Folf? FOLF. Folf….

*Sigh* Yes, I begin this post with an audible sigh. This article, written in the Lake County Leader & Advertiser out of Polson, MT was brought to my attention. Normally, I’m happy to see that disc golf is getting some sort of publicity, even if its just a small article written up in a local newspaper. Most of these kind of articles say the same thing, explain briefly what disc golf is, that the rules are similar to golf, but it’s much cheaper and family friendly, and so on. Even if they don’t get everything right, it’s usually still better than nothing. Not the case with this wreck of an article. No, this one almost has me hyperventilating from the amount of sighing I have to do.

There is so much wrong with this article, I don’t want to go through point by point and expose the problems, because that would be too time consuming. I will point out a couple things though. Firstly, they insinuate that “folf” is the real name of the game, and that “disc golf” is just some alternative term that some people in the backwoods use. The author also seems to believe that using the turbo putt (a putt that maybe 5% of disc golfers use on a regular basis) is the proper form that people should use. He claims to have checked the PDGA website to gain his facts that there are “nearly 1,000 recognized courses and roughly three million regular players, including 30,000 members”, when in actuality, the info on the PDGA site states that, as of 2007, there are 2,515 course, 500,000 regular players, and 11,943 current PDGA members. Obviously, research is not Mr. Makela’s forte.

What irks me most about this article though is not the misinformation, but the quoted “It’s kind of embarrassing, but I probably own about 15 discs right now.” Embarrassed about having a collection of something you enjoy doing? What kind of message is this sending? The connotation is that disc golf, excuse me, folf, is something that should only be done if nobody else sees you doing it; that it’s a goofy little game that grown adults enjoy as a guilty pleasure. This kind of attitude is exactly what we want to see sink into obscurity.

Disc golf is a truly phenomenal sport that takes an incredible amount of skill to master. Fifteen discs should not be considered and embarrassment, it should be considered a good start. It is not something, with downcast eyes, you admit to doing. You should be proud to be part of a culture that is just spreading its wings. While I’m sure the Mr. Makela was well intentioned, articles such as this only serve to keep our wonderful game in obscurity and on the sidelines of credibility. Let’s do what we can to show the world the true nature of our sport.