Category: General

Disc Golf Tournaments: Why We Play State of Disc Golf Results

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When I started playing disc golf about eight years ago, I pretty much only played casual or league rounds. I might have played in a ‘themed’ tournament, where your entry fee buys you a couple discs that you use in the tournament. But, I didn’t play in any sanctioned tournaments. That didn’t happen until the next year. After that, I was hooked on tournaments!

I can’t say it was the competition that made me want to keep playing tournaments, since I wasn’t very competitive. Part of the appeal was undoubtedly the players pack. Part if it was playing new courses. But, a very big part of my desire to play tournaments was for social reasons. It was fun to meet new players and get to know a wider family of disc golfers. I still love to reconnect with my disc golf family in other areas, either in person or on social media.  Some of which I have known since my first my first tournament year!

In this blog I will dive into the tournament section of the 2019 survey to find out who is playing tournaments and why, which tournaments are the most popular, and other aspects of tournaments covered in the survey. The timing is a bit unfortunate, since so many tournaments this year have been cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19. But, it will still be fun to see how we viewed tournaments in general last year.

Tournaments: Aye or Nay

The obvious place to start is to see how many of us attended disc golf tournaments of any kind last year. According to the survey results, of the nearly 7,000 responses we received, almost two-thirds of us attended at least one tournament in 2019. I suspect that if you are active enough in disc golf that you would take the time to fill out a survey, you are more likely to attend at least one tournament throughout the year. Even so, over one-third of us didn’t attend a single tournament last year. Here is the breakdown:

To Sanction or not to Sanction

For those who did attend a tournament, we also wanted to find out which tournaments people were attending. First, we asked if people attended a sanctioned tournament. Then we asked how many people attended unsanctioned tournaments. From there, we wanted to see how many attended ‘themed’ tournaments. Let’s check out the results.

A sanctioned tournament means that the tournament is sanctioned by the PDGA. Certain requirements have to be met to be sanctioned, and PDGA rules and guideline have to be followed. The rules are stricter, and typically the payouts are better than unsanctioned tournaments. A benefit to the participants is that they can see what their rating is compared to others at the tournament. Participants either need to be PDGA members, or purchase a $10 temporary membership. Some people like the more professional and consistent play of a sanctioned tournament. According to the survey, over half of us played in at least one sanctioned tournament in 2019.

Sanctioned Tournament Count

We also wanted to find out how many sanctioned tournaments individuals played last year. A majority of us played five or fewer. Quite a few lucky individuals played 12 or more sanctioned tournaments. Here are the numbers:

Next we asked about unsanctioned tournaments to find out how many were playing in them, what kind they were, and which themed tournaments they were playing. An unsanctioned tournament could be anything from local charity events, to themed tournaments, to night tournaments, or a variety of other events. The main thing is that these tournaments aren’t governed by the PDGA. As such, the rules tend to be looser and the payout structure different. Casual players tend to favor the more relaxed atmosphere of an unsanctioned tournament. Although more than half of us played an unsanctioned tournament, we played in more sanctioned tournaments than unsanctioned. Again, that might go back to the fact that if you are taking the survey, you are a little more serious than the casual player who doesn’t care about sanctioned tournaments. Here are the numbers:

Unsanctioned Tournament Count

A majority of us played in three or fewer unsanctioned tournaments in 2019, and a smaller percentage of us played in 12 or more unsanctioned tournaments.

Special Types of Tournaments

Among the many unsanctioned tournaments held around the world, one of the more popular ones are the themed tournaments. Various manufacturers sponsor those tournament. For the entrance fee, participants receive a couple of discs and some swag. Those discs must then be used to play in the tournament. It’s a great way to try new plastic, while getting to play in a tournament.

Topping the survey were the more generic event, Putting League, and the food-charity tournament, the Ice Bowl. Each of these tournaments had a third of the survey participants attend them. The Ice Bowl numbers are even more impressive because those tournaments are only held in January or February.

Nearly a third of us attended a Trilogy Challenge in 2019, helping it lead the Themed Tournament category. It almost had as many of us attend as the next two tournaments combined. Here is a list of the most popular special tournaments:

Why We Play in Tournaments

One of the more fascinating aspects of the survey was to explore what motivates people to play a tournament. Just like in life, we all have different things that motivate us to take action. Whether you are talking about choosing a job or political party, or how we will spend our free time. Different things drive us to choose the things we do. In the case of disc golf, we wanted to find out why people were willing to commit time and money to participate in a tournament. For the survey, we let people choose all that applied to them. Here is what we learned.

Not surprisingly, over three-fourths of us play tournaments for the competition. That is in our wiring. Even if we don’t think we can win our division, we still like to see how we stack up against the other competitors. It feels great to win, but can still feel good if we just beat some of our buddies. The second most popular reason people play in tournaments is also not surprising: For the fun of it! We are, after all, playing disc golf! It’s something we enjoy doing, so it only logical that we would enjoy doing that in a tournament. Two-thirds of us indicated that we play tournaments because they are fun. Here are the survey, including the rest of the survey options.

Despite having a variety of choices for why we would play in a tournament, nearly 5% of the people who indicated that they play tournaments do so for a single reason. Those people gave just three reasons: Competition, fun, and the social aspect of tournaments. Here is the exact count:

Why We DON’T Play Tournaments

Since we’ve talked about the reason people DID play in tournaments in 2019, it is also interesting to see what kept people away from tournaments. I have to say, these results surprised me. Having invited literally hundreds of people out to our local leagues, I thought I could have predicted the results of this question a little more accurately. Before getting into the results, let me also include that this question allowed for more than one answer.

Not Enough Hours in the Day

Surprisingly, the number one reason that people don’t play in tournaments is because of how long they take and/or the days they are played. To be specific, the answer reads, “Limited free time. I’m not available to play on weekends when tournaments are held.” While I would like to explore the time and date subjects separately, the bottom line is that people’s schedules don’t allow them to play. That could be because they work on weekends, or more likely because they DON’T work on weekends, so they need the weekends to take care of home/family needs. Over 40% chose that reason for not attending tournaments.

The number two reason is that people said they are not skilled enough to play in a tournament. That is what I thought would be the number one answer because I’ve heard similar remarks so often. Nearly a third of those who don’t play tournaments selected a lack of skill as the reason they don’t play. Here are the numbers:

Why disc golfers don't play tournaments graph.

Interestingly, the three least chosen answers are the ones that I hear the most. Even more reason that the results surprised me. Adding to the surprise was that over half of the people who answered the question only chose one reason they don’t play tournaments. Their answers were in line with the people who gave multiple reasons. Here are the results:

 

Things That Would Motivate People to Play Tournaments

Our final question in the tournament series was similar to the last one, but with some different answers. We asked people who didn’t play in tournaments what it would take for them to play. We included questions about enticements, such as free stuff, bigger winnings, and the option to play with friends. Turns out that playing with friends doesn’t mean as much as getting stuff! J

The top answers reconfirmed the previous answers. Other things that would get people to play tournaments include making shorter, less expensive tournaments, and getting the word out about the tournament in some non-traditional ways. Having said that, quite a few people said they have no desire to play tournaments.

Return to Normal?

Hopefully, tournament life will get back into full swing soon so that those of us who enjoy that aspect of our sport will be able to satisfy whatever reasons we have for playing. Until then, we will have to be content with whatever disc golf looks like for us at the moment. Whether that includes tournaments, casual rounds and leagues, or practicing at home, there are usually a variety of ways that we can satisfy our disc golf itch.

How the Pandemic Has Affected Disc Golf and the Supply Chain

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Nobody saw the surprises, challenges, and often bizarre events of 2020 coming. It has been a very unexpected year. On top of the obvious heartbreak of sickness, death, job losses, and disrupted lives, even small sports like disc golf and pickleball have had its disappointments with the cancellation of major events. But let’s really dive into the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on disc golf in terms of growth and the marketplace.

“Skip the Course. Stay Home”

A lot of people, especially tournament directors and touring professionals, felt an acute sting when the PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) suspended all sanctioned events starting March 14th. It felt like much of the year was ruined for competitive disc golf. And yet, many players still felt like they could enjoy recreational play to some extent, especially since many jobs were sending people home, schools were switched to online courses, and other public events were all cancelled. People had time on their hands and parks seems a safe place to socially separate while doing something fun.

Then on March 23rd, the PDGA sent out a letter to registered members to please “skip the course and stay home.” They encouraging leagues not to gather and basically requested that all players avoid their local courses. It wasn’t long before many courses in the most populated cities started pulling their baskets out, just to make sure nobody would gather to play. The request made total sense. After all, the world was in a panic, Covid-19 is very contagious, and staying away from one another is a good way to avoid the spread of disease.

But did everybody get that memo? Conditions can vary greatly in the many different parts of the country. In more rural areas, things pretty much continued as usual because cases of Covid-19 were barely present, if detected at all. More densely populated areas had to take more drastic measures. But it would be incorrect to claim that everybody everywhere was staying at home. Many disc golfers continued to play, whether in small groups, with family members, or alone. Disc golf, in many ways, it a socially distant sport when tournament and league play is removed.

 

With all that said, there are many people who know nothing about the PDGA. They aren’t members, or they play casually, or they discovered disc golf while looking for a way to pass the time. Those people obviously did not hear or head the call to stay home. How do we know? Because disc golf exploded.

A Great Way to Pass the Time

Maybe it was the number of people in forced quarantine from work, school, and other events that fed the interest in disc golf. Maybe the outdoors simply feels safer than staying pent-up in a building. Whatever it was that created the perfect storm, disc golf suddenly became a very popular way to pass the time during the pandemic.

Infinite Discs has a unique perspective into the disc golf growth and interest trends, being a seller of disc golf products. Here is a look at website traffic that hit the InfiniteDiscs.com website from the end of 2019 to the present (June 5th).

The candlestick in June is shorter than the others because the week was not over when the chart was made. We’re not sure if the apparent growth will settle to a new plateau or if it will continue in an upward trend. But the increase in traffic, even dwarfing 2019 holiday sales, shows an obvious increase in interest. The dark blue represents “organic searches,” meaning that those are people who found and visited the website through their own searches and exploration. That is where most of the increase was generated– new people looking for discs.

Disruption in the Supply Chain

While the growth and interest in disc golf and the coinciding desire to purchase discs increased, the ability to supply those discs dropped. With the declaration of a worldwide pandemic, many states in the USA mandated the complete shutdown of “non-essential” businesses and manufacturing. Disc golf apparently is non-essential, but that did not stop people from wanting discs. More people were spending more time either on the course or playing in the backyard. Most of the major manufacturers and distributors of discs and targets (baskets) were forced to shut down or operate on a skeleton crew. Suddenly, manufacturers like Innova, Discraft, MVP, Prodigy, and others were unable to feed the growing demand. Not only could they not keep up, but they were falling behind on previously scheduled manufacturing runs, meaning that the supply would take a long time to catch up, even when allowed to turn the machinery back on again.

For an visually stunning look at the conundrum of disc golf supply vs demand during the pandemic, take a look at the following graph. It shows the sales trend at Infinite Discs from October 2019 through May 2020. The red shaded area roughly designates the time period that several major manufacturers were forced to close and had very limited ability to ship restock.

So, during the steepest time of growth, the disc manufacturers were unable to continue functioning. The obvious effect of that pattern is a drastic drop in inventory levels at disc golf retailers. When new supply is unavailable, old supply drops precipitously.

Infinite Discs took up a mantra of “More the 50,000 discs in stock” in 2017 when we were able to move into a larger facility and increase our inventory levels. It was our goal to stay well above that level for the long term. We printed thousands of promo cards stating that mantra. But the supply chain challenges of 2020 made it impossible. Here is a graph showing Infinite Discs disc inventory levels starting in November of 2019 (the peak of inventory before Black Friday sales kicked in) to the present.

When we combine the sales levels with the decrease in inventory levels, you can easily see the correlation. Again, when interest and sales increase, but the ability to restock is removed, the balance of supply vs demand is broken.

Sorry, We’re Out of Stock

One easy product to discuss when pointing out the effect of the pandemic on disc golf purchases is baskets (or “targets”). With many people taking up backyard putting to pass the time, the demand for disc golf baskets sky-rocketed, quickly clearing retailers out of inventory. Much of the time, large items like baskets are drop-shipped from the manufacturers when they are ordered through online vendors. That is a logical way to avoid the issues of storage and the high shipping costs of moving heavy items around the country. A customer buys a basket, then the online retailer sends an order to the manufacturer to ship directly to the customer.

But if the manufacturers are closed…then drop-ship orders are no longer available. So even if the baskets are technically in a warehouse, they aren’t accessible. Infinite Discs tried to battle that problem as things started to shut down and immediately ordered large shipments of baskets that in some cases took weeks to arrive. Suppliers were basically piling baskets on pallets and shipping them out before having to lock up and go home for an indefinite period of time.

So in many cases, the choices were few when it came to obtaining portable baskets at a time when people most wanted portable baskets. That lack of supply existed with other products as well.

Where Are the Popular Discs?

For many years, Innova has been the highest-selling brand at Infinite Discs. Without making detailed comparisons through the years, it is safe to say that they represent a large portion of the disc golf market. Innova’s manufacturing facilities are located in California, and that was one of the first states to shut down businesses because of the pandemic. If the discs in highest demand were not being manufactured for a couple of months, then how do you think things are looking for Innova now that they are back in business and trying to catch up?

Once again, here at Infinite Discs, we can share a little bit of insight into that problem. We have an algorithm which calculates the number of discs we need for each disc model and in each plastic type based on 30-day vs 90-day sales vs discs in stock. That way we can restock based on the sales trends in an attempt to keep the right quantities in stock for every disc. We recently placed a restock order with Innova for nearly 16,000 discs based on that algorithm because the demand was so high and the inventory levels so low after the shutdown. At the time of this blog post, our current inventory level for all Innova discs in stock is 3,975 discs. That means that the shipment that we’re still awaiting should have four times our current inventory, just in restock! But Innova is struggling to meet those quantities as they have spent days putting the shipment together, because they have many more retailers making similar demands, and they too are at very low inventory levels after having a couple of months without manufacturing.

Take a look at popular Discraft disc models. In the case of Discraft, where signature Paul McBeth discs are a huge boon to the brand, keeping certain discs in stock at all is a challenge for the same reasons. Last week, Infinite Discs had these totals available for certain models:

Luna = 0
Malta = 0
Anax = 0
Zeus = 0
Zone = 0

Those are some of the hottest discs in the current Discraft line-up, aside from the Buzzz. None of them were in stock. Not a single disc in any kind of plastic. After a small restock, we’re back to zero again this week.

In May the new Paul McBeth Hades was announces as soon as Discraft was able to open up their operations again, along with a slew of other signature discs. With nearly 1,000 Hades in stock at midnight of the release day, Infinite Discs was sold out by morning. One of the most hotly anticipated signature releases, the Paul McBeth Tour Z Swirly Luna, was one that we’d asked for 1,200, but received just short of 100. To this day, we’ve still received no more than 300 total of the disc after two small, follow-up shipments. Why? It is Discraft’s fault? Nope. They also cannot keep up with the new demand and the depletion of inventory when they too are trying to make up for lost time.

When Will Things Turn Around?

Basically, the Pandemic caused a huge increase in interest, when it comes to Disc Golf. The cancellation of tournaments and the plea not to assemble in groups didn’t stop new players from picking up the game. The new increase in demand has drained the market of discs and other supplies. How long will it take for the market to catch up to the new demand and eventually normalize? We don’t know. We’re struggling to keep discs in stock, but people won’t stop buying them. Will there be an eventual shortage? Will it take months or years for disc makers to meet a new surge that was never anticipated or expected?

What are your thoughts on the pandemic and it’s effects on disc golf? Did you see an increase in interest in the game? Are more people on your local courses now? Share your experiences in the comments below.

How to Make a Disc Golf Flight Tracker

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Flight Tracking

Have you ever watched professional disc golf footage and wondered how they make the line that shows the disc’s flight path? Now is your chance to learn! If you have Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects, you can even do it yourself. Here’s our tutorial on our method of making Flight Trackers that are featured on our YouTube channel.

 

 

Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you found this helpful!

How to Read in the Wind in Disc Golf – A Quick Tip from David Feldberg

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Reading the Wind

Sometimes we step up to the tee, very confident in our shot selection. But then, we noticed the wind picking up from right to left… and we started second guessing our plans. Which disc should we throw now? How do we adjust for the wind?

David Feldberg is here to help. He talks us through the basics of reading the wind and shot selection. Let us know if you learned something in the comments!

State of Disc Golf Survey – Sponsors & Prizes

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State of Disc Golf Survey Sponsors

We’d like to give a huge thanks to the sponsors of this year’s State of Disc Golf Survey! These sponsors graciously donated prizes to be given to survey participants. We had over 6500 survey participants this year, and nine amazing sponsors. We’re going to announce the sponsors here, in alphabetical order:

 

Discmania

 

Discraft

Dynamic Discs

 

 

Innova

Latitude 64

MVP

Prodigy

ZUCA

 

And Presenting the Survey, as well as donating prizes:

Survey Prizes

We’d also like to announce that all survey prizes have been drawn. If your email was drawn, we have sent you an email as of now. Please check your email and get back to us to claim your prize if you’ve won! We will be shipping out Prizes as we get your replies.

Thanks to everybody who participated in the survey this year!

Survey results are being posted on this page

Click the link above to see the data for this year! New results are posted several times a month as we parse the data and make some graphs to show interesting finds!

 

 

STATE OF DISC GOLF 2020 – How Many Discs We Own

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Every year we enjoy asking disc golfers questions about their disc purchasing habits and preferences. As a retailer, this is a subject that always interests us at Infinite Discs. We help customers at all different levels, from the novice who wants to know the best beginner discs to the hard-core collector who buys the hottest new releases. It’s time to share the data collected from the survey participants on the subject of how many discs we own and what motivates us to purchase more.

HOW MANY DISCS DO YOU OWN?

Many of us remember when we were new to the game of disc golf. The first time we see another player carrying a backpack loaded with discs is usually a shocker. Why could the possibly need so many discs? It doesn’t take long to learn why multiple discs are necessary as you become a more serious player. But some of us dive much deeper into the sea of plastic than others. Here’s a look at how many discs survey participants claim to own.

Of course, those who would take the time to participate in a State of Disc Golf survey are typically more serious players. Thus, the number of participants who claimed to own less than 10 discs was very low. The highest column on the chart is the one representing players who own 41-60 discs. That means that the sweet spot is somewhere around 50 discs. However, as the quantities go higher, the number of responses doesn’t drop much. The final quantity of 200+ discs is the 2nd highest on the chart. In fact, just over 14% of those surveyed own more than 200 discs! 

HOW MANY DISCS DID YOU BUY?

Perhaps you are a player who thinks deeply about what you want in a disc, weighing the pros and cons of each purchase before pulling the trigger. But there are plenty of other players and collectors who have a fast trigger finger when it comes to disc buying habits. Some players only purchase a disc when they lose a favorite. Others purchase a disc in the hopes that it will improve their game. Others purchase discs to hang on the wall. In the end, how many discs did the survey participants purchase in 2019? Here are the results.

A good number of survey participants claimed not to have purchased any discs in 2019, but the vast majority made disc purchases. The largest column is the one that represents 10-14 discs purchased. That’s an average of about a disc per month, which sounds pretty reasonable for an avid player. You may find it interesting that 58 people claimed to have purchased more than 200 discs in 2019.

HOW MANY DISCS DID YOU BUY TO COLLECT?

Let’s take a moment to measure how many discs were purchased solely for the purpose of collecting. When asked how many discs survey participants purchased only to collect, these were the results:

About 46% of those surveyed said that they purchased absolutely no discs for collection purposes. Another Another 24% said that they only purchased 1-3 discs in 2019 to collect. That makes about 70% who are probably not serious collectors. However, there are a good number of people who purchased large numbers of discs and who primarily purchased those discs for collections.

WHERE DID YOU BUY YOUR DISCS?

There is one more piece of data we’ll look at in this run-down, and that answers the question of where the survey participants acquired all of their discs in 2019. Was it at a local pro shop? Was it online? Was it at a tournament? Here’s the results.

Survey participants could choose as many answers are applied to their situation. So most people picked several sources. The most common answer was “Local Disc Golf Shop” which means that the pro shops and individual disc golf stores out there are still a vital part of the market. It is hard to compare online shopping with the feeling you get when you walk into a store, hold the disc in your hand, and thumb through a pile of plastic.

Online shoppers are still plentiful with 4127 people saying that they’d purchased a disc from Infinite Discs. That might be expected since we hosted the survey. But the 3799 survey respondents also said that they’d purchased from other online retailers as well, like Disc Golf Center, Marshall Street, etc.).

There were 1319 people who claimed to have purchased from Amazon.com and a smaller number at 972 from EBay. Those larger online retailers are important, no doubt, but in this case did not look as popular as other specialized local and online stores.

COMING UP LATER…

In a future blog post, we’ll take a look at the responses to the survey which indicate what factors are most important to players when they make their disc purchasing choices. Is it rarity, stamp design, brand, or something else? Stay tuned, and feel free to leave your comments below.

Top 100 Distance Drivers – 2020 Edition

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Top 100 Distance Drivers

Comprehensive 2020 Edition

Welcome to another Disc Data blog! Today we’re going to take an in depth look at the Top 100 Distance Drivers. We’ll be using our sales data from the past year to determine which disc golf distance drivers are the most popular. We’ll first take a look at the Top 100 list, then we’ll break it down into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

Note: We can’t show exact sold quantities, but we can show you the sales figures when compared to each other. This still provides a great visual presentation of which discs are the most popular when compared to others.

The Top 100 Distance Drivers

This chart shows the Top 100 Distance Drivers

That is a pretty long list of distance drivers, so let’s break it down by speed. That will allow us to see how similar discs compared to one another in sales.

SPEED 14 DRIVERS

The fastest distance drivers on the market are those which are given a speed-14 rating. That speed rating is based on the width of the rim. The wider the rim, the higher the speed. That basically means that the wider the rim, the faster (more powerful) the player must throw the disc to keep it aloft. Higher speed can equate to more distance, but only if the player has the skill and arm speed to keep it in the air. A speed-14 disc usually has a rim width of 2.5cm, the widest allowed by the PDGA.

The Corvette took the #1 spot for the highest speed discs, mostly because it was the newest distance driver from Innova in the 2019 year. The Ballista Pro came in 2nd as a very good driver from the Latitude 64 line, designed for experienced players.

SPEED 13 DRIVERS

Still on the faster side of the distance driver spectrum, the Speed-13 drivers are very popular. They are slightly more accessible to the general player pool than those with the widest possible rim. But they still require a lot of speed to maximize their distance performance.

The Infinite Discs Pharaoh has been a hot seller for Infinite Discs ever since it was introduced as the fastest distance driver in their disc line (manufactured by Innova). It likely takes the #1 spot because Infinite Discs was the only place to get one during the 2019 season. However, the Pharaoh will become available to other stores as 2020 progresses.  The Shryke and Boss by Innova take the next two spots and then the relatively new Raider by Dynamic Discs took the #4 position.

SPEED 12 DRIVERS

The most popular speed rating in drivers appears to be the Speed-12 class. This rim size is more manageable for many players, including professional players who throw some of the most popular drivers in the market.

The Destroyer by Innova was once again the #1 selling distance driver of 2019 at Infinite Discs. It is thrown by a lot of professional players and amateurs alike. So, it also takes the top spot among speed-12 drivers, though the Zeus by Discraft (in the Paul McBeth line of discs) gave the Destroyer a run for its money when it was introduced in 2019.

SPEED 11 DRIVERS

Discs with a Speed-11 rating have been picking up in popularity among many players. While they may initially pull the trigger on a 12 or 13 because they see experienced players throwing them, those same players often discover that they can actually get more distance with a speed-11. For a lot of players, this is about as fast as they can honestly handle.

The Wraith by Innova is one of those distance drivers that has been increasing in popularity lately, taking off as the new favorite for more of the amateur players. However, you will see some professionals, including some of the best female players in the world, throwing a Wraith.

SPEED 10 DRIVERS

Usually a Speed-9 or Speed-10 driver is considered a good place to start for new players who want to test the distance driver category. It is fast enough, but not overly fast even for newer players. These are the best-sellers with a speed-10 rating at Infinite Discs.

The Beast by Innova took the #1 spot in this speed category. The Orc has something of a cult following, selling particularly well in the collector’s market, due to the incidental swirls and number of “pre-flight number” discs floating around. They are more rare when they are found without the flight numbers included on the stamp. The Avenger SS by Discraft has recently picked up steam as another Paul McBeth signature edition, though it is quite a bit slower and more beginner friendly than most other discs that he is seen throwing in tournaments.

SPEED 9 DRIVERS

The Speed-9 class of discs is actually that fuzzy line between a true “distance driver” and a “fairway driver.” Being slower, they are somewhat easier to control in precision situations and work nicely as entry-level distance drivers for newer players.

There are some speed-9 discs which are on the top-sellers chart because their manufacturer calls them “distance drivers.” However, there are other speed-9 discs that are not on this chart or included in the data because the manufacturer calls them “fairway drivers” or “control drivers.” Hot sellers that don’t appear here because of that designation would be discs like the Innova Firebird, or Innova Valkyrie, or Dynamic Discs Felon, etc.

So, when it comes to speed-9 discs, expect the numbers to be as fuzzy as the designation between being a distance or fairway driver.

QUANTITY SOLD BY SPEED DESIGNATION

Here is one more interesting chart for you. It shows the most popular speed class when the sales are separated into the speed categories. Once again, keep in mind that the Speed-9 class is fuzzy because it excludes the sales of many popular speed-9 discs that are categorized by their manufacturers as control drivers or fairway drivers.

It doesn’t take a trained eye to notice that the Speed-12 category is the most popular. That is the category that includes the top sellers like the Destroyer and the Zeus.

 

We hope that you have enjoyed looking at this data. Feel free to share your opinions and favorite distance drivers in the comments.

New Disc Golf Discs for 2020

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New Discs for 2020!

 

With the new year and tournament season under way, we thought it would be good to look at some of the new disc golf discs for 2020. There are many discs that have been PDGA approved, release date announced,  and we are just awaiting the release date. With other molds, manufacturers keep details close to the vest until their announcement. Every year manufacturers introduce new discs to the sport. Some molds make a splash and instantly becoming popular, like last year’s Kong/Zeus. Others don’t have as much impact.

The PDGA approved 74 new molds in 2019. Most of them went to production. Some won’t arrive until later this year. Only time will tell how they fare with the DG community.

Let’s take a look at some the the upcoming releases for 2020. We will continue to check out discs throughout the year, as manufacturers approve or announce them.

 

 

Infinite Disc Ruin

 

We will start with Infinite Discs and the much anticipated Ruin putter. Do you love your Harp? Do you rely on your Zone? Is an overstable putter one of your go-to discs? You should give the Ruin a try! This beadless beauty will fight any headwind you will experience. When you throw the Ruin, you KNOW it gives reliable, hard fades for perfect placements. The Ruin is available in our durable C-Line plastic, our grippy I-Blend and now in amazingly colorful C-Blend dyed! Infinite Discs released the Ruin on January 17th with our awesome Alien stamp.

Image result for discmania logo

Discmania Active Line

 

Discmania announced it will be expanding its Active line to include an Active Premium plastic. Three molds will be made in the new plastic, the Sensei, a low-profile putter, the Maestro, a small-diameter midrange, and the Mentor, a control driver. Although the Sensei has been sold in Discmania Mystery Boxes for a while, it hasn’t been released on it’s own. The Sensei, Maestro, and Mentor will also be available in the base Active plastic. The discs’ profiles and flights are not new. They are renamed versions of Discmania’s Tiger Warrior, Spring Ox, and Sea Serpent discs. The new names are retired. Also retiring are the Fox Spirit, which will become the Magician, and the Sun Bird, which is changing to the Genius. The Magician and Genius will only be available in base plastic.

 

Image result for discmania magician

 

 

RPM Kotare

 

The New Zealand disc golf company release its new, overstable driver Kotare (Pronounced Ko-Tar-Ray). The high-speed driver has a turn of 0 and fade of 3, making the disc excellent for straight or headwind shots. And that strong fade makes for great turnover shots. The flight rating is 12, 5, 0, 3

 

 

Image result for discraft logo

Discraft Fierce

 

With Paige Pierce’s move to Discraft, it’s no surprise that the company would release a new mold to support the World Champion. Paige’s new prototype disc is a beadless, understable putt and approach disc, and Discraft released the disc on January 17th. Discraft announced the name of the new disc, the Fierce. Pierce is Fierce on the course!

Mint Freetail

 

Mint discs had the first release of 2020 with their popular understable control driver, the Freetail. They released the disc on January 6th.. Mint discs has a very loyal following and we went through the first order rather quickly. Fortunately, the Freetail is now back in stock.

Freetail - Apex Plastic (AP-FT01-19)

Kastaplast Lots

 

Kastaplast, out of Sweden, saw their disc the Lots approved this year. It is a straight flying, utility fairway driver. It boasts a flight rating of 9, 5, -1, 2. They are available in K1 Plastic. Lots means “pilot” in Swedish and refers to one who navigates the harbor or coast. Just like navigating the course with a Lots

 

Rask

 

Latitude 64 Sapphire

 

Latitude 64 added to its beginner-friendly line of discs with the release of the Sapphire. Initially available in the popular Chameleon plastic, the first run of the speed 10 driver quickly sold out. The mold is now available in Opto and Gold Line plastics. The driver has a flight rating of 10, 6, -2, 1.5. It is a 150-class disc.

 

Opto Chameleon Sapphire - First Run

 

 

Innova Invictus

 

Invictus means “unconquered” in Latin and for long range throws into a headwind, there’s no equal. Some pros refer to the Star Invictus as a “faster Firebird.” Innova Star Team’s Garrett Gurthie says, “If you think you have the power, you need this disc.” Keep an eye out for the Invictus at the end of March. The new mold features a flight rating of 10, 4, 0, 3.

 

 

 

Several other major manufacturers have had discs approved, and we await news about their release dates.

Innova is releasing the Avatar this year. The putter adds another overmold disc to their large library of discs.

Dynamic Discs got two approved at the end of last year: the Sergeant, described as a hybrid driver,

between a fairway and a high-speed driver, and the Bounty, a straight-flying midrange. They Bounty will be part of the Trilogy Challenge players pack. Dynamic Discs will release the Sergeant in April 2020.

Discmania recently got their Tactic approved. They are describing it as a disc that fills the gap between putters and mid-range discs. The the flight numbers are 4, 2, 0, 3.

International Brands

Several smaller brands have had discs approved in the last couple months. Many of these companies are located in countries around the world:

XCOM has several discs approved by the PDGA:

XPT1 (Advanced Putt)

XPT2 (Advanced Mid-Range)

XPT3 (Beginner Mid-Range)

XPTe (Beginner Fairway Driver)

XPT5 (Advanced Distance Driver)

Crosslap Discgolf Park, a German company, got approved for their driver, the Vigil (Called the Pipeline as a prototype). It sports a flight of 8, 6, -2, 1.5, and will be available in Advanced, Maximum, and Platinum Plastic.

Disctroyer, the disc golf manufacturer in Estonia, was approved for their putter, the Sparrow (Varblane in Estonian). Discstroyer’s web site shows the flight numbers as 3, 3, 0, 2. The Sparrow joins the mid range Skylark (5, 4, 0, 2) and the high-speed Starling (13, 5, -2, 2) in the Disctroyer lineup.

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