Leverage

[Central Scrutinizer]

You have to be pretty freaking athletic to make your body throw a Disc as far and accurately as our top pros now do.

Our sport isn't rooted in the 19th-century industrial revolution, and we don't have millions upon millions of fans whose butts are in $65 seats quaffing $9 domestic beers because of tradition and culture, so we're 100 years behind them in that sense. I predict we will make up that ground faster because we're a better sport in a number of ways. I dare to dream we'll be a household sport in 20 or 25 years. It's not an unrealistic pipe dream at all.

Let's get John Kruk and John Daly in a time machine from 1993, then give them today's Golf Discs and several years to practice using them. I'd bet Paul McBeth would still be better at hitting a baseball and hitting a golf ball than they would be playing Disc Golf. That's before we line them up for a 100-yard dash...

 

[zgmc]

You have to be pretty freaking athletic to make your body throw a Disc as far and accurately as our top pros now do.

Our sport isn't rooted in the 19th-century industrial revolution, and we don't have millions upon millions of fans whose butts are in $65 seats quaffing $9 domestic beers because of tradition and culture, so we're 100 years behind them in that sense. I predict we will make up that ground faster because we're a better sport in a number of ways. I dare to dream we'll be a household sport in 20 or 25 years. It's not an unrealistic pipe dream at all.

Let's get John Kruk and John Daly in a time machine from 1993, then give them today's Golf Discs and several years to practice using them. I'd bet Paul McBeth would still be better at hitting a baseball and hitting a golf ball than they would be playing Disc Golf. That's before we line them up for a 100-yard dash...

Wat? DG will never be a "household sport". Which is totally fine. It doesn't have to be. Just go out and have fun throwing frisbees. And seriously, McBeth is 5'8" 165. He is not an elite athlete. Just imagine if an elite athlete were to start throwing frisbees. It would be a massacre.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

I'm with you on a lot of this, but one thing I love about the explosive growth is all the great courses we have to play now!

 

[jvphobic]

Wat? DG will never be a "household sport". Which is totally fine. It doesn't have to be. Just go out and have fun throwing frisbees. And seriously, McBeth is 5'8" 165. He is not an elite athlete. Just imagine if an elite athlete were to start throwing frisbees. It would be a massacre.

Using someones height and weight to say if they are an elite athlete? SERIOUSLY? José Altuve is 5-6, 165 and he is the 2nd baseman for the Houston Astros. Look at ANY male or female gymnast. Your statment could win the dumbest statement of the day.

An elite athlete is someone who is in top physical shape for their position and sport. Is an offensive lineman NOT an elite athlete because of their size vs their physique. Are you going to tell me that Kirby Pucket wasn't an elite athlete?

To say that McBeth isn't an elite athlete is ignorant.

 

[zgmc]

Using someones height and weight to say if they are an elite athlete? SERIOUSLY? José Altuve is 5-6, 165 and he is the 2nd baseman for the Houston Astros. Look at ANY male or female gymnast. Your statment could win the dumbest statement of the day.

An elite athlete is someone who is in top physical shape for their position and sport. Is an offensive lineman NOT an elite athlete because of their size vs their physique. Are you going to tell me that Kirby Pucket wasn't an elite athlete?

To say that McBeth isn't an elite athlete is ignorant.

That's fine, but mcbeth isn't close to Altuve either...

He's an elite disc golfer but he is not in the ranks of the elite athletes of the world.

This is a sport that someone like John McCray can start playing late in life and become a top competitor.

 

[bsammons]

That's fine, but mcbeth isn't close to Altuve either...

He's an elite disc golfer but he is not in the ranks of the elite athletes of the world.

This is a sport that someone like John McCray can start playing late in life and become a top competitor.

I respectfully disagree.

It's a sport that requires a combination of athleticism, mental dexterity, and commitment to form and repeatability, just like golf. Comparing athletes from different sports isn't fair to either. Could a 6'6 offensive lineman do well in distance running? Heck no. But those dudes get up and get up fast, with lots of power and explosive quickness. Can a marathoner do well in rugby? Not a chance. Are the Olympian level marathoners any less of athletes than the dudes hurling hammers, slinging themselves and a snowboard to crazy heights and acrobatics, and swimmers? Nope. McBeth is an incredible athlete, just like the rest of the top pros. It's just a different type of athleticism. He may not be 6 foot 3 with an eight pack abs and ripping biceps and quads but he doesn't have to be for the sport.

Take the average disc golfer at the course's drive (I'd say 300 feet, very generous) vs mcbeth who can hit 600, and compare that to football, soccer, sprinting... a top level pro who can double the performance of the average player? That's an elite athlete.

 

[zgmc]

I respectfully disagree.

It's a sport that requires a combination of athleticism, mental dexterity, and commitment to form and repeatability, just like golf. Comparing athletes from different sports isn't fair to either. Could a 6'6 offensive lineman do well in distance running? Heck no. But those dudes get up and get up fast, with lots of power and explosive quickness. Can a marathoner do well in rugby? Not a chance. Are the Olympian level marathoners any less of athletes than the dudes hurling hammers, slinging themselves and a snowboard to crazy heights and acrobatics, and swimmers? Nope. McBeth is an incredible athlete, just like the rest of the top pros. It's just a different type of athleticism. He may not be 6 foot 3 with an eight pack abs and ripping biceps and quads but he doesn't have to be for the sport.

Take the average disc golfer at the course's drive (I'd say 300 feet, very generous) vs mcbeth who can hit 600, and compare that to football, soccer, sprinting... a top level pro who can double the performance of the average player? That's an elite athlete.

You guys are delusional.

 

[jvphobic]

That's fine, but mcbeth isn't close to Altuve either...

He's an elite disc golfer but he is not in the ranks of the elite athletes of the world.

This is a sport that someone like John McCray can start playing late in life and become a top competitor.

First. JohnE has been playing for almost 30 years. Maybe more. But that could just be an example you used.

Your definition of "elite athlete" is silly. Usain Bolt is an elite athlete, but I don't think he would throw a disc any better than your average in shape tall person. Soccer players & swimmers are some of the most in shape people in the world, but their skills don't necessarily translate naturally.

"Elite Athletes" have usually trained at a specific sport for 10-15 years, perfecting specific skills. Just like McBeth, Eagle, Simon, etc. Are there other athletes that could step into disc golf and immediately have a leg up on other athletes? Sure... Baseball players, Tennis Players, Quarterbacks. They have experience with body mechanics, hips, arms, & timing. They will learn the technique quicker than others and pick it up easier.

But the idea or thought that our sport doesn't have elite athletes is silly. The idea that when "real" athletes start playing then we are in for a treat is not realistic.

 

[Lazerface]

The pool of talent in disc golf is of course tiny compared to any of the mainstream sports. That does not mean that the current level of talent has a much lower ceiling than it would if we had a bunch of "elite athletes", whatever the hell that means.

It for sure means that we could, and will have a lot more Pauls/Eagles/Rickys as time moves on. What is currently a small group (maybe in the hundreds) of kids dedicating all their time to a disc golf skill set is in comparison very small (maybe tens of thousands) to the same kids doing it for mains stream sports. Not to mention the massive differences in the structural support that exists for the mainstream stuff (cultural acceptance, select teams, camps, scholarships, specialty training/teachers, etc, etc, etc).

The argument that ZGMC is essentially making is that our sample size (both current and historical) is too small to say that McBeth is not "elite" or for that matter is not near the ceiling we would see from a "real athlete".

I completely disagree. I mean, how much better can you throw a disc. What exactly are we not seeing from the top few guys?1000 foot golf lines? 100% circle 2 putting?

 

[Hampstead]

That SF Giants relief pitcher, the MMA fighter and the Penguins goalie are all professional athletes who play disc golf. Are they dominating yet? I haven't been paying attention.

 

[EricMoul]

That SF Giants relief pitcher, the MMA fighter and the Penguins goalie are all professional athletes who play disc golf. Are they dominating yet? I haven't been paying attention.

Not sure who the Giants pitcher is but Seth Lugo of the Mets has a win in the Southern Nationals Circuit and has tossed at least 1 1000+ rated round.

Ben Askren was runner up in the 2011 USADGC. Tossed rounds of 1012 and 1028.

And Casey DeSmith is currently 950ish rated after 3 career events.

While not dominating in any sense, it's quite impressive how quickly they have picked up the sport. There's a very small percentage of disc golfers who have thrown 1000+ rated rounds and even being 950ish rated is better than the majority of golfers. Not bad for playing DG as a hobby compared to the 1000's of hours they dump into their main sport.

 

[aphilso1]

It's a matter of sample size and incentive. Disc golf is still a niche sport with a much smaller participation rate than golf, basketball, etc. Couple that with the fact that the best disc golfers in the world make less money than players in the major sports earn even in the minor leagues. As an example, Ricky Wysocki's total career earnings were $357k as of a year ago...that is the same as the average signing bonus (not salary...signing bonus) for a 5th round MLB draft pick. Lots of 5th rounders aren't even good enough to make it the majors! (Sources: https://www.cypresspointgolf.com/how-much-disc-golfers-make/ and http://thecomeback.com/theoutsideco...ns-later-choice-mlb-draft-pick-must-make.html)

These are the same factors that lead to modern athletes being better than they were a few generations ago; the number of kids playing baseball today is much higher than it was 100 years ago, and those kids have a much larger carrot dangling in front of them to incentivize them to try to pursue baseball as a career. As a result, the modern baseball player is a much better athlete in 2019 compared to 1919. Baseball is only one example, but you will see the same thing in basketball, track, etc. For top disc golfers to be on the same athletic playing field as top pros in other sports, we will need to "grow the sport" both in terms of participation and incentive.

 

[Chains Bailey]

The Brodie Smith idea from earlier in the thread is alive!

Could he walk into any disc manufacturer with his 2 million viewers and get signed on the spot regardless of skill level?

If so, which one is most likely and why?

I believe he may be the pinnacle of DDs business model - if they built their own social media wrecking ball from scratch, they would end up with Brodie.



I am sure I broke some unwritten rule about bumping a thread I started myself, so just deduct my DGCR points and then immediately jump on the Bro' Wagon with the cool kids!

 

[Chains Bailey]

:clap: to myself.