State of Disc Golf 2019–Disc Buying Habits

We are getting into our busy season here at Infinite Discs! People are playing lots of disc golf which means they are buying lots of discs. So it seems like a perfect time to take a look back at our disc golf buying habits from 2018.

How Many Discs Do We Own?

First, let’s look at how many discs we own. Are we a bunch of hoarders? Let’s find out!

Surprise, (not really) we own lots of discs! The pie chart is a bit crowded, so here is a bar graph featuring the same information:

The most popular response was 41-60 discs, and from the pie chart we can see that almost 3/4 of us own more than 30 discs, which is more than you can fit in an average disc golf bag or cart. I remember when I first started playing disc golf and I saw someone on the course with a backpack full of discs. I thought there was no way I could ever own enough discs to fill a backpack bag. Now I have boxes and boxes of discs…

But that is the literal state of disc golf and disc ownership! And it is something that is pretty unique to our sport. You don’t see many golfers who have multiple bags of clubs, or casual basketball players who have closets full of different basketball shoes. We don’t just own the discs we need to play, but we also collect disc golf equipment.

How Many New Discs Though?

So how many new discs did we add to our collections in 2018? Again, here is both the pie chart and bar graph with this data:

So from this we could say that a rough “average” for the community as a whole is around 10-14 discs since a little over half of us bought at least 10 discs in 2018. I personally would say that is a little higher than I expected. 10 discs is a lot, especially for players who have a pretty established bag. But I think there are a couple of factors that drive us to buy more and more discs.

First of all, there are new releases. I usually write our quarterly sales reports on the blog, and almost every single time one of the top selling discs in every category is a new release disc. We for some reason in disc golf love trying out and collecting new disc molds, and there are definitely more than 10 new molds released every year.

I also think there is a sweet spot in the competitiveness and experience of disc golfers in correlation with how many discs we purchase. Beginners often purchase a lot of discs because they are excited about this new thing in their life and they are jumping in full swing. These new disc golfers are figuring out how to play and what molds will work in their bag. Then after maybe a year or more, once that disc golfer has gotten the hang of things, their purchasing may slow a bit.

This is that sweet spot. Experienced disc golfers who have for the most part found their comfort zone in the game. They don’t feel as strong of a need to buy more discs. However, if that experienced disc golfer becomes more competitive and play more frequently, they become more involved in the replacement market of disc golf. Depending on the types of courses they play, they might be losing more discs than average. Also their discs get worn in quicker and may need to be replaced sooner.

But something else that always needs to be remembered when analyzing this data is that the data is from people who cared enough about disc golf to take a survey put out by a disc golf company. We get a large number of respondents every year, but they are generally more active in the online disc golf community. So it makes sense that our numbers might be higher than expected when it comes to disc golf purchases.

How Many Discs Did We Collect?

Now, back to the data! And an interesting question that gets back to my comments earlier about us being collectors: How many discs did we acquire to collect and not throw? I think just the pie chart is sufficient for this one:

Again, we are collectors! Over half of us got a disc that we had no intention of ever throwing. This also doesn’t include discs that we collect but also want to throw a few times before hanging it on the wall or storing it away in plastic totes. This is great news for disc golf manufacturers and retailers. As we can see, their special edition, signature series, and first run discs are working in getting us to spend more money on new collectible discs.

But Where Do the Discs Come From?

So where do we get our new discs from? We asked that question, and provided survey takers with a variety of options for their responses. Here is how we answered:

As it is with the rest of the retail world, online is a dominant avenue through which we acquire new disc golf discs. So some may be surprised to see that the most popular selection was local disc golf stores that are focused primarily on selling disc golf equipment. This is encouraging for small business owners who have invested in building their own small business. It is also why companies like Dynamic Discs have opened several locations across the country.

But in a world that has seen brick and mortar stores go under because of the pressure from online retailers, why would most survey takers still buy discs from local stores? Again, this gets to a quirk in disc golf–there are benefits to seeing and holding a disc before you buy it. It is always nice to try on shoes and see them in person, but a size 11 of the same basketball shoe is going to be the exact same whether you buy it from a local Foot Locker or from Amazon or Eastbay online.

However, a max weight Star Destroyer from your local shop may be different from all of the max weight Star Destroyers available right now on Infinite Discs or any other online retailer. One might be more domey or have any other idiosyncratic feature you have learned that you like or dislike in your Star Destroyers.

I know when I worked in the warehouse at Infinite Discs I always got calls asking how flat a certain Champion Firebird was that we had listed online. Well when you shop in with a local disc golf store, you can inspect the disc however you want before buying your purchase. Due to overhead, some local stores may have higher prices than online retailers, but it may be worth the extra cost knowing exactly what you are getting before you buy it.

Over the last few years, I have been able to help out at our local Infinite Discs store in Pocatello, Idaho. I have seen the above scenario play out several times, but also I think a local pro shop is more inviting to newer players who may feel overwhelmed by all of the options available. Online retailers try their best to provide new players with information, but for many people it is nice to be able to have a face to face conversation with a store associate who knows about disc golf and are qualified to answer their questions.

But another interesting aspect of local disc golf stores being the most popular way that survey takers acquired discs is simply the fact that that many people have access to a dedicated local disc golf store. It would be interesting to know how many disc golf stores have opened over the last few years, but from this survey we know that at least over 60% of survey takers have access to a local disc golf shop, which is exciting for the growth of the sport.

So there you have it! What bit of data stood out to you? Is there something I failed to discuss that should have gotten more attention? Please let us know your thoughts and feelings in the comments!

State of Disc Golf 2018 – Our Disc Buying Habits

It is always interesting, particularly for those of us working in the disc golf industry, to look at the State of Disc Golf survey responses concerning spending habits and what motivates players to buy discs. Of course, just playing the game at all requires a certain number of discs. But how many of us go beyond what we really “need” to play the game when it comes to purchasing more and more discs?

When a few thousand players were asked to say if these statements described their disc purchasing attitudes, these were the results:

I Primarily Stick With Discs I Already Know and Throw

I Regularly Try New Molds By My Favorite Brands

I Regularly Try New Discs, Regardless of Manufacturer

I Only Buy New Discs to Replace Lost Discs

I Buy Discs Primarily to Collect

I Throw Every Disc that I Buy

From the above results, a few things can be noted. For one, people tend to experiment more with favorite manufacturers, though there is a good number (majority) of players who don’t mind experimenting across brands.

It also looks like it is a minority that only buys to replace lost discs– that means more players are buying for other reasons. One of those reasons might be collecting, but when asked if they only buy to collect, the vast majority didn’t feel like that described their buying habits. Around 25% swayed toward buying to collect, if only occasionally.  The last graph shows that despite the motivation for buying, the majority of those surveyed throw every disc that they buy. Only 17.4% does not throw all of their purchased discs.

How Likely Are We To Pay Extra for the Stamp?

Another motivating factor for buying discs is the design of the stamp on the disc. We asked survey participants how likely they are to pay extra for a special stamp in the same mold, weight, and color that they could have purchased in a cheaper, stock stamp. Though the “buy to collect” market may be small, the larger “buy to throw” contingency is definitely not opposed to spending more for a stamp design that they like.

How likely are you to pay extra for a special stamp in the same mold, wight and color as the stock stamp?

That is only 14.7% that claims it is very unlikely that they’d pay more for a cool stamp design on their disc.

We’ll continue to follow disc purchasing trends and opinions closely!

State of Disc Golf Survey – Personal Disc Inventory

In the State of Disc Golf Survey 2016 results, we caught an interesting glimpse of how many discs players own vs. how many lost, and how many found. For those who attach themselves to their favorite discs, and for those who collect special edition discs, the loss factor can be an irritating one– especially when the discs are clearly marked with a name and phone number. According to the survey, most players are courteous enough to give the original owner a call when the information is marked on the disc.  67.7% replied that they, “Try to return them to the owner, but keep them if I can’t make contact.” 34.8% said that they return the disc to a lost and found.

When it comes to how many discs lost, and how many discs are found, here are the statistics gathered in the survey:

Most of those who replied claimed to have lost somewhere between 1-6 discs in the year 2015. Quite a number claimed to have lost none. From these results, we can see that most of us lose discs, but not in extreme quantities. The question then becomes this: Are those discs found and added to another bag?

 

Most of the players who responded claimed to have found and kept either zero discs, or only 1-3 discs.  Given the chart comparisons, it would appear that not quite as many discs are found as are lost, meaning that most of us come out on the losing end of the lost-and-found equation.

By a large margin, we add many more discs to our bags through retail purchases, both in brick-and-mortar stores and online. These are the numbers provided by players in regards to the number of discs purchased in the year 2015:

0 discs 3.9%
1-3 discs 7.8%
4-6 discs 11.6%
6-9 discs 13.1%
10-14 discs 18.7%
15-19 discs 11.7%
20-29 discs 13.4%
30-39 discs 7.2%
40-59 discs 6.9%
60-79 discs 1.6%
80-99 discs 1.2%
100-149 discs 1.8%
150-199 discs .4%
200+ discs .6%

There appears to be a very equal spread through the quantities, with a few people buying more than 100 discs in a year. So, with those purchases, how many total discs do most of us own?

0 discs .2%
1-3 discs .5%
4-6 discs 1.1%
6-10 discs 4.1%
11-15 discs 6%
16-20 discs 7.4%
21-30 discs 16%
31-40 discs 12.8%
41-60 discs 15.7%
61-80 discs 8.1%
81-100 discs 7.6%
101-149 discs 7%
150-199 discs 3.5%
200+ discs 10%

Again, there is a pretty equal spread, with most of us owning between 20 and 60 discs. There is a solid 10% who own more than 200 discs. Those are undoubtedly the players who cross over into the realm of disc aficionado and enthusiast. Some of us simply can’t resist new plastic!

 

The State Of Disc Golf: Disc Consumption & Brand Loyalty

The State of Disc Golf 2014: Disc Consumption

This is part 4 of a seven part editorial series of the 1,422 responses from the survey “The State of Disc Golf: 2014”

We acknowledge and emphasize to you that the results here directly reflect the disc golf community who is in some way, shape, or form, involved with disc golf online. We therefore recognize that it would be inaccurate for us to claim that this survey is a proper reflection of the entire disc golf community. The results portray disc golfers who found this survey via Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Google+, forums, E-mail, and other means. With over 1,400 respondents the statistical accuracy is high.

This article was one of my favorites to piece together with the survey data that was assembled. It was both fascinating, mind-boggling, and there is an enormous amount of conclusions which can be drawn from this data. For the sake of keeping this straightforward, we’ll share some facts and conclusions which you will likely find interesting as well.

Disc Consumption & Discs Owned

Of the 1403 respondents that have data collected, a rough estimate of 32,886 discs were purchased in 2013, or 23 per respondent. These players collectively have 68,959 discs, or 49.15 on average. This means that 47.68% of discs owned by respondents were purchased this year.

How was this calculated? We took this number by averaging each segment, and placed a number discs owned for players who owned “101+ discs” at 130. Yes, this was a rough guess, but it should suffice for this editorial. We imagine that if given the opportunity, some players in this column would have said they have over 1,000 discs, and others may have only had 105. For fear of over inflating these results, we were modest. If you would like, you may want to increase those numbers a bit.

Another interesting point as shown in the graph is that the darkest areas of the graph tend to be where “New discs this year” and “Total Discs Owned” intersect at equal points. In other words, somebody who purchased 16-20 discs in their first of year play is likely to currently own 16-20 discs. This means that many players tend to gather most discs immediately, and purchasing habits in coming years tends to slow.

Roughly 71% of disc golfers who began acquiring discs this year purchased a minimum of 16 discs. New disc golfers tend to fill their bag right up.

Brands vs Purchases

The survey also asked “what was your favorite brand at the end of 2013?” Here’s a look at those answers vs how many discs consumers purchased.

Please note:

  • This survey was not promoted or endorsed by any manufacturer or brand, to the best of our knowledge.
  • Any brand who had less than 1% share, or less than 15 votes were not included in the results here.

 

Innova’s followers also made the largest portion of disc purchases, thanks to sheer numbers of fans. Many of these fans were purchasing large numbers of discs, however, the Innova fans on a spread of how many discs they were likely to purchase, were not as likely as Prodigy, Legacy, Dynamic Discs, Latitude 64, or Westside fans to purchase a large number of discs.

For example, both Innova and Discraft fans purchased 6-10 discs last year 15% and 23% of the time respectively while Dynamic Discs fans purchased 16-20 discs 21% of the time. As you can see from the graph on the right, the line represent Innova peaks in the 6-10 disc column, whereas the line for Dynamic and Prodigy peak in the 16-20 disc column.

The reasoning behind this may be simple, brands such as Innova and Discraft (while they have vast selection), are not releasing discs as rapidly. For example, if somebody has chosen Prodigy as their favorite brand, they are more likely to purchase Prodigy new releases – and there were 17 new Prodigy discs last year alone. Dynamic Discs, which is manufactured by Latitude 64 (which also manufactures Westside) also has had a number of new releases. But new releases are only part of the puzzle.

Brand Favorites: End of 2012 vs End of 2013

Respondents overwhelmingly chose Innova as the favorite brand at the end of 2012. Keep in mind, this survey was taken at the start of 2014, so Innova may be the easy answer for those with unclear memories. Even still, chosen as the favorite brand 63% of the time when 19 options are present is an overwhelming landslide victory. It wasn’t even close.

Fast forward 1 year and Innova is still the favorite, but it’s an entirely new landscape. At the end of 2013, and with 24 different options, Innova only had a 36% share of the pie, that’s a 27% drop! What changed? For the most part, Scandinavian-made brands became more popular and Prodigy hit shelves. Other brands such as MVP, Vibram, and Legacy also made modest gains.

Good Questions for the 2014 Survey

2.71% of players own less discs at the end of 2013, than the amount of discs which they purchased through the course of 2013. What does that mean? They either took heavy casualties on the course, or they were generous to fellow players. A good follow up question may be, “Do you lose more discs to the course, or by giving them to others?”

  • “Within a 15 mile radius, which brands are available for you to purchase in a physical store location? (check all that apply)
  • “How many different discs do you throw regularly?”
  • “How many different discs do you typically throw during play on an 18 hole course?”
  • “How many discs do you have in your bag?”
  • “Do you own a disc golf bag? If so, which style?”

Yes, there are many things we are already looking forward to in our State of Disc Golf: 2014 survey. Let us know what you think and what you would like to see!

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