Tag: USDGC

It’s Never Too Late to Fall in Love with Disc Golf

by Parked, posted in Participant Observation

By Robert H. Hooker ~

Cover art
Robert Hooker at the 2019 USDGC. Photo Robert Hooker.

I don’t remember the exact day or year, but I do remember the exact spot where I first tried disc golf.

Hole 7, Winthrop Gold.

Roughly 10 years ago, I arrived at Winthrop with my son, an avid disc golfer. At his insistence, we stopped at the course during a weekend trip to see family in South Carolina. The United States Disc Golf Championship was to be played there in a few weeks and he wanted to take on one of disc golf’s most iconic courses. Continue reading “It’s Never Too Late to Fall in Love with Disc Golf” →

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” →

Rise of an Unknown Sport (Part 3)

by Parked, posted in Culture, Grow the Sport

Disc Golf as Lifestyle Sport

By Josh Woods, PhD ~

Wheaton books
In this installment of “Rise,” I examine disc golf through the lens of Belinda Wheaton’s research on lifestyle sports.

“At least give the dog a chance to catch it first” – N.B.

“Sports is a reallllly loose term nowadays” – J.C.

“Not a real sport” – J.L.

These were just a few of the snippy comments posted on ESPN’s Facebook page when the media giant uploaded a video clip of Eagle McMahon’s 380-foot field ace at the Glass Blown Open in April 2018. By the end of June, the clip had received more than 14,000 likes, 5,200 shares, 2.3 million views and 4,000 comments. Continue reading “Rise of an Unknown Sport (Part 3)” →