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The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

theringer.com

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Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#91
post #73
post #72

Just in case anyone reads the article or comments here and decides they want to try out disc golf, here's a tip... DO NOT go out and buy a high speed driver disc (speed >9) to use as a beginner or intermediate. You almost certainly will not be able to throw it hard enough to fly properly and it will lead to frustration, poor form, and inconsistent results. Stick with a putter, a mid-range, and maybe a fairway driver…

For advanced players do the 9+ discs perform better?

The pros throw a lot of 12 and 13 speed discs which result in 400 - 500+ feet drives. I can only dream of accomplishing that kind of distance.

Btw, the 2021 Disc Golf World Championships just started. You can watch the first 9 holes here: https://youtu.be/b-OICF4pyK4

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#92
post #72

Just in case anyone reads the article or comments here and decides they want to try out disc golf, here's a tip... DO NOT go out and buy a high speed driver disc (speed >9) to use as a beginner or intermediate. You almost certainly will not be able to throw it hard enough to fly properly and it will lead to frustration, poor form, and inconsistent results. Stick with a putter, a mid-range, and maybe a fairway driver…

Along the same lines I’d stick with the cheap plastic. At least for me it’s much easier to throw consistently.

Breaks in much faster (ie becomes understable) which can be a good with lower arm speeds.

The big thing with disc golf, is that you want a consistent flight with whatever you are throwing. If a disc starts to become unpredictable (often times very understable) then it usually gets rotated out, or kept in for specific use cases (big turnovers, rollers, etc).

Some advice I got which I used to build mechanics/power was to not throw any fast (high speed) driver until I could throw a putter ~250 feet consistently. The one exception to this rule is if your local course has a big dog leg (and a short hole) and you need something that really moves that direction quickly.

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#93
post #72

Just in case anyone reads the article or comments here and decides they want to try out disc golf, here's a tip... DO NOT go out and buy a high speed driver disc (speed >9) to use as a beginner or intermediate. You almost certainly will not be able to throw it hard enough to fly properly and it will lead to frustration, poor form, and inconsistent results. Stick with a putter, a mid-range, and maybe a fairway driver…

Also used sporting good stores will often have a large selection of used discs which can be an even cheaper way to get in to the game (and makes you feel less bad when you throw it in a river).

They will usually also carry some of the factory defect discs which are cheaper. And the defects are usually small or printing defects that would not be noticed when throwing.

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#94
Just to add (and to maybe repeat what a few have said), those who may want to start playing who never have.

Although ball golf and disc golf share some of the same rules and name, don't get caught up in the trap that you need to have a bunch of discs to play. Unlike ball golf, you dont need a bunch of different discs for different distances. There are many times when you want to throw a high speed driver 100 feet, and even more times when you want to throw a putter off the tee.

One could get away with a starter pack for a good while, will come with fairly light weight fairway driver, midrange and putter. If you play much you will quickly get a feeling of what might be missing from that and start filling in the gaps.

You will often see people carrying around 20+ discs (I would fall into this category myself) but really if you were to look at my bag and watch me play much you'd see I probably throw the same 4-5 discs the vast majority of the time.

What usually ends up happening is you want to have a duplicate or 2 of the main discs, and maybe extra putters for practicing (or more so, throwing putters vs putting putters) and then will also have some more niche discs such as a roller disc (very understable) or super overstable discs (playing in headwind, or short approach you want a skip and to move left (right hand backhand) right (right hand sidearm) quickly.

But most of these things will be course dependent, and also not really mechanically useful until you have played quite a bit.

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#95
post #72

Just in case anyone reads the article or comments here and decides they want to try out disc golf, here's a tip... DO NOT go out and buy a high speed driver disc (speed >9) to use as a beginner or intermediate. You almost certainly will not be able to throw it hard enough to fly properly and it will lead to frustration, poor form, and inconsistent results. Stick with a putter, a mid-range, and maybe a fairway driver…

doin the lord's work. I resisted for so long and my game jumped exponentially the day I played my first mid-range only round.

I want to Roc! (Roc!)

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#96

I've never tried disc golf but always wanted to. It's looks like a fun relaxing sport to play with anyhow.

I can't recommend it enough. It's fun even when you're not good at it if you simply adopt the mindset that nothing is more important than getting outside and moving your body a bit.

Also, I hate to generalize, but I've found that course regulars are extremely consistent about being welcoming and patient with newbies. The culture of letting people play through, giving people space to learn, and helping folks navigate tricky course layouts has been remarkably consistent.

My absolute favorite experience was playing in the San Juan islands. The locals were so excited to see us checking out their course... so much that their smiles and waving is still the thing I remember most about that entire trip.

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sponsored climbers are quite common. Climbers who would have no chance of winning a competition and are climbing nowhere near the frontier of the sport can become sponsored; it's often about building connections and a name for themselves (perhaps for being really good at one specific move, or doing some first ascents in a remote area). I think very few climbers have made $1 million in a year from sponsorships. But if…

It still sounds like you’re stretching a bit to make the sport sound expensive. Sure, a trad rack might set you back a couple thousand dollars, but nobody buys the whole thing at once. You’ll build your rack slowly over a dozen years, maybe tricking in a new cam or two and the odd nut to replace stuff you’ve lost. But nobody ever retires cams, and no dirtbag climber has ever decided to spontaneously replace his entir…

I agree with you on the the accessibility of climbing, but "moving to Fontainebleau" doesn't sound cheap! b^)

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Almost every town has a free to play course Possibly in the US - over here in the UK, https://discgolfuk.uk/where-to-play/ reports 64 (some are "coming soon") of which 45 are "pay to play".

compared to ball golf where how many are free?

I'd expect none because they require a lot of upkeep and someone has to pay for that. There are, however, a whole bunch of public courses which have cheap green fees without membership for people who just want to rock up and play.

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It still sounds like you’re stretching a bit to make the sport sound expensive. Sure, a trad rack might set you back a couple thousand dollars, but nobody buys the whole thing at once. You’ll build your rack slowly over a dozen years, maybe tricking in a new cam or two and the odd nut to replace stuff you’ve lost. But nobody ever retires cams, and no dirtbag climber has ever decided to spontaneously replace his entir…

I agree with you on the the accessibility of climbing, but "moving to Fontainebleau" doesn't sound cheap! b^)

Had to be done though.

To be honest it’s pretty cheap living here. The little village were in isn’t on the train line to Paris, and it’s not a fashionable spot for parisien weekend houses. It’s just a farm village, with real estate priced accordingly. There’s no way you’d be able to buy so much as a tear down within 50 miles of a west coast city for the price of this house. And it wasn’t anywhere near the bottom end of the market.

You should probably come out for a season to see for yourself.

Re: The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

#100
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is a "dirtbag" in this context?

A "dirtbag" in climbing/skiing circles is someone who lives in a beat up van, has very little money and spends all their time and (meager) money driving for spot to spot, devoting their entire life to climbing/skiing.

Ah thanks. No “scumbag” implications? Because not traveling in outdoor circles I think of “dirtbag” as a guy who sleeps with teenage girls and sells stolen property out of a van.
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