Tag: disc golf players

Do Women or Men Play More Disc Golf?

We already know that a lot more men took the State of Disc Golf survey than women. 91.8% of survey participants were men, compared to 8.2% for women. That was a large increase for the women over previous survey years, so the women are definitely gaining ground. There was a large enough sample of the sexes for us to take a look at how gender plays into disc golf participation.

First of all, the number of courses played for female vs. male really showed no difference, with the vast majority playing 10-15 courses in a year. Here is a look at the number of courses played in 2016, as reported by survey participants.

How Many Different Courses Did You Play This Year?

 

But how do men and women compare when it comes to seasonal play? The following charts show the number of times each of the sexes plays disc golf during the four seasons:

You can see that there are similarities in the frequency of game play, even season by season. It appears that men generally favor the 2-3 times per week more than women, and the women favor that 2-3 times per month more than men. It looks like men play more frequently, particularly when the weather is cold, but the differences are not large enough to make any definitive statement on who plays more per-capita. There are certainly more men playing, but when it comes to how often vs. the smaller number of women, the differences are only slight.

This seems to suggest that when it comes to the two sexes, there may be a difference in number of players, but the level of passion is relatively equal. 

Gender in Tournament Play

Let’s take a look at how many women vs. men reported playing in tournaments in 2016. First of all, 31.1% of women surveyed reported that they did not play any tournaments at all. Of those who said they did, this is how many of both PDGA Sanctioned and Non-PDGA Tournaments they reported playing in 2016:

So, for the women, it looks like it non-PDGA tournaments are favored, and the vast majority of tournament-playing lady’s played in the range of 1-5 tournaments in 2016. The 2-3 tournaments choice was the highest spike, especially for non-PDGA tournaments.

Now, let’s look at what the men said. First of all, only 27% said that they don’t play tournaments, while 73% said that that they did play at least some tournament in 2016. Right way, we can see that a larger percentage of disc golfing men play tournaments than do the women. Here are the charts for number of PDGA Sanctioned and Non-PDGA tournaments for the men:

 

Though the number of players differs greatly, the general tournament quantity curve is fairly similar between the sexes. Again, most men who played tournaments played in that 1-5 tournaments range, with 2-3 being the most popular response in the survey.

The similarities between the charts again suggests that the women surveyed are not shying away from tournaments. They like to play, and they like to compete. But the number of female competitors is much smaller. But that competitive spirit should continue to bring more competitors and a higher level of play to events with time.

All in all, we’re encouraged at the growth of disc golf when it comes to both sexes, and we’re encouraged by the level of passion shown in both casual play and in competitive play from both the men and the women. We expect that the difference in numbers between the sexes will continue to narrow with time, especially as very talented women are beginning to take the spotlight in professional disc golf tournaments.

 

In the 2016 “State of Disc Golf” survey, some interesting statistics demonstrate how our social lives interact with our game of disc golf.  Participants answered the simple question, “Who do you play disc golf with?”

Only 7% of those surveyed confessed that they “almost always” play alone.  Another 30% of those surveyed said that they “regularly” play alone. However, the 52% majority responded that they only “occasionally” play alone and another 11% that they “never” play alone.  So, if you like to get together with friends for a round of disc golf, then you are among the 63% that represent the more social crowd. If you prefer solitude, then you are among the 37% minority.

For those who are playing the game with other people, there is some interesting data that shows with whom you are most likely playing. Considering the lopsided balance between male and female players surveyed (95.7% male vs. 4.3% female) it should be no surprise to discover that 88% either “never” play with a spouse or significant other, or only “occasionally” play with a spouse or significant other. The remaining 12% ranges from “regularly” to “almost always”. Obviously, if you’re one of those players who finds himself (yes…most likely male) playing often with your significant other, then you are among the rare and the blessed. It would appear that finding a romantic relationship that can extend onto the disc golf course is an uphill battle.  Or perhaps, as a friend of mine once claimed during a disc golf outing, “I play disc golf to get away from my wife and kids—I would never want her here with me! This is my time!” I suppose if that makes you feel better…

If the majority of us are social, but not playing with our significant other, then who are we playing with? The same general pattern emerges when asked about playing with family members. The majority of 80% responded that they either “never” or only “occasionally” play with family members. The other 20% either “regularly” or “almost always” play with family members. Thus playing with family is only slightly more popular than with significant others.

As we move away from family ties, the pendulum swings. We found that almost everybody who plays socially is choosing to play with close friends. Only 6% of those surveyed confessed that they never play with close friends.

The other interesting statistic tied to this friendship factor is that a lot of those people we play with are folks that we met through the game of disc golf.  Only 15% say that they “never” play with people met through disc golf. 37% of those surveyed responded “occasionally”, while the other 48% a replied that they either “regularly” or “almost always” play with friends met through disc golf.

Those statistics would seem to suggest that the socially inclined players are very likely to meet new friends on the course with whom they will at least occasionally play. However, you should probably not expect that those new relationships will develop into a “significant other” or “spouse” status. Whether that is a good thing or an unfortunate thing is up to your interpretation, but it may shed some light on why this little video clip was so popular within the disc golf community, as it apparently borders upon pure fantasy:

In the near future, we’ll take a look at how the social and solitary players measure up in terms of other statistics, like disc ownership, personal evaluation of disc golf skills, competitive nature, etc.