Preparing For 2019 - Elements To Consider Besides Just Touring

The idea of planning for the upcoming season is one that’s been talked about over and over again, and by now you’re probably well aware of all of the things you need to consider. From carefully crafting your schedule to ensuring you have places to stay, traversing the nation to play disc golf is no small task. However, there’s more to life on the road than just driving and competing.

Unless you’ve got a huge wad of cash in your bank account, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to think about supplementing your income while on the road. While it’s a nice idea to think that you can maintain your cash flow by winning tournaments, that kind of pressure will eventually burn you out. Instead of relying on a solid performance weekend in and weekend out, what else can you do?

Teaching Disc Golf

If you’re on tour then we can assume that you’re exceptionally skilled at the sport we all know and love, making you pretty darn qualified to teach others how to play. There’s still time left before the season really gets into high gear for you to be able to coordinate clinics and events that line up with your touring schedule, so consider if this may be the right move for you.

Not only does running clinics help to pay the bills, but it strengthens your relationships with players and clubs across the country. You’ll help to grow your personal brand and of course, spread the disc golf love even further than you thought possible. Given that there's not a tournament taking place all 52 weekends of the year, you'll likely be able to fit some teaching time in pretty easily.

Considering Merch

Nowadays we see tons of players opting to get custom discs, apparel, and accessories made with their name, face, or brand on them. While opinions can be somewhat polarized on this issue, there’s no denying that jumping onto the merch train does have its benefits. Think about the fact that you could be selling items online and making money while you’re on the course and see if it changes your mind.

However there are several major issues to consider when it comes to this type of situation, and while there’s still time to place an order for items before you hit the road, think about how you’ll replenish your stock and more specifically, where you’ll ship it to. The idea of carting around extra items isn’t always ideal either, especially if you have a smaller tour vehicle. Between online sales and setting up shop at events, you’ll probably do pretty well for yourself, but remember there’s the initial cost of ordering product before you start to see a return.

Creative Thinking

These are just two of the more popular ways that touring pros can make extra money while on the road during the 2019 season. While it’s obviously impossible to keep a part-time job if you’re on an extensive travel schedule, try considering some other more creative ways to keep the cash coming in while you play.

If you’ve been on tour before we’d love to hear from you - have you hosted clinics or tried selling merch? Did you have a lot of success or were the logistics of it too difficult to manage? Feel free to share with us in the comments below.

Disc Golf And Travel - Tips For Summer Success

With a handful of the sport’s top players headed to Europe for a stint of tournaments and promotional events, it got us thinking about the idea of taking advantage of summer weather and using it to get a little disc golf travel under our belts.

If you have the vacation time from work and the go-ahead from your significant other, which is often the hardest piece of the puzzle, where would you visit to play some of the best disc golf of your life? While the destinations might change, there are a few things you have to consider when it comes to summertime travel.

Jet Lag And Time Zones

We don’t all have the time or money to fly to Europe for the summer, but who says you can’t hop on a plane and end up hours away in a place that’s filled with courses? If you have a hard time sleeping on a plane or can’t seem to get used to time zone changes, make sure to allow time in your schedule to adjust.

Shorter trips might make you want to jam each and every day full of disc golf fun, but give yourself a bit of a buffer on either end to give your body time to catch up. Spend your first day resting and maybe exploring a bit instead of fitting in 3 rounds before the sun goes down. On the same note, don’t land back home late Sunday night and expect to be ready for work the next day.

To Carry On Or To Check?

Even if you aren’t going anywhere that requires competitive play, the whole point of your journey is to play some disc golf, so you’d be in big trouble if the airlines lost your bag. Most touring players that we talk to prefer to carry on their disc golf bag as it contains some of their most prized possessions in the world.

Think about it - can you replace those jeans you bought recently or buy a new toothbrush once you’ve landed at your destination? For sure. Are you able to easily replace your beat in first run fairway driver that Eric McCabe signed six years ago? Not so much.

Make The Most Of It

Let’s be honest - most of us don’t draw the appeal that Paige Pierce or Ricky Wysocki do when traveling to other parts of the world to play disc golf. We’re lucky if someone even recognizes us outside of our own state most of the time. Although you’re not looking for fame or fortune on this trip, it doesn’t hurt to network a bit.

Before you leave, reach out to the disc golf clubs in the area you’re visiting and find out when their weekly events are. See if you can volunteer to be someone’s caddy at a tournament, or try setting up a group of locals to play with you and show you the ropes. As we all know, the disc golf community is large and strong, so reaching out to others will probably result in some unexpectedly great opportunities.

Are you headed anywhere fun for a disc golf trip this summer? Share with us your plans or fill us in on your dream trip in the comments below.

Considering RV Life? Take A Peek At What It's Really Like

It’s a dream for many disc golf players out there: buy an RV, put a sweet wrap on it, and drive around the nation on tour completely kicking butt and shredding the course. Let’s say you’re able to finance this operation and you’re considering who to take with you on tour and what kind of RV might be right for you.

Before you go out making a big decision, we want to clue you in to some of the realities of RV life that you may not know about. Granted, these won’t happen to everyone, but they certainly could change the way you think about traveling. Thanks to Tina Stanaitis and Eric Oakley, our resident RVers, we found out some surprising things about life on the road!

Surviving Small Spaces

It’s a given that when you live full-time in an RV, you have to downsize your belongings pretty extensively. While these homes on wheels are built with a ton of nooks and crannies to help you maximize storage and stay organized, they don’t always have the desired effect. Tina explains, “Despite having a small space, and less belongings, we lose stuff constantly, either in small crevices between cabinets or tucked into our storage areas.”

Not only will you possibly spend more time looking for things than you used to, but you’ll acquire your fair share of bumps and bruises along the way. Imagine being an awkward teen who constantly hits their hip on the countertop and you’ll fit right in. Even though you will eventually learn the lay of the land, be prepared for injuries during the first few months.

What Personal Space?

Small living takes on a whole new meaning if you’re touring with someone, and even if it’s a best friend or romantic partner, things can get a bit too close for comfort. First of all, think about the various aromas that could come out of a bathroom and how often those smells are created. Now, look at your RV and explore where they could travel. You get the idea.

“When Eric and I aren’t getting along, we have to work it out immediately because we can’t go to the other room to get some space,” Stanaitis confided. Being in such close quarters perhaps can make or break relationships, but obviously in this case, Tina and Eric are handling things like champs.

Inviting friends over can pose some interesting challenges too, and privacy may be limited at times. Without going into too much detail, if you ever visit the Whalepants RV you may hear a certain body part being yelled out, advising you not to turn and look.

Equipment Trouble

Breaking down on the road is stressful and can mean large unexpected bills, but when your home breaks down it can complicate things even further. Not only do you have to worry about the engine, but your overall size can also contribute to some higher than average stress levels. “While driving in New York two years ago, we accidentally ended up on a highway with extremely low bridges. We white-knuckled for about a half hour just hoping one of the low bridges didn’t take out our air conditioner,” said Tina.

Does RV life still sound awesome? Yeah, it does to us too! Let us know in the comments below if you’ve ever encountered a funny or downright weird situation as a result of RV living.

Photo: Camping image created by Welcomia - Freepik.com

Wrapping Up At Waco

We wish we could attend every event on the 2018 tour, but sadly the logistics of doing so are way too intense. The Waco Charity Open was an exception though, where we had a huge amount of the DD team representing us on the course, during the flymart, and in creating some fun footage to check out. If you haven’t already seen the conclusion of the tournament, stop reading now and go check out some post-production coverage before we spoil everything.

Our very own Bobby Brown took his camera to the course for several days during the Texas tournament and was able to capture some behind the scenes action that you don’t always see when viewing events at home. From an emotional montage highlighting Paige Pierce’s battle to the top and commemorating her 100th PDGA win to the stress on everyone’s faces each time we heard the thunder roll in the distance, Waco was intense.

Not only does this sneak peek give you insights into some of our trade secrets of media coverage but it also highlights just how much work goes into these tournaments. From setting up product and games at the Festival of the Flying Discs to documenting the tournament while getting soaked in a downpour, the people on the ground work hard to make each event a fun and memorable experience.

Without further ado, take a peek at Part 2 of our Disc Golf Adventure to Waco, TX. If you like what you see, let us know in the comments below!

Our Disc Golf Adventure To The 2018 Memorial

Now that disc golf season is in full swing, it’s time to put some miles on our new RV! We wanted a big crew to head out to Arizona in support of all of the DD team players in attendance, so Bobby, Jeremy, Robert, Eric, and Denise all packed up into our new toy and hit the road.

This short video not only chronicles how much fun we all have together, but it gives viewers a glimpse into what tour life is really like. Even when you have a nice ride to travel around in, it can still be grueling. Notice that despite having beds to sleep in, none of us look all that rested during our 3:30 am gas stop.

An RV is a sweet way to go but can be hard to live in for a week straight with a group of people. Renting out a house in Arizona was definitely a smart move, allowing us to take the RV to and from the courses each day.

We’re so glad that we had the chance to head out to The Memorial this year and want to send out a big congratulations to all of the DD team members who competed in this must-play event. Check out our full disc golf adventure video here to see what life on the road is all about!

Have You Tried A Trilogy Challenge Yet?

Regular competitors and casual players alike can agree on one thing when it comes to disc golf - summertime is an amazing time to play the game we love. If you're traveling around the country or are just looking for more events to play in around your local area, have you considered playing in a Trilogy Challenge?

Run by local players, not Dynamic Discs, these events are one-day tournaments that give players the opportunity to get their hands on exclusive discs and the chance to compete in a low-key and fun round. The format can vary, with some people preferring to host flex starts, shotgun starts, or even doubles.

Putting on a Trilogy Challenge is super easy - all you have to do is visit this link and fill in a few pieces of key information. We send you everything you need for a successful event, including sweet players packs with three discs, a t-shirt, mini, and more.

Looking to play in a Trilogy Challenge to test your skills or just get the chance to throw some of our newest plastic? You can find a full list of registered events here, and remember that they run through October so there's plenty of time left this summer season!

Let's Follow Jeremy And Bobby On Their Latest Disc Golf Adventure

Warm weather and beautiful beaches were just two of the luxuries enjoyed by Dynamic Discs CEO Jeremy Rusco and Media Manager Bobby Brown this month in Southern California as they met with bag manufacturer OGIO at their new parent company Callaway’s headquarters in San Diego to discuss the future of the sport.

Our two DD adventurers also hammered out enough time in their schedule to take a trip to visit the historical home of disc golf at one of our sport’s first permanent courses. Morley Field is a very popular and heavily trafficked pay to play course, with up to 500 players walking the fairways each day!

The next day the guys headed back out to Morley Field where they were treated to and thoroughly enjoyed the Friday burritos, traditionally served to the local clean up crew. Then local Mike Brown gave the guys a tour of the ball golf/disc golf course in Sun Valley, which shut down only days before Bobby and Rusco arrived.

Perhaps there is the potential for some new opportunities these dynamic dudes have in the works? Take in some sightseeing, tourist spots, aerial footage of the beaches, and time lapses sprinkled throughout this Dynamic Discs adventure in sunny So Cal.