How Much Has Disc Golf Grown in 2019?
I loved writing this topic about The 2019 State of Disc Golf Growth because I myself am new to the sport of disc golf. I have heard of disc golf before, but never actually had gone out and played disc golf. I decided to see how the sport has grown from 2018 to 2019. As a newcomer to the sport, I think this article was helpful to me to know what I can do as a new disc golf player to help generate more popularity for disc golf brands and for the sport.
Most of us are familiar with the popular hashtag #GrowDiscGolf).
The shared belief behind the rallying cry began with the first disc golf pioneers and became an integral part of the sport’s very personality as it spread to the next generation of new players, and then the next. The conviction that we have a duty to share the sport is encoded in the DNA of every die-hard player and has been for decades, long before the advent of social media.
The 2019 State of Disc Golf survey asked several questions that sought to measure and identify the details of this most singular aspect of the sport – a topic which is finally attracting some well-deserved attention. Disc golf’s continuous and quick growth is obvious as we had more responses than the year before. Disc golfers across the globe are doing their part to grow the sport and with an increase of almost 10% in responses in our survey, you let us know what you’re doing to grow disc golf.
GROWTH
In just the past three years we saw that nearly 14% of respondents had heard about disc golf for the first time. Compare that to when respondents actually played disc golf for the first time and that number is up to over 53%! We did see a slight dip in growth from 2017 (19.2%) to 2018 (17.4%).
Our survey also showed that disc golfers are doing an amazing job at sharing the sport with others. 85% of our disc golfers have shared equipment, ran a disc golf league, or helped install a course physically. Last year, this number was at 88%, so again a slight dip in growth, but players are doing an amazing job at sharing the sport with their friends and family.
DISC GOLF COURSES
Disc Golfers still have trouble growing the sport because the lack of courses available made to us. In our survey 63% said there were no permanent courses added to their area, and 30% said only one course was added to their local area. The number of courses added from last year to this year in our survey dropped about 10%! There is still growth being made but with well over half our respondents not having a new course built in their area means there’s still room to grow.
Most of our disc golfers do have access to multiple courses. 63% of our respondents said they have between 3-6 courses in their local area. The lack of new courses built
could help explain why disc golf didn’t grow as much in 2018 as in 2017. What improvements do you all want to see in the growth of the sport in the year 2019? What are you going to do to continue to help Grow Disc Golf? Comment below and let us know.
What improvements do you all want to see in the growth of the sport in the year 2019? What are you going to do to continue to help Grow Disc Golf?
