Tag: skateboarding

Chapter 5: Ed Headrick’s Most Influential Achievement Wasn’t the Frisbee

by Parked, posted in Rise of An Unknown Sport

Permanent human-made infrastructures are the key to growth

By Josh Woods ~

WATCH THE video ESSAY HERE:

Chapter 5 Video Essay

Ed Headrick’s importance to disc golf is not a subject of debate. I mean, the guy perfected the flying disc, invented the pole hole, installed the first formal disc golf course and founded the Professional Disc Golf Association. And that’s only the first page of his resume.

But which of these deeds most influenced the rise of competitive disc golf? Now this is a question worth debating. As I often do when I wonder something, I recently took to the internet and posted a poll on Twitter.

Continue reading “Chapter 5: Ed Headrick’s Most Influential Achievement Wasn’t the Frisbee” →

Chapter 1: Disc Golf, Like Paul McBeth, Is an Underdog in the World of Sports

by Parked, posted in Rise of An Unknown Sport

By Josh Woods ~

Photo PDGA

Watch the essay here:

Chapter 1 Video Version

Back in 2017, Paul McBeth dropped a sympathy bomb on social media. He was like, check me out. I’m only five and a half feet tall and I weigh less than a panda. I’ll never be the favorite in sports. I’m the OG underdog. Send me some love.

Of course, he didn’t say it quite like that, and he had just dropped out of the Green Mountain Championship due to an injury that was only going sideways. And so, his fans did send love.

Continue reading “Chapter 1: Disc Golf, Like Paul McBeth, Is an Underdog in the World of Sports” →

Three Reasons Brodie Smith Could Be A Game Changer for Disc Golf

by Parked, posted in Grow the Sport, Opinion

By Josh Woods ~

Cover art

If you go back to late November 2019 on Brodie Smith’s Twitter feed and scan the posts until December 27, this is what you’ll find:

  • Pro football
  • Pro football
  • Pro football
  • Pro football
  • Pro football
  • More pro football
  • Ball golf
  • Naked dude on roller skates
  • College football
  • John C. Reilly
  • Flaming baton twirler
  • Ball golf
  • Ball golf
  • Ball golf
  • More ball golf
  • Just, like, tons of ball golf stuff (and without Bill Murray … yeesh)
  • Ball golf
  • Ball golf
  • A nodding Robert Redford in Jeremiah Johnson looking like Zach Galifianakis
  • Ball golf
  • Cool Runnings
  • Excellent puffin shirt
  • Over-the-top wedding video
  • Nostalgic Christmas card photo

And then this:

1 Disc golf journey begins

Wait, what? Continue reading “Three Reasons Brodie Smith Could Be A Game Changer for Disc Golf” →

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” →

The Disc Golf Revolution Will Not Be Televised (But It Will Be Fun)

by Parked, posted in Grow the Sport, Social Movement

New Study Examines the Moneyless Rise of Disc Golf

By Josh Woods ~

Cover photo
Photo by Ajeet Mestry

Three years ago, I quietly jettisoned my sociological research agenda on terrorism and immigration and began thinking about the growth of disc golf and other emerging sports. The two-part question that has held my curiosity longest is this one:

Is the popularity of disc golf growing, and if so, why? Continue reading “The Disc Golf Revolution Will Not Be Televised (But It Will Be Fun)” →

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” →