PDGA Survey

[smyith]

Received this in my email today.

PDGA Survey
Theme 1: Player Experience
Tournaments and sanctioning are a large part of what the PDGA does. By the numbers: Tournament fees account for 23% of the organization's income, 17% of its expenses and 20% of the staff's time. The organization is the primary (inter)national sanctioning body for organized disc golf competition. In 2012 it sanctioned 1,688 tournaments/leagues and is on track to do more than 2,000 this year. Inconsistency of member experience across PDGA sanctioned events, such as variations in registration, format, payout, standards, enforcement of rules, etc., was identified as an organizational weakness in the strategic planning process. Potential areas of focus include:

> Grow tournament purses across the board by re-evaluating how PDGA tournaments are run. Potential areas to address include fee structures, reducing 1-day fee amount, re-evaluating pro/am payout models and requiring greater sponsorship contribution to the purse by the host.
> The PDGA has prioritized investment in its top events as a means to raise awareness of the sport and spends over $100K/year on Worlds/Majors and NTs. The PDGA should continue investing in and improving these events as the top showcase of the sport.
> Tournament standards and rules enforcement are poorly regulated. Possible actions include reviewing, defining and enforcing tournament standards across all tiers; embracing an initiative to educate the playing population on the rules and supporting TD's in enforcing the rules of play.
> Increase the emphasis on areas other than the competition itself such as enriching the online statistics/data and offering social networking for competitors.

> Continue to broaden the definition of 'Player Experience' beyond singles competition including increasing league participation and sanctioning alternative competitive formats including doubles, teams, etc. Embracing, supporting and collaborating with local clubs.
> Continue to raise the profile sport by pursuing inclusion in international competitions including embracing WADA drug testing standards.
> Embrace and grow the amateur prize-based payout model that provides positive economic impact to the locale through the margin realized on the prize merchandise.
> De-emphasize the amateur prize-based payout model in favor of offering trophy only similar to other sporting competitions.
> Provide greater recognition and support to local tournament directors.

1. Please rank the areas of focus above (paraphrased below) in order from 1 to 9 on their potential impact on improving player experience with 1 having the greatest potential: (1 = Greatest)

__Grow tournament purses
__Continue investing and growing Worlds/Majors/NTs
__Revisit and enforce standards and rules
__Increase online player experience/social networking at pdga.com
__Broaden competition formats, i.e. doubles, teams, etc.
__Escalate the international profile of the sport through top competitions
__Embrace the amateur prize pay-out model
__De-emphasize the amateur prize pay-out model
__Provide greater recognition and support to tournament directors

2. The role of the PDGA in the World Championships has increased significantly in the past years and the leadership is considering the future direction for this event. Please select the statement that you most agree with:

(a)The PDGA World Championships is the traditional gathering of the disc golf family. The PDGA should embrace the hugeness and all-inclusiveness of the event - encouraging combined pro/am worlds when possible. Offering courses suited for a range of skills and emphasizing extra-curricular activities throughout the event.
(b)The PDGA World Championships should evolve to be the showcase/media event of disc golf. With the PDGA taking full control in running the event, locating a showcase venue that is TV-friendly, focusing on a limited field/divisions, and playing on courses designed to specifically challenge the top players of the game. For disc golf it would seek to set the bar for other top events to emulate.

a or b

3. PDGA Amateur Payouts where 100%+ of registration fees are expected to be awarded back to the field as prizes is somewhat unique to disc golf. The organization has taken exploratory steps to change this by making the 2013 Amateur World Championships trophy only. Please select the statement that you most agree with:

(a)The payout prize structure should be embraced and endorsed by the PDGA. The model provides local positive economic impact and rewards a greater number of players with product that benefits the manufacturers. While not perfect it's a model that works for all.
(b)The payout prize structure is holding the sport back from being a true amateur competitive sport and should be de-emphasized by the PDGA. Trophy-only events offer the opportunity to lower entry fees to increase participation with a local positive economic impact achieved through the margins on players packages if desired.

a or b

 

[smyith]

Theme 2: Growth
At the current growth rate, the sport doubles in participation every 6 years, this sustained growth rate is pretty unique amongst other sports. There are more opportunities for growth than the organization has bandwidth to effectively address them all. Possible priorities here include:

> Grooming recreational players to be tournament players. Disc golfers playing in tournaments help fund other PDGA initiatives. After expenses, tournament play provides $114K for use in growth initiatives. 91% of disc golfers are recreational players and 9% tournament players (using the number of unique visitors to the PDGA website in 2012 (1.2 million) as a base),
> Getting more amateur players to turn pro. 22% of the membership is classified as 'pro'. Building the pro ranks increases payouts and feeds the competition pyramid to the top events that raises the overall awareness of the sport.
> Increasing the number of club / league players. In its first year the PDGA sanctioned league program accounted for 5% of individual tournament entries. In addition to expanding leagues, restructure the PDGA's relationship with clubs beyond today's membership discounts to provide networking and services to assist forming, running and growing local clubs.
> Increasing the number of recreational players. Recreational players represent 91% of the disc golf population and hold potential for increased marketing and sponsorship of the sport. Efforts to increase the number of recreational players at the base of the pyramid will ultimately feed and grow the PDGA activity at the top.

> Increasing the number of women players. Women account for 7% of the membership and the rate has remained relatively constant for the past 10 years. In recent years the PDGA has created a women's committee and provides support to women specific events.
> Continuing to grow the sport internationally. The PDGA dedicates $55K/year or 3.5% of its budget to international activities including servicing 2,278 memberships and 288 tournaments with an accumulative annual growth rate in past years of 22% and 28% respectively.
> Increasing youth/junior participation. Juniors account for 1.7% of the organization's tournament play, remaining relatively constant (ie growing consistently with everything else) for the past 5 years. The organization's education budget (primarily Edge program support) is $20,000/year or 1.1% of the annual budget. This topic has ranked among the top requests by the membership in past surveys.
> Growing senior participation. Retiring baby boomers represent a growing demographic. From 2011 to 2012 the tournament participation for seniors grew 27% for amateurs and 19% for pros. The organization recently formed a senior committee and participated in the National Senior Games.
> Increasing the number of military players. This potential market is comprised of 1.4M active personnel and 850,000 in reserves. The PDGA does not track military participation but did form a military committee this year.
> Increasing the general public awareness of disc golf. By participation disc golf is 25% the size of Ultimate (1.2m players vs. 4.9m) and is enjoyed by .4% of the US population. Possible activity includes investing in national awareness campaigns and preparing local clubs to prepare for new interest.

4. Please rank the areas of focus above (paraphrased below) in order from 1 to 10 on their potential impact on improving organizational excellence with 1 having the greatest potential: (1 = Greatest)

__Grooming recreational players to be tournament players
__Getting more amateur players to turn pro
__Increasing the number of club / league players
__Increasing the number of recreational players
__Increasing the number of women players
__Continuing to grow the sport internationally
__Increasing youth/junior participation
__Growing senior participation

5.Please choose 3 of the below items that you would eliminate:

__Grooming recreational players to be tournament players
__Getting more amateur players to turn pro
__Increasing the number of club / league players
__Increasing the number of recreational players
__Increasing the number of women players
__Continuing to grow the sport internationally
__Increasing youth/junior participation
__Growing senior participation
__Increasing the number of military players
__Increasing the general public awareness of disc golf
__Increasing the number of military players
__Increasing the general public awareness of disc golf

6. Based on past surveys, it is likely youth/junior participation in the sport will rank among a top focus within this theme, how would you rank in order from 1 to 6 the following approaches on their potential to grow and impact this area? (1 = Greatest)

__Organization should pursue disc golf as a component of physical education curricula from elementary to secondary education.
__The PDGA should seed a new organization focused solely on youth/junior education/participation.
__The PDGA should refocus its 3-person youth and education committee on a developing a strategy in this area.
__The PDGA should support the EDGE program (not-for-profit created, in part, by founders of Innova) on a scale commensurate with other initiatives (10-13% of annual budget vs. 1% now)
__The PDGA should deploy a program that empowers local clubs to go into schools and raise awareness.
__The PDGA should donate course equipment/courses to schools in exchange for a commitment to teach disc golf.

 

[smyith]

Theme 3: Membership Services
Membership Services spans membership, membership benefits and related services like the magazine. In 2012, 66% of the organization's income came from membership fees. This number includes over 16,800 payments of 1-day $10 temporary membership fees collected at tournaments. The organization spends 33% of its budget on memberships with processing/postage/fulfilling memberships ($227K) and the DiscGolfer Magazine ($106K) being the 2 largest expenses. Potential areas of focus have been identified as follows:

> Broaden the membership offerings online beyond current push for new website and database functionality to include personalized pages and social networking.
> PDGA staff spends almost 10% of their time addressing membership questions, concerns and complaints. The organization should measure and work to improve customer (member) service at every PDGA member touch-point both within the office and throughout its networks.
> Broaden and compellingly price a membership option that makes sense for a greater percentage of disc golfers who are not necessarily active tournament players. Reevaluate existing membership categories and pricing.
> Increase support through programs like the Innovation Grants program and develop others that assist active members interested in growing the sport.
> First year memberships, which include the traditional players package disc, result in a near break-even result for the PDGA. 38% of them do not renew. The 'initiation' of new memberships need to be reevaluated.
> The PDGA website reaches its highest traffic during the Worlds live scoring and its relationship with Disc Golf Planet provides live video coverage of top events. Two key points include increasing the opportunities to follow the top competitions and expanding (free) services to non-members
> The continued growth rate of the membership obscures the impact of our non-renewing members. 38% do not renew after the first year, 17% drop off after the second, 10% after the third then it settles to an average 3% annual reduction thereafter. To put it another way, after 5 years 72% of those members are no longer active.

7. Please rank the areas of focus above (paraphrased below) in order from 1 to 7 on their potential impact on improving organizational excellence with 1 having the greatest potential: (1 = Greatest)

__Broaden membership offerings online/social networking
__Measure and improve customer service level
__Revisit and redefine membership levels to appeal to more disc golfers
__Increase support and number of programs to assist members in growth
__Increase first year member renewal rates
__Increase coverage of top events and offer more free services to non-members
__Increasing membership renewals for the entire membership

8. The PDGA Membership structure and prices have both remained unchanged and successful through recent years. Membership income grows steadily at 10-12% each year. Less than 9% of the PDGA-known player base (1.2M people) are PDGA members. Please select the following statement you most agree with:

(a)XXX of current, active PDGA members do not play in tournaments. If the PDGA introduces a lower-fee for a non-tournament playing membership, those members may renew at the lower rate resulting in an immediate drop in membership income. The current model works well, grows every year and we shouldn't fix what isn't broken.
(b)Many disc golfers do not join the PDGA because they perceive membership to be for active tournament players. Given that five $10 temp fees equals one amateur annual membership fee, it's not a surprise that the average member plays just over 5 tournaments per year. The organization needs to appeal to a broader base of disc golfers and offer a compelling membership option for that demographic.

a or b

9. The PDGA Ratings system has been a key membership benefit for the past 10 years. It was developed by volunteers and is designed to handle the high number of variables inherent in disc golf including course style, # of holes, etc. Please select the statement below that you most agree with: (Pick One)

(a)The ratings system is one of the best offerings of the PDGA. It is highly reflective of the player's skill. The organization should continue to embrace and expand its use of the ratings system.

(b)The ratings system is a benefit - but there are some flaws. The organization should continue to identify them and improve the system accordingly.

(c)The ratings system is great for tournaments, but doesn't work well for leagues.

(d)The ratings system is too complicated and confuses new players. The system should be redone in favor of a simpler, possibly less accurate system.

 

[smyith]

Theme 4: Operational Excellence.
This theme looks at how the wheels turn at the PDGA and spans the board, staff, consultants and the volunteers. We are not only considering what is being done but also how well they are doing it. Potential areas of focus identified throughout the strategic planning process include:

> Define and implement organizational metrics: Organizational metrics are the key items that best reflect how the PDGA is doing its job. They are tracked, reported and used to evaluate performance. Today the PDGA tracks membership, course and tournament growth. Outside of tracking spending to the board-approved annual budget, there are no other organizational performance characteristics measured today.
> Revisit the structure and role of the board: The board and the election process by the membership results in knowledgeable, sometimes popular players, becoming board members who often have minimal experience leading an organization the size of the PDGA. The board structure needs to be reconsidered. In the past, when the organization was a bit smaller, the board was active in the running of the PDGA. Today, the board is responsible for the strategic direction and performance of the organization. The board should refine/define its role in the organization by both drafting and adopting polices and identifying /transitioning items better handled elsewhere in the organization.
> Review and revisit business partner relationships: In certain instances the organization works closely with partners such as Breiner Enterprises, our membership collection and processing contractor . Today there is no formal measurement of the performance of these partners and no periodic reviews/requests for proposals from outside to ensure the members are getting the best service and value.

> Invest reserves in initiatives with measurable returns: The PDGA has accumulated significant cash reserves. Through the strategic planning process, the board has the ability to identify and invest in initiatives that will broaden the return to its membership. The board should, for example, define an potential investment amounts and the expected returns for the membership include when the effort may be financially self sustaining
> Better utilize our state coordinators, TD's and committees: The PDGA has an extended network of elected state coordinators and volunteer tournament directors. In recent years communication with these groups has diminished. The board could, for example, set the direction to evaluate, define, empower and better utilize these groups to both help realize its strategic plan and improve service to its members.

10. Please rank the areas of focus above (paraphrased below) in order from 1 to 5 on their potential impact on improving organizational excellence with 1 having the greatest potential: (1 = Greatest)

__Define and implement organizational metrics
__Revisit the structure and role of the board
__Review and revisit business partner relationships
__Invest reserves in initiatives with measurable returns
__Better utilize our state coordinators, TD's and committees

11. What do you think is the most important metric (measure of organizational performance) for the PDGA to monitor? (select one)

(a)Customer Service Index
(b)Impact of initiatives and projects
(c)Actual financial performance to Annual Budget
(d)Identifying, tracking and measuring continuous improvement efforts for existing and new activities

12. Please rank the following in order from 1 to 5 on their importance to you with 1 having the greatest importance: (1 = Greatest)

__The structure and organization of the PDGA board today where the membership elects members to the board for specific terms should not be changed.
__The board should be changed to include representatives from various constituencies of the organization such as seats representing State Coordinators, Tournament Directors, Professional Competitors, Amateur Competitors, etc.
__The board should have a number of seats filled by influential people from outside of disc golf whose networks can help grow the sport.
__Strategic planning is most effective when it is an ongoing process, the board of directors should draft, propose, vote and adopt a strategic planning process with key activities defined throughout the annual cycle.
__The board should identify opportunities to invest its financial reserves in initiatives to better fulfill its mission. Investments should include a plans for financial sustainability in a defined period of time.

 

[smyith]

Theme 5: Sustainable Excitement (aka Marketing and Media)
As there are more ways to grow the sport than we can handle, there are many opportunities to market the sport. In the past the PDGA, at the request of the members, focused on raising the profile of its top events to both increase general awareness of the sport and create opportunities for large sponsors. The PDGA publishes DiscGolfer magazine. For other marketing and media activity the PDGA distributes funds to a number of external marketing efforts including Discgolfplanet.tv, Beach Sports Network, Disc Golf Monthly and Disc Golf Live. Internally, marketing duties including live event coverage are shared by the staff.

Based on available data, PDGA Membership accounts for approximately 9% of disc golfers. Nationally, .4% of the population plays disc golf and compared to other peer sports - disc golf ranks the smallest:
2013 Survey graphic:

Assuming the others remain constant, at our current growth rates we approach the size of ultimate in 6 years.

Possible areas of focus identified through the strategic planning process include:

> Coordinate and focus our marketing efforts and budget to focus on disc golfers who are not PDGA members; ie: grow the organization
> Coordinate and focus our marketing efforts to raise public awareness of disc golf; ie: grow the sport
> Reevaluate the validity, focus and impact of Discgolfer Magazine

> Pursue and push for competitive disc golf to be on television. The Beach Sports Network relationship this year offers 4 programs on disc golf at a cost of $15K. As viewership builds, advertising is expected to cover the production costs.
> Pursue and push for competitive disc golf to be broadcast online where the organization has greater control over the 'channel' to the viewer to bring sponsors/advertising revenue.
> The sport of disc golf will grow with or without the PDGA marketing efforts. The budget in this area should be pared back.
> Marketing the sport is the responsibility of the players organization, the PDGA should focus and coordinate its efforts with a dedicated marketing resource on staff.

13. Please rank the areas of focus above (paraphrased below) in order from 1 to 7 on their importance to you: (1 = Greatest)

__Grow PDGA amongst disc golfers
__Grow the sport of disc golf
__Reevaluate DiscGolfer magazine
__Grow disc golf coverage on television
__Grow disc golf coverage online
__Scale back marketing, others will do it
__Prioritize and coordinate marketing with dedicated staff

14. Traditionally the PDGA has either subsidized or fully supported a magazine (as they do now). Having a magazine legitimized the sport and gave local organizers something to help raise sponsorship. The PDGA spends $104K on the magazine before postage. Please select the option that you most agree with.

(a)The magazine should continue in its current form.
(b)The PDGA should re-evaluate the magazine, its purpose and form.
(c)The PDGA should discontinue the magazine, reallocate the funds to other identified growth initiatives in the organization.

15. Please select the following statement you most agree with:

(a)The PDGA should continue its current strategy of funding multiple, member-lead marketing efforts including DiscGolfPlanet.tv, Disc Golf Live and Disc Golf Monthly.
(b)Disc golf needs to be on TV. PDGA should be doing everything it can to get it there - the cost is worth the benefit.
(c)Only disc golfers enjoy watching disc golf, the appeal of the sport on conventional television is limited. The PDGA should focus its efforts on more online/multi media event coverage, build meaningful numbers that will attract sponsors to advertise on the
(d)The PDGA should continue to support independent producers of disc golf content, develop a pay-per-view model that provides the necessary financial support rather than subsidizing efforts today with DGPtv, Disc Golf Live and Disc Golf Monthly.
(e)Disc golf is not interesting on television. The PDGA should abandon such efforts and focus on making its sanctioned events better for the members.

 

[smyith]

Survey Questions - General
16. Information in this survey has been organized around 5 key themes, please rank these themes in order of importance to you: (1 = Greatest)

__Organizational Excellence
__Growth
__Player Experience
__Membership Services
__Sustainable Excitement, aka Marketing and Media

17. Please select the statement below that you most agree with:

(a)The PDGA is the membership organization for competitive (tournament) disc golf. It best serves its membership by continually improving and growing the entire competitive spectrum from leagues to C-tiers to National Tour to International Competition to the World Championships. Other efforts not impacting this should be minimized.
(b)The PDGA is 'by the members for the members' and serves the entire sport of disc golf from education/youth to recreation/clubs to tournament competition to media/marketing. All are of equal importance, should be measured for impact and financial gain. The PDGA should be actively investing in these areas.

18. The name 'PDGA' or Professional Disc Golf Association has come under question as to whether it is the most appropriate name for the organization. Please select the statement below that you most agree with.

(a)The name is fine and should not be changed at all.
(b)The organization's role is much broader than the 'professional' aspect and the name should be changed.
(c)The PDGA name should remain and the organization should create/seed separate organizations with different names and specific focuses in areas like education or clubs/recreation.

 

[dashiellx]

Thanks for posting this. Interesting read. Hopefully it will result in some positive change.

 

[dehaas]

I started the survey but it was wayyyyy too much reading on my phone while at work. I'll skim it again when I have time, but I honestly got bored and gave up on it.

On a side note, I really hate surveys where you have to rank statements in order to how you feel. I always have to read all the statements a million times and often there are enough choices where you forget what half are by the time you get to the end of the list.

 

[HeavyCritters]

My ADHD will not allow me to read this post.

 

[notapro]

Wow, that is some high stakes softball!

 

[iacas]

I submitted a completed survey.

 

[DavidSauls]

Now, to find my Corporatese-to-English dictionary.

 

[mashnut]

Some of those questions sure seem like someone at PDGA HQ is reading the forums here at DGCR.

 

[Johnny_Crunch]

Nice info. Thanks for posting it.

 

[ScottyLove]

I'm a sick dude...

I actually found this before I noticed I had one in my own inbox. Too much DGCR... how do I make it stop??

 

[_MTL_]

Hope ppl take the time to do this.

This is the PDGA flat out bringing up issues that members complain about. Magazine costs. Video coverage. Pro Tour marketing. Website stuff. Membership costs. How money is spent. Am payouts. The name of the org.

I applaud the org. for throwing these things out there and putting themselves out there on these controversial and widely discussed topics.

Let your voice be heard or don't complain about those things.

 

[craftsman]

"Let your voice....."

OR one can realize that their views will not be shared by the majority so the best option is to stop renewing (but continue to complain)

 

[Brodysseus]

Some of those questions sure seem like someone at PDGA HQ is reading the forums here at DGCR.

My thoughts exactly.

Hope ppl take the time to do this.

This is the PDGA flat out bringing up issues that members complain about. Magazine costs. Video coverage. Pro Tour marketing. Website stuff. Membership costs. How money is spent. Am payouts. The name of the org.

I applaud the org. for throwing these things out there and putting themselves out there on these controversial and widely discussed topics.

Let your voice be heard or don't complain about those things.

Yeah, this is true. Despite being a member, I'm a pretty outspoken critic of the PDGA (and I'm not planning on renewing). But this was a great move by the PDGA to let people voice their opinions on this.

I completed/submitted a survey and hope some good comes of it. I do believe the PDGA should be the leader in the expansion of disc golf, but things need to change. And I also believe the organization needs to shake things up to please more members/current disc golfers (myself included). Hopefully this is that beginning of that step in the right direction.

 

[Dan Ensor]

Next year they'll ask us how they should define stable

I was very pleased after completing the survey. Very pleased indeed. Doubt much of what I think will be popular, but I don't care.

 

[jrawk]

the survey is missing one very important question, which should have been the first question:

from 1 to 5, rate your knowledge of the pdga hot topics, BOD meeting minutes, and general operations of the PDGA.