PDGA
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1976
- HeadquartersAppling, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What PDGA does
The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), founded in 1976 and headquartered in Appling, Georgia, is the sole global governing body and membership association for the sport of disc golf. It serves four primary customer segments: amateur and professional players seeking official ratings and world rankings (separated into MPO and FPO divisions), tournament directors who organize sanctioned events, equipment manufacturers (180+ approved) who require PDGA certification for their discs and targets, and local clubs that affiliate through sanctioned leagues. Its revenue is generated from recurring annual membership dues, standardized equipment certification fees ($500/disc, $500/target, $150/name transfer, $100/rename), event sanctioning fees, and Pro Shop merchandise sales through a Shopify storefront. International operations extend through regional subsidiaries PDGA Europe, PDGA Canada, and the PDGA Asia Tour, supported by a volunteer network of state/province coordinators and country representatives.
The PDGA's core technology platform is PDGA.com, which provides membership management, official rules and technical standards, equipment certification requests, player statistics, rankings, and a global course directory. This is complemented by the PDGA Live mobile app for real-time tournament scoring, a Snowflake/Airbyte/AWS data architecture supporting multi-platform operations including discgolfscene.com and statmando.com, and media distribution through partnerships with the Disc Golf Network (DGN), JomezPro, and regional broadcasters. Supporting products include DiscGolfer Magazine, PDGA Radio podcast, the International Disc Golf Center (IDGC) museum and headquarters, and the World Disc Golf Hall of Fame. Distribution spans self-serve web and mobile channels, member-discounted streaming subscriptions, and an e-commerce Pro Shop, with the 2026 strategic priorities focused on international expansion, digital media coverage partnerships (Parkdly), and the 50th anniversary community engagement program.
PDGA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- PDGA
- Legal name
- Professional Disc Golf Association
- Website
- https://pdga.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1976
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
PDGA industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sports Governing Body
- NAICS
- Spectator Sports (71121), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- National Governing Bodies (NGBs) (MPAKAFAC)
Keywords
Where PDGA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Appling
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
PDGA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: Annual membership dues for players, with tiered benefits including access to official ratings, event participation, and member discounts
- Equipment Certification Fees: PDGA charges $500 for disc testing, $500 for target testing, $150 for disc name transfers, and $100 for disc renames. Revenue from certifying and maintaining lists of approved equipment
- Event Sanctioning: Fees for sanctioning tournaments and leagues, establishing official competitive structure for the sport
- PDGA Pro Shop: E-commerce revenue from the PDGA Pro Shop selling disc golf merchandise
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | DGN Pro subscription with PDGA member discount |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Disc certification testing fee |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Target certification testing fee |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Disc name transfer fee |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Disc rename fee |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels6 records
PDGA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The PDGA operates as the global governing body and membership association for disc golf, providing official rules, player ratings, world rankings, event sanctioning, and equipment certification for sanctioned competition. It enrolls individual members, sanctions tournaments and leagues run by volunteer tournament directors, and certifies discs and targets submitted by equipment manufacturers ($500 per disc test, $500 per target test). Supporting offerings include the PDGA Live mobile app for real-time scoring, the PDGA Pro Shop merchandise storefront, and the International Disc Golf Center (IDGC) headquarters and museum.
Product overview
The PDGA operates primarily as a membership association and governing body for disc golf, offering a platform of interconnected products and services. The core offering centers on PDGA.com — a comprehensive web platform that provides membership management, official rules and technical standards, equipment certification, event scheduling, and player rankings. Supporting the core platform are the PDGA Live mobile app for real-time tournament scoring, the PDGA Technical Standards program for equipment certification (approving discs and targets through detailed specifications testing), and the PDGA Course Directory for course discovery. Event coverage is delivered through the PDGA Elite Series and Major Events program, with streaming partnerships through Disc Golf Network (DGN), JomezPro, and Gatekeeper Media. Media products include DiscGolfer Magazine and PDGA Radio. Additional services include PDGA Leagues for local competition sanctioning, the Global Masters Series, PDGA International for regional operations (Europe, Canada, Asia), the International Disc Golf Center (IDGC) headquarters and museum, and the PDGA Pro Shop e-commerce storefront. The association maintains a directory of 180+ approved equipment manufacturers and publishes a weekly newsletter via MailChimp. The ecosystem is held together by official World Rankings tracking FPO and MPO divisions, updated regularly from sanctioned tournament results.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- PDGA Live: Mobile application for live event scoring and tournament updates
- PDGA Pro Shop
- PDGA Radio
- DiscGolfer Magazine
Companies that use PDGA
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
PDGA technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
PDGA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Disc Golf Network (DGN)flagshipOfficial streaming media partner for PDGA events, providing live coverage of Elite Series and Major events. DGN offers tiered subscriptions (Free, Standard, Pro) with PDGA members receiving discounted Pro access at $12.99/month.
- ParkdlycorePartnership brings digital caddie books to PDGA Major events, providing players with digital course guides and navigation tools during major competitions.
- JomezProcorePost-produced video coverage partner for major PDGA events, distributing next-day coverage on YouTube to reach broader audience.
- TeliaminorInternational broadcast partner in Estonia for PDGA European Open coverage, enabling local viewers to access live event streaming.
- DelfiminorInternational broadcast partner in Estonia for PDGA European Open coverage, providing additional platform for regional audience access.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)corePrimary cloud infrastructure provider for storing and processing user data for PDGA's services.
- SnowflakecoreData warehousing service for secure storage and management of user data, enabling analytics and user interaction insights.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
PDGA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- USA Track & Field (USATF): National Governing Body for track and field in the US under USOPC. Operates the same member-association model with event sanctioning, athlete rankings, rules enforcement, and certification programs for officials and facilities.
- Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA): Governing body and tour operator for women's professional golf. Comparable membership/sanctioning/tour model with explicit focus on a competitive division (FPO), directly paralleling PDGA's MPO/FPO structure.
- USA Baseball: National Governing Body for baseball operating membership, event sanctioning, equipment standards, and amateur-to-professional pathway programs. Structurally comparable to PDGA's tiered competitive structure.
- United States Golf Association (USGA): National governing body for golf in the US, operating the same core model as PDGA: membership, equipment conformance, course rating, handicap/index systems, and rules of golf. Most structurally analogous peer given disc golf's cultural and operational overlap with traditional golf.
- World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF): International federation for flying disc sports (ultimate, disc golf, etc.), explicitly linked from PDGA's site. Operates as a parallel international governing body with overlapping constituencies in disc golf at the international level.
- USA Gymnastics: National Governing Body for gymnastics, operating membership, sanctioned events, judging certification, and athlete development programs. Directly comparable governance and revenue structure to PDGA.
- USA Swimming: National Governing Body for swimming with parallel membership, sanctioned meet, certification, and ranking systems. Operates at significantly larger scale but with structurally similar NGB functions.
- U.S. Ski & Snowboard: National Governing Body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding with membership, rankings, event sanctioning, and athlete development. Comparable operating structure to PDGA at similar mid-sized scale.
Broad incumbents
- PGA of America: Larger professional golf association serving PGA professionals. Comparable in operating professional tours, certifying instructors, and running championship events, though at much larger scale and focused on traditional golf.
Emerging players
- Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT): Professional disc golf tour operator that runs Elite Series events. Operates in the same competitive ecosystem as PDGA but with a narrower focus on professional tour management rather than full governing body functions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
PDGA social profiles
Digital presencePDGA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
PDGA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
PDGA subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
PDGA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
PDGA M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about PDGA
What does PDGA do?
The PDGA operates as the global governing body and membership association for disc golf, providing official rules, player ratings, world rankings, event sanctioning, and equipment certification for sanctioned competition. It enrolls individual members, sanctions tournaments and leagues run by volunteer tournament directors, and certifies discs and targets submitted by equipment manufacturers ($500 per disc test, $500 per target test). Supporting offerings include the PDGA Live mobile app for real-time scoring, the PDGA Pro Shop merchandise storefront, and the International Disc Golf Center (IDGC) headquarters and museum.
Is PDGA a public or private company?
PDGA is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was PDGA founded?
PDGA was founded in 1976. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is PDGA based?
PDGA is headquartered in Appling, United States, in the North America region.
How does PDGA make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are equipment Certification Fees, event Sanctioning and PDGA Pro Shop.
Who are PDGA's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are USA Track & Field (USATF), Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), USA Baseball, United States Golf Association (USGA), World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming and U.S. Ski & Snowboard. PGA of America is listed as a broad incumbent. Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) is listed as an emerging player.
Does PDGA have an API?
No public API is recorded for PDGA.
What industry is PDGA in?
PDGA's product category is Sports Governing Body. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAKAFAC, National Governing Bodies (NGBs). Its NAICS code is 71121 and its SIC code is 8600.