The Ins And Outs Of Disc Golf Clubs Part 3 - Setting Up A Chain Of Command

All of us have experienced at some point in our lives the truth about the phrase: “You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” Whether it be at work, school, or in another type of group, the people that you surround yourself with can make or break the goals that you’re trying to achieve. What exactly does this have to do with disc golf? Welcome to Part 3 in our series that takes a closer look at disc golf clubs.

We’ve already covered the differences between a club and a league as well as explored just how important it may be to make your club official through a nonprofit status, so now that you’re ready to move forward, it’s time to assemble your crew. Let’s talk a bit about some things to consider when selecting your club’s board members.

What The Board Entails

If you want your club to be at least marginally successful, you’ll need someone steering the ship. In most organizations, there’s a group of people who tend to run things, and while you can call them board members or officers, their function remains the same - to help map out the goals of the club and make sure their actions are in line with said goals. You may want to work toward raising money for a local charity, help upgrade the courses in your town, or even just spread the word and teach more people about disc golf. Whatever reason you started the club in the first place, it’s the job of the board to make sure you stick to that plan.

When considering how this group of people will help, it’s important to know exactly which types of roles should be included. Most disc golf clubs have a board that’s complete with a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and even a course maintenance individual. You can also create specific positions to focus on outreach, sponsorships, or any other goal that’s important to you.

How Important Is It, Really?

Chris Eads, a DD team member and part of the Western Arkansas Flying Disc Association, shares his thoughts on having a solid team of people on the board: “I think one of the most important things to a successful club is having people that you can trust and count on on the board. When you run an event you can have thousands of dollars in cash going through an event and it's comforting to know that that money is safe, especially since a lot of that money is usually used to donate to charities.”

Being able to trust the people who sit beside you is key whether you’re a huge group or a small club that’s just starting out. Ray Woodruff, who we spoke to in Part 2 of this series, echoes the importance that Chris describes: “Be sure to have people on the board who will put the club in front of their own interests and will be willing to pick up the standard of ideas that are brought to the board for help in executing. Don’t forget that the board of the club is the backbone and will deliver success or failure as they do or do not work together.”

Board members are typically elected in a club atmosphere but that doesn’t mean that you have zero say about who ends up on the team. As long as personal agendas can be left at the door and the goals of the club remain the focus, things should run smoothly. Make sure to catch our next part in this series to learn more about the ins and outs of disc golf clubs!