The benefits of a PDGA membership can be endless for some but nearly worthless for others. The “Professional” in the name alone can tend to be a bit misunderstood. Everyone at any level of skill is welcome to be a part of the PDGA just as events have divisions for all the very same skill levels.
Before we discuss the upsides of registering however, we need to find out if the PDGA is right for you. The first factor is the amount of PDGA-sanctioned events in your community. If your community has very few or none at all, there will be little to no opportunity to get your money back.
I can hear what you are thinking.. “what does he mean get my money back?”. To better explain, PDGA events carry an additional $10 fee for non-PDGA members and the price of the membership is priced so that for a member in Canada, all that would be needed to reclaim the fee is about 6-7 events a year. If your city / town and the surrounding areas / townships has that many events or more, the membership pays for itself. If you play more events than that, it becomes a good financial decision.
The next factor involved when considering a PDGA membership is your own personal level of competition. As mentioned previously, the PDGA welcomes any and all skill levels. Many beginner, casual, junior, senior and other players renew their registration each and every year. In fact amateur players make up the majority of the PDGA’s memberships by a wide margin so the belief that the PDGA is “only for pros” is quite a misconception. Many players do however opt to remain completely casual and choose not to play events which is a completely respectable mindset.
For additional perks, first time members will receive a very cool welcome package with a sweet premium plastic PDGA stamped disc and mini along with some other fun stuff. All members get a continuous subscription to Disc Golfer Magazine. It’s a great magazine with solid content and not at all thrown together.
For a complete list of all the features and benefits that come with a PDGA membership annually, see the list HERE.