Opinion on new Discgolfer issue

[snap7times]

I havent and will not be able to read my issue until I go back home on Jan 4th. But i thought I would start early, since the last issue, the main concern was lack of content and too much advertising... how does this magazine issue compare to the last one, an improvement or the same or? Just curious...

[LJ Jubner]

It seems smaller but with plenty of ads.

[Parks]

This was the weakest one I've seen.

I just wish there could be a magazine with the content of FDM but delivered on time.

[snap7times]

Well they have been asking for photos and articles from us and it seems a lack of us are sending ideas in.... There are some of us with good writing skills that could be put to good use like Dion's articles for 1k rated.... send feedback to pdga EIC, i am sure with enoug hpositive ideas and feedback they can improve...

[Parks]

I DO really like the course design stuff. That's an interesting area that any club can use to improve some local holes or put to use in new courses.

I thought the instructional stuff in FDM was pretty good. Need more articles from the likes of Scott Papa. Regardless of what some golfers think of him, he writes good articles for improving your game.

[DiscGolfOregon3]

Discgolfer Magazine . . . . . ? ? ? ? ? ?

I think that we should bring it upon ourselves to provide this wonderful entity with all the editorials and photos possible. I have not considered this before, but I am overjoyed to be a part of such an integral part of our sport . . . expect my additions soon (if accepted?)

-Derek, DiscGolfOregon.com

[LJ Jubner]

Yeah I wish I could get someone else to do my work for me too.

[snap7times]

Well, they did post asking for photographers for the 2010 year. And they did gladly give DDGA some space, I don't know which article they decided to use but we did give them a few to choose from along with a bunch of pictures to choose from. I, myself, am in charge of the DDGA newsletter which is 4-6 pages long for now, but I gladly accept photos and article submissions; I got the same vibes from PDGA magazine staff that they will accept any articles and photos and make good use of the ones that are magazine worthy or whatever.... The more article ideas and actual articles they receive, the better the magazine will become when they have more to pick from.

[Matt B.]

Originally Posted by Parks

This was the weakest one I've seen.

I just wish there could be a magazine with the content of FDM but delivered on time.

Really? I thought the FDM content was often terrible. Eighth grade level "creative writing" stories about ghosts playing disc golf. Ron Jeremy "speed of ejaculate" compared to disc speed references. A whole column written by a disc golf outsider about "like um, hyzer is a funny word and stuff, lol". And another regular column from a frisbee dog guy about how disc golfers are losers.
Huge font, huge margins, like the guy was fooling his composition teacher. Not to mention numerous proof-reading errors every issue.

Blech. I let the PDGA and the publishers know early and often what I thought of FDM. Not saying the current mag is perfect, but FDM was a disaster. I think Scott Papa is still contributing, aren't you Scott?

[Bob Horning]

Years ago I was an editor for our scuba dive club newsletter, and to put out even a small newsletter with interesting articles at times was difficult. Yes there may be a lot of ads in this one (I actually have one in there myself) but that does help pay for circulation, for PDGA dues won't (dues did not go up to pay for this I do not believe). To keep a magazine fresh and interesting is challenging to say the least, so I can see why they want articles. Here on the forum there are lots of discussions that could be edited to become an article, strangest disc find, how to make a gong type of target, the process and progress on Stub Stewart Park, etc.... These and a lot more would be welcome I'm sure if someone had the muse....

[Tim]

Originally Posted by Matt B.

Really? I thought the FDM content was often terrible. Eighth grade level "creative writing" stories about ghosts playing disc golf. Ron Jeremy "speed of ejaculate" compared to disc speed references. A whole column written by a disc golf outsider about "like um, hyzer is a funny word and stuff, lol". And another regular column from a frisbee dog guy about how discgolfers are losers.
HUge font, huge margins, like thie guy was fooling his composition teacher. Not to mention numerous proof-reading errors every issue.

Blech. I let the PDGA and the publishers know early and often what I thought of FDM. Not saying the current mag is perfect, but FDM was a disaster. I think Scott Papa is still contributing, aren't you Scott?

I'm inclined to agree on those points. I liked the concept that FDM had, expanding the scope of disc golf media beyond the arena of competition, but yes, it was not executed very well.

People ask for more content and such, but the truth is, there isn't a whole lot to write about in our sport. There's tournaments happening on a regular basis, so that's one new thing that guys can write about. New equipment comes out regularly, but there isn't much to be said except for a blurb here and there. Courses are being built, but unless people are local to that particular course, there isn't much interest in the planning/building part of it. Instructional articles are great, but how many articles can you really write about a straddle putt? We just don't have the broad base of consumers and manufacturers like ball golf.

Some of the ideas Bob H. touched on there would indeed make for good reading. But, relying on the disc golf community to submit their own articles has it's own problems too--just browse a few disc golf forums and you'll see that the English language isn't the community's strong point.

This post really isn't meant to be as negative as it sounds, I'm just trying to illustrate why most issues of any disc golf magazine are a little light on content.

FWIW, I contacted the editor to write an article earlier, but he didn't seem interested in anything over 400 words, and then was unresponsive when I asked for deadlines. I probably could have pursued it harder, but his lack of interest kind of quelled my own enthusiasm.

[Celeste]

Bob- I saw a mention in the magazine that your baskets had been approved by the PDGA. Very Cool.

[Ol' Bob]

As long as I can get a copy of the National Disquirer at the checkstand, I needn't look any further for creative writing. Their expose about miniature suicide terrorist aliens crashing our drives into trees was a real eye opener for me. I did what they said immediately and lined my bag with tinfoil. The tinfoil must be leaking, as it hasn't really worked out for me. Those aliens are a bigger problem than I'd thought.

[LJ Jubner]

Originally Posted by Tim

...just browse a few disc golf forums and you'll see that the English language isn't the community's strong point.

FWIW, I contacted the editor to write an article earlier, but he didn't seem interested in anything over 400 words, and then was unresponsive when I asked for deadlines. I probably could have pursued it harder, but his lack of interest kind of quelled my own enthusiasm.

Tim i try to member to laod the spelczec'r

Originally Posted by Tim

...FWIW, I contacted the editor to write an article earlier, but he didn't seem interested in anything over 400 words, and then was unresponsive when I asked for deadlines. I probably could have pursued it harder, but his lack of interest kind of quelled my own enthusiasm.

I say the Mags "like shooting fish in a barrel'.

Why would he want to reinvent himself or his publication. I have issues from 1996 and his formula is the same more ad's then ams (Gravy in my opinion) and a pre-determined prepaid number of issues to produce.

Fish in a Barrel, I say.

["Over the Hill" Bob]

Originally Posted by snap7times

Well they have been asking for photos and articles from us and it seems a lack of us are sending ideas in.... There are some of us with good writing skills that could be put to good use like Dion's articles for 1k rated.... send feedback to pdga EIC, i am sure with enoug hpositive ideas and feedback they can improve...

Page 7.........."Deaf Disc Golf Association Celebrates 10 Years"

Just thought you'd be interested.

Bob

[Parks]

Originally Posted by Matt B.

Really? I thought the FDM content was often terrible. Eighth grade level "creative writing" stories about ghosts playing disc golf. Ron Jeremy "speed of ejaculate" compared to disc speed references. A whole column written by a disc golf outsider about "like um, hyzer is a funny word and stuff, lol". And another regular column from a frisbee dog guy about how disc golfers are losers.

Yup, all that stuff is filler to me, and I ignore it the same as I do most advertisements.

Mostly, I care about instructional articles about technique, tournament play, course design, the head game, etc., and there seemed to be at least a few of those in every FDM. Its hard to find stuff like that in good quality outside a short list of resources online (DGR articles, some top pro websites). I thought the other disc sport stuff was moderately interesting (the dog disc guy was clearly tongue in cheek). I like interviews and tournament coverage, but FDM had that too and that's all the current rag seems to be.

I think Tim hit the nail on the head when he said there just isn't a lot to talk about in our sport. Most of what I see on DG forums has already been discussed endlessly on that same forum and others.

[Parks]

Originally Posted by LJ Jubner

Yeah I wish I could get someone else to do my work for me too.

Its not like its a completely one-sided relationship. For some writers, getting stuff published in magazines with a few thousand readers makes for a decent reference for an entry-level writing position. Some people are fonts of knowledge that just want to help out and contribute, and it gives them a medium to do so.

[snap7times]

Originally Posted by "Over the Hill" Bob

Page 7.........."Deaf Disc Golf Association Celebrates 10 Years"

Just thought you'd be interested.

Bob

As the President of DDGA, this was something I wanted to do, get DDGA some space in the PDGA mag, which we successfully did.. Hopefully we get bigger space in the next issues...

There are plenty of ideas on articles for the magazine, just type them out, send them in and let them worry about english crap and deciding if they want it or not... I'lll be sending one in personally for the next issue, I am sure the next Deadline will be around Jan 30th.

[papatart]

Thanks to everyone for posting your thoughts on DiscGolfer mag. It is always interesting to see what people like/dislike or want/hate to see in the confines of our pages. It is a lot of fun and definitely hard work to get together all of the info, articles and photos that go into every issue so it is always good to hear feedback both pro and con to help get a feel on how you, the public, feel we are doing.

If you don't know, I am the instructional editor for the magazine, just as I was for FDM. The difference was that I did a lot more writing for FDM rather than just editorial work as there was a lot of room to fill and not enough "quality" writers to make it happen. As we all know many golfers that tell great stories or are excellent teachers, they may not have any desire to do any writing or even if they do, may just not be very good at putting down their thoughts on the printed page. It is always a challenge!

In my position I basically will come up with the general idea for the issue that I want to cover and then try and get truly talented golfers and teachers from all areas, abilities and strengths to write articles about said topic. While I am not writing as much as I used to, the idea was to give the populace more input from many sources as often you may learn from one person saying something but not understand the exact same thing from someone else. I have seen notes from a few people that say they would like to see more of my writings so if I keep seeing this response I may start adding more of my own stuff to the mag.

As for how much you can write about any shot, that is truly endless. There are so many ball golf mags that cover over and over and over every shot that has ever been hit and how to hit it better that there is never an end to it. As I stated before, just because the first eleven articles you read didn't help you get that additional 25 feet on your drive doesn't mean that the twelfth article will be no help. It may be that article that something the writer says hits home like no one else and suddenly you have to go to all mids because all of your drivers go way too far now.

So bottom line, I think this mag is much more consistent and more professionally laid out than FDM ever was. The content may not be as nutsy as FDM was but to be quite honest with you the last thing I really needed to read about was Rich's trip to Hawaii and how awesome the fruit was. I would have much rather seen us put out issues when they were supposed to be out and hold up to all the promises that were dealt to the public. DiscGolfer will do that and that puts it way ahead on all accounts.

As a more important note, if there is anything that you would like to see covered in the instructional section....LET ME KNOW!!!! You can always get in touch with me here in the forum, an email, a phone call, a pm or whatever. I am already hoping to get a young guns article together that would hopefully feature two well known Oregonians to lay down some of their knowledge of play (like 360 drives and forehands...or have I said too much). So again, let me know if you would like to see more....

Oh yeah, did anyone ever read the top ten articles at the back of FDM. If so, what did you think...inquiring minds want to know.

Hope to hear from you all soon!

Scott Papa

[Parks]

The top 10 was part of the filler in my opinion, and not the entertaining or useful content of FDM.