• Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
    It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)

Disc Golf in the Olympics?

Will there be Disc Golf in the Olympics?

  • It could happen in 2012 if the PDGA or some other entity pushes for it

    Votes: 12 4.9%
  • It will not happen in 2012, but will eventually be in the Olympics

    Votes: 104 42.4%
  • There is no chance that Disc Golf will ever appear in the Olympic games

    Votes: 129 52.7%

  • Total voters
    245
I think Ultimate would fit perfectly into the Olympics. It's kind of surprising that it's not already in.
 
Renamed title. The original post led to an Adsense loaded page with little content. Just felt like it was fishing for clicks without providing any actual information.
 
You'll eat your words when disc golf is in the 2012 games! :D
 
I think the topic was discussed not so long ago. A sport doesn't have to be in the Olympics to be legit. American football being the biggest example.
 
Exactly.. and I have a feeling ball golf would make it (back) into the Olympics before disc golf did.

There's no reason to duplicate the discussion of the thread you linked in a new one so I'll just merge the two of them.
 
the fact bmx and mountain biking were in the olympics this year gives every fringe sport some glimmer of hope of being there.

DG just isnt as global as some of the sports out there. It's a niche sport. Just because it's something we are very familiar with - doesnt mean it's a popular worldwide sport and therefore "HAS" to be in the olympics.

People put down Waterpolo and Handball just because they arent widely popular in the US. They are sports that belong in the Olympics. When i watch the olympics - i want to see these sports - since the olympics is their superbowl. It's a once every 4 year dosage of true Olympic sports. Waterpolo has been in since 1900 and Indoor Handball since 1972 (outdoor in 1936).

The Olympics are the pinnacle or "Superbowl" for most of the sports in the Olympics.

I'm a traditionalist and i like watching the more traditional olympic sports. Swimming/Track n Field/ gymnastics / indoor volleyball / waterpolo / rowing . Some of the sports i dont care for as much like equestrian or shooting but they have been there forever and are worldwide sports and get grandfathered in. Some of the sports like soccer or baseball dont really matter much cause the World Cup or World Series are what really matters in those sports.

DISC AND BALL GOLF just dontseem like a traditional Olympic sports to me.
 
It is totally possible. There are 19 other countries beside the us with established disc golf courses according to discgolfdirectory.com. Japan being one of them with 36. So there would be plenty of competition and participation from all over the globe. With the IOC meeting to discuss the addition of two sports sometime in 2009, what better time to start then now? Sign the online petition at www.petitiononline.com/discgolf
 
When I watch the Olympics, I see sports that are typically (though not exclusively) competitive at the collegiate level, and are not typically pro sports. I realize there are exceptions to this generalization (basketball, gymnastics, etc.), but generally – these sports come from somewhere.

Unfortunately, outside the disc golf community, I think most people consider this a hobby rather than a sport. When thinking about how we can advance disc golf to the next level, I believe that the Olympics could be in our future, but not at this point.

Rather, it seems to me that college campuses are awash with disc golf right now. Most larger schools have a disc golf organization or club, and many host events and tournaments. Why not promote disc golf as a collegiate sport (similar to collegiate ball golf teams), and "legitimize" the clubs as actual teams that play against other colleges? The players are already there, as are the courses, as is what would be the governing body (NCAA) with some education and consulting from the PDGA.

I think this would be the best way to move our sport forward in the eyes of the public, and potentially make the jump to the Olympics at some point down the road.
 
Unfortunately, outside the disc golf community, I think most people consider this a hobby rather than a sport.
There are a decent number of people inside the disc golf community who both think of DG as a hobby (not a sport) and treat it as a hobby (not a sport). While that's true in most "sports" I think that attitude is more prevalent in DG than other sports.

How many threads are there on basketball or baseball message boards discussing the topic of "Does it bother you to see people smoking weed while playing?"...?

ERic
 
Last edited:
Good points ERic. And it does bother me to see people smoking weed on courses. These folks (generally; not exclusively) are notoriously slow and often are oblivious to others trying to play a serious round. I do have some other thoughts, however:

You raise an interesting point regarding the difference between "hobbies" and "sports." I went to college with some guys that would regularly get high and play ping-pong in the basement. They played horribly, but had a great time. I don't fault them for it. But ping-pong is an Olympic sport. I guess you wouldn't see too many people getting high and then doing a routine on the uneven bars, but you get my point.

Any sport is dependent on how serious you take it. I realize that I will likely never play in a pro tournament, it's just not my priority; and in this sense I guess disc golf is more of a hobby for me than a sport. But I do try for best scores, I practice fundamentals, stretch before rounds, and really try to improve on my game. Guys that get together, drink beer, and play a scratch tag-football game on Saturday afternoon are playing a sport, aren't they?

I'm not trying to be defensive here, but I guess my point is that just because some college guys get high on the disc golf course does not mean that many disc golfers are not sportsman, or that the game is excluded from NCAA or Olympic consideration.

(At risk of sounding preachy…) I love my sport, which may also be my hobby, but it will in my mind – like all sports – be a hopefully long journey of albeit inconsistent progress toward excellence.
 
Top