2019 will be the first full year that UDisc's blog, Release Point, has researched and shared some of disc golf's best stories with the world. With a new year on the horizon, we thought we'd take a look at the pieces that really resonated with our audience over the last 364 days and give new readers a chance to catch up on the most popular content that they missed.
From tenth place to first, here are our most-read articles of 2019:
#10 "Disc Golf Gaming Hits New Peak...In A Valley"
Swede Per Wahlstedt wanted to learn programming and had heard that building a game was a great way to do it. His hobby project, Disc Golf Valley, has since become an international sensation in the disc golfing world. Release Point readers were eager to learn more about the game and how it was created from our interview with Wahlstedt.
Read the #10 article here.
#9 "Hard Plastic: A Movie With Disc Golf At Its Heart"
Nothing grows a sport like exposure, and a movie could mean big exposure for disc golf. It's no wonder Release Point's audience was excited to read about the dark comedy Hard Plastic, a movie about a young woman hoping to become a professional disc golfer while also navigating a complicated father-daughter relationship. We spoke with the movie's writer/director Lucas Astrom, son of actor Andy Dick who plays the father in the film.
Read the #9 article here.
#8 "When You Wish Upon An App: A Look At Your Dream Courses"
When there's a course UDisc users really want to play but never have, they can add it to their Wishlist. See the 100 courses users had wishlisted most and our analysis of the interesting comparisons and contrasts among them.
Read the #8 article here.
#7 "Wild(ling) For Disc Golf: A Chat With Kristofer Hivju"
The actor who played Tormund Giantsbane on HBO's Game of Thrones, Kristofer Hivju, has struck up a love affair with disc golf. This article is not just one of the most popular pieces of the year, but also one of our personal favorites because Hivju didn't just answer our questions, but spoke passionately and poetically about why he's come to love the sport. Another interesting point is that after this interview came out, it was announced that Hivju would be participating in the Sula Open in Norway, a part of the PDGA EuroTour that Paul McBeth will also be attending.
Read the #7 article here.
#6 Which Was Perfecter, McBeth's -18 at WACO Or GLO?
After stunning everyone with a perfect 18-under at the 2018 Great Lakes Open, Paul McBeth did it again in 2019 at WACO. The online debate about which 18-under was more difficult to achieve didn't take long to go from a murmur to a roar, prompting McBeth himself to weigh in and issue a challenge...which we took him up on. Find out the results in the article, or, if you read it already, see if it's perfecter the second time around.
Read the #6 article here.
#5 "173 Shares Later, Park Vandalism Suspects Arrested"
A crime and the Texas disc golf community that used social media to bring about swift justice.
Read the #5 article here.
#4 Disc Golf Is Coming: Game Of Thrones Actors Play, Too
Before we had the chance to interview Kristofer Hivju, there were just a few whispers that he and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson—the actor who played The Mountain on Game of Thrones—were into the game. We talked with a person from Oslo who had given Hivju tips during a round at a local course and discussed Björnsson's social media post about playing disc golf.
Read the #4 article here.
#3 Top Disc Golf Cities—USA: Top 10 Recap + 11-50 Revealed
Our list of Top Disc Golf Cities—USA wasn't just a list, but an in-depth look at ten of the top destinations for disc golf in America. Part history, part travel guide, it was a series unlike any before it. The recap of that list, along with the revelation of which cities made it into the top 50, was one of our most popular publications of the year.
And for those who are still reading this far along, here's a little Easter Egg: We've got another big list coming out in January 2020. It won't be about cities, but we promise it'll be just as in-depth and debate-worthy as Top Disc Golf Cities.
Read the #3 article here.
#2 "Järva DiscGolfPark: A Place For Life"
Järva in Stockholm, Sweden is considered one of the best disc golf courses in the world, but it's been under threat of closure for years. Why? Stockholm city wants to take the land to make a cemetery. Part of the UDisc team visited the park in July, and through personal research and a talk with the park's owner, we were able to take a deep dive into the ongoing struggle between Järva DiscGolfPark and the local government.
Read the #2 article here.
#1 The Most Popular Disc Golf Course In Every State: 2019
Our most popular article of the year was likely also the most controversial. Find out which courses people logged the most UDisc rounds at in each state in 2019. And if you're having trouble reconciling yourself to what your state's most popular course is, you can check out another article from a sociology professor who was having the same problem.
Read the #1 article here.
Thanks For Reading/Want To Join The Team?
Before we go, we want to thank all of Release Point's readers for taking time out of their days for our stories. You'll also be glad to know that in 2020 we plan to pick up the pace and produce even more articles—all while keeping up the quality you've come to expect.
If you have experience as a journalist or writer in any field, a love of disc golf, and an interest in joining Release Point's writing staff, send us an e-mail at [email protected].
