Club Profile: Floppy Discs

Disc golf is its own culture. The game penetrates your life like no other sport, with a passion and obsession that can only be shared with other disc golfers. Once you’re hooked, the natural thing to do next is find others that share your affinity. This is where disc golf clubs come in. As if by its own natural force, disc golf clubs sprout up all over the place. This week I catch up with one of the co-founders of a recently established club in the Northern Illinois area.

Dustin ‘Doostain’ Manislovich, aged, 39, along with his friend Zach Barraza, started the club around August 2020. Dustin says, “We started with random draw doubles at Warren Township. There was nothing happening on Wednesdays, so we started spreading the word to all the players we would see at courses.” Indeed, at this time many of the clubs were on hiatus because of the pandemic, and this left a void to be filled. “It grew incredibly fast, with over 25 people showing up in just under two months. It became apparent that the club needed a name, and we asked others for input, and finally settled on Floppy Discs DGC. For a logo, ‘Bender’ was the perfect fit, and we got a graphic of him blasting floppy discs out of his chest like Iron Man”, Dustin says. “This year we are doing a Dragon Ball Goku robot ripping a hyzer Kamehameha.”

Dustin is not just a disc golfer and is a man of many talents. He began playing way back in the late 90s, which explains his low PDGA number (31293). Dustin recalls, “The singer in my band at the time introduced me to it. We would play when we weren't jamming. Then I took a break from it when I started playing more gigs with the bands I played with. Then I had kids and totally forgot about disc golf.” It was fifteen whole years before Dustin came back to the sport. He says, “I was bored during the pandemic and remembered I had a bag full of discs at a friend’s house. I grabbed them and within two weeks I hit an ace at Warren and was immediately re-hooked!” It was clear that disc golf had come a long way since his early days. “I saw carts, new discs, and then found that you can custom dye discs and I dove hard into that”, Dustin says. “Of course, I destroyed the bedroom carpeting and a vanity sink, but I learned a lot. Now I refuse to throw a disc that isn’t dyed, and I even got to dye some discs for some pros including our hometown hero Luke Samson, as well as a few for Connor O’Reilly.”

Since its inception, Floppy Discs have done great things for disc golf in their area. First, they were able to redesign their home course, the Warren Township, with all new Dynamic Discs Veteran Baskets, all new concrete tee pads, and alternate tee pads. Next, they hosted an event at Fairfield Park to help raise funds to replace some of the older baskets. Most recently he says, “I am currently working on redesigning a course at Lake Villa.” Floppy Discs also schedule regular clinics to help players improve their skills, and they host a putting league at the Antioch VFW where they, “donate $2 per entry each week to help increase their revenue.” Dustin donates his time and knowledge at a local high school disc golf club and has even hosted a tournament for them where the club gave away over $500 in disc prizes. And for the high school in Antioch, “we have donated a ton of discs and even ran a Trilogy Challenge for them.” And finally, the club still finds time to work with a local store to negotiate club exclusive discounts and other deals. The club has even pulled their resources to help fellow members when their cars were broken into, and they lost their gear. It is certainly not a competition, but it’s clear that this club does many great things for their community.

For 2023, the club has a very busy schedule running around ten events. Dustin says, “Some are sanctioned, some are club ran. This year we have teamed up with Dynamic Discs, MVP, DiscMania, Prodigy, Dryv Bags, Local Line Apparel, Relish Brand, and a few others for all our event needs. Our player packs are always awesome and worth more than the buy in. Our merchandise game is strong, and people can't get enough of it.” It is true that the Floppy Discs apparel is some of the most recognizable on the course. In addition, the club will be working with the Boy Scouts in Antioch, “As they have done a lot of work on the course here and we want to give back to them.” Next, he wants to have the Lake Villa course completed this year. There will be more clinics, sponsored in part by Prodigy, and they are planning a disc swap event sometime in the year. Dustin says, “We would also love to run a mixed doubles tournament as well as get more women involved with the club this year and keep working with kids.”

In closing, Dustin says, “Floppy Discs is a fun club open to all players no matter the skill level, if you aren't a jerk. Everyone is down to earth, and eager to help. Some clubs/leagues don't want to deal with lower skilled players dragging down their cards or game, where we welcome them and want to help them get better. In the 3 years we have been a club, I have seen so many members increase their skill and it's such an awesome feeling that we have helped them get there. If anyone is interested in what we do and what we are about, come to some leagues or events and see why we are growing incredibly fast. We had 150 tag members last year and are expecting to surpass that this year! Find us on Facebook, UDisc, and DiscGolfScene for all the info.”