Disc Nation

Disc Nation

By Katie Gutierrez Thursday, 08 May 2008

Austin — Austin has long been known for its love and appreciation of the outdoors. In 2006, Massachusetts transplants Damon and Stacey Neth gave Austinites one more way to enjoy the temperate Hill Country weather and scenery by opening Disc Nation, the city’s only disc golf superstore.

“Every year, disc golf becomes a little more mainstream,” Damon said. “We knew that Austin could support a business like this.”

While formalized as a sport in the 1970s, disc golf wasn’t nearly as well known then as it is today. For those still unfamiliar with the game: Similar to traditional golf, disc golf players begin in a tee area and aim to land their disc in the disc basket, or target, in the fewest throws possible. Damon explained that in the 1970s, the game was played using Frisbees, but not so anymore.

In 1984, a company called Innova produced the first modern golf disc—the “Aero.” Since then, companies like Discraft and Austin-based Millenium Discs have produced hundreds of models—500 models are sold at Disc Nation.

Damon, a recreational disc golf player since the 1980s, founded the company in 2002 as a solution to a problem he encountered often.

“When I started playing, I wasn’t even aware that there were special discs,” he said. “Eventually, as the internet became more popular, [my wife] Stacey and I were able to find more models, but we weren’t really satisfied with the selection. Stacey and I both have retail backgrounds, so we decided to open an internet store specializing in golf discs.”

Three years later, Disc Nation had earned a reputation for customer service, based on the Neths’ philosophy of real-time inventory and one-day shipping. As a result of the e-store’s success, the couple decided to open their first brick-and-mortar location in Austin.

“Austin is the number one disc golf city in the world,” Damon said. “There are between 20 and 30 disc golf courses between Georgetown and San Marcos alone, which is quite a lot, comparatively. In Austin, disc golf is just a part of the culture, and that makes this city pretty unique.”

Disc Nation’s Slaughter Lane store opened in 2006 to a steady stream of customers that keeps growing.

“We support local groups like the Waterloo Disc Golf Club, South Austin Disc Association and the Kyle Texas Children’s Disc Golf Camp,” Damon said. “So there’s a lot more name recognition now than there used to be.”

To keep up with increasing local demand, Disc Nation carries approximately 20,000 discs in-store, all categorized by color and weight range.

To ensure enough products are in stock for the company’s loyal online customers, the Neths keep another 20,000 discs in a separate warehouse. Disc Nation also sells disc baskets, clothing, caps and other accessories.

“Our goal is to keep heavily sponsoring the local disc golf scene,” Damon said. “We want to become a mainstream supporter of everything disc golf in the area.”

South Austin disc golf courses

Mary Moore Searight Park
From IH 35, turn west on Slaughter
Lane and continue 1.5 miles. The park
is on the left.

Slaughter Creek Metro Park in Circle C
From MoPac, south of Ben White Boulevard, turn right on Slaughter Lane; continue 1.1 mile to the entrance. Take a left and park in the second parking lot on right. The first tee is behind the brown storage shed.

Disc Nation, 1218 Slaughter Lane, (877) 4MY-DISC