A child of the 90s, growing up, Tamagotchis, Beanie Babies and JNCO Jeans were all the rage. Anybody who was anybody was playing with them, collecting them and swimming in them.
Disc golf’s the same way – fads come and go.
The following are a few items I’d toss in the sport’s “current trends” bin:
- Playing in Vans.
- Overhyping Europeans.
- Pounding DoubleG Craft Jerky.
- Losing money on Huk Lab TriFly dyes.
- One word and one word alone – Bushnell.
These days, for amateurs, equally in vogue is the building of a “mixed bag.” What was once an open admission you weren’t good enough to be sponsored is now a point of pride for many.
Think for a bit – a number of the game’s most talented golfers voluntarily do it: Drew Gibson, Nikko Locastro, Eric Oakley and Cole Redalen, just to name a few. If Gibson doesn’t need one manufacturer to take down the 2022 Las Vegas Challenge, you probably don’t, either.
Truth be told, we’ve been building to this for a good while now …
For years, Trilogy-sponsored golfers have had access to plastic from Dynamic Discs, Latitude 64 and Westside Discs. Jeremy Koling forehanded the HyzerBomb Mortar. Gregg Barsby made his name synonymous with the Scorpius. Calvin Heimburg and the Draco? Yeah, same thing.
No, these aren’t true “mixed bags,” but you get it …
Don’t overthink this.
With Gibson now Infinite Discs’ million-dollar man until (literal) death, don’t expect the allure of mixed bags to go anywhere anytime soon. This means decades of EV-7 jump putts, hyzer-flips with that one creamsicle “midrange” (it’s not a Buzzz) and endless #RollTide Destroyer bombs.
That’s Drew, though – let’s talk about you.
On your end, imagine bagging a cool 12 to 18 discs. That’s not many. But given your intimate knowledge of the feel and flight of every single one, you don’t need more. No single disc goes more than a round without use. What you have, you know. What you know, you use.
Doing this would make you one of very few disc golfers – seriously, nobody does this.
Going the mixed-bag route, this is more possible than ever before …
Some trends have a long shelf life. Let’s hope mixed bags is one of ‘em.
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