I agree, my biggest complaint is how the tour could have so many spectators if the tickets were worth buying. For me, not being able to see all the holes and still paying 75 dollars is not worth it. Especially considering most people have to stay in hotels to view all the days. Just not worth it at all.
$75 to watch in person? What. If they lower the price to a median amount, they might get more ticket sales. Price too high, sales go down. Basic supply-demand. If price is on the high side and spectator thinks there’s not enough benefit to be cause for the amount, no sale.
I'm from Europe and visited three major disc golf venues in Sweden, Norway, and Finland this summer. While I agree with most of what you said in the video, I disagree about the viewing experience being significantly better in Europe compared to the USA. For example, at Krokhol, a general admission ticket only allowed us to see one full hole (hole 1), the tee shot from hole 2, and the layup and putt on hole 18, which was a bummer. In contrast, the Swedish Open offered a much better viewing experience with a general admission ticket, allowing me to watch many more holes. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think the viewing experience differs much between venues in Europe and America. Some courses, like The Beast, just make it easier to have audiences at more holes.
Free general admission to see a couple holes (hole 1 & 18 grandstands and maybe an island/aceable). Allows people to come, watch, buy food and souvenirs. Then a paid option to follow feature cards and a higher tier to follow any card
The European courses, in general (Krokhol, The Monster, Jarva), look the way a disc golf course should look. They look professionally designed, layed out and cared for. Krokhol in particular looked like the Augusta National of disc golf. Wow! If you want a sport to be taken seriously the venue has to live up to your ambitions. Dodging around through a park over picnic tables and around water fountains doesn't say professional. As for the DGPT and spectating, honestly I'd rather watch on UA-cam. The one event I've really enjoyed was the Canadian Open at Hillcrest Farm on Prince Edward Island. The course was great and all the spectators wandered about as if they had VIP passes. We weren't herded around like school kids on a day trip. It was great. To make it even more exciting, one year there was a hurricane.
Great points! I hope Estonia made some positive return on investment or a big enough positive impact that they do this again and make it bigger next year. Maybe fill up that big stand at hole 1/18
Did the Waco Open this year and it was great. Had VIP ticket and was able to follow any card. That was fun. I think for a lot less, there are a couple of holes that would work to pack it with more spectators. The viewing was good, even in the wooded area.
Sincere question: What is it SPECIFICALLY about the European events that makes it “feel” more professional? I see the bigger crowds, of course, but other than that what is it specifically? By the way, why is it that small European countries draw such big crowds compared to the US which draws a bigger crowd for the cornhole championship than a PDGA event?
The US has a lot of other sports canabalizing attendance as well as a lot less events. If in the US you had only a couple of events people would travel more.
My take is 1) disc golf has blown up in Nordic countries and Estonia, 2) Nordic countries have a tradition of organizing non-commercial sporting events as communities, 3) their urban centres often have many parks and green areas next to densely populated areas, with decent public transportation coverage . 4) by random chance they've got a number of abnormally talented and skilled organizers excited about disc golf, 5) disc golf professionals from that region have achieved success and over years attained a sizable following. All of these factors have lead to virtuous circle and the great thing is that it definitely can be replicated in many North American regions.
I visited the events first day and watched live other days, what is my perspective: 1. Entrance an pariking was well organized. VIP and PRO-s had special entrance. 2. There were banners surrounding the fields, so spectators like I was, we knew, where it was ok to stand and everything was very accessible. 3. Side activities for guests, like I was visiting event with my 3 under 7 yo daugters - they could buy icecreem, eat, play in playfield, throw discs, it had children zoo where my children could play with rabbits and goats - it was very fun for my children and I could watch the event at same time etc. So lot of side activities. 4. Pro vip area with dining possibilities was separated, so PRO-s could eat and chat with their pro-friends. 5. The visuals for the start of round were very cool, whit the led screen and other visuals 6. Podium and the winners ceremony was cool - first 3 got to stand on the podium not only winner. 7. Special team event 2 days before was so fun. 8. All the field markings was very professionally done. 9. All the comforts on the field for players. 10. Contestants were assisted in every step for them to feel, like they are PRO-s like they are. So if you look closely, you see, that spectatore were regular people, families, fans etc. so it was not only for players and ultra-fans with discgolf bags, but it felt like it was for everyone to feel comfortable and to see fun event with a day pass 15 euros. So fun day out for me and my family with discgolf superstars playing. It felt more like it was ment to watch and enjoy, not only to players to play.
The proportion of players in the population, esp. kids. If you put up a tournament in a middle of a city, but 1/10000 plays disc golf, it won't be a mega event. But if it's like 5/100, it will. There's so many free courses (and other sport facilities) easily accessible (walkable, bikable, scootable) esp. for kids, but also for adults who bring their kids too. It's a low budget family free time activity that doesn't need planning, and it's fun. Yesterday on course, dad and kid in front of me, kids after me. Course was packed. Also, endlessly long summer days help, although we get a few hours of night here now.
If you watch footage from Tampere Disc Golf Center (The Monster in EO), you would find out that not all courses in European stop are good for spectators. Great course but horrible to spectate and it was for VIP only. Also in the Beast about a third is restricted for VIP ticket holders only. This Estonian course is not good enough for this level. They have really good courses, but this course is better for the show, spectators and easy accommodation for players and also more things to do in the evening after the rounds and so on. It is good PR for disc golf.
Agree completely. I think making that third of the beast VIP only is necessary, though. Otherwise, people just line up along the fairways, and any tree-hit could lead to serious injury for spectators.
Don't forget the trophies! The trophies in Europe looked highly professional compared to US tournament trophies. I've heard the argument that the trophies are "unique" because disc golf is so individualistic, blah blah blah... But that's just lazy and amateurish thinking. This is a pro level sport with multi-million dollar contracts now. There's no excuse for trophies that look like a middle schooler's half baked art project that was rushed the night before it was due.
I remember going to the Byron Nelson with my dad growing up and there was so much to do. Test drive cars, games, drink carts, food stands, sales booths and product testing, and that doesn't even include the endless entertainment of the golf tournament itself. Because both ball and disc golf are naturally slow sports with some long wait times between cards it's key to have activities.
There is a huge difference in having a huge once a year event like the one in Estonia compared to regular season events in the US. If Estonia would have had 15 of these type of tournaments a year I bet you they would look really similar to the ones in the US. There are some really heavy weights sponsoring the Estonia event and you wouldnt get that unless its a rare occation.
Well, maybe you have too many events per season then in US? How about quality before quantity? Or spread it wider... Canada and few more european events. I agree that the national Pro Tours in Sweden, Estonia and Finland are pretty home made still. But a big event, all the effort is put in.
I feel disc golf could be a sport to watch on like an ESPN. I have never played but I love watching. Great athletes who are very talented. The sport could really draw really good sponsorship and $. Both men’s and women’s.
US tour is watered down. Too many events that a single event does not mean much week in and week out. Force TD's to raise the bar and let certain events self select out.
I have very much mixed feelings for this because although I do think it grows the sport to have tickets and admissions and people should get what they pay for absolutely, but to get more people and have the ability for them to view all holes, you have to play more and more wide open courses that normally would play ball golf. That results in a very boring tournament to watch when all they’re doing is dodging crazier than crazier out of bounds steaks with only a couple holes occasionally there’s one hole with some trees on it… last week at the European festival there were claims that these courses are almost too short when every par four was legitimately 430 to 450 feet. I wouldn’t really call that short even in terms of pros because they still weren’t landing close to it… everybody just wants to see these guys throw 550 to 600 feet on Heiser bombs that lay down to the basket and wide-open fields and the only thing that dodges an out of bounds steak… me personally that makes tournaments absolutely boring to watch when it’s all about distance… that’s why some of my favorite tournaments are ones like Krokhol. Long enough, but definitely challenging and wooded, and you have to hit good lines and have your disks on proper angles. You have to have discs that you can trust to turn at the rate you need them to make the bins and get it to pan out to get the max distance.
I see disc golf as being more difficult than regular golf and so it certainly is a "real sport". Now I haven't player regular golf so I do not speak from experience, but just consider how many variables there are in disc golf. 1. Wind 2. Shape of the fairway 3. Elevation of the fairway 4. Ob-areas. 5. Where to land. 6. Other obstacles to keep clear of. 7. What disc type to use (putter, mid, fairway, driver) 8. What disc stability to use. 9. What is correct release angle (Flat/Hyzer/Anhyzer) and how much of it. 10. Keep the nose down, or not if you need to slow down the disc for risky approach. 11. How low/high to throw, if uphill or downhill fairway, or you need to go over obstacle. 12. How hard to throw. 13. The shot to use (backhand/fore/thumber/roller..) It's really a miracle the disc goes where it's supposed to go as often as it does when considering that if you mess up even one of these things, it's bye bye. This is also why it's so satisfying to throw a perfect shot.
Pretty much all of those are factors in regular golf too. Of course switching disc angles to golf ball's spin/attack angle/launch angle etc. I've played both for about 10 years. Golf a little bit longer but less frequently. It's much harder to pick up golf as a beginner. If you have any experience from sports that require throwing, you have a pretty good foundation to build your game on.
@@severimakela3141 I disagree. I've played both too and disc golf is much more cerebral. There are way more options on how to get to the hole than golf, with way more factors involved, especially on wooded or partially wooded courses.
There is not a single disc golf course in the world remotely close to Augusta. The return on investment is nowhere to be found in disc golf. Maybe in 10 -20yrs there will be a few higher end courses. DGPT and PGA are more focused on their own pay checks than Professionalism of the sport. . .Disc golf is the girl who pecked in high school. Giant checks for 8 Gs is a Happy Gilmore Joke. . .
Municipal governments monetary support, even building and management of freely accessible courses. It's a small investment easily outweighed by the health benefits. Accessibility by walking, cycyling etc. is important for kids which bigger places of US lack totally. This creates huge player and fan base.
I think the pdga should file for 501c non-profit tax exemption under the premise of sport promotion just like the NFL was until 2015. They could afford better event organizers if they could save on income tax and sales tax. And property tax and on and on.
i feel that we sold out our souls in the tour opting for most play to be inside US, so the tour itself kind of have to many options and not feeling as special as before. Since its no new blood or new toughts going into it. Its kind of the same once a course is set for tour. Its no more tought put into it, making spectators only have the limited view trough the course, since alot of the courses take pride in their history and having the same holes to define the course. Without moving into a direction of where spectators would have an edge over someone sitting at home watching it live on stream. Unless you try to publicy the sport it will not grow or be a spectator sport,,, and most professional athletes aknowledge and like their choosen sport to be popular and fun. Seeing happy and exciting faces around the course. When the best option to view and experience a event is trough a camera lince, then something obv have gone wrong. Making events more exlusive where nothing is set in advance. Making courses compete to put upp their best effort to provide good content for us who love the sport i think should be a good goal, and not by past history in the tour. Europe courses and side tour is a statement that people take pride in their sport and want to have a global sport for all and it seems to move it in a right direction in some ways. Having the tour being exclusive for US. I belive a world tour between more of the world would benefit the sport. And making it bigger globally, and more special. Since alot of places would die to try to compete to hold one of this events if they have the possibility. And i think the sport will grow way more and making it more attractive if we push in such a direction. This isnt a sport you need to hide behind a camera lince, or hide in the forrest alone without crowd. This can be such much more if the tour management open their eyes and look at possibilities compared to standing on legacy alone.
Bring back pro ams. What do we have in the US? Ledgestone... look at the spectators that flock to that event. If we want to encourage spectating, pro ams do just that.
The spectator experience is the biggest issue. You spend $35 on a general pass and can hardly see single hole played drive to putt. Watching online is a much better experience at this point. And that’s very sad.
This isn't a concert, it's effing disc golf! Plus ...they would make way way more if they had more customers at the event. Like charging a cover charge to get into the bar, you'll sell less booze because less people pay the cover charge. I'm definitely not homeless bruh, spectators should get in free! Would look better on tape if course was full of lookers
What do you mean? if the events are organized by the local enthusiasts anyway, it means that is not happening in the states either. edit: and are two poorly organized events better than one good?
Let’s be honest. Professional sports ONLY exist because of their ENTERTAINMENT value. The monetary value placed on these events… etc, is what pays the athletes…. And in the US we have SOOOOOOO many other professional sports that are super established that disc golf just isn’t getting the attention it deserves. It’s just gonna take time. Time and effort.
Im not going to an event near me that's at one of the best courses in the world because it's too expensive. If the DGPT wants fans at their events, they need to be free or dirt cheap. If they want to make extra money, charge vendors to setup there, and stop trying to double and triple dip everywhere possible. Greedy capitalist TD's and the tour need to find other ways to make money, if they want the sport to grow and have fans come to the events.
I have also one really important thing for you in usa. Stop over hyping when announcing the players on first hole, just listen how they do it here in europe. Do it professionally not by destroying pa system and peoples ears.
75 dollars is too high period, drop price and get way more customers. They would make it back ten fold in sales, plus crowds would be bigger on video. Duh....40 bucks all weekend....75 vip
Calling 75 dollars for 3 days of spectating too high is insane. You can't even buy enough groceries to survive for a week with $75 these days unless you are trying to live like a college student. Are you homeless or something? Most concert tickets are in the $100-200 range these days and that's just for 3-4 hours of spectating.
Watching a video like this really irks me. It makes yall look so fucking ungrateful and unappreciative for the literal thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars lost that these people put in trying to make these events happen in America.
Having a new higher standard set for events isn’t saying all other events are awful or people aren’t grateful. It’s recognizing where we could be in the sport. Des Moines challenge has found that in spades and the disc golf world praises them for it.
Estonia has 1.4 million people in the whole country. When you have a country with a population that small and one of your own daughters, Kristin Tattar is the best female Disc Golfer in the world... you go all out to present yourselves in the best lite when the best in the World show up along with all the coverage. Now take the states.... 340 million people and competing against a lot of major sports. The idea that every venue in the states should be like Estonia or othe European locations is foolish. The sport still needs to grow before better venues can be afforded.
Why are European events bigger and better than American events? My guess is over there, the only thing going on besides disc golf is soccer. Here, we have everything else besides soccer. I know we have soccer leagues but c'mon. High school football is bigger here than soccer.
It has nothing to do with the other sports. It is just a lousy excuse. Like said in the video, it is the organizers, volunteers, co-op with the cities. The events are put up to show the sport, make it something more professional to the competitors and crowd. The money made, is moved to make it even better in the next event. Not for the organizers pockets.
Not having been to Europe, but knowing a little about many sports, I disagree. Almost every sport in Europe is big and has big crowds, sports that are barely even known about in America. Stuff like rally car racing, motorbike racing, handball, field hockey, etc.
Now your totally wrong. We have way more different sports playd here than you in amerika. Because you all love baseball. The most stupid and boring game in the history of the world.
I agree, my biggest complaint is how the tour could have so many spectators if the tickets were worth buying. For me, not being able to see all the holes and still paying 75 dollars is not worth it. Especially considering most people have to stay in hotels to view all the days. Just not worth it at all.
$75 to watch in person? What.
If they lower the price to a median amount, they might get more ticket sales. Price too high, sales go down. Basic supply-demand. If price is on the high side and spectator thinks there’s not enough benefit to be cause for the amount, no sale.
I'm from Europe and visited three major disc golf venues in Sweden, Norway, and Finland this summer. While I agree with most of what you said in the video, I disagree about the viewing experience being significantly better in Europe compared to the USA.
For example, at Krokhol, a general admission ticket only allowed us to see one full hole (hole 1), the tee shot from hole 2, and the layup and putt on hole 18, which was a bummer.
In contrast, the Swedish Open offered a much better viewing experience with a general admission ticket, allowing me to watch many more holes.
What I'm trying to say is that I don't think the viewing experience differs much between venues in Europe and America. Some courses, like The Beast, just make it easier to have audiences at more holes.
Free general admission to see a couple holes (hole 1 & 18 grandstands and maybe an island/aceable). Allows people to come, watch, buy food and souvenirs. Then a paid option to follow feature cards and a higher tier to follow any card
The European courses, in general (Krokhol, The Monster, Jarva), look the way a disc golf course should look. They look professionally designed, layed out and cared for. Krokhol in particular looked like the Augusta National of disc golf. Wow! If you want a sport to be taken seriously the venue has to live up to your ambitions. Dodging around through a park over picnic tables and around water fountains doesn't say professional.
As for the DGPT and spectating, honestly I'd rather watch on UA-cam. The one event I've really enjoyed was the Canadian Open at Hillcrest Farm on Prince Edward Island. The course was great and all the spectators wandered about as if they had VIP passes. We weren't herded around like school kids on a day trip. It was great. To make it even more exciting, one year there was a hurricane.
Great points! I hope Estonia made some positive return on investment or a big enough positive impact that they do this again and make it bigger next year. Maybe fill up that big stand at hole 1/18
If Tattar had done well, the visitors would have been quadruple.
I agree completely. I can say that Waco has grown in last few years even having the fly shop on the iconic bridge downtown. Fun time
Did the Waco Open this year and it was great. Had VIP ticket and was able to follow any card. That was fun. I think for a lot less, there are a couple of holes that would work to pack it with more spectators. The viewing was good, even in the wooded area.
Sincere question: What is it SPECIFICALLY about the European events that makes it “feel” more professional? I see the bigger crowds, of course, but other than that what is it specifically? By the way, why is it that small European countries draw such big crowds compared to the US which draws a bigger crowd for the cornhole championship than a PDGA event?
The US has a lot of other sports canabalizing attendance as well as a lot less events. If in the US you had only a couple of events people would travel more.
My take is 1) disc golf has blown up in Nordic countries and Estonia, 2) Nordic countries have a tradition of organizing non-commercial sporting events as communities, 3) their urban centres often have many parks and green areas next to densely populated areas, with decent public transportation coverage . 4) by random chance they've got a number of abnormally talented and skilled organizers excited about disc golf, 5) disc golf professionals from that region have achieved success and over years attained a sizable following. All of these factors have lead to virtuous circle and the great thing is that it definitely can be replicated in many North American regions.
I visited the events first day and watched live other days, what is my perspective:
1. Entrance an pariking was well organized. VIP and PRO-s had special entrance.
2. There were banners surrounding the fields, so spectators like I was, we knew, where it was ok to stand and everything was very accessible.
3. Side activities for guests, like I was visiting event with my 3 under 7 yo daugters - they could buy icecreem, eat, play in playfield, throw discs, it had children zoo where my children could play with rabbits and goats - it was very fun for my children and I could watch the event at same time etc. So lot of side activities.
4. Pro vip area with dining possibilities was separated, so PRO-s could eat and chat with their pro-friends.
5. The visuals for the start of round were very cool, whit the led screen and other visuals
6. Podium and the winners ceremony was cool - first 3 got to stand on the podium not only winner.
7. Special team event 2 days before was so fun.
8. All the field markings was very professionally done.
9. All the comforts on the field for players.
10. Contestants were assisted in every step for them to feel, like they are PRO-s like they are.
So if you look closely, you see, that spectatore were regular people, families, fans etc. so it was not only for players and ultra-fans with discgolf bags, but it felt like it was for everyone to feel comfortable and to see fun event with a day pass 15 euros. So fun day out for me and my family with discgolf superstars playing.
It felt more like it was ment to watch and enjoy, not only to players to play.
@@rv2192 Thanks so much for that detailed description of the event. That’s exactly what I was asking about.
The proportion of players in the population, esp. kids. If you put up a tournament in a middle of a city, but 1/10000 plays disc golf, it won't be a mega event. But if it's like 5/100, it will. There's so many free courses (and other sport facilities) easily accessible (walkable, bikable, scootable) esp. for kids, but also for adults who bring their kids too. It's a low budget family free time activity that doesn't need planning, and it's fun. Yesterday on course, dad and kid in front of me, kids after me. Course was packed. Also, endlessly long summer days help, although we get a few hours of night here now.
They also don’t give out belt buckles or cowboy hats for trophies.
Brodie, is that you? haha
If you watch footage from Tampere Disc Golf Center (The Monster in EO), you would find out that not all courses in European stop are good for spectators. Great course but horrible to spectate and it was for VIP only. Also in the Beast about a third is restricted for VIP ticket holders only.
This Estonian course is not good enough for this level. They have really good courses, but this course is better for the show, spectators and easy accommodation for players and also more things to do in the evening after the rounds and so on.
It is good PR for disc golf.
Agree completely. I think making that third of the beast VIP only is necessary, though. Otherwise, people just line up along the fairways, and any tree-hit could lead to serious injury for spectators.
That's too bad about the Monster. It looks like such an amazing course.
Don't forget the trophies! The trophies in Europe looked highly professional compared to US tournament trophies. I've heard the argument that the trophies are "unique" because disc golf is so individualistic, blah blah blah... But that's just lazy and amateurish thinking. This is a pro level sport with multi-million dollar contracts now. There's no excuse for trophies that look like a middle schooler's half baked art project that was rushed the night before it was due.
I remember going to the Byron Nelson with my dad growing up and there was so much to do. Test drive cars, games, drink carts, food stands, sales booths and product testing, and that doesn't even include the endless entertainment of the golf tournament itself. Because both ball and disc golf are naturally slow sports with some long wait times between cards it's key to have activities.
Exactly, at USDGC and Worlds, they do this expertly with almost even too many vendors and activities. Makes for a fun time every year
There is a huge difference in having a huge once a year event like the one in Estonia compared to regular season events in the US. If Estonia would have had 15 of these type of tournaments a year I bet you they would look really similar to the ones in the US. There are some really heavy weights sponsoring the Estonia event and you wouldnt get that unless its a rare occation.
Well, maybe you have too many events per season then in US? How about quality before quantity? Or spread it wider... Canada and few more european events.
I agree that the national Pro Tours in Sweden, Estonia and Finland are pretty home made still. But a big event, all the effort is put in.
We have states bigger than those countries. One tournament a year from them is decent.
I feel disc golf could be a sport to watch on like an ESPN. I have never played but I love watching. Great athletes who are very talented. The sport could really draw really good sponsorship and $. Both men’s and women’s.
US tour is watered down. Too many events that a single event does not mean much week in and week out. Force TD's to raise the bar and let certain events self select out.
I have very much mixed feelings for this because although I do think it grows the sport to have tickets and admissions and people should get what they pay for absolutely, but to get more people and have the ability for them to view all holes, you have to play more and more wide open courses that normally would play ball golf. That results in a very boring tournament to watch when all they’re doing is dodging crazier than crazier out of bounds steaks with only a couple holes occasionally there’s one hole with some trees on it… last week at the European festival there were claims that these courses are almost too short when every par four was legitimately 430 to 450 feet. I wouldn’t really call that short even in terms of pros because they still weren’t landing close to it… everybody just wants to see these guys throw 550 to 600 feet on Heiser bombs that lay down to the basket and wide-open fields and the only thing that dodges an out of bounds steak… me personally that makes tournaments absolutely boring to watch when it’s all about distance… that’s why some of my favorite tournaments are ones like Krokhol. Long enough, but definitely challenging and wooded, and you have to hit good lines and have your disks on proper angles. You have to have discs that you can trust to turn at the rate you need them to make the bins and get it to pan out to get the max distance.
The history of disc golf in USA hasnt been professionalism, it's always been a 420 crowd playing organized events.
I see disc golf as being more difficult than regular golf and so it certainly is a "real sport".
Now I haven't player regular golf so I do not speak from experience, but just consider how many variables there are in disc golf.
1. Wind
2. Shape of the fairway
3. Elevation of the fairway
4. Ob-areas.
5. Where to land.
6. Other obstacles to keep clear of.
7. What disc type to use (putter, mid, fairway, driver)
8. What disc stability to use.
9. What is correct release angle (Flat/Hyzer/Anhyzer) and how much of it.
10. Keep the nose down, or not if you need to slow down the disc for risky approach.
11. How low/high to throw, if uphill or downhill fairway, or you need to go over obstacle.
12. How hard to throw.
13. The shot to use (backhand/fore/thumber/roller..)
It's really a miracle the disc goes where it's supposed to go as often as it does when considering that if you mess up even one of these things, it's bye bye.
This is also why it's so satisfying to throw a perfect shot.
Pretty much all of those are factors in regular golf too. Of course switching disc angles to golf ball's spin/attack angle/launch angle etc. I've played both for about 10 years. Golf a little bit longer but less frequently. It's much harder to pick up golf as a beginner. If you have any experience from sports that require throwing, you have a pretty good foundation to build your game on.
@@severimakela3141 I disagree. I've played both too and disc golf is much more cerebral. There are way more options on how to get to the hole than golf, with way more factors involved, especially on wooded or partially wooded courses.
The question that needs to be asked is why are there more people at the European event?
There is not a single disc golf course in the world remotely close to Augusta. The return on investment is nowhere to be found in disc golf. Maybe in 10 -20yrs there will be a few higher end courses. DGPT and PGA are more focused on their own pay checks than Professionalism of the sport. . .Disc golf is the girl who pecked in high school. Giant checks for 8 Gs is a Happy Gilmore Joke. . .
Municipal governments monetary support, even building and management of freely accessible courses. It's a small investment easily outweighed by the health benefits. Accessibility by walking, cycyling etc. is important for kids which bigger places of US lack totally. This creates huge player and fan base.
Man I wish I had that where I’m from in the US. I have to drive awhile just to get to a walkable trail
@@wildrunsdiscgolf Move then. There's stuff like that ALL over the US.
Make spectating a fun experience instead of scalping the public like a "Pay-per-view" cash cow.
I think the pdga should file for 501c non-profit tax exemption under the premise of sport promotion just like the NFL was until 2015.
They could afford better event organizers if they could save on income tax and sales tax. And property tax and on and on.
i feel that we sold out our souls in the tour opting for most play to be inside US, so the tour itself kind of have to many options and not feeling as special as before. Since its no new blood or new toughts going into it. Its kind of the same once a course is set for tour. Its no more tought put into it, making spectators only have the limited view trough the course, since alot of the courses take pride in their history and having the same holes to define the course. Without moving into a direction of where spectators would have an edge over someone sitting at home watching it live on stream. Unless you try to publicy the sport it will not grow or be a spectator sport,,, and most professional athletes aknowledge and like their choosen sport to be popular and fun. Seeing happy and exciting faces around the course. When the best option to view and experience a event is trough a camera lince, then something obv have gone wrong. Making events more exlusive where nothing is set in advance. Making courses compete to put upp their best effort to provide good content for us who love the sport i think should be a good goal, and not by past history in the tour. Europe courses and side tour is a statement that people take pride in their sport and want to have a global sport for all and it seems to move it in a right direction in some ways. Having the tour being exclusive for US. I belive a world tour between more of the world would benefit the sport. And making it bigger globally, and more special. Since alot of places would die to try to compete to hold one of this events if they have the possibility. And i think the sport will grow way more and making it more attractive if we push in such a direction. This isnt a sport you need to hide behind a camera lince, or hide in the forrest alone without crowd. This can be such much more if the tour management open their eyes and look at possibilities compared to standing on legacy alone.
Bring back pro ams. What do we have in the US? Ledgestone... look at the spectators that flock to that event. If we want to encourage spectating, pro ams do just that.
Standardized tee boxes and baskets? Because come on!?!
The spectator experience is the biggest issue. You spend $35 on a general pass and can hardly see single hole played drive to putt. Watching online is a much better experience at this point. And that’s very sad.
It's not like that at The Preserve. They only block off 3-4 holes there. You can literally follow groups for the rest of the holes the entire way.
This isn't a concert, it's effing disc golf! Plus ...they would make way way more if they had more customers at the event. Like charging a cover charge to get into the bar, you'll sell less booze because less people pay the cover charge. I'm definitely not homeless bruh, spectators should get in free! Would look better on tape if course was full of lookers
Can the do it again the next weekend, 600 miles away?
What do you mean? if the events are organized by the local enthusiasts anyway, it means that is not happening in the states either. edit: and are two poorly organized events better than one good?
@pandawarriah 2, no. 15-20 yes. "Poorly" is bit strong.
Let’s be honest. Professional sports ONLY exist because of their ENTERTAINMENT value. The monetary value placed on these events… etc, is what pays the athletes…. And in the US we have SOOOOOOO many other professional sports that are super established that disc golf just isn’t getting the attention it deserves. It’s just gonna take time. Time and effort.
What need to be changed? You don't force to listen a video to find out what you're meaning.
The US should scrap 50% of them utterly boring park courses and make more wooded courses.
My biggest complaint is lack of standardization. Flight numbers need to be standardized and so do the size of the tees
Major Problem🫡
They only have 2 events a year with pros so of course they show up
Im not going to an event near me that's at one of the best courses in the world because it's too expensive. If the DGPT wants fans at their events, they need to be free or dirt cheap. If they want to make extra money, charge vendors to setup there, and stop trying to double and triple dip everywhere possible. Greedy capitalist TD's and the tour need to find other ways to make money, if they want the sport to grow and have fans come to the events.
Idk what you consider “too expensive” but I paid a little over 200 for a 4 day all access pass at maple hill. Can follow each card all 4 days
I have also one really important thing for you in usa. Stop over hyping when announcing the players on first hole, just listen how they do it here in europe. Do it professionally not by destroying pa system and peoples ears.
Totally agree. It's so unnecessary
We don't have a country helping. The USA is all on the small club running them.
75 dollars is too high period, drop price and get way more customers. They would make it back ten fold in sales, plus crowds would be bigger on video. Duh....40 bucks all weekend....75 vip
Calling 75 dollars for 3 days of spectating too high is insane. You can't even buy enough groceries to survive for a week with $75 these days unless you are trying to live like a college student. Are you homeless or something? Most concert tickets are in the $100-200 range these days and that's just for 3-4 hours of spectating.
Watching a video like this really irks me. It makes yall look so fucking ungrateful and unappreciative for the literal thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars lost that these people put in trying to make these events happen in America.
Having a new higher standard set for events isn’t saying all other events are awful or people aren’t grateful. It’s recognizing where we could be in the sport. Des Moines challenge has found that in spades and the disc golf world praises them for it.
Estonia has 1.4 million people in the whole country. When you have a country with a population that small and one of your own daughters, Kristin Tattar is the best female Disc Golfer in the world... you go all out to present yourselves in the best lite when the best in the World show up along with all the coverage. Now take the states.... 340 million people and competing against a lot of major sports. The idea that every venue in the states should be like Estonia or othe European locations is foolish. The sport still needs to grow before better venues can be afforded.
Why are European events bigger and better than American events? My guess is over there, the only thing going on besides disc golf is soccer. Here, we have everything else besides soccer. I know we have soccer leagues but c'mon. High school football is bigger here than soccer.
It has nothing to do with the other sports. It is just a lousy excuse. Like said in the video, it is the organizers, volunteers, co-op with the cities. The events are put up to show the sport, make it something more professional to the competitors and crowd. The money made, is moved to make it even better in the next event. Not for the organizers pockets.
Not having been to Europe, but knowing a little about many sports, I disagree. Almost every sport in Europe is big and has big crowds, sports that are barely even known about in America. Stuff like rally car racing, motorbike racing, handball, field hockey, etc.
Now your totally wrong. We have way more different sports playd here than you in amerika. Because you all love baseball. The most stupid and boring game in the history of the world.
Imagine complaining about a sport where you throw a frisbee