10 ms·

The Rise of the $10M Disc Golf Celebrity

162 points by axiomdata316 5y ago

natedubyah 5y ago
he's really going to open the door for what I like to call alternative sports getting big deals. You can make money doing anything if you're good enough and he definitely fits the bill
- paulcole 5y ago
  > You can make money doing anything if you're good enough The thesis of the article seems to be that this isn’t enough. It’s the marketing and social media aspect that makes the money possible. McBeth might not be the disc golf GOAT, but he’s close and he’s in the right place at the right time and is learning to market himself. His lifetime on the course earnings (again, from the article) are less than 5% of one year of his current endorsement deals.
  - nickmonad 5y ago
    It does make me wonder when that will flip though. "Ball" golf (as disc golfers like to say) seems to be at a point where you can make a serious living without much to do on the social media side. Companies dump so much money into the purse because there are enough eyes on the game, and I think disc golf can get to that point. But then again, maybe disc golf is coming of age in a different era, where social media will just be ingrained moving forward, and it will continue to be just as important, if not more, than your performance on the course.
    - megameter 5y ago
      There's definitely been a move towards social media promoters making sports, versus yesteryear's slower moving partnerships of manufacturers, league bodies, and sponsors. "Esports", though it has various early history, has fallen into being predominantly a construct of this kind of hustle; if you can get some bodies in the same in-game space and on a live feed, you can come up with a way to build events out of it, offer prizes and all the rest. Thus even some relatively obscure stuff like speedruns of modded NES games will boast a small scene. I think of it not as one type of thing overtaking the other, so much as it is something like an unbundling of the traditional sportsfan experience. The individual athletes will have one set of content, the leagues will have another, and you can participate in either with fewer commitments. Sponsors get a smaller but more focused niche market to tap into.
    - paulcole 5y ago
      Ball golf has massive tv contracts and a wealthy (but shrinking and aging) fan base who doesn’t live on social media. That’s a big part of why the sponsors contribution to the purses is so big. Guaranteed TV time for the brand in front of the right people who will be watching.
    - elb2020 5y ago
      > Companies dump so much money into the [golf] purse because there are enough eyes on the game, and I think disc golf can get to that point. Maybe, but traditional golf also has the image, historically, of being a sport for the wealthy. I think this becomes sort of self-perpetuating, since it automatically attracts new wealthy people to the sport. I think the spending power within the group of people that practices the game also affects the size of the total purse.
knownjorbist 5y ago
Disc Golf is a great sport for all ages. It has effectively no barrier to entry and is good exercise to boot - it's more or less hiking with a game sprinkled in. Here's hoping it continues to amass what seems to be growing popularity.
- sixQuarks 5y ago
  I started playing during the pandemic and now I'm hooked. It's more fun than playing real golf, and I used to do a lot of that.
  - jtbayly 5y ago
    Lots cheaper, too. :)
    - devoutsalsa 5y ago
      Depends how many discs you lose, including the ones you threw in a tree to knock another one loose XD
      - nickmonad 5y ago
        If you aren't losing discs, you aren't playing enough.
      - state_less 5y ago
        I glued a small buzzer, battery and switch to my disc in the beginning to help track it down. The Doppler effect was pretty sweet when you let it fly :)
        knownjorbist 5y ago
        I've often thought about how one could rig up such a thing with either lights or sound, but without sacrificing the pretty carefully designed aerodynamic profile of the discs. Not sure how it'd be possible without molding it into the disc itself... :)
goldenchrome 5y ago
Dorky version of an already dorky sport. Edit: Oh my bad, disc golf is very, very cool. LOL.
- nickmonad 5y ago
  Nobody gives a shit dude. We'll keep having fun without you.
- knownjorbist 5y ago
  Continue malding on your lonesome.
adventured 5y ago
The Color of Money (1986): Eddie Felson: "If you got an area of excellence... you're the best at something, anything... then rich can be arranged. Rich can come fairly easy." If you're one of the best at something, at that point you just need a lever, a platform of consequence to hitch up to and ride. Whether that's being the best toy reviewer on YouTube, or the best podcaster on a giant streaming service, or the best writer on Substack, or the best disc golfer.
- mistrial9 5y ago
  no.. business patterns generate money.. The vast majority of human activity across thousands of years do not fit those criteria. This short list of possible "best at" things are highly social, use communication media, and have money involved already..
dorianthegray 5y ago
Huge disc golf fan, collector, and player here. Check out the disc golf world championships this week, with lead-card official post-round coverage by JomezPro on YouTube. Paul McBeth will be playing for a chance at a potential sixth world champion title. It's a fantastic time of growth for the sport for professionals and casual players alike.
- peeters 5y ago
  Jomez is an astonishingly well-done production for what I used to think was a niche sport. It was wholly responsible for getting me into watching it regularly. It's really easy to avoid spoilers about Disc Golf and so watching it non-live is nicer than more popular sports. So as a bonus you get to see a well-edited format (where the commentary is still unscripted as they watch the edited footage).
  - paulcole 5y ago
    Im a sports fan and don’t play disc golf but I watch Jomez religiously. Just like tuning in for NBA on TNT.
peeters 5y ago
> According to 2019 data from the athlete marketing platform Opendorse, only about 70 athletes in the world make at least a million dollars a year in endorsement deals. McBeth’s endorsement income from Discraft alone puts him on par with Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, Jazz guard Mike Conley Jr., and Astros pitcher Justin Verlander. This doesn't pass the smell test at all. Opendorse doesn't give any transparency into how they arrived at those numbers; they could be pulled from thin air, and Opendorse are clearly ignoring some sports. For example, there are zero NHL players on the list despite Forbes listing at least 10 players who should be on that list, including several who make well over a million in endorsements. I'd wager there are an order of magnitude more than 70 athletes with $1 million+ in endorsements.
- natrik 5y ago
  d
  - function_seven 5y ago
    Those aren't endorsement deals, though. That's their salary.
  - dghlsakjg 5y ago
    Endorsement deals are a whole different ballgame than salary
- rohitb91 5y ago
  It would be mind blowing if Crosby isn’t making at least a million from those crappy Tim Hortons commercials.
- pcthrowaway 5y ago
  I'm also skeptical. There are no rock climbers on this list. Climbing is still a relatively niche sport (though depending on where you are, it might be one of the most popular), but I'd wager participants collectively spend as much on climbing equipment as many more popular sports. The gear is quite expensive, and for safety reasons, much of it needs to be replaced with relative regularity. You'd be hard-pressed to find a sport where people who don't compete at any level spend $500-2000 per year on equipment (though skiing might give it a run for its money, especially when other expenses of skiing are taken into consideration) As a result, 'professional' rock climbers (many of whom counterintuitively don't participate in competitive climbing), court a wide variety of sponsorships.
kevinmchugh 5y ago
There's only so much room for a star in a niche sport. Cael Sanderson is one of the all time greatest collegiate athletes. He got a shoe deal. None of the wrestlers he beat got a shoe deal, because wrestling isn't that big a market, and who wants to wear the loser's shoe? A lot of good wrestlers lost to Cael. A guy named Daniel Cormier is one of them. Cormier went on to win championships at two different weightclasses in the UFC. But he never got a shoe deal.
- RosanaAnaDana 5y ago
  Disc golf has a far far bigger reach than you prob realize. The biggest difference between discgolf and ballgolf is its accessibility. Almost every town has a free to play course, and you can be fully equipped to play for 40 bucks. After a couple months of playing or a trip to play-it-again, you can be as well equipped as some professionals. The biggest difference between discgolf and other sports is that the popularity structure is inverted. Discgolf is popular as a played sport. Most other sports are popular as a watched sport. Not many people aren't taking off early on Friday to go to compete in beer league wrestling. Good luck on your local course Friday at 3pm. It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on its watched popularity cure.
  - zimpenfish 5y ago
    > Almost every town has a free to play course Possibly in the US - over here in the UK, https://discgolfuk.uk/where-to-play/ https://discgolfuk.uk/where-to-play/ reports 64 (some are "coming soon") of which 45 are "pay to play".
    - matsemann 5y ago
      In Norway I've seen the municipality put up courses on the outskirts of various parks, fields etc. So pretty accessible.
    - bagacrap 5y ago
      compared to ball golf where how many are free?
iandinwoodie 5y ago
For anyone interested in the sport, UDisc is the “go-to” app for finding courses, viewing course maps, and tracking scores. I’m not affiliated with UDisc, but their dev team has done such a great job listening to feedback from users and actually implementing features requested by the community that I couldn’t help but give them a mention.
- deberon 5y ago
  I also recommend UDisc. Good Apple Watch integration as well. They make it easy to track granular stats like the length of your drive or you can just use it to keep score during a friendly game. Worth the price.
- dagurp 5y ago
  For tournament directors I recommend Disc Golf Metrix. The UI isn't great but it's the most powerful tool out there.
Leyledorp 5y ago
I've been getting way into disc golf over the last month ever since I went down a namesake youtube rabbit hole in early May. Bought some discs and have been slugging it out at the local course. It seems less consistent than ball golf, the wind has a huge impact on a throw, which I find takes some of the pressure off. It's great fun, and the price barrier is super low. Would definitely recommend anyone to give it a shot. A am very excited to watch the first round of the PDGA world championship tomorrow.
- grecy 5y ago
  I've been playing since 2007ish, and the highlight of my "career" was playing in a PDGA tournament in Idaho. I got 3rd place in the amateur division (the lowest there is) and didn't stop grinning for a week! Have fun out there, it's a great sport
- switz 5y ago
  I started playing about a year ago during the pandemic and it's been a really fun and cheap way to get outside, play a casual sport with friends or even solo. I also highly recommend watching a tournament on JomezPro[0]. They do day-after post production of tournaments and their videos are absurdly high quality for the size and scope of their team. They really seem to take an iterative approach to their product and UX and are seemingly just an indie shop who blew away the existing competition over the years while innovating regularly. Even though they're not 'hard tech' I view them as startup-like and a blueprint for video/media companies of the future. As mentioned in the parent comment, the PDGA world championship starts today (first video tomorrow!) and that's a great way to jump in. You can watch live, but I find the post-production far more consumable. Watching old tournaments is honestly enjoyable too. Very calming to put on in the background while working. [0] Here's a highlight reel for some quick hits showing off both the production and great disc golf shots: https://youtu.be/DXTVIwOQG2M?t=29 https://youtu.be/DXTVIwOQG2M?t=29
Tomte 5y ago
I've watched some Disc Golf by happenstance recently on a sports channel and later on YouTube, and while it is a niche sport, it's tremendously entertaining. You see four guys throw the disc in the same way, and a fifth one throw it some other way. With the second, third etc throws you get the flight paths of the earlier throws superimposed on the picture, so you can immediately compare those flight paths. You get instant distant measurements, and course overviews (like a mini map). All this hooked me instantly. I have no idea if "proper" golf has stuff like that, but if not, they should.
w-m 5y ago
I instantly recognized the name of Paul McBeth from a recent Youtube binge. The algorithm had suggested out of the blue that I watch some disc golf tournament, and I got sucked into it for a little while. Most of the videos had comments under them from people like me, who had never come in contact with the sport before, but were now there, thanks to the mighty algorithm. What made it send us to the disc golf videos - my interest in Formula 1, combined with watching some esports? Or was it just a random suggestion, because the disc golf videos have a high like count and watch-through-score, because they are really well produced?
- layoutIfNeeded 5y ago
  Ah, that's nothing. Follow the suggestions, and eventually you'll end up with Jelle's Marble Runs.
  - fho 5y ago
    And the Lockpicking Lawyer
kasey_junk 5y ago
One of the things I really appreciate about disc golf is the low barrier to entry. My local club does events where we give discs away to kids to get them started. We’ll give hundreds of putters away this year and it will cost about $1700. For $15 we can outfit a kid with a three disc set once they’ve decided they like the sport enough to learn about the differences in discs. The kids we give these away to are unlikely to get that money from family but a small org can raise the donations with out having to do big donor drives or the like.
- elijaht 5y ago
  Yup- no longer playing (moved to an area where there is no scene/courses), but I was a casual player for a few years. The cost inspires a lot of generosity. When I started I probably was tossed 10-20 discs over the first few months, precisely because it is such a low cost sport. Really helped get it's hooks in me and made some great friends
  - kasey_junk 5y ago
    There is no public course in Chicago (where my club is located). Fixing that is a major long term goal of our club but we’ve had a lot of success working with the parks putting up temporary baskets. Our club only exists because a buddy and me took a cheap basket down to the park to goof around and lots of like minded folks saw us. Now we have a pretty big Wed putting league in one park and temporary baskets we leave in others for putting & field work. You might try just putting in a park with friends and see what happens.
    - losvedir 5y ago
      There's tons just across the border here in Indiana! I live in Whiting and they just put up a great disc golf course in Forsythe Park here. Come out sometime and play! (And send me an email so I can join :)).
      - kasey_junk 5y ago
        We play northern Indiana/Joliet/the suburbs a lot. Which is great for people with cars. Lots of great options. We are trying to make the sport more accessible to kids on the south (east) side who can’t get out to anywhere else. IIT has a small course but it’s private and their security is known to hassle kids on campus who aren’t students. So having park sanctioned baskets is our focus. https://hydeparkdiscgolf.com/ https://hydeparkdiscgolf.com/
butterisgood 5y ago
This sport is my downtime activity, again, after about an 8 year break when I hurt my back a bit (not by playing the sport mind you - just being out of shape). I can't say enough how much I love playing it. There's just something about flinging a disc a hundreds of feet around obstacles, walking around with your friends chatting about whatever that's a nice break from basically everything that's not disc golf. It's had a serious effect on my overall happiness.
MRBIGCAT99 5y ago
I've never tried disc golf but always wanted to. It's looks like a fun relaxing sport to play with anyhow.
- mr-wendel 5y ago
  I can't recommend it enough. It's fun even when you're not good at it if you simply adopt the mindset that nothing is more important than getting outside and moving your body a bit. Also, I hate to generalize, but I've found that course regulars are extremely consistent about being welcoming and patient with newbies. The culture of letting people play through, giving people space to learn, and helping folks navigate tricky course layouts has been remarkably consistent. My absolute favorite experience was playing in the San Juan islands. The locals were so excited to see us checking out their course... so much that their smiles and waving is still the thing I remember most about that entire trip.
gus_massa 5y ago
Sorry if it's a very stupid question, but why don't they add some bumps in the border of the disk so it does not roll on the floor? Does that destroy the aerodynamic properties?
- jartelt 5y ago
  There are regulations governing the size and shape of the discs, so that type of modification would likely be illegal. But also, it would probably destroy the aerodynamics
  - dagurp 5y ago
    https://infinitediscs.com/Quest-AT-Turbo-Putt https://infinitediscs.com/Quest-AT-Turbo-Putt > It was originally approved in 2007, but had its approval rescinded the next year because it was argued that the disc did not have "radial symetry.
- losvedir 5y ago
  "Rolling on the floor" is an important part of the game. Depending on disc selection, the type and slope of terrain, and angle that the disc makes contact, the amount and direction (forehand vs backhand) of spin, etc it can "spike" into the ground, it can lightly touch and stop immediately, it can roll 20 feet to the left or to the right, it can "skip" and fly another 100 feet, it can roll for another 300 feet, etc. The best players can control this behavior and use it to shape their shots around trees, hills, hazards, rough grass, etc. Discs with thick, round rims (generally "putters") already stop pretty short when they land. It's the distance drivers with sharp edges that can roll a long way, but those are very aerodynamically designed and bumps would probably mess that up. Plus, there's regulations about the size and weight of discs, so it might not be allowed on PDGA tour anyway.
losvedir 5y ago
Ah, I love disc golf! I'm a Patreon supporter of JomezPro, and like everyone else here is saying, they just have shockingly good day-after production value coverage of tournaments, free on YouTube. Check it out! Always fun to watch, but as some folks say, rooting for Paul McBeth is like going to a casino and rooting for the house. I'm also a fan of esports, having got into Rocket League a couple years ago. It's quite interesting the difference. There are professional players there, but I've never quite understood how esports works - it feels like a VC funded Ponzi scheme that will implode some day. Like, how are all these Rocket League players getting paid? The difference, I think, with disc golf is that to play, you actually need to buy some physical things (discs), and those will eventually get beat up from hitting trees and concrete, or you'll lose them, so there's constantly people out there spending a bit of money. (Not a ton, mind you, and that's part of what I love about the sport; the vast majority of courses are free! Just a walk in a park, basically.) And so these disc manufacturers can afford to sponsor some pros and so on. I imagine the Paul McBeth deal is so big in part to be splashy and bring attention to the sport, but it's not so outlandish to me like with esports.
jartelt 5y ago
Just in case anyone reads the article or comments here and decides they want to try out disc golf, here's a tip... DO NOT go out and buy a high speed driver disc (speed >9) to use as a beginner or intermediate. You almost certainly will not be able to throw it hard enough to fly properly and it will lead to frustration, poor form, and inconsistent results. Stick with a putter, a mid-range, and maybe a fairway driver (speed 6 or 7). The speed rating on discs can be tricky for beginners. It's intuitive to think that a high speed rating on a disc means it will fly faster and further. However, a high speed rating actually means you need to throw that disc faster in order for it to fly it's proper flight path. If you do not throw a high speed driver hard enough, it will just go 100 feet and curve into the ground. Beginners and intermediates typically will throw lower speed discs farther than they would throw the high speed driver.
- screye 5y ago
  As someone who has never disk golfed, but skipped rocks last week after not having done it for a decade: Swinging is really hard on your shoulders. I spent a day surfing, hiking, running and skipping rocks. My pitching shoulder was the one that was most sore (and slightly hurt) the day after. Just a probable warning for anyone who has shoulder issues. (probably also bad technique)
  - hnrodey 5y ago
    I've found the best warm up for disc golf is to play catch with a baseball/softball. If I'm solo then I will literally throw rocks (at the course) to get the shoulder moving.
- TwoBit 5y ago
  For advanced players do the 9+ discs perform better?
  - hnrodey 5y ago
    The best advice I can offer is that with whatever disc(s) you have - spend time practicing with those discs away from the course. All discs fly differently and it's best to get dedicated practice with your discs.
sithlord 5y ago
Just to add (and to maybe repeat what a few have said), those who may want to start playing who never have. Although ball golf and disc golf share some of the same rules and name, don't get caught up in the trap that you need to have a bunch of discs to play. Unlike ball golf, you dont need a bunch of different discs for different distances. There are many times when you want to throw a high speed driver 100 feet, and even more times when you want to throw a putter off the tee. One could get away with a starter pack for a good while, will come with fairly light weight fairway driver, midrange and putter. If you play much you will quickly get a feeling of what might be missing from that and start filling in the gaps. You will often see people carrying around 20+ discs (I would fall into this category myself) but really if you were to look at my bag and watch me play much you'd see I probably throw the same 4-5 discs the vast majority of the time. What usually ends up happening is you want to have a duplicate or 2 of the main discs, and maybe extra putters for practicing (or more so, throwing putters vs putting putters) and then will also have some more niche discs such as a roller disc (very understable) or super overstable discs (playing in headwind, or short approach you want a skip and to move left (right hand backhand) right (right hand sidearm) quickly. But most of these things will be course dependent, and also not really mechanically useful until you have played quite a bit.
ALee 5y ago
Technically, Olympic sports are niche sports as well - the only difference is they have a giant collaboration every four years. There's nothing to say that disc golf won't be part of the olympics or bowling (addressed in the article as well)

162 points by axiomdata316 5y ago

he's really going to open the door for what I like to call alternative sports getting big deals. You can make money doing anything if you're good enough and he definitely fits the bill

paulcole 5y ago
> You can make money doing anything if you're good enough The thesis of the article seems to be that this isn’t enough. It’s the marketing and social media aspect that makes the money possible. McBeth might not be the disc golf GOAT, but he’s close and he’s in the right place at the right time and is learning to market himself. His lifetime on the course earnings (again, from the article) are less than 5% of one year of his current endorsement deals.
- nickmonad 5y ago
  It does make me wonder when that will flip though. "Ball" golf (as disc golfers like to say) seems to be at a point where you can make a serious living without much to do on the social media side. Companies dump so much money into the purse because there are enough eyes on the game, and I think disc golf can get to that point. But then again, maybe disc golf is coming of age in a different era, where social media will just be ingrained moving forward, and it will continue to be just as important, if not more, than your performance on the course.
  - megameter 5y ago
    There's definitely been a move towards social media promoters making sports, versus yesteryear's slower moving partnerships of manufacturers, league bodies, and sponsors. "Esports", though it has various early history, has fallen into being predominantly a construct of this kind of hustle; if you can get some bodies in the same in-game space and on a live feed, you can come up with a way to build events out of it, offer prizes and all the rest. Thus even some relatively obscure stuff like speedruns of modded NES games will boast a small scene. I think of it not as one type of thing overtaking the other, so much as it is something like an unbundling of the traditional sportsfan experience. The individual athletes will have one set of content, the leagues will have another, and you can participate in either with fewer commitments. Sponsors get a smaller but more focused niche market to tap into.
  - paulcole 5y ago
    Ball golf has massive tv contracts and a wealthy (but shrinking and aging) fan base who doesn’t live on social media. That’s a big part of why the sponsors contribution to the purses is so big. Guaranteed TV time for the brand in front of the right people who will be watching.
  - elb2020 5y ago
    > Companies dump so much money into the [golf] purse because there are enough eyes on the game, and I think disc golf can get to that point. Maybe, but traditional golf also has the image, historically, of being a sport for the wealthy. I think this becomes sort of self-perpetuating, since it automatically attracts new wealthy people to the sport. I think the spending power within the group of people that practices the game also affects the size of the total purse.

knownjorbist 5y ago

Disc Golf is a great sport for all ages. It has effectively no barrier to entry and is good exercise to boot - it's more or less hiking with a game sprinkled in. Here's hoping it continues to amass what seems to be growing popularity.

sixQuarks 5y ago
I started playing during the pandemic and now I'm hooked. It's more fun than playing real golf, and I used to do a lot of that.
- jtbayly 5y ago
  Lots cheaper, too. :)
  - devoutsalsa 5y ago
    Depends how many discs you lose, including the ones you threw in a tree to knock another one loose XD
    - nickmonad 5y ago
      If you aren't losing discs, you aren't playing enough.
    - state_less 5y ago
      I glued a small buzzer, battery and switch to my disc in the beginning to help track it down. The Doppler effect was pretty sweet when you let it fly :)
      - knownjorbist 5y ago
        I've often thought about how one could rig up such a thing with either lights or sound, but without sacrificing the pretty carefully designed aerodynamic profile of the discs. Not sure how it'd be possible without molding it into the disc itself... :)

goldenchrome 5y ago

Dorky version of an already dorky sport. Edit: Oh my bad, disc golf is very, very cool. LOL.

nickmonad 5y ago
Nobody gives a shit dude. We'll keep having fun without you.
knownjorbist 5y ago
Continue malding on your lonesome.

adventured 5y ago

The Color of Money (1986): Eddie Felson: "If you got an area of excellence... you're the best at something, anything... then rich can be arranged. Rich can come fairly easy." If you're one of the best at something, at that point you just need a lever, a platform of consequence to hitch up to and ride. Whether that's being the best toy reviewer on YouTube, or the best podcaster on a giant streaming service, or the best writer on Substack, or the best disc golfer.

mistrial9 5y ago
no.. business patterns generate money.. The vast majority of human activity across thousands of years do not fit those criteria. This short list of possible "best at" things are highly social, use communication media, and have money involved already..

dorianthegray 5y ago

Huge disc golf fan, collector, and player here. Check out the disc golf world championships this week, with lead-card official post-round coverage by JomezPro on YouTube. Paul McBeth will be playing for a chance at a potential sixth world champion title. It's a fantastic time of growth for the sport for professionals and casual players alike.

peeters 5y ago
Jomez is an astonishingly well-done production for what I used to think was a niche sport. It was wholly responsible for getting me into watching it regularly. It's really easy to avoid spoilers about Disc Golf and so watching it non-live is nicer than more popular sports. So as a bonus you get to see a well-edited format (where the commentary is still unscripted as they watch the edited footage).
- paulcole 5y ago
  Im a sports fan and don’t play disc golf but I watch Jomez religiously. Just like tuning in for NBA on TNT.

peeters 5y ago

> According to 2019 data from the athlete marketing platform Opendorse, only about 70 athletes in the world make at least a million dollars a year in endorsement deals. McBeth’s endorsement income from Discraft alone puts him on par with Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, Jazz guard Mike Conley Jr., and Astros pitcher Justin Verlander. This doesn't pass the smell test at all. Opendorse doesn't give any transparency into how they arrived at those numbers; they could be pulled from thin air, and Opendorse are clearly ignoring some sports. For example, there are zero NHL players on the list despite Forbes listing at least 10 players who should be on that list, including several who make well over a million in endorsements. I'd wager there are an order of magnitude more than 70 athletes with $1 million+ in endorsements.

natrik 5y ago
d
- function_seven 5y ago
  Those aren't endorsement deals, though. That's their salary.
- dghlsakjg 5y ago
  Endorsement deals are a whole different ballgame than salary
rohitb91 5y ago
It would be mind blowing if Crosby isn’t making at least a million from those crappy Tim Hortons commercials.
pcthrowaway 5y ago
I'm also skeptical. There are no rock climbers on this list. Climbing is still a relatively niche sport (though depending on where you are, it might be one of the most popular), but I'd wager participants collectively spend as much on climbing equipment as many more popular sports. The gear is quite expensive, and for safety reasons, much of it needs to be replaced with relative regularity. You'd be hard-pressed to find a sport where people who don't compete at any level spend $500-2000 per year on equipment (though skiing might give it a run for its money, especially when other expenses of skiing are taken into consideration) As a result, 'professional' rock climbers (many of whom counterintuitively don't participate in competitive climbing), court a wide variety of sponsorships.

kevinmchugh 5y ago

There's only so much room for a star in a niche sport. Cael Sanderson is one of the all time greatest collegiate athletes. He got a shoe deal. None of the wrestlers he beat got a shoe deal, because wrestling isn't that big a market, and who wants to wear the loser's shoe? A lot of good wrestlers lost to Cael. A guy named Daniel Cormier is one of them. Cormier went on to win championships at two different weightclasses in the UFC. But he never got a shoe deal.

RosanaAnaDana 5y ago
Disc golf has a far far bigger reach than you prob realize. The biggest difference between discgolf and ballgolf is its accessibility. Almost every town has a free to play course, and you can be fully equipped to play for 40 bucks. After a couple months of playing or a trip to play-it-again, you can be as well equipped as some professionals. The biggest difference between discgolf and other sports is that the popularity structure is inverted. Discgolf is popular as a played sport. Most other sports are popular as a watched sport. Not many people aren't taking off early on Friday to go to compete in beer league wrestling. Good luck on your local course Friday at 3pm. It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on its watched popularity cure.
- zimpenfish 5y ago
  > Almost every town has a free to play course Possibly in the US - over here in the UK, https://discgolfuk.uk/where-to-play/ https://discgolfuk.uk/where-to-play/ reports 64 (some are "coming soon") of which 45 are "pay to play".
  - matsemann 5y ago
    In Norway I've seen the municipality put up courses on the outskirts of various parks, fields etc. So pretty accessible.
  - bagacrap 5y ago
    compared to ball golf where how many are free?

iandinwoodie 5y ago

For anyone interested in the sport, UDisc is the “go-to” app for finding courses, viewing course maps, and tracking scores. I’m not affiliated with UDisc, but their dev team has done such a great job listening to feedback from users and actually implementing features requested by the community that I couldn’t help but give them a mention.

deberon 5y ago
I also recommend UDisc. Good Apple Watch integration as well. They make it easy to track granular stats like the length of your drive or you can just use it to keep score during a friendly game. Worth the price.
dagurp 5y ago
For tournament directors I recommend Disc Golf Metrix. The UI isn't great but it's the most powerful tool out there.

Leyledorp 5y ago

I've been getting way into disc golf over the last month ever since I went down a namesake youtube rabbit hole in early May. Bought some discs and have been slugging it out at the local course. It seems less consistent than ball golf, the wind has a huge impact on a throw, which I find takes some of the pressure off. It's great fun, and the price barrier is super low. Would definitely recommend anyone to give it a shot. A am very excited to watch the first round of the PDGA world championship tomorrow.

grecy 5y ago
I've been playing since 2007ish, and the highlight of my "career" was playing in a PDGA tournament in Idaho. I got 3rd place in the amateur division (the lowest there is) and didn't stop grinning for a week! Have fun out there, it's a great sport
switz 5y ago
I started playing about a year ago during the pandemic and it's been a really fun and cheap way to get outside, play a casual sport with friends or even solo. I also highly recommend watching a tournament on JomezPro[0]. They do day-after post production of tournaments and their videos are absurdly high quality for the size and scope of their team. They really seem to take an iterative approach to their product and UX and are seemingly just an indie shop who blew away the existing competition over the years while innovating regularly. Even though they're not 'hard tech' I view them as startup-like and a blueprint for video/media companies of the future. As mentioned in the parent comment, the PDGA world championship starts today (first video tomorrow!) and that's a great way to jump in. You can watch live, but I find the post-production far more consumable. Watching old tournaments is honestly enjoyable too. Very calming to put on in the background while working. [0] Here's a highlight reel for some quick hits showing off both the production and great disc golf shots: https://youtu.be/DXTVIwOQG2M?t=29 https://youtu.be/DXTVIwOQG2M?t=29

Tomte 5y ago

I've watched some Disc Golf by happenstance recently on a sports channel and later on YouTube, and while it is a niche sport, it's tremendously entertaining. You see four guys throw the disc in the same way, and a fifth one throw it some other way. With the second, third etc throws you get the flight paths of the earlier throws superimposed on the picture, so you can immediately compare those flight paths. You get instant distant measurements, and course overviews (like a mini map). All this hooked me instantly. I have no idea if "proper" golf has stuff like that, but if not, they should.

w-m 5y ago

I instantly recognized the name of Paul McBeth from a recent Youtube binge. The algorithm had suggested out of the blue that I watch some disc golf tournament, and I got sucked into it for a little while. Most of the videos had comments under them from people like me, who had never come in contact with the sport before, but were now there, thanks to the mighty algorithm. What made it send us to the disc golf videos - my interest in Formula 1, combined with watching some esports? Or was it just a random suggestion, because the disc golf videos have a high like count and watch-through-score, because they are really well produced?

layoutIfNeeded 5y ago
Ah, that's nothing. Follow the suggestions, and eventually you'll end up with Jelle's Marble Runs.
- fho 5y ago
  And the Lockpicking Lawyer

kasey_junk 5y ago

One of the things I really appreciate about disc golf is the low barrier to entry. My local club does events where we give discs away to kids to get them started. We’ll give hundreds of putters away this year and it will cost about $1700. For $15 we can outfit a kid with a three disc set once they’ve decided they like the sport enough to learn about the differences in discs. The kids we give these away to are unlikely to get that money from family but a small org can raise the donations with out having to do big donor drives or the like.

elijaht 5y ago
Yup- no longer playing (moved to an area where there is no scene/courses), but I was a casual player for a few years. The cost inspires a lot of generosity. When I started I probably was tossed 10-20 discs over the first few months, precisely because it is such a low cost sport. Really helped get it's hooks in me and made some great friends
- kasey_junk 5y ago
  There is no public course in Chicago (where my club is located). Fixing that is a major long term goal of our club but we’ve had a lot of success working with the parks putting up temporary baskets. Our club only exists because a buddy and me took a cheap basket down to the park to goof around and lots of like minded folks saw us. Now we have a pretty big Wed putting league in one park and temporary baskets we leave in others for putting & field work. You might try just putting in a park with friends and see what happens.
  - losvedir 5y ago
    There's tons just across the border here in Indiana! I live in Whiting and they just put up a great disc golf course in Forsythe Park here. Come out sometime and play! (And send me an email so I can join :)).
    - kasey_junk 5y ago
      We play northern Indiana/Joliet/the suburbs a lot. Which is great for people with cars. Lots of great options. We are trying to make the sport more accessible to kids on the south (east) side who can’t get out to anywhere else. IIT has a small course but it’s private and their security is known to hassle kids on campus who aren’t students. So having park sanctioned baskets is our focus. https://hydeparkdiscgolf.com/ https://hydeparkdiscgolf.com/

butterisgood 5y ago

This sport is my downtime activity, again, after about an 8 year break when I hurt my back a bit (not by playing the sport mind you - just being out of shape). I can't say enough how much I love playing it. There's just something about flinging a disc a hundreds of feet around obstacles, walking around with your friends chatting about whatever that's a nice break from basically everything that's not disc golf. It's had a serious effect on my overall happiness.

MRBIGCAT99 5y ago

I've never tried disc golf but always wanted to. It's looks like a fun relaxing sport to play with anyhow.

mr-wendel 5y ago
I can't recommend it enough. It's fun even when you're not good at it if you simply adopt the mindset that nothing is more important than getting outside and moving your body a bit. Also, I hate to generalize, but I've found that course regulars are extremely consistent about being welcoming and patient with newbies. The culture of letting people play through, giving people space to learn, and helping folks navigate tricky course layouts has been remarkably consistent. My absolute favorite experience was playing in the San Juan islands. The locals were so excited to see us checking out their course... so much that their smiles and waving is still the thing I remember most about that entire trip.

gus_massa 5y ago

Sorry if it's a very stupid question, but why don't they add some bumps in the border of the disk so it does not roll on the floor? Does that destroy the aerodynamic properties?

jartelt 5y ago
There are regulations governing the size and shape of the discs, so that type of modification would likely be illegal. But also, it would probably destroy the aerodynamics
- dagurp 5y ago
  https://infinitediscs.com/Quest-AT-Turbo-Putt https://infinitediscs.com/Quest-AT-Turbo-Putt > It was originally approved in 2007, but had its approval rescinded the next year because it was argued that the disc did not have "radial symetry.
losvedir 5y ago
"Rolling on the floor" is an important part of the game. Depending on disc selection, the type and slope of terrain, and angle that the disc makes contact, the amount and direction (forehand vs backhand) of spin, etc it can "spike" into the ground, it can lightly touch and stop immediately, it can roll 20 feet to the left or to the right, it can "skip" and fly another 100 feet, it can roll for another 300 feet, etc. The best players can control this behavior and use it to shape their shots around trees, hills, hazards, rough grass, etc. Discs with thick, round rims (generally "putters") already stop pretty short when they land. It's the distance drivers with sharp edges that can roll a long way, but those are very aerodynamically designed and bumps would probably mess that up. Plus, there's regulations about the size and weight of discs, so it might not be allowed on PDGA tour anyway.

losvedir 5y ago

Ah, I love disc golf! I'm a Patreon supporter of JomezPro, and like everyone else here is saying, they just have shockingly good day-after production value coverage of tournaments, free on YouTube. Check it out! Always fun to watch, but as some folks say, rooting for Paul McBeth is like going to a casino and rooting for the house. I'm also a fan of esports, having got into Rocket League a couple years ago. It's quite interesting the difference. There are professional players there, but I've never quite understood how esports works - it feels like a VC funded Ponzi scheme that will implode some day. Like, how are all these Rocket League players getting paid? The difference, I think, with disc golf is that to play, you actually need to buy some physical things (discs), and those will eventually get beat up from hitting trees and concrete, or you'll lose them, so there's constantly people out there spending a bit of money. (Not a ton, mind you, and that's part of what I love about the sport; the vast majority of courses are free! Just a walk in a park, basically.) And so these disc manufacturers can afford to sponsor some pros and so on. I imagine the Paul McBeth deal is so big in part to be splashy and bring attention to the sport, but it's not so outlandish to me like with esports.

jartelt 5y ago

Just in case anyone reads the article or comments here and decides they want to try out disc golf, here's a tip... DO NOT go out and buy a high speed driver disc (speed >9) to use as a beginner or intermediate. You almost certainly will not be able to throw it hard enough to fly properly and it will lead to frustration, poor form, and inconsistent results. Stick with a putter, a mid-range, and maybe a fairway driver (speed 6 or 7). The speed rating on discs can be tricky for beginners. It's intuitive to think that a high speed rating on a disc means it will fly faster and further. However, a high speed rating actually means you need to throw that disc faster in order for it to fly it's proper flight path. If you do not throw a high speed driver hard enough, it will just go 100 feet and curve into the ground. Beginners and intermediates typically will throw lower speed discs farther than they would throw the high speed driver.

screye 5y ago
As someone who has never disk golfed, but skipped rocks last week after not having done it for a decade: Swinging is really hard on your shoulders. I spent a day surfing, hiking, running and skipping rocks. My pitching shoulder was the one that was most sore (and slightly hurt) the day after. Just a probable warning for anyone who has shoulder issues. (probably also bad technique)
- hnrodey 5y ago
  I've found the best warm up for disc golf is to play catch with a baseball/softball. If I'm solo then I will literally throw rocks (at the course) to get the shoulder moving.
TwoBit 5y ago
For advanced players do the 9+ discs perform better?
- hnrodey 5y ago
  The best advice I can offer is that with whatever disc(s) you have - spend time practicing with those discs away from the course. All discs fly differently and it's best to get dedicated practice with your discs.

sithlord 5y ago

Just to add (and to maybe repeat what a few have said), those who may want to start playing who never have. Although ball golf and disc golf share some of the same rules and name, don't get caught up in the trap that you need to have a bunch of discs to play. Unlike ball golf, you dont need a bunch of different discs for different distances. There are many times when you want to throw a high speed driver 100 feet, and even more times when you want to throw a putter off the tee. One could get away with a starter pack for a good while, will come with fairly light weight fairway driver, midrange and putter. If you play much you will quickly get a feeling of what might be missing from that and start filling in the gaps. You will often see people carrying around 20+ discs (I would fall into this category myself) but really if you were to look at my bag and watch me play much you'd see I probably throw the same 4-5 discs the vast majority of the time. What usually ends up happening is you want to have a duplicate or 2 of the main discs, and maybe extra putters for practicing (or more so, throwing putters vs putting putters) and then will also have some more niche discs such as a roller disc (very understable) or super overstable discs (playing in headwind, or short approach you want a skip and to move left (right hand backhand) right (right hand sidearm) quickly. But most of these things will be course dependent, and also not really mechanically useful until you have played quite a bit.

ALee 5y ago

Technically, Olympic sports are niche sports as well - the only difference is they have a giant collaboration every four years. There's nothing to say that disc golf won't be part of the olympics or bowling (addressed in the article as well)