You may know Fox Run Meadows(FRM) and Brewster Ridge(BR) as the hosts of the Green Mountain Championships(GMC), an Elite Series event on the DGPT circuit. You may know these courses as the host of the 2018 PDGA World Championships(Gregg Barsby took down the title in legendary fashion!). Or you may know them as the summertime…
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams,” Thoreau once said. This quote sums up the attitude of “Steady” Ed Headrick, the founding father and pioneer of disc golf. He dared to dream big and created a sport that has grown beyond comprehension. Part of this growth was the creation of the International Disc Golf…
Have you ever looked at a plot of land and thought how beautiful it would be for disc golf? It’s one of my favorite pastimes. Courses are being installed the world over as there are currently over 13,000 courses across the globe. But not all courses are created equal. I wondered about general course design…
From its initial creation in the 1970s, disc golf has grown exponentially. From the invention of the Disc Golf Pole Hole in 1975 to the development of the PDGA in 1976 — both of these feats were accomplished by “Steady” Ed Headrick. The 1970s also saw the creation of the first disc golf-specific frisbees, the first official disc golf course, and the first official disc golf company all within the first decade of its existence. But, what happened to disc golf and its creator, “Steady” Ed Headrick, since its initial creation in the 1970s? And where is disc golf heading in the future?
If you want to play disc golf you can get a three disc starter pack for $40. This is ample for players to have fun on the course and throw a variety of shots. But if you really want to get into the sport and buy discs you probably will never throw, you can pay dozens, hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a single disc. Welcome to the disc golf collector’s market. To understand this market we must first get into the minds of the collectors.
If you were lucky enough to play disc golf in the 1970s consider yourself amongst the fortunate few. You would have been there for the birth of the modern sport. This decade saw the creation of the Disc Golf Pole Hole (i.e. basket), the creation of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), the first disc golf-specific frisbees, the first official disc golf course, and the first official disc golf company, whew! But for those of us who weren’t around, there are videos and posters and stories by those who were there.
I found out about Ken “The Champ” Climo through throwing his signature line of Innova discs in the late 1990s. But at the time I didn’t know much about the man whose name graced my favorite disc. Ken Climo was known as a precision thrower with one of the best putts on tour. His competitive spirit, clutch performances, and unflappable focus made him the greatest disc golfer of all time. Climo was the originator of the modern era of disc golf and passed the baton off to our current generation of players to elevate the sport to what it is today. Let’s start back at the beginning.
Celebrities like to disc golf. Let’s just get that out in the air. While there has never been a high-profile name that has truly adopted and grown the sport, there is increasing evidence that celebrities are playing our sport. I feel the nature of disc golf makes it the perfect sport for our famous friends. Disc golf allows us to relax in nature with friends while getting exercise away from mass groups of people; what’s not to like?
Brodie Smith has a big personality. He has been a polarizing figure since his foray into disc golf in December of 2019. Like him or hate him, he has brought more people to the sport of disc golf. But is this what we really want? Let’s take a look at Smith’s journey into disc golf and why he is such a polarizing figure.
