VOTE For Your Local Club

[Golden Tuna]

I'm hoping DGCR can help me get a baseline understanding of what regional disc golf clubs are offering in return for annual membership dues & whether you feel that is a good value. If not, what are your suggestions for improvements?

I'm requesting this information for an upcoming meeting with my local Club Officers.

For the sake of data collection, answering with this format is appreciated:

City, State:
Club Origin: (City, Course, Municipality, Club/Group, etc.)
Annual Dues: ($)
Package: (What do you get for your annual dues? Bag tag, disc, tournament, etc.)
Benefits: (Why do you join your local club(s)?)
Is this a good value? (In your opinion, does your club offer a good cost/benefit ratio?)
How could your club improve?

 

[Golden Tuna]

For the sake of data collection, answering with this format is appreciated:

City, State: St. Louis, MO
Club Origin: (City, Course, Municipality, Club/Group, etc.) City: St. Louis
Annual Dues: ($)20-30
Package: What do you get for your annual dues? Bag tag, disc, tournament, etc.)
> If you play the Club Championships (annual membership dive) the cost is $30. You get to play the event with Ace Pool, CTPs, lunch, bag tag, and you get a $10 voucher for the club store (merchandise)
> If you do not play the Club Championships, the cost is $20 for membership and your bag tag.
Benefits: I join the club to support my local disc golf scene, local course improvements, and for access to club events, leagues, and ace pool.
Is this a good value? Sure, I think $20-$30 is reasonable for the membership since I know the money goes back into local courses
How could your club improve?Every organization could improve, but they are pretty good for a volunteer organization...

 

[BogeyNoMore]

City, State: Motor City Chain Gang, Troy, Michigan (metro Detroit)
Club Origin: (City, Course, Municipality, Club/Group, etc.) Local with club events limited to a few area courses.
Annual Dues: $25/yr
Package: Annual membership includes a different, custom shirt each year, custom club stamp disc in premium or limited edition plastic/mold, and weekly league play @ $1/wk. Since non-members can play in weekly league for $2/wk, the $25 membership pays for itself over the 24-25 weeks our league runs (from Late April - Oct).
>> Every week, the top few handicapped scores in each division win players choice of baseline plastic from a decent selection offered by the club. 6 additional premium discs are given away each week for CTP's and longest putts on designated holes.
>> Optional (at additional cost): Ace Pool, Super Pool, and two different 50/50 CTP's that pay cash, with designated rules for rollover and payouts.
>> Optional Bag tags $10 (different tags for Pros; Masters; Amateurs; Womens divisions) to increase competition within each group) with bag tag money going directly to the course improvement fund.

Benefits: local course improvements, access to club events, leagues, and ace pool, and chances to win plastic to try molds you're interested in. League division winners get trophy + club script to buy merch at end of year. All members get can win club script for good attendance (missing 0-2 weeks), and for helping out on a fairly regular basis (e.g. recording and posting weekly league scores, adding up score cards... voluntarily doing any ongoing activity that makes running the club go more smoothly.

Is this a good value? Definitely. 25 wks of league play ends up costing members & non-members, the same $50/yr....but members get the shirt and disc.
How could your club improve?
1) They should make the club budget completely transparent and available to all members. How much is coming in each week? Precisely how is the money being spent, and where's it going? Don't get me wrong... I don't have any reason to think anyone's skimming the club money, or that it's being handled poorly. But transparency is really the way to go, and effectively eliminates any suspicions people might have.

2) They could do a much better job of limiting the # of players per card/hole to improve pace of play... but they don't like breaking up groups of friends because it's a social event.

3) They should let players accumulate their "winnings" from multiple weeks and "trade -up," so that after winning 3 weeks, you can select 3 baseline discs, or 2 pro, or 1 premium. There's only so much baseline plastic you need.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I should clarify.

2) They could do a much better job of limiting the # of players per card/hole to improve pace of play... but they don't like breaking up groups of friends because it's a social event.

^ This is ONLY an issue at their weekly Mon night league. Tournaments are always limited to 4 players per card (possibility of 5 on a few cards... and only if necessary due to size of field).

 

[brutalbrutus]

Sisyphus will probably post an in depth "vote" at some point because that's just something he is good at, lol.

Greater Cincinnati Flying Disc Association non-profit
$15per year.($20 initial membership fee that includes a $10 voucher that you can use for club merchandise).
No annual perks other than the fee being waived at the local club point series events. 9 events at $3 for non members.

I've never actually attended any of the meetings, but our club officers seem to be doing a great job with not a lot of help. Mostly because people like me don't go to the meetings much. I do volunteer at courses when I can and try to help the guys at the events(but since I haven't been a current member for over a year I haven't been doing that as much lately). We have several awesome guys around town who volunteer a lot of their time which helps but they have been talking about needing more guys to take a bigger role in the club...

 

[mrtho]

River Valley Disc Golf Association

City/State: Russellville, Area

Club Origin: now have 4 courses in Russellville

Dues: $10

Package: You get a tag and are able to enter the optional Ace Pot.


Benefits: 2 weekly tag matches that cost all of a buck each to play and flip doubles once a week that costs $5 with 100% pay back. Club members are eligible for a $1 Ace Pot.
The money raised goes to keeping the local courses in good shape and opening new courses (notice I said now 4 because they just opened one). They also host a couple of tripples matches each year that gives them gear for sale.
Good value? Sure you basically pay $10 and you get a great group of people to play with a couple times a week. In return they keep the courses in great shape and build new ones.

How could they improve? Really not much.


Western Arkansas Flying Disc Association

Ft. Smith, Ar

Home, Have 5 courses within 20 minutes of Ft. Smith (ok 3 are in one park)

Cost: $10
Package: again a tag and eligible for the Ace Por
Benefits: They do 3 $5 weekly minis with optional CTP and Ace Pots. The Open division pays back 80% cash (they keep a buck) and Amateur pays back 100% in vouchers (they make a small profit on club gear). They host a couple of B tiers each year.

Good value? Sure if you don't want cash/prizes you can play for tags for free but I don't see the harm in throwing a few bucks their way because they use it in good ways like opening the 3rd course at the one park or just built a bridge at another.



The 2 clubs are very similar but WAFDA is more "rule" focused getting you ready for real tournaments where RVDGA is more of a laid-back atmosphere. Both play by the rule book just WAFDA is a bit more strict about it

I usually play one on Saturday and the other on Sunday and for $20 annual dues and $6 a week I get a ton of courses several of which are really great and a fun group of people to play with. Not a bad deal if you ask me

 

[Golden Tuna]

Thanks for the feedback so far...
We have a few local clubs, so I will post them as well. Feel free to

City, State: St. Charles, MO
Club Origin: City / Municipality / Group of Courses
Annual Dues: ($)25
Package: Club Championships Tournament (no payout), bag tag and club stamped disc
Benefits: Support local course maintenance, bag tag, and club stamped disc
Is this a good value? I think so
How could your club improve? Better coordination with other local clubs (this applies to all four clubs around STL)

City, State: Jefferson County Sharpshooters (JCS)
Club Origin: City / Municipality / Group of Courses
Annual Dues: ($)20
Package: Club Championships Tournament (no payout), bag tag and club stamped disc
Benefits: Support local course maintenance, bag tag, and club stamped disc
Is this a good value? I believe so
How could your club improve?Collaboration

City, State: Southern Illinois Chain Gang (SICG)
Club Origin: City / Municipality / Group of Courses
Annual Dues: ($)20
Package: Club Championships Tournament (no payout) and bag tag
Benefits: Club/course support
Is this a good value? Sure
How could your club improve? Collaboration

 

[thrembo]

City, State: Port Charlotte, Florida (Charlotte County Disc Golf Assn.)

Club Origin: Was part of the SWFDGA but got large enough to start our own club.

Annual Dues: ($) I think $25.00 initially then $10.00 per year per league.

Package: (What do you get for your annual dues? Bag tag, disc, tournament, etc.) Initially, you get a shirt and a disc for joining. Bag tags and invite to league appreciation tournament.

Benefits: (Why do you join your local club(s)?) To support the cause.

Is this a good value? (In your opinion, does your club offer a good cost/benefit ratio?) yes.

How could your club improve? Not sure. Doing a great job already.

 

[ericb45696]

City, State: Arlington , TX
Club Origin: Arlington , Veterans Park , Arlington Disc Golf Association ( A.D.G.A. ) I want to say started in 1990, or '91. I think the first year for the Veterans Park Open was 1991.
Annual Dues: ($) 20 -25 depending.Slight discount for renewing members when done at the annual club championships.
Package: Depends on what year. A nice shirt and bag tag were part of this years membership.
Benefits: Have to be a club member to be eligible for the Ace pot at weekly minis. The ADGA membership and weekly mini funds go towards course improvements ( we got all new baskets last year ) and tournaments.
Is this a good value? Like some groups, we have leadership changes over the years. Last year we kinda combined with another club and their leadership , which so far has been a good thing and brings in some fresh ideas. I think any club that helps maintain a course by replacing baskets, teepads, signs, picking up trash, etc. is worth the small membership fee and amount taken in by weekly minis. especially when a city does almost nothing for the course. I wish more casual players realized the city doesn't do much other than pick up trash, then maybe they would be a bit more supportive.
How could your club improve? Be more "casual" friendly at minis and better communicate what the club does for the casual players. It can be intimidating for a new player to walk up to a group of 20 people , let alone 50 or more.

 

[ericb45696]

Why is it so difficult to edit a post after 5 minutes? ack.
Anyway, was going to add that we are a bit spoiled in the DFW area as there are many different clubs to choose from. most have a particular course they support and maintain and run tournaments/leagues/minis from, as well as clubs that there is virtually no cost that travel to different courses. it's good to have options

 

[crazykrug]

City, State: Des Moines, IA

Club Origin: (City, Course, Municipality, Club/Group, etc.) Cedar Rapids, IA

Annual Dues: ($) 80.00 per person for 20 weeks

Package: (What do you get for your annual dues? Bag tag, disc, tournament, etc.) Shirt, bag tag, ace fund, cash for top 5 teams, ctp's, other trophies (most improved, best average, rookie of year, etc), year end party, tournament against Cedar Rapids league, we also now have a bounty disc that adds 100 bucks on top of normal ace fund if ace is hit with said bounty disc, spreadsheets every week with info (such as win loss vs others, win loss at various courses, avg round of the league that night, etc)

Benefits: (Why do you join your local club(s)?) the competitiveness of the club and the members in it

Is this a good value? (In your opinion, does your club offer a good cost/benefit ratio?) yes as other leagues in our area are about the same

How could your club improve?

 

[Golden Tuna]

Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming!

 

[discNDav]

City, State: Philadelphia,PA
Club Origin: Fairmont Park "Friends group"
Annual Dues: $20
Package: Bag tag, 3 scheduled rds a week to choose from
Benefits: league competition
Is this a good value? great value!
How could your club improve? Install more tee signs

 

[Spinthrift]

City, State: Charlotte Disc Golf Club, Charlotte, NC - 400+ members

Club Origin: non-profit group

Annual Dues: $25

Package: Bag tag, choice of premium disc, discounted entry to league events, sponsor items

Benefits: Members join for the love of the sport, camaraderie, competition; they want to be part of a very successful club that will host 350+ events this year; they know their dues go toward keeping 17 CDGC-affiliated courses maintained in tournament condition; they want the nifty bag tag and choice of club-logoed Moonshine EMAC Truth or Luster Champion Thunderbird.

Is this a good value? Oh, yes

How could your club improve? Better communication; finalize standard procedures and TD Handbook; outreach to school and youth groups; expanded volunteer pool; improved relationships with multiple Park & Rec departments

 

[ToddL]

City, State: Greenville/Upstate Area, SC
Club Origin: Originally one club per course. Merged several together 10 years ago to make a larger central club.
Annual Dues: $25, +$5 for bag tag
Package:
Embroidered polo shirt
$10 gift card to local sport goods store
Club stamped Mini for first-time members
$5 discount on PDGA membership
$1 discount at all weekly leagues (doubles, putting, etc)
$5 discount for a couple of non-PDGA events
Invitation to club meetings, free dinner at meetings
Free food at end-of-year party
Can save amateur payout vouchers from tournaments and use them to purchase items not in our club inventory
If you also bought a bag tag: Bi-monthly tag check-ins, random drawing for 2 players to win a free disc
Benefits: I run the club, so I'm biased here, but we run all leagues and tournaments and do most of the labor/upkeep on existing courses and push to install new ones.
Is this a good value? I'm biased, but yes. If you take advantage of all the benefits, the club loses money on each member.
How could your club improve? More volunteers. (But maybe from the perspective of other people, maybe the president should quit being such a controlling jerk.)

 

[Golden Tuna]

I run the club

Been there, done that. I know what a PIA it can be.
Thanks for all your hard work! :clap:

maybe from the perspective of other people, maybe the president should quit being such a controlling jerk.)

Sounds like we have more than a few things in common...

 

[jcf5083]

City, State: Columbus, Ohio
Club Origin: (City, Course, Municipality, Club/Group, etc.) City
Annual Dues: ($) $20
Package: (What do you get for your annual dues? Bag tag, disc, tournament, etc.) Bag tag, $5 off events, voting power
Benefits: (Why do you join your local club(s)? Above, + funding course improvements, tournament overhead, charitable donations
Is this a good value? (In your opinion, does your club offer a good cost/benefit ratio?) Yes
How could your club improve? Offer better inventory to players, reach out and support TDs and players outside the club, and improve our flagship tournament

 

[sjberry2017]

I was going to post two, but I see ToddL posted the Upstate Club info so I'll leave that alone.

I should note my other club is the club sports team for Clemson University, so slightly different than your normal club

City, State: Clemson, SC

Club Origin: Clemson University student club/club sports team

Annual Dues: $20/casual, $60 Tournament player

Package: Casual: DX disc/equivalent disc, shirt. Tournament: Casual pack, plus polo jersey, premium disc, and the chance to make teams to go to collegiate tournaments on the club's dime.
Also, every year except for this year, everyone got bag tags (and tourney dues were $40). This year, the bag tags were going to be restricted to tournament players only but were never ordered.

Benefits: Student org to put on resume, get to play disc golf weekly with other members, awesome tournament perks pack, and the chance to play collegiately

Is this a good value? At both levels, yes. The casual maybe not as much, especially since there are fewer meetings when the tournament schedule heats up in the spring, but for $20 it's still a nice swag pack.

How could your club improve? Communication between the two levels is key, I think. The casual members don't get as included as the tournament players because the club sport team is somewhat the focus, but overall it's still a good benefit for the lower level as well.

 

[Golden Tuna]

Still collecting data...

 

[joots]

City, State: KC, Missouri and Kansas
Club Origin: KCFDC, Kansas City Flying Disc Club
Annual Dues: $25
Package: Bag Tag, and $1 off each round of league throughout the year

Benefits: KC has a lot of courses withing a 25 mile radius, and there are lots of hands that go into making the KCFDC machine roll. The amount of volunteer hours that are done by a variety of club members is undaunting, and any little bit that we can give out of our pockets to help those who do so much for the game we love.
Is this a good value? Absolutely. With work and family, getting out on volunteer days and helping, is nearly impossible. I observe how much our club cares for this sport, and honestly, I would pay twice as much to claim my allegiance to the KCFDC. Since they are not asking for twice as much, I will just keep sharing beers at league.

How could your club improve? This is not a club thing, but more of a city thing. The P&R that care for the parks we play in are slowly taking away part of courses. I get that the parks do not belong to "us", but walking trails and erection of public buildings have hampered our courses here lately. I feel we have a good relationship w/the city folk who run things, but darn it, I would feel really cruddy if I errantly smashed a walker with a disc. FORE!