An outside look

[Kenilworth]

Disc golf has some clear merits. The flight of a disc is a pleasant thing. The utility and, especially, the sounds of the goal are inspired. It is a good thing for otherwise sedentary persons to enjoy a mildly physical outdoor game. And it is good for people to enjoy their time together.

Disc golf provides some insight into our culture. It is wrapped in the same indulgences and distractions that are typical of most of our pursuits. The preoccupations with gear and distance are particularly reminiscent of our cultural materialism and excess. The childish obsession with alcohol mirrors the common mindset of a society that increasingly refuses to grow up. There is much delusion too, and the lust for distance seems more connected with comparisons to professionals than with a desire to improve one's personal scores.

I am not an experienced or a good player. I cannot throw far. I cannot putt. I have played about a dozen times in the last couple of months, once before then, about five years ago. With a few days notice, a friend recently announced that he had entered me into a tournament that took place last weekend. I was not eager to participate, but he had paid, so I went. Among the entire field of players, I was the only one without a bag. I carried three discs; one given to me five years ago, one I found in a bush, and a putter that I bought the night before the tournament.

I am not a good or an experienced player, but my time at the tournament served to illustrate that disc golf is really two games. There is the game of throwing discs at a goal, adhering to a few basic rules. This game is very enjoyable, and can support high levels of skill and success with very few discs. Then there is the game of accumulating stuff, of chasing distance unusable on the course, of exuding an "image", of little-minded adherence to rules with no competitive or meaningful application. In other words, the pure game and the commercial game. When I played what I felt was the real game of disc golf amid a commercial tournament, I enjoyed the courses and the chance to learn from players who were better than I am, but I also felt profoundly lonesome. When my placement in the standings entitled me to $124 of merchandise from a DG pro-shop, I felt tempted by something very near a devil, and went home empty-handed.

I will play the game. Not in tournaments. Not carrying anything I do not need. I went back to the pro-shop and redeemed my winnings in behalf of a few friends who want to give disc golf a try. A couple of discs each. They have never played you see. I will be their teacher. We'll be out there, lighter and lighter, and watch the flight of a disc. Mostly into trees I guess.

 

[PWaggoner]

Everything is perspective.

 

[PWaggoner]

Also never seen a "bad player" cash. So either one or the other is false.

 

[DavidSauls]

There are two kinds of people in the world. People who divide people into two kinds, and people who don't.

 

[slowplastic]

Sounds like any hobby. People should be jogging in bare feet, it's more natural. No need for runners or moisture-wicking fabric.

Anyways, sounds like you did a very good thing with your winnings and hopefully you will have more friends hooked.

 

[Kenilworth]

Guys, to be clear, I'm not trying to divide negatively individual people based on their gear or habits. Only to see clearly some of the things that may actually take enjoyment from the players. It is clear that there is a division between the game as conceived and the game as practiced by the majority. Unless you believe that the entire concept was nothing more, originally, than a devious commercial ploy.

I don't guess I called myself a "bad" player. I am absolutely not a "good" player. My very slight degree of success had more to do with an understanding of my weaknesses than the utilization of my strengths.

 

[DavidSauls]

It might be worth bearing in mind that most people who are into tournaments, discs, skills development, etc., were also once into casual play with 3 discs and simple rules. Many still are, from time to time. They've experienced both, and are in good position to know what they take enjoyment from.

It would be equally wrong for these diehards to suggest that casual players, out for a rules-free round of watching discs fly, are missing the real enjoyment of the game.

Perhaps, maybe, the game can be enjoyed in many different ways? Pick the one that suits you, or enjoy them all.

 

[corin_brown]

Who is this? This sounds like Jonathan Franzen. Is this Jonathan Franzen?

 

[Kenilworth]

It might be worth bearing in mind that most people who are into tournaments, discs, skills development, etc., were also once into casual play with 3 discs and simple rules. Many still are, from time to time. They've experienced both, and are in good position to know what they take enjoyment from.

It would be equally wrong for these diehards to suggest that casual players, out for a rules-free round of watching discs fly, are missing the real enjoyment of the game.

Perhaps, maybe, the game can be enjoyed in many different ways? Pick the one that suits you, or enjoy them all.

And it would also be wrong to suggest that a player who carries 3 discs must be a casual one. "Skills development" does not depend on gear. A good player with decades of experience recently told me that his putter vs. bag scores (on one of Cincinnati's toughest courses) are usually similar. This suggests to me that there are two distinct hobbies on display at most courses; disc golfing, and disc collecting. It seems fairly obvious to me that disc collecting does not make one a better disc golfer... but commercialism seems to have convinced the majority otherwise.

Note too that I didn't mention a "rule-free" environment. There are very few people who can derive any enjoyment from a game without rules. I spoke of "rules with no competitive or meaningful application," and I maintain that these add nothing to the playing experience.

 

[tomkat]

.. the real question, is what three discs were you carrying ??

 

[schumijr]

Guys, to be clear, I'm not trying to divide negatively individual people based on their gear or habits. Only to see clearly some of the things that may actually take enjoyment from the players. It is clear that there is a division between the game as conceived and the game as practiced by the majority. Unless you believe that the entire concept was nothing more, originally, than a devious commercial ploy.

I don't guess I called myself a "bad" player. I am absolutely not a "good" player. My very slight degree of success had more to do with an understanding of my weaknesses than the utilization of my strengths.

If it's so clear to see, then why point this out as your first post to the group? What was the point of the post other than to sneak in some bragging that you won some tourney bucks playing with a disc you found in the woods and a putter you bought the night before?

You certainly have a different way of making an introduction than most - so maybe you don't understand what brings us enjoyment either? It doesn't take delusions of grandeur or a lust for commercial excess to simply enjoy some variety and wonder. Multiple discs brings some added variety to the game. I can only throw a Wizard so many different ways, and expect so many different flights out of it, on my local courses. Sure, I could drive to further courses, but then I'm giving extra money to Exxon, BP, and Chevron - is that any better than giving extra money to Innova, Discraft, and Latitude 64? If I bring something other than my Wizard to my local courses, I immediately experience a whole new variety of possible shots and different flight paths. I like variety. I'm guessing you do to in many cases. Since you know us so well I'll say I know that you tend to like to eat and drink something other than bread and water. Variety brings many people a sincere enjoyment - give it a try. Or to look at it another way, how about wonder...

Other than a very rare extra gust of wind, there's not much wonder in throwing my old trusty Wizard. Sure, that lack of wonder adds to better scores for coming into a forum to brag about, but many like the sense of wonder. To many of us human disc golfers, we realize a sense of enjoyment from the wonderment of how our particular throw will cause a new disc to perform it's dance of flight on our old boring course nearby. One who only throws a Wizard will never enjoy the possible dance of a Pure. Say your driver you found 5 years ago was a Firebird - no matter how you throw it, and how beat it is, you'll never see it fly like flipped Tern.

Variety, wonderment, lack of condescension - give it a try!

Oh, and welcome!!!

 

[scarpfish]

If I had the mindset of the OP after 0.2 years, I doubt I'd still be playing.

By this point, I would have probably had at least entered ten more hobbies that I would have dabbled into only to turn my nose up at the fact that other people dared to spend their money on them.

 

[DavidSauls]

Note too that I didn't mention a "rule-free" environment. There are very few people who can derive any enjoyment from a game without rules. I spoke of "rules with no competitive or meaningful application," and I maintain that these add nothing to the playing experience.

I'll concede the first sentence. I don't know what the last means. But I don't think you mean the playing experience, just your playing experience.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

I hate artsy speak.

Get to the point...? You wrote a 5 paragraph paper with intro and conclusion which said nothing.

Go play frolf.

 

[DavidSauls]

And it would also be wrong to suggest that a player who carries 3 discs must be a casual one. "Skills development" does not depend on gear. A good player with decades of experience recently told me that his putter vs. bag scores (on one of Cincinnati's toughest courses) are usually similar. This suggests to me that there are two distinct hobbies on display at most courses; disc golfing, and disc collecting. It seems fairly obvious to me that disc collecting does not make one a better disc golfer... but commercialism seems to have convinced the majority otherwise.

For some of us, the variety of flight characteristics, and the decision process in choosing which is best for a particular shot and wind condition, is disc golfing.

I'm pretty sure you're completely wrong in assuming motivations of others; I'm certain you're wrong in my case.

 

[scarpfish]

I hate artsy speak.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed the five dollar verbiage.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Well, that's just like your opinion, man...

 

[OhSnap]

There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Take that putter back into the bush you found it in and find some know-it-all Facebook group to preach to, brother.

 

[Kenilworth]

Ha!

One was a Star Beast given to me five years ago when I played a half-round with my father-in-law. It has a pretty big chunk out of the rim where a dog chewed on it. I use it BH & FH for "drives". The second was a neutral Innova mid-range of some sort. I found it, dunno what model. The putter was either a Wizard or Warlock, it isn't marked.

schumijr - I am not proud of having "won" anything... have no reason to be. If I had dedicated much time and effort to improving and had succeeded in reaching some goal, maybe then I would feel like crowing. As it was, I was more embarrassed than anything.
My purpose in bringing up my experience was to show that stuff does not equal success. Some degree (especially an increasing degree) of success is what brings me enjoyment, and I would have guessed that many would feel similarly. BUT, I have absolutely no right to tell other people what they enjoy or should enjoy.

I love variety, but I fail to see its immediate relation to success, and therefore wonder if the net result of variety in DG is positive. If you flip an unfamiliar disc into a impenetrable ravine on a hole at which you have consistently excelled with your same-old, do you rejoice in the novelty of the situation?

Ah, but probably all of these "observations" are based on my own inability to make a variety of discs work as they should. But perhaps I can be forgiven for seeing more gimmickry, real or not, in a world that runs on gimmickry.

Howdy,
Take it easy, I'm not quite the idiot I sound

 

[Aim For The Chains]

you will learn and it just increases the fun.

doesn't matter what level you take it to the equipment and peeps in this sport are what keep it fresh. Don't have to like all those discs or folks which you come across. such is life!