GROW THE SPORT - Tag Matches

By: Doug Bjerkaas

I learned how to play disc golf in Abilene, Texas. I was lucky enough to have been introduced to the sport by some locals who were heavily involved in the local disc golf scene. After three weeks of playing, I came out for my first “mini” event. “Minis” cost $5 to play, and I had my choice between signing up for the amateur pool or a pro pool. The amateur pool played for discs, and the pro pool played for money. I initially spent several months donating $5 each week towards plastic for the other amateurs who were winning. I did finally start to win some plastic, and eventually, I ended up playing for cash with the pros. While this progression was very instrumental in me growing into the disc golfer I am today, it sure had a cost. While I like “pay to play” leagues like the “minis” I played in Abilene, it was in Denver that I discovered “tag matches” and have ever since advocated that they are perfect for growing the sport!

What is a tag match?

Tag matches are simple. Players show up on a given time and day and give their tags to what we called the “tag master” in Denver. Sometimes called “bag tags”, these are made out of leather, metal, wood, or plastic, and are individually numbered from 1 to however many tags are made. The tag master would then randomly shuffle the tags and assign the players starting hole numbers for a shotgun start. At the conclusion of the match, the best score would be given the lowest tag. The next best score gets the next lowest tag, and so on until the worst score gets the highest numbered tag. There was no cost to play in these matches other than the initial expense to purchase the tag. Typically, an optional ace pot was added for those who wanted to throw in a buck or two.

I love this model because there is no financial decision for a player to make as to whether they play or not. They can show up with their tag, throw it into the mix, and experience a competitive round with others. My kids learned so much about disc golf by playing in competitive groups for tags as they grew up in the sport. Some weeks, they would be paired up with a local pro, and other weeks, they played against novice players who were just starting. At the end of the day, though, they could see success or failure depending on what tag they left with. I can remember my kids being ecstatic to get a two-digit tag after a match at Exposition Park in Denver when they initially arrived with a three-digit tag. It was a great way for them to see improvement as they played in a competitive environment. Growing the sport with low cost competitive options is a great way to groom folks who may someday play in competitive, PDGA-sanctioned tournaments!

Tags as a fundraiser

My first recollection of tags goes all the way back to around 2000. A new course was going into South Fort Worth at Z Boaz Park. According to local John Maiuro, Brian Mace brought the idea of tags back from Northwoods, Wisconsin, where he had seen them used as a fundraiser. Players paid a certain fee for the tag, they played for tags when they wanted to compete against each other, and money could be raised for a cause. Maiuro mentioned that when the idea was brought to south Fort Worth, almost 300 tags were sold at $20 each, and people played for them as often as they could. John, who worked for Xerox at the time, was able to make the tags for next to nothing. Close to $5,000.00 was raised to help further develop the course!

History of disc golf bag tags

While my personal recollection of tag play only went back to the Z Boaz tags in Fort Worth, Brian Mace remembers seeing them first in Wisconsin. Mace credits Terry Miller with first turning him onto the idea back when he was touring in Wisconsin. Terry had many fond memories of several Wisconsin events connected to the tags that local disc golfers were playing for in the early 2000s. In fact, the entire state has had year-long tag challenges resulting in state winners each year. As much as he wished he could, Miller could not take credit for the idea.

Terry had picked up the idea from the Club Dead Disc Golf Club in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I spoke with Scott Wilson from the Club Dead Disc Golf Club, and he reminisced fondly on the first tags that his club produced. Scott loved that the tags they made were one more “excuse for competition”. However, Wilson also could not claim the idea as his original. His first tag actually came from the Grand Rapids Dogs of Disc club.

Scott referred me to Derek Strang who told me that the early “dog-bone” tags from this old school Michigan disc golf club likely started sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s! He was not aware of another club inspiring the idea. In a time period when tournaments were few and far between, playing
for tags in Grand Rapids allowed folks “bragging rights for the week”. While my quest for the starting point for disc golf bag tags may not have lead me to the exact starting point for tags, it was interesting to find that Grand Rapids, Michigan could be the starting point. If anyone reading has an early story on disc golf bag tags that predates the dog-bones played for in Grand Rapids, please let me know your story (doug@dynamicdiscs.com).

Grooming future TDs through tags

The Mile High Disc Golf Club in Denver has scheduled and run tag matches throughout the Front Range of Colorado for many years. I personally got my first taste of running events by serving as the tag master for Tuesday night tags at Expo Park for three or four years. This experience of gathering tags, randomly assigning groups, and then distributing tags at the end of the night was a great springboard to eventually helping with sanctioned events, running sanctioned events on my own, and eventually being afforded the opportunity to TD the PDGA World Championships! Disc golf needs to keep growing. Not only does it need to grow in number of players but also in number of qualified folks that can organize and run events. Starting out being a “tag master” might just be the best first step! I know several seasoned TDs in the Colorado disc golf community that also got their start running tag matches.

Building community through tags

One of my favorite benefits to tags is the visible connection it creates between disc golfers in the area or region in which they play. Typically, tags are attached to disc golf bags or carts and can be seen by others on the golf course. Maiuro fondly recalls being able to see the “bumblebee” Z Boaz tags from across the course when someone had one on their bag. These “bumblebees” also indicated that the tag was a low number. The yellow and black tags were the first tags produced for Z Boaz. As the numbers grew, the tag colors changed.

There is certainly a connection that disc golfers make with each other. Having a visual indicator of belonging to a group of disc golfers has a benefit in starting a conversation with someone new on the course. I cannot tell you how many new people I have met in Emporia over the last three years through having an “Emporia Knows Disc Golf” tag.

Bag tags have also allowed me the opportunity to start a conversation about competitive disc golf with a local that does not have a tag. Several folks have asked about tags that are hanging on my cart, and it has given me a perfect opportunity to invite someone to a tag match. These players are often surprised that there something so accessible for new disc golfers to participate in, and it is awesome to be able to briefly explain what it is and invite them to our next match. In Emporia our tags cost $5, which basically covers the cost of the tag. Our goal has not been to raise funds (which is not necessarily a bad thing for all clubs) but to simply create another competitive way to play that is easy for a new player to jump in.

Get a tag and go play!

There are several ways to grow disc golf, and playing or running tags is one of many. I challenge every disc golfer to find some new folks and get them playing. If they get that itch for a more organized and competitive version of our sport, invite them to a tag match! If you are in a community that does not have a regular tag match…get out and start one.

The Ins And Outs Of Disc Golf Clubs Part 6 - Bringing It All Together

If you thought setting up a disc golf club was easy, think again - there’s a reason we’ve devoted time and attention to this process across six separate blogs. In this final installment of our latest blog series, we’re going to take a look at some of the final considerations that every club member should keep in mind. From being able to partner with your city government to taking an analytical approach to the people in charge, there’s a ton of moving parts in any disc golf club!

• Divide and conquer - If your club becomes so large that you don’t think you can handle it, consider breaking tasks up across various groups of people and reach out to those who can help to integrate solutions. Latitude 64 player Luke Wessel explained that their huge club has had to get creative: “Because of [our] massive size, we have a group of league directors that help out with different areas such as scoring, treasury, websites, and more. We still remain one of the most played leagues in Minnesota and currently are working with the city on expanding the course to accommodate the traffic!”
• Make friends with the city - Anyone who has tried to install or expand a course knows that unless you have city officials on your side, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle. Chris Eads, part of the DD team, gave us his advice on the matter: “When seeking new courses one thing we always provide is the labor to install the course, helping to lower the cost of the installation to the city or county. And we now have multiple courses where our target audience is the youth - cities love to hear that each course has a different audience it targets.”
• Don’t play favorites - A disc golf club sounds like a great way to make a difference with your best friends, but keep in mind that your team should function more like a small business rather than a fraternity house. Ray Woodruff, President of the Mile High Disc Golf Club, offers some sage wisdom: “Gather your board together, these should not just be your friends with the same opinions; you want differing opinions, sit down and take your time. Remember why you want to start a new club - think about what you want to accomplish this year, next year, and 5 years down the road.”
• Think outside the box - Your club doesn’t have to function in a specific way, as Dynamic Discs player Jake Key quickly discovered. “A lot of colleges don’t offer disc golf but when the course is on school property - how can I get them to the course?” he asked himself. The solution? “I set up a box of rental equipment and left it at hole one.” People signed out the discs they used during a 12 week league period and Jake got to expose tons of people to the sport.

Each disc golf club will bring its own unique challenges and opportunities to the table, so while it’s important to consider everything we’ve discussed in the last six blogs, remember that what works for one group may not work for the rest. If you’ve recently started a club in your area, comment below and tell us about your goals for the rest of the season!

The Ins And Outs Of Disc Golf Clubs Part 5 - More Money, More Problems?

If you’ve been following along with our blog series that outlines how to start and run a disc golf club, you’re probably pretty motivated to get things moving! So far, we’ve covered everything from the initial stages of getting your club going to some of the finer details concerning what you’re actually supposed to do at each meeting you hold.

However, like any good organization, you won’t get very far without financial support. In Part 5 of The Ins And Outs Of Disc Golf Clubs, we’re going to explore all things related to money and find out just how important this piece of the puzzle truly is.

Who Keeps The Cash?

Even if your disc golf club consists of members that you’ve known for decades, figuring out who actually hangs onto the money you raise can become a bit of a challenge. Many people don’t want to take on that level of responsibility, and one look at news headlines will prove just how easy it is for people in positions of power to take advantage of financial access.

So, who gets to keep the cash? We’ve received some great advice so far from Ray Woodruff, President of the Mile High Disc Golf Club in Denver, CO, and his wisdom extends into this all-important area:

“If you can wait for nonprofit status to be blessed by the IRS, wait for your Federal EIN before opening a bank account so that one person from the board isn’t left holding the financial baggage of the club if anything goes wrong. It does help to have a board member that knows finances, but this can be outsourced should you need it.”

Keep in mind that if your club gets large enough, it will operate much like its own small business, and it would be unfortunate for one person to be left financially liable should anything go amiss.

Raising And Using The Money

While having a huge balance in the bank account is certainly a sign of success, how does a club get to that point and then what can the money actually do for you? Latitude 64 team member Luke Wessel, who offered some insightful ideas in Part 4 of the series, shared that his group holds raffles and sells both discs and shirts to raise money for their various goals.

As a member of the Western Arkansas Flying Disc Association, Chris Eads offers a lot of insight as to how financial matters can positively affect one’s disc golf community:

“One thing we have always done is to raise money through raffles and disc sales for charities like EDGE (Education Disc Golf Experience) that helps grow disc golf in our state at the youth level. As far as raising funds for events and new course development - this is one of the hardest things to do and something every club struggles with. We do tee sign sales for both day of events and year-round permanent signs. This helps with course improvements.”

We still have a few more topics to tackle, so make sure to check back in to learn more about how to start and grow a successful disc golf club in your area!

The Ins And Outs Of Disc Golf Clubs Part 4 - What Now?

As with many things in life, the process of taking an idea and turning it into a reality within the disc golf world can take a long time. From the first inkling of inspiration to actually formalizing your plans, it takes a dedicated effort to make a difference in the sport, whether it’s starting a league, installing a new course, or creating a disc golf club.

In this blog series, we’re tackling the last option on that list and reviewing what’s needed to create and run a disc golf club step by step. If you’re just now joining us, head back to our first three blogs to learn how to formalize your group, understand the importance of a solid set of board members, and more. Today, we’re all about getting to the heart and soul of your club - how do you actually utilize this structure to accomplish your goals?

Taking Care Of Business

Running a disc golf club sounds like it’s all fun and games, but there are actual decisions to make on a regular basis. Most clubs have a very set schedule for their meetings and work up agendas to make sure they cover the various aspects of what they’re trying to accomplish. While you don’t have to devote enough time to your meetings to make it feel like a second job, there is an element of professionalism that should permeate each gathering.

Chris Eads, who offered some valuable information in Part 3 of this series, explained how his club tends to operate:

“Our meetings mostly consisted of turning in mini money and discussing upcoming tournaments and the needs of those events. We currently run 7 events a year and we maintain 10 courses that we use for these events and weekly minis.

We use the public library as our meeting place because it is free and is pretty centralized for all parties that wish to attend. When running a meeting it is always important to stay focused on the tasks at hand. We have someone who creates minutes for us so that we can look back on previously discussed topics and also future topics that need to be addressed.”

Innovation And Growth

Not only are disc golf club meetings great for maintaining your club’s current happenings, but they also create the ideal platform to introduce new ideas. Latitude 64 team member Luke Wessel is a part of the Apple Valley Disc Golf League in Apple Valley, MN. While we’ve learned that a club and a league are two very different things, he mentioned some interesting ideas that he implemented just after joining which could easily transfer over to a club setting: “I picked up where they left off but started doing things behind the scenes like digitizing records and helping to boost payouts and prizes.”

Disc golf clubs are one of the best ways to bring exciting ideas to the table to not only keep your members engaged but also to attract new people to the sport and help to grow your local community. Keep your eyes out for Part 5 of this series where we learn how clubs actually make money!

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!

The Ins And Outs Of Disc Golf Clubs Part 2 - What's Your Status?

If you’re just now joining us for our latest blog series, welcome! We’ve recently started discussing the huge topic of disc golf clubs and will be reviewing all of the most important information you need to know if you’re interested in starting one. Before going any further, head back to Part 1 of this series where we make sure everyone is on the same page.

All set? Good, because we’re about to get a little more detailed moving forward. The truth of the matter is that any disc golf club isn’t much different than a business, so if you or your friends are looking to establish one, it’s not as easy as making up some flyers and advertising around town. Let’s discover your options for making this decision an official one, should you so desire.

What Is A Nonprofit?

When this word comes to mind, most people think about donations and tax write-offs. While many nonprofits do include those elements, there’s more to them than you may think. According to Wikipedia, a nonprofit is “dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. In economic terms, it is an organization that uses its surplus of the revenues to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization's shareholders, leaders, or members.”

Sounds like a disc golf club, right? While you won’t necessarily be forced into formalizing your club in this way, it can hold its fair share of benefits, especially if the club gets to be rather large. Establishing a club as a nonprofit will also force members to create bylaws and articles of incorporation, which again will help to keep things organized should you become incredibly popular.

First Things First

Disc golf clubs can, and may want to, formalize themselves as a nonprofit on both a state and federal level, and like any other business action, it requires a fair amount of paperwork. We spoke with Ray Woodruff, President of the Mile High Disc Golf Club in Denver, CO to get a little more insight on the matter. He shared with us a bit about their own nonprofit journey, a decision that became very apparent as they neared 600 members:

“In the beginning, nonprofit status was sought and obtained within our state, but the federal level was pushed aside for the time being. This has come to haunt us since paperwork is the death of any good organization, even a fledgling disc golf club. As time went on, it became painfully obvious that we would need to complete the federal process for our nonprofit status.

Bring in the lawyers... Nonprofits can be set up in many ways - the one that most people think of are the places that we donate money to and can deduct from our taxes, but that doesn’t always work for a disc golf club. We are currently speaking with tax advisors to complete the setup of our club's federal nonprofit status and hope to be finished with that process by the end of the year. While we are hoping for a charitable designation, we know that the IRS decides that based on your application.”

As you can see, setting things up right off the bat will likely create smoother sailing down the road. Disc golf clubs can always begin their operations without any formalization and then change their minds later, but it may become a bit more complex to do things this way. If you’re serious about your club, opt for nonprofit status as soon as you can to get things started on the right foot.

Stay tuned for more in this series, including things to consider when choosing your board, how to handle club finances, and more!

The Ins And Outs Of Disc Golf Clubs Part 1 - Setting The Record Straight

Within the sport of disc golf, there are a variety of ways to become involved. We spend a lot of time focusing on how to be a great volunteer at your local course, ways to help support TD’s in the area, and more, but there’s one element that’s not often discussed when it comes to the sport we love. Starting and running a disc golf club is a great way to boost involvement in your area and expose others to the game, but do you know how to actually do it?

In this blog series, we’re going to dive deep into the inner workings of disc golf clubs. What makes them great? How can they be run efficiently and effectively? What are the benefits and potential drawbacks to such a formal group? Get ready to learn all you ever wanted to know about disc golf clubs, but first, let’s make a few clarifications about this important topic.

What Exactly Are We Talking About?

There seems to be a ton of confusion around the idea of disc golf clubs, as many people get this concept confused with leagues and events. Before we go any further into this topic, it’s crucial to understand that a league is not a club! Organized events like bag tag challenges, tournaments, and weekly leagues are all run by clubs but they are not clubs themselves.

Sure, putting on any kind of event can be challenging, and the people who take the time out of their busy lives to ensure that everything runs smoothly deserve a huge pat on the back. However, we’re going to talk about the other kinds of tasks required in order to form and start a club, not a league.

Check Your Motivations

Before you even embark upon the checklist of things to consider when starting a disc golf club, it’s important to make sure you’re clear about your intentions. If there are five other disc golf clubs in the greater metro area where you live, why are you starting a sixth? Will your club have a specific focus or is it simply to spread the word about the sport?

DD team member Jake Key has been involved in several disc golf clubs over the years, and they have always had very clear goals in mind. “The first [club] was for juniors only. I focused on getting students excited first about something they hadn’t done before,” he explained. At the time Jake was a PE teacher and used the club idea as a way to introduce disc golf to the kids who were interested. He took this same concept and applied it to another club in Wisconsin, acting as the club President and working with other players to promote disc golf on a college campus that already had a course installed.

Once you’re clear on why you’re starting your disc golf club, next comes the important task of actually organizing it! Make sure to stay tuned to read the rest of this blog series and uncover the ins and outs of disc golf clubs.