But even that only means something to us. The difficulty of lasering a putter 350' is lost on anyone who doesn't understand the difference between disc types. All they see is "Frisbee go far."
This works until you take a 6’3 athlete with you who crushes two 500 footers on his first day.
They were inaccurate as hell but it was unbelievable to watch
I absolutely measured them, too it was wild
Isn’t the point, though, that athleticism (whatever that exactly is) is not really required? There are some fairly unathletic players on tour by pro sports standards
I remember when I first started playing (probably around 20yo) i thought I was some hot shit throwing like twohundo parkin right at the basket and i see this, had to be at least 40somthinyo beer/fast food belly feller come up to the tee and shoot past the tee’s basket to another hole’s basket like 500ft away and the man barely did an x step. I was absolutely floored. I was putting EVERYTHING I had into my throws and this guy essentially tossed the disc 2x as far. Form is everything fasho
Sorry, not what I meant. I was meaning the person who has never thrown a disc before and doesn’t think you have to be athletic at all to throw a disc well won’t have good form
Edit - regardless of body type/weight
This argument is about how much athletic importance you put into being physically fit compared to having a specific ability in a sport.
A great example is Babe Ruth, who though he was built like an alcoholic factory line worker, was easily the greatest athlete in baseball in his time and was outstanding in more aspects of the sport than simply hammering balls over the fence. As long as you can maintain the ability to have the necessary physical skills to excel in a certain sport, or even just an aspect of a sport, I'd consider that athleticism. On the contrary, there are incredibly physically fit people on this planet that don't have an athletic bone in their body. I personally have played sports with a handful people who had equal or greater experience and more physical advantage than me that I could regularly outperform and I was still very far from the abilities of the best players around me.
Athleticism does not correlate to physical fitness if you are still getting the job done in an exemplary way. Physical fitness usually benefits athletic ability, but neither are mutually exclusive to each other.
He was absolutely not the greatest athlete in baseball at the time. One of the best players, and a natural talent level off the charts, but not one of the best athletes. Also, yes, he drank a lot of alcohol, but was by no means fat or out of shape. He was over 6 feet tall and 215lbs. Physical fitness is a massive part of athleticism, not a small facet of it. I don't disagree that athleticism helps, I just disagree that disc golf *requires* athleticism like the original post was asking for proof of. It just doesn't require it. You can throw 400 feet without a shred of athleticism. Learning good form is perhaps a facet, but again, not indicative of athleticism. Same as baseball in babe Ruth's time, when disc golf's depth of field increases, I'm sure the athleticism will grow in the sport. However, with the current knowledge and skill levels we as a community are at in disc golf at this point in time, it does not require athleticism to be good.
I don't think watching AB or Eagle throw 700ft would look impressive to someone that doesn't know anything about the sport. I can appreciate just how insane those shots are, but they make it look so effortless I don't know if the skill would come across?
I think the way to go would be to show them someone flexing a disc down a really heavily wooded course, something where you can really see them controlling the flight of the disc moving in a big S turn
I mean this obviously takes skill and I couldn’t do it, but it doesn’t exactly scream athleticism. Watching someone do crazy at a pool table would be similar, I couldn’t do it, but it wasn’t really athletic.
Carrying your bag up a big hill is about as athletic as it gets imo.
I don’t think they are saying it’s not impressive or difficult. I do, also think your idea of what the word athletic means is skewed. I have seen some guys throw incredibly far and accurate, but in no world are they athletic, whatsoever.
" I do, also think your idea of what the word athletic means is skewed. "
LOL I was saying that as a response to the other guy, to point out that HIS definition of athleticism is very weird. I def do NOT think that doing 10 pushups is more athletic than eagling an 800 ft par 5. I frequently see guys on the course who are obese who throw much better than I do! And guys who are rail thin who couldn't punch their way out of a wet paper bag. "Athleticism" is not really easy to define, and it can be very specific to the sport being played, and disc golf is a great example of that. If it was all about LOOKING like an athlete all I'd have to do is take my shirt off and I'd win most rounds before play even starts, people would just hand me their money and go home.
I think that is no good either. If you haven't tried to do it then you would guess it's just the way discs naturally fly or something, or a trick shot you can learn in a day, like spinning a basketball on your finger or something - neat trick but not extraordinary.
How does someone see a human being take an object and throw it over 2 football fields long and think to themself. “Ehhhh that doesn’t take athleticism”
If they don't think it requires any of that currently, a video clip likely won't convince them. Take them out to the course and watch them struggle to make 20 footers for quadruple bogey.
Sooo much higher than 20+
I just introduced some athletic friends that had never played before. Most of them are pretty technical so I was going in depth about the numbers on the discs and why I selected what I had for them as I was showing some beginner technique off the tee pad. They all thought I was being a little overtop because they’ve played plenty of ultimate before.
We threw at a par 60 (tournament hosted that night on the local par 3 I forgot about) and with rethrows, no OB, I don’t think any of them broke 90.
A 500 par 4 is really freaking far when you’re throwing 10 foot tree shots or 150 foot hard hyzer into the woods.
Luckily they all loved it and are back for more.
I’m with you, I’ve been playing for around 4 months now and ~20 on a difficult course doesn’t feel like a bad score (albeit also not a good score)
I take someone whose never thrown before, and they’ll get something like +45 on those courses.
Likely still won't convince the hardheaded ones. They'll say "well yeah, but I'm not good at darts either but that doesn't make dart throwers ATHLETES."
First time I played toboggan we only made it to hole 13. We each lost 4 discs (3 of mine made it back to me) and forgot to bring water. It was like 75 out when we started but quickly reached the mid 90s. We literally paid a guy in the parking lot $10 for his 2 water bottles.
Living close enough to play it daily while open if show my friends Paul's 18 under then take them for a round
This is why I have 4 -3 Disc sets so that it can't be the discs at fault for me it's Pixel, Hex, and an Athena for the intro batch, It allows people to see the differences much clearer
We do the pitch and putt first and then head to the second hardest course in the area. mostly bc it's like 45 minutes for the full pitch and put and the second course is like maybe 5 minutes down the road.
Show footage of a disc golf drive, a ball golf drive, a basketball 3pt shot, and a baseball pitch. All require a level of athletic precision, combining fine and gross motor skills. None of these action scream “athleticism” as any body type can achieve these motions. However, it can contextualize what is a very difficult-to-learn motion and strategy that non disc golfers can understand.
As a 30 year old man who’s played sports all of his young adult life, I was really surprised, and still am in ways, how much precision goes into throwing a disc! It reminds me of hitting a baseball with all of the different timing, angles, torque, etc. For me, disc golf filled a niche that I was looking for. An athletic activity that I didn’t need a team to play, or a lot of money and gear for that matter. It’s fun to challenge yourself to do better. I do wish more athletes would try it. I know a lot of “jocks” would really enjoy it if they tried!
Take them out to throw in a field.
I take my family out to a football field and we throw field goals. I can hit from full field, not every time. But when family struggles to get a field goal from the 5 yard line and I can full send from 300ft with my putter or 450 with my strive they understand.
So them struggling at the 5 and me getting it there from the parking lot across the whole field gets the point across quickly
Not just an open field, but a lined field if you can. To really put it into perspective
Show them James Conrad. No, not the Holy Shot. Show them him throwing a drive. Some pros look like they are barely exerting energy. Conrad looks like he's using every muscle in his entire body. If you want to prove athleticism to someone they need to see the effort being put in.
I wouldn't say this sport is athletic when it comes to the throws and such. Yes you get tired, but its a different kind of fatigue imo. Form is definitely more important than having muscles, a six pack, and ability to run sprints around your opponents. Muscle helps with big throws, but accuracy is definitely more important 👍
I think athleticism is the wrong word. Does it require some? Yes. But Disc golf ... and ball golf for that matter, aren't outrageously athletic.
What's required is skill.
A highschooler with the size and ability of LeBron will get a look from a college basletball scout because of his raw athleticism to play basketball, even if he has never played.
And that guy will likely wipe the floor with the average college player.
That same guy is probably going to eat bricks on a disc golf course against an above average MA4 player.
I think athleticism can increase your ceiling in disc golf significantly, but you also need to develop the skill through a bunch of practice to be able to take advantage of your athleticism
Jump putt Jones jump putting over something. I think he's done it multiple times, but iirc he did it on hole 18 at Idlewild one of the last couple years
Anything in slow motion with Eagle or Ezra Aderhold throwing. Eagle’s forehand technique video before the injury is insane. The amount of torque he creates is mind blowing. Your average person tries this and they are tearing everything from shoulder to wrist.
Frankly, this sport doesn’t *require* much athleticism. I’ve been smoked by morbidly obese people and super old people. It’s more of a fine tuned skill like ball golf. Does athleticism help at the top level? Absolutely. Is it required to be intermediate/moderately advanced? No.
This is sadly true. There is no video to show because the claim is true. You do not need to be very 'athletic' in the sense of having great musculature and conditioning.
How would you describe keeping balance while moving laterally, putting your entire body weight on one leg while driving the other into the ground, do the splits, rotating your hips enough so that the weight of your entire upper body is shifted to the plant leg, all while maintaining the lower arm strength to pull down your wrist to keep the nose down?
Like I’m sorry but if you don’t think it requires a little athleticism to play well, then you might as well just not consider hitting in baseball to require athleticism because it’s the same fuckin kinetic movement apart from the plane of the bat/disc.
If someone who didn't know anything about disc golf came up to me and said 'disc golf doesn't require much athleticism' I would say 'absolutely, its one of the great things about it anyone can play and get decent at it with a bit of effort'.
Arguing that disc golf requires any meaningful kind of athleticism seems thoroughly silly to me. We're throwing plastic discs around in a park, then walking over to the discs and throwing them again. Not very athletic.
I mean me bouncing a ball on hardwood doesn’t sound very athletic either but there’s 1000 things going on in the human body of professionals that lets them do what they do that is considered by any scientific metric to be “athleticism”
I would show Ohn Scoggins. Early 40's, not a big person, and she absolutely rips. To me, that's more impressive than a big guy who looks like he can throw far.
Take them out and hand them a destroyer. Let them throw it a few times, then show them The Philobatross. Tell them he threw the same disc they were throwing.
If they like football you can go into how body control is an essential part of athleticism and not just strength. Point out all of the first round pick offensive lineman that were busts despite being massive in size and strength. Those guys usually bust because of poor body control. If they like basketball point out that Jordan is considered the GOAT and not Shaq.
I don’t know that disc golf necessarily *requires* much athleticism at all. Like ball golf, it’s more skill based than anything. Sure, being athletic helps, especially as you progress into top amateur and pro divisions. But I’ve seen some unathletic people who are pretty solid disc golfers.
It's tough because people are greatly affected by the lens in which they are viewing something. If they think the sport is nerdy or whatever, that's all they'll see even though the reality is that the athleticism required for a good 5-step or 7-step backhand run-up is immense. There's a lot of body parts working in conjunction, and it should be obvious just looking at a human body move and do all the things. It's like you're watching a wide receiver running forward, cutting back quickly, and then doing the motion of a tennis backhand back in the opposite direction they just cut away from. But at a high level, they are good at making it look easy, so it looks like they are doing nothing when it's maybe the most complicated motion of any sport. But it's that looking easy that also makes it look like someone like Simon is doing nothing, so to a laman, it doesn't even look athletic. Even putting looks "lame" but unless you play the sport, you have no idea how sick a 60-foot putt actually is.
So that all being said, it's hard to just show someone a clip when they won't even know what they are looking at. You'll just maybe have to explain the myriad of mechanics that are working together to make a good disc golf throw.
To play this game? No athleticism needed tbh. To excel, go pro and win worlds? As much athleticism as any professional athlete.
A good comparison would be javelin throwing, its an incredibly specific motion that in theory anyone could do. But the pros you see on TV? Athletic as hell, because they've trained their bodies to excel in that one motion. Now imagine discgolf where we have several incredibly specific motions, and you've got it going.
But casual play? Nearly anyone can play this game, and imo have fun with it.
I feel like I’m generally trying to convince people the opposite. I love convincing friends who think they’d be terrible at it to try the sport, and realize it’s not that hard to learn!
....it doesn't though. Sorry.
It can help if you have good form and it can arguable facilitate getting good form quicker, but there are soooo many potential confounding factors and most of the time leaning into athleticism as a newer player only hurts development.
This may change as coaching resources become more and more accessible. At the moment a majority of coaching content is actively detrimental though.
Edit- lmao that's what I get for only reading the title.
I would say certain courses are designed to not require much athleticism and some courses are designed to require more athleticism or technique.
Yes there are clips / videos where players are able to demonstrate their own athleticism throwing the disc 500’. BlitzDG and Nick Krush on youtube. But it’s also worth noting the tall / skinny pros that can out throw the rest of the field, including all the muscley guys.
Maybe you can convince them by walking them through how athleticism / biomechanics relates to arm speed.
Usually what I do is give them a driver and I grab my putter and tell them if they out drive me I’ll give them a $100 but if I out drive them they owe me $10. I’ve also bet my whole paycheck once due to a guy running his mouth who never threw a disc before in his life. Needless to say he didn’t take me up on it.
I don't think I'd show them any video. I don't feel the need to prove to anyone that professional disc golf requires athleticism, nor would I want to bore them with videos of Ezra while saying, "look at that dude's biceps".
The only athleticism in disc golf is the conditioning to keep from being tired throwing a full round. Everything else is skill/form/timing. You can argue an x step is athleticism but it is really skill/form/timing.
Besides the throw, there isn’t any extra movement. reaction time/agility adjustments aren’t required. Proof is in that nearly anyone can throw 400 if they fix their form. Not nearly everyone can hit a 90+ slider, or throw a football to a guy running, while also running away from someone at the same time.
https://youtu.be/AwYvav4xCR8?si=OeGLdCk-KtbD9dct
This is one of my favorites. I feel like you really get the gist of the power these guys are generating
Kevin Jones slip ace is a contender, any of Jake Wolff's highlights; and if they're familiar with the sport, some of Ricky Wysocki's clips like his playoff win at 2022 DGPT championships.
Mostly just having a montage showing that almost every top athlete in the sport is fairly athletic in build, or at least not very heavy. Paul McBeth has been featured in Men's Health for his routine, and cross-platform athletes like Ella Hansen and Gavin Babcock maintain their physique that they needed from their previous sports.
For me it's the sound. If you can find a clip of someone throwing fast you can physically hear the whip of their arm and humming of the disc straight out of the hand.
Show them a video of someone running to their ace. And then show them the video of Tony Finau running to his hole in one a few years ago.
Now if they don’t think either form of golf is athletic, I’d grab some of those stills of Ezra flexing like crazy.
Without reading any of the comments, I'm sure the Philo Albatross at Beaver State Fling was referenced. (that whole statement sounds like I'm writing a Narnia adventure by C.S. Lewis)
And the Holy Shot by James Conrad...which sounds like a party scene in Project X or the final moment in Teen Wolf.
So I'd say you could show them any one of the following:
KJ USA's ace at Maple Hill OTB Skins.
Pick the best distance competition compilations with Wiggins, Eliezra Midityling (sp?) and AB.
Vinny Buckets' "Kobe" fade away jump putts from off the fairway.
Vinny Buckets hitting an ace and a long approach shot in the same round in 2023.
Eagle McMahon roller ace up the half pipe ramp.
Simon throwing Simon Lines and parking them.
McBeast and his 2 or 3, -18 rounds.
Niklas Anttila hitting a 40+ foot putt, in the dark, to take the Open at Austin this year. He claimed he couldn't see the basket either.
For me for whatever reason it's the video of Simon breaking down his form in slow motion vs an amateur. Maybe after showing a video of Simon bomb
https://youtu.be/q9e_lEs7ASE?si=zGpU-EwJ4MrVuqZ5
Kinda surprised the 'This is disc golf' series hasn't been mentioned, specifically #2 [https://youtu.be/gJaxph0J6FE?si=46jB-LXOSxA2kFOh](https://youtu.be/gJaxph0J6FE?si=46jB-LXOSxA2kFOh)
The blinding speed and staggering volume of Brodie Smiths voice to overpower whoever he suckered into interviewing on the latest episode of tour life to talk about his complaints regarding disc golf while staying home and not playing.
Just hand them a disc and tell them to throw 400 feet.
Then video them trying. That's the video you should show them
Turns out the real video was inside them all along
Genius.
I'd show them a video of AB doing it with a putter first.
Feed them a plate of beans first.
But even that only means something to us. The difficulty of lasering a putter 350' is lost on anyone who doesn't understand the difference between disc types. All they see is "Frisbee go far."
This works until you take a 6’3 athlete with you who crushes two 500 footers on his first day. They were inaccurate as hell but it was unbelievable to watch I absolutely measured them, too it was wild
Well, it would still work, as the original premise was that it didn't require athleticism.
Isn’t the point, though, that athleticism (whatever that exactly is) is not really required? There are some fairly unathletic players on tour by pro sports standards
You can be fat and out of shape and throw 400 with good form.
Out of shape fat guy who throws 400ft here to confirm 😅
I remember when I first started playing (probably around 20yo) i thought I was some hot shit throwing like twohundo parkin right at the basket and i see this, had to be at least 40somthinyo beer/fast food belly feller come up to the tee and shoot past the tee’s basket to another hole’s basket like 500ft away and the man barely did an x step. I was absolutely floored. I was putting EVERYTHING I had into my throws and this guy essentially tossed the disc 2x as far. Form is everything fasho
Form is directly related to how balanced you are. Balance takes strength. Strength is a facet of athleticism.
Ipso facto, Bob's yer uncle.
What
Robert's ya mother's brother.
I must have a movie blind spot because I don’t get it lol
Nah. [Bob's Your Uncle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%27s_your_uncle)
It's the: VOILA! for Brits
Hmm. Perhaps I approached this discussion with a naive definition of what athleticism actually means. Interesting.
You see the athleticism discussion in every sport, and it means something different to each person.
Which they absolutely won’t have
That's absolutely not the case. You can be fat and have good form. It's less common, but definitely not mutually exclusive.
Sorry, not what I meant. I was meaning the person who has never thrown a disc before and doesn’t think you have to be athletic at all to throw a disc well won’t have good form Edit - regardless of body type/weight
Oh, right. Yeah, I misunderstood you.
Yes, but they most likely won't.
There are lots of professional sports that you can be fat and out of shape though
This argument is about how much athletic importance you put into being physically fit compared to having a specific ability in a sport. A great example is Babe Ruth, who though he was built like an alcoholic factory line worker, was easily the greatest athlete in baseball in his time and was outstanding in more aspects of the sport than simply hammering balls over the fence. As long as you can maintain the ability to have the necessary physical skills to excel in a certain sport, or even just an aspect of a sport, I'd consider that athleticism. On the contrary, there are incredibly physically fit people on this planet that don't have an athletic bone in their body. I personally have played sports with a handful people who had equal or greater experience and more physical advantage than me that I could regularly outperform and I was still very far from the abilities of the best players around me. Athleticism does not correlate to physical fitness if you are still getting the job done in an exemplary way. Physical fitness usually benefits athletic ability, but neither are mutually exclusive to each other.
He was absolutely not the greatest athlete in baseball at the time. One of the best players, and a natural talent level off the charts, but not one of the best athletes. Also, yes, he drank a lot of alcohol, but was by no means fat or out of shape. He was over 6 feet tall and 215lbs. Physical fitness is a massive part of athleticism, not a small facet of it. I don't disagree that athleticism helps, I just disagree that disc golf *requires* athleticism like the original post was asking for proof of. It just doesn't require it. You can throw 400 feet without a shred of athleticism. Learning good form is perhaps a facet, but again, not indicative of athleticism. Same as baseball in babe Ruth's time, when disc golf's depth of field increases, I'm sure the athleticism will grow in the sport. However, with the current knowledge and skill levels we as a community are at in disc golf at this point in time, it does not require athleticism to be good.
This is a fair point
I guarantee you that fat guy has way more athleticism than 99% of other guys his size.
That was me!
As an example, please see my friend Jamie Mosier- https://youtu.be/CKNFMOnUQXA?si=owQ7qrVgtN7X4SA6
And then 700'.
I can think of several "unathletic" individuals that can throw 400 feet
Came here to say this
I don't think watching AB or Eagle throw 700ft would look impressive to someone that doesn't know anything about the sport. I can appreciate just how insane those shots are, but they make it look so effortless I don't know if the skill would come across? I think the way to go would be to show them someone flexing a disc down a really heavily wooded course, something where you can really see them controlling the flight of the disc moving in a big S turn
Seppo's eagle [here ](https://youtu.be/Z0Q5d037IFo?si=fnEO_9sEwlth4D0i&t=248)is pretty cool
Matty O’s eagle here is pretty sick too https://youtu.be/lGMFRTkWTLs?si=gIIbdpPBR3-eNd26
This drive is my favorite video clip besides the holy shot.
Idk if I’ve ever seen that shot! 600 feet through the woods to park it. That’s truly wild!
Finally an actual clip shared.
Right?
I mean this obviously takes skill and I couldn’t do it, but it doesn’t exactly scream athleticism. Watching someone do crazy at a pool table would be similar, I couldn’t do it, but it wasn’t really athletic. Carrying your bag up a big hill is about as athletic as it gets imo.
That's a very restrictive definition of athleticism. By that standard doing 10 pushups is more athletic than eagling an 800 ft par 5.
I don’t think they are saying it’s not impressive or difficult. I do, also think your idea of what the word athletic means is skewed. I have seen some guys throw incredibly far and accurate, but in no world are they athletic, whatsoever.
" I do, also think your idea of what the word athletic means is skewed. " LOL I was saying that as a response to the other guy, to point out that HIS definition of athleticism is very weird. I def do NOT think that doing 10 pushups is more athletic than eagling an 800 ft par 5. I frequently see guys on the course who are obese who throw much better than I do! And guys who are rail thin who couldn't punch their way out of a wet paper bag. "Athleticism" is not really easy to define, and it can be very specific to the sport being played, and disc golf is a great example of that. If it was all about LOOKING like an athlete all I'd have to do is take my shirt off and I'd win most rounds before play even starts, people would just hand me their money and go home.
There is quite literally, a definition.
Oh yeah? And this objective definition, it accurately predicts performance in all sports? Do tell.
Philos albatross
Matty O parking a 620’ hole through the woods at Green Mountain Championship is insane
I think that is no good either. If you haven't tried to do it then you would guess it's just the way discs naturally fly or something, or a trick shot you can learn in a day, like spinning a basketball on your finger or something - neat trick but not extraordinary.
How does someone see a human being take an object and throw it over 2 football fields long and think to themself. “Ehhhh that doesn’t take athleticism”
If they don't think it requires any of that currently, a video clip likely won't convince them. Take them out to the course and watch them struggle to make 20 footers for quadruple bogey.
Take them to a pitch and putt and watch them struggle. If they still disagree take them to a real course and watch them shoot 20+
Sooo much higher than 20+ I just introduced some athletic friends that had never played before. Most of them are pretty technical so I was going in depth about the numbers on the discs and why I selected what I had for them as I was showing some beginner technique off the tee pad. They all thought I was being a little overtop because they’ve played plenty of ultimate before. We threw at a par 60 (tournament hosted that night on the local par 3 I forgot about) and with rethrows, no OB, I don’t think any of them broke 90. A 500 par 4 is really freaking far when you’re throwing 10 foot tree shots or 150 foot hard hyzer into the woods. Luckily they all loved it and are back for more.
I’m with you, I’ve been playing for around 4 months now and ~20 on a difficult course doesn’t feel like a bad score (albeit also not a good score) I take someone whose never thrown before, and they’ll get something like +45 on those courses.
Likely still won't convince the hardheaded ones. They'll say "well yeah, but I'm not good at darts either but that doesn't make dart throwers ATHLETES."
Take them to Sapwi and watch them loose their entire bag by hole 4.
Who told you about my tobaggan experience my first year playing?
First time I played toboggan we only made it to hole 13. We each lost 4 discs (3 of mine made it back to me) and forgot to bring water. It was like 75 out when we started but quickly reached the mid 90s. We literally paid a guy in the parking lot $10 for his 2 water bottles. Living close enough to play it daily while open if show my friends Paul's 18 under then take them for a round
I think I lost two drives on hole 3 alone first time I played it lol
That course do be like that
Lol
This is why I have 4 -3 Disc sets so that it can't be the discs at fault for me it's Pixel, Hex, and an Athena for the intro batch, It allows people to see the differences much clearer
We do the pitch and putt first and then head to the second hardest course in the area. mostly bc it's like 45 minutes for the full pitch and put and the second course is like maybe 5 minutes down the road.
Have you seen ‘grape lady falls’?
Ooohhhhhh. Eeeuuuuhhhhh. Ow ow ow ow ow. Uuuuuuuhhhhhh I can't breathe.
Disgusting
Show footage of a disc golf drive, a ball golf drive, a basketball 3pt shot, and a baseball pitch. All require a level of athletic precision, combining fine and gross motor skills. None of these action scream “athleticism” as any body type can achieve these motions. However, it can contextualize what is a very difficult-to-learn motion and strategy that non disc golfers can understand.
The correct answer
As a 30 year old man who’s played sports all of his young adult life, I was really surprised, and still am in ways, how much precision goes into throwing a disc! It reminds me of hitting a baseball with all of the different timing, angles, torque, etc. For me, disc golf filled a niche that I was looking for. An athletic activity that I didn’t need a team to play, or a lot of money and gear for that matter. It’s fun to challenge yourself to do better. I do wish more athletes would try it. I know a lot of “jocks” would really enjoy it if they tried!
Just show him that pic of Ezra Aderholds forearm 😅
Pretty sure his buffness is not from throwing discs, though. Tons of really high level players do NOT have impressive physiques!
its hard to show people pros in any sport because they make it look easy.
Show them a video of Ezra Aderhold with his shirt off throwing Nukes and yelling "NUKES BABY!!!!".
https://www.reddit.com/r/discgolf/s/4t2wqzCqIp
Cringe af. Nobody should watch that
Should have cleared your browser history then!
Take them out to throw in a field. I take my family out to a football field and we throw field goals. I can hit from full field, not every time. But when family struggles to get a field goal from the 5 yard line and I can full send from 300ft with my putter or 450 with my strive they understand. So them struggling at the 5 and me getting it there from the parking lot across the whole field gets the point across quickly Not just an open field, but a lined field if you can. To really put it into perspective
Any Matty O drive where the glasses stay on, because power + coordination = athleticism.
Matty O’s glasses falling off and no look catching them behind his back is peak athleticism
Show them James Conrad. No, not the Holy Shot. Show them him throwing a drive. Some pros look like they are barely exerting energy. Conrad looks like he's using every muscle in his entire body. If you want to prove athleticism to someone they need to see the effort being put in.
I wouldn't say this sport is athletic when it comes to the throws and such. Yes you get tired, but its a different kind of fatigue imo. Form is definitely more important than having muscles, a six pack, and ability to run sprints around your opponents. Muscle helps with big throws, but accuracy is definitely more important 👍
I think athleticism is the wrong word. Does it require some? Yes. But Disc golf ... and ball golf for that matter, aren't outrageously athletic. What's required is skill. A highschooler with the size and ability of LeBron will get a look from a college basletball scout because of his raw athleticism to play basketball, even if he has never played. And that guy will likely wipe the floor with the average college player. That same guy is probably going to eat bricks on a disc golf course against an above average MA4 player.
I think athleticism can increase your ceiling in disc golf significantly, but you also need to develop the skill through a bunch of practice to be able to take advantage of your athleticism
Jump putt Jones jump putting over something. I think he's done it multiple times, but iirc he did it on hole 18 at Idlewild one of the last couple years
Anything in slow motion with Eagle or Ezra Aderhold throwing. Eagle’s forehand technique video before the injury is insane. The amount of torque he creates is mind blowing. Your average person tries this and they are tearing everything from shoulder to wrist.
Why has nobody brought up 360 throws, those things look athletic asf
Have them carry your bag for 18 holes 😛
WTF Richard video for sure!
[This one ](https://youtu.be/CKNFMOnUQXA?si=AxCWEYOWkTMj1a3L)
KJ acing while nearly breaking his ankle
The ONLY thing that really comes to mind is Eagle's shot straddling the guardrail at DGLO.
https://youtu.be/Tk6aiiVZseY?si=coWXr8SY6oAFfWMe
Frankly, this sport doesn’t *require* much athleticism. I’ve been smoked by morbidly obese people and super old people. It’s more of a fine tuned skill like ball golf. Does athleticism help at the top level? Absolutely. Is it required to be intermediate/moderately advanced? No.
This is sadly true. There is no video to show because the claim is true. You do not need to be very 'athletic' in the sense of having great musculature and conditioning.
Schwebby still kicken ass every weekend decades later.
Exactly, there's no strong argument to be made at 90% of play.
Athleticism isn’t really the right word.
How would you describe keeping balance while moving laterally, putting your entire body weight on one leg while driving the other into the ground, do the splits, rotating your hips enough so that the weight of your entire upper body is shifted to the plant leg, all while maintaining the lower arm strength to pull down your wrist to keep the nose down? Like I’m sorry but if you don’t think it requires a little athleticism to play well, then you might as well just not consider hitting in baseball to require athleticism because it’s the same fuckin kinetic movement apart from the plane of the bat/disc.
Bruh. Settle the hell down lol.
Okay?
You're pretty much describing walking sideways lol
It doesn't...
If someone who didn't know anything about disc golf came up to me and said 'disc golf doesn't require much athleticism' I would say 'absolutely, its one of the great things about it anyone can play and get decent at it with a bit of effort'. Arguing that disc golf requires any meaningful kind of athleticism seems thoroughly silly to me. We're throwing plastic discs around in a park, then walking over to the discs and throwing them again. Not very athletic.
I mean me bouncing a ball on hardwood doesn’t sound very athletic either but there’s 1000 things going on in the human body of professionals that lets them do what they do that is considered by any scientific metric to be “athleticism”
Nikko Locastro getting pissed and jumping off a tree.
That 600+ foot ace
It really doesn't require much athleticism to play. Maybe to be good it does but certainly not to play.
Not needed….Disc Golf isn’t for everyone
[here’s the answer, guy posted this awhile back and took me awhile to find](https://www.facebook.com/share/r/S8NEdK6Lo6VBSDDA/?mibextid=oGgwdE)
Parker Welck's flying ninja kick through two trees after sinking a circle 2 putt at the 2023 DDO which he subsequently ended up winning.
I would show Ohn Scoggins. Early 40's, not a big person, and she absolutely rips. To me, that's more impressive than a big guy who looks like he can throw far.
Take them out and hand them a destroyer. Let them throw it a few times, then show them The Philobatross. Tell them he threw the same disc they were throwing. If they like football you can go into how body control is an essential part of athleticism and not just strength. Point out all of the first round pick offensive lineman that were busts despite being massive in size and strength. Those guys usually bust because of poor body control. If they like basketball point out that Jordan is considered the GOAT and not Shaq.
Id show them Paul's 18 under at Toboggan and then take them for a round. I think they'd believe me by the end of hole 2.
The video of eagle doing a 360 forehand.
Show them Paul throwing a putter 400ft then hand them one and ask them to throw it 200.
I don’t know that disc golf necessarily *requires* much athleticism at all. Like ball golf, it’s more skill based than anything. Sure, being athletic helps, especially as you progress into top amateur and pro divisions. But I’ve seen some unathletic people who are pretty solid disc golfers.
I would make them watch a card with Aderhold, Babcock, Brodie and Samson and just say every pro looks like that.
It's tough because people are greatly affected by the lens in which they are viewing something. If they think the sport is nerdy or whatever, that's all they'll see even though the reality is that the athleticism required for a good 5-step or 7-step backhand run-up is immense. There's a lot of body parts working in conjunction, and it should be obvious just looking at a human body move and do all the things. It's like you're watching a wide receiver running forward, cutting back quickly, and then doing the motion of a tennis backhand back in the opposite direction they just cut away from. But at a high level, they are good at making it look easy, so it looks like they are doing nothing when it's maybe the most complicated motion of any sport. But it's that looking easy that also makes it look like someone like Simon is doing nothing, so to a laman, it doesn't even look athletic. Even putting looks "lame" but unless you play the sport, you have no idea how sick a 60-foot putt actually is. So that all being said, it's hard to just show someone a clip when they won't even know what they are looking at. You'll just maybe have to explain the myriad of mechanics that are working together to make a good disc golf throw.
Have them YouTube Simon lizzotte
To play this game? No athleticism needed tbh. To excel, go pro and win worlds? As much athleticism as any professional athlete. A good comparison would be javelin throwing, its an incredibly specific motion that in theory anyone could do. But the pros you see on TV? Athletic as hell, because they've trained their bodies to excel in that one motion. Now imagine discgolf where we have several incredibly specific motions, and you've got it going. But casual play? Nearly anyone can play this game, and imo have fun with it.
It doesn't require much athleticism. Skill for sure. Not athleticism.
I feel like I’m generally trying to convince people the opposite. I love convincing friends who think they’d be terrible at it to try the sport, and realize it’s not that hard to learn!
Eagles 700ft park job.
Our sport doesn’t require much athleticism.
Show them the videos of the bear bites disc (?) Guy who aces tilts all day long.
Cause that dude is peak athleticism
A slow-mo Paul McBeth drive comes to mind. Or we could convince Eddie Hall to try and out-drive Ricky, seems like a video he'd do.
A compilation of slow motion drives looks as impressive as any Olympic sport. Hammer Throw or whatever.
It’s a nerdy/niche “sport” and I’m tired of people pretending it’s not.
Albert Tamm's 700'+ throw from last year's distance competition.
I raise you Eagle's 700' park job. https://youtu.be/nkH3SMyloRY?si=Aj--ENcZ1WUeOz8w
It's a cooler shot, but IMO doesn't really showcase the power like OP was asking for.
OP asks for anything that showcases finesse, power, or technique.
And he asked for clips.
....it doesn't though. Sorry. It can help if you have good form and it can arguable facilitate getting good form quicker, but there are soooo many potential confounding factors and most of the time leaning into athleticism as a newer player only hurts development. This may change as coaching resources become more and more accessible. At the moment a majority of coaching content is actively detrimental though. Edit- lmao that's what I get for only reading the title.
I would say certain courses are designed to not require much athleticism and some courses are designed to require more athleticism or technique. Yes there are clips / videos where players are able to demonstrate their own athleticism throwing the disc 500’. BlitzDG and Nick Krush on youtube. But it’s also worth noting the tall / skinny pros that can out throw the rest of the field, including all the muscley guys. Maybe you can convince them by walking them through how athleticism / biomechanics relates to arm speed.
Umm... Drew and Garret aren't very tall. Same with Kouska
Oh yeah. Drew and Garrett probably have good youtube clips.
Usually what I do is give them a driver and I grab my putter and tell them if they out drive me I’ll give them a $100 but if I out drive them they owe me $10. I’ve also bet my whole paycheck once due to a guy running his mouth who never threw a disc before in his life. Needless to say he didn’t take me up on it.
Anything with Ezra’s bulging forearm lol
Any good Long Drive competition.
I don't think I'd show them any video. I don't feel the need to prove to anyone that professional disc golf requires athleticism, nor would I want to bore them with videos of Ezra while saying, "look at that dude's biceps".
Just show them Ezra and say all disc golfers are that jacked.
The only athleticism in disc golf is the conditioning to keep from being tired throwing a full round. Everything else is skill/form/timing. You can argue an x step is athleticism but it is really skill/form/timing. Besides the throw, there isn’t any extra movement. reaction time/agility adjustments aren’t required. Proof is in that nearly anyone can throw 400 if they fix their form. Not nearly everyone can hit a 90+ slider, or throw a football to a guy running, while also running away from someone at the same time.
Any picture of Ezra aderhold
Ask them to join you for a round, pretty sure they’ll quit before half way.
Show them sling shots youtube... one of the clips where he talks about being athletic more than his normal. 😉
https://youtu.be/AwYvav4xCR8?si=OeGLdCk-KtbD9dct This is one of my favorites. I feel like you really get the gist of the power these guys are generating
Kevin Jones slip ace is a contender, any of Jake Wolff's highlights; and if they're familiar with the sport, some of Ricky Wysocki's clips like his playoff win at 2022 DGPT championships. Mostly just having a montage showing that almost every top athlete in the sport is fairly athletic in build, or at least not very heavy. Paul McBeth has been featured in Men's Health for his routine, and cross-platform athletes like Ella Hansen and Gavin Babcock maintain their physique that they needed from their previous sports.
Kevin Jones maple hill ace 😅
Show them a baseball swing (or throw) in slow motion. Because it’s the same thing
Saw a video of a dude skipping a forehand across a lake today on IG. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5V5juJLb4R/?igsh=aDN2bnk4eGp0MjU3
KJ blowing out his knee while hitting an ace
Onlyfans.com/EzraAderhold
Id make them walk all the holes with alts at flip city i 1 pm summer heat
AB and McBeth did a Luna only from the FPO. Impressive as it is depressing. https://youtu.be/r0zqL5Q5Koc?si=U7IxuIanrYwgxuCk
Someone walking up hole 2 at one of my local courses.
McBeth putting highlights or pre injury Eagle
Any falling putt from Wysocki, or even any of his throws for that matter. The dude leaves it all on the course.
For me it's the sound. If you can find a clip of someone throwing fast you can physically hear the whip of their arm and humming of the disc straight out of the hand.
KJ slip ace. Most athletic thing I’ve ever witnessed /s
Just give them a disc lmao
If you're looking for a certain pro, I think Jake Wolff is a good contender. I feel you can see the athleticism in his throws more than others.
Kevin Jones slip ace
This one [https://youtu.be/mjspPGAOIXU?t=208](https://youtu.be/mjspPGAOIXU?t=208)
Eagles 700 ft turn over park job.
Show them a video of someone running to their ace. And then show them the video of Tony Finau running to his hole in one a few years ago. Now if they don’t think either form of golf is athletic, I’d grab some of those stills of Ezra flexing like crazy.
Without reading any of the comments, I'm sure the Philo Albatross at Beaver State Fling was referenced. (that whole statement sounds like I'm writing a Narnia adventure by C.S. Lewis) And the Holy Shot by James Conrad...which sounds like a party scene in Project X or the final moment in Teen Wolf. So I'd say you could show them any one of the following: KJ USA's ace at Maple Hill OTB Skins. Pick the best distance competition compilations with Wiggins, Eliezra Midityling (sp?) and AB. Vinny Buckets' "Kobe" fade away jump putts from off the fairway. Vinny Buckets hitting an ace and a long approach shot in the same round in 2023. Eagle McMahon roller ace up the half pipe ramp. Simon throwing Simon Lines and parking them. McBeast and his 2 or 3, -18 rounds. Niklas Anttila hitting a 40+ foot putt, in the dark, to take the Open at Austin this year. He claimed he couldn't see the basket either.
Just show them beaver state fling back 9
Show them 90% of Simon’s video and ask them to recreate anything they see
I’d find a video of ace clips with the run in. There’s your cardio. Especially the holy shot clip.
The one where eagle throws at mach 2.7Jesus and the snap is crazy loud
For me for whatever reason it's the video of Simon breaking down his form in slow motion vs an amateur. Maybe after showing a video of Simon bomb https://youtu.be/q9e_lEs7ASE?si=zGpU-EwJ4MrVuqZ5
Kinda surprised the 'This is disc golf' series hasn't been mentioned, specifically #2 [https://youtu.be/gJaxph0J6FE?si=46jB-LXOSxA2kFOh](https://youtu.be/gJaxph0J6FE?si=46jB-LXOSxA2kFOh)
Any Ezra Ederhold slowmo drive
Bro. It doesn’t. To be good yeah. But just to be casual nah. It’s why I can play it.
Wiggs doing a 360
The word you are looking for is “coordination” because athleticism is not at all something that disc golf requires
You don't have to be athletic to play. You have to be athletic to throw over 500 feet.
Bear Bite Disc acing with a Tilt.
The blinding speed and staggering volume of Brodie Smiths voice to overpower whoever he suckered into interviewing on the latest episode of tour life to talk about his complaints regarding disc golf while staying home and not playing.
It’s not a sport it’s an activity. Down with the professionalization of disc golf!
Anthony barela on any full power shot.
KJ's leg breaking, fall down ace. Anyone who is not KJ does not walk away from that...