http://www.pdga.com/disc-golf-hits-prime-time-tv


BY MEMBERSHIPSMANAGER | SEP 27, 2011

Disc Golf Hits Prime Time TV

The PDGA was contacted by Paramount Studios in early August to submit PDGA branded items for use as product placement on the ABC television show, “Happy Endings”. The sitcom places a fresh and comedic spin on modern friendship, focusing on six lifelong Chicago-based friends in their 20’s and early 30’s navigating various stages of work, relationships, marriage, and dating. The disc golf themed episode is currently set to air on Wednesday, September 28th following “Modern Family”.

While increasing interest and popularity of this sport is evident in the worldwide participation and growing membership of Disc golfers, portrayal of this sport in the media is imperative for prosperity and awareness on a global level. Television is a monumental step in securing our place in sports history.

So Disc Golfers and “Frisbeeterians”, spread the word and Tune in to ABC on September 28th. If not for the sake of the sport, then to ensure that you will never have to explain the definition of Disc Golf again.


Did anyone catch the "product placement" and the great portrayal of our sport??

OH MY FREAKING GOD !!!! WHAT A JOKE !!!

That show was terrible, not just because of how they portrayed disc golf! First they called it Frolf (not the end of the world), showed someone throwing a lid and smashing a chick in the forehead (I did laugh at that), and then said it was not a sport. Hopefully the PDGA didn't send out a huge press release to potential corporate sponsors! :doh: Not sure why the contacted the PDGA for that....bummer!

Oh, come on guys!!! That show was awesome. Not only did it make fun of our sport, it also made fun of Vibram.

WOW, glad to be a Frolfer!

They reached out to the PDGA with the premise to promote the sport. Never called it disc golf and went out of their way to say "frolf is not a sport". Someone gets whacked in the head with a lid and the showed a Traveler basket for 1/2 a second. Woop-de-frickin-doo.

The show sucked arse. Period.

Look for it to be cancelled soon.

Not a positive bit of publicity for sure. The show will not be watched by me again, it seemed quite worthless. Need I say more?

That show is in it's second season, last season the made a joke about disc golf on one episode, I knew it was not going to be good. And kudos to the writers for ripping off Seinfield, they did a Frolf episode almost 2 decades ago.

That was a huge embarrassment to disc golf and to the PDGA (although I assume they would not have promoted it if they knew that was what it was going to be - so I don't hold it against them.)

So why did they even bother contacting the PDGA? I'm sure that no one from the PDGA used the term "frolf" nor did they say to use big orange cones to designate the tee. None of them probably said to throw a lid either. And definitely no one from the PDGA said that disc golf wasn't a real sport....

Television is a monumental step in securing our place in sports history.

So Disc Golfers and �Frisbeeterians�, spread the word and Tune in to ABC on September 28th. If not for the sake of the sport, then to ensure that you will never have to explain the definition of Disc Golf again.



Nice job again PDGA.:mad: Please quit trying to prove your worth to us, you have us going backwards. We seem to do better when you do nothing.

That was a huge embarrassment to disc golf and to the PDGA (although I assume they would not have promoted it if they knew that was what it was going to be - so I don't hold it against them.)

What I find embarrassing is the Disc Golfer comments on the Happy Endings Face Book page.

I watched the show due to the PDGA Face Book promotion that it was a "Disc Golf" centered episode. I have no idea if the show is funny or not, I was only watching to catch the Disc Golf references.

While "any press is good press" and "I don't care what they say about me as long as they are talking about me" are a way of looking at it. I do not believe the angry Face Book postings to H.E.'s page will convince non-Frolfers to go out and try Disc Golf.

Free Press, "you get what you pay for".
When does the new PDFA web site go on line.:rolleyes:

JAB

I was greatly disappointed as well but I kinda knew it was coming honestly. I thought the show as a whole was really lame and don't see how it will last long. If the show makes it my only hope is the guys game improves and he ends up joining the PDGA in a positive manner. They could show how he evolves from a newbie frolfer to a true disc golfer. I doubt I will be watching it again and I'm glad UFC was showing some replays lastnight otherwise I would have really wasted my time.

FB post from the PDGA....

I think we can all agree the "frolf" episode of Happy Endings on ABC last night was not what we were hoping it would be. We were told by ABC that the episode was centered around disc golf, and they even asked us to send them some PDGA stuff to use on the set. We're sorry if we built it up without knowing exactly what the episode would entail, but the idea of disc golf on prime time television definitely had us excited, understandably.

Bad press is sometimes better than no press, but in this case no one benefited. Our biggest hope for the episode was that if someone watching didn't know what disc golf was, they would at least have an idea after. Unfortunately for all parties involved, that was not the case.

More like centered around rehashing a joke about frolf that was done by Seinfeld years ago.

I think the biggest mistake by all parties involved would be assuming that sitcom writers would portray disc golf in anything but a mocking fashion. Face it, we all got duped. Yes, even you, David Wise, who acts like he knows everything. I least they tried, and something is always better than nothing, which is what you offer. http://www.pdga.com/discussion/images/icons/icon13.gif

Hey, but at least we have our own newsletter! :D

The only good thing I can say about this is i am glad I used the DVR to watch this.
That way it was only a complete waste of 22 minutes instead of 30.

Ridiculous.

I think the biggest mistake by all parties involved would be assuming that sitcom writers would portray disc golf in anything but a mocking fashion. Face it, we all got duped. Yes, even you, David Wise, who acts like he knows everything. I least they tried, and something is always better than nothing, which is what you offer. http://www.pdga.com/discussion/images/icons/icon13.gif

Hey, but at least we have our own newsletter! :D




At least they tried? Seriously? That's the best you have Lagrassa?
Well there is the one constant that we can always count on, you defending them at every turn, regardless of their performance. Maybe they'll give you another pat on the head.:cool:

To imply that the PDGA in some way had anything to do with the crap on that show is inane. They were asked to send the show some stuff for product placement. That's it. They didn't get to approve the script, or send someone to be on set and advise the actors, or get involved in any other way. Their one mistake, apparently, was promoting the episode under the assumption that it would be something good. Oh well, you wasted 25 minutes of your life watching a TV show you might not otherwise have watched. BFD.

What I was referring to, is their promotion of the show that disc golf will be getting exposure and that because of it, we will never have to explain disc golf again.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

Maybe a little due diligence on their part to see if it will truly would be a promotion or a spoof would have been nice.

Next time, they may want to look a little closer before they promote a slap in the face.<O:p</O:p

People are actually thinking that our leadership did nothing wrong?

Since when is it a good idea to provide branded materials for use by media, without knowing the context it will be used? Plus advertise to everyone that they can to watch it?

The advertising by the PDGA to say, "hey look we're promoting our sport" and then it being a complete mockery is a total failure

we're just lucky that the PDGA branded materials weren't shown

Can't wait to watch it when I get home so I can ridicule the show on here. I imagined that it wasn't going to be good anyway. Frolf? Really?

To imply that the PDGA in some way had anything to do with the crap on that show is inane. They were asked to send the show some stuff for product placement. That's it. They didn't get to approve the script, or send someone to be on set and advise the actors, or get involved in any other way. Their one mistake, apparently, was promoting the episode under the assumption that it would be something good. Oh well, you wasted 25 minutes of your life watching a TV show you might not otherwise have watched. BFD.

C'mon Josh. Seriously? That's the best you have?

Don't you know that the PDGA are supposed to be fortune tellers and mind readers? Don't you know that that they were supposed to look into the future and see what was going to happen, and demand that the PDGA be given artistic control before relinquishing any PDGA merchandise? Because, ABC and the sitcom writers would have surely allowed the PDGA full script control and an advisor on set and final approval before the show was aired, if the PDGA had only asked for it. All that was missing was a little due diligence and looking a little closer on the PDGA's part.

Well there is the one constant that we can always count on, is the failure of the PDGA to project ahead of time every possible thing that could go wrong with every facet of disc golf and be proactive accordingly. Because, that's like, of course what all the whiners on this message board can do. And remember, doing nothing always grows the sport of disc golf far better than doing something! http://www.pdga.com/discussion/images/icons/icon14.gif

[/sarcasm mode off]

What I was referring to, is their promotion of the show that disc golf will be getting exposure and that because of it, we will never have to explain disc golf again.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

Maybe a little due diligence on their part to see if it will truly would be a promotion or a spoof would have been nice.

Next time, they may want to look a little closer before they promote a slap in the face.<O:p</O:p
Due diligence like what? Demanding to see a script? Demanding final approval of any scenes? Give me a break. The production company would have laughed at them and moved on.

The PDGA folks took an opportunity to promote the sport at no expense and no effort on their part other than to throw a few stickers in an envelope and mail them. Something, it should be noted, that they do quite often, if I'm not mistaken. Let's not make it out like they spent tens of thousands of dollars lobbying for the chance and had any part in producing the actual content of the show.

The show misrepresented the sport, not the PDGA. Aim your vitriol in the right direction.

I did, the show slapped the sport in the face and our pDGA promoted it. Plain and simple. Their job is to make sure the sport is promoted, not embarrased.

If you want to use my business in a show or ad, you can bet I'm not gong to participate, if I can't be assured I will not be slammed. If you can't give me that, then move a long. Free promotion or not.

Face it, they should, they promoted it.

The production company would have laughed at them and moved on.

The PDGA folks took an opportunity to promote the sport at no expense and no effort on their part other than to throw a few stickers in an envelope and mail them.


And the production company moving on would have hurt us how?

I like that, at no expense and no effort on their part. BINGO!!

No effort.

I did, the show slapped the sport in the face and our pDGA promoted it. Plain and simple. Their job is to make sure the sport is promoted, not embarrased.
Again I ask, how the hell are they supposed to do that? Demand a script? Demand editorial control? They can't stop someone from "slapping the sport in the face" if they don't have the authority to do so. The production company didn't need the PDGA's permission to put disc golf on their show. In other words, with or without the PDGA's "support", this show goes on the air just as we saw it. With the same references to "frolf" and the same jabs and jokes about the people who play the game.

So let's stop pretending that the PDGA did something so horribly wrong. They informed their membership, in good faith, of a show that was going to feature disc golf in some capacity. Turned out to be a pretty horrible show. Oh well. What happened on the show was out of their control, and I don't hold them responsible for it in the least.

Perhaps the production company would have done the show as planned regardless of how the PDGA responded?

I think this is much ado about nothing. Little invested, little gained beyond maybe making a few people aware that the sport exists, little lost. Less relevant in the long run than the Seinfeld episode, soon forgotten and definitely not worth getting wound up over it.

woops, someone beat me to it. well if that isn't a slap in the face.

Life is too short to take minor things so seriously. It was an unknown light comedy sitcom, not a 60 Minutes or ESPN expose.

we're just lucky that the PDGA branded materials weren't shown
.......... a PDGA bumper sticker on the laptop

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=487&pictureid=17152

Maybe next time the writers will show the guys shirtless, dragging a cooler of beer and smoking something too...

Maybe next time the writers will show the guys shirtless, dragging a cooler of beer and smoking something too...

That would've been a more accurate depiction............. but the post-viewing reaction would've been the same. :rolleyes:

Why did I even watch that show? It's one of those sit-coms that tries too hard to be funny. They didn't even mention "frolf" until 7 or 8 minutes into the show. I wasn't even sure I had the correct episode for a while there.

I did laugh when the chick got nailed right off the errant tee shot though. Other than that, the pdga has nothing to worry about. It wasn't even bad press. It was a very weak comedy. I never plan to watch the show again.

Well I was not impressed with what they showed of it either! I have yet to EVER hear anyone out on the course call it Frolf, so I was kind of glad thats what they called it on the show. Hopefully when it is shown in a good way they will call it frisbee or disc golf and not frolf. And she was right in saying its not a sport with the way they played.

Rent "The Tao of Steve" for your disc-golf-in-a-movie fix.

That movie isn't very good either. It's "clueless".

Rent "The Tao of Steve" for your disc-golf-in-a-movie fix.
I don't know...if you want to see disc-golf-in-a-movie played at a "grandmaster" level, you should try Hitched (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272127/).

hey at least they apologized (http://www.eonline.com/news/watch_with_kristin/happy_endings_apologizes_offending/266846)

Here you go guys. they heard you. lol


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Not the sincerest of apologies. Let's remember Steady Ed originally wanted to call it Frisbee Golf but Wham-O objected, so he settled on DG. It seems like most rec players (and now the media) is calling it Frolf which is kind of a fun name. Professional Frolf Association? We could change it...

That wasn't even an apology.....they were still mocking the sport......this time on their own and not from a script!

I think this is worse personally.

I didn't even watch the show, but I know sarcasm when I see it, and this "apology" is full of sarcasm.

BTW.....I will never watch this show, based purely on this lame excuse of an apology.

"None of us have played disc golf. ... because we do a variety of other things, like we have a group of friends, we have families, we go to movies, we like to take walks, we play actual sports... ."

:D

I thought the 'apology' was hilarious and hope it goes viral. It might result in the odd form of publicity that sold a whole lot of Snuggies, Pet Rocks and Shake Weights.

"and have sex .... with women .." ... Hilarious. I hope they take a dig on the sport every episode! Perhaps it could be made into the equivalent of the Colbert vs. Fallon false TV feud, Disc Golf vs. Happy Endings.

Did you guys see the apology to the apology....thanks for taking this on Nate and Val! Too funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAm4zujJcRI&feature=player_embedded

I <3 Nate and Val, Funny Stuff! Lighten up people, someone famous that slips my soon to be masters mind once said, "There is no such thing as bad publicity." I think Charlie Sheen has proven this theory. Frolf, Frisbee, Disc, whatever, be happy we are relevant enough now to be recognized in pop culture, we are on our way, be patient.

I think zach and eliza should play nate and val in a disc golf vs ball golf challenge. zach and eliza win they can continue to make fun of disc golf, nate and val win they get a spot on the show to correctly show what real disc golf is like.

I think both clips were funnier than the show...

Did you guys see the apology to the apology....thanks for taking this on Nate and Val! Too funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAm4zujJcRI&feature=player_embedded

Bravo, well done!

Val and Nate tore Happy Ending a new one!! ...pour a glass of water...too funny!

This was supposed to be the Summer of George!

Regarding the "Happy Endings" episode.

I was one of the lucky ones that DVR'd the show. What a waste of network television time. It only took about 10 minutes for me to zip through the show and pause when I saw what contained Disc Golf...thank God. That show has really been on for two years!!!

Three minutes into the so called "comedy" show, I realized the premise of the show was a complete ripoff of the original "Friends" TV show. What a friggin great idea for three girls and three guys to have such profound issues with one another with a comical twist. How original of the writers for coming up with such a novel storyline!

I just viewed the appology of two of the actors on youtube for offending the disc golfers of the world. How heartfelt...their sincerity led me to come up with a top ten list of activities to do at 9:30 on Wednesdays when that stupid show is airing on the TV.

(Genisis of list comes from Val and Avery)

#10: Drink a glass of water, with a slice of lemon
#9: Scrub out the bathtub
#8: Wash the dishes, by hand
#7: Watch reruns of "PeeWee Herman"
#6: Clip your nosehairs
#5: Clean your windshield at the gas station with 3-day old "stink water"
#4: Wipe up the old cat puke in the basement hallway
#3: Clean the cat's litter box
#2: Walk the dog, with a pooper scooper
#1: Watch reruns of "Friends"

II went to abc.com and sent a message to the network and the writers asking them to stop calling our sport by the wrong name. Somehow the name "frolf" is stuck in their heads and they just run with it.

Perhaps the PDGA could send an information package to the Writers Guild of America East and West to get the correct information in front of the writers. Writers are always looking for something differentiate their work so perhaps they would find inspiration if they knew the true nature of the sport and not just the tv version where slackers throw clumsily in the park.