Disc Golf as alternative to Bolf

[cooker]

In most of the information about the decline of traditional golf that I've looked at alternatives are mentioned as ways new players are being attracted to the game. Foot golf and huge holes come up most, disc golf is never mentioned. This always blows me away. I enjoy both sports, but prefer dg. I would gladly pay a reasonable fee to play dg on well designed tracks at a golf course. I'm sure some of my non golfing dg friends would join me, and with a little enticement some would be willing to try bg.

Why push a new concept like foot golf rather than putting in some baskets and embracing a thriving sport that has some overlapping participants, many potential new golfers, and needs the space they control?

Curious what y'all think...does bg distance itself from dg? is there an opp to promote bg through dg? are you ok with quality dg on a bg course? would you be willing to play bg if you played dg at the course often? does the pdga do anything to make this connection for cross promotion and what have they discovered?

Maybe they don't like us because we are a too viable of an alternative, one that may draw more players away from bg.

Random thoughts prompted by this mornings read...

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/04/economist-explains-1

 

[DavidSauls]

(1) Disc golf on golf courses has been tried many times, with limited success. There are a number of drawbacks to the concept; nevertheless, there are a good numbers of such courses still in existence.

(2) Foot golf has a huge base of current and former soccer players to tap.

 

[DatRedDude]

(1) Disc golf on golf courses has been tried many times, with limited success. There are a number of drawbacks to the concept; nevertheless, there are a good numbers of such courses still in existence.

(2) Foot golf has a huge base of current and former soccer players to tap.

Foot Golf has also partnered with the PGA. The idea is to get them to the course and then sway them towards golf. More disposable income in the soccer world than disc golf.

 

[davetherocketguy]

One issue with bolf that I have yet to see someone address that I've brought up before is slopes and hillsides. We dg'ers can cope with a slope as steep as we can physically climb and still play (within reason). Whereas, bolf seems to me that since a ball can roll any direction it is limited to relatively flat terrain. Imagine trying to bolf at a course like Hickory Hills in Traverse City, MI - particularly hole #19...that ain't happening. Bolf will have it's place and will likely become popular but I just don't see it taking over many of the DG courses in the world.

That said, I agree with Sauls here that bolf has a gigantic market of soccer players to tap compared to dg.

And why in the world would the PDGA have anything to do with bolf? They're having a hard enough time with dg...

 

[Cgkdisc]

I'm not sure the movers and shakers in the ball golf world have realized the size of the FootGolf hole is just a little smaller diameter than our basket. They could offer disc golf simultaneously with FootGolf on those courses. Their "basket" would be more challenging by diameter but the hole in the ground would make it easier. Could be a wash or slightly easier because rollers would work and no low putts.

 

[DavidSauls]

For the reasons discussed in dozens of prior threads, it's hard to see disc golf being very successful on ball golf courses. It will continue to have limited success in some places, but probably no more than that.

 

[Jimb]

They could offer disc golf simultaneously with FootGolf on those courses. Their "basket" would be more challenging by diameter but the hole in the ground would make it easier. Could be a wash or slightly easier because rollers would work and no low putts.

Or a disc golf basket could be planted into the foot golf hole. Not sure how bad that would be for foot golf spit outs, though.

Plus I've only watched a couple foot golf videos and the holes didn't look very interesting from a disc golf perspective. I guess that this is still the same challenge of making good disc golf holes using the shared space.

 

[Puckstopper]

Bolf? C'mon man...

This is idiocy. Here's why:

1. Golf courses don't make good frolf courses.
2. Golf may be contracting, but it's not going away
3. Frolf has an image problem
4. Frolfers are too cheap to step up and do what is needed.

Supporting points below:


As someone who plays both sports, I can tell you that there are very few traditional golf courses that would make good disc golf courses. The concepts of the two games are totally different, despite their similar objectives and scoring systems. They measure in yards, we measure in feet. Their top pros hit a ball nearly twice as long as our top pros throw a disc. The average golfer drives the ball 225 yards, the average frolfer might throw 200 feet (and yes, I'm including duffers and chuckers. They're part of both sports). Conversely, given that disc golfers are throwing their projectile instead of striking it they are far more accurate in the lines that even average players can hit. The point? The spacing of obstacles is much different on a golf course vs a disc golf course. A treeline with trees spaced 50' apart is a significant obstacle to your average golfer, whereas it provides almost no challenge to a disc golfer.

Despite the much discussed "death of golf" the GolfSmith, Golf Galaxy, and golf section at the local Dicks Sporting Goods are almost always some of the busiest stores at the local shopping center. There may be less people starting to play golf, and casual fans dropping out, but semi-serious to hardcore golfers still have semi-serious to hardcore disc golfers outnumbered 1000 to 1, and when you factor in casual players the ratio gets worse for us.

Most disc golf courses are havens for underage drinking and a certain drug that is still illegal in most places. Even the best maintained courses around me have litter here and there, and several are disgusting. This is something you don't see on a golf course usually. I'll admit there are several factors in golf's favor here (players have carts, there is usually a trash can at every tee, etc) but player pay for these amenities. Even courses without trash cans at every tee don't have the litter problem disc golf courses do.

Finally, land is expensive and disc golfers are CHEAP! The average public golf course takes up over 115 acres, of which 60-70 are maintained, and the rest account for rough, obstacles, clubhouse and parking facilities, etc. Even assuming a private course owner wants to sell, who will buy? Probably a developer who will bulldoze the course and put up homes. If we're talking about a city course, or the local gov't buying a private course we're back to being outnumbered. The demand to fix up the course and leave it a golf course will be higher than the demand from the disc golfers. Plus the city can realize revenue from a traditional golf course that it cannot from a disc golf course.

It's a cute little idea, but the simple fact is that the courses that will be available will be the worst golf courses in any given area, and in most areas there is no one to buy them to convert them to a disc golf course anyway.

 

[DavidSauls]

I think the concept is shared ball/disc golf courses, not converting golf courses to disc golf.

But you're still mostly right.

 

[skizzle34]

:clap: puckstopper just had one of the most well thought out posts I have ever read on dgcr. The culture of our sport has to change before we get to share the lime light. We can't have the image we have now and be taken seriously.

 

[simpletwist]

Wrong. The goalie' s contention that disc golf courses are so called "havens" not only continues to do what it would seem he would like to change, but these activities are also as prevalent on the golf courses.

 

[DavidSauls]

I suspect it's not our image, so much as our wallets.

 

[ejvogie]

I suspect it's not our image, so much as our wallets.

Truth.

We bill the sport as being relatively inexpensive to play, so I think we're reaping some of what we're sowing in this regard.

 

[DatRedDude]

I suspect it's not our image, so much as our wallets.

^this guy gets it. The image thing is way overblown. News flash people the flower wasn't discovered by disc golfers and isn't isolated to them either.

 

[Cgkdisc]

With regard to the OP, FootGolf was invented in Europe (no surprise with the soccer connection) and it's become a synergistic partner with ball golf before coming to the U.S. Sanctioned FootGolf can only be played on a ball golf course. No independent FootGolf courses allowed. They also are able to charge more per round than even our most expensive P2P fee per round and they don't have the "all you can play" daily fee we are accustomed to seeing.

 

[skizzle34]

Have you ever talked to a non disc golfer about disc golf? They always refer to it as a stoner sport. It's not just our money. I'm all for pay to play.

 

[DavidSauls]

Have you ever talked to a non disc golfer about disc golf? They always refer to it as a stoner sport. It's not just our money. I'm all for pay to play.

Many many times, and never.

 

[DavidSauls]

Even the poverty issue is overblown. Among disc golfers who could afford significant fees to play disc golf on a ball golf course---and there are a lot more of them than some people realize---they don't find it worth the expense, except as an occasional change of pace. In most places the other available courses are cheap or free, and much better courses for disc golf, too.

 

[smokfraglerock]

The one time I played disc golf on a golf course I was so bored after three holes. The distances were in yards so that 400 yard par four was a monster. I paid for eighteen but only played twelve because I only wanted to play three holes over. I did get a cart with my round so that's something.:\

Golf courses by their nature don't make good disc golf courses. Too open, too long, too repetitive. I'm always looking at the golf courses I play to see if a disc golf course could be put in. Usually the only interesting land is the rough and that would need a lot of work to make it viable.

 

[Steve West]

You don't create a disc golf course by simply playing the ball golf holes with a disc.

Most golf courses should not add disc golf. However, there are 16,000 golf courses. If only one out of four could host a disc golf course, that roughly doubles the number of disc golf courses.

Let's take the 10% of golf courses that would be most suitable for disc golf and create 1600 good new disc golf courses.

It's about the only place we're going to find open land within populated areas.