Do You Want the Game to Grow?

[j0atz]

It could stand to grow a little...but I feel like it would take the fun out of it. At least for me anyway, but what do I matter?

[Scho]

It's like MMA. I used to fight and enjoyed it until every 18 year old thought they could too. It got filled with a bunch of hot heads and the marketing turned into WWE wrestling with all the sh!t talking. I quit for that reason.

I want the sport to grow but in a respectable way. I have always hated the fact DG was associated with pot smoking and it pisses me off when people light up in a tournament. To each his own I guess but I would love to be able to watch NT events on TV, even if they did air on Spike or Fuel TV..

[Titanic_Sinks]

Here's what I'm feeling:

Disc golf is really on the cusp of a large decision. There are 3 choices, and each one is going to have positives and negatives.

Choice 1: Disc Golf starts picking up sponsors and begins to follow ball golf (although it'll never get to that extreme) in elitism. We'd see bigger purses, green jackets, pay to play courses, more recognition, TV time and respected professionals. We'd also see crowded courses, assh*le pros, more expensive equipment and entry fees.

Choice 2: Disc Golf stays where it is. Casual, cheap and easy to access. It'll stay easy to attract people to the sport, it'll continue to grow bit by bit. However, pro money is going to stay pretty small. We won't be seeing as many neat sponsors and new companies in the sport, and disc golf will continue to be seen as a "stoner game" and "hippy sport" that isn't worth respecting by most people.

Choice 3: Try to combine the two other options. It would be nice to have pros who can live (not just survive) only playing disc golf. The sport could stay cheap and easy to get into, and we could enjoy sponsorships and sweet new companies. This option isn't nearly as likely as the first two, though. This choice and the first one both rely on Disc Golf cleaning up it's image.

Personally, I'd like to see Disc Golf move from hobby to sport. I'd like it to be a possible career, instead of a way to scratch a living. Yes, things will get more expensive, and we'll see more exclusivity, but we would get to reap the benefit of respect. RESPECT, people! lol...

or whatever...

[vonDrehle]

I just wonder if disc companies can continue to grow. Do they keep popping out disc that go farther and farther? If so what affect will that have on course design. Ball Golf seems to have somewhat sustained this problem by making the greens extremely tricky and the rough difficult to get out of. Is there anything course designer can do to that effect? More trees, ob and bunkers?

[KenTyburski]

Originally Posted by vonDrehle

I just wonder if disc companies can continue to grow. Do they keep popping out disc that go farther and farther? If so what affect will that have on course design. Ball Golf seems to have somewhat sustained this problem by making the greens extremely tricky and the rough difficult to get out of. Is there anything course designer can do to that effect? More trees, ob and bunkers?

I don't know, but with current PDGA regs, I think we are getting to the limit of disc speed. The lighter plastic technology is a game changer at this point, but they can only get so light. So the growth in disc manufacturers will slow down in my opinion, unless the companies start competing for lower-cost alternatives or higher-cost designer plastics or special molds. Once the up-and-comers start to round out their mold library (hopefully they don't go as extensive as Innova, but of course they will), things will level off, or some companies will disappear.

I think you are right on course design, and that it will be the key to growing the sport. Several post-Worlds threads are posing the same question based on some criticism of the Charlotte courses, and I am of the belief that course developers will have to give more thought to the purpose of their course(s). Does the course design attract the beginner or the pro; is it strictly for recreational play, or are we building this thing to host tourneys? Is there a way to acquire enough land to build two or three courses of varying lengths, terrains, and obstacles near each other and thus attract increased numbers of more diverse golfers? Will pay-to-play become the model for top-notch courses, and is that a good thing? Lots of questions.

[BigSky]

Only a small fraction of players play tourneys regularly. So the tourney scene could theoretically grow rapidly without adding more players overall. Maybe its more about game changes coupled with slight growth that will take it to that next level. We just need to convert all the chuckers.

[aajpity]

I'd like more courses and to be able to watch on tv.. I doubt discs would get to be overproduced walmart crap, they have bad discs out there already. Maybe Innova would go sell out. Discraft wouldn't. Latitude 64 and MVP would sure as hell stay the way they are.

[Dieno]

Time for Discraft or Innova to organize the world DG Matchplay Championship .... do it like the Japanese Open on a Championship Ball Golf Course .... Traps and Greens O.B. huge up and down hyzer, anhyzer, rollers and bombs. Do it on a lit ball golf course ...... same course as the PGA championships, or a lit Executive South Cal course Saturday night of the PGA championships. ..... Show them the other side of DG. Elevate the targets, make Island holes, jaszz it up ... put it on primetime and have house parties to watch it. ...... 24 hole layout, 6 hole matches and then the finals ..... could use lit discs too as the sun goes down ..... finish at 1am .... now your talking ... play skins the pros all put in $500 and play for it.

[FrigYallHos]

I would love to see DG on tv.... But honestly I bet it has a better chance of being in the Olympics than ever being primetime. I lived in a college town for a few years and there was this student cable access channel that would have a tourney on now and again. Even though the players sucked, it was still super interesting they had commentators and everything. Also really cool because it was on the courses I was playing up there.

As for it growing as a sport in general I am indifferent. Nothing will get in the way of my hurling discs. aside from trees.

[dashiellx]

Originally Posted by FrigYallHos

Nothing will get in the way of my hurling discs. aside from trees.

Trees are never in my way when I throw. But they have a d@mn good habit of moving into the line of flight after the disc leaves my hand.

On the main topic. It would be nice to see it grow a little in that people would take it seriously and treat the courses with respect--not leave beer cans and butts all over the place. I wouldn't mind more money to build more courses near me.

Originally Posted by Scho

I want the sport to grow but in a respectable way. I have always hated the fact DG was associated with pot smoking and it pisses me off when people light up in a tournament. To each his own I guess

If someone wants to light up during a casual round, that's their business, but in a tourney they should be disqualified.