For the love of the sport. A place for DG enthusiasts to share their thoughts.

Welcoming New Players: A Short Guide

Posted by destinjames


Last night I went to a friend’s BBQ party, and  three interesting things happened: I broke up a dogfight (wow, that was crazy), afterwards someone said ‘frolf’ during a conversation, and then lastly someone else said ‘frolf’ again within the same hour.

Even though the dogfight was crazy and gave me minor injuries and quite the adrenaline rush, the use of the word ‘frolf’ captured my attention the most, and it got me thinking…

The sport of Disc Golf is still growing, but there are a lot of players that don’t understand how truly amazing Disc Golf is.

Here is my short guide to welcoming new players to the wonderful sport of Disc Golf.

#1

Be convincing that’s it’s worth their time. Take them to a scenic and/or relatively flat course – it will be more playable and enjoyable for a beginner.

I personally recommend buying them a beer (21 and over of course!) before the round, or buy/give them a disc… It will have more impact on whether they play again or not.

#2

 A new player will always ask, “What’s the best disc to use?” and you should give options – and in my years of playing, you should always say “mid-range” and a recommendation. Once they have played, they will find a certain disc that fits their hand and throwing style.

#3

 Give them a crash-course on the physics of how a golf disc flies. Teach them what understable, overstable, and stable is. I recommend throwing a couple discs from your bag to demonstrate – also, let them know about thumbing (thumber) and tomahawking. For right-handed throwers, thumbing will make the disc curve to the left, and opposite for tomahawks.

 #4

ALWAYS be courteous. A lot of new players take a while to learn and straighten their throw, make sure you’re quiet and patient during throws and be positive towards them no matter how far they go off course – and congratulate them on successful fairway drives!

This wonderful sport still needs a lot of players. If you play, don’t be afraid to invite a friend you think might like hitting chains for the first time – chances are, they wanted to hang out and have a great time outside anyway.

Lots of Chain Noise,

 😀estin

2 Responses

  1. Pingback: » Welcoming New Players: A Short Guide Dogleg Disc Golf | Disc Golf News

  2. Nice! I love teaching new players the game, even when I end up giving away lots of discs! There is nothing like seeing them get their first fairway drive, birdie, or long putt. Remember to keep bringing great people to course, that way our sport will continue to be great!!

    April 2, 2014 at 9:50 am

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