Luxembourg is a landlocked European country you can drive across in around two hours. More than 10 Luxembourgs could fit inside the country's smallest neighbor, Belgium. The other two nations it borders, Germany and France, are more than 100 and 200 times larger, respectively.
Despite Luxembourg's small size, its growing disc golf community has big hopes for the sport's future in the nation. Founded just a few years ago, Disc Golf Club Luxembourg (DGCL) put on its first event series in 2023, and it consistently drew both Luxembourgers and players from neighboring countries. Additionally, 2023 was the first year Luxembourg had representation at the European Disc Golf Championships.
Along with growing the competitive side of the sport, DGCL leadership want disc golf to become more widely available as everyday healthy recreation in Luxembourg.
Getting the Club Together
Luxembourg disc golf owes a lot to two school teachers, Gérard Kraus and Claude Bouvy.
"It just came up, not on purpose," Bouvy, DGCL's current president, said. "Gérard had discovered disc golf on the internet, and I had played disc golf around 1995 or 1996 in Switzerland when I was helping a university friend with an ultimate tournament. After the event, they set up some baskets, and then I forgot about disc golf."
But when the topic emerged during a casual work chat with Kraus (today DGCL's treasurer), Bouvy's memory was jogged and his interest was piqued. The pair started playing Luxembourg's two existing courses, the four-hole Dudelange and the rather ramshackle Bourglinster, refining their techniques through experience and YouTube tutorials.
Once they began competing in tournaments in Belgium and France, they came across others living in Luxembourg who had an interest in the sport.
"We made contact, and then things started to move," Bouvy said.
Making Things Official & Building a New Course
Disc Golf Club Luxembourg was recognized as a non-profit organization by the Registre de commerce et des sociétés (Trade and Companies Register) in 2020. After earning that status, Kraus, Bouvy, and others put in work to grow the organization by establishing a website, managing social media channels, and planning events.
Kraus also contacted the Sanem city government about disc golf as they were rejuvenating a park beside the school where he and Bouvy had their fateful conversation. The city was excited by the idea of a course and more talks led to the construction of Parc um Belval DiscGolfPark. Designed by Germany's Drive Disc Golf, the nine-holer is now Luxembourg's best-rated disc golf course.
Belval is in a busy park with multiple schools next to it. Since simply seeing a course is one of the most common reasons people try disc golf, getting a track in this sort of location was a big win for a disc golf community hoping to expand.
Creating More Chances & Places to Play Disc Golf in Luxembourg
In the coming years, DGCL's primary goals are to greatly increase the number of Luxembourgers interested in the healthy, accessible recreation disc golf provides as well as as help more communities see the benefits of building courses. Those goals go hand-in-hand as the more available the sport is, the easier it is to generate interest.
Along with holding open events that allow people to try disc golf for free (including a weekly practice at Belval) the club has reached out to schools about demonstrating and playing disc golf during physical education classes.
As for getting new courses, DGCL has found that holding tournaments using temporary baskets is a great way to show the sport's potential to decision-makers. Luxembourg disc golf events regularly draw international players. In fact, a one-day 2023 event called the Minett Open attracted over 40 players from six countries.
Competitions on mobile layouts in Luxembourg City – home to about 20% of Luxembourg's entire population – and near a popular lake named Lac de La Haute-Sûre have both produced promising conversations about new permanent courses.
Bouvy said that though it's not a stated goal of the club, he has a personal dream to see a tournament series with events in each of Luxembourg's five main geographic regions. He thinks it would entice disc golfers to explore all of Luxembourg which, though small, has plenty to offer.
"It's far away in the future, but that would be amazing," said Bouvy.
