Tag: ball golf

Why Disc Golf Is Pandemic Proof and Other Sports Are Not

by Parked, posted in Opinion, Public Health

By Josh Woods ~

Cover art A baseball dimond behind a locked gate. Photo Robert Rosales
The familiar sight of a baseball diamond behind a locked gate. Photo Robert Rosales.

Live sports are currently on pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving the $160 billion US sports industry in a tailspin. Only about half of all sporting events that were originally scheduled for 2020 will likely take place, per a new report.

While all sports will take a hit, some will weather the storm better than others. The esports industry, for instance, will probably do okay. The big stadium events are on hold, but gobs of gamers and fans are still nestled safely online.

Disc golf has a few obvious advantages in the “Don’t-Stand-So-Close-To-Me” era. Continue reading “Why Disc Golf Is Pandemic Proof and Other Sports Are Not” →

Now it is Official – Disc Golf is Enormously Popular in Finland

by Parked, posted in Finland, Grow the Sport

By Kari Toivonen ~

Cover art
The young Finnish star Henna Blomroos at the 2019 European Open. Photo: Kari Toivonen

The European Open was held in Nokia, Finland a few weeks ago. It was a fantastic battle between the best players in the world, but the comeback victory of Paul McBeth was not the only thing that made people gasp. Continue reading “Now it is Official – Disc Golf is Enormously Popular in Finland” →

Gender Divides in the Language of Disc Golf

by Parked, posted in Gender, Media

Six examples of gender bias on the disc golf course.

By Josh Woods, PhD ~

Cover art 2

The M in MPO stands for “male,” right?

MPO is an abbreviation for “male pro open,” a PDGA tournament division for professional male disc golfers. I walked around with this idea for months. Walked around knowing, without question, what the M means.

Of course, I was wrong. The M stands for “mixed,” not male. Both men and women can compete in a PDGA division that has M in the code. There is no men’s division in disc golf. Continue reading “Gender Divides in the Language of Disc Golf” →

The Future of ‘Golf’ May Not Be on the Links

by Parked, posted in Grow the Sport, Opinion
Cover photo
Photo credit: Jari Hindstroem

By Josh Woods~~

{This article appeared first in The Conversation}

Could disc golf become more popular than ball golf by 2028?

Ask disc golfers and they’ll say, “You bet – our sport is growing like crazy.”

But for most Americans, the answer is, “What’s disc golf?” And the typical ball golfer will likely respond, “No – and stop calling my sport ball golf.” Continue reading “The Future of ‘Golf’ May Not Be on the Links” →

Disc golf as social movement: A strategy for growing the sport

by Parked, posted in Community Outreach, Grow the Sport, Opinion

Is disc golf headed for the mainstream?

Last year, Steve Dodge, Director of the Disc Golf Pro Tour, predicted that disc golf would be bigger than ball golf by 2026.

Many observers share Dodge’s optimism, and there’s some evidence to support it. Continue reading “Disc golf as social movement: A strategy for growing the sport” →

Disc golf and the construction of happiness

by Parked, posted in Culture, Grow the Sport
Image by Mike Plansky
Image by Michael Plansky

It’s spring 1990. Mike Plansky is standing in a municipal park near Palo Alto, California, crouched like the Karate Kid with a footbag resting on the back of his neck. With an undulating motion, he rolls the multi-paneled pigskin up his spine and over his head. Dropping on gravity’s rainbow, the footbag suddenly stalls, impossibly, on the toe of Mike’s black and white Vans. Then, with a fluid jerk of his foot, he passes the footbag to his friend. Continue reading “Disc golf and the construction of happiness” →