YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS — ALPAB proposal for permanent baskets in Verdi Park — support us at the budget vote in the General Council in March 2026.
YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS — We've submitted a project proposal to ALPAB for installing permanent disc golf baskets in Verdi Park, Bucharest. The proposal will be voted on in the General City Council in March 2026. Read the proposal, share it widely, write to your local councillors, and help us bring permanent disc golf to the capital!
BUILDING FROM THE GRASS ROOTS. LITERALLY
STARTED ON A FOOTBALL FIELD IN 2021.
STILL GROWING. STILL THROWING.
OUR VALUES
RESPECT
We treat the spaces we play in — and the people we share them with — with care. That means leaving the park cleaner than we found it, being mindful of passersby, and protecting the natural environment that makes our sport so special.
WELLBEING
Disc golf is good for you — body and mind. Every round means fresh air, movement, and hours spent outdoors instead of behind a screen. But the benefits go beyond the physical: the focus of lining up a throw, the satisfaction of watching a disc fly true, the easy conversation between holes.
INCLUSIVITY
Everyone is welcome on the course. Disc golf doesn't care about your age, fitness level, background, or experience — all you need is a disc and a willingness to throw it. In no other sport will you find so many people willing to help and encourage you to get better.
CORE PROGRAMS
BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE, RUNNING THE EVENTS, AND CONNECTING WITH THE WORLD.
TOURNAMENTS & LEAGUES
From "Thunder over Bucharest" to the Bucharest Open 2025, and the first PDGA sanctioned tournaments in Romania in 2026. Two seasonal leagues per year keep players coming back to track their progress.
DEMOS, WORKSHOPS & LESSONS
We host events like "Disc Golf Basics & Chill" to bring newcomers in. Borrow a disc, learn to throw — we organize clinics, workshops, and even teambuilding events for groups and companies. No experience or equipment needed.
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
We designed the Verdi Park layout from scratch — 9 baskets, 2 tees each, 18 holes — and we're working to bring permanent courses to more Romanian cities. We also set up pop-up baskets at locations that can accommodate it.
INTERNATIONAL TIES
Connected with PDGA Europe and EDGF. Built cross-border friendships with Bulgaria and Serbia, and sent volunteers to learn from Norway's biggest disc golf club.
THE COMMUNITY
DISC GOLF ROMANIA WASN’T BUILT BY AN ORGANIZATION. IT WAS BUILT BY PEOPLE WHO KEPT SHOWING UP.
ALEX
#267563Picked up disc golf while studying in the USA, then came home and set up the Disc Golf Romania pages and branding, designed the Verdi Park course, and keeps connecting the dots between every person and institution on this list.
MIKE
#293797OG member from the Verde Stop days. Course designer, competitor, Bucharest Open 2025 champion, and one of the first to represent Romania at an international tournament in Bulgaria.
TINTIN
Part of the original crew since Summer 2022. Helped sponsor the sport at the beginning, providing logistics and financial support for the first happenings. Also, a sick putter thrower.
DEDDY
One of the very first to be convinced to try disc golf on that football field at Verde Stop Arena. A founding member of the community and a great organizer who keeps things running smoothly.
BILL ROUNTREE
#237634American aviation engineer who donated the first baskets and discs, then returned to sponsor "Thunder over Bucharest" — Romania's first tournament. He won it, too. Also served as Tournament Director for the Bucharest Open 2025 and organized many clinics at a gifted kids camp in Romania.
MORTEN BRUUN
#136351Norwegian disc golfer who ran one of Bucharest's first clinics in Herăstrău Park. Later invited the Romanian crew to observe a major DGPT tournament in Oslo. Currently writing a book on the history of disc golf.
ELI LESTER
#297940An American ex-pat living in Bucharest, Eli started playing disc golf in 2022 on a family vacation and was immediately hooked. Coming back to Romania, he founded TRVLN Discs — the disc golf community's local supplier. His wife, Paula, designed the DGR logo.
PHIL BARNES
#292435A very experienced disc golfer who has played many tournaments and courses around the world. He's always helping out the community closely — providing support from his experience of playing disc golf in the USA.
OUR CHAMPIONS
ANDREEA CIOC
#313946The champion of Romania (Bucharest Open 2025) and Bulgaria. In charge of Disc Golf Romania social media. Volunteered at the Krokhol Open in Norway, bringing back knowledge to help professionalize Romania's events.
QUENTIN YOUNG
#314000Probably the most experienced player in Romania and a sharpshooter. Won the last Verdi Park league and got 2nd place in MA1 at Burgas. Designed courses while working abroad in Central Asia. Organizes clinics with students at the American School of Bucharest.
GABRIELA 'XENA' SANDU
#313901New player from 2025, very ambitious and a powerful thrower. Got 2nd place at the Bulgarian Open 2025 — a remarkable result for someone so fresh to the sport.
VLAD 'BAROS' CORUT
#313900Another breakthrough player in 2025. Got 1st place in his division at the Bucharest Open 2025. Known for his accurate left-handed play and fierce competitive drive.
VLAD SELARU
#313631Young and competitive player who helped organize Morten's clinic. Switched to disc golf in 2024 and hit the ground running — won 2nd place in MA2 at Burgas.
MAF
#314237Breakthrough player of 2024. Won the first Verdi Park league and got 3rd place in Burgas, along with an ace. Has a technical style with lots of trick shots.
LINISTE
#314190One of the first players in Verdi Park. Very focused on his craft, with a lethally accurate forehand that catches everyone off guard.
MARIUS
#319195Experienced ultimate frisbee player who started playing disc golf in 2025 and won the Burgas tournament in MA2.
THE INTERNATIONAL CREW
BOGDAN
#246252Romanian player from Copenhagen, with many tournaments and leagues under his belt. Really strong forehand player and beloved by the community for his cool and calm style.
GABRIEL
#275562Romanian player from the Netherlands, with many tournaments and leagues to his name. Very explosive style and a fun personality that's always great to be around.
A SHORT HISTORY
FROM A FEW DISCS ON A FOOTBALL FIELD TO A NATIONAL MOVEMENT. HERE'S HOW IT HAPPENED.
THE FIRST THROWS
After the Holy Shot — one of disc golf's most viral moments — blows up online, Alex gets hooked. Already familiar with disc golf from his time living in the USA, he buys a portable basket and a set of discs and convinces his friends Laurențiu, Mike, and Tintin to try it out at Verde Stop Arena in Bucharest, where they're working together on a project. What begins as a curiosity quickly becomes a habit — and as friends drop by to sunbathe or barbecue next to the field, they get roped into throwing discs too. They build one hole, then three holes, then realize they need to find a proper park.
THE NORWEGIAN CLINIC
Morten Bruun, a Norwegian disc golfer working temporarily in Romania, organizes a clinic for ultimate frisbee players (Vlad, Quentin, Radu, Sorin, Marius, and others) and other curious locals in Herăstrău Park. It's one of the first organized disc golf activities in Bucharest — but Alex only hears about it weeks after it happens. A missed connection, but a sign that disc golf interest is bubbling up in the city from multiple directions.
THE AMERICAN CONNECTION
Bill Rountree, an American visiting Romania for the summer, teaches disc golf at a gifted kids' camp in Păltiniș. Before flying home, he reaches out to the Disc Golf Romania Facebook page that Alex had set up. They meet, throw discs together at Verde Stop, and then explore Verdi Park — concluding it has real potential for an urban disc golf course. Bill returns to the States but sends two baskets and a batch of discs to help grow the community. Around the same time, Alex meets Eli Lester and Phil Barnes, two other Americans living in Bucharest who share a passion for disc golf. The network is expanding.
DISC GOLF BASICS & CHILL
The Verde Stop crew decides to go big. They organize "Disc Golf Basics & Chill", an event designed to introduce disc golf to as many people as possible — friends, friends of friends, and anyone curious. They build 3 teepads, set up tall nets as a driving range, and use Bill's two baskets for a putting contest. Romanian Olympian and world foil champion Ana-Maria Brânză visits and tries disc golf. The event draws over 100 people and earns national TV coverage. Energized by the response, the organizers decide to push disc golf forward in Romania — to pursue official sports recognition, organize the sport institutionally, and set up the country's first urban disc golf course.
ROMANIA'S FIRST PERMANENT COURSE
Hillside Transylvania opens as the country's first and only permanent basket disc golf course, putting Romania on the map in the UDisc directory.
PDGA TAKES NOTICE
PDGA Europe reaches out to Alex after noticing the growing buzz around disc golf in Romania. A video call is set up to establish contact, and the PDGA approves the initiative, expressing support for the community's development efforts. Separately, Alex connects with the flying disc community in Timișoara, organized around the city's ultimate frisbee teams, who had already managed to affiliate with WFDF. They express support for Disc Golf Romania to steer the country's disc golf development. The institutional groundwork is being laid.
VERDI PARK TAKES SHAPE
Alex, Mike, and Tintin begin regularly scouting Verdi Park to design a proper course. At the time, the park is largely unmaintained — visited mostly by dog walkers and overlooked by the city. Before long, they've mapped out 9 basket positions with 2 tees each — making it an 18-hole layout. Friends start showing up to play — and a tradition is born: every Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine, the crew sets up portable baskets and plays. That weekly ritual continues to this day, turning Verdi Park into Bucharest's de facto disc golf home. And something unexpected happens along the way: as disc golfers start filling the park regularly, other people begin using it too. The space gets cleaner, better maintained, and more alive — a small case study in how disc golf can breathe new life into underused public spaces.
THUNDER OVER BUCHAREST
Bill Rountree returns to Romania and sponsors the country's first disc golf tournament: "Thunder over Bucharest", the name a nod to his career as an aviation engineer. 17 players show up for the event — and it's Bill himself who takes the win. Every participant receives a disc, and the day ends with mini-games and prizes. It's an encouraging turnout and a landmark moment: Romania's competitive disc golf story has officially begun.
GOING INTERNATIONAL
Alex, Mike, and Phil travel to Burgas, Bulgaria for their first international tournament, representing Romania on the competitive stage. They establish strong ties with the Bulgarian disc golf community — another newcomer to European disc golf, but one that has already built a permanent urban course. The Balkans connection is forged, and both countries see the potential in growing the sport together across the region.
LEAGUE PLAY BEGINS
The first seasonal league kicks off in Verdi Park, adding regular competitive structure to the community's weekend sessions. Going forward, Disc Golf Romania plans to hold two leagues per year — one in the spring, one in the fall — giving players of all levels a reason to come back, track their progress, and stay connected between tournaments.
MORTEN RETURNS
Morten Bruun, whose clinic in Herăstrău Park a year and a half earlier was one of Bucharest's first disc golf moments, returns to the city. What he finds is a transformation: a blossoming community and a functioning urban disc golf park in Verdi. The seeds he helped plant have taken root — quietly, steadily — and grown into something real.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST
Morten and his disc golf club in Oslo — the biggest in Norway — and Simen, another player with ties to Romania, invite Alex, Mike, and Andreea to volunteer and observe the behind-the-scenes management of the Krokhol Open, a major DGPT tournament. It's a generous gesture of encouragement to a young community with no tournament organizing experience: a chance to see how the pros run things, from logistics and scoring to player management and media. The Romanians take notes — lots of them.
THE WORLD COMES TO VERDI
More and more people gather in Verdi Park every weekend to play. Some are friends bringing friends; others are curious passersby who spot the baskets and want to try. Even international travelers who play disc golf back home reach out to the Verdi crew and stop by for a few rounds — players from the USA, Denmark, the UK, and other countries. The little park in Bucharest is quietly becoming a crossroads. But with growing numbers comes a practical reality: carrying portable baskets to the park every weekend has become unsustainable. It's clear that Verdi needs permanent installations.
THE FIRST BUCHAREST OPEN
Back home, all that learning pays off. The first edition of the Bucharest Open takes place in Verdi Park — bigger, better, and properly structured with separate divisions for women, advanced men, and beginner men. 30 players compete, nearly double the turnout of Thunder over Bucharest a year earlier. Among them are several ultimate frisbee players who first encountered disc golf at Morten's 2023 clinic in Herăstrău — their paths finally crossing with the disc golf community they would become a part of. Full circle.
COME THROW
WITH US
WHETHER YOU WANT TO PLAY YOUR FIRST ROUND, HOST AN EVENT, OR BUILD A COURSE IN YOUR CITY — WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.