One of the many beauties of disc golf is the Choose Your Own Adventure-style variety you can find in every corner of the sport. Looking for wooded, technical courses, or wide-open bombers? They're available. A small sling bag to get you through a casual round or a pack suitable for trotting the globe? Yep, you can get either one.
The most variety, though, might come in the form of discs. Translucent, opaque, gummy, firm, soft, pearlescent, eco-friendly, orbit/halo/insert other synonym for circle here – the options are seemingly endless. So when we asked which disc brands disc golfers liked best in a UDisc app survey in October 2022, we weren't terribly surprised to see how much variety you all really are embracing.
We've combed through the 10,000 responses we received and are highlighting the favorite disc golf disc brands in every major disc golfing country worldwide. If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty in the country where the most disc golf is played overall, you can do that in our look at players' favorite disc golf disc brands in every U.S. state.
In fact, you probably should check out the U.S. breakdown because it provides a striking contrast to how the rest of the world consumes disc golf, especially in Europe. And, viewed through an optimistic lens, the global map truly shows how much potential there is for disc golf to keep growing.
A quick housekeeping note: Several countries have been left off the list. While there are indeed disc golf courses in each locale, and we appreciate the local organizers who are pushing the sport forward, there simply weren't a lot of survey responses from those areas. For the sake of data integrity, we set the minimum number of responses at 10, and we'll aim to get those regions covered when we roll out the survey again this fall.
What Are Disc Golfers' Favorite Brands Worldwide by Country?
This is honestly a fascinating list. The United States has the most disc golf courses and most disc golfers of all countries, but its biggest and oldest disc makers, Innova and Discraft, don't have a stranglehold on worldwide markets. Instead, companies that have grown up with the sport in Europe are reaping the benefits.
If the third-place column is blank, that means there were not enough responses to create a plurality (or that there was a tie for second).
|
Country |
Favorite Disc Golf Brand |
2nd Favorite Disc Golf Brand |
3rd Favorite Disc Golf Brand |
|
Australia |
Innova Discs |
Latitude 64° |
Discraft |
|
Austria |
Discmania |
Discraft |
Innova Discs |
|
Canada |
Innova Discs |
Discraft |
Latitude 64°/MVP Disc Sports |
|
Czech Republic |
Latitude 64° |
Discmania/Innova Discs |
|
|
Denmark |
Latitude 64° |
Discraft |
Discmania |
|
Estonia |
Latitude 64° |
Discmania |
Discraft |
|
Finland |
Discmania |
Innova Discs |
Latitude 64° |
|
Germany |
Discmania |
Latitude 64° |
Discraft/Innova Discs |
|
Iceland |
Discraft |
Discmania/Innova Discs |
|
|
Netherlands |
Discmania/Kastaplast |
Innova Discs/Prodigy Disc |
|
|
New Zealand |
Innova Discs |
RPM Discs |
Latitude 64° |
|
Norway |
Latitude 64° |
Innova Discs |
Discraft |
|
Sweden |
Latitude 64° |
Discmania |
Kastaplast |
|
United Kingdom |
Latitude 64° |
Discmania/Discraft |
|
|
United States |
Innova Discs |
Discraft |
Discmania |
Quick Takeaways
Zooming in on Europe Three of the fastest-growing disc golf nations are in the Nordics: Finland is the only country outside the U.S. to boast more than 1,000 courses (1,039 as of the time of this article), Sweden has almost 650, and Norway (527) recently began to outpace both on a per annum installation basis. Meanwhile, populous countries like Germany, France, and Spain are just starting to feel the burn, presenting enormous growth potential with their combined 195+ million residents.
It's instructive, then, to look at the current European disc golf landscape and see that two companies, both born on that continent, are setting the tone for brand loyalty – and competing for the next big place to adopt the sport.
Latitude 64° vs. Discmania Swedish Latitude 64° and Finnish Discmania are nordic neighbors in a contest for European dominance. Latitude currently has the upper hand in terms of number of countries, but Discmania's lead in large, well-populated Germany is intriguing.
Where's Innova? The defacto market leader has done a phenomenal job exporting its wares to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, but we were certainly surprised the California company didn't capture the top slot in any of the European countries that qualified for the survey. Coming in second in Finland and Norway, though, is significant, and it will be interesting to see where else they can continue to make inroads.
Discraft takes Iceland – what's next? The Michigan manufacturer can add a feather to its cap and tout being the number one brand in the surprisingly disc golf-rich island nation of Iceland. The company has been making public efforts to make even more of an overseas impact by sponsoring 13-time Danish Champion KJ Nybo and supporting the European Pro Tour. Add in a lengthy European summer tour for six-time pro disc golf world champion and face of the company Paul McBeth, and we are quite intrigued to see where Discraft lands in European survey results in 2023.
Kudos to Kastaplast It was a split decision, but Sweden's Kastaplast is the youngest company to snag a share of number one in any European country with its showing in the Netherlands. Maybe more impressive is its third-place showing on its home turf.
Look at all that potential It's easy to get caught up in the disc golf bubble and feel like the sport is bigger than it is, especially with the boom in participation the past three years. But the light gray on the world map shows just how much the sport can expand, and that's beyond exciting. Imagine what this map will look like in five or 10 years.
What else we're watching for in 2023
- Latitude 64° put down roots in Madrid, sponsoring a course in the six-million-person city with the Paul McBeth Foundation. Will it pay off quickly?
- Can Dynamic Discs use some of its connections with Latitude and Kastaplast to make a dent in Europe?
- Let's see if RPM Discs can continue its growth and make waves in Australia to go along with its success in New Zealand.
- Much like in the United States, we'll be looking for any shifts in the landscape due to Simon Lizotte's move to MVP. Will the Michigan company be able to break into the top three in any European markets? Will Discmania, Lizotte's former sponsor, be able to retain its hold on his home country of Germany?
- We're planning on asking for provincial locations in Canada next year to see if there is any more granularity in brand loyalty.
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