What is the 'identity' of disc golf?

[Pwingles]

While I would like disc golf to become more recognized so that it's easier to explain what I'm doing and so less people decide to picnic under baskets and on tees. I don't know that I want more private courses, dress codes in tournaments, and the like.

I believe what the point the poster you quoted was trying to make was: the more recognized disc golf becomes and the more players it attracts the more crowded the local courses will be. Therefore you'll have to pay to play the good courses and you won't be able to just go play a couple quick rounds with your buddies on a Saturday at the decent local course.

Also all of these things sound like golf (ball) elitism/snobbery stereotypes. I don't think disc golf needs to be a country club sport. If it evolves into one whatever I'll still play but I don't see anything wrong with disc golf taken seriously as it is now without (ahem partaking in any illicit substances)

I mean taken seriously by a player. I don't need a dress code or pay to play courses to try to play my best in a league round, a casual round, or a tournament round.

I think those things make disc golf less inclusive.

I agree thats what the other poster point was most likely. I would also concede that it would make certain aspects less inclusive, but i wouldnt generalize that into the whole sport is now less inclusive because of how tournaments are ran and how private courses operate.

Overcrowding on public courses is a blessing and a curse. But the overcrowding has nothing to do with the 1% of the 1% of golfers who choose to play tourneys, competetive leagues, or on private courses.

Its simply that the sport is growing. So i dont see an argument for how disc golf essentially getting more organized and commercial will further be a problem. Its already a problem, and its not necessarily a bad thing. It could in a lot of areas get the city or parks dept to look into more courses to meet the demand. It will bring business to not only disc golf related businesses but other local eateries, hotels, gas stations, etc.

Cities will take notice, or maybe youll have to show them but either way, its a step in a necessary direction for the growth of disc golf. Outside of private land, cities will have to be on board in some way or another, be it for permission, land, funding, labor, or all of those, youre going to have to go thru someone if its not private.

So what this all summizes to is, disc golf is growing at a rate that is hard to control based on even the record number of courses going in the last few years. Its still hard to accomodate this growing thing.

It is inevitable that some places will need to adress this by one of a few ways. They can install a new course(s), or take the courses out for safety reasons of the other park goers (more of a possibility than some may think).

So, if you dont want the latter to be an actual possibility, you need to help make that choice harder for you cities by not giving them the impression that disc golf is negative.

The private courses, dress codes for tournaments, smoking and alcohol bans during tourneys, etc are all inevitabilities, whether people like them or not. So i wont debate those anymore simply because the people they offend are not going to be affected by it really.

In this economy, cities will need justification to put in new courses. So dont give them a reason to not help disc golf grow.
Good marketing, sponsors and their money, more organization and unification amongst the pdga, bigger clubs, and smaller clubs, better events with more attractive prize pools. All of this will grow the competetive side of the sport, while simultaniously stimulating the casual side of the sport and it will create a marketing and revenue circle that would help sustain disc golf while taking it to a higher level.

 

[HotPinkBeast]

It's a cool sport and fun to play! JMO

 

[mjoyce]

I agree thats what the other poster point was most likely. I would also concede that it would make certain aspects less inclusive, but i wouldnt generalize that into the whole sport is now less inclusive because of how tournaments are ran and how private courses operate.

I agree with you that it would make certain aspects less inclusive. But what I was trying to say in my post is that I want to include the guy that's coming out to leagues for the first time completely by himself that doesn't know anyone. If we make that aspect intimidating to that person the competitive aspect of the sport doesn't grow and feed the casual aspect of the sport.

Overcrowding on public courses is a blessing and a curse. But the overcrowding has nothing to do with the 1% of the 1% of golfers who choose to play tourneys, competetive leagues, or on private courses.

Its simply that the sport is growing. So i dont see an argument for how disc golf essentially getting more organized and commercial will further be a problem. Its already a problem, and its not necessarily a bad thing. It could in a lot of areas get the city or parks dept to look into more courses to meet the demand. It will bring business to not only disc golf related businesses but other local eateries, hotels, gas stations, etc.

Cities will take notice, or maybe youll have to show them but either way, its a step in a necessary direction for the growth of disc golf. Outside of private land, cities will have to be on board in some way or another, be it for permission, land, funding, labor, or all of those, youre going to have to go thru someone if its not private.

So what this all summizes to is, disc golf is growing at a rate that is hard to control based on even the record number of courses going in the last few years. Its still hard to accomodate this growing thing.

It is inevitable that some places will need to adress this by one of a few ways. They can install a new course(s), or take the courses out for safety reasons of the other park goers (more of a possibility than some may think).

So, if you dont want the latter to be an actual possibility, you need to help make that choice harder for you cities by not giving them the impression that disc golf is negative.

The private courses, dress codes for tournaments, smoking and alcohol bans during tourneys, etc are all inevitabilities, whether people like them or not. So i wont debate those anymore simply because the people they offend are not going to be affected by it really.

In this economy, cities will need justification to put in new courses. So dont give them a reason to not help disc golf grow.
Good marketing, sponsors and their money, more organization and unification amongst the pdga, bigger clubs, and smaller clubs, better events with more attractive prize pools. All of this will grow the competetive side of the sport, while simultaniously stimulating the casual side of the sport and it will create a marketing and revenue circle that would help sustain disc golf while taking it to a higher level.

I agree with you there's no reason to make disc golf seem negative. Or further reenforce negative stereotypes.

 

[Hampstead]

One of the wonderful things about disc golf is that it can be many things to many people.
You are free to take it as seriously or as casually as you want.
That is a large part of its appeal.
For some it is an excuse to exercise.
For some it is a form of therapy
For some it is an opportunity to hang out with friends.
For many it is a way of life.
It is what it is what it is.

 

[DanJon]

disc golf is a baby compared to other sports and their identities. every so often we have these threads where some people cry about it and some people learn to walk.

 

[jcf5083]

My saying is that every person on the course fulfills one of the following:

• Shirtless
• <30
• Smoker

 

[keltik]

the thread should have stopped here. Brosephus David you are insightful.

 

[SomeChump]

We all have a limited view, heavily influenced by who we play with, where we play, and who we talk to.

Including me. I've been playing for 17 years, played PDGA tournaments for 16 years, played courses in 16 states. I'm older than many folks here. And only a handful of times have I run into substance-use issues, either legal or illegal, on a course. I've been a club board member for 14 years and a small disc golf store owner for 3, where I get to meet a greater cross-section of the local disc golf scene.

I've described the people I've met playing disc golf as similar to the people I've met on hiking trails---all ages, all walks of life, perhaps on average a bit on the mellow side of normal.


Mine may be a minority experience. Even a rare experience. .

Where are you playing? I've never been on a course where I didn't see someone lighting up some wacky tobacky. It seems particularly prevalent where I am now (asked during PDGA rounds if I'm 420 friendly), but it's in other states too.

 

[BrotherDave]

That's what everyone sees but i reality it's more

The Family Man - - The Guy Who Wants To Lose Weight - - The DG Addict - - The Minority (hippes, rednecks, etc.)

That's talking about people who actually play DG, people who go to the course just to fck off and cause problems, well you've got it down pretty good

Around here, "the Minority" grossly outnumbers all others. So that pic is pretty accurate for my area.



If anyone wonders, I started out as a College DB.

 

[Pwingles]

Why fix something that is not broken? The sport is growing; don't homogenize it.

The game itself is growing, the "sport" is growing at a far slower pace

 

[jtreadwell]

The game itself is growing, the "sport" is growing at a far slower pace

This statement should end the thread. It is truth.

 

[NDABRUSH]

the thread should have stopped here. Brosephus David you are insightful.

He forgot a more recent addition, DGCR nerd.opcorn: This site is like D&D for many of us.

 

[DavidSauls]

Where are you playing? I've never been on a course where I didn't see someone lighting up some wacky tobacky. It seems particularly prevalent where I am now (asked during PDGA rounds if I'm 420 friendly), but it's in other states too.

Mostly Earlewood (Columbia, SC), Crooked Creek (Chapin, SC), and Stoney Hill (where there's nobody else on the course). Tournaments around South Carolina and Augusta, GA.

Earlewood probably has more illicit activity than I encounter, but it's a pretty cozy course so fragrances and behaviours spill over from one fairway to another. Crooked Creek's rather family-friendly.

 

[Dookville]

What seemed like an innocuous question in the OP sure has sparked a lot of opninion. I think people are passionate about how people percieve us discgolfers and our sport. We are just all over the board in our responses and most seem to like it that way.

There is some homoginization in the sport by the way; they are called the rules of play.

 

[thugjitsu]

Thats good to hear, honestly though the littering mostly comes from noobs and bros and whatnot and not most serious or semi serious golfers. But they are the people along with your hippy stoner guys who do absolutely nothing for disc golf except tarnish the publics view of disc golf. Not to say there arent some serious golfers who are takers from the sport but those are a more rare POS person.

Lol i took awhile to come back to this thread, It's funny most of the stoners here are very lowkey about it because they've played here for soooooo long. And they're also very polite and also great players. The cops even know them and know where they chief but they don't bother them because thats how much of a low profile they keep.

Its the nooby smokers who cause trouble and smoke in the most open places near the playground and shizz, and it really irks me. They are also the ones who scream, piss and moan after every foul shot. Not to mention they steal discs and somehow don't understand the use of the word 'FORE'.

We also have kids here who are younger brothers of people who've played here forever and because of that they have this sense of entitlement that they can throw onto you every hole, throw when kids are crossing the fairways, and curse at people who are picnicing instead of asking politely. It's funny when i call this on them they suddenly use the phrase "this is a public park blah blah' but they don't give picnicers or other locals the same respect.

Until people like this go away or learn some respect, it'll be tough to get respect from the general public around here because they come into contact with so many douchers.

FIN​

 

[funkyjase]

Personally I think the identity of disc golf is sort of like bowling. You can take it really serious or you can bring your kids and make a mess of the whole thing. Pro bowlers obsess about shoes, balls, the wax on the lanes, pin wear, etc. And yet people at the bowling alley obsess about the beer, hot dogs, juke box, etc.

great comparison! disc golf may never evolve to the point where it's difficult for everyone to enjoy...

 

[Dookville]

We also have kids here who are younger brothers of people who've played here forever and because of that they have this sense of entitlement that they can throw onto you every hole, throw when kids are crossing the fairways, and curse at people who are picnicing instead of asking politely. It's funny when i call this on them they suddenly use the phrase "this is a public park blah blah' but they don't give picnicers or other locals the same respect.

FIN​

Thug speaks the truth, we play the same home course. This is one of the largest multi use parks in the county. It is also home to two very long World Class DGC's. For the most part the local set is both our casual and tourney player combined. Long time players with lots of respect for the park and the game.

If not for operational costs and the fear that the county would pull the courses, this could be a disc golf mecca. That combined with the obligatory yahoos that seem to frequent the course, what we end up doing is trying to police it ourselves. I wish there was a little more governing in this case.

Thugs a rock though, and he "Always at La Mirada".

 

[Giv'r]

This question has bugged me for awhile now. The recent vids of Avery playing with Brodie caused me to post this. In those vids, Avery is trying to sell disc golf as an athletic sport. There's nothing wrong with that, but what is our identity?

IMO disc golf has no identity whatsoever. It is played by all types of people for many different reasons. Very few of these people actually consider themselves athletes.

"Are we trying to reach the holy grail and have people utter that coveted word 'sport' after the phrase disc golf?"

Some are, but it's not going to happen anytime soon. I'd call it a game myself, not a sport.

"Do we want to enhance the hippy culture?"

Some do. I don't.

"Do we want to reflect ball golf?"

Some do. I don't.

"Does the PDGA accurately represent who we think we are or what we want to become?"

Not really, but that would be impossible anyhow. Everyone wants different things. Quite frankly I'm fine with the status quo.

 

[Dookville]

There are videos on You Tube of the early 80's at the flying disc championships at La Mirada. They where spnosored by Coors brewing company and the prize money was something like $50,000. There where tons of people in the park and the galleries where huge. Mike Williams had on his short shorts and Steve Valencia was the up and coming favorite son that grew up across the street from the park. Television coverage was done by ABC's Wide World of Sports. It looked like there would be no end in sight as to where disc sports would be in 10, 20, 30 years.

Is this what we are hoping disc golf would be?

Because somebody screwed that all up and people got their feelings hurt and it all went south fast. Bummer too, because the prize money and sponsorship might have been huge by now and there might be 20,000 courses around the world instead of 4,000.

But I'm old and my memory is bad.

 

[thugjitsu]

There are videos on You Tube of the early 80's at the flying disc championships at La Mirada. They where spnosored by Coors brewing company and the prize money was something like $50,000. There where tons of people in the park and the galleries where huge. Mike Williams had on his short shorts and Steve Valencia was the up and coming favorite son that grew up across the street from the park. Television coverage was done by ABC's Wide World of Sports. It looked like there would be no end in sight as to where disc sports would be in 10, 20, 30 years.

Is this what we are hoping disc golf would be?

Because somebody screwed that all up and people got their feelings hurt and it all went south fast. Bummer too, because the prize money and sponsorship might have been huge by now and there might be 20,000 courses around the world instead of 4,000.

But I'm old and my memory is bad.

It was a combination of a few things. One, the county didn't like the fact of having beer sponsors in a public park and theere aren't many other companies willing to sponsor disc golf around here. Two, The beer companies didn't want there product being involved in something that had a lot a pot smokers around. Beer companies fight to keep weed illegal. Three, The county started wanting way too much money to close off the park to have big tournaments. Four, The last big tournament that was run there was a scuffle between the TD and the ill advised and promptly late showing county official.

There is still hope for another GSC or someother big tournament here but we need sponsors, volunteers, and someone who actually knows how to run a big tournament, the last of which i have no clue how to do. We also need to have all the same baskets installed which is a bit of $$$$.