Heavy Plastic: Frisbee Freaks, Flying Saucers, and the Disc Golf Revolution

In this unconventional memoir, disc golf’s preeminent spokesperson recounts the sport’s heady beginnings, follows its evolution into a cultural phenomenon, and celebrates the charismatic champions and devoted fans who made it what it is today.

Heavy Plastic is a love song to the thrill of playing sports. Hall of Famer “Jumpin’” Joe Feidt whisks readers back to disc golf’s early days and shows how it has grown from a little-known countercultural pastime to a legitimate candidate for the Olympics.

Feidt recounts the game’s origins, when long-haired hippies played Frisbee in city parks. He describes the eclectic cast of characters who founded disc golf: “Steady” Ed Headrick, Stork, Jim Palmeri, and many more. These trailblazers created associations, organized tournaments, marketed the sport, and innovated its trademark invention—smaller, heavier discs that flew farther than standard Frisbees.

A top Minnesota pro for years, Feidt was also the game’s first journalist, publishing a disc golf newsletter in 1981. Feidt’s leadership, coupled with an active statewide club, firmly established Minnesota as an epicenter for the sport. Today, the state has almost as many disc golf courses as traditional golf courses. Thanks to this groundbreaking work, Minnesota is a destination for disc golfers from all over and home to several world champions.

Heavy Plastic recaptures the carefree spirit of a simpler time, honors the contributions of fans and players, and celebrates the pure pleasure of the game.