Is Disc Golf Really "Exploding"?

[asjzn6]

Yes Disc Golf is Growing

I have recently relocated to Kansas City area. In April we did a booth at some healthy kids day fairs. Lots of interest from uninformed youngsters. The next day we went to pleasant hill to play their course. The course was full of kids and families. Kids are not going to google disc golf.

Also, YMCA of Greater Kansas City has just adopted Disc Golf as a youth sport.

Payouts for tournaments are getting bigger, how, sponsors are taking more interest and thinking they will get more out of it.

DGPlanet.tv they are broadcasting more tourneys than ever before.

Keen, makes a shoe specifically for disc golf.

Best thing you can do is support the growth, go teach disc golf to a elementary school, get your club invited to a parks and rec activity day, donate disc to children.

Disc Golf, like ball golf only faster cheaper and healthier

 

[dashiellx]

One thing to keep in mind is that when we start playing we will google 'disc golf', after that you know the sites to go to (ala this site) , or you are googling specific terms. So people googling that term consistantly shows constant growth.

I was thinking the same thing reading the OPs first post.

Also, what about searches for specific people, like Ken Climo, Nikko, etc.... Searches for Innova, Discraft, etc.... Not everyone is going to search on the terms selected.

 

[Rob Martin]

Kudos to the research itself. I'm impressed.

 

[DavidSauls]

I was thinking the same thing reading the OPs first post.

I wasn't thinking it....but find it a very good point.

I google lots of stuff and spend lots of time on this site---but almost never google anything disc-golf related. Occasionally I'll look for a club in another city, or google our course to see what other websites are mentioning it.

 

[dickparker]

Maybe the internet isn't the only way to gauge growth in a sport. We are getting people away from there computers and going out side. I would actually look at the lack of growth in google searches means people are actually outside playing...

As far as the fasting growing sport. The actual tag line over the years has been "The fastest growing sport you've never heard of"... over time people got rid of the last part because it sounds better to say we are the fastest growing sport.

Though look at things like the PDGA. The % of growth has been enormous and the growth in new courses has been greater as well. As for the DG store I work for we are currently breaking records in customers and in sales. We are currently tracking over 2500+ people in Kansas City alone. (We started tracking people in April of 2011) That doesn't even count the people who are still just playing with discs they find.

It's almost a daily occurrence to hear "I just play with my buddies discs. This is the first disc I've ever bought and I've been playing for a couple years." To me those people are not searching on google for disc golf. They just enjoy it and it gets them out of the house.

I would go so far as to say the people searching google for disc golf have already caught the bug and are actually 'serious' about playing the game. Not just being a one disc wonder and playing for fun. Look at the people still playing with lids. I would say this is were the growth is. You could go as far as to say that google searches are showing that the growth of people taking the sport seriously has yet to explode.

Just a thought...

 

[Osmo]

I love how googling something has become the way to determine everything.

 

[scarpfish]

I know that since I started playing, the number of places I have to go play has tripled. That's "explosive" enough for me.

It should be noted, there are a great number of folks out there who don't do internet, and disc golfers aren't really any different. I am often asked by new players on the course where I get my discs. I think if they were online, they would have no need to ask me.

 

[Osmo]

People mostly google sports they WATCH anyways. Not sports they play. Most dgers once they know the sites they dont have to google anything. Unlike Baseball and Football where they are constantly googling rumors and scores and players stats.

I know I havent googled anything to do with disc golf in atleast a month while i have googled stuff that has to do with baseball and football everyday.

 

[Jay Dub]

I know that since I started playing, the number of places I have to go play has tripled. That's "explosive" enough for me.

It should be noted, there are a great number of folks out there who don't do internet, and disc golfers aren't really any different. I am often asked by new players on the course where I get my discs. I think if they were online, they would have no need to ask me.

Maybe, but how many times do people post questions on these forums they could have easily done a search for either here or on Google? A lot of people are on the Internet with no clue how it works.

I don't think there's an "explosion" with disc golf. More of a slow burn that steadily keeps getting hotter and hotter.

 

[mjoyce]

most older places have basketball courts , tennis , baseball fields already. the only new thing most places are adding is dg courses

try to think of a game created in the last 50 years or so that is as poplular as dg

most established games have been around like 200 years , and hiking, jogging ,skateboarding,mma, arent really sports

I would venture to say that hiking, and jogging have been around since the dawn of man seeing as how we as a species evolved as hunter gatherers and it's been proven that one of the reasons we walk upright is due to running to hunt our prey.

You could also say that MMA has been around for a long time as well just not as a competitive sport/activity we know it as now.

 

[Osmo]

Maybe, but how many times do people post questions on these forums they could have easily done a search for either here or on Google? A lot of people are on the Internet with no clue how it works.

I don't think there's an "explosion" with disc golf. More of a slow burn that steadily keeps getting hotter and hotter.

i dunno man. even when comparing playing last year to this year there seems to be nearly double the people on the course.

 

[Osmo]

most older places have basketball courts , tennis , baseball fields already. the only new thing most places are adding is dg courses

try to think of a game created in the last 50 years or so that is as poplular as dg

most established games have been around like 200 years , and hiking, jogging ,skateboarding,mma, arent really sports

Why arent they "really" sports? Because you dont think they are? Thats stupid. A sport is anything that involves a physical activity where a person or team compete against each other.

You sound just like the people who say "Disc Golf isnt a sport".

 

[Jay Dub]

i dunno man. even when comparing playing last year to this year there seems to be nearly double the people on the course.

That's in one area and adds to the average but is not a true average for the country or sport.
Also my view is based on about 25 years of watching in my area. We use to have 7 courses when I first started and now have 30+. That's really good growth but not an explosion, IMO. That averages to about 1 new course a year.

 

[turbosteve]

Coincidentally the PDGA just updated the demographics chart. It shows steady growth in everything except for purse size.
http://www.pdga.com/files/documents/Demographics_Growth_Charts_2000-2011.pdf

 

[Stan McDaniel]

It seems that we have experienced the "explosion" of players here in Charlotte. The incredible number of 1 and 2 discers roaming in packs on our courses seems to bear this out. I think there are a few factors involved. One factor is the economy of the past half decade. Perhaps affordable recreation has driven many our way. Another factor is that we have provided disc golf venues all over Charlotte now so it is more convenient for people to get to a course to play. The last factor that comes to mind is that since there are so many people playing here now the "word of mouth" factor is gaining great momentum. I have engaged a number of beginners the last couple of weeks in some disc conversation with the intent of helping them learn to throw a bit better and to steer them toward our club website. Almost every person I have spoken to had been brought to a course by a friend who was a disc golf junkie. Whatever the reason or reasons, participation here in Charlotte is on a steady upswing, especially in the group that knows nothing of the Charlotte Disc Golf Club or the PDGA.

 

[Osmo]

That's in one area and adds to the average but is not a true average for the country or sport.
Also my view is based on about 25 years of watching in my area. We use to have 7 courses when I first started and now have 30+. That's really good growth but not an explosion, IMO. That averages to about 1 new course a year.

1 new course every year IS an explosion. I would be interested to find out how many of those new courses came in the past 10 years and the past 5 years. I bet more then half of them came in the last decade.

 

[JeCroisQue]

I don't think "exploding" is the right word. It's growing and we should be proud of that.

In my immediate area there is one course. However, over the last year, we put in new tee pads, new signs, increased club membership and participation (also the players in our club are getting better and better which is great). There are a couple others that are within a 30 minute drive, and over the next 2 years there are plans underway to add 2 new courses within the city. One of the local sports stores is also starting to carry more and more discs and our club hopes to cooperate with them in helping them order the right stock and working on events.

I would much rather have a steady growth rather than an explosion of interest that is associated with fads which tend to wane over time.

 

[BirdmanCR]

Has it exploded like lawn mower racing?

 

[turbosteve]

It seems that we have experienced the "explosion" of players here in Charlotte. The incredible number of 1 and 2 discers roaming in packs on our courses seems to bear this out. I think there are a few factors involved. One factor is the economy of the past half decade. Perhaps affordable recreation has driven many our way. Another factor is that we have provided disc golf venues all over Charlotte now so it is more convenient for people to get to a course to play. The last factor that comes to mind is that since there are so many people playing here now the "word of mouth" factor is gaining great momentum. I have engaged a number of beginners the last couple of weeks in some disc conversation with the intent of helping them learn to throw a bit better and to steer them toward our club website. Almost every person I have spoken to had been brought to a course by a friend who was a disc golf junkie. Whatever the reason or reasons, participation here in Charlotte is on a steady upswing, especially in the group that knows nothing of the Charlotte Disc Golf Club or the PDGA.

In Charlotte you even hear advertisements for disc golf on the radio.

 

[InnocentCrook]

1 new course every year IS an explosion. I would be interested to find out how many of those new courses came in the past 10 years and the past 5 years. I bet more then half of them came in the last decade.

See course timeline at bottom of page. Shows most of the courses we have in cincy, however a few of these have been pulled, and a few that we've added in the last few years aren't on the list yet.

70 & 80's - 8
90's - 8
2000's - 11
2010's - I think we've added 3 or 4 in this decade but that's just my estimation.

http://www.cincinnatidiscgolf.com/AboutUs/History.aspx