Banging chains and making change: how disc golf reached the main stage
A local look into why disc golf surged in popularity over the pandemic
In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a walk in the park was simply a welcome escape from the claustrophobic monotony of quarantine. But for some, that walk in the park turned into a passionate hobby, a lucrative career, or a burgeoning side hustle. Disc golf, a fringe sport on the rise, has seen record growth as a result of the pandemic and shows no signs of slowing down.
Tim O'Brien
To the general population, the sound of rattling chains may conjure images of bondage or isolation—think George Clooney in prison stripes or the dog from The Sandlot—but to a growing niche community the sound of rattling chains symbolizes the sound of victory, or relief.
To hear this sound, a player tees off from a dirt patch in an open field, or tucked in the corridors of a thick forest. They chuck a round piece of plastic, hoping to avoid trees, and approach a metal basket in the fewest possible strokes. This is the sport of disc golf.
To score in disc golf, a player bangs their disc into a curtain of chains, which soften the blow of the disc so that it falls safely into the basket below. If you are putting and you don’t hit the chains you’re probably adding another stroke to your scorecard. If you do hit the chains you’re probably doing your best Tiger Woods fist pump.
Disc golf is similar to regular golf in that it is both incredibly fun and incredibly frustrating. It starts off as something meant to be relaxing, a sport played with friends, and quickly becomes a personal fixation. Unlike golf however, disc golf is easier to pick up and incredibly inexpensive—starting discs go for around $10 each and most courses are free to play—but the appeal of the sport is more than just that.
Disc golf is a sport accessible to all. For this reason, the sport saw a huge surge in popularity over the COVID-19 pandemic. With instructions to social distance and avoid indoor gatherings, disc golf provided an escape from the cabin fever of lockdown. Plus, it is played outdoors with resources that are your own (players don’t share equipment). Not only is it safe, it is also a great way to stay in shape.
Mark Twain called golf “a good walk spoiled.” The magic in that quote is that while playing disc golf you forget that you are exercising. You will get all your steps in and “close your rings” without ever realizing it. And it does this by adding structure, adding a purpose to just being outside. Disc golf may be the professionalized version of “Hey, do you think I can hit that tree with this rock?”, but it’s no joke.
The Profession Disc Golf Association (PDGA) has reported a doubling of members in just the past 4 years. In 2017 the PDGA reached its 100,000 members mark—a number it has taken 41 years to reach since it’s founding in 1976. This number doubled as soon as 2021, and the memberships just keep piling in. With these figures, disc golf is fighting for a spot on the main stage, and more courses and clubs pop up every day all over the country, especially here in Athens.
In fact, UGA’s Disc Golf Club team just took 1st place in the National College Disc Golf Championship, a victory over 70 different schools across the US. Davis York, the team’s captain and a 1st year graduate student, talks about his wins with total nonchalance. “Yeah, I actually ended up winning both the individual category and the doubles,” said York, “After I won, everyone in the club kind of looked up to me, I guess.” Following the win and his informal election as leader, York says he is currently in the process of getting the club officially registered with the school.
The “club” holds about 115 kids, from which at least 10-15 show up to the intramural fields every week for a putting competition. Attending one of these sessions, I saw a group of friends from all walks of life taking part in a simple pleasure together; trying to hit something with something else.
While York and his teammates try to make a name for themselves in the collegiate disc golf scene, one player out of Toccoa Falls College is already approaching the podium.
Click to listen the audio version of the story.
Isaac Robinson, a 21-year-old Professional Disc Golf Player from Lawrenceville GA, is arguably the face of Georgia disc golf whether he knows it or not. In a sport that’s only begun to reach national prominence, Robinson, who’s been throwing discs since he was 5, has already made a name for himself and a healthy salary. “Over the past like probably five to eight years, it's really been a sustainable living where you can make, you know, $50,000 To $100,000 playing on tour, not counting sponsorship money,” Robinson tells me over a round at our local course.
The surge in popularity—and therefore profitability—over the COVID-19 pandemic drew more eyes to the sport and brought people like Robinson to the forefront of the conversation. For him, the pandemic was only the beginning.
“Obviously COVID sucked. It was not a good time. But for Disc Golf, it really boosted the numbers,” Robinson says. “I used to be able to go to a local course and there was the same, you know, 20 to 30 people that I'd see throughout the week. Now I go to a local course and I don't recognize anyone, because they're all new players.”
According to data from UDisc (a popular disc golf scoring app), in 2020 alone, approximately 3.5 courses were built every single day. That number jumped to 5.28 courses built per day in 2021. While other professional sporting associations were halted entirely, disc golf churned forward.
“So 2020 was kind of the start of the pandemic, and disc golf especially on the local scene has just skyrocketed,” boasts Robinson. "The popularity, the amount of players, it's really helped to boost the sport along several years ahead of its time!”
Players aren’t the only ones to benefit from the sports newfound fame though, and while Robinson keeps warm over the bare winter, for others the disc golf grind is a year-round project.
Tim O'Brien
In fact, for one local Nationwide insurance agent with a hidden hobby, business and pleasure share the same office space.
When Dog Gone Good Disc Golf first opened its doors in Buford, it was the only known brick-and-mortar disc golf store in the entire state of Georgia. A local business catering directly to the ever increasing disc golf community was a commodity hard to come by. Since then, disc golf shops have popped up in Savannah, Cartersville, Griffin, and more.
Not many businesses can claim that they benefited from the pandemic. When I asked store owner Lincoln Griffin if his shop found success despite the pandemic, he responded by telling me, “It wouldn’t exist without the pandemic.”
Like many new players to the sport, Griffin started as a fan of the traditional frisbee. He and his son played their first round of disc golf with ultimate “lids” rather than proper disc golf discs. “I think we went for like 4 or 5 days straight,” said Griffin, “I mean I got hooked, I got really hooked.”
At this time, COVID was becoming more prevalent and with the reality that insurance is mostly handled over the phone/internet these days, very few people were coming into his office anymore. So he got to thinking, “What if I put a little section of the discs in my office?”
He reached out to a couple companies, found out what it would take, signed a few agreements, ordered a very small amount of discs, and got started. All this happened in a week.
Tim O'Brien
The following week the insurance business went right back to normal and with it, his usual workload. But he didn’t stop. In fact, the disc golf business blew up, and Griffin now balances both businesses all from one chair.
If you go to the shop, you’ll probably see him come out from behind his desk to ask if there’s a specific disc you’re looking for. As an insurance agent, he knows how to deal with people, but disc golf is a new frontier.
“I knew it was a risk, but there was a point where I had to make a decision; I could either grow it, or keep it this small thing,” said Griffin, “I thought it was worth while to grow. And I still do.”
Griffin’s Nationwide contract has a definite retirement date. But the disc golf store, like the sport, will just keep growing.
In fact, not only has DGG Disc Golf already spawned a personal relationship with Isaac Robinson, but Griffin also mentioned interest in opening up a shop right here in Athens, and helping out the newly-formed UGA Disc Golf Team. Disc golf is still a small world, but as we get back out there, it is only getting bigger.