Burned by organized DG

[treysonagras]

Anyone else get tired of the leagues, minis, and tourneys? I got into DG for the zen relaxation and became involved with a local club after about a year. The competition is getting more intense than I really want to deal with so I am taking a break from the guys for a while. I like them personally and I have improved as a player because of them, but trash talking and questionable scorekeeping make it not fun. I love how throwing a disc makes me feel, but worrying about a score takes the fun away.
I'm going to continue as a supporting member of the club because it does many things to improve the local courses. Has anyone else experienced this or am I alone?

 

[Aim For The Chains]

One of my first experiences with MFA memebers wasnt a good one. Sounds similar to the TDs who do it for free and get sick and tired of whiners.

Lots you can do locally though outside of the hardcore disc golf bruhs.

 

[Pbmercil]

I feel you. The pressure of competition can suck the fun out of it if competing is not your cup of tea. Their is nothing wrong with stepping away from the competitive side for a while and playing more casually. I have a love/hate relationship with tournements, I can get burnt out if I try to play too many

 

[thrembo]

I've drifted in and out of organized play over the years, and although it can be fun, I prefer casual rounds with friends and family.

 

[grotto]

Been there and done that with other sports and it eventually killed my enjoyment of them.

When I picked up disc golf, it was mainly because I wanted something I could do alone, learn and enjoy casually without all the club/competition and personality issues that arise from being part of any organization. A few people I play with are always trying to get me to play in doubles, leagues and tournaments and I politely decline.

I just love to watch discs fly and that's what I'm sticking with.

 

[dysmike]

I no longer deal with organized play. Mostly though because of the inevitable politics, not the competition (although some people make that painful).

 

[DiscFifty]

The "competition" divide is common with this sport. I've seen it happen with myself and a couple of friends. You start playing with a group of rec players who don't care about score or getting better, that casual beach lifestyle feeling is great for a while. Then your competitive juices kick in and you end up trying to organize minis, competitive events, etc, and it just sucks the life out of the group. It's best for those competitive players such as myself, to move on and find other organized groups to play with. And I do agree those fun casual groups should never keep score, that promotes judgement and that was never a good thing for the players.

 

[PWaggoner]

What division?

My favorite thing about Tournaments is I get to meet people from elsewhere and almost always get invited to play casually at they're home course.

And a lot of disc golfers will let you stay at they're house if you travel for Tournies.

Always have stress monkeys and *******s in anything you do. Just ignore them and talk to the cool peeps.

 

[glassila]

I agree with the original post and I prefer to play casual rounds with friends or alone.

 

[jeffmonty]

One of the great things about this game is you can be as competitive or casual as you want. The competitive side of it isn't for everyone nor should it be. Ultimately be sure you're having fun, maybe down the road you might feel you want to play some casual dubs or occasional monthly.

You can always play solo, although I know some people do not enjoy solo rounds to the point of not playing if they can't find someone to play with. I enjoy solo rounds every bit as much as playing in a group but it can depend on who's in your group, though. (...see shirtless Slipknot-loving bro).

 

[Stable]

One of the great things about this game is you can be as competitive or casual as you want.

You can always play solo

:thmbup:

I am most happy when I'm out playing casual rounds by myself. Completely out there just to challenge myself at each hole. Sometimes I'll play the same hole 4-5 times in a row until I figure it out.

The main reason I tend to step away from competitive play is the $$$$ it takes to play PDGA events. In the Men's Advanced divisions I typically cough up $45-$60 per tournament. Adds up throughout the year and formal tournaments engulf the entire weekend. A lot of commitment there. Oh, and I really don't like waking up early on the weekends so I tend to get cranky having to get up at 6am on Sats and Suns to make tee times.

 

[treysonagras]

I like tourneys that have a cool players pack with shirts/discs/etc. I feel like I'm getting something out of it in addition to sometimes playing a great course with cool guys. What I have grown to hate are the cash payout B.S. minis. The ones where 940 rated players will sign up for rec and take all the money. I feel like I am paying for the privilege of being in their presence...LOL

 

[Mr. Butlertron]

My local monthly league is total money grab by the park it's played in. I pay to get in the park, I pay to park a car, and most of entry fee money goes to the park, which means payouts are Haggar Horrible for Open players and Ams literally get nothing but minis. You'd think that would at least guarantee more than 2 mowings a summer and access to picnicer free fairways......nope. I'm starting to think the park fat cats are not too fond of us folfers

 

[Mulligan]

I'm with you OP (and kind of happy to see so many others here agreeing).
I tried to get involved with the local group a few years back, but there seemed to be a lot of drama and competition.
I've come to avoid the local courses that are used by the league on certain nights, and I played one tournament locally and was put off by how angry people would get and the length of play was obscene (the whole thing was dawn to dusk).

I'm in it more for the exercise, meditative nature of the sport, and I just love to watch discs fly.
So I generally play alone or with one or two other folks that are laid back.
I'm a decent player, and would be able to compete, but just not into it anymore.

I will say, though, played two birdie bashes this past year, and they were a hoot.
Hard to be that serious about it, or take forever, when you've only got two discs and just trying to hit metal.

 

[Hampstead]

I play plenty of casual rounds and also enjoy tournaments and organized doubles. One of the biggest turnoffs to a casual round is the abundance of chuckers who don't seem to care about those around them. I got stuck behind six one disc shirtless bros the other day who were hooting and hollering and constantly searching for lost discs. While three would look, the others would wander the fairway like stoned zombies, oblivious to those of us waiting to throw. In a tournament, I know that I don't have to worry about idiots throwing at me, playing loud music, or leaving empty beer cans all over the place. That's also why I'm pro-P2P with a dress code. Elitist? You bet your bippy I am.

 

[runningDoc]

I like it both. Casual rounds (where you can still keep score or practice shots) with friends, and super competitive league rounds and tourneys.

I used to love playing alone, but I don't anymore. I'll still play alone (especially when I bring my dog(s) ) to do things like Comet + Putter only rounds, but I know so many people and have tons of DG buddies its easy to find someone to play with. Thats one thing here, in less than a year I think I have way too many DG buddies now.. lol

I've gotten to the point where I'll avoid people I don't want play rounds with (super stoner dude who flakes out in the middle of a round, or super negative dude who brings down the vibe) and flat out tell them the truth of why I don't want to play a round with them.

 

[Buddymc]

I prefer playing with the same group of friends and relations over organized groups. Fortunately for this area out of all the courses, we have a 18 hole park that is not on the tourney schedule. Otherwise, us non-members wouldn't be able to play on the weekends. Seems there's some kind of organized tourney going on every weekend. Though they seems like good people, they have dibs on the parks. It's usually crowded at those parks, which is good for the participation and interest and keeps the city willing to keep them up.

 

[corin_brown]

One of the great things about this game is you can be as competitive or casual as you want.

Great point. And an under-publicized feature of disc golf is the range of competition available to all players.

I feel bad for the original poster. It sounds like his local tournament scene has really gotten poisonous. I play a fair amount of sanctioned & un-sanctioned tournaments in Southern California and aside from an isolated incident here & there or an encounter with the common disc-golf eccentric now & then, everyone is cool and the competitions are fair, clean & true. Believe me, I've met a ton of colorful, kooky folks in my scene and I don't jibe with many of them outside the DG scene, but during tournaments, everyone sticks to the "Live & Let Live" ethos for the most part. That's really the only thing that matters for me.

Not sure where the original poster lives but maybe there's another club you can join in the next town over? Or you can always move to Los Angeles!

 

[ncbrett92]

I am just starting to get into the competitive play stuff and I really like it because it challenges me to be better and lets me play with guys way over my head to learn from. That being said I do still like to go out by myself and play just for fun. But I still alway keep score even if I'm alone just to compare to my other rounds.

I never knock anyone for not wanting to get into that side of the sport thought. I'v alway been a competitive person so I like it and thankfully here in Charlotte the guys don't take it to seriously most of the time so the fun does't get sucked out of it.

 

[filobedo]

For me, casuals and rec players that only play club events seem more over the top than regular tournament players. I experienced "that guy" during the first organized club event I ever attended years ago in Columbia, SC but once you get to know some other players you realize like in life, there are normal people with interest outside of dg (I.e., families, friends, careers, hobbies, etc.) and others that really do not have anything else in their lives other than dg. I have not played with my local club in several years because of this but had to play with "local casual player" a few months ago and I just ignored his lack of self awareness the entire round.