On the edge of professional Disc Golf

[Aim For The Chains]

^^WAAAY more popular.

Im not even sure WAAAAY describes how much more popular they are..

DG might be one of the LEAST popular sports in the country.

Chess easily beats it out, girls dance-line, tennis, cheerleading, Pigeon racing and the list goes on. I cant think of a single sport which gets less exposure/credibility. Hell if Lacrosse made it this far its possible for DG though'

 

[Tpro]

Im not even sure WAAAAY describes how much more popular they are..

DG might be one of the LEAST popular sports in the country.

Chess easily beats it out, girls dance-line, tennis, cheerleading, Pigeon racing and the list goes on. I cant think of a single sport which gets less exposure/credibility. Hell if Lacrosse made it this far its possible for DG though'

LAX has been around a VERY long time. But thanks, I will now youtube pigeon racing. :clap:

 

[disc qualified]

i don't know about the numbers of those who currently play, but i'd be willing to bet that well over a million have played within the past few years.

i'm constantly running into people who used to play in college, high school, with a group of friends, etc. bartenders, neighbors, friends of friends that i meet at parties, a wide variety of people who have been exposed to disc golf on some level.

now, the number of serious, well informed players is considerably smaller but there are quite a few people out there who have played before.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

yes DG is very young as a "sport" though true^

 

[Jay Dub]

LAX has been around a VERY long time. But thanks, I will now youtube pigeon racing. :clap:

Mike Tyson is involved in this sport. Or was a couple years ago. ESPN did an episode, 1 hour long I think, about his racing and filmed a race for that show.

I would think if DG is anywhere close to 7 million then the people who have picked up a disc and played one round then never played again would have to be included in that number.

 

[Halcón]

There are 20,000 current PDGA members. If you had a ratio of current regular players to current members of 50:1, you get a million who play regularly worldwide. The ratio might even be smaller, maybe 30:1. Or 20:1.

The game is not as popular as it seems to us on DGCR.

 

[disc qualified]

There are 20,000 current PDGA members. If you had a ratio of current regular players to current members of 50:1, you get a million who play regularly worldwide. The ratio might even be smaller, maybe 30:1. Or 20:1.

The game is not as popular as it seems to us on DGCR.

i would argue that it is more popular than you think

but that is the casual player who has no clue about the pdga, what a latitude 64 is, no idea what hyzer means and wouldn't know what to do with a mini if you gave them one

the number of serious, well informed, tournament playing disc golfers may not be that high, but there are a lot of people out there who have a disc or two

 

[John Hansen]

Here in Roswell NM (POP. 50,000), 8 people are listed as PDGA members. Two have moved, three very rarely play anymore, one i have never heard of and two play all the time. There are about 10 -15 more who play weekly. We have one 18 hole course and one 9 hole course. On the plus side there is no waiting for a tee. :\

 

[Halcón]

Perhaps you're right, disc qualified. It could also be that DG is just not that popular where I live. Perhaps if I were in Charlotte, or some other hot spot, I might see things differently.

 

[JTacoma03]

i don't know about the numbers of those who currently play, but i'd be willing to bet that well over a million have played within the past few years.

i'm constantly running into people who used to play in college, high school, with a group of friends, etc. bartenders, neighbors, friends of friends that i meet at parties, a wide variety of people who have been exposed to disc golf on some level.

now, the number of serious, well informed players is considerably smaller but there are quite a few people out there who have played before.

This is the important distinction. Play regularly vs. have played (or have knowledge of the sports' existence).

Another byproduct of what Jussi is talking about is retention rate. How many of the latter group do not come back because there is no structure, barely a community, and no lifestyle/culture to draw them in? My personal guess is it's very high. People by nature are social, and despite the ten posters who will probably reply saying "I do what I want regardless of what other people do 'cuz I'm cool" (*cough* bullsh*t *cough*) people want to be a part of something that other people are doing. If the sport looks abandoned or hopeless then people don't come back.

Hopefully it's evident to see how this retention rate is important to the business side of the sport too so I don't have to spell it out.

 

[Tpro]

This is the important distinction. Play regularly vs. have played (or have knowledge of the sports' existence).

Another byproduct of what Jussi is talking about is retention rate. How many of the latter group do not come back because there is no structure, barely a community, and no lifestyle/culture to draw them in? My personal guess is it's very high. People by nature are social, and despite the ten posters who will probably reply saying "I do what I want regardless of what other people do 'cuz I'm cool" (*cough* bullsh*t *cough*) people want to be a part of something that other people are doing. If the sport looks abandoned or hopeless then people don't come back.

Hopefully it's evident to see how this retention rate is important to the business side of the sport too so I don't have to spell it out.

I seriously hangout with maybe 4 people that dont Throw some sort of Dinner Plate regularly and one is my Girlfriend... Yea, I would say I live in a lifestyle/culture that was pulled me in over the years. From travelling to who I have beers with all throw plastic.. But then again I live in NC and we have a rather large community..

 

[bombmk]

This whole debate comes down to "get more people to play".

All the other stuff will come from that - if it can.

One thing I would like to hear from Jussi would be his experience with getting the younger kids to play. Something happened in Finland in that regard, that I have not seen/heard of anywhere else.

Is it just a matter of hitting a critical mass - and was that through luck or focused effort?

 

[JC17393]

This is the important distinction. Play regularly vs. have played (or have knowledge of the sports' existence).

Another byproduct of what Jussi is talking about is retention rate. How many of the latter group do not come back because there is no structure, barely a community, and no lifestyle/culture to draw them in? My personal guess is it's very high. People by nature are social, and despite the ten posters who will probably reply saying "I do what I want regardless of what other people do 'cuz I'm cool" (*cough* bullsh*t *cough*) people want to be a part of something that other people are doing. If the sport looks abandoned or hopeless then people don't come back.

Hopefully it's evident to see how this retention rate is important to the business side of the sport too so I don't have to spell it out.

I think the bolded gets right down to the nitty gritty of why more pay for play courses would be hugely beneficial in the long run of the game. Those folks who play once to "give it a try" might be more likely to come back and do it again if their first taste of the sport at a facility dedicated to the game. As it is now, most people find the game because someone they know plays and brings them out to the course. If that person doesn't bring them out again, how likely are they to play again? More opportunities for people to just "pop in" on the game is what's going to help the game grow awareness and its player base.

One way to look at it is in comparison to something like mini golf or bowling. Would people go mini golfing if they had to bring their own club and their own ball each time they went to play at the local state park, or bowling if they had to own their own ball and bring it with them to the free alley at the local playground? The enthusiasts probably would, but not necessarily your average family in search of a couple hours of fun. But since the cost of playing 18 holes of mini golf includes a ball and a putter per person, and bowling comes with a rented ball and shoes, it's easy for that family to have their fun even on a spur of the moment decision to play. Disc golf facilities where you can pay for a round and rent a disc or a set of discs to play with gives those family groups (or dating couples or what have you) one more option for recreation.

 

[DavidSauls]

That's a really cool idea. Probably being done somewhere, but I haven't heard of it. One limitation is that it has to be beginner-friendly courses.

 

[JTacoma03]

I think the bolded gets right down to the nitty gritty of why more pay for play courses would be hugely beneficial in the long run of the game. Those folks who play once to "give it a try" might be more likely to come back and do it again if their first taste of the sport at a facility dedicated to the game. As it is now, most people find the game because someone they know plays and brings them out to the course. If that person doesn't bring them out again, how likely are they to play again? More opportunities for people to just "pop in" on the game is what's going to help the game grow awareness and its player base.

One way to look at it is in comparison to something like mini golf or bowling. Would people go mini golfing if they had to bring their own club and their own ball each time they went to play at the local state park, or bowling if they had to own their own ball and bring it with them to the free alley at the local playground? The enthusiasts probably would, but not necessarily your average family in search of a couple hours of fun. But since the cost of playing 18 holes of mini golf includes a ball and a putter per person, and bowling comes with a rented ball and shoes, it's easy for that family to have their fun even on a spur of the moment decision to play. Disc golf facilities where you can pay for a round and rent a disc or a set of discs to play with gives those family groups (or dating couples or what have you) one more option for recreation.

I think you make some good points, which I think are integral but the opposing people need to seriously consider. Also there are many courses that have that kind of setup for disc rental and culture cultivation - Shady Oaks in Sacramento, CA comes to mind - they have a pro shop, random doubles every day at 10:30am, and disc rental at the pro shop as well.

I don't think disc rental personally is a huge market, but DX plastic doesn't cost much so it has high relative value to rental. A section of a shop on a dedicated (pay) course would suffice. $15 a person to get going ($5 for the round, $10 for a DX disc?) is a great affordable date, and if lots of people are around because the culture is there then we will get more people into the game at the casual level, which is where all the $$$ is.

 

[JC17393]

I think you make some good points, which I think are integral but the opposing people need to seriously consider. Also there are many courses that have that kind of setup for disc rental and culture cultivation - Shady Oaks in Sacramento, CA comes to mind - they have a pro shop, random doubles every day at 10:30am, and disc rental at the pro shop as well.

I don't think disc rental personally is a huge market, but DX plastic doesn't cost much so it has high relative value to rental. A section of a shop on a dedicated (pay) course would suffice. $15 a person to get going ($5 for the round, $10 for a DX disc?) is a great affordable date, and if lots of people are around because the culture is there then we will get more people into the game at the casual level, which is where all the $$$ is.

I'm not suggesting that rentals are a huge market by any means. But as a way for folks to get into the game without having to make a long term investment, it does a great deal of good. Sure, a disc is a cheap purchase but if you've never played before and have no idea if you'd ever want to play again, are you going to buy a $10 piece of equipment or would you rather have the option to rent it for $1 instead.

I see a lot of folks who rent discs from us doing it their first three or four times out, sometimes more often than that. Some even come in each time looking for a specific rental disc that they used before. Often it's just a matter of realizing that a $10 DX disc pays for itself after 10 rounds in which one doesn't have to rent a disc. But they have to convince themselves that they're going to play 10 rounds or more before they decide to invest, then it just snowballs from there.

Bottom line, I think, is that the more people who get that taste of the game, the more awareness of the game there will be. The grassroots, word of mouth (you tell two friends, and they tell two friends, etc) growth of the game is only going to get us so far.

 

[disc qualified]

the option of disc rentals allows for a family outing where the whole family can try it out and have a bonding experience without a major financial commitment

 

[krisnosti]

Demographics, empirical data, group affiliations, potential income, psychoactive predilections, shrewd cross marketing expertise, cultural superiority : blah blah blah.
Must commerce rule every aspect of our lives? Can't we just throw some discs and leave it at that?
Frisbees are fun to throw. People don't hunt anymore, but our brains are still hard wired to do so. We throw Frisbees to remain agile in the hand eye coordination department. Simple.
Tell us again though Bill Gates; how many camels can make it through the eye of a disc golf basket again?
Bring more levity please: quit trying to fix, diagnose, or otherwise influence the institution known as disc golf, it's doing just fine (though you would insist otherwise) without you.
Thanks for letting me rant - I'm off to look at the cool disc golf photos thread and mine some real value from this here interweb.

 

[JMeresmaa]

One thing I´ve been wondering for a while: People say that Frisbee (and disc golf too) was big in the 80s and there were lots of spectators in those events (Rose Bowl, LaMirada, etc). It was booming back then. What happened? And why do you think it happened? Who were behind the boom? What are the reasons it died down. This information could be very important. Thanks.

 

[spicybird6]

One thing I´ve been wondering for a while: People say that Frisbee (and disc golf too) was big in the 80s and there were lots of spectators in those events (Rose Bowl, LaMirada, etc). It was booming back then. What happened? And why do you think it happened? Who were behind the boom? What are the reasons it died down. This information could be very important. Thanks.

My guess would be back then people didn't have the technology we have now.
Familes,single, couples would go out more and enjoy nature.

People were alot more simple and always outside, now it's a whole different world:|