Controversial Jump Putts: History and Solution —By Scott Zimmerman— Despite the lightning fast growth of disc golf, by and large the PDGA Rules Committee does a good job continually working to improve the rules to make them fair and easy to apply. But in this post I’ll explain why the falling putting rule badly needs surgery. We’ll cover how jump putts and step putts differ, how the workflow of two PDGA committees created an important historical divergence, why some jump putts are a stance violation, and even how to fix this mess. Thanks to live coverage at major tournaments, I’ve been able to ..read more

Mini Maniamini discs keep good company! —by Mark Powers— This is a tale of my many varied and zany efforts to pitch (or perhaps “fly”) the idea of a mini frisbee to prospective advertisers to promote their product in a unique fashion. What better way to get your message across to consumers than a little indestructible plastic disc that connects to their inner kid in a playful yet subliminal way and can be used as a coaster, a calling card or a lid and not just a toy? 1982 Australian ChampionshipsMark Powers, open division winner I had just won the overall Frisbee® and Flying Disc Championship ..read more

—by Dan "Stork" Roddick— Dan "Stork" RoddickPlaying with his Flyin' Saucer It wasn’t always so. When flying discs first hit the markets and blew our minds in the ’50s, they were “just” an extraordinary toy. And, they were truly mind blowing. There are lots of stories of how folks reacted upon first seeing one fly. Maybe you’re lucky enough to remember your own experience. I can’t specifically remember. I know I got that Pipco Flyin’ Saucer as a gift on my fifth Christmas, and I know that Dad and I started playing immediately, but I don’t specifically recall my amazement when I first ..read more

Kaposia Community Makes a Meaningful Difference for Paul McBeth Foundation —by Billie Sage Ashton— Blake IversonPhoto from Paul McBeth Foundation Imagine you're an avid disc golfer and an attorney by trade in the Twin Cities community and while browsing through Instagram, you come across a post from five-time World Disc Golf Champion, Paul McBeth, who was specifically canvassing to see if there was anyone out there on social media who not only played disc golf but was also an attorney. Would you jump to the opportunity and respond? Well, that's exactly what Blake Iverson, a partner at Eastlak ..read more

The Wham-O Trademark Band —By Kevin Fuller— With the Tokyo Olympics recently completed, let us turn our attention to another set of rings. No, not an in-depth look at early Pro and mini labels, but Wham-O's adornment of nearly all discs from the end of the 1970s, through the Kransco years, until the company's sale to Mattel. Let's start at the beginning (a very good place to start). On July 28, 1958, Wham-O Mfg. Co. filed an application to register Frisbee as a trademark. That registration was granted on May 26, 1959. Soon after, the ® started to appear after every use of Frisbee®. I ..read more

Have Pie, Will Fly: The Frisbie Pie Company—Launchpad for a Pastime —By Davis Johnson— ====== Part I ====== It all started with an epic thunderstorm, the kind that seems to occur with dramatic sea changes in my life. It was a sultry mid-August Friday in the late 1990s, and Rick Williams had come to join me at my parents’ vacation home in northern New Hampshire for a disc golf tournament the following day in neighboring Vermont. We watched the storm come out of the north, then slam bang over our heads with torrential downpours before assaulting the slopes of Mt. Moosilauke in a light show ..read more

Click to Play I am sure you all know that we recently lost flying disc legend and pioneer Dr. Stancil Johnson. Stan, as his friends knew him, has been described as the poet laureate of Frisbee who may have very well altered the course of flying disc history with his delightfully penned FRISBEE: A practitioner's manual and definitive treatise. In fact, a number of our FDM Blog contributors attribute Stan's book as cardinal in their lives in Frisbee—add my name to that list! Well, after a great deal of reflection, soul searching and capable counsel, we (my long-time DG buddy and Editor of DiscGo ..read more

Frisbees Unleash Neuroresponses: The Science of Collecting —by Lightnin' Lyle Jensen— TO BOLDLY GO... I think the first time I ever put pen to paper with regard to collecting flying discs was in 1975 when I wrote Dan "Stork" Roddick a simple letter of introduction with an arm's-length query about a deep purple, first-period (most collectors I knew back then used the term period or generation; now style is the taxonomy du jour) Wham-O Pluto Platter, and the rest (as the ubiquitous they are inclined to say) is his...story—neither Stork's nor mine, really. Of course, by comparison, my personal ta ..read more

K-9 N-Counters —by Mark Powers— I’ve had dogs as close companions all my life—sure, I’ve had cats and fish and birds as well to share rooms and toys and beds with—but they all sensed that I’m primarily a dog-lover and they came to realise their lower place on the pet totem pole. Whenever I came into the room they would wait patiently for me to praise the diva dog first and then receive the crumbs of my remaining affection! Ashley Whippet Book 1978 World Frisbee Championships 1978 Australian Frisbee ChampionshipsMark Powers, winner When I won the first Aussie Frisbee championship in 1978 and th ..read more

From Great Heights —by Mark Powers— William Shatner, Blue Origin[photo by The Sun] What is it with the combination of towering objects and the compulsion for an avid Frisbee fanatic to toss a disc off into the great void from those menacing heights? From my own experience, it is the satisfaction of watching that disc soar and glide effortlessly into the distance, free from gravity for a few brief moments and unencumbered from the normal laws of physics—a William Shatner-type moment in a Blue Origin euphoria! Crowds Ascending UluruOctober 18, 2019—final day climbing was allowed [photo by New ..read more