How One Person Made Disc Golf a Little Bit Better
In my last blog post I talked about the survey results regarding our opinions about tournaments. In this post I want to talk about how a desire to attend tournaments drove one disc golfer to take action to ensure he could compete, and ended up making local disc golf a little better.
Disc golf tournaments are fun and popular. But, as we discovered in the survey results, some of us have issues with certain aspects of tournaments, such as cost and how long they last. One of my friends, Steve, had some of those same issues with tournaments. He has several kids and runs his own business, and although he would love to attend lots of tournaments, time is big issue for him right now. So what did he do?
He did what everyone should do who isn’t happy with the status quo — he got to work and made the changes himself. He started the Pure Line Series, a tournament series with a simple theme: “One-day, one-round, inexpensive tournaments with 100 % payouts.” He arranged for different disc manufacturers to sponsor the tournaments, so at his tournaments the amateur division gets a different brand disc as a player’s pack. The series is held once a month at a different course each month. It caught on immediately when it started last year, and continues this year. They have been well attended. Not only can participants win cash (for the pro division) or Infinite Bucks (credit at Infinite Discs), they also get points toward the series championship that offers more prizes.
Steve is working with Infinite Discs to develop a program which models the Pure Line Series, to assist anyone interested in starting a similar series. The program will include online registration, tracking the series points, automatic amateur payout, and more. Details will be announced when the program is available for use in 2017.
The biggest lesson that we can learn from Steve is that one person can make a difference. How many times have we seen that in disc golf? One person decides to hold a tournament, or start a club, or teach some kids how to play, and the idea grows into something wonderful for our sport. Want to get a new course in your area? Get busy and make it happen. It doesn’t have to be a big idea. Organize a cleanup day for your local course. Make and hang up some signs or posters promoting disc golf. Keep some extra discs on hand to give to newbies who show up to the course with Frisbees or Ultimate discs.
One thing I’ve seen over and over in disc golf and life is that there are a lot of people willing to help out and support a good idea. They just need someone to take the lead and get the ball rolling. Be that person. Once you know there are people to back you up, it makes things a little easier for you. So, get out of your comfort zone, make your ideas a reality, and help grow the sport!
If you’re near the Utah Area on October 1st, check out the temporary venue for the Pure Line Championship… There are still spots available.