What pro disc golf can learn from the growth of pro skateboarding

You wouldn’t know it now …

But I used to be cool.

Before I devoted way too much time to grandma sports like pickleball and a stiff breeze made my body ache, I was a skater. And when I say “skater,” I ain’t talkin’ bout ice dancing, either.

I mean skateboarding – like, Tony Hawk stuff.

These days, however, I’ve traded in kickflips for hyzer-flips and backside crooked grinds for backhand flex lines. As I transition from watching skate videos to the latest in Pro Tour coverage, I can’t help but feel disc golf could learn a bit from its extreme cousin …

Here’s what’s in my head:

* Note: If you struggle with tongue-in-cheek writing, click away – you’ve been warned.

Be on the cutting edge of fashion

From the absurdly baggy JNCO jeans and spikey hair of yesteryear to today’s flat-bill hats and flannel shirts, professional skateboarders’ bold, provocative clothing has influenced the fashion industry and pop culture for decades. I’m no Coco Chanel, but trust me on this one …

It’s time disc golf became THIS season’s hottest new look.

Let’s have the pros ditch the floral polos, beige ball-golf shorts and bucket hats for something more visually stimulating. After all, a teepad is really just a concrete runway in the woods …

#BlueSteel

Cultivate a bad-boy image

In spite of most parents’ disapproval, professional skateboarding’s counterculture roots and extreme risk-taking have produced a bad-boy image for the sport that’s highly marketable.

Like skating, disc golf ALSO has a counterculture history …

All that’s missing is the risk-taking.

While the dangers might not be as extreme, there are still some serious hazards on the course. Nate Doss, Terry Miller, Ian Anderson and Philo Brathwaite: Emphasize them, please …

• Poison ivy and oak: If you’ve had ‘em bad, you know this stuff’ll ruin your life.
• Putting from a knee without a pad of some sort is grounds for mild chafing.
• The three Ss of disc golf: Snakes, spiders and stinging nettles all suck.

Also, there’s this …

Accident at #TheOpenAtAustin #EagleMcMahon #DGPT #JomezPro pic.twitter.com/N9SP65XaCv

— 🍎👁 (@mattyisthatboi) March 18, 2023

Always wear a helmet.

Get that big-time shoe money

Skateboarding has been profitable since the late 90s. But when household shoe companies like Nike and Adidas started making skate-specific sneakers, it became a mother-freaking cash cow.

Skateboarding is a shoe manufacturer’s wet dream: The very act of skating literally shreds your overpriced footwear. At the peak of my skating days, I easily went through five pairs a year.

But shoes designed only for disc golf would last an eternity, right?

Wrong.

If the PDGA wants some of that sweet Nike coin jangling in its coffer, its touring pros must start going through sneakers like deep-fried butter at an Iowa county fair. For the growth of the game, disc golf needs pros dragging their toes (accidental rhyme) the entire length of the teepad on coverage. Telling fans new shoes’ll add 30 feet of distance to their drives would help, too.

The money will come.

Although change doesn’t happen overnight, I’m sure members of disc golf’s governing hierarchy will see this article and immediately take these lessons to heart. At least, I hope they do …

I need my girlfriend to think I’m cool again.

Have anything to add? Take to Twitter to let us know – we’ll actually (for real) get back to you.

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