Want to get a priceless reaction out of a close buddy?
Approach one who plays golf on a regular basis. Then, mid-conversation, without missing a beat, refer to his sport as “ball golf.” His jaw will hit the floor – this only works 100% of the time.
If the greater golf community ever finds out disc golf refers to their sport "ball golf" on the regular, cities will burn …
— Green Splatter (@GreenSplatter) January 30, 2022
No matter how you slice it, disc golf and ball golf will forever be joined at the hip. And it makes sense – the basic premise of our sport is based entirely off of ball golf’s core concept:
Get a “thing” inside of another “thing” in as few “things” as possible.
But while the similarities are many, there are a ton of differences, as well …
Most of them are obvious – hands-down, though, here’s my favorite:
Disc golfers are bat-crap crazy about their plastic.
In disc golf, the equivalent of ball golf’s golf ball (say that 10 times fast) would be the disc. The equivalent of the club would be the disc golfer’s arm. A bag’s a bag no matter the sport – duh.
I can’t stress this enough, though – and if you’ve played even a single round of ball golf, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about: The emotional connection between a disc golfer and their discs is infinitely greater than the attachment a ball golfer feels towards their … balls.
For example, here’s how a recreational ball golfer builds a bag:
- Read a few blogs.
- Watch some YouTube videos.
- Either online or in-person, buy a set of clubs.
- If feeling adventurous, purchase a new driver or putter.
Congrats, Hideki Matsuyama – you’ve just “built” your bag.
Now compare that with how Mr. League Night goes about the same thing:
- Buy an Innova DX starter set.
- Lose, break or destroy each disc.
- Replace them with “what the pros throw.”
- Realize everything’s an absolute meathook.
- Read forums, blog posts and consumer reviews.
- Watch a buttload of YouTube videos on what does what.
- Spend way too much money, placing your marriage in jeopardy.
- Hit the course, learn your plastic, beat things in and discover inner peace.
- Feel swole, attempt to clear a pond, lose your “money disc” and start all over again …
Buckle up: This process repeats itself hundreds of times – then you die.
So yeah, that whole “bat-crap crazy” thing is starting to make some sense, huh?
Turn this into a rom-com, Hollywood. https://t.co/4QYpSMY6Mw
— Green Splatter (@GreenSplatter) March 15, 2022
In disc golf, you don’t just buy discs, use ‘em and lose ‘em – you develop an actual relationship with them. Trees are hit; temper tantrums are thrown. At the same time, though, new flights are achieved, lasting memories are made and PDGA ratings trend ever so slightly upwards …
When compared to the $84.1 billion the ball golf industry is worth, disc golf is cheap – really cheap. During a round of ball golf, if you lose a half-dozen balls, you don’t think twice about it.
For disc golfers, if you lose one disc a quarter, you can’t sleep, refuse to eat and consider taking out a second mortgage on your home to pay for backups – therein lies the difference, peeps.
But not just any difference – my favorite difference …
Masochistically, I wouldn’t have it any other way – and neither would you.
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