iowa, though you can live in just about any small town and not be too far from an OK course.
 
Garublador is right about Iowa -- It's as if every small town has a really friendly city council & parks board, and a few thousand bucks sitting around just waiting for a good, warm & fuzzy family-friendly use like this.

I've played 21 courses in Iowa, all public, and yes, there is some great DG out there. Des Moines is a world-class DG city. Eastern Iowa (Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, & the Quads) is equally impressive, just more spread out. And again, every random little town in between has a cute 9 in a neighborhood park.

One fun fact I learned about Iowa in assembling the density data: it's BIG! Iowa is larger than Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and North Carolina, to name a few. All the more room to add to their 135 courses... :)
 
Cool data...

Just curious, how many courses did you find in the state of Mississippi. I have been wondering how many there are now. I know a few years ago it was over 30. I know of 4-5 courses added since then.

Thanks for the info, really cool.
 
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