“A Throw Above the Rest” – Interview with Full Flight Disc Golf

Posted by randomtiz

Hello everyone, JT here with DoglegDiscGolf.com. I’ve got a special interview to share with you guys with Nichole & Sean Gallagher, owners of Full Flight Disc Golf—one of Canada’s rapidly-growing disc golf retailers! Full Flight Disc Golf, based out of Ontario, has been taking the Canadian disc golf scene by storm!

Sean and I first started talking back earlier this year about teaming up to do something for the blog. Because of our different schedules between company name transitions, wedding planning and several other things our interview had to get pushed back to fourth quarter. I’m really excited about this interview/post finally coming into fruition. Just from talking to Sean, I’ve found that he is extremely passionate about disc golf, he & his wife’s new company Full Flight Disc Golf, life in general and an all-around genuine guy. We’ve sat down and put something together for you guys that I hope you’ll like. If you enjoy our interview, please share! Enjoy.

Q&A with Full Flight Disc Golf:

DLDG: Thank you Nichole & Sean for joining us today. Alright guys lets kick this off. First, tell me a little about Full Flight Disc Golf.

FF: Full Flight is the newest Canadian family-owned disc golf company. We want to support, promote and bring a new fresh look to disc golfers in Ontario & Canada.

DLDG: Where exactly in Canada are you guys based out of?

FF: We are based out of St. Thomas, Ontario Canada. We are spoiled here, 2 courses locally (V.A. Barrie & Dalewood) and many other courses are very close within driving distance!

DLDG: Now tell me a little about the history of Full Flight.

FF: Full Flight started earlier this year. As a player and living in Canada, we don’t have anywhere we can go and shop (except for some variety stores that want $26 for discs & usually only is Discraft or Innova—not that there is anything wrong with that, but no selection) and online there is nobody. So we find ourselves going online to the States and having to pay more for shipping and longer times to wait for that new disc. My wife said to me “We should just sell them ourselves.” Guys I don’t know if you know this, NEVER argue with your wife—she is always right. And so Full Flight was born.

DLDG: Haha, great piece of marriage advice there Sean. As you know, I just got married this September, so I’ll be sure to hang onto that one. Haha OK, so tell me a little about the disc golf culture in Canada.

FF: We are the same as anywhere else. Disc golf isn’t as big here yet as it is in the States, but that’s changing—and changing quickly. It’s a new sport you can play with friends and family or compete and enjoy every minute of it. Full Flight is trying to support, attend & set up shop at tourneys to show all disc golfers there is more. The feedback has been huge & we can’t wait for next year!

DLDG: What are courses like up there in Canada? I’d LOVE to get up there one day and play Canada!

FF: Courses are AWESOME!! We have lots of beautiful courses and lots more are coming. V.A. Barrie, Christie Lake, Toronto Island, Barrie, Peterborough…I missed tons but they are all sweet—and that’s just locally. There are beauties in every province.

DLDG: Is disc golf a seasonal sport up there? I mean, you guys must have snow like most months out of the year, haha right?

FF: LOL… well when the polar bears leave and the penguins aren’t stealing our discs LOL!! But really, we have a pretty good season. Usually can start playing in April and go until November. We still play in the winter, but we use brighter discs and usually add streamers onto the discs. And again that is just locally, I am sure it varies everywhere!

DLDG: Lol, that’s hilarious. I don’t know if I could handle sub-zero temps playing in snow for an extended period of time. But again, I guess I could get used to it if that was my only choice til the warmer season. I’m pretty accustomed to playing in the heat of summer here when the heat index breaks into triple digits. Good ol’ Georgia heat, haha.

Wait, so streamers on discs?

FF: Yea, like “ribbon”. You cut off pieces of ribbon and then tape them to the disc. So if your disc happens to land in the deeper snow, you can find it by the piece of string hanging out!

DLDG: That’s amazing. I would have never thought of that.

Well what led you guys to decide to start selling online?

FF: We started locally and the response was awesome; then we hooked up with some of the amazing TD’s running tournaments locally in Ontario. We were able to go and set up shop right at the tourneys. In Canada that is not seen or even heard of. We wanted that to change. We are working hard to bring tons of different manufacturers to the tourneys for players to touch and feel and drool on!!!

So one thing lead to another—we thought if we have that problem here in Ontario, the rest of Canada has to be in the same boat. So we thought lets reach out on the net!

DLDG: That’s a smart move Sean. With the way technology and direction the internet is going, it’s crazy not to have an online presence. I read in Internet Retailer earlier this year that—just in the U.S. alone—e-commerce sales totaled over $225 billion in 2012! And sales are expected to increase by like 10% or something each year, that’s insane! Also with the increasing popularity of tablets and smartphones, people are spending more and more time online including shopping.

With all these other online disc golf retailers, what would you say sets Full Flight apart from others?

FF: Well selection and price. There isn’t much around and that’s where Full Flight wants to change that and grow it to!!! We want to have the biggest disc shop in Ontario and we’re working hard everyday to try to do that! Players and customers are number 1 to us. Without their support we would not even be where we are now without them!

DLDG: I know what you mean. I try to buy/support local as much as I can, but sometimes the selection just isn’t there. Especially if I’m ordering larger quantities, I’ll shop around online and find the best deals mixed with great selection. That’s what’s great about online retailers too, the deals you’ll find!

Do you guys just sell to Canada?

FF: We are trying to concentrate on the needs of Canadians. But if there is something any player sees that they want, we want them to have it and will do what ever it takes to make that happen for them. You have to remember there isn’t much for disc golf selection in Canada; we want Canadians to see Full Flight can get it to them faster—no hidden border fees and pretty much the same cost!

DLDG: What are some of the hottest-selling discs right now that you guys have found?

FF: Everything is selling well, we find people are trying everything because they can! We try and keep up with all the newest discs, bags and clothes. Anything disc golf-related, we want Canadians to see Full Flight can fulfill all their plastic cravings!

DLDG: I hear Full Flight Disc Golf actually has a sponsored team too, is that right?

FF: Yes, we have team Full Flight. An amazing group of disc golfers that support and support the disc golf community above and beyond. We are proud to say the players wear the Full Flight logo and are proud of it. They are a huge part of Full Flight and we can’t thank them enough. Thank you Guys!

DLDG: Tell me about the Full Flight team. Who all do you guys have on board?

Team Full Flight is made up of 5 amazing players:

• Dave Northrup – PDGA# 9448
• Brian Farquhar – PDGA# 55627
• Jamie Pay – PDGA# 14000
• Steve McNeil aka McFlight – PDGA# 50280
• Chris Stein – PDGA# 49993

DLDG: That’s awesome, very cool! Nichole & Sean, is there anything else that you would like to share with the Dogleg DG Community?

Honestly we can’t say enough about team Full Flight. These guys play hard and support even harder. We had an awesome year this year with Dave Northrup taking 1st place at the ODSA finals. We just added Steve McNeil & Chris Stein to the team late this year. We are excited about next year and wish the boys the best of luck. Be watching—we are hoping to add a female to the Full Flight line up!

DLDG: Thanks again Sean, Nichole and Full Flight Disc Golf for taking the time to make this interview happen! [Keep reading below for a special offer and pics.]

This interview itself was a long time coming, but I’m very glad and excited that it happened. I believe Nichole & Sean have a good thing going up there in Canada. Once again I want to thank Sean and his team for working with us and sending us shots below from St. Thomas V.A. Barrie Park.

Be sure to check them out at FullFlightDiscGolf.com for all your discing needs including the latest selection in discs, bags, accessories and more. Full Flight is offering a SPECIAL DEAL just for our Dogleg readers, use to receive 10% OFF your order! Just in time for Thanksgiving—hurry, it’s only good for 2 weeks!

Also, be sure to follow Full Flight on Facebook and “Like” their page, facebook.com/FullFlightDiscGolf!

[*Photos courtesy of Full Flight Disc Golf and W. Mac Photography.]

Visit their Online Store — FullFlightDiscGolf.com
“Like” Full Flight on Facebook — facebook.com/FullFlightDiscGolf
Follow Full Flight on Twitter — twitter.com/FullFlightDG