Discraft strikes $10M sponsor deal as disc golf business soars

Wixom, Mich.-based Discraft Inc. has signed a $10 million sponsor deal with the world's best disc golfer, marking a new chapter for the fast-growing sport and tightening the company's grip on it.

The 10-year deal with top Professional Disc Golf Association player Paul McBeth, announced Feb. 24, is the largest in the sport's history. It's expected to fuel demand for Discraft discs, which have sold like hotcakes during the pandemic, Chief Operations Officer Mike Wagner said.

The injection molding company cannot pump them out fast enough. It is investing "multiple millions of dollars" to expand its Wixom manufacturing facility and headquarters. In the past two years, the company has doubled in size in terms of sales and employees, and production has more than doubled since the pandemic started — but that's still not enough.

"It's just so chaotic right now," Wagner told Crain's Detroit Business, sister publication of Plastics News. "The sport's growing so quickly. At some point you'd think it would level off, but I don't see it leveling off soon."

What began out of a small garage in Westland, Mich., in 1979 has grown into the second-largest disc golf supplier in the world. Keeping McBeth under contract is key to Discraft's long-term growth goals, said Wagner, who hopes to unseat its California-based rival, Innova Disc Golf, as top manufacturer.

McBeth had repped for Innova before defecting to Discraft, whose endorsement spending has ballooned in recent years. The company also sponsors Paige Pierce, the world's top-rated female professional disc golfer, and YouTube celebrity Brodie Smith.

McBeth, though, is largely credited with helping graduate the game out of relative obscurity. ESPN even televised a tournament last year, launching it further into the mainstream. Once looked at as a "stoner sport" by outsiders, the game is gaining traction, especially among outdoor-oriented millennials. Disc golf is played in about 40 countries by an estimated 4 million to 8 million people per year. Wagner said that equates to anywhere from 20 million to 40 million discs sold annually by just a few companies.

Wagner declined to discuss financials or specifics on production capacity. Such details are kept under a tight lid in the small, highly competitive disc golf manufacturing industry, he said. There are just a few big players in the market, including another in Michigan — Marlette-based MVP Disc Sports LLC.

"Everyone's kind of fighting for their stake," he said.

McBeth has made Discraft a lot of money — enough money that the company restructured an existing contract signed in 2018 to pay him more. It was a preemptive move to retain the "face of disc golf," as Wagner referred to him. And it was only fair, added Bob Julio, team manager at Discraft.

"We realized the initial agreement we had with him was kind of outdated after the first year," Julio said. "We went in not knowing his value. After the first year, with the sport growing and his popularity growing, we realized the initial contract wasn't sustainable."

For McBeth, the sponsorship has allowed him to take a more hands-on approach and launch a custom line of discs.

"I felt like I have more goals and a bigger vision, and with Discraft, they allowed me to bring that vision to light, and they worked with it," McBeth said in a video announcing the deal.

Patented in 1966, the Wham-O Frisbee paved the way for Ultimate Frisbee and disc golf. The PDGA was established in 1976, though disc golf as an organized sport predates it by a few years. The concept is simple and has not changed: Throw a disc from a tee into a basket with the least amount of throws possible.

Much like its club-using counterpart, disc golf is a big deal in Michigan, home to more than 250 courses — among the top five states in the country. Unlike with "stick golf," as disc golfers often refer to traditional golf, the number of disc golf courses is growing. The primary capital investments for a disc golf course are cement tee pads, chain baskets and maintenance, making it an inexpensive and effective way to activate park land.

Disc golf is also far less costly to play, with discs starting around $15. Most courses are free to play or charge no more than a few dollars, though many are part of state, county or metroparks systems that require annual passes.

That's not to say serious players don't rack up big bills for their passion. There are a host of different types of discs, categorized similarly to regular golf with drivers, midranges and putters. Each is rated for speed, glide, turn and fade, which dictate how far a disc flies and its natural flight path. A science, to be sure. There are also disc backpacks, carts and other accessories, as well as a growing market for high-priced, collectible discs.

Discraft was started in 1979 by husband and wife Jim Kenner and Gail McColl, who were among the first to start playing the sport. McColl died in 2017. Kenner still owns the company but has stepped back from daily operations.

"Since the late 1970s, we've been consistently growing by 10 or 15 percent," Wagner said. "In the last five years, we've seen larger increases."

The company designs and produces all of its discs — mostly for disc golf, but also some for Ultimate Frisbee — at the 50,000-square-foot Wixom plant, soon to be 80,000 square feet after the expansion set to be done by October. It also sells baskets and accessories, including bags and apparel, much of which is made overseas.

It employs more than 70 people, mostly machine operators, compared to less than 50 before the pandemic. It is still hiring for operators but is struggling to find enough people, Wagner said.

The company makes the discs via injection molding with resin sourced from companies in metro Detroit, which Wagner declined to name. He said securing enough plastic to meet demand has also been a headache.

"All manufacturers are having issues getting product because of the demand," Wagner said, adding that the shutdown forced by the pandemic made the backlog worse.

Discraft sells its products to major retailers such as Dunham's Sports and Dick's Sporting Goods, as well as gas stations and small shops near courses. An estimated 20 percent of sales are outside of the U.S., mostly in Europe, Wagner said. Disc golf is one of the most popular sports of Finland and Sweden.

As spring approaches, Discraft is bracing for another surge in demand. The professionals returned to play in late February for the 2021 Las Vegas Challenge presented by Innova, ushering in the new season. Discraft sponsors hundreds of events each year, including 40-50 in Michigan. The company also has some new discs in the works but catching up on regular production is the priority.

"We kind of owe it to the sport to get caught up and get things back to normal," Julio said.