OK, there’s been a lot of things I’ve read about collectible discs.
I know of several people who have spent many dollars on discs to add to their collections. And I shake my head in wonder over this. But, we’ll get to that in a moment.
For now, let’s peek back to last week’s poll. We were curious how long of a break you had taken from disc golf. It could be for any reason, but since becoming a disc golfer, what kind of breaks have you taken?
We had 103 voters in this poll and the winning selection was two weeks, which scored 29 votes (28 percent). Second place went to a year or longer with 19 votes (19 percent). One month tied with 2-3 months for the next spot (17 votes/17 percent), followed by 4-5 months (11 votes/11 percent) and 6-11 months (10 votes/nine percent).
It seems people, too, had different reasons for their breaks. Let’s see what some of the readers had to say.
Andy P said:
I have been playing for almost 12 years and, being that I have a somewhat obsessive personality, have always tried to get at least one round per week in year round. However, after my father passed at a younger age in ’05 I separated myself from a lot of those types of activities (disc golf, cycling, martial arts, etc.) to focus on family responsibilities. It was a good two years before I picked up a disc again but when I finally got back out on the course I haven’t gone a week without throwing.
It’s things like this that remind us how real life can really take control of things. This break, obviously, was for a reason that needed to be done. I’m glad you’ve been able to get back into the game.
Kevin King says:
Basically, it comes down to weather. Living in Canada, we usually get a few weeks each winter where it hits -40 and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone outside, let alone playing a whole round of disc. But once the weather comes back up to -20 or better, you’ll find me out for at least 9 holes in a heavy jacket. Understandably, I don’t expect to set any new personal bests for me between Nov-Feb, but it’s good to head out there just to stay loose and stay sane.
See, I’m one of those people if a heavy jacket is involved, I’m likely not playing. I don’t get too cold too easily, so I can often get away with a turtleneck and a heavy sweatshirt. But when the heavy jackets come out, I’m out until it warms up!
Alan said:
In Logan Utah we have this thing called bitter cold winter… Snow is one obstacle, extreme cold is the other. Combine the two, and you go months without playing disc golf.
Sure it’s possible to play a round once in a while between December and February, but it’s usually not fun, especially on hilly courses.
Yep, with that I agree. It’s not fun in those climates!
Mark Woods notes:
I generally play a few rounds per week, but had to lay off this Spring and Summer due to a torn bicep. I’m just getting back out on the courses now.
Injuries, I would think, are one of the main reasons people take breaks. Was the bicep on the throwing arm?
Morgan said:
I just started playing back in march, after a 6 year hiatus from disc golf. i found my original 2 discs a viper and a shark and told my wife that i wanted to go out and play a round.. she asked me if she could join me.. we’ve lost a collective 65 lbs since then.. not bad for 5 months of having fun and enjoying each others company.
What a great story. First for re-finding the sport and two for losing the weight. Well done and keep it up!
Now back to this week’s poll question.
Collecting discs seems to be quite the thing. I once heard of somebody paying hundreds of dollars for a disc.
A few months back, when visiting the Lancaster, Pa., area to learn about mini disc golf, I had the chance to see the collection of Mini Disc Golf guru Donnie Brooks.
Talk about amazing!
Frisbees, lids, old discs, historic discs — everything.
I didn’t even want to try and figure out how much all of this stuff is worth! But it made me wonder, too, why people people pay so much for a piece of plastic.
I then remembered that I’ve paid a lot of money for some baseball cards — cardboard — that I have and decided to zip it. People collect things, plastic included.
So it made me wonder — how much is too much for a disc? So how much have you paid for a disc? Or how much would you pay for a disc? This poll had several options. You can choose two — but please vote only once in “I have paid” and one in “I would pay” so we can see what people have to say.
I’ll be interested to see what people think.
Let us know how much you’ve paid and/or would pay for a disc. And tell us about your collection. This will hopefully be an interesting poll to see the results of, so vote and comment!
[poll id=”28″]
EDIT: I added another selection for those who don’t/won’t pay so much or collect discs.
If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, ideas or anything else, feel free to e-mail me and the crew at: pj [at] rattlingchains.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!
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I have paid $35 for a disc signed by Avery and Valerie Jenkins to add above my mantle (my wife is wonderful for putting up with me) but I have a hard time justifying paying much more at this point. I might expand my spending limit when I start pulling money out of tournaments to pay for that hobby. Until then I will keep it under $50.
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I dont pay more than $18 for plastic unless its signed by a pro! and I wont even buy those unless they are authenticated. Over 50 is absurd.
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I can not get myself to spend a ton of money on myself so I only buy what I want to throw and if it does not work out trade for something else.
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I can’t afford to collect, so I just buy throwers. I try to avoid throwing OOP discs too in order to keep costs down. I just have one Pro Rhyno (which I’ve had since they were still in production), and an ESP Comet I bought recently for $15.
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When I started golfing in 2006 I thought people paying extra for a tiedye disc were crazy. I now own over 100+ Aviars including the coveted Hands On, Factored Chains that Ed had played around with the bead, 1985 Patent Pending and many other vintage Aviars. I went from collecting a variety of discs to just the rarest Aviars I could get. That being said I have stayed under the $100 mark, but have a few in the collection that were pretty close in acquisition and worth more if I’d sell them now. If collecting wasn’t enough, my son now 20 months old is named Aviar so I’ve got the one of a kind not for sale or trade Aviar worth more then any $ value.
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I have over a hundred discs and have thrown every one, i don’t see a point in collecting discs. I do however have a few ace discs and tournament discs on the wall but that is sentimental value.
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I’ve spent $60 on a disc, but not for a collection. I only buy discs that I’m going to throw. It sucks that the older, collectible, plastic is the best.
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I only buy what i’ll throw, but i would pay anything to find my old 2nd run CE Valkyrie (extremely over stable) that i lost last summer. If I could find a match for that one, i would spend over $50 to get it back, and then get a backup to. I would never collect a disc for that much, but the best shots I’ve ever hit were with that disc, so to get it back, would be almost priceless.
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I only purchase plastic I can throw. A while back I had some kind stranger drop a stack of 10 random discs in my driveway. One of them was a CE Eagle. I had no idea the market value until someone at my local course was appalled to see me throwing it. I was shocked when they told me it sells for $40-60. It’s now retired, but I feel like it’s good plastic gone to waste.
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As a avid collector of cool sports history, items associated with HOFers, very early special or limited releases, game changers, etc. have appreciated through the years. While we balk at prices collectors may pay, you have to admit it would have been cool to go back in history and snag a rookie card, jersey, football used in SB 1, hockey stick, etc. What we are seeing in disc golf is exactly the same…a sport in its infancy that will one day be played at a worldwide corporately sponsored professional level. What will prices be when the sharks start buying up the collectibles? Be smart; snag some of those early Innova releases and you’ll be rewarded later.
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I’m not sure I’ve ever paid over $15 for a disc, much less over $25 and I personally don’t see the point in having plastic that’s not getting thrown. Thanks to good player packs and some moderately good am division tourney results, I’ve ended up with enough free plastic that I don’t remember the last time I actually had to buy a disc. I rarely play ball golf anymore and associated costs are a BIG reason why I’m now a weekly disc golfer.
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I’ve bought two champion rocs for $30 each. I throw one regularly and the other is for backup/collection. I couldn’t see myself paying much more than that for a disc. My collection consists of discs from tournaments that I’ve played in with cool stamps . I have no need for rare expensive discs, just stuff I want to throw and stuff that I think looks cool.
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I have been playing for a little over 5 years now and the most I think I have ever paid is $18.00. Of course I am not collectiong discs per se, but I have somehow managed to amass 60+ discs and I carry no more than 12 when I play. Many of my discs I have never thrown, some are from tournaments some bought in a buying frenzy and just haven’t gotten around to trying them out. I think the custom stamped discs are cool for a souvenier, but I wouldn’t pay a premium for one. I haven’t had a favorite disc discontinued yet, so I haven’t been faced with that scenerio yet. But I might pay $50 or more for that disc I have been searching for that will absoulutey, positively turn my game around! LOL
Rick G
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I do not buy old discs from the past to collect. My thing is tournament discs.Like Worlds collectable discs. Cool looking stamps etc. My last speciality disc was Worlds ’12. There were tournament discs in the player pack, but stamps not as cool as the ones sold individually. That’s how my discs roll.
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I couldn’t check any category. I wouldn’t pay more than 25 for disc, but I buy plastic I can’t throw. Usually it is plastic I think I might be able to throw, but when I get it I can’t throw it (which I pretty much knew anyway, but the disc was too attractive to let go). So I could say I only buy plastic I THINK I can throw, but I can’t say I only buy plastic I can throw. If I could THROW, I would throw the discs I can’t throw. And maybe someday I will be able to throw the discs I can’t throw now. One always can hope.
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I was thinking of buying the first usdgc rocs when they came out but the cost seemed to high $25. Now worth $500+
The next year I bought 2 ce rocs, I lost one and still have and use the other one
180g orange- have seen them sell used on eBay for $100 or more
I do own new ce eagles, tbirds and valks but don’t throw the because of the value
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I just started collecting a few weeks ago. the most I’ve spent on one disc is $35. I can’t see myself spending any more than that. I’ve gotten a lot of the discs in my collection in the used section at a store called Play it Again Sports. You don’t have to spend tons of money to collect discs. I collect mainly discs that I think are cool or that have some sort of sentimental value.
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I’ll pay up to $15 for a disc.
Good news: My wife and kids all like disc golf too.
Bad news: That means I’m shopping for 5 golfers.
Can’t complain, though.
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