Illegal discs and Illegal things

[Roy]

If I pick off some guy walking down the fairway, am I going to do any less damage with a 150g disc?

Yes. Mass = Inertia, which is a measure of how difficult it is to change an object's motion. The more massive an object, the harder it is to change its motion (in this case, it takes more work done by the skull on the disc to stop its flight). That "more work" is equivalent to "more skull damage".

I understand the physics of it smashing into someones skull. It's just pretty dumb IMO.

Why not use 125g discs? That would be safer than a 150.

Do they have lighter baseballs? lighter automobiles? lighter pom poms? You get the point.

[ChUcK]

I understand the physics of it smashing into someones skull. It's just pretty dumb IMO.

It's not dumb. It's the real-life application of Newton's 3 Laws.

Why not use 125g discs? That would be safer than a 150.

Policymakers in Japan probably decided that 150 was the lightest max weight they could enforce while still keeping the game interesting. If they made the restrictions even lighter the game would lose its appeal and Japan would miss out on participating in the PDGA. That small island is not like Wisconsin, Roy. It is an incredibly crowded country. The days at the the park, when you think it's almost too crowded to golf, that's probably what it's like at 9:00 AM on Monday on a DG course in Tokyo.

Japan, collectively, is a whole hell of a lot smarter than you- it isn't just some "dumb IMO" oversight.

[SkaBob]

Most of Japan's courses are in regularly used public parks.

The 150 class rule was brought into effect after someone got beaned in the noggin with a disc at one of the Imperial Gardens, if I recall correctly. High visibility injury.

I like the rule, except with the advent of faster and faster discs, I'm not sure it's having the same effect as originally intended. I'm pretty sure if I nail someone with a 150 flick or Boss at full speed, it's going to do as much damage (or more) to them as a 174g XL at cruising speed...Still, the rule should stand.

[some call me...tim?]

I think Roy's point was more "is a 175 g disc really going to do that much more damage than a 159.9 g disc?" It's a rule that smells of oblivious bureaucracy if you ask me. But hey, whatever, I like throwing 150 class stuff.

I don't think he was criticizing the culture, only the rule. But just because something is Japanese doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea.

[ChUcK]

I like the rule, except with the advent of faster and faster discs, I'm not sure it's having the same effect as originally intended. I'm pretty sure if I nail someone with a 150 flick or Boss at full speed, it's going to do as much damage (or more) to them as a 174g XL at cruising speed...Still, the rule should stand.

That's a good point. I suppose an added speed restriction would be in a similar vein as the weight restriction. There's probably a few folks here at DGR who would expatriate like Feivel Mousekewitz to a land where there are no speed 13 discs and the streets are paved with cheese.

Still, a 150 boss will do less damage than a 175 boss at equal velocities.

I wonder what the Superclass scene is like over there...Chuck Kennedy? I bet that's where Lid Golf could really be a hit.

[Roy]

I understand the physics of it smashing into someones skull. It's just pretty dumb IMO.

It's not dumb. It's the real-life application of Newton's 3 Laws.

Why not use 125g discs? That would be safer than a 150.

Policymakers in Japan probably decided that 150 was the lightest max weight they could enforce while still keeping the game interesting. If they made the restrictions even lighter the game would lose its appeal and Japan would miss out on participating in the PDGA. That small island is not like Wisconsin, Roy. It is an incredibly crowded country. The days at the the park, when you think it's almost too crowded to golf, that's probably what it's like at 9:00 AM on Monday on a DG course in Tokyo.

Japan, collectively, is a whole hell of a lot smarter than you- it isn't just some "dumb IMO" oversight.

Ok Captain Condescending...

1. Again, I understand the physics of it. I am not aguing with Newtons discoveries here... I think the rule is dumb and citing safety concerns even dumber.

2. I understand that Japan is an island, Chuck. I also understand that it not in Wisconsin. I hear its actually somewhere past Minnesota.

3. Japan is not as crowded as you make it seem. There are crowded parts and not crowded parts. It's actually getting less crowded by the day. You sound like you disc there all the time...?

4. I never implied that I was smarter than Japan as a whole. I will say that Japans policy makers have bigger things to regulate than the weight of a frisbee.

Maybe I missed reading about the pile of lives saved by this rule, but I still think it's a dumb.

[Frank Delicious]

They had to set a rule somewhere and they decided 150 was a good compromise on the weight. Most discs can still perform as they were intended at that weight.

[gator]

*rumor alert* I was giving an old board member of the PDGA a ride home after a tourney and we got on the topic of why Japan uses 150 discs. He made comments about Innova having a large role in it, in an attempt to sell more of their 150 class discs.

[Roy]

Didn't Chuck K say that it was going to be changed to 159.9?

[Timko]

Didn't Chuck K say that it was going to be changed to 159.9?

Yes.

[Chuck Kennedy]

2. I understand that Japan is an island, Chuck. I also understand that it not in Wisconsin. I hear its actually somewhere past Minnesota.

Please keep the Chuck's posts differentiated. My counterpart spells his ChUcK.

[Frank Delicious]

^

best Chuck post.

[Roy]

Isn't it pretty obvious since I had the entire post I was referencing in quotes?

And then I used Chuck K. when I referenced chuck kennedy?

[Chuck Kennedy]

It was your Minnesota reference and using "Chuck" in the post that I quoted that made me think there might be confusion. No problem. I think ChUcK is from the Northwest US.

[Roy]

It was your Minnesota reference and using "Chuck" in the post that I quoted that made me think there might be confusion. No problem. I think ChUcK is from the Northwest US.

I was just being snotty, as chUck said, "That small island is not like Wisconsin, Roy." So I reversed it. You know... one of those things that sounds witty verbally but looks stupid when written.