Month: August 2012

Poll 21: How did you get introduced?

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

It seems whenever I talk to somebody, they found the game in a different way.

Personally, I had seen baskets before and knew a little about it, but actually took an interest when we found a disc while out geocaching. Two of us thought it would be cool to try at some point, but that thought died soon after.

Eventually, a friend talked me and another friend into trying it. At that point, I had no clue about a pro tour or anything like that. It was just something new to try. I was more intrigued because the course he was taking us to had several geocaches throughout (as it was in a park).

I figured, heck, I can combine some hobbies and it could be fun.

More on that in a moment. Before we get to the rest of this story and this week’s poll, let’s re-visit last week’s poll.

Last week, we asked how strong your arm is — in other words, how far can you throw? I knew some people might point out that it’s not about strength, but form. And I understand that, but I was curious to see how far people could throw. Just raw throwing.

The results we got, to me, were interesting.

For a while, I knew I didn’t throw far. But over time, my throws got longer. It felt good. I estimated distance. Some friends told me I had to be throwing 300-325 feet. So I was stoked.

Continue reading →

Once the buyer, now the seller (and trader)

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

With the pile getting bigger, it was time to shed some plastic. (photo by Steve Hill)

By Steve Hill — RattlingChains.com Staff

As readers of this fine website may recall, I have battled plastic addiction for quite some time now.

However, over the last couple months I have been navigating the road to recovery, and it is all due to making the plunge and selling discs online.

As a member of the forums over at DGCourseReview.com, I have wasted plenty of time posting about discs, courses, and other nonsense. Luckily, some of my time there has now been productive, as I am using their Marketplace forum to list my discs that were otherwise collecting dust.

It is quite easy, really — you start a thread listing your discs, then give each a little description, rating of wear, a photo, and price. People can then message you to arrange payment or trades.

The best part of the Marketplace, though, is the feedback you can give on transactions, much like on eBay. Since it is the Internet and you have no clue who you are dealing with, you can use each buyer’s feedback ratings to guide you in the process.

The First Taste

At first, it was pure laziness that kept me from dabbling in the Marketplace. Taking all the photos for the discs, listing the prices, making multiple trips to the post office … It all sounded like a lot of work.

Continue reading →

Opinion: Low voter turnout for PDGA election not good for game

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

Where are all the disc golfers?

That question, by itself, is probably pretty easy to answer. Head to your local course and find a few.

With disc golf being a fast-growing sport, I would think there would be a lot more disc golfers interested in the game as a whole, not just throwing discs around the course.

The reason I ask this is because of several things I’ve noticed lately. One is the statistics for hits from this website. We go up and down quite rapidly. Part of that, of course, is pinned on us going to basically three stories per week. But even before that, we saw a slight drop.

Is it content? Is it because it’s the summer and more people are outside?

Who knows.

That, to me, isn’t alarming. See, we do this because we love to do it and if people read and comment, that’s a bonus.

Then there’s the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA).

The PDGA is the governing body of our sport. If you have played in sanctioned events, you know all about the PDGA. In fact, I’ll bet most of you who read this blog know what the PDGA is and what they do (for the most part).

The PDGA is ruled over by an elected board of directors. This board helps shape the sport as a whole. The board includes professionals and amateurs and people who have made disc golf their life.

The association held its annual elections for three board seats through the month of July. Members had that month to cast their ballots online. I first got notice in early June that the PDGA would be sending its ballots out July 2, so I knew it was coming.

On July 2, I received my ballot. At that point, I knew I would vote (I always do), so I put a reminder on my calendar for the final date. I wanted to see what would happen through the month.

Continue reading →