Tag: family

Disc Golf is Fun and That’s the Most Important Thing, Ever

by Parked, posted in Culture, Participant Observation

By Josh Woods ~

Cover art
Photo Jesse Wright

I recently gave a presentation on disc golf at a sociology conference. At the end, someone asked, “What’s so important about disc golf?”

Of course, she didn’t ask the question quite like this. It was subtler and nicer, but that’s how I took it. Continue reading “Disc Golf is Fun and That’s the Most Important Thing, Ever” →

Disc Golf Is Winning Hearts and Minds, New Study Shows

by Parked, posted in Media

By Josh Woods ~

Cover art

Compared to most issues in our fury-fueled political landscape, disc golf is a blissfully uncontroversial subject of public interest.

But, if you plumb the depths of local news coverage, you will find at least some controversy over the upsides and downsides of disc golf.

The debate, when there is one, can be summarized with the following questions:

  • Does the inclusion of a disc golf course in a public park harm the natural environment, or is disc golf an environmentally friendly alternative to other, more destructive recreational activities?
  • Does the sport introduce unreasonable physical risks to participants and bystanders, or benefit public health and wellbeing?
  • Do disc golf communities encourage public intoxication, criminal behavior and community conflict, or provide safe, family-friendly recreation that deters crime in public parks and inspires community engagement, volunteerism and charity?

Continue reading “Disc Golf Is Winning Hearts and Minds, New Study Shows” →

Women, Men and Disc Golf: An interview with Valarie Jenkins

by Parked, posted in Gender, Grow the Sport

team-val

Women represent an underserved group in the disc golfer population. Per the PDGA, between 1999 and 2015, the share of women among PDGA members has stayed within a range of 6.9 percent to 7.7 percent. A few surveys drawn from PDGA-centric populations have reported similar or lower estimates of the number of women who play disc golf. Continue reading “Women, Men and Disc Golf: An interview with Valarie Jenkins” →