Taking DG TOO seriously???

[tomjulio]

Been having recent discussion lately with a great many people on the spectrum of disc golfing over the past couple years. Seems that there is a great divide between those whom I believe "get" what disc golfing is about and those that take it too seriously and miss the spirit of this great sport. You can see it on courses, in the way that certain people act, and even here in board postings and responses. A negativity has seeped into the mixed which I feel takes away from the brotherly spirit and free nature of the game.


What are you thoughts/experiences? Am I just starting to get too old and should buy a house and sit on the porch and scream "GET OFF MY LAWN!" from now on?

 

[blackandwhite]

sure and instead of shooting a shotgun, you can FH lasers to their heads haha

 

[CwAlbino]

The pot smoking hippies are being outnumbered these days

 

[Huff]

The pleasant pot smoking hippies are being outnumbered by asshats these days

Fixed it for you

 

[DavidSauls]

Why not a diverse sport/activity, where disc golf is to many different people, many different things?

 

[blackandwhite]

The people playing the sport are just as different as the discs that we all carry

 

[Roc1Time]

With growth comes change

 

[blackandwhite]

with change comes growth?

 

[Face]

With change comes a trip to the vending machine?

Seriously though when I started last Oct I found that people were VERY supportive and more than happy to help you out with your form and what kind of discs to use. I would see people throwing amazing shots and thinking they would be kind of elitist if you talked to them but 9/10 of the time they are more than happy to help you out.

I think thats what great about this sport is that if you're new people will help you and you have a great chance to improve and get better. I remember trying to get into ball golf and asking someone for some tips and they said that pretty much if you didnt get into golf at a young age there wasnt much hope for you. That right there depressed the hell out of me. But as I've been playing Disc Golf I see myself improving greatly because of the help from the more advanced players. Granted, Im sure theres ass-hats with their ass-hatery out there but honestly I cant think of any I've met.

I think as long as the better people continue to help out the newbies like myself I think the spirit of the game will keep going. As long as people dont start looking like nascar drivers at Tourneys I think its fine.

 

[Rbuzz9]

i dont believe i play in a huge DG hotspot and everyone i have seen is out for fun.

- i've def seen postings here which indicate some take it too seriously. i get a sort of an elitist vibe from some of the convos. Usually those convos are about Weed / course behaviour tend to bring out some generalizations and lots of smug comments.

Those convos are sort of eye opening since i thought the deal with DG is it's a cheap laid back sport where just about everyone is accepted and yet i see some convos where there are clearly some angry people out there.

 

[bazillion]

With growth comes maturity.

(we are all but grasshoppers)

 

[Roc1Time]

You are wise beyond your years grasshopper

 

[timg]

I think the demographic is changing as more and more people are taking up the sport. This year alone I've seen way more women on the course in my area then I have in the past. Everyone I've run into is still friendly, etc.

 

[Jacob]

The pot smoking hippies are being outnumbered these days

In the short time that i've been playing disc golf, I have learned more in one round with pot smoking hippies than anything else. And these were old hippes too and good at disc golf. When I had a bad throw, they laughed it off with me and told me about one of their bad shots, made me feel more comfortable. However when I've played with other good players and had a bad shot, nobody really says much and kinda makes me feel like an ass, like my bad playing is somehow burdening their game.

But there are people like that in every sport I guess, but it is also people like that who have made me hate playing other sports. especially ball golf

 

[blackandwhite]

^^I hate when you play with someone better than you, and they have the attitude to match. The people who smoke and the older crowd are the ones that I find are willing to give tips and lend advice/help. Its the people on the local courses that seem like they are paying the bills with the sport that piss me off (props to those that are paying bills with disc money tho)

 

[CwAlbino]

Fixed it for you

Ahh, much better

In the short time that i've been playing disc golf, I have learned more in one round with pot smoking hippies than anything else. And these were old hippes too and good at disc golf. When I had a bad throw, they laughed it off with me and told me about one of their bad shots, made me feel more comfortable. However when I've played with other good players and had a bad shot, nobody really says much and kinda makes me feel like an ass, like my bad playing is somehow burdening their game.

But there are people like that in every sport I guess, but it is also people like that who have made me hate playing other sports. especially ball golf

Agree. I just wasn't going to type it all out like you did. Playing with people that will compliment your good throws, and pep you up on your bad ones is just a great time. The group I play with does this every time we are out. Usually even if someone is trying to be competitive and says something like, "Crap, I really hope you miss this" someone will call em out on it. Competition is fun, but we like to cheer on our friends ^^. I'd much rather see my buddy hit a sweet ace and I lose the round because of it, than to see him botch a putt and roll down the hill so I could take some money home.

 

[SpringDgLover]

I think the appeal of disc golf is its laid back nature and the kind people who play it. I will agree that there is definitely a more serious aspect to the game now. But that is because it is becoming more popular and thus is becoming more mainstream. For someone like me I welcome that whole heatedly as I am a very competitive person, oh and a know it all. But I also believe the game has a place for everyone, from the casual player to the professional. As is the case with anything you will have d-bags and nice guys its just finding the players you like to play with and sticking with them.

 

[scarpfish]

I am certainly beginning to see parochial behavior in this sport in many respects, but its not so bad that its setting off alarms. With growth comes conflict, but most everyone I encounter haven't gotten that full of themselves yet.

What I do often see on so many club ran forums is a smug sense of ignorance, as those boards are filled with people who play disc golf competitively and don't seem to realize that for every one of them, there's about ten casual players who don't have the time, or don't want to make a "serious" investment. Just the same, I see a few people at the other end who seem to want to keep DG a counterculture game forever and resist any notion of it going mainstream. That's equally ignorant IMO.

Kind of what has made DGCR forums a success is that is caters more to the everyday player. Some of us play competitively, and some don't. Some of us travel the country looking for more courses to check out, and some of us stick to our stomping grounds. Its a really nice and diverse group of folks we have here.

 

[krallbd]

In the short time that i've been playing disc golf, I have learned more in one round with pot smoking hippies than anything else. And these were old hippes too and good at disc golf. When I had a bad throw, they laughed it off with me and told me about one of their bad shots, made me feel more comfortable. However when I've played with other good players and had a bad shot, nobody really says much and kinda makes me feel like an ass, like my bad playing is somehow burdening their game.

But there are people like that in every sport I guess, but it is also people like that who have made me hate playing other sports. especially ball golf

Do you really want people talking to you after a bad throw? Personally, I don't. I want to try and focus on what I am doing wrong and trying to correct it. People cracking jokes would piss me off a little bit. To each his own I guess, if the jokes help, then bring on the jokes.

I think there are a lot of people playing without experienced players, which cause them to think they know the rules/customs of Disclandia, which causes problems of how they act and what-not. Tell them, NICELY, what they might be doing wrong, or let them play with you, so they can learn what they are doing wrong. Lead by example and they might pay it forward as well.


Wow, that sounded hippie-ish right there

 

[Sford13]

Well as a total newbie to the sport. And being in an area with few courses. I think one thing I have seen that is hard is to make a course that can appeal both ways. There are so few courses around that you want a course that can be enjoyed by all. However if you make it for the competitive player you totally leave out the rec crowd. But if you try and give into the rec crowd a little the competitive players will only slam it as being horrible. One way to get more courses and people envolved in the sport is realizing the need for easy courses. Because if you build some easy course and get more people envolved the will get better and there will be a larger crowd out there looking for and pushing for more technical courses. That is what I have seen so far. Of course I have only played for a month and a half now.