Impending Invasions by Outsiders?

[HaterAde]

So I was playing a casual round at a local KC course yesterday before work, shooting my usual mediocre scores, when a little bird landed on a nearby limb, and proceeded to let loose with a most interesting rumor!

The rumor was that a certain disc golf retailer, whose acronym is synonymous with a commonly-desired size of female mammary glands, is opening a store of their own here in the KC area. Furthermore, this particular retailer plans to run several events using local KC courses that "belong" to the KCFDC, or were at least planned or constructed with assistance from KCFDC members.

Can anyone here lend credence to this rumor?

How do folks around here feel about an outside entity coming here to run events AFTER the KCFDC spent years developing the infrastructure?

This forum has been slow lately, and this is something that needs to be talked about. DISCuss!!!

[jack]

AS long as they pay the KCFDC for the events, there shouldn't be an issue with this.

We have seen a larger increase of this type of activity over the last few years.  Having a group that is that desireful to make things happen shuold only increase the use at the parks, and give all the club members an option to play in events that should hopefully allow some of the same people that have been running events a chance to play in the events.

It should also help bolster the P&R relationship with the club as well as the club would still be the catalyst in the courses.

It really makes the club a more prominent figure in the community, and the guardian to ensure that all things are met fairly.

But then again I am happy to hear that more people want to move to KC for disc golf!

[HaterAde]

Thanks, Jack.

For the record, there is no problem whatsoever with other retailers setting up shop here in KC. Competition is good for consumers, and the owners of the business or businesses that decide to set up here are simply pursuing their piece of the American Dream, which is highly admirable.

The concern lies with them running events around here. Is that going to be a good thing for the KCFDC, long term?

 

[sirbronco]

I heard the same rumor more than a year ago.  Have not heard much since except that the store was going to be opened in the Olathe / Johnson County area.  As for them running events on courses that are maintained by club members and club funds, I have no problem with them doing so, as long as they compensate the KCFDC.

As for opening a store in the KC area...free enterprise. 

[Cooper]

The concern lies with them running events around here. Is that going to be a good thing for the KCFDC, long term?

Absolutely... We have so many courses that go unused (for tournaments) or not used enough. Getting more people outside the club to run events on those courses could only be good our community.

[HaterAde]

I heard the same rumor more than a year ago.  Have not heard much since except that the store was going to be opened in the Olathe / Johnson County area.

Well, I will admit that yesterday wasn't the first time I'd heard a rumor to that effect, but when I first heard about it, there wasn't as much detail. Also, the location I heard was north of the one you speak of, Van.

Has this topic been one the BoD has felt was better confined to board meetings for now? Just wondering why there'd been little to no prior mention of it here on the open forum if its been over a year since the rumor originated.

[jack]

I don't think that the reality of this has been true until recently.

Rumors are not things that most BoD's should worry about, realistically we should all be happy that other options are here, but personally I am just happy that we are blessed with soooo many great places to play.

So now that this is a stronger reality I am sure that the current leadership will be working towards acknowledging this angle, and moving us as a club closer to running our league events, a few "club events" (Ice Bowl, Wide Open, Corporate Challenges, fund raisers, etc.....) and then focusing on what they feel is most important within the community.

It should open up more time to make things work for all of us, but as Pete indicated in another post with close to 20 courses in the area now (wow what a decade past huh?) we should be doubled our current size and have at least 30-50 people from each course area as members.

My personal goal is to try to come up with 2 members per hole at each course that I am responsible for.  That would be Cliff Drive and Blue Valley.  So I am pressing myself to come up with 72 members this year from my interactions with the people playing.

That of course is my take on this though, yours may vary.....

[jack]

I have said it before and will say it again; ......, there is not enough energy coming from the club membership to run as many events around here as should be run.  So let the retailers do their thing. I hate to coin a phrase but it's a "Win Win" for disc golf in KC.

I speak from personal experience that Tracy has been talking about this for at least the last 5 yrs if not longer.  He was a true visionary on this topic many years ago.......

[Loomis]

So what would happen with two disc golf stores? Certainly they wouldn't open a new store next to DGW so let's imagine they open it in South OP, or North KC, or Lee's Summit. Now let's compare the prices that DGW charges to the other "said" companies...

We will compare:
1. Z Nuke from Discraft
2. Star Destroyer from Innova
3. Super Soft Wizard.

I will pull this info off of DGW, DD, LSDISC, DISC GOLF CENTER, and GOTTA GO GOTTA THROW's respective web sites.

DGW (web sales, store in KC)
1. 16.00
2. 16.50
3. 10.00

DD (web sales, tournament vending, store in Emporia)
1. 16.00
2. 18.00
3. 11.00

LSDISCS (web sales, tournament vending)
1. 17.00
2. 18.00
3. 13.00

DISC GOLF CENTER (web only)
1. 14.00
2. 16.00
3. 10.00

GOTTA GO, GOTTA THROW (tournament vending, web sales)
1. 17.00
2. 18.00
3. 12.00

There are over 40 online websites which offer disc golf discs for sale. Most of which are individual sellers, disc golf clubs, or online retailers who do not specialize in disc golf sales as a primary source of income.


If you shop online you don't get to feel discs, touch them, make sure the plastic is what you want - to see if you like the color, etc. There is something to be said for buying in person. Most of the time disc golfers have to wait for tournaments to get that chance. If they do have a store in their area it's a Play it Again Sports, Wal Mart, Dick's Sporting goods, etc. that doesn't offer much variety and their prices are always higher (PIAS charges 24.00 for Star plastic, and 30.00 for a disc "signed by the champ Ken Climo" which is nothing more than a 12x star wraith with his name stamped on it). So having stores is a blessing.

So can KC support two stores? Who knows? I'm sure there's room for two. I'm more concerned with the bad blood which is sure to come from this. Is this going to produce a "them or us" mentality? This thread alone speaks to the seeds of that dilemma which are sure to create disharmony in the club. In my brief time with the club, I have rarely seen harmony as the first reaction to change.

As far as events being run by one group or another, that's another issue entirely. DGW is not KCFDC and vice versa. There is a long standing relationship between the two entities, but there is no exclusivity. And I believe there was a joint effort between said (breast size named company) and DGW in the past. So it's possible to see growth in the sport, even if it requires some baby steps to get there.

And as much as it pains people to hear this... KCFDC does not own the courses in KC. This club is a guardianship of the courses - volunteers who shepherd the sport here in KC. I think if someone wants to come in and run tournaments, they should be able to do so, but it would be better if they were working WITH our club and not against it. A fight doesn't help our sport grow at all.

Two stores? Not sure if it will make much difference. I think DGW is an institution in the sport and it has it's fans. If south OP opens a store, it will most likely take customers away from online sales more than DGW. No one in Blue Springs is going to travel to 151 street to feel a disc. And no one in Olathe is going to drive to Lee's Summit, or Lee's Summit to North Kansas City, etc. I live in Merriam/Lenexa. I won't drive to Lee's Summit or North Kansas City or Blue Springs to shop for anything. DGW has a distinct advantage in its location.

I have seen other stores around the country and there are some things other stores do better than DGW but not much. I don't think it's our right to say who can or can't sell plastic in KC. I just hope it doesn't sour things around here any further. I'm sure feathers are going to fly, but let things play out.

[HaterAde]

Right on. One thing I always thought was lacking here was an event of similar magnitude to that of the Memorial, or the USDGC, for example. Yes, our Wide Open has been a NT event, but it doesn't seem to stand out from other NT events the way The Memorial does, for example. With our strong club membership, and abundance of courses, one would think the largest annual disc golf event in KC would also be one of the largest and more prominent disc golf events nationwide.

If it takes another entity stepping in to make that happen, which would be awesome, then so be it.

[jack]

Right on. One thing I always thought was lacking here was an event of similar magnitude to that of the Memorial, or the USDGC, for example. Yes, our Wide Open has been a NT event, but it doesn't seem to stand out from other NT events the way The Memorial does, for example. With our strong club membership, and abundance of courses, one would think the largest annual disc golf event in KC would also be one of the largest and more prominent disc golf events nationwide.

If it takes another entity stepping in to make that happen, which would be awesome, then so be it.

You are wrong...the Wide Open is a Big Event its just that its not the first week in March in Sunny AZ.

There is a reason that almost all Wide Open's have been SuperTour's, National Tours', A-Tier's, etc unless the desire by the club is to not make that happen.

The Wide Open is a leader in events, and although some in the forum's may not agree it is a premier event that most disc golfers have attended because of our past examples.

Hopefully this year will meet your high expectations there HaterAids.....

BTW though, how many other NT events have you played in or watched outside of KC?

So I am curious of your frame of reference on that comment!

 

[HaterAde]

My frame of reference is not coming from a competitor/spectator standpoint, but rather a casual standpoint. You don't have to be an avid runner to know Nike sells more shoes than New Balance, for example.

[Loomis]

The big buzz tournaments are those with major sponsors. Memorial-discraft. USDGC-Innova. Vibram-Vibram, Worlds has everybody. So those tournaments are easy to put on a pedestal. Beaver State is huge because of the setting. Same could be said for Steady Ed or Hambrick. Those tournaments are products which don't change the recipe.

That's where KC can be touch and go. We have SO many courses, no one is sure what they are going to get when they play here. We don't use the same recipe each time we put on the tournament. So it's hard for players to speak highly of the tournament without adding a caveat. "I like the Wide Open when it's this course, this course and this course, but not when we play that course." Des Moines uses the same courses (with one course on the bubble for inclusion depending on the tournament status) each time.

I think consistency is important in name recognition.

[Captklank]

I think letting someone else come in an run events that we as a club should be doing will help disc golf in our area.Will it help the club that remains to be seen.What direction is the club heading?I am glad this is bieng talked about in a open forum as this is MAJOR vote the board is going to vote on soon.And it will have an impact for years to come.I like DD and think they put on great event but I also think a club this size should be running a lot of bigger events in the area.

[Cooper]

More events, likely B-tiers, is one of the best things that could happen.