The Effect of Seasonal Parking Fees on Disc Golfing

This study investigates the impact of price changes on the behavior of disc golf players using a natural experiment involving two nearby courses. One of these courses enforces a seasonal parking fee, while the other remains free all year. By integrating data from a popular disc golf scorekeeping app, state park fee schedules, and weather conditions, we assess the fee's effect on the visitation dynamics between the two courses. Our results indicate that introducing a parking fee can lead to a drop of up to 30 percent in daily visits to the course with the fee, compared to times when both courses are free. However, considering the potential substitution to the free course, the daily share of visits to the fee-charging course diminishes by about 6 percent, and the average monthly visits per player decrease by around 7 percent. This research sheds light on how pricing affects participation in recreational activities, offering insights that can inform decisions related to course management, pricing strategies, and the promotion of disc golf.