I think maybe I'm being taken the wrong way. IMHO, there's nothing wrong with the fact that disc golf is easier than real golf. It is how easy and cheap our game is to pick up and play at a casual level that is allowing the relatively rapid growth I've seen in the game between the late 90's when I started playing, and now. On the other hand, those low barriers to entry also leave people less invested in the game, and it seems as though they're much more likely to remain at "chucker" or "one disc wonder" status, than take it seriously enough to practice and play in tournaments.
Again, don't take my comments the wrong way, I'm not attacking disc golf, I love this sport. I just detest the people who use terms like ball golf, bolf, stick golf or whatever other foolish terms are used, and I know many of my golfing buddies (in both types of golf) feel the same way. Golf is the original sport, and should be treated with respect. Yes, some golfers are jerks who look down their nose at disc golf as a trashy, hippie-filled game of frisbee. Stooping to their level and attempting to sneer back at them (especially without much of a leg to stand on to do so) only proves their point. Instead we should honor the sport that gave rise to our own. That doesn't mean run out and buy clubs, it just means give credit where it's due. Golf has many noble traditions, from being a gentleman and enforcing the rules on yourself, to proper attire, to strict rules of course courtesy that are present in our sport at the highest levels, but sometimes are more lacking at the average disc golf course.
A couple examples from my round today. You wouldn't find a large woman in a tube top and spandex bicycle shorts on a golf course. It would be against the dress code (and for good reason!). You wouldn't have her hilljack husband wearing a sleevless shirt with a veritable forest of backhair pouring out of it, and jorts. You also wouldn't have these two morons and their brood of brats clogging up the course and refusing to allow people to play through. The course I played today is in a public park, so there is little that can be done about the way people dress except to be conscious of our own appearance. As far as course etiquette goes, the course has several signs up around the first tee explaining this to people who bother to read, so I'm not sure what more could be done. When they did allow me to play through(due to losing a disc), I tried to mention the concept of allowing faster groups through, and was met with predictable white trash hostility. Maybe I should have mentioned that Big Momma's disc was about 20' up a tree, instead of on the ground where they were looking, but I figured it would be good for them to let a few more groups through so I kept my mouth shut. Maybe not a nice thing to do, but when you tell me to "shut the f___ up Mr pro frolfer" I do tend do lose interest in helping you.
Anyway, I'll end my rant with this. Golf is played with clubs, hockey is played on skates and ice. Any other variations need to have a descriptive adjective in front of them to avoid confusion. Any version of a sport that requires such an adjective may not like the original, but should at least have the decency to avoid bashing the original sport. Sorry if I offended anyone. You're certainly entitled to say "Golf sucks" if that's what you believe. But if you say "Ball Golf sucks" just know that we as serious disc golfers are a HUGE minority, and most people will think you're a tool. While you may not mind that, just remember that you're probably the only discer most people know, and that you are therefore giving the impression that disc golf as a whole is played by tools.
Part of what makes golf fun is that you can bet against your buddies even if you're at different skill levels. That's tough to do in disc golf, especially on a new course, because there's no real "slope" in disc golf's SSA system.
