What does Disc Golf need?

[corin_brown]

I like DG the way it is, but would also like to see it get more popular for the pro player's sake. Mostly I think it needs rich, probably corporate, sponsors to get there.

I agree with this statement completely. Originally I stated my indifference about growing disc golf. But that was selfish. I also empathize with all of the pros I see who have put so much energy, time & personal sacrifice into this sport with absolutely zero guaranteed remuneration for any of their efforts. These men & women can barely eke out a living and I'd just like to recognize how hard it must be to live like that. I can tell that it's a desperate life for many of these incredible pros. I'm an 881 rated duffer and I'm fine with the way things are, but it's for the pros that I would like to see gain some reward that would come from growing the sport.

So, how do we get these rich corporate sponsors involved, again?

 

[RobA]

Correct, there's no secret and a lot of players want no growth.
This has been asked often and the cliché that fits here is "Be careful what you ask for".

#playcheapforfun

Amen brother. My vote goes for more volunteers to clean and maintain our existing public courses so they don't get pulled. We also need to educate people what "carry in carry out" means, and to be more discreet about their "extracurricular" activities.

 

[corin_brown]

Amen brother. My vote goes for more volunteers to clean and maintain our existing public courses so they don't get pulled. We also need to educate people what "carry in carry out" means, and to be more discreet about their "extracurricular" activities.

Word to this.

 

[RobA]

Status Quo

Good for you. We need people with the means and the motivation to build private courses. I might be crazy enough but I'm not sure where to find reasonably priced land that is not out in the boonies. It would have to be somewhere that I'd want to live too, and I'm not ready to do the Green Acres thing yet.

I'm not a big fan of private courses. The one's I have visited quickly turn into a insider/outsider mentality. The sport has always been a non-elitist, easily accessible game. That being said, I would love to visit Maple Hill once just to see what it is like.

 

[Halcón]

Disc golf can't get "big" without alcohol. It's as simple as that.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Amen brother. My vote goes for more volunteers to clean and maintain our existing public courses so they don't get pulled. We also need to educate people what "carry in carry out" means, and to be more discreet about their "extracurricular" activities.

^3rded.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

When the green Marlboro comes around as a sponsor there will be no looking back.

 

[RobA]

Disc golf can't get "big" without alcohol. It's as simple as that.

Allow me to point out the irony that alcohol has been a part of disc golf forever... You don't think the term "anhyzer" just came out of the air do you? lol

 

[hook_nuts]

When the green Marlboro comes around as a sponsor there will be no looking back.

Probably alot of truth to that. What a beautiful thing!

 

[art_vandelay]

I'm not a big fan of private courses. The one's I have visited quickly turn into a insider/outsider mentality. The sport has always been a non-elitist, easily accessible game. That being said, I would love to visit Maple Hill once just to see what it is like.

If people are building courses and not allowing people to play them other than their immediate friends, I respect that, but they don't really exist for all practical purposes. There's always going to be that kind of thing going on. It's their land, their decision. This is 'merica.

I'm hoping that the model will be along the lines of what the fine gentlemen at Stoney Hill are doing. I got to play with David, and I could tell that he was really proud of what he and his brother had built, and was happy to show it off. He seemed like a proud "papa" to me. Those are the type of people we need more of. Many more would be great.

 

[joecoin]

Neighbors complaining about people going into their yard for OB discs and people taking a whiz outside, ... Not sure what we can about people whizzing outside...

You tell the neighbor to call you when they see this and you kick the whizzer off the course. Of course, every player is told in advance about the consequences. One or two ejections and word will get out you aint' joking.

 

[DavidSauls]

I'm not a big fan of private courses. The one's I have visited quickly turn into a insider/outsider mentality. The sport has always been a non-elitist, easily accessible game. That being said, I would love to visit Maple Hill once just to see what it is like.

It's too bad you've had that experience. The private courses I've played have been among the best, and not one has been elitist. The only one with an insider/outsider aspect, sort of, is Flyboy, but that's a product of its unique location, and the poor behavior of certain disc golfers.

 

[art_vandelay]

You tell the neighbor to call you when they see this and you kick the whizzer off the course. Of course, every player is told in advance about the consequences. One or two ejections and word will get out you aint' joking.

I'd make them wear a shirt with a big scarlet (or maybe yellow) P on it for the rest of the round as punishment. See, if more women played this kind of thing would happen less often. That just has to be true.

 

[Nemmers]

Less people worrying about what it needs....

The problem is that if the same people constantly advise others of their posting inadequacies over and over again then the people who want to contribute to the topic won't. Stop worrying about everyone else and concern yourself with your own social insecurities and let the forum be a forum.

(Copied and pasted from treehorn's signature....)

 

[Pbmercil]

Disc golf needs the same thing its needed for the last 10 years: Steady, consistent, sustainable growth. Which we have done, and will continue to do. People need to stop thinking that one big moment will make the game "arrive" on a national stage. That line thinking is too short sighted. If we keep growing the way we are we will be in a great position to have a phenomenal sport for the rest of my lifetime, which is all I can really ask for.

 

[Brokensaint]

2580 courses added between 2008-present worldwide.
DG manufacturers in '08? Innova, discraft, gateway, dga, quest at, whammo... Maybe a couple others.
My Pdga # (gotten in '08) 34272.
Quite a bit of growth in 7 short years.
Public parks = the public. Shirtless punks cussing on the basketball courts, throngs of screaming kids on the playground, beer-buzzed softball leagues... Its public.
All of this clamoring for more p2p courses as a response to some need to grow always seems to come off more like a need to validate our hobby.
Realistically, how many people would pay real money to play disc golf on a regular basis? Seriously. And for everyone who says "I would!", consider your numbers inadequate to support a local "Country Club". If I had to pay a $25 greens fee every time I played, I wouldn't play very often. And I'd have never brought my kids out to play. Its a silly answer. You don't grow anything from the top down.
Growth happens when you plant seeds. Involve the kids. Focus on schools. That's where growth occurs.
As it stands now, we ARE growing.
PS: Jesus, why would you want corporate sponsorship? So your bag cost $200 MORE because it has a Nike swoosh on it?

And two more coppers on another point: this beer and weed stigma that gets people so riled up? Lets look at other more "wholesome" activities that average people undertake with their families: baseball? Drunks. Hockey? Drunk fights. Basketball? Foul-mouthed. Fishing? Drunks. Camping? Drunks. Football? Drunks. Soccer? Rioting drunks.
And yet they still carry on.
I don't embrace the stoner image that comes with the game. I don't contribute to it. 90% of the people I encounter while playing don't contribute to it. Its not killing disc golf.
This game is thriving. Its just a fact that almost none of us are going to make a living doing it.

 

[BrotherDave]

I think the answer is more Finns.

 

[DiscFifty]

I think disc golf has all the ingredients it needs, but perhaps the better question is..what does disc golf NOT need. And unfortunately the answer is probably something quite a few players would not want to hear...or believe.

 

[discallday]

2580 courses added between 2008-present worldwide.
DG manufacturers in '08? Innova, discraft, gateway, dga, quest at, whammo... Maybe a couple others.
My Pdga # (gotten in '08) 34272.
Quite a bit of growth in 7 short years.
Public parks = the public. Shirtless punks cussing on the basketball courts, throngs of screaming kids on the playground, beer-buzzed softball leagues... Its public.

You don't grow anything from the top down.
Growth happens when you plant seeds. Involve the kids. Focus on schools. That's where growth occurs.
As it stands now, we ARE growing.
PS: Jesus, why would you want corporate sponsorship? So your bag cost $200 MORE because it has a Nike swoosh on it?

And two more coppers on another point: this beer and weed stigma that gets people so riled up? Lets look at other more "wholesome" activities that average people undertake with their families: baseball? Drunks. Hockey? Drunk fights. Basketball? Foul-mouthed. Fishing? Drunks. Camping? Drunks. Football? Drunks. Soccer? Rioting drunks.
And yet they still carry on.
I don't embrace the stoner image that comes with the game. I don't contribute to it. 90% of the people I encounter while playing don't contribute to it. Its not killing disc golf.
This game is thriving. Its just a fact that almost none of us are going to make a living doing it.

^ This. So many good points.

The reminder that many recreational sports are associated with what some would perceive as "unsavory" activities is appropriate. I wish I/we had some data that would facilitate such comparisons, but it seems like a valid point. This article seems to corroborate the point.

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the...-have-turned-their-back-on-drinking-life.html

 

[DavidSauls]

Disc golf needs the same thing its needed for the last 10 years: Steady, consistent, sustainable growth. Which we have done, and will continue to do. People need to stop thinking that one big moment will make the game "arrive" on a national stage. That line thinking is too short sighted. If we keep growing the way we are we will be in a great position to have a phenomenal sport for the rest of my lifetime, which is all I can really ask for.

Agreed, a thousand percent.

Not only is this what we need but, unlike most of the other ideas here, this is almost certainly what we're going to get.