Author: Ted Hegemann

Ted is the Chief Writer at Infinite Discs. He is responsible for the State of Disc Golf Survey articles and most of the "best discs" posts. Ted runs all kinds of local disc golf leagues and tournaments and tournaments in Northern Utah.

Introducing Dino Discs

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We’ve travelled around the world during this blog series to introduce you to disc golf companies that might not be as mainstream as the larger manufacturers. For this one, we head home. In this case, ‘home’ refers to Logan, Utah. Logan happens to be the home of Infinite Discs. And Dino Discs. Sort of.

Logan is located in Cache Valley Utah. It is about 90 minutes north of Salt Lake, and less than an hour from Ogden, home of the 2021 PDGA World Championships! Cache Valley is clean, quiet place that is surrounded by mountains. There is nearby fishing, hunting, hiking, two ski resorts, and as of this writing, not a single 18-hole disc golf course in the valley. Cache Valley is also where you’ll find Dino Discs.

Interesting History

To tell the full history of Dino Discs, we have to take a little journey back in time and place. In our journey we’ll learn about a few different disc golf companies, and pay homage to a passed disc golfer. And we’ll meet several people who had a common goal: to grow the sport. The time we will start with is a little over a decade ago. The place is Illinois.

Winding Back the Clock

In 2010, long time disc golfer Dan Pastore received PDGA approval for several new molds for his new, Illinois-based company, ABC Discs. He saw the growth of the sport he loved, disc golf, and knew that there was a need for new manufacturers to help with the growing demand for discs. Dan combined his love of disc golf with his desire to find a career that fit him, and ABC Discs was born.

During the next ten years, Dan grew the company and helped grow the sport. He added another mold to his catalogue, and continued to promote disc golf. Sadly, last November Dan Pastore, PDGA #4320, passed away. With his passing, the future of ABC Discs was on hold.

Resurrecting Old Molds

Last year, in addition to Dan’s passing, the owner of Zing Mini Discs, Craig Myers, sent some discs to Infinite Discs that were made using ABC molds, but with the plastic he used for his minis. Although the discs were too light for a majority of the mainstream disc golf market, Infinite Discs’ Vice President Todd Durrant thought that the discs would be good for kids or people who can’t throw heavier discs.

With all of the disc shortages last year, Infinite was eager to get any discs possible, so they ordered a few hundred of the light ABC molds from Zing to test the market and see how they sold. Since the discs were primarily for kids and dinosaurs are popular among kids, the decision was made to call the discs “Dino Discs.” The molds would be named after dinosaurs.

Success!

The order of discs arrived. Some dinosaur shape images were licensed and Kesler Martin, the manager of Infinite Discs’ stamping department, touched them up for the simple stamps. They were added to the Infinite Discs website. Much to their surprise, the discs sold out quickly. Another batch was ordered then stamped, and they sold out as fast as they were put online. Infinite Discs was surprised to discover that their was such a high demand for ultra-light discs.

Since Zing was busy with their own business during the pandemic, they were not able to keep up with the demand for the light discs. It was during a conversation with Gateway Discs’ Dave McCormack that he offered a contribution to the Dino Discs lineup from Gateway. They could also make ultra-lightweight discs using some of their easy-to-throw molds. With the ten total molds sold under the Dino Discs name, five came from ABC molds and five came from Gateway molds.

With Gateway operating out of Missouri, Zing Mini Discs in Indiana, ABC discs in Illinois, and Infinite Discs based in Utah, Dino Discs is a multi-state disc golf collaboration, showing how several companies can work together to create a product that is needed in the disc golf community. Since there are multiple companies involved in the production, there are different ways to look at the most popular plastics. The best-selling molds are a little easier to analyze.

The Best of Dino

The top molds are the Spinosaurus, Pterodactylus, and Brontosaurus. Those are a control driver, distance driver, and midrange, respectively. The best-selling plastics are broken down by manufacturers. From Zing/ABC Discs, the Egg Shell Plastic is the best-selling. For Gateway Discs, the Extinct plastic is number one. Both of these plastics are colorful and sparkly, adding to their appeal.

When it comes to the PDGA, Dino Discs and their molds present an interesting case. None of the discs offered by Dino are currently approved by the PDGA for use in a sanctioned tournament. Since all of the molds have already been approved when ABC and Gateway originally released the molds, Dino Discs is hoping to get the discs approved without having to resubmit the molds and pay a fee. They are currently working out the details with the PDGA. Until the molds get approved, they will remain unapproved to play in a sanctioned event.

Moving Forward

What does the future look like for Dino Discs? Although there aren’t immediate plans to release new molds, there is a possibility that more could be added to the line later. Right now, the goal is to make enough of the discs fill the existing demand. Infinite Discs has started selling the Dino Discs line to other retailers who have found the same need in their communities and among their customers. You can ask your favorite retailer to stock these fun, lightweight discs and Infinite Discs will gladly support their efforts.

Dino Discs has certainly tapped into a market that wants and needs light, easy to throw discs. The rapid sales and increased interest is evidence of the need for this kind of disc. Kids like the discs, too. One of the sons of the owner of Infinite even got his first birdie with the Spinosaurus!

Although we’ve learned in this blog about Dino Discs and its success in the disc golf world, the brand has a unique distinction: It really isn’t a single company! It’s really a brand made out of experimental products by four different collaborating disc golf companies. That’s the power of some good ideas!

 

Check out Infinite Discs’ line of Dino Discs here:

https://infinitediscs.com/category/Dino-Discs

Check out Dino Discs here:

https://dinodiscs.com

 

 

Comment About Dino Discs

 

We want to hear from you about DIno Discs!

If you or someone you know has thrown a Dino Disc, which have you thrown?

If you haven’t tried one yet, which would you like for yourself, or someone who needs light discs?

 

 

Last Week: Yikun Discs

 

Last week we looked at Yikun Discs. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:

Brian D

Mathew S

Kenneth E

Congrats! We’ll ship your disc out shortly.

Factors Influencing Disc Purchases

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Disc golf discs on racks for sale

The State of Disc Golf 2021

Factors in Buying a Disc

Three weeks ago we looked at the number of discs that we bought in 2020. On average, we bought around 25 discs each. For the record, according to the survey, we bought over 157,000 discs last year! Of all the discs sold, what factors went into deciding which disc we would buy? This week we’ll take a look at those factors and how heavily they influence our buying decisions. Let’s look at the factors in the order they appeared in the survey. In the survey, we listed the factors, then gave participants the option to choose how much that factor affected our purchases. The options were:

  • Don’t Care At All
  • Not Very Important
  • Semi Important
  • Very Important

 

Obviously, when it comes to buying discs, there are many things that each of us look for. Sometimes we have to sacrifice some of those preferences in order to get a disc. Or, we decide that the available discs don’t check enough of our preference boxes, and we don’t buy until we find a disc that meets more factors. Other times the stars align and we find exactly what we’re looking for. Let’s break it down to the different factors and see how we rate them.

Manufacturer

According to last year and this year’s  survey, only about 5% of us only throw discs from only one manufacturer. An overwhelming majority of us have a mixed bag. That being said, most of us still care about which manufacturer’s disc we will throw. Roughly 82% of us thought it was at least semi-important. That leaves about 18% of us who don’t care much, or at all, about the manufacturer.

I suspect that much of the loyalty we exhibit is because of our familiarity with certain brands. We throw what we know. When it comes to quality discs, even the smaller brands sell discs that are high quality. That doesn’t really matter though if we stick with brands we already know about. We know the flight numbers of the brands we like, and are familiar with the feel of their molds and plastics, so we stick with those. Here is the graph of the results:

Plastic

For most of us, the feel of a disc ranks pretty high on our personal hierarchy of disc factors. Durability is also a reason people give for selecting certain plastics. Flight stability is another reason we gravitate toward one plastic or another. Some of us even change plastics we throw based on the season. Or, more specifically, the temperature we’re playing in. All of the above are factors as to what plastic we throw. According to the survey, nearly all of us, 97% of us, rate plastic as at least semi-important. 65% said it is very important. Here are the numbers:

 

Flight numbers

 

When I first thought about the importance of flight numbers in selecting discs, I thought that nearly everyone would rank that factor highly in the factors that influence our disc buying. I mean, who doesn’t care what the flight number are?! But, then I thought about it pragmatically and thought that it’s really the flight of the disc that we are buying a mold for, not the numbers assigned to its flight. How many of us have multiples of the same mold and even plastic, with each one having a different flight. Whether it is wear, weight, or variations in the manufacturing making the difference, we all know that the flight numbers might not be an indication of the actual flight of the disc.

However, even knowing all that, I think most of us still look at the flight numbers to guide us to the general flight we are looking for. It’s really all we have, short of testing each individual disc before we buy it. It shouldn’t be surprising that the importance is so high.  According to the survey, over 89% of us indicated that it is semi-to-very important. Here is the graph:

Color

It was when I threw my tie-dyed colored Firebird in the reeds at Blind Gulley disc golf course in Providence, UT that I started caring about the color of the discs I was throwing. I really liked how good my Firebird looked, but when I couldn’t find the disc after 20 minutes of looking, I vowed to always choose bright colors to throw. Bright pink is my first choice. Blaze orange is my second choice. Orange can cause trouble in the fall, but most of the year it’s a good color when you’re looking for a lost disc.

I’ve even owned a jet-black disc that was simply beautiful. But I would never want to throw a black disc again. The first time they land in a bush, they disappear in the shadows. That’s where a bright pink or orange disc really shines. Yeah, it’s nice to get a variety of colors. But, I would rather save time hunting for discs by bagging easy to find colors. Here’s how the question was answered in the survey:

Weight

Most of my friends that are above a certain skill level like to throw max weight discs. It’s easier for them to control the disc to get the flight they want for a given hole. Most of my friends above a certain age like to throw discs that are quite a bit less than max weight. Generating the arm speed is easier, and sometimes only possible, if the disc is lighter than max. Based on those and other scenarios (beginners, power throwers, injured players, etc.), it’s easy to see the importance of weight in determining which discs we buy. The survey results indicate that weight is important to most of us. Over 93% of us rank weight as an important factor. Here are the numbers:

Stamp/Artwork

I like this factor for a couple reasons. First, I collect discs and have bought quite a few simply because of a cool or unusual stamp. Second, I see a lot of people interested in a particular disc because of the stamp. Yes, I would guess that good looking stamps and artwork, outside of collecting, is just a nice bonus for most people. But, a lot of us seek out cool stamps, so I figured a decent number of people would indicate that stamps are important.

It turns out that only 15.6% of us think the stamp or artwork is very important. However, more than 58% of us think it is semi or very important. I’m curious to see if the Collectability factor has similar numbers, but first, here are the results of the survey question:

Collectability

 

It turns out that, even though most of us consider the stamp as something that would influence our decision to buy a disc, we are looking at the stamp from an aesthetic point of view, rather than a collector point of view. According to the survey, only 17% of us consider the collectability of a disc as an important factor. Nearly half of us don’t care at all about a discs collectability. Here are the results:

Resale Value

The final factor we asked about was how much we consider the possible resale value when we’re buying discs. It’s no surprise that few of us buy a disc with the thought that we can flip it later for a profit. Only 8.5% of us consider resale value at least semi-important. Judging from the after-market sales web sites, quite a few of us will take advantage of opportunities to make a buck from discs that are hot at the moment (Sexton Firebirds, for example.) But, that is just a small part of the total number of disc golfers. Most of us just buy discs for utility. Here are the results of the Resale Value question:

The factors that determine our disc purchases can be broken down to three groupings. First, the primary reasons we buy a disc. That would be the factors most important to the flight of the disc. Plastic type, weight and the flight numbers. The secondary factors would be those that are important, but less than so than the flight factors. Manufacturer, disc color, and the stamp/artwork on the disc. And the tertiary factors would be the discs collectability and resale value. Here is a list of the factors ranked by importance (Semi and very important):

 

Check back next week for another look at the 2021 State of Disc Golf

 

Professionals and Tournaments

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Photo courtesy JomezPro.com

Us And The Pros

The next best thing to being out on the course playing disc golf is watching the top pros in the sport play the game. There are many reasons to watch them play. It is so amazing to watch the lead card at a major tournament execute shots that require precision angles, impeccable timing, or gobs of power. Watching a skilled professional disc golfer ply their trade is a thing of beauty. Watching a skilled professional disc golfer shank a drive or drill a tree is also comforting. There is kind of a bonding feeling to see someone we admire because of their high level of talent, make the same mistakes that we do on the course. It’s also educational to watch them throw, then use that knowledge to improve our form.

For whatever reason, a lot of us choose to watch videos of tournaments. Sometimes we watch them live, committing three or more hours so we can see things in real time. Others of us prefer post-produced video, which is video that is edited so that you get to watch the throws and putts, but not all of the walking and waiting in between. Even if we like videos, many of us enjoy attending tournaments in person, too. But, a certain percentage of us are content to just play the game and not watch the tournaments, nor do we have pros that we follow. Let’s look at the different ways we consume disc golf tournaments.

Consuming Media

 

The question we posed was, ‘In which of the following ways did you follow professional disc golf in 2020?’ While Covid19 affected the tournament scene last year, there were still a lot of tournaments that were played and filmed. Here is a breakdown of the results:

 

 

Photo courtesy JomezPro.com

Only 2 percent of us say that we don’t follow disc golf, while 93.6 % of us say that we’ve watched post-produced tournament videos! A contributing factor to the large number of people who watch tournaments on YouTube is the high level of video quality we are seeing in the sport. Production crews like Jomez, Central Coast Disc Golf, Gatekeeper Media, The Disc Golf Guy, Par Save Production, GK Pro and others have taken video production to another level. We can now watch tournament rounds often within a day of when they were played, usually with commentary, replays, disc tracking, etc. Throw in production companies such as Ace Run Productions and Disc Golf Examiner, who offer video of local tournaments, and it’s really a good time to be a disc golf junkie!

Watching post-produced videos is easily the most popular way to watch disc golf videos. Half of us watched a tournament broadcast on ESPN or CBS Sports. That is impressive when you think that only a few tournaments were shown from those companies.

Watch Live or Watch Later

 

When it comes to watching tournaments life, and impressive 45% of us are willing to carve out enough time in the day to watch a live broadcast. I suspect a large number of those people are watching at work, which makes the decision a little easier. More people indicated they watch tournaments live than watch live scoring. A little under 43% of us watched live scoring last year. While nowhere near the number of people that watch post-produced videos, which is still a lot of people who want the tournament results instantly.

One survey result that surprised me a bit was how many people watch disc golf instructional videos. Over 76% of us watch those videos. There are so many good teachers and videos out there, and I am such a fan of these videos, that I thought that number would be higher. If you want to get a little disc golf coaching, check out some of the great online videos.

The final statistic in this segment is how many people attended tournaments as a spectator. The survey results indicate 11.5% of us watched a tournament in person. That is down quite a bit from 27.6% the year before, due to having fewer tournaments to attend and more restrictions at the tournaments that were held. Here is a graph of the results of the previous year’s survey results. Note: we did not ask about CBS and ESPN due to those companies not having a broadcast the year before.

 

 

One interesting survey result was that 94% of us said that we watch tournaments on YouTube, yet 13.2% of us said (in a separate question) we don’t follow professional disc golfer. I suppose we could be watching strictly for the love of the sport. For me, I’ve really started following certain players because I get to watch them on video or at a tournament. Here is the results of the question:

 

Choosing Favorites

 

For those of us who do follow professional disc golfers, most of us have a few favorites that we really like to watch and cheer for the win. We are fortunate in our sport at this point in time to have professionals that are so accessible. If you attend most high-level tournaments, you are rubbing shoulders with the best in the sport. They are usually happy to sign a disc or chat (if they have time). So, we asked in our survey who were are favorites. We let people choose more than one, since most of us like a few pros. Taking the top spot is none other than… Simon Lizotte. Over 18% of us chose him as one of our favorites. In second is Paul McBeth. Paige Pierce was the best ranked FPO player, with 7.5% of us choosing her. Here are the top 20 places:

 

 

To compare, let’s look at a graph of the favorite disc golfers from the previous year’s survey results. In it, we see Simon and McBeth in the top two spots again. And Paige is in fourth again. Two changes in the top five are that Kevin Jones and Eagle McMahon are now in, and Nate Sexton and James Conrad dropped a little. Here are the top 20:

 

 

Tune in next week when we’ll look at more survey results.

Introducing Yikun Discs

Infinite Discs carries over 55 brands of discs! We started this blog series to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. This week we are on the road again to introduce Yikun Discs.

The East China Sea borders Japan, Korea, and the East Coast of China. On the shores of the Sea sits the port city of Ningbo, China. It is home to the Tian Yi Ge library. The library was built in 1561, and is one of the oldest in the country. Ningbo is also home to disc golf manufacturer, Yikun Discs.

Six Schoolmates

When six university schoolmates were introduced to disc sports while in school, little did they know it would lead to starting a disc business. The group started playing ultimate frisbee and became the first Chinese ultimate players. It was during their final year in school that they decided to start a company whose mission was to promote flying disc sports and introduce a healthier lifestyle to the youth of the country.

In 2010, Yikun got involved in disc golf after Eric Xu learned more about the sport from some European disc golfers. Since then, Yikun has launched the first PDGA sanctioned tournament and opened the first disc golf course in China. Yikun became the first Asian company to get approved by the PDGA, World Flying Disc Federation, and USA Ultimate.  They currently ship discs to over 40 countries.

First Mold For Yikun

The first disc golf mold approved by the PDGA for Yikun was the View in 2013. The View is an understable fairway driver. The next year they added the Wings and Claws, which are mid/hybrids and putters respectively. Since then they have added numerous mold to give disc golfers a variety of flight shapes.

Yikun currently offers four different plastic types. They have the Tiger line, which is their base plastic. Then they have three premium plastics: Phoenix line, Dragon line, and their Tortoise line, which is used on their overmold discs. The Phoenix line is a durable translucent plastic similar to Champion or Lucid plastic. Dragon line has more grip and is a little softer, similar to Gold Line. The Tortoise overmold plastic can be found on the Twin Swords mold, the Tomahawk, and the Meteor Hammer. The plastics they sell the most are the Phoenix and Dragon lines.

 

 

Coming Soon

Yikun tries to introduce new products to the market every year. Coming up this year or next, Yikun will be introducing two new plastics to the market. They be offering the Swift line and Soflex line. The Swift line is a light plastic, making it good for beginners. It even floats in water. Soflex also floats in water and is light, and is also very flexible.

In addition to the new plastics, Yikun also has plans for more new molds and some new accessories. The details of the molds aren’t available yet. However, Yikun indicates they will be releasing a new bag design. They will also be releasing an interactive electronic version of a basket.

 

Disc Golf In The Olympics?

Yikun has not started a sponsor program yet. Instead, they focus on growing the sport by making it available to school kids and hosting events. They would like to see enough growth that the popularity of the sport might make it a future Olympic event.

The philosophy of Yikun Discs is that disc golf is much more than a sport. They look at it as a lifestyle. And they believe it is a lifestyle that connects people from different nations and ideologies. Their hope is that more people will include programs with disc golf tournaments that promote international communications and cultural learning.  If we can make the world a little smaller and more connected through disc golf, that sounds like a pretty sport. And an awesome lifestyle!

Top Selling Yikun

Below is a chart of Infinite’s top-selling Yikun molds. It’s interesting to see all of their overmolds in the top selling discs. Taking first is the straight-flying midrange, the Tomahawk. In a tie for second is the overstable putter, the Hammer (Chui), and the high-speed, stable driver, the Twin Swords. Here are the top ten molds and the percent of sales.

Comment About Yikun Discs

We want to hear from you about Yikun Discs! Let us know about your experience with Yikun.

If you’ve thrown a Yikun Disc, which have you thrown?

If you haven’t tried one yet, which one would most likely make it into your bag?

Last Week: CHEENGZ

Last week we looked at CHEENGZ. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:

Paul K

Justin H

Kevin

Congrats! We’ll ship your disc out shortly.

 

How Many Discs Do We Own

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2021 State of Disc Golf

 

 

Buying And Holding Discs

 

One of my favorite survey subjects to write about is questions about the numbers of discs that we own and how many we purchased the prior year. I’ve been buying discs regularly since I started playing. Like a lot of us, initially I bought discs like a lot of new disc golfers: because they were ‘high speed’, ‘long distance’, or ‘super long distance’. After gaining a little more experience, I started choosing my discs by their flight ratings. Then I moved into choosing plastic types that felt good in my hand. Finally, I started buying discs just to collect. (I’ll be doing an upcoming blog about disc collecting) Not everyone has the same reasons for buying or keeping a disc.

Having been in the disc golf business for a few years, and a regular player for about 9 years, I’ve seen people whose opinions about buying discs run the gamut from people who only throw a couple discs, most of which were either found or were a gift, to those people who are constantly trying out new discs and eager to throw the latest, greatest mold. I’ve seen customers spend an hour in a disc golf store, pouring over the inventory looking for the new discs. And other customers who would be looking for a specific flight, but didn’t care about brand or plastic, and would usually take the first mold suggested.

 

How Many Do We Buy

 

This blog post will shed a little light on our buying habits for last year. And it will show how many discs we are keeping in our possession. We can then look back at past year’s results and see if those habits have changed. We will also look at the number of people who buy discs for collecting, and see if that number is trending.

Let’s start with how many discs we own. The answers in the survey maxed out at 200+. I think I’ve been selecting the ‘200+’ option for about five or six years. Part of that is because I started collecting years ago. (For next year’s survey, I would like to include a question of how many of our discs will never be thrown.) But, I also like to try new discs. Let’s see how many discs we have squirrelled away in our closets, bedrooms, hanging on walls, or hiding in the trunks of our cars.

The question we asked was, ‘How many discs do you own?’. Here are the results:

Nearly a quarter of us, 24%, have over a hundred discs! As the chart shows, about 43% of us carry between 21-60 discs. That seems reasonable to be, based on the disc golfers in our club. If you carry 15-18 discs when you play, keep some backups at home, and have kept discs that you no longer throw or have aced with and want to keep as a trophy, you would likely have between 21-60 discs.

Let’s see if that percentage has changed over the last couple of years that we asked the questions. Here are the numbers for 2019:

We can see changes in individual categories, so let’s clump some of the groups together and look at the data. Considering people who have 100+ discs, we see a little more than 26% of us own more than 100 discs. In contemplating why we would have fewer discs now than two years ago, I would have guessed that more of us were hanging on to discs and buying whatever we could. I figured that discs, like toilet paper, would be hoarded due to the diminished supply on the shelves. Disc golf suppliers couldn’t keep up with the growing demand and many molds would fly off the shelf as soon as we would put them online. But, the hoarder mentality didn’t kick in with discs last year.

The other range we talked about for last year was the 21-60 disc category. For 2019, this group was a little lower at about 40%. In 2017 and 2015, that range was similar, around 41%.

Here are the charts for 2017 and 2015:

 

Let’s turn our focus on how many new discs we added to our collection last year. Our survey question asked, ‘How many new discs did you purchase via retail (at a store or online) in 2020?’ Here are the results:

Nearly 46% of us bought between 10 and 29 discs last year. That’s about where I would fall. A disc or so per month is not bad (I keep telling myself). A small percentage of us bought zero new discs last year, while a slightly higher percent, 3.3%, bought 100+ discs! We were especially interested to compare last year to previous years to see how the pandemic and limited supplies affected our disc golf buying habits. Let’s compare last year to two previous years.

If we look at the three different groups of numbers mentioned above, in two of the categories we can see the numbers rose from 2017 to 2019, then fell in 2021. The ‘100+’ discs purchased category was different. It actually rose from 2019. Let’s look at people who bought less than 10 discs last year, the people who bought 10-29 discs, and the people who bought 100+.

 

Less than 10 discs 10 to 29 discs 100+ discs
2017 29.1% 2017 40.3% 2017 2.2%
2019 35.4% 2019 43.1% 2019 3.1%
2021 29.8% 2021 36.2% 2021 3.3%

 

Between the pandemic and the supply shortage, people were simply not able to have access to as many discs to buy. The unprecedented growth rate for the sport certainly contributed to the lower number of discs available to purchase. (To put the growth in perspective, there was a nearly 84% increase in new PDGA memberships last year! From 2016 to 2019, there was only a 34.5% increase!) To get a better idea about our disc buying for last year, let’s look at another question in the survey.

We asked people ‘How did Covid-19 affect your disc golf purchases in 2020?’ Here are the results:

In the survey, participants were able to select more than one answer, since more than one answer could apply. According to the survey, nearly a third of us purchased the same number of discs last year, regardless of COVID19. Nearly a fourth of us would have bought more had supplies not been affected. There were 26% of us that were able to spend a little more than usual, because there were playing more and had the means to do so.

Not everyone was in the same financial boat as those who bought the same or more discs. Nine percent of us were not able to buy as many discs, for financial reasons. It is fortunate that the number wasn’t higher.

Buying More Or Less Than Usual

 

It was interesting to me that during all of the supply shortages, over half of us bought the same number of discs or more than the year before. I wonder how many discs people were buying that weren’t the ones they wanted, but were available. One more statistic I wanted to check out was whether the number of discs we buy each year was increasing or decreasing. I picked a delineating number of 30 to compare. It looks like the number of people who buy less than 30 discs per year is decreasing, while those who buy 30 or more is increasing.

under 30 discs 30+ discs
2017 82.8% 17.2%
2019 77.4% 22.6%
2021 75.6% 24.4%

 

 

In examining all of these numbers in light of the strange year we had as a business, it’s interesting to see that, despite a supply shortage, there were a ton more disc golfers playing, while a majority of them buying the same or more than usual. It looks like the people that buy the most discs are buying even more. And those who buy the least are buying fewer.

As 2021 unfolds we will be scrambling to get as many discs as possible, while trying to keep up with the growing demand. It’s not a bad place to be in as a business, just challenging that we can’t meet the desires of our customers. As the supply levels out a little, we should have better data to see how many discs people are buying under normal circumstances. Then again, maybe ‘normal circumstances’ will never exist for a long time.

We would love to hear your thoughts on buying discs in 2020. Were you able to get the discs you wanted? If not, did you try new discs that were available? Let us know in the comments.

Feel free to email with suggestions or comments: ted@infinitediscgolf.com

Check out Infinite Discs here: www.infinitediscs.com

 

 

Introducing CHEENGZ

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CHEENGZ

Infinite Discs carries over 55 brands of discs! We started this blog series to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. This week come back to the USA to check out CHEENGZ.

 

In the northern part of Georgia lies the city of Atlanta. Among its many suburbs is the city of Marietta, Georgia. Marietta is near the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, site of an 1864 Civil War battle. And it is home to disc golf manufacturer, CHEENGZ.

Southern Folks

 

CHEENGZ was started in 2016 by canine disc competitor turned disc golfer, Troy Burns. The sound the disc makes when hitting the chains was the inspiration for the brand.  Troy came up with idea of spelling it ‘CHEENGZ’ during a round of disc golf. Troy and his wife, Karen, had been entrepreneurs since 1997, running a variety of businesses, from online marketing to importing chandeliers from the Czech Republic. With his new found love of disc golf, Troy initially started a company selling sportswear for disc golfers. He was bothered by the fact that companies selling shoes and apparel to disc golfers without promoting the sport.

© Karen Images 2016 Participant at a CHEENGZ parent/child event

In addition to selling apparel, Troy also wanted to use CHEENGZ to grow the sport. He set goals to add baskets to parks, and improve existing courses. One example of improving courses was Frog Rock disc golf course in Austell, Georgia. CHEENGZ helped the city buy and install 18 additional baskets and an additional tee pad, giving disc golfers plenty of options for play.

After the course improvements, Troy starting working to grow the sport by holding parent/child doubles disc golf tournaments. The clever format ensures that parents are involved in the sport with their child. Only the youth member of the team is allowed to throw from the tee pad. After the drive, the parents can then contribute to the team effort. The events were hampered by COVID19 restrictions last year, but are already being scheduled for this year.

 

Reconnecting With A World Champion

 

Hyperflite’s Peter Bloeme, 1976 World Championships

Although Troy was retired from canine disc sports, he went to the Skyhoundz World Canine Disc Championship where he reconnected with World Frisbee and World Canine Disc champion, Peter Bloeme. (Incidentally, Peter’s PDGA number is #123!) Troy ended up doing some video production for Peter and floated the idea of working together to make a golf disc. Much to Troy’s surprise, Peter told him he already had one!

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Bloeme had been involved in disc sports since he was a kid. Along the way he got involved in canine disc sports, and eventually started manufacturing his own dog discs under the name, Hyperflite, Inc, along with business partner Jeff Perry. Hyperflite is in Roswell, Georgia. The two men had designed two molds several years ago, a dog disc and a disc golf disc. After growing uncomfortable with

Hyperflite’s Jeff Perry with KD

their business manufacturers overseas, they had the molds shipped to them in Georgia, and began manufacturing the Z-Disc (dog disc).

 

 

Dog Discs to Disc Golf

 

Once Troy found out the disc golf mold existed, he had Hyperflite make a prototype and really liked how it flew: straight! It was a 100g prototype, but flew straight and never faded. He knew at that weight it would be great for kids and beginners. And if he could get the weight above 170g, it would be great for anyone in disc golf. He had a heavier prototype made and it flew straight as well. On December 30, 2020, Hyperflite received PDGA approval for their mold. That mold became the I-One.

Hyperflite, Inc. has been producing dog discs for a couple decades, so it was not a big leap to make disc golf discs. They started manufacturing in 2000 with their mold, the K-10 a 8.76” disc. After that they released the Pup disc, a 7” diameter disc similar to the K-10, but made for smaller dogs. That mold was excellent for kids with smaller hands, so Troy rebranded it the Kidzee for younger kids learning to throw.

 

Other Products And Events

 

Some new products available soon from CHEENGZ are the Puttmaster and their new card game, Cheat Sheetz. Cheat Sheetz are used while playing casual rounds to make the round a little more interesting. Puttmaster is a game that teaches accuracy as a first skill for disc golfers. It is a freestanding pole marked with three scoring zones. Players get points based on where they hit.

Coming up for CHEENGZ is a really fun, family-friendly event, the Flying Disc Festival. Troy wants to

Puttmaster

give kids under 16 and their parents an opportunity to participate in a disc golf event that focuses on the fundamentals of disc sports: disc golf, accuracy, and freestyle development with a new game called KwikFlik™. The game of KwikFlik™ is played on a field by two players who throw discs back and forth and earn points in the process. There is a link to their website, which has information about the Flying Disc Festival and the rules of KwikFlik™.

With Peter’s connection to the canine disc community, he was able to arrange for an exhibition from the local Dog and Disc club. That will introduce a lot of people to that sport. The first Flying Disc Festival is scheduled for May 29, 2021 at Frog Rock. The event will be filmed to produce a media kit for promoting future Festivals.

Helping You To Grow The Sport

 

CHEENGZ would also like to encourage other people to hold their own Flying Disc Festival. They are willing to teach and help anyone interested in holding one. Troy is happy to be giving people an opportunity to participate in disc sports. When he was growing up, he never even got to see events like those that Peter Bloeme won. With the Festival, kids will even get to participate! That will do amazing things for our sport!

Cheat Scheetz Card Game

Supporting Disc Golf

 

CHEENGZ doesn’t have sponsored players yet. They are too new for that. They do have disc golfers that love their molds, but no official sponsored players yet. Besides, they look at their role as more of a sponsor of the sport. Their focus is to grow the sport and introduce young people to disc golf. With that goal in mind they will continue to offer events for families with kids.

Troy is optimistic about disc golf in the future. He believes the sport will become more diverse and courses will be more common. He thinks the growth trend will continue, forcing more communities to explore options for disc golf courses, including pay-to-play courses. And CHEENGZ and Hyperflite will be there encouraging and contributing to the growth. Troy and Peter both agree that they are in this business for the sport. Our growing sport can certainly benefit from people who have that motivation.

 

 

See Infinite’s selection of CHEENGZ discs here:

https://infinitediscs.com/category/CHEENGZ

Check out CHEENGZ website here:

https://CHEENGZ.com/

And Hyperlite’s line of dog sport products here:

https://hyperflite.com/

Check out some Bounty Aces here (Check out the CHEENGZ website for Bounty details):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q_mPQq3DAE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5jllrbk510

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zztmw1WTuq8

Comment About CHEENGZ

 

We want to hear from you about CHEENGZ! We’ll give a CHEENGZ disc to three random commenters. To be eligible, answer one of the questions below:

If you’ve thrown a CHEENGZ disc, how did you like it?

What disc in your bag would the CHEENGZ I-One replace?

We will choose the winners and post them next week when we feature our next disc golf brand.

 

Last Week: Fourth Circle Discs

 

Last week we looked at Fourth Circle Discs. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:

Sean N

Brian F

Doug D

Congrats! We’ll ship your disc out shortly.

 

 

 

How Do We Like To Play Casual Rounds

4 comments

2021 State of Disc Golf

Casual Rounds

 

It’s a sunny day with a perfect temperature. You grab your bag and head out for a casual round of disc golf. What is your round going to look like? Will you play with some buddies? Will you play a solo round? Will you meet up with your brother, who rarely plays, and when he does he plays with only two discs, and one of them is even cracked, yet he still manages to beat you more often than not, even though you play year ‘round and several times per week? (True story)

This week’s blog will look at how we like to play casual rounds, and how we interact with other disc golfers who are playing or getting ready to play. We will also look at who we prefer to play with and how we feel playing with strangers.

Personal Preferences

 

The first survey question we asked you to check all of the boxes that applied to you regarding casual rounds. We offered the following choices:

  • I play disc golf whenever I want, whether anybody wants to play with me or not
  • I prefer to play disc golf alone
  • I prefer to play disc golf with other players
  • To me, disc golf is a social sport and it isn’t the same when played alone
  • To me, disc golf is a personal challenge, and other players are not important in my rounds
  • Playing disc golf has been a great way for me to make new friends

 

Here are the results:

 

It’s nice to see that most of us (78.8%) just like to get out and play, regardless of who we are with. Even if that means playing a solo round. Other people are fine playing with someone or not (32.8%), as long as they are playing. I would have thought that most of us would pick at least two of the choices. However, the survey results indicated something different. Over a fifth of us just gave one answer

 

Challenging Ourselves

 

Of those people who indicated they view disc golf as a personal challenge, they attend tournaments and events at a nearly identical rate as everyone who took the survey. I would have thought that the drive to push oneself would translate into more of a desire to compete against other players. But, the numbers indicate that they are satisfied just to push themselves. Here is a graph we posted last week showing the overall percentage of us you played in tournaments or events last year:

 

 

Joining a Group

 

The next survey question asked how we felt about people asking to join the group we are on in the middle of a casual round. It is not surprising to see that nearly 3/4 of us either don’t care or actually like it when people join us. I’ve seen that a lot in disc golf, and I like it. A few of us, about 18%, either don’t like it or are really bothered by someone jumping in the group. I suspect that with many of those who are bothered are just concerned about the group size. Socializing is fun, but slowing the game down because you picked up a couple more people can be frustrating. Most of us only have so much time to play and it’s nice to get as many holes in as we can. Here is the chart:

 

 

The next scenario involves us showing up to play, and getting invited to join another group. A little over 3/4 of us either like or love when we’re invited to play with an existing group. About 9% of us don’t like it or hate it. That is similar to the number of us who prefer to play alone (see the first chart, above). Here is the graph about being asked to join a group:

 

 

A Round in Progress

 

For the next couple questions, we asked how likely it was that we would ask to join someone who is playing. The first question asked if we would be comfortable asking to join if we know them. An overwhelming majority of us would be comfortable with, or at least neutral, asking to join someone if they were already playing.

 

 

I wondered if there may be a correlation between the numbers of disc golfers in an area and the comfort level in asking to join a person or group. In the county that I live, there is a core group of regular disc golfers and we all pretty much know each other. Nearly all of us would be comfortable asking to join any other of us, unless we wanted to play alone. I can see in more populated areas where people might not know the people in a group, and would not feel comfortable asking to join. The next question addressed that very scenario, and it appears that my theory may be correct. The results were nearly reversed from the last question, with over 90% of us feeling neutral to very unlikely to ask to join strangers in a round of golf. Here are the totals:

 

 

Who Do We Want To Play With?

 

The last few questions concerning playing with people revolved around who we would prefer to play with. We asked people to pick on a sliding scale if we like playing with certain groups. The first chose was asking if we like playing with friends and family. Over 99% of us indicated that we would be at the very least neutral when it came to playing with them. Most of us like to play with family and friends. Here are the results:

 

 

Next we asked how people felt about playing with casual acquaintances. As you might suspect, the numbers weren’t quite a favorable as playing with friends and family. Still, nearly 80% of us are perfectly fine playing with people that we don’t know so well. And the number of people who aren’t so happy to play with casual acquaintances was a bit higher than the last question. Check out the numbers:

 

 

Finally, we asked how we felt about playing with strangers. I’m guessing that the wording of the question affected the results. If you are playing with people you know, and prefer it that way, you may be much more likely to let a stranger join the group. Some people may not feel comfortable striking up a conversation with someone they don’t know, if it’s a one-on-one situation. But, in a group they would be perfectly fine adding someone else to the conversation. Still, a third of us are happy to play with a stranger. And a third of would prefer to play with people we know. That leaves a third of us who are neutral. Here are the numbers.

 

 

Do These Seem Correct?

 

When I see the numbers from the survey my first thought is always, “Do these numbers seem accurate based on my experiences?” Most of the results of these questions pretty much do look like what I see. If not in my local club, at least what I see in the great northern Utah/southern Idaho disc golf scene. Which leads me to believe that the disc golf experience I’m having is similar to what many of you are having. Which is cool to me. It makes me feel like I’m part of the disc golf family.

Check back next week for more survey results.

Introducing Fourth Circle Discs

38 comments

Fourth Circle Discs

 

Infinite Discs carries over 55 brands of discs! We started this blog series to introduce you to some of the brands and molds that you might not be as familiar with. Each week we will spotlight a different company and tell you a little more about them. Because of Covid shutdowns our supply of discs was severely affected. Therefore, we may not have all of the molds from all of the brands we will talk about. But, it might put a few more molds on your radar for the future. This week we travel overseas and around the world to introduce you to Fourth Circle Discs.

Southern Hemisphere

 

Along the east coast of Australia lies the state of Queensland. Within that state you’ll find the cities of

Brisbane and Gold coast. And between those cities you’ll find Logan City, home to Fourth Circle Discs.

Although the first disc for Fourth Circle wasn’t approved until June of 2018, the company had been around for a few years before that, in another form. Its founder, Rhys Kruger, had been running disc golf events and started a business as an event management company in 2014. Those events led to the beginning of the top tier tournament, the Gold Coast Classic.

The New Beginning

 

A year after it was started, Rhys had the opportunity to start selling discs after an existing retailer moved out of the area. He started out selling Innova Starter sets. Slowly, his inventory grew to include other brands. Then, things changed a bit in 2017 when he broke his hand.

Rhys was playing in a tournament in Finland when he hit a tree while throwing. He was a sponsored player, representing RPM Discs. Although he had already been thinking about manufacturing discs, and talking to a local player about it, the down time with a broken hand gave him an opportunity to get serious about the idea. It was during that time that Rhys decided to turn his knowledge of disc golf into a manufacturing company. And Fourth Circle Discs was born.

 

The Beginning: Taipan

 

The first mold out of the gate for Fourth Circle was the Taipan. Initially, the disc was made in Finland by Prodiscus. However, the goal was to have them made in Australia. Rhys was looking around for a local manufacturer when unforeseen circumstances sped up the decision. Rising shipping costs along with unfavorable exchange rates forced his hand and Fourth Circle began producing discs in their home country.

Dingo

 

The second mold released by the company was the Dingo. It was approved and released last year. It was the first mold to be made in Australia by Fourth Circle, and it was definitely a learning experience for them, and for the manufacturer and tooling company. The mold was intended to be an overstable midrange, but they ended up with a disc that was too overstable. After some tweaking with the mold and the process, they ended up with a disc that they are thrilled with. It has a good amount of wind-fighting glide and a strong finish at the end of flight.

Fourth Circle learned from their mistakes and when they started producing their third mold, things turned out much better. That mold is the Firehawk, and it has been very popular. The fairway driver is popular among beginners because of its -2 turn and mild fade. More experienced players will appreciate its shot-shaping flight.

 

The Latest From Down Under

 

The Firehawk and Dingo are control driver and midrange. The Taipan is Fourth Circle’s high speed driver. It is a speed 13 disc with no turn and a pretty big fade. This year the company got approved and is ready to start selling their fourth mold, the Huntsman is an overstable putter, similar to the Infinite Myth, Challenger, and Aviar-X. Infinite is ordering the mold and will make it available as soon as we receive them. The new Huntsman is currently available for

presale from Fourth Circle Discs.

After years of selling discs, Rhys noticed that people would often buy a disc based on the name. That knowledge influences the names he chooses for his molds. When it came to picking mold names, Rhys wanted to pick names meaningful to Australians, and memorable to anyone checking out the discs. He also likes to find names that, to him, really ‘fit’ the disc. The Huntsman and Firehawk didn’t get those names until he held the discs in his hand.

 

Australian Animals

 

All of the molds are currently named after animals found in Australia. A Dingo is a wild carnivorous canine native to Australia. The Firehawk is a bird of prey that hunt near wild fires to catch insects that are fleeing the fire. They have actually been seen carrying burning sticks to spread the fire to get food. A Taipan is a fast-moving, highly venomous snake endemic to Australia. The Huntsman spider is also found in Australia.

The Firehawk has been the most popular disc for Fourth Circle Discs. The company had to make a second run of the mold just two months after the first run. Even with that success, Rhys anticipates the new mold, the Huntsman might surpass those sales, based on how much hype the mold has received so far.

Fourth Circle Plastics

 

The plastics offered by Fourth Circle are premium plastics that are both very durable, but feel different and offer different levels of grip. Their Ekka plastic is similar in feel and durability to Star or Gold Line Plastics. Iron Plastic is translucent and similar to Champion or Lucid Plastics. The Huntsman presale is in Ekka Plastic.

With their beaded putter, the Huntsman coming out this month, Fourth Circle can focus on a few molds that are currently in the works. They are planning on releasing a less overstable high-speed driver, a stable to overstable fairway driver, and a straight to understable midrange.

 

Supporting The Locals

 

Fourth Circle Discs is currently focusing on sponsoring local players while they establish guidelines for future team members. Darnley Pearson was the first player sponsored by Fourth Circle. Todd Nowack and David Bandy are two more players on the team. Also, Ken Summers from Perth is on the team. After years of playing, Ken moved up to Open and Open Masters. He has helped promote Fourth Circle and disc golf by running events and helping new players get into disc golf.

Rhys (left) with pro Darnley Pearson

 

The future is looking great for Fourth Circle Discs. And it will be busy! In addition to working on new molds for the company, they will be adding apparel and another hot stamping machine to the mix. Then they can make full disc stamps, while they add molds to their collection.

Rhys and Fourth Circle Discs are happy to be an Australian owned and operated company. That fact, along with their unique naming strategy helps them get brand recognition around the world. The company is helped by being run by a touring player, since that gives them insight into the pulse of the disc golf scene. Steve Rico, another touring player that runs a disc golf company, is an inspiration to Rhys. Rhys is a fan of Steve and Legacy discs, and what they have grown into. Fourth Circle is working hard to emulate that success.

Check out Infinite’s selection of Fourth Circle Discs here:

https://infinitediscs.com/category/Fourth-Circle-Discs

Check out Fourth Circle Discs website here:

https://www.fourthcirclediscs.com/

 

Comment About Fourth Circle Discs

 

We want to hear from you about Fourth Circle! We’ll give a Fourth Circle Discs mold to three random commenters. To be eligible, answer one of the questions below:

If you’ve thrown an Fourth Circle Disc, which one(s) did you throw, and how did you like it?

If you haven’t thrown a Fourth Circle Disc, which one would you most like to try?

We will choose the winners and post them next week when we feature our next disc golf brand.

 

Last Week: Lone Star Disc

 

Last week we looked at Lone Star Disc. We selected three random people who commented on that blog. Here are the winners:

Bob M

Jason B

Paul T

Congrats! We’ll ship your disc out shortly.

 

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