How do we get Disc Golf into the big time?

[XxInnovaxX]

Keep It underground....please don't ever go big time...It would spoil the sport...let it grow at it's current rate....theres nothing wrong with being an alternative sport. It's the grass roots feel of the sport and the people that keep the game unique. If it is suddenly commercialized overnight. YUCK!

agreed...i would sweet to have big tourneys on tv and stuff...but then again i would hate to have to pay to play..even if its a $2 a day fee or whatnot, i play several times a week...and thats all i need is for my gf to be griping about me paying $2 everyday to play.....being free is one of the main reasons i play, and one of the best ways to get more people into the sport....

i just go out there to have a good time....i dont care about making it to the big tv spotlight...i just care how many strokes it takes me to get from the pad to the pin

 

[Despare]

agreed...i would sweet to have big tourneys on tv and stuff...but then again i would hate to have to pay to play..even if its a $2 a day fee or whatnot, i play several times a week...and thats all i need is for my gf to be griping about me paying $2 everyday to play.....being free is one of the main reasons i play, and one of the best ways to get more people into the sport....

i just go out there to have a good time....i dont care about making it to the big tv spotlight...i just care how many strokes it takes me to get from the pad to the pin

The courses I play are all pay to play for the most part, you can buy a bag tag for $50 though that's good at any of the courses that are in metro parks.

 

[XxInnovaxX]

The courses I play are all pay to play for the most part, you can buy a bag tag for $50 though that's good at any of the courses that are in metro parks.

see this is exactly why everyone is gonna end up paying to play, JUST LIKE BALL GOLF!!.....people are gonna start accepting that concept, like despare who doesnt have a problem paying....no offense to you despare but, believe it or not people like you are ruining it for everyone....if dg comes down to pay to play, im sellin my sh!t on ebay

why does everyone think you have to spend money to have a good time? my grandpa allways told me some of the finest things in life are free....we allready pay enough city taxes, why should we have to pay to play at our city parks?

 

[Guurn]

I think we need to work harder on keeping people playing after they hit about 25 and that means more and better courses, yes pay courses, and more amenities.

I have several friends that are older but still play occasionally and the single thing that matters most to them other than the fun of the game is the quality of the course. Yeah, I am separating how a course plays from how it looks. If it is in great shape and plays great it is better than if it just plays great. Paying 30 dollars for a yearly pass isn't going to be a big deal to many people and may actually be an attraction to even more if it is used for the course. If they can hit a bar on the course after the round for a sammich and a beer all the better.

 

[Guurn]

agreed...i would sweet to have big tourneys on tv and stuff...but then again i would hate to have to pay to play..even if its a $2 a day fee or whatnot, i play several times a week...and thats all i need is for my gf to be griping about me paying $2 everyday to play.....being free is one of the main reasons i play, and one of the best ways to get more people into the sport....

I hear ya. I should have probably mentioned that I think having many or most courses free is crucial. If you look at the decline of ball golf it is pretty clear that the cost is a major factor. For a large part of my life I would not have been able to pony up the cash for a round, and I still won't play old man golf for that reason.

 

[Despare]

see this is exactly why everyone is gonna end up paying to play, JUST LIKE BALL GOLF!!.....people are gonna start accepting that concept, like despare who doesnt have a problem paying....no offense to you despare but, believe it or not people like you are ruining it for everyone....if dg comes down to pay to play, im sellin my sh!t on ebay

why does everyone think you have to spend money to have a good time? my grandpa allways told me some of the finest things in life are free....we allready pay enough city taxes, why should we have to pay to play at our city parks?

Really? I'm ruining it by following the rules of a good course? What do you suggest I do, cruise around finding free courses that aren't half as good? We pay because baskets aren't free, fixing them isn't free, putting up hole signs isn't free. Personally I like pay to play because a lot of the *******s that just come out to draw on the hole markers skip it. Let me know when you post your stuff.

 

[biscoe]

i'm assuming despare is talking about the michigan metroparks system primarily... if you haven't been up there these parks are incredible- we have nothing to compare in our area. a primary reason the parks are so good is they generate income rather than costing the municipalities some small amount of money and relying on volunteers for maintenance.

dg is never going to be all pay-to-play, the model is simply otherwise in too many places. i would welcome more pay-to-play facilities myself provided they are owner-maintained (whether publicly or privately owned) and dg exclusive in the area of the course.

 

[Psilaq]

I agree, the Metroparks are BOTH amazing courses!

 

[scarpfish]

why does everyone think you have to spend money to have a good time? my grandpa allways told me some of the finest things in life are free....we allready pay enough city taxes, why should we have to pay to play at our city parks?

Well, with the same line of reasoning in mind, why should the ball golfers have to play to use their facilities? Or the softball players? or people who use the local swimming pools? All of these things cost the taxpayers money. God forbid if the brunt of those costs have to be paid for by the people who are actually using the respective facilities.

 

[BrotherDave]

Well, with the same line of reasoning in mind, why should the ball golfers have to play to use their facilities? Or the softball players? or people who use the local swimming pools? All of these things cost the taxpayers money. God forbid if the brunt of those costs have to be paid for by the people who are actually using the respective facilities.

Playing Devil's advocate here but the great thing about DG is that it is WAY cheaper to install and maintain a course than ball golf courses, ball fields, pools, etc. For the most part they're just thrown into the parts of the park they couldn't do anything with in the first place. That's why it is so easy for clubs to keep them up. Castle Hayne, NC is a top notch course, extremely well-maintained and 100% volunteer responsible including baskets, concrete tees, benches and signs. I'm sure it's not the only one. Maybe I just live in an area where DG is a bit more revered or respected, I don't know. I definitely don't mind paying $2 to play the occasional nice course either though.

 

[Huk Finn]

I used to skate from 1990-2003, I liked it way more before it went mainstream. Once Tony hawk did the 900 and Nike made skate shoes it was a rap! Done deal.
I don't want Nike to start making 21speed distance-drivers and putters with air pockets while sponsoring the pros.

 

[YonderScott]

I hope like hell the four letter sports network never becomes involved in this sport. Period. I can't think of anything that could ruin it more. They've damn near made me lose interest in football and I didn't think that was possible.

 

[mashnut]

I think growth is good, but an explosion would instantly increase the level of two disc douchebaggery on courses everywhere. More new players that just go out and try the sport without someone along who knows the rules and etiquette means more groups of 10 you won't be able to play through, and more people who won't return your favorite disc when they find it. I think the best way for the sport to grow is by taking new people out to play and showing them how great a sport it is, and I'm not sure that a rapid commercialization and popularization would be good for the sport at all.

 

[XxInnovaxX]

Really? I'm ruining it by following the rules of a good course? What do you suggest I do, cruise around finding free courses that aren't half as good? We pay because baskets aren't free, fixing them isn't free, putting up hole signs isn't free. Personally I like pay to play because a lot of the *******s that just come out to draw on the hole markers skip it. Let me know when you post your stuff.

move to texas...we have tons of great courses down here...and THEYRE FREE!!..... as far as paying for fixing courses up thats what comes out of your club membership, club workdays, mini tournaments......yeah i pay 20 a year.....but thats not just for a membership, its for a chance at the ace pot, at least i get something out of my 20 bucks....even if your not a member all entry fees have 2 bucks taken out for course maintanance....
5 to the course
2 to the club/course improvement
1 ace pot

and yeah i guess i pay to play everytime i play in a mini tournament...but when im cashing nearly everytime its not like im losing money....and even if i did lose i at least had a chance to make my money back...

but paying to play everytime i go out.....screw that....at least with a club membership i have a say in what gets changed or fixed on a course...instead of just giving someone else the money to do whatever they want with it...

 

[Waddly Hobbins]

I haven't played on a pay to play course as of yet, so I can't fully attest to them. Disc golf in the area I live in is very low key. I live in a disc golf dead zone, it's 40 minutes to get to any disc golf course. The courses I play I think a really nice and when I'm there I rarely see anyone else playing. I don't have to wait to play through, no disc thieves, or any other nastiness.

Now, I'm going to be moving next month to a much more populated area and I know that from reviews that the courses are much busier. I will try out different courses in the area and if I find a really nice free one so be it... however the number 6 rated course on DGCoursereview.com will be 5 miles from the town I'm moving too and it will be hard not to get a season pass, I think.

 

[Technohic]

Keep it low key.

I would hate to have to start getting tee times or pay for it for that matter.

Even if it didnt do that, it would make the courses get more crowded and when I take my 8 year old son, I am always trying to be curteous and let people play through so; I would probably get stuck at a hole for quite a while as everyone goes through.

 

[StymieDidIt]

Keep it low key.

I would hate to have to start getting tee times or pay for it for that matter.

Even if it didnt do that, it would make the courses get more crowded and when I take my 8 year old son, I am always trying to be curteous and let people play through so; I would probably get stuck at a hole for quite a while as everyone goes through.

I was just going to write a similar point. Nice post. With recogintion, comes crowds and fees, along with scheduled tee times etc. One of the neat points about discgolf is the relaxed atmosphere with ability to simply drive up to the park and throw a round. For me it has very little to do with money, unless they want $10 or more to play. Not that I have a problem paying more than $10, but it would have to include a well groomed course with an excellent trail sytem and facilities around the park. Mainstreaming this sport and encouraging it to grow faster than it naturally would, will crowd courses, limiting playing time, probably cause shortages in disc and equipment availability. I think a natural progression is good. If it someday takes off and becomes the new "ball golf", sobeit.

 

[Despare]

move to texas...we have tons of great courses down here...and THEYRE FREE!!..... as far as paying for fixing courses up thats what comes out of your club membership, club workdays, mini tournaments......yeah i pay 20 a year.....but thats not just for a membership, its for a chance at the ace pot, at least i get something out of my 20 bucks....even if your not a member all entry fees have 2 bucks taken out for course maintanance....
5 to the course
2 to the club/course improvement
1 ace pot

and yeah i guess i pay to play everytime i play in a mini tournament...but when im cashing nearly everytime its not like im losing money....and even if i did lose i at least had a chance to make my money back...

but paying to play everytime i go out.....screw that....at least with a club membership i have a say in what gets changed or fixed on a course...instead of just giving someone else the money to do whatever they want with it...

We don't have a club or club membership, there are leagues, but why would I pay $60.00 to join two leagues for two courses when I could get one bag tag. Metro Parks up here just work differently I suppose. I don't mind paying $2.00 (or $50.00 a year) for at least three great courses and a premium experience.

 

[mashnut]

We don't have a club or club membership, there are leagues, but why would I pay $60.00 to join two leagues for two courses when I could get one bag tag. Metro Parks up here just work differently I suppose. I don't mind paying $2.00 (or $50.00 a year) for at least three great courses and a premium experience.

I agree with you, if the money is going toward course maintenance and things like adding pin placements to the course, I'm perfectly happy to pay a couple bucks to play the course. Most of the pay to play courses I've been to have been well worth it, and generally have fewer people who are completely ignorant of course etiquette around, so you don't have to worry so much about getting stuck behind groups of 10, or being thrown on from behind.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I was at a tournament yesterday and a local newspaper reporter was there. He interviewed me and ask me about disc golf, and why do people play. I told him its great exercise and its great for families to spend quality together, and it doesn't cost much to play.

I looked at the papers website and there is nothing there yet, so I hope it will be in tomorrows paper.