Trevor's Guide to Disc Golf YouTube

Throughout the young history of our beloved sport, YouTube has become a haven for all sorts of content. Though most new players are familiar with the current scene, featuring mostly post-produced coverage with an occasional skins match or in-the-bag, the early days of disc golf YouTube were an entirely different animal. There is some gold buried deep in the YouTube algorithm that would be nearly impossible to find if you didn't know what you were looking for. Luckily, I can serve as your Disc Golf Youtube archive tour guide, free of charge. I was fortunate enough to discover disc golf back in 2013, long before these special videos were buried by the influx of new content that has come with the explosion of growth within the sport. I have compiled a list of my top ten videos. This list excludes coverage and in-the-bags, since those deserve a separate list and are not the side of disc golf YouTube that I am trying to highlight. It is my hope that each of these videos will serve as a little undiscovered treasure for those who have not yet had the pleasure of viewing them. Enjoy...

#10 Mike Sale: The Quest for 2,500

Our first video comes to us courtesy of the McFlySoHigh channel. McFlySoHigh is one of the OG ballers of the disc golf coverage scene. I would definitely recommend checking out all his stuff if you find the time. The video I've chosen for this list centers around 20 year old Mike Sale, who in 2014 set out to reclaim his record for the most disc golf holes played in 24 hours. He takes on this challenge in an attempt to raise money for the families affected by a shooting at his alma mater earlier that year. This mini documentary is a super cool story and very well done.

#9 DISCstruction

Most of you don't realize this, and frankly you have no reason to, but Will Schusterick used to be the king of Disc Golf YouTube. He used to pump out all kinds of fun content, and this isn't the last time his stuff will be on this list. DISCstruction was a simple concept, but the first of its kind, making it revolutionary. The video is short and sweet, featuring Will chucking full power shots at fragile items such as plates and bottles. The clips are filmed in slow-motion, and it makes for 10/10 entertainment. Such simplicity is a reminder of simpler times, when just blowing stuff up was funny all by itself.

#8 Dave's Tips | Snake Strike Putt

I'm not sure if you readers are aware of just how fascinating Dave Dunipace is. From what I've seen on YouTube, this member of the founding fathers is an absolute electric factory. He has quite a few videos scattered around Innova's channel, but none of them take the cake quite like the Snake Strike Putt. I mean just listen to that title. Are you excited yet? You should be. This video has ol' Dave breaking down his preferred putting technique, which he famously dubs the “Snake Strike.” He likens his putt to the motion of a snake attacking its prey, and does so with plenty of enthusiasm. That should really be all I need to tell you to sell this video to you.

#7 CHAINS: A Disc Golf Documentary

This next entry is slightly heart breaking. You could even call it a tease. Chains is known far and wide (or just by me) as the greatest disc documentary to never happen. In 2011, this trailer was released, showing off a beautiful era of our sport when the big names in the game were Climo, Doss, Jenkins, and other legends with equal amounts of moxy. By the end of the trailer you are going to be so pumped to check out the full length documentary, only to be sorely disappointed. To the best of my knowledge, this documentary never saw the light of day. If this isn't the case, and its out there somewhere, please send it to me I'll do anything. If this is the case, and I think it is, maybe Paige Pierce's crew can raise another 75K to get this baby back on the rails.

#6 The Greatness – Paul McBeth Documentary

Yes, you read that correctly. They named this documentary “The Greatness.” A title this unapologetically grandeur could only be reserved for Mr. McBeth, who at the time was three World titles into his streak of four, and kinda won everything he showed up to. This video would be higher on the list, but I know deep down that most of the disc golf following adore Paul and therefore have seen this already. I also think the documentary is a little heavy on interviews, like that's pretty much all it is. Admittedly it is cool to get a look into Paul's brain a bit, and at the time this was released we hadn't seen something quite like it featuring the GOAT himself.

#5 Will & Nate @ the Grange

To say this video took me by surprise would be a gross and irresponsible understatement. This documentary was uploaded towards the end of the golden era of disc golf YouTube, at a time when I didn't think I'd see anything like it ever again. The sport had moved on to seemingly bigger and better things. Enter Will freaking Schusterick and the his unknown buddy Nate. With the help of a production team funded by Prodigy, these guys paint one of the rawest pictures of life on tour back when Paul McBeth wasn't driving around in the Batmobile. I mean it just has it all. Three dudes sharing one hotel bed, two dudes piling everything they own into a Subaru to drive cross country, and one dude telling people he only eats Chick-Fil-A with his left hand to keep the grease off his throwing hand. This video is a masterpiece. And to make things even better it's an hour long. This whole production just reeks of old-school disc golf and I love it.

#4 MurderMike presents: Pro Putting Impersonations

This video is kind of a mess. A very entertaining mess, but a mess all the same. Let me set the scene for you. Our camera man is at Fountain Hills park with a very young Drew Gibson after the 2013 Memorial. They spot Kenny the Champ and Avery Jenkins while passing the practice basket and Drew decides to show off some impersonations of various pro's putting styles. Other pro's like Uli and McBeth show up and they all have a laugh joining in on the fun. If you can get past the fact that the camera guy busts up laughing at literally anything that happens, or the fact that Avery Jenkins is wearing a sleeveless shirt three sizes too small, I'd imagine you'll get a kick out of this video.

#3 90's Style with Paul McBeth and Kyle Sawtelle

Although the challenge depicted in this video has been replicated over and over again by other pros and in slightly different formats, this one is the original. The idea was brilliant. Take the world's best player and his buddy, and have them try to play at Climo's course with the same discs Climo used during his run of dominance in the 90's. It's super interesting watching Paul chuck DX discs around, trying to adjust for their new flight characteristics each time the Land O' Lakes DX plastic hits a tree and crumbles. This video isn't quite as wild as some of the other entries on this list, but it is really fun to watch, and was one of the first of its kind, so I had to include it.

#2 Discmania Deep in the Game Tutorials

Ok so disclaimer, this is actually five videos thrown into one entry. It just made more sense to me to include the entire series on here sense all the included videos have the same vibe and a similar purpose. That might be cheating, but this is my blog so bite me. The Deep in the Game videos (kinda weird name if you ask me) surfaced around the same time Discmania was breaking into the game. There are two sides to the coin when it comes to these gems. On one side, it the fact that these videos are actually super well produced (especially for their time) and actually feature some very useful advice. On the other side is the overly dramatic and borderline cringy performances from Avery and Jussi as they teach us all to throw 600 feet and never miss a putt.

#1 Shoestrings – 2012 USDGC Disc Golf Documentary

Before I even started this list, I knew what my top entry would be. There is simply no competition for me. Shoestrings is the perfect storm of everything that disc golf was in 2012. The documentary follows a young Will Schusterick as he aims to win his second career USDGC. It's tough to say what makes this video so special, but I think it has a lot to do with how quotable it is. Nikko Locastro gets lots of screen time since him and Will were buddies, and he lays down some quotes that I still use to this day. Aside from the funny quotes, the documentary is paced really well, and actually draws you in and has you rooting for Will even when you already know the ending. This video carries a lot of nostalgia for me. It was the first disc golf documentary I ever saw, and Will was the player I emulated when learning to play (probably explains why I suck so bad). It's one of those videos that gives you that itch to go out and throw.

So there you have it. My collection of treasures. My hope is that each person that reads this discovers at least one video that they have yet to see. Maybe some of you are just getting into the sport. In that case, this is your crash course on why disc golf is awesome. Feel free to send me the videos you think would fit on this list but I didn't feature. But don't bother if it was made after like 2016, that's not what I'm looking for. I don't want the new-age polished stuff. I want that old, slightly cringy stuff that captures the beauty of our sport. And hey, if you love Disc Golf YouTube and haven't checked out the Foundation channel, you should probably take a look at that too.