Having played the sport for more than 40 years, Waiheke Island player Nigel Barnwell says frisbee golf is a way of life.
He has just turned 60 and was on form to win the ultimate disc championships in the Queens-town Gardens at the weekend.
He said the beauty of the sport, also known as disc golf, was that as people got older, they usually got better.
"It is not a sport you give up aged 30, 40, 50 or 60," Mr Barnwell said.
"In fact, there are people playing in their 80s in the United States."
A former Australian disc golf champion and world frisbee champion, who has been playing since 1967, Mr Barnwell has been a New Zealand frisbee golf representative several times.
The sport had allowed him to travel extensively and he had also taught disc sports in more than 300 schools around the country, he said.
While there are a number of different frisbee-based sports in which Mr Barnwell had competed over the years, frisbee golf was a favoured pastime.
He said the "advent of disc golf makes disk sports more compelling" rather than furthest throw and other competitions.
Mr Barnwell's team-mate on the day, Jim Hemingway, agreed.
Mr Hemingway has played frisbee golf around the world and said it was "a great way to travel".
"I have lived in Sydney, Auckland and Christchurch before I came here and always found people to play with."
He said the sport was a great way to catch up with friends after work and on weekends.
"I come here and play most Fridays with my mates," Mr Hemmingway said.
Queenstown disc golf co-ordinator James Smithells said the scenic and rambling nature of the local course was always popular and a drawcard with visiting competitors, many of whom returned year after year.
Saturday's gusting wind proved "pretty difficult at the best of times", with competitors attempting to keep their discs close to the ground with hard and fast throws when teeing off, while negotiating the gently rolling grounds, to the holes.
