Disc Golf Blog is born!
To start something new is always exciting. So is this blog. The first thing I want to write here is a short review to What has happened in the last 10 years in Disc Golf. Easiest way to do this is to take you into the past. In this Internet, MMS, Skype and Youtube world we too often forgot how it was back then? We should ask Brian Hoeniger (PDGA Executive Director) for more statistics, but we can also look into past with Wayback Machine. Try these URL addresses for starters:
www.pdga.com
www.innovadiscs.com
www.discraft.com
www.discgolf.com
When I started back in 1996 Innovas DX Gazelle was the hot driver, Millenniums Omega Super Soft 1.2. prototype was THE putter and Ken Climo was The Champ. Now, in 2006 Ken is still The Champ. Off course a lot other things has happened between these years. It´s funny to look your good old Disc Golf World News magazines and read those articles now. They were my only real sources of Disc Golf. Now This superb magazine have changed to Disc Golf World (They dropped the News word, because internet is now the news source). DGW is now working as a glossy documentary magazine.
The game of disc golf has changed a lot. A must-birdie-two-holes are mostly gone. Most Major tournament courses are filled with OB ropes and level of players has raised. Discs and other equipment have gone through a major development. Now the furthest flying golf disc is wide-rimmed, low-profile and super-fast distance driver. Most players cannot even control these discs - they just fly FAR.
In the PDGA the progress has been steady 15-20 % in every area. Today the PDGA has more than 11 000 paid members and this number is still growing that 15 to 20 %. More people discovers disc golf than ever before. I got the privilege to visit International Disc Golf HQ this autumn. The work that the PDGA is making there is great and deserves our hats off.
Now we have a base that we can build our sport up!
December 21st, 2006 at 18:10
Here´s what just came in from PDGA newsletter:
“2006 Year in Review
Working together, here is a synopsis of what the PDGA Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, TD’s, and members achieved together:
* 18% growth in current PDGA memberships
* Record numbers of PDGA Tour sanctioned events and Pro, Amateur, and Junior event participants.
* Our in-house marketing capabilities and results grew, including the securing of sponsorships with Microtel Inn & Suites, Sierra Nevada Brewery, and Green Mountain Beverage. Reflecting the growth of the sport, Bite Shoes launched the first line of shoes made specifically for disc golf.
* Many visitors were welcomed to the IDGC, the association’s permanent headquarters in Wildwood Park, Columbia County, Georgia. The Ed Headrick Memorial Course is now playable. Construction of the building will be completed in early 2007.
* The outstanding collaboration between the PDGA and the host teams in Tulsa and Augusta resulted in highly successful 2006 Am and Pro World Championships.
* The PDGA’s International Program expanded to 15 overseas countries and the inaugural PDGA EuroTour and European Open were held. There are now more than 600 current members in Europe Japan and Australasia.
…”