Why NEXTGEN
exists

Ask most parents to picture disc golf and they picture the parking lot: a cloud of smoke, a few beers, and language you'd rather your kid not repeat. That reputation isn't the whole sport, but it isn't nothing either.

The reality is that disc golf, as it stands, is not built for young children. For kids under 12 the friction is everywhere, and it only starts to ease up around 13. That's the problem, because the years before 13 are exactly when a kid falls in love with a sport for life. Those are the years disc golf makes the hardest.

The four barriers

The culture. Marijuana, cigarettes, and casual profanity are common at the tees. None of it is meant to be hostile to kids, but it adds up to a place a lot of families just won't step into.

The course design. Most layouts are built for adult arms. Long carries and adult tee pads mean a young player spends the round losing discs and never reaching a basket. Frustration, not fun.

The gear gap. Lightweight, kid-appropriate discs are genuinely hard to find. Too often a child is handed a disc they physically cannot throw, and concludes the sport isn't for them.

No junior lane. There are very few leagues, clinics, or tournaments built for juniors. When a kid does catch the bug, there's rarely an obvious next step to keep them in the game.

What we're building

NEXTGEN is our attempt to remove all four barriers. We work on the culture at the course, push for junior-friendly design, help close the gear gap, and build events and content made for kids. It comes down to three things: community mindfulness, junior opportunities, and junior-first content.

The whole point is simple. When disc golf gets younger, it gets safer, more welcoming, and impossible to ignore. Growing the sport and protecting kids turn out to be the same project.

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