Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/05/15/mailbag-disc-golf-on-tv-coaches-for-pros/
Could we get more McBeth on ESPN?
Welcome to Ultiworld Disc Golf’s brand new mailbag! You don’t necessarily see my byline around here too much — I am more often behind the scenes as the publisher, but I’m still here as a co-host of the Upshot podcast with Jamie Thomas and I generally report from Worlds and USDGC every year.
Now, you’ll see my thoughts in print every week in the mailbag.
Generally, the mailbag will be for subscribers only, which helps keep me committed to writing it every week. It will reward subscribers with a weekly column they can count on. And it will allow us to offer a free one-month Mini subscription for the best question, email, or comment we get and publish in the Mailbag. If you’re already a subscriber, you get a free extra month (or a discount). If you’re not, you can come in and check out the benefits.
You can email me anytime at [email protected] with questions, comments, ideas — whatever you’ve got.
Question of the Week: I enjoyed your interview with Jeremy Rusco on The Upshot two weeks ago. I had a follow up question about something he mentioned: he said something about the possibility of getting disc golf onto a major sports outlet sometime in the near future.
Do you have any more info on that? Or thoughts? It seems like during this time when major sports outlets don’t have live content to broadcast maybe they would be interested in something like disc golf.
I wasn’t sure if he was referring to live disc golf coverage? I know PDGA canceled sanctioning thru May and postponed/canceled Majors and NTs through July, but possibly a DGPT event in the summer? Or there’s a possibility of some kind of post produced segment that highlights a specific event like 2019 Worlds with video that already exists? Or even something else more like a documentary?
I know all those things would take time and resources to create, but wondering if you have any thoughts?
– Nate E.
A: It would be very awesome if disc golf were able to somehow leverage this downtime into a big break into national sports media, but, unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple.
You don’t really just show up on ESPN (unless you do something amazing). If you’re not spending money on production and/or airtime, you’re going to be hard pressed to get onto a major cable sports network, period, unless network officials think they can take your game and make money selling ads on it.
In the medium to long term, it is not at all crazy to think that disc golf could get some television exposure. The semi-pro ultimate frisbee league, the AUDL, has a two-year deal with Fox Sports 2 that just started. But, to be clear, FS2 is a long ways from ESPN.
Disc golf’s viewership trajectory does offer promise. And I could see the Disc Golf Pro Tour finding a way to package post-produced rounds into made-for-TV broadcasts that fit snugly inside a one-hour time window. But this would take months of discussion and negotiation just to be able to plan something for a year from now. You can’t just hand over the Jomez footage and say, “Here, pop this on the air.”
But, seriously, there is a real opportunity for disc golf down the line. With thousands of people already having shown a willingness to pay a monthly fee to watch live coverage, it’s not impossible to imagine DGPT events on ESPN+ someday. Cornhole made it! They started small and got bigger and bigger contracts as the audience proved to be there. But the pros throwing bags don’t make nearly the money that professional disc golfers make, so in some ways, disc golf may already be ahead of the curve.
And with the very robust 10-15% growth the sport is seeing year-over-year, it’s just a matter of time before there is a big enough audience that a TV network will be interested.
Q: What do you see as the next trend(s) for pros to level up their performance? We’ve recently seen the increased focus on sport-specific fitness and training with the success of Disc Golf Strong. In the coming years, will we see coaches for form, mindset, nutrition, etc. become more ubiquitous?
– Casey P.
A: Yes to all of the above.
Honestly, outside of outright playing disc golf, the majority of even elite disc golfers barely seem to train right now. I appreciate what Disc Golf Strong is doing, but until I see disc golfers putting up some real numbers squatting and deadlifting, I’m not really going to be too impressed by the level of care going towards fitness. I’m a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and run a training platform for ultimate players — now, I think we can all agree that strength, speed, and power training is more important in a team field sport than it is for disc golf, but most disc golfers would improve their abilities with a more serious training regimen.
Coaching will also be one of the next big shifts. Form and mental performance will be the first big ones, and it’s easy to imagine the current generation of pros retiring into coaching roles for the next generation of players. Even pros can work on their shot-shaping and execution, and who couldn’t use some additional work on the mentality side of the game? Some of the most talented players on tour right now clearly struggle with a consistent mental approach. If you’re making all your putts in practice, but never in tournaments…
The fact is that life on the road playing disc golf has to be tough. It’s tough to get to the gym consistently. It’s tough to consistently eat healthy. Coaches and gyms and nutrition specialists: these are luxuries. More money needs to flood the game first.
I was just reading about the PGA Tour and how it’s trying to restart the season next month. Did you know that they have access to the following amenities at tour stops?
- Day care
- Clubhouse gyms
- Concierge services
- Laundry services
- Valet parking
- Event tickets
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Makes it a little easier to spend time working with your form coach or your mentality guru.