Fastest Growing Sport in America?

[ehillis]

For those have heard of Pickleball, its governing organization, the USAPA, calls it the fastest growing sport in America.

A quick search for "fastest growing sport in america" yields results for lacrosse, NASCAR, mixed martial arts, and even bullriding, and that's just the first page I looked at. TONS of sports claim to be the America's fastest growing sport.

Anybody else think disc golf may be among them? (considering both raw numbers and by percentage relative to current membership probably lead to very different answers)

[Midnightbiker]

I have heard Disc Golf called the Fastest Growing Sport that nobody has ever heard of.

I try to tell people about disc golf where ever I go. I have gotten a co-worker into the sport, 3 of my neighbors, and my brother. I also have gotten the people at my local post office into the sport, because I mail alot of discs and they were asking me why I was in every week.

Try to promote the sport where ever you go.

[JR Stengele]

I just wait in anticipation till the day we see U.S win the gold for DG in the Olympics

[timg]

I'd be happy to just see it on tv

[sk8architecture]

The way I look at it is the same as skateboarding in the early 90's. At that point skateboarding was just starting to crawl out of a gimmick thing and into a respected revolution. There were pro's but no one was making any real money. Now look at it.
I'm with Midnightbiker I tell people about disc golf and I get weird looks. But once you get them out on a course the're hooked for life.
The trick for us here on the west coast is to keep the sport friendly and classy. I know alot of people that view disc golf as nothing more than Pot Smokers and Beer drinkers. But even those characters can be classy too.

[JConnell]

Originally Posted by sk8architecture

The way I look at it is the same as skateboarding in the early 90's. At that point skateboarding was just starting to crawl out of a gimmick thing and into a respected revolution. There were pro's but no one was making any real money. Now look at it.
I'm with Midnightbiker I tell people about disc golf and I get weird looks. But once you get them out on a course the're hooked for life.
The trick for us here on the west coast is to keep the sport friendly and classy. I know alot of people that view disc golf as nothing more than Pot Smokers and Beer drinkers. But even those characters can be classy too.

In my experience this can go both ways. I've brought friends out to the local rec course who were completely turned off to DG after running into some players that took the game and themselves far too seriously. I've also seen people turned away from DG because of players not taking it seriously enough. I think its important that everyone playing public parks puts things into perspective and finds a nice balance.

These are some examples of foks I've run into who give the sport a bad name:

The guy who blindly resents new players or new plastics and feels the need to tell you all about why
The guy openly smoking pot or drinking right at the tee-box when he could easily walk 15-20 feet away to privacy
The guy who acts like the course somehow belongs to him more than the next guy (usually because of how long he's played there)
The guy who immediately lashes out when he sees simple rules or "codes" being broken instead of constructively pointing out the problem and offering some insight and/or advice.

Although 99% of DG'ers I've met are nothing like these types, this 1% can easily ruin the fun and goodwill new players should always be entitled to.

[DanaHaberman]

i think one of the biggest factors holding back the spread of DG is availability of discs. Ive been to quite a few beautiful courses, only to be the only player there all day. Some of these courses dont have discs for sale for at least 50 miles.

I live in a college town and every summer there is a new huge wave of players. We only have a 9 hole and the wait time for each hole gets pretty lengthy. So at times i sit there and get impatient and wish there weren't so many players, but at the same time im amazed at the growth, and im glad.

[mike_riewer]

Give the sport some time and it will be on TV. ESPN covers table tennis, and the spelling bee, so eventually with its continued growth a tournement will be aired.

[Marv Vega]

I've been playing 5 years or so and have really seen the sport grow, when I started it seemed like the only people you'd see on the courses were mostly guys in their early to mid 20's or older guys who've been playing forever. Now, down in Florida anyway, the demagraphic seems to be changing. I see alot of seniors taking up the game as well as parents playing with their kids. Disc Golf also seems to pop up in the local news somewhere every 6 months or so, I think this helps generate interest.

[Midnightbiker]

Originally Posted by DanaHaberman

i think one of the biggest factors holding back the spread of DG is availability of discs. Ive been to quite a few beautiful courses, only to be the only player there all day. Some of these courses don't have discs for sale for at least 50 miles.

I live in a college town and every summer there is a new huge wave of players. We only have a 9 hole and the wait time for each hole gets pretty lengthy. So at times i sit there and get impatient and wish there weren't so many players, but at the same time I'm amazed at the growth, and I'm glad.

I have to agree with you on that point. Discs can be very hard to find, and most new players are not going to buy discs online if they can't hold them in their hands. I have heard that some Walmarts carry the discs, but not enough.

Also, there need to be more courses located closer to more people. My brother lives in the Eastside of Houston, TX and most of the courses are on the North and Westside of Houston. Most of the people on his side of town have never even heard of the sport, and they would have to drive almost 20 miles to even get to a course.

Also, there is a lack of education about the sport. I have played a courses where the course has been in that park for years, and locals still come up and ask what we are doing. I wish I knew how to promote the sport more, but I guess in less we can get the local meida involed, I just don't know.