Things that hold disc golf back....

1. the cliques. you know.. the "clubs" that don't encourage newcomers and don't seem to support adding more people.
2. the PDGA discussion site being member only. so my membership lapsed..or I am a newer player.. that means I cant post? that's just stupid. don't argue. it is.
3.really aside form the "uber" attitudes I seem to get from some people, that's all I can think of. if we don't share this with others, than have fun being stuck in the 80's and having it go nowhere but backwards. we need to open up more to newcomers and find ways to draw them in.the "attitude" just gets to me that I see sometimes.

sorry to sound angry, but it's the truth sometimes.

[Terry "the Pirate" Calhoun]

Eric, I have opinions about the rest, also, but this is one I have direct knowledge of (and I am at work on a Sunday morning and probably had best just stick to work) so I'll address it now:

The PDGA DISCussion is closed to members only because there was a time, a couple of years ago, when a number of really PDGA-hostile and negative people *who did not belong* were using the forum for constant PDGA-bashing. As part of an attempt to reduce that negativity, posting was restricted to members only, with the requirement that their real PDGA number show up in their profile, regardless of what they use for their user name. This led to - at least - posters being identifiable as individual people and at least somewhat accountable for what they post.

It is less than desirable, still, in that (a) a handful of negative members still poison the well over there sometimes and (b) the worst of the posters no longer are able to do so.

I would have preferred that posting stay open to nonmembers with two changes: (a) there be a private section that only members can see and all PDGA-bashing has to happen in that private area, and (b) that there be a serious clamp down on inappropriate postings, especially "personal attacks." Unfortunately, personal attacks still continue over there.

Help me, please, keep DGRUS a safe and comfortable place to post, even argue with others, but stay nice and friendly.

[Trevor Thorp]

I agree with the only way the sport is going to grow is by getting more people involved. As far as your list...

1. Join the club and become an officer so you can make changes... if you don't help run the club "buck up"
2. Buy a PDGA membership. Why should you benefit from something you don't support. Post here where it is free because of all the hard work Terry has done for you.

I work with my club trying to get them to promote more new players all the time. I buy a PDGA memebership even though I don't think they do enough, they are our governing body, and without them our sport would be even more in the dark ages. Aside from people that whine and want everything for free I think the sport is growing well due to the efforts of the people that do try... not just post/whine about it.

[eric beich]

Trevor Thorp said:

I agree with the only way the sport is going to grow is by getting more people involved. As far as your list...

1. Join the club and become an officer so you can make changes... if you don't help run the club "buck up"
2. Buy a PDGA membership. Why should you benefit from something you don't support. Post here where it is free because of all the hard work Terry has done for you.

I work with my club trying to get them to promote more new players all the time. I buy a PDGA memebership even though I don't think they do enough, they are our governing body, and without them our sport would be even more in the dark ages. Aside from people that whine and want everything for free I think the sport is growing well due to the efforts of the people that do try... not just post/whine about it.

your right trevor. financially I havent been able to renew my membership, but I know I should, and will as soon as I have the fundage.
and thank you for pointing out it IS up to me. rather be whiny about it here I should be more a "part-of" and work to make it better myself.

and I understand that terry. I have over 30k posts on a message board that has moderators and rules and people get banned/ip banned all the time for those kind of things. like you said it still happens to some extent. I think that's just the nature of the internet. I still don't agree with it.
but thanks for pointing out the PDGA's reasons.

[DiscGolfFlyMart.com]

We got one guy in the Valparaiso, IN area that is a good player but he BERATES any and everyone that plays leagues. He is SO disrespectful of any new and old players that a lot of the regulars avoid league play. New players as well as old players have been regular victim to his tirades. Newer players don't come back and regulars avoid him. This is one reason why league play has been reduced by about 1/2 the old numbers. his bi-polar antics should not be allowed by his clique but alas most people will avoid the situation entirely as opposed to standing up to the skinny punk....sad.

[kcbrez009]

I agree about the clique-ish behavior. You'll find it anywhere there are human beings, of course. It's certainly not a problem that is unique to disc golf.

In the DG community, there are those who "partake" and others who don't, there are those who wear collared shirts and others who don't, and there are those who would like to see the game become a sport televised by ESPN with corporate sponsorships and multi-million dollar tournaments and others who would like it to remain solely a pleasant diversion during an afternoon at the park. Now, we're all free to have our opinions, but people are driven from the sport by jerk-offs like the one Channel Z mentioned. (Why hasn't someone stood up to him yet, Z? Sounds like he's asking for an ass whoopin'.)

[Jackson]

What holds disc golf back? The small percentage of people that you can see on the course at 1:00 in the afternoon when they are already drunk and cussing up a storm...even when I'm golfing with my Wife, me young Daughter, and an Eagle Scout that's trying to put toiether a group for kids in the area to come and learn about the game. What people do at home makes no difference to me, why come out to a public park to get high, get drunk, swear, litter the ground with cigarette butts and beer cans, and make lots of people feel awkward in the process? In some areas, this really isn't a Family game anymore because people don't want to bring their Families around this type of trash. Are people standing on the slide at the playground yelling and swearing into their cell phones as they argue with their girlfriends and calling them every horrible, degrading name in the book? No. Will they do thie same thing one hundred feet away on the first fairway? Yes. Then what happens half-a-mile away at the 15th green? Sometimes, you just don't want your kids around certain people.

[Lotto]

local clubs here in kalamazoo are sweet! but then agian im a very open and outgoing person. so its easy for my to make friends.

[Craig]

I think one of the biggest things holding back our sport from a real breakthrough is a lack of formal instruction. I'm not trying to speak for everybody here but I'm sure most of us learned the game in a similar fashion. How hard of a game can it be....just pick up a frisbee and throw it at that metal thing way over there!

I'd like to see a ball-golf approach to the game of disc....meaning most courses are beautiful and make you want to play more, professional instruction is readily availalble, and the sport as a whole can make for a viable career.

Who here wouldn't take advantage of a one-on-one professional lesson? Do you think it would help your game? Can you envision a disc-community where everyone wants and has the tools to make themselves better?

[Ben Calhoun]

Hmm pot, alcohol to name a few. Trashing the courses. Being inconsiderate park users.

[Donny Olow]

Some players refuse to share the course. Unless it's Private , everyone should be allowed to play !!!!!

[Bill Burns]

"1. the cliques. you know.. the "clubs" that don't encourage newcomers and don't seem to support adding more people."

Eric, you gotta get away from the BB group for awhile, it sounds like. Try Carrollton or Lewisville.

[Hootie]

Hmm, over here we try to get as many newbies into the fold as possible. This saturday we're running a random-draw doubles tourney so that we encourage people to mix socially, and hopefully become better acquainted with each other, which will mean a tighter club (and hopefully a few more members).

I dont go on the PDGA discussion site much, even though im a member. Are you allowed to view the discussions if you're not a member? I think you should still be able to view the discussions, but maybe not post unless you're a member. This could already be the way it operates, i dunno.

Theres dropkicks in every sport and every facet of life, i think its best just to avoid them if you can. Joining their club and then volunteering to go on committee might be one way of fixing the clique problem, as it might open up the club and change the clubs direction a bit. They will NEVER get new members if they dont put in the effort as joining a new club can be intimidating under the best circumstances.