I guess I will jump in this discussion. We as a community need to figure out what type of game we are going to be.
Let me explain with some examples:
1. The America's Cup (for those that do not know, it is a International Yatch race - Sailboats) - For most of the 160 years of this race, each team used identical boats. There were rules about how heavy, how wide, how long, how many sails, etc. The idea was to make it a competition about the skill of the sailors not the boats. Same can be said about Nascar.
2. Basketball - Now I know I am going to be beat-up about this one but here it goes. Basketball has rules also, but not all of them are called. If a guy ran with the ball from mid-court without dribbling, the foul would be called. But how many three second rules are called? I see guys in the box for 5 - 6 seconds and it is never called.
3. Ball Golf - For the majority of ball golfers, you are not playing with the world watching on TV. And for the most part, you could be 20 - 30 yards apart from your playing partner after your drive. It would be pretty easy to cheat, move your ball alittle to get a better lie. But you don't because it is a 'Gentleman's Game' and if you get caught cheating, you are called out on it and no-one will play with you.
So what kind of sport are we?
Do we adhere to the strick rules like the America's Cup and Nascar?
Do we only call flagrant fouls like in Basketball?
Or do we self-police like ball golf?
Good post. :clap:
Here is the problem. Disc Golf as a sport is so similar to ball golf in the way it is played that it is hard to fit into either of the two categories stated that are not golf. On the other hand, the crowd that disc golf generally attracts are the people who do not fit into the typical golf crowd. I am not saying everyone, but I am saying that people are less inclined in disc golf to follow the rules, usually because they do not care to even know the rules. In general, this attitude will drive a wedge between the serious disc golfer and the casual disc golfer. You will see more pay to play courses put up in an attempt to create a place for serious disc golfers only, leaving the free less well planned free courses for everyone else. It will happen, just you wait and see.