Do you 'donate' to Pros?

[Kris C]

If you wanna see pics, it's gonna cost you

I'll donate for this! :thmbup:

 

[Mind Expansi0n]

Lol, they can keep the 'donated' YouTube videos - and pay their own tourney fees IMO.

 

[#19325]

I do not directly give money to the top pros. I will be donating my money this summer at Pro Worlds in Charlotte like I've done in 07, 08, 09, & 10. I also donated at the USDGC in 05. Sometimes I get lucky and win my entry fee back. 2 worlds aces!! I have purchased some items which help some of them out. Bought a pair of Salomon Shoes last summer for $60 shipped from Nate Doss. What a bargain!

I purchase all kinds of fundraising items to support various causes. Candy bars, raffle tickets, girl scout cookies, Mr. Z's pizza, etc.. I see this no differently supporting pros or events.

I just checked Nate Doss statistics. He won $32,679 last year. $12,000 came from 2 events (Worlds/Players Cup). Take away those 2 wins and his financial earnings change dramatically. I would love to see his tax statement and itemized deductions for travel expenses. I'm estimating that he paid $3,200 in tournament entry fees. A huge % of fees are just getting to events. Wonder how much gas/airfare are spent? I boggles my mind that the best players in the world have to sleep on the couch then go out and out perform the very best for each others money.

There is no money in this game! The day that comes this game changes forever. The day that comes I'll be back in the amateur ranks.

 

[codyroberts18]

Put yourself in their shoes. If you were that gifted with talents to put you at the top of a growing sport, I bet you would be asking for donations to cover a very expensive tour schedule. Do you know the tour has them going AZ to CA all the way to MO, then back to OR, followed by OH and finishing in MA. That is a pretty expensive road trip. Yea they are winning money at the events they place in, but most of them have disc golf as their only income. You should be thankful they are out touring and making a name for the sport that I love and I'm sure you do to. Just my $.02.

 

[prerube]

Lol, they can keep the 'donated' YouTube videos - and pay their own tourney fees IMO.

They pay their way plenty, but unlike pros in other sports they do not get the big paydays. People donate to politicians, who do you not needa the money, all the time. What is wrong with throwing a little support to your dg candidate?

 

[JTacoma03]

Lol, they can keep the 'donated' YouTube videos - and pay their own tourney fees IMO.

Well, clearly you don't get it. Oh well.

Anyone else excited for the Memorial this month? I'm looking forward to seeing who jumps out the gate this year.

 

[eegor]

Less than $40,000/yr is not very much. Most making a lot less than $20,000/yr.

There are guys panhandling on street corners that do better than that.

If you want to help, I'm sure they appreciate it. If you don't want to help - don't.

My points: 1) There is no reason for jealousy. 2) There is no point of having this thread.

 

[bodomdethllica]

Sometimes I play open. That's almost the same thing.

lol...qft

 

[Connor Jones]

Connor had the best reply.

This needs to be said more often on this forum.

 

[craftsman]

Jt, i guess it was just your wording that i didnt like...

I guess my view of dg, what i want dg to be, and my view of the pros is different then most.
I am very concious of where i spend my money; ill first buy from pros and i only buy from shops that support my local.scene. I dont expect anything from pros and all of my expierences have been very chill, i dont idolize athletes and i like that all the pros ive hung with are normal down to earth folk.
I dont watch much utube on dg b/c i dont have a computer and its frustrating on a lil screen. I do however buy most of the dg dvds.
Of the courses i frequent, only one 18hole'r is free, everything else is p2p.

My music scene is quite simillar to dg. The bands arent making money. Yoi can catch them selling their merch and/or having a drink at the bar next to you. I like it that way and hope dg stays the same (though i.doubt it).
Seeing that i dont follow any sports and my music genre isnt money driven, you can see why i dont feel pros are entitled to big money.

 

[RHINESEL]

Truth of the matter, disc golf is not ready for a National Tour. Those that participate in it do it because they choose to, not because it's a good career. They make a conscious choice to scrape by to participate in a full time hobby.

Disc golf is ready for a Regional Tour setup. Create regional divisions with select winners from these regions playing in one national tournament. This not only increases a grassroots type mentality but allows the "pros" to have real jobs while participating on tournaments on the weekends.

I would pay a small spectating fee ($5 or less) to follow a "pro" card around with the winnings going directly toward the pro division winner. I would also support disc golf related activities put on (clinics) or items sold by the pro (such as their winnings), but not directly donate.

The PDGA is trying to push something that just isn't there. A building will crumble if it doesn't have a good foundation. Build a good base and then grow the sport vertically.

 

[craftsman]

Jt, i still dont see a logical defense for chucks post.

Again, i dont care about sports; i wouldnt reconize a famous athlete if he was standing next to me.
If i go to a sporting event im going for atmosphere. Dg doesnt provide that kind of atmosphere cus you can play there on a normal.day, just like bowling.

While mainstream bands have pricey tickets, ska and punk shows usually cost around $10.

 

[craftsman]

Why dont more pros tour together???
Yes, im sure its hard for avery to.tour on that 15k (though i know bands that do on less) but with his sis and nate, they have 60k.
If ten pros split a rv im sure its feasible and "we" would have a better nt tour showing.

 

[TwoTechnics]

if anything this should be about the no-name pro with hardley any sponsers and that does not finish in the top 10 in every tourney he/she enters. its extremely tough for those guys to stay on tour. Theses players usually fade off the tour. Higher payouts would help, but the real problem is, they need more payouts for the bottom half guys. so my question is why arent the Disc companies doing more? Are they doing enough? honestly i dont know? i would love to see how much they put into the pot+Sponsership to a touring player Vs. their Gross profits.

 

[codyroberts18]

I actually think there are about 5 that tour together. A couple years back, Dave, Avery, Doss, Val, and one more toured together. I would say the reason they all don't tour together is because of their different methods of practice. Where I would want to stop and putt or something, the others may want to push on and not stop unless necessary. I also think disc companies could step it up a bit but I think the money just isn't in touring. Not yet at least.

I donate to pro's, if you don't, what does it matter if we do? I know 99.9% of people on this forum have watched at least one video on youtube from a touring pro including the OP.

 

[thugjitsu]

I know good sponsors pay for travel and stay. That leaves food and whatnot up to the pro's. I don't know which pros have these good sponsors except for a few. I do my share by buying nice discs off the pro even if its a bit inflated because most of them have showed me darn good tips that have improved my game. Just my two cents.

 

[ohtobediscing]

^^^Its like CDs for bands---I always liked buying them at the concerts, 'cause the band got a better cut even if it wasn't cheaper for me.
Congrats on your impending "Par" status---I didn't much care for that "Bogey member" under my avatar. Although, if it meant you took more strokes with your member....

 

[JTacoma03]

Why dont more pros tour together???
Yes, im sure its hard for avery to.tour on that 15k (though i know bands that do on less) but with his sis and nate, they have 60k.
If ten pros split a rv im sure its feasible and "we" would have a better nt tour showing.

As to your previous posts- totally respectable point of view/paradigm - but it's like you said, the sport isn't growing that way. I think you basically don't want it to grow into the mainstream sports industry, which is where it's heading.

As for this post - most pros who tour nationally tour in groups, and the sad thing is they are almost required to help each other stay on the road during the season. It's a weird competitive-comraderie system which ends up making things cliquey despite it being an individual sport.

 

[yearofrolling]

I'll donate to Martin before I donate to a pro.
I still need to do that...

 

[Turbo88]

I personally am not going to hand someone money to do something that they choose to do knowing that there is no money in it. That is their choice and should be their responsibility to pay for it.

However, if they actually want to do something for the money, that is different. If they took 2 hours of their time to put on a clinic, I think a lot of people would pay $10 for that. People would get something out of that and not feel like they are just giving someone money.