Public Perception of Disc Golf

[simpletwist]

I've oft wondered if the smoker stigma attached to DG was just an accurate reflection of users in society and the stigma was due to the ability to partake in such a setting. You can't exactly light-up in a bowling alley or pool hall. I wouldn't recommend any impairment prior to some rock climbing but can imagine that back at camp, fire wood isn't the only thing burning.

That's not actually true. I know of a bowling alley where on certain league nights its not technically allowed, but... And no one seems to mind.

 

[Clempson13]

And the whole, "oh we're not being taken seriously b/c of the way we look/dress/etc." is a little bogus IMO b/c they already do have attire rules for A-tiers and above.

exactly, in other sports you only wear the required attire during huge events. you never seen a loan cyclist in spandex; only during huge regional races. and even a guy just playing a casual round of ball golf will wear a wife-beater and cutoff blue jeans; all golfers leave the collared shirt stuff for the PGA events.

 

[Rocaholic74]

I added some quick additions to this but was told I could not change it....my post was not just about the substance but the growth of the sports as well but I ran out of time correcting my post...

I want the PDGA and DG to be better than the PGA....I want the sport to grow...I want more money and interest thrown into tournaments for those playing...but you have to remember....this game was invented in the 70's people....hippies were the first to play this game...and to be honest....hippies will always play this game..just except it for what it is and move on....

 

[jongoff09]

exactly, in other sports you only wear the required attire during huge events. you never seen a loan cyclist in spandex; only during huge regional races. and even a guy just playing a casual round of ball golf will wear a wife-beater and cutoff blue jeans; all golfers leave the collared shirt stuff for the PGA events.

Really? I find quite the opposite in my area. A lot of cyclists always wear spandex while riding, and a lot of the golf courses I play require collared shirts. I always wear khakis and a polo to golf in, no matter what course it is (yes, that includes the local munis that are like $8 per round and have no real defined fairways). A lot of the guys I play with do too.

 

[smarkquart]

And from a legal standpoint...you will only get in trouble if you're the one in possession of the substances.....not just on the same card as said person...

True when it comes to confronting a police officer at that exact moment. However, being in proximity of drug usage can constitute reasonable suspicion and whether or not I get charged with anything is not really the issue. Being near the activity can cause a bad reputation amongst the students, school board, and parents I serve at the school. Additionally, drug tests for employment and whatnot are not as subjective or lenient as an officer who has to make a judgment call. I am not saying that sitting next to a person who smokes is going to make me fail a test, but that is one situation I would prefer not to test any theories on.

At the end of the day, I basically do not care what you do as long as the course is not yanked for this behavior and or those who do partake do not expect me to leave because of the mentality that "if you don't like, you don't have to be here."

 

[Clempson13]

..just except it for what it is and move on....

thinking like that will only keep it the way it is. in order to correct the stereotype people will have to start standing up to the behavior they don't like. report substance abuse, whether is be drugs or alcohol, maybe even refuse to play with people who partake in this practice on the course.

when baseball was created it was primarily for men to get away from their wives and families and get trashed. in fact women weren't even allowed at the games unless they were of the "promiscuous" variety. now it is marketed as america's oldest past time and the iconic image of a father and son playing catch with each other. images can change, but it takes effort on behalf of those who play to do it. not acceptance of a behavior they feel negatively impacts its public image.

 

[Clempson13]

Really? I find quite the opposite in my area. A lot of cyclists always wear spandex while riding, and a lot of the golf courses I play require collared shirts. I always wear khakis and a polo to golf in, no matter what course it is (yes, that includes the local munis that are like $8 per round and have no real defined fairways). A lot of the guys I play with do too.

i was being sarcastic, but i'm glad you understand what i was getting at.

 

[Clempson13]

And from a legal standpoint...you will only get in trouble if you're the one in possession of the substances.....not just on the same card as said person...so in the words of Sgt. Hulka (as was stated above "Lighten up Francis/Frances."

false. guilty by association. look it up, it is real. you are just as guilty as the person committing the act if you are with them when it is committed and you do not report it.

 

[simpletwist]

exactly, in other sports you only wear the required attire during huge events. you never seen a loan cyclist in spandex; only during huge regional races. and even a guy just playing a casual round of ball golf will wear a wife-beater and cutoff blue jeans; all golfers leave the collared shirt stuff for the PGA events.

I've played ball golf for years and except for a few rural cow pasture courses you can't play bolf in either cutoffs or anything other than a collared shirt. And I'm not talking just snooty Country Clubs but most municipal courses.

Sometimes I wonder, I really do, where the hell a lot of you live. Locally our sport is growing by leaps and bounds. Positive local media coverage. Thousands of $$$ donated to charities by the local disc golf organization. New courses going in all the time. County & State Parks departments committed to the game. (He looks both ways and says quietly, "Psst, and here's a news flash for you, many of our most aggressive proponents for the game/sport smoke. Then he hears the gasp.)

 

[chris717]

I find it funny that people that talk crap about marijuana are also cigarette smokers...
I really don't get how it bothers people that much? I mean if u want to start complaing about crap lets talk about cig butts and beer cans all over the courses that is DISGUSTING!!!

Get with the times people its 2011.

 

[Rocaholic74]

thinking like that will only keep it the way it is. in order to correct the stereotype people will have to start standing up to the behavior they don't like. report substance abuse, whether is be drugs or alcohol, maybe even refuse to play with people who partake in this practice on the course.

when baseball was created it was primarily for men to get away from their wives and families and get trashed. in fact women weren't even allowed at the games unless they were of the "promiscuous" variety. now it is marketed as america's oldest past time and the iconic image of a father and son playing catch with each other. images can change, but it takes effort on behalf of those who play to do it. not acceptance of a behavior they feel negatively impacts its public image.

All I'm trying to say is that eventually there will be a split in the sport...those that want to take it to the next level, commercialize the game and get it recognized by t.v. and the public and those that want to keep certain aspects hidden or out of the public eye and just enjoy it for what they percieve the sport to be...neither is right or wrong in MHO....to each his own...who am I to tell someone that they can't go and drink a beer and play DG...who am I to tell someone he can't smoke when playing DG...I just want the park to remain open and I'm not going to be that DB that finds it necessary to police the entire world just because my beliefs are different from others and get my course pulled from the area....aren't we all adults (for the most part)...then let's act like adults and mind our own business and not act like middle schoolers who tattletale on other people..

 

[billnchristy]

Your vices should be like your religion, partake of both in the designated places and there would be no trouble.

 

[Rocaholic74]

^^^^^Very well said....

 

[simpletwist]

All I'm trying to say is that eventually there will be a split in the sport...those that want to take it to the next level, commercialize the game and get it recognized by t.v. and the public and those that want to keep certain aspects hidden or out of the public eye and just enjoy it for what they percieve the sport to be...neither is right or wrong in MHO....to each his own...who am I to tell someone that they can't go and drink a beer and play DG...who am I to tell someone he can't smoke when playing DG...I just want the park to remain open and I'm not going to be that DB that finds it necessary to police the entire world just because my beliefs are different from others and get my course pulled from the area....aren't we all adults (for the most part)...then let's act like adults and mind our own business and not act like middle schoolers who tattletale on other people..

Rock on, Rocaholic.

No one likes a snitch.

 

[megamerican]

I think the general public as a whole does not really have a perception of disc golf at all.

Back in the 90's my grandfather would walk around Todd park in Austin, MN and he'd pick up baseballs, softballs, golf balls and whatever else. He also took discs he found, regardless if they had a name and number on it because he hated all of the litter he saw all over the disc golf course. He did not have very many good things to say about disc golf players. I think that has changed somewhat since he knows how much I play and like it.

 

[DSmith]

Good discussion. Hopefully this thread will still be open after I get back from filling out paperwork for my new job this afternoon.

I'll add a quick response if its possible;

Q: How does the public perceive disc golf?

A: As a recreational activity.

Think about that for a second....or two ....let it sink in.

The players of said activity that stand out the most are the shirtless college kids in sandals and boxer shorts with one or 2 discs, drinking, smoking, being rowdy, leaving their garbage all over the park, breaking stuff.
Thats how we are viewed by the public.* There's nothing wrong with going out and having fun with friends in the park but when it's done in a negative way ......

*(luckily a few of us make it a point to let parks and rec know that those of us who are serious do positive things for the community like teaching kids disc golf,ice bowl charity tournaments etc. This brings a little balance for us)

Those are the "losers" the public media focuses on and when they spot one of us with a bag full of discs taking the sport side of discgolf seriously they view us as even bigger losers.

Anyhoo I'm off to fill out some forms. Keep my seat warm...

 

[Discwrangler]

I honestly don't care and don't think you should care. Do what you like, that's the point of life.

 

[simpletwist]

Good discussion. Hopefully this thread will still be open after I get back from filling out paperwork for my new job this afternoon.

I'll add a quick response if its possible;

Q: How does the public perceive disc golf?

A: As a recreational activity.

Think about that for a second....or two ....let it sink in.

The players of said activity that stand out the most are the shirtless college kids in sandals and boxer shorts with one or 2 discs, drinking, smoking, being rowdy, leaving their garbage all over the park, breaking stuff.
Thats how we are viewed by the public.* There's nothing wrong with going out and having fun with friends in the park but when it's done in a negative way ......

*(luckily a few of us make it a point to let parks and rec know that those of us who are serious do positive things for the community like teaching kids disc golf,ice bowl charity tournaments etc. This brings a little balance for us)

Those are the "losers" the public media focuses on and when they spot one of us with a bag full of discs taking the sport side of discgolf seriously they view us as even bigger losers.

Anyhoo I'm off to fill out some forms. Keep my seat warm...

Again, where the f&%@ do you all live? There are a dozen courses within the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area. And with the exception of the rare case at just one course, not all of the courses mind you, just the one, do I ever see these shirtless, jobless DBs that that seem so prevalent everywhere else. I'm not blind or delusional. I see professionals, families, teachers, construction workers, union guys, college kids, government employees, nurses, managers, grocery clerks. Many, the majority that I know do smoke its true. But destructive losers? I haven't seen them and that includes most of the Rochester area courses. I've played in other areas of this state, a couple other states, as well as once in Europe. Didn't see any of these losers on any of my travels. All I can do is shake my head at this never ending senseless debate. The haters will always find reasons to hate.

 

[giles]

at one local course every year you get a new batch of kids who just turned 16 and can drive but have no place to be. Some are probably good kids but all to often they cause problems.

 

[Rocaholic74]

To be honest with you....I think I've only seen shirtless Dg'ers in the dead middle of summer when it was 100 degrees and the humidity was like 95%. Besides that I've never seen a shirtless DG'er. I won't go shirtless b/c I was and still am a ball golfer as well as a Dg'er.....plus all the ticks and poison ivy around....I think a shirt would give a little more protection...

I've seen smoker and non-smokers trash parks...it's just not the smokers....you have no idea how many empty water and gatorade bottles I have seen non-smokers just dump all around the course....or the idiots that do bring alcohol to the course and forget that there are trashcans on almost every other hole....hold the damn can or bottle and wait till you see a trashcan....the bushes or deep schule are not the same thing as a trashcan....as for you cigarette smokers (I'm a smoker) please just put an ashtray in your bag....it makes the park look a lot better and those filters don't dissolve for something like a year or two....

There is a difference between a DG'er and a ??????(said person who just plays and destroys the course at the same time)....these are the people that give DG a bad rap...not the Dg'er's who have a little fun while playing Dg....it's the hooligans that destroy it for everyone....it's kind of like those soccer hooligans....it's ok to love soccer....it's ok to drink while attending a soccer match....it's not cool to become an a$$ and get drunk and destroy the stadium because your favorite team is getting beat or the ref made a horrible call....see where I'm going with that....it's not the responsible one's that get the sport in trouble..it's the exception to the exception of the rule...(see where I went with that one)....