Is Disc Golf Too Easy?

Transport yourself back to the time when disc golf was just starting to plant its roots across America and imagine what it was like to design one of the first disc golf courses in any given area. Do you think that our forefathers considered that one day, players would be absolutely shredding and shooting 10, 11, or 12 down could be the norm?

Our guess is probably not, as disc golf didn’t quite have the competitive spirit that it has these days. As the sport grows and players become more and more talented, we’ve seen tournament performances become increasingly impressive. After all, Paul McBeth’s 18 down during the Discraft Great Lakes Open earned him almost two minutes on ESPN, and Eagle McMahon’s back to back 16 down rounds at Konopiště literally had the world talking.

We pose the all-important question - is disc golf too easy? Your answer will largely depend on who you are and your current skill set, but we thought we’d touch base with some of the DD team members to get their perspective on where the sport is headed.

Time And Effort

AJ Risley shared with us an important insight to consider when assessing if disc golf is too easy, causing us to remember that touring pros aren’t really like everyone else:

“I don't necessarily think the sport or the courses have become too easy, but the players have gotten much better. As touring professionals who don't have other serious jobs that take up the majority of our time. We're able to focus a lot more on all the aspects of the game that help us fulfill our maximum potential.

For example, I'm able to play several practice rounds, putt for a few hours, and scheme about the course I'm playing each and every week while I'm on tour. There are different ways that we've seen course designers challenge the players over the recent years, but overall I think players have gotten better and better.”

Considering All The Elements

Dynamic Discs CEO Jeremy Rusco points to various aspects of the course, rather than the players themselves, and brings up some interesting viewpoints:

“I do not believe that we are to the point where disc golf is too easy. Our equipment and our talent (athletes) have certainly improved over the last 10-20 years which has caused us to change courses to accommodate, but I do not think that the top talent of our sport should make us change things drastically. The shift has been gradual and will continue to be gradual for as long as we continue to improve our top talent base. Out of around 40,000 active PDGA members, I'm going to estimate that we have around 10-20 players that can shoot a consistent 16-18 down and for that reason, we do not need to be overly concerned with this topic.

Many have asked me whether we need to change the targets that are on the course to the Marksman and I disagree with this being the way of the future (for the time being). Today, most of our player base is composed of recreational players that enjoy hearing the sound of the chains more often than not. They want the game to be 'easy' and enjoyable. It is what keeps them coming back to the course. Replacing our current baskets with Marksman baskets will only discourage continued growth for our sport, and until a vast majority of our society knows what those metal baskets are, we shouldn't change them up.

With the above being said, I am 100% on board with events that utilize the Marksman basket to increase the difficulty. Jerry Patterson with Launchpad Disc Golf has hosted numerous events in the Kansas City area setting up temporary courses with Marksman baskets and has seen great success and interest in this. I think that this is a great opportunity to increase the difficulty at the competitive tournament level on a temporary basis.”

The idea of changing up the basket style for specific events is one that many have toyed around with and perhaps it could become something we see more often at large scale events.

Going Hole By Hole

Right in line with the sentiments from AJ and Jeremy, Eric Oakley points to other contributing factors that may explain why players seem to be getting better and better. He shares:

“I personally hope that 16-18 doesn’t become the norm to help keep it special. Course design is our best chance of keeping those things from happening, so when someone does go off, we can celebrate it even more. With better course design we can challenge professional players to execute and be on to win or perform well at a tournament.

Too many courses have tweener holes that are easily scored by the best players with no real challenge unless they go for the big shot. The hole should be designed to require a quality shot from the tee, on the approach, and everywhere in between. If we could get more people together for course design I believe the sport will shape into something great on the professional side, but that takes a lot of knowledgeable people who understand the level at which our sport is being played.

That is why we see so many courses being shredded - they generally are outdated by the skill level, but with some minor adjustments they can be made challenging for all professional players.”

We’d love to know what you think - if we want to keep these 1100+ rated rounds from becoming commonplace, how do we address it? Is the answer in redesigning our courses, using different baskets, or is it really not an issue at all? Most sports do have a handful of players who are truly exceptional, and it doesn’t call for a complete overhaul of the game.

Share with us your thoughts in the comments below!