By Chris Bawden ~
Last April, Parked published an article claiming that disc golf is pandemic proof and offered preliminary evidence. In this article, I’ll take a deeper dive into the 2020 data and show that participation in disc golf did expand, but certain areas of the sport have been impacted in other ways.
Continue reading “How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Disc Golf in 2020”By Josh Woods ~
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”
By Josh Woods ~
What makes something funny? Where does fun come from? Is disc golf fun when it’s funny?
Part of me wants to answer these questions by reviewing scientific research on humor. But then, that might not be much fun.
As the poet E. B. White put it, “Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the purely scientific mind.” Continue reading “Bad Santa 2.0 Spreads True Meaning of Disc Golf”
ESPN’s Recap of McBeth’s Historic Round Doesn’t Make Sense, But It’s Mindbogglingly Beautiful
By Josh Woods ~
Not since Bob Dylan wrote “Desolation Row” has poetry like this flowed from the gumball world of popular culture.
Not since Matthew read W. H. Auden’s “Stop All the Clocks” in Four Weddings and a Funeral have the popular and the poetic been paired so neatly.
On the ninth of July 2018, having heard news of disc golf’s greatest round in history, ESPN’s SportsCenter held the nascent sport in its arms, raised it to the sky like Rafiki holding up baby Simba, bathed it in articulate spot light, and jammed Shakespeare in the background. Continue reading ““Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair””
Hope is a dangerous thing when you have too much of it.
According to a recent report, the Disc Golf World Tour (DGWT) is closing shop and will not be holding events in 2018. At first glance, the gloomy announcement suggests that the DGWT had more hope than it needed.
The quality and professionalism of DGWT events were widely praised by players, fans and media outlets. To some, the DGWT stumble signals uncertainty for the future of global disc golf.
But even as DGWT’s plans for 2018 dissolve, the disc golf forecast for Europe is favorable, and DGWT Director Jussi Meresmaa is sure to continue his work on one of the sport’s most remarkable success stories: Finland. Continue reading “The Nordic Anomaly: Finland as a Disc Golf World Leader”
Americans love to compete. And once we’re done competing, we like telling people about it. Sports stats, ranking systems and top ten lists are the elementary particles of American culture. Disc golfers may be more laid back than most Americans, but we’re really good at keeping track of who’s hot and who’s not.
One of the most important stats in disc golf involves the number of courses by state. Everyone wants to know which states have the most disc golf courses so we can plan our next trip or relocation. Continue reading “A rating of ‘Disc Golf Meccas’: A state-by-state comparison of disc golf activity”
Parked 