Non-Disc Golf Sponsors: Who will be next and what does it mean?
DGPT/PDGA
One (of many) ways that disc golf is different from other major sports, is the homogeneity of its sponsors. Until the last few years, sponsors of disc golf players and disc golf events at the highest level have been 99% companies in the disc golf industry, i.e. disc manufacturers, bag manufacturers, apparel brands marketed specifically for disc golf. This is not unusual in and of itself, but when you look at other sports, even more obscure ones such as cornhole and darts, you see loads of sponsors that have nothing to do with that sport. As far as I know, Bush’s Baked Beans does not produce or sell any cornhole equipment, yet they are front and center as a sponsor at many high level cornhole events. What does this mean? To me, this is an indicator of the size of the sport as an institution. It indicates that there are enough people both watching and playing the sport that companies with very wide markets (such as food companies) see the sport as a valuable demographic. Though there are other factors, which I will touch on briefly, I would argue that the driving force behind the presence of these non-industry-related sponsors is the sheer number of people laying eyes on branded materials. Disc golf has finally begun to enter this arena of non-industry sponsors in the last few years.
Now, I want to be fair and point out that comparing sponsorship in disc golf to sponsorship in other sports is not strictly apples to apples. There are two main factors besides overall size and popularity of the game that contribute to the homogeneity of sponsors in disc golf relative to other sports.
1. Spectators vs. players
Unlike mainstream sports such as football and baseball, most (if not all) people who watch professional disc golf also play the game. This means that viewers are actively in the market for gear and implements used in the game. Though football is the most watched sport in America, football fans with consumer power (adults) do not play football. When was the last time you heard of an adult recreational football league? Though to a slightly lesser extent, the same goes for baseball, soccer, and basketball. Since viewers are generally not players, there is no real reason to market actual sporting implements to them. Sure, Nike, Adidas, et. al. still market heavily in mainstream sports, but this is because they sell so many products that are universally used, such as clothing. In a Nike commercial during a football game they aren’t trying to sell you footballs and cleats, they are trying to sell you the brand as a whole. Due to this spectator to player ratio in mainstream sports, companies with products in the actual sport industry have little incentive to market to the viewers at large, while disc golf companies do.
2. Consumability and accessibility of products
Like disc golf, games such as ball golf, cornhole, and darts likely fall much more into the category of most spectators also being players. However, none of these other games match the consumption rate of disc golf products (with the exception of golf balls). I don’t think darts or cornhole bags regularly get thrown into ponds and lost as golf discs do. Nor do cornhole boards wear out after a year and need to be replaced as disc golf bags do. Even putting aside how often golf discs are lost, discs still have a finite lifespan and are switched into and out of use frequently due to their ever changing performance. In general, once you have your cornhole set, dart set, or golf club set, you’re mostly set to play the game for a long time without any additional purchases. Your cornhole equipment and golf clubs are not going to wear out and need to be replaced any time soon. Since disc golfers of all levels are constantly cycling through plastic, there is nearly limitless demand for golf discs.
Then there is accessibility. The barriers to purchasing golf discs are extremely low. Discs are just cheap, there’s no other way to say it. When brand new discs are almost always less than $20, of course people are going to be buying them constantly. And that’s not to mention the perpetual supply of like-new discs for half that price in the used bin! There is simply no comparison here with other sports. A new set of pro-level cornhole boards will run you $250, with pro-level bags running $50 or more. Same story with darts. And golf clubs are a whole other animal. A cheapo set of starter clubs is going to cost $200-$300, and the clubs the pros use? Forget about it. We’re talking thousands of dollars. But the $10 Wraith you pick up off the used rack is going to be essentially indistinguishable from the one Garrett Gurthie is throwing. So not only do implements in other sports not really need to be replaced often, even if they wanted to, average Joe players can’t afford to be constantly buying gear the way disc golfers can.
My point in laying all this out in such detail is to show that, unlike in football, marketing in disc golf is never going to be dominated by the likes of Aflac, Toyota, and Home Depot. No matter how huge disc golf gets, I think that disc golf companies will probably always make up at least half of the sponsors of disc golf players and events at the highest level. But, as I alluded to at the beginning of this article, due to the ever growing popularity of disc golf, those outside sponsors are creeping in. We have already seen the likes of Sunstein, Halal Guys, L.L. Bean, and Barbasol. Below I will explore companies that I think will be or should be the next to enter the disc golf world.
Shoe Companies
There are several brands in this category that I think would be good candidates for beginning to market to disc golfers. The biggest names that come to mind are Vans, Adidas, and Merrell. All of these shoe brands are already popular among disc golfers, so entry to the industry could be as simple as marketing their existing products as such. Off the top of my head, Gannon Buhr and Alden Harris play in Vans, Paul McBeth plays in Adidas, and I personally play in Merrells and constantly see others doing the same. If these brands simply started marketing their most popular disc golf shoes as such, they could potentially nail down a new revenue stream. However, putting my businessman hat on for a minute, if disc golfers are already buying their shoes consistently, would it make sense to throw money at a market they’re already selling to? Is there anything to gain? I think it remains to be seen.
Another arguably untapped aspect of the disc golf shoe market is exactly that: a true disc golf shoe. While I commend Idio for their attempt, I have heard unanimously negative reviews of the Idio Syncrasy, which is the first ever shoe designed specifically for disc golf. To me, the door is still wide open for the entry of a disc golf shoe, and any of the above brands seem to be likely candidates to make that entry.
UltiWorld
Vibram???
Man, I often feel bad for Vibram. Talk about being in the right place at the wrong time. For those of you new players who are not aware, Vibram, the shoe company (who could also be included in the above category), used to make golf discs! And though they were never overly popular, they were sweet. Vibram discs were, in my opinion, the most unique take on golf discs that has ever been created. The plastic, perhaps more accurately called rubber in this case, was like no other, the texture was like no other, the colors were like no other, and the little embedded rubber Vibram logo was like no other. I would definitely say that Vibram was ahead of its time in terms of golf discs. Unfortunately, though “ahead of its time” is generally used as a compliment in retrospect, in the present tense, you don’t always want to be ahead of your time. This was certainly the case for Vibram. Vibram produced discs from 2008 to 2018, calling it quits just two years before the disc golf popularity explosion catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vibram confirmed in 2021 that they were considering restarting their disc golf division, but evidently, they never pulled the trigger. Though the pandemic explosion is over, disc golf continues grow steadily in popularity. Did Vibram miss their chance yet again? Is there still space for them in the disc golf world?
Sports drink companies
Everybody has to stay hydrated, including disc golfers. I think disc golf is finally starting to attract the kinds of numbers that could entice huge beverage companies such as Red Bull, Gatorade, and Liquid IV. With disc golf being primarily a summer sport, disc golfers are putting down millions of gallons per year on the course, and those are gallons that could be sports drink. Sports drinks have electrolytes. Electrolytes are what disc golfers crave. People bring their own drinks from home obviously, but tournament directors provide a lot of drinks as well, especially in the height of summer. It could behoove these beverage companies to work out some kind of deal for tournament directors. But at the same time, these companies are massive and disc golf could still be small potatoes to them. Disc golf could be a prime piece of market share for a smaller and newer sports drink company. I would not be surprised at all to see some beverages enter the sponsor space in the coming years.
Luggage and bag companies
Disc golf bags (and carts) account for a huge portion of the disc golf industry. They are certainly not bought as often as plastic, but they are much more expensive. Admittedly, the disc golf bag arena is already pretty saturated, so the juice may not be worth the squeeze to an outside company. But, brands like JanSport, Ogio (who has manufactured disc golf bags in the past), Fjallraven, and even L.L. Bean already have the textile and luggage manufacturing infrastructure to easily introduce a disc golf bag. Plus, economies of scale are on these companies’ side when it comes to competing with the existing bag makers. For no more than it would cost, could it be worth it for these companies to make a quick foray into the disc golf world?
General “outdoors” companies
There is already substantial overlap in the disc golf and outdoorsman demographics. I know of many disc golfers who also enjoy fishing, hiking, camping, boating, and just being outside. There are also many disc golf courses that are located near where these other activities take place; state parks, campgrounds, lakes, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised to see companies such as REI, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, and even Eno Hammocks and other outdoor accessory companies, start to dip their toes into the disc golf world. It may not be worth these retail giants trying to sell discs, but it may be worth it to try and cultivate loyalty for their other offerings among disc golfers. Sure, Academy Sporting Goods sells golf discs, but their prices are insane, and their selection is crap. Am I going to start buying plastic from Academy instead of my local disc golf shop? I can’t really imagine a circumstance where I would. But am I more likely to go there for my other outdoors and sporting goods needs if I knew they sponsored high level disc golf? Probably. It could be worth it for these companies to simply zoom in on disc golf marketing-wise.
Now, I want my intentions for this article to be clear. This is all pure speculation. Thinking like a business, the above are a few of the corporate sponsors that I think would make the most sense to enter the disc golf world. I think that expansion of non-disc golf sponsors is an exciting and good thing for a number of reasons:
1. It adds visibility and legitimacy.
I think people who have been immersed in the disc golf world for more than the last 5 years or so (myself included) are often blinded by how much the sport has grown in recent years. We have seen incredible growth in almost every metric over this time period: pro purses, pro contracts, event production quality, number of companies in the industry. But it’s all relative. Disc golf is still very small. More than once have I been talking to a non-disc golfer friend or family member and talking about how much money the top pros make, excitedly explaining how the top players make $70k to $100k, just in winnings, (Oooo!) and that’s not even including contracts! (Ahhh!) Only to be met with a blank face that seems to say “Oh, is that a lot?” I am just so excited by the fact that every year, more and more people are able to make a living playing disc golf, that I forget that bench warmers in mainstream sports make more than 10x what a successful touring pro makes. Still very small indeed. But when a company such as L.L. Bean or Barbasol gets involved, that is a ton of exposure for the game! That’s thousands of new eyes seeing disc golf for the first time, and perhaps having their interest piqued. For some perspective, as of the writing of this article, (January 12th 2024) L.L. Bean has 505,000 followers on Instagram. That is more than Paul McBeth, Ezra Aderhold, and Disc Golf Pro Tour combined. Involvement of non-disc golf sponsors is both a symptom of and a catalyst for growth.
2. Growth.
Amidst the explosive growth of the last few years, I feel like the once ubiquitous adage “grow the sport” has fallen somewhat out of vogue. A question that has risen up in disc golf discourse is, “Is growth always a good thing?” I say yes. That is not to say that growth does not come with strings attached or that nothing negative will result from growth, but I would argue ardently that the positives dramatically outweigh the negatives. If there is a football game between a 6A high school of 2000 students, and a 1A high school of 200 students, who are you betting on to win the game? The size of the schools is the only piece of information you have. I, and I am confident most people would do the same, would bet on the 6A school every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Is this because students from the larger school’s area are just inherently better at football? No, of course not. The larger school just has a much larger pool of students to pull from and therefore, by virtue of statistics, they will also have a much larger total quantity of talent. Having a larger pool of disc golfers means that there will be more everything. More innovators, more entrepreneurs, more phenoms, more courses, larger pro purses, more full time professionals, and perhaps most importantly, more money to be made. I often think to myself, and see other people asking the same thing, “why doesn’t XYZ product or service exist for disc golf?” 99% of the time the answer is because there isn’t enough demand to make a profit on that product or service. As disc golf grows, we are constantly hitting the critical mass necessary for new products and services to be sustainable. Do you think Disc Golf Network could have existed 7 or 8 years ago? Heck no! There wasn’t enough interest to sustain it at the time! Anybody who tried to launch DGN in 2015 would have taken a massive bath. But now, disc golf is bigger, and DGN thrives, and in my opinion it’s a boon to the disc golf world. This is just one example of the benefits of growth.
Objectors might cry that making disc golf more corporate is not the recipe for improvement, and I would agree. I am not advocating for disc golf to be more corporate by any means. It is not at all my desire for JanSport to swoop in and put Pound and Grip out of business. But it is my desire to have the best products possible for the best prices possible. Competition is how this is achieved. Competition is the engine that drives innovation. And keep in mind that consumers hold the power. If JanSport releases a disc golf bag and you don’t like JanSport and you don’t think they have disc golf’s best interests in mind, then don’t buy their bag. Put your money where your mouth is and pay a little more for that Pound, Sigr, or Grip bag.
This article has ended up being far longer than I had intended when I started writing it, so I will close by simply saying, I am proud to have seen where disc golf has come to over all these years, and I am so excited to see where it goes. Please share your thoughts in the comments. Who do you think will be the next big non-industry sponsors? Do you think non-industry sponsors are a good or a bad thing?
