In this post, we will showcase some of the new and very popular disc offerings from Stokely Discs. We will also give some background on why disc golf legend, Scott Stokely, decided to take on such an impressive project. Finally, we’ll look into Scott Stokely’s relationship with Ching Discs. Let’s begin!
Scott Stokely cares deeply about the sport of disc golf.
If you read his books, listen to his interviews, or simply just look at his knuckles, you’ll know this to be true. With his refreshing candor, including in his interview with us, you’ll know he credits disc golf, and the great people within the sport, with saving his life.
So, to say that he “cares deeply” about disc golf, might be the understatement of the year.
It is everything to him.
Combine this with his legendary status in the game and it’s easy to take Stokely at his word when he tells us he did not jump into disc manufacturing on a whim, and that he wants to go about his business differently.
In the end, the health of disc golf trumps everything.
With this in mind, he wants to make sure the pro shops and vendors, part of the life-blood of the sport, are taken care of.
In addition, he wants to ensure that all of the discs he produces are high quality and bring value to anyone that uses their hard-earned money to purchase one.
So far, based on disc ratings right here on Infinite, he’s off to a great start.
Let’s get into more detail about how he’s going about all of this and take a closer look at his discs from not one, but two disc brands…
The Idea of Stokely Discs
Originally, when he first started kicking around the idea of getting into disc manufacturing, Stokely Discs was not what he had in mind.
We’ll get into it later, but his first plan was simply to relaunch Ching Discs (a company he and a partner purchased the year prior to COVID).
Then, when COVID hit, and things came to a screeching halt, that plan was forced onto the backburner.
“When COVID hit, you could not buy plastics,” Stokely explains. This, along with any number of other complications, allowed Stokely, in a sense, to begin exploring the idea of launching his own disc manufacturing company.
If he did this, however, he would have to be able to bring something different to the table…
Stokely Puts Boots to the Ground
After his original plans were waylaid for the foreseeable future, the idea of his own line of discs came more into focus.
But before he carelessly jumped into it, he wanted to do a little market research. He started talking to the pro shops.
All told, he spent nearly 2 years talking to pro shop owners all over the country.
The feedback he received was grim.
“Pro shops face challenges. Most pro shops are struggling to keep the lights on.. It is a tough industry.” -Scott Stokely
Stokely views this as a huge impediment to the growth of disc golf.
“
Nearly every pro shop in the world is putting courses in the ground. They are running leagues. They teach classes. Putting the right discs in the hands of the beginners. They build community. They are key to the growth of the sport.”
What he found out while talking to all these pro shop owners is that their biggest competition is the manufacturers. Manufacturers are constantly coming out with limited edition stamps or other such products that the pro shops don’t carry (or, by the time they get them, it’s too late and the consumers have moved on). In addition, manufacturers can simply afford to sell their discs for less online and ship directly to the customer.
For the record, he’s not blaming them and understands how business works.
By the same token, if he was going to enter into the manufacturing side of disc golf, he knew he would have to do things differently in an effort to aid, instead of inhibit, disc golf’s growth.
Doing Things Differently
There are a few strategies that Stokely employs in order to continue growing the game while still continue manufacturing his own line of discs.
The first thing he does is to make sure to limit what a customer can buy directly from him online.
“You cannot buy a first run Stokely Disc from my website. You want a first run Stokely disc, you’ve got to walk into a pro shop, you’ve got to go to a store like Infinite, but you ain’t gonna get it from me.” -Scott Stokely
These discs are generally more coveted by the consumer. By choosing not to sell them directly from his website, he helps ensure that disc golfers put their money into these essential shops that continue disc golf’s health as a sport.
In addition to not selling first runs on his site, he’s constantly encouraging anyone that will listen to buy your discs locally rather than directly from manufacturers.
Even though it’s more profitable for him to sell directly, he puts the health of disc golf above all of that.
It was one of a few themes in his interview: Money is not what drives him.
It’s Not All About The Money
In our chat (he was very generous with his time and clearly loves to talk all things disc golf) he mentioned a few times that he was all but certain he wasn’t ever going to be rich.
In fact, he was more certain about the exact opposite of that.
“I’m going to die poor…I guarantee I’m going to die without money.”
-Scott Stokely
To be clear he wasn’t worried about it. He almost wore it as a badge of honor. The root of all evil had no power over him.
Also, with his online lessons and his other ventures, he has everything he needs.
“I’m very strange,” Scott Stokely tells me. “I have a very different approach to money. I’m fine. I’m more concerned with the long-term growth of the sport.”
This, combined with his unabashed passion for the people and the game that he credits with saving his life, helps provide some insight into what he’s all about.
As such, when he did finally get into the manufacturing side of things, he did so while still keeping the growth of the game as a top priority.
He also committed to ensuring that he would only put discs on the market that he would stand by.
Commitment to Quality
Stokely had some choice words when he thought about how some manufacturers put out some pretty awful discs.
Most of these choice words I probably shouldn’t put in writing, but “unethical” is a word that can be written and came up more than once.
He knows first hand that molds and plastics are not cheap. So, if you design a mold, the temptation to recoup your costs is very real.
Stokely and his partner made a commitment to resist this temptation. It might be a short-term loss, but he figures it’ll even out in the long run when people learn that Stokely Discs is committed to producing quality discs.
Despite the fact that he’s relatively cavalier about what happens to his own money, Stokely is very protective and cognizant about other people’s money.
As a result, he wants to make sure the discs he puts out are good. When people put life hours into work that may result in one of his discs, he wants that disc to count.
And the early returns are very promising. If you look at the Stokely Discs lineup, you will see a lot of 5-star ratings for his discs.
Before we get into those, let’s look at another line of discs that Stokely is associated with in Ching Discs…
Scott Stokely and Ching Discs?
If we were to do a word association game and the words presented were “Scott Stokely”, I would be very surprised if anybody’s response was “Ching Discs”.
But maybe someday it will be?
As it stands today, and for the foreseeable future, Scott Stokely is the proud owner of Ching Discs.
Wrapped up in his origin story with Stokely Discs is this story of Ching Discs. Originally, Stokely’s plan was to only resume the manufacturing of Ching Discs which he bought just before COVID.
Then, once COVID hit and everything shut down, plastics were virtually impossible to purchase.
That’s when the idea of Stokely Discs really started to take root. But, given the fact that Ching had already come and gone in the disc golf realm, it would be reasonable to wonder why he brought it back at all…
Why Buy Ching Discs in the First Place?
Why buy a disc manufacturing company that already decided to call it quits?
This is a great question that Stokely has a good answer for.
It’s because they were very popular.
“If the company shut down because people didn’t like the discs, obviously I wasn’t going to buy the discs and release them. That would be really dumb. They were popular…” – Scott Stokely
The truth is, the previous owner shut down the company for personal reasons (which Stokely does not pry into).
And having been active in the disc golf scene when they were popular (over a decade ago) he remembers how well received they were by the disc golf community.
As a result, he was happy to make the purchase when he did.
And while we are clearing up misconceptions…
Ching Discs Are Made in America?
Yes, Ching Discs are made in America!
Then why, you ask, does mine say “Made in China” right on the back?
As usual, Stokely has a very reasonable explanation.
“All the molds were over in China when we bought the company. The first thing we did was to ship the molds from China back to America to run in our facilities. They are all American made. But that is why it says “Made in China”. They are the actual original molds.” -Scott Stokely
Stokely goes on to explain that he and his partner own all of the molds and there is no third party manufacturing. It’s all done by them in the United States.
Stokely Discs and Ching Discs Plastics
Right now, Stokely Discs and Ching Discs have four plastic types at their disposal.
Stokely was quick to remind me, however, that they have more in the works.
The plastics they have right now include:
Strato – This is their base plastic. It combines a good tack and grip with nice flexibility and durability.
Thermo – This is a premium blend that combines durability with excellent grip in many different weather conditions.
Meso – This is their translucent, high durability offering.
Meso Soft – This is a soft, foldable version of their Meso plastic.
Stokely Discs Current Molds!
Stokely Discs has four molds that are currently available.
If you check out the ratings, you will find that they are all very well-received and quite popular.
As we previously discussed, Stokely is unwilling to put a bad disc on the market.
Let’s begin with the putter and work our way up…
- The Wren – (flight ratings 3, 3.5, -.5, 1) This is a beadless putter that comes on the slightly shallower side for players that prefer that hand feel. This coupled with the nice feel of their Strato plastic leaves a good impression. The Wren is both a putting putter and throwing putter. For throwing, The Wren can handle a lot of power and flies straight and true. It’s an all-around strong debut putter!
- The Owl – (flight ratings 4, 3, .5, 3.5) A classic, overstable approach disc that flies true both forehand and backhand. It is great for flex shots and can take a ton of torque or power without fear of burning over.
- The Cardinal (flight ratings 5, 4, 0, 2.5) Right now this disc has 5 ratings on Infinite and all are 5 stars! That’s probably because it finds a beautiful balance of stability in its flight. It feels great both backhand and forehand and is reliable in headwinds, tailwinds, crosswinds, or no winds!
- The Lark (flight ratings 7, 5, -1.5, 1.5) Stokely calls this one the perfect disc for the hyzer-flip and it’s hard to argue. Similar to his other discs it walks the line between understable and stable resulting in a straight-flying, reliable control driver with consistent flight for each shot.
Ching Discs
Stokely did not tell me which mold he would release next from his Ching Discs lineup. But he did tell me he’s excited about it.
For now, let’s take a look at the one he has on the market currently…
- The Juju (flight ratings 3, 4, -1, 1) As can be seen in the image, The Juju is a unique mold in disc golf. It comes with indentations at varying depths for players to be able to grip the disc well based on varying hand sizes or shots. It’s a very straight flyer that is also quite beginner-friendly. It comes in all 4 available plastics and Stokely himself uses it in Meso Soft for those delicate approach shots that don’t get up and roll!
Scott Stokely, His Discs and His Legacy.
If you explore the deep recesses of the internet (not usually recommended) with “Scott Stokely” as your focus, it is absolutely littered with accounts of people in disc golf having overwhelmingly positive experiences with him.
You’ll hear of countless autographs, donations of time and money, and unsolicited lessons. You’ll hear of kind words and kind gestures, all from a person that is genuine and sincere.
When you truly love something, as Stokely does with disc golf, then it’s not a job or an inconvenience. It’s like taking care of one of your own children. You do it without questioning or expecting anything in return.
And yet, despite his giving ways, Stokely will tell you that he’s gotten more from disc golf and its people than he could ever give back.
Given all this and more, I absolutely take him on his word when he tells me that he is eschewing monetary motivations when making his own line of discs. He is going about his business with the health of disc golf at the forefront of his thoughts.
To do so, he is encouraging others to continue to keep the local shops, courses and leagues thriving. He’s also planning to continue generating high quality discs that he knows disc golfers will appreciate and use.
To date, the early returns are very promising. And Stokely’s enthusiasm suggests that his next 4 discs (coming soon) will be just as good.
When you add it all up, you’re left with a disc golf legend that is only adding to his legendary status in the game.
He’s continually doing his very best to give back to the game that has given so very much to him.
Thank you all for reading. If you have an experience with Scott Stokely or his lines of discs, we’d love to hear about it in the comments.
What are your disc golf goals for this year? How much will you compete?
Any shout-outs or any closing comments for your fans?
