In this post, we will travel all the way to New Zealand and check out RPM Discs and some their products that they have coming down the line. We’ll also take a crack at how disc golf even landed so far away and became so well established. Enjoy!
Have you ever wondered how a country (New Zealand) on the opposite end of the planet from where the game originated (US) could have such a vibrant disc golf community?
And what about the disc golf company based out of New Zealand, RPM Discs? How did they get started and so established in this vast world of flying discs?
What about the quality of their discs? Are RPM’s discs any good? Should I give them a go? (Spoiler: They are and you should!)
When I connected with RPM, and they kindly offered to send me some discs to review, all these questions and more began swirling in my head. Thankfully, I got answers to the above questions (which I will lay out below), as well as some recommendations for which discs you should try out and what is coming down the road for RPM in the U.S.
We’ll start with their discs, get to some US-related news from RPM, and finish up with some of my personal research on how disc golf got so established in the island-nation of New Zealand!
A Quick Note on RPM Plastics!
RPM sent me some discs in 4 different plastics. In another post, I compared each disc golf manufacturer’s plastic to Innova’s which you can find here. But here’s a quick overview of RPM’s plastic in case you are curious…
Magma – A midgrade plastic most commonly used in putters. It has a nice tack to it and is definitely more durable than a typical base plastic.
Atomic – Their opaque, grippy plastic that is most commonly compared to Star. One thing I noticed about Atomic was how durable it was. I smacked a fair amount of trees and rocks (mostly inadvertently) and could barely find a scratch on these.
Cosmic – Being translucent this one is most easily compared to Champion. I will also add that it has a nice gummy quality to it for enhanced grip.
RPM Glow – This might be a bit of a combination of Atomic and Cosmic. It’s got a great hand feel, is very durable and a solid glow as well (probably average glow). I ended up bagging the disc they sent me in glow (as well as others), so I’m definitely a fan!
In addition to these plastics, they also have Strata plastic which is their base grip which I also own (I bought more RPM discs for myself!) and has a nice grip as well.
Let’s now take a look at their discs!
RPM Discs!
RPM has some really nice discs to choose from. They sent me 6 (and a second batch I’ll review later) and I like them all! But I also have to say that I found the price point to be very favorable indeed!
I’m no economics major, but I’m very impressed with how discs manufactured on the other side of the world can ship from Infinite Discs in Utah, to my house for $15.
These are great discs at a great price as well! Let’s get a look at them…
The Kahu!
Flight Ratings: 13, 5, -1, 2
Oh, what a beauty The Kahu is! This 13 speed distance driver can be sent to places unknown. To me, it has the perfect balance of stability for both forehand and backhand drives. You can definitely get it to turn, and feel confident that it’s going to come out of it and get you the distance you seek!
Be sure to check out The Kahu!
The Kahu!
Tara Iti!
Flight Ratings: 10, 5, 0, 2
The Tara Iti is a 10-speed stable work horse with good glide for the stability it offers. In fact, I even included it in my Top 30 discs with high glide post. Some people think of it as a faster Teebird, and I can’t completely disagree. I have it as a little more stable, however.
This disc works well for forehand and backhand. It does have, for your consideration, a notable cavity on the underside of the rim which takes some getting used to. I didn’t mind it at all, and overall the disc fits very well in the hand.
Find the Tara Iti here!
Tara Iti!
The Pekapeka!
Flight Ratings: 9, 5, -3, 1
If you want to have fun on the disc golf course, The Pekapeka is your disc. This, to me, is the disc I would easily give as a first 9-speed to a beginner (which is why it’s included in my post Best Beginner Discs That Stay in the Bag!), but also a disc I would hand to an intermediate player that was looking to learn how to shape shots.
This disc can be a great hyzer-flip disc with nice glide. It also makes for a very nice turnover disc, especially as it beats in. If you catch it right (close to a flat release) you can just watch it gradually turn over and just hold that graceful line all the way to the ground. Finally, on anhyzer this disc makes for a nice roller as well!
Check out The Pekapeka!
The Pekapeka!
The Piwakawaka!
Flight Ratings: 6, 6, -3, 0
Straight shots, turnovers, touch shots, rollers and more! The Piwakawaka is a very versatile disc that is great for players of all levels. It doesn’t take much to get this disc going, and my does it glide! In addition, this disc, released on slight hyzer, can be your straight shooter that seems to finish perfectly straight as well!
Another aspect I appreciate about the Piwakawaka is how it can be your disc for finesse shots. If you are in a tight spot and need some gliding turn, this disc is up to the task.
Look into The Piwakawaka!
The Piwakawaka!
The Kotuku!
Flight Ratings: 5, 5, 0, 2
Once again, RPM has a gem on their hands! To me, The Kotuku is a midrange that has found that “just right” amount of stability. It’s a disc you can count on, and rip on, knowing that it will have that nice reliable fade at the end of its flight.
What I also appreciate is that this disc is definitely stable enough to handle forehand torque, but is not too overstable that it just dumps off. Like I said, “just right” and a great candidate for a one-disc round!
Get The Kotuku!
The Kotoku!
The Takapu!
Flight Ratings: 3, 3, 0, 2
I wrote a post on an RPM sponsored player, named Tyee Rilatos that you can find here. It just so happens he putts with Takapus and even has his own signature Takapu you can find here (not an affiliate link but use code Tyee10 to help him and get a discount).
This putter is beadless, deeper-rimmed, and a very substantive disc. It is great for throwing and can hold up to the power you put on it. If you like beadless, deeper putters, it can also be used for putting as Tyee readily demonstrates!
Check out The Takapu!
The Takapu!
You can also do a read up, and watch videos for each of their discs (done by one NZ’s top, legendary players, and excellent RPM rep Jacko) on RPM’s website.
Now let’s have a look at what is coming down the line for disc golf fans in the U. S. of A!
What’s Coming from RPM?
If you are in the USA and reading this, the following might be something to look out for. RPM’s unique and intriguing helix basket, that many of us are growing familiar with from watching New Zealand disc golf coverage (most notably when GK Pro, Luke Humphries and other pros filmed in New Zealand and had many favorable comments to say about the basket), is coming to American soil!
New courses, including Nikko Locastro’s new course in Texas, are putting in orders to get RPM’s helix baskets installed.
“Our Helix basket has many benefits, and we’ve gotten a lot of great feedback on them over the years,” says RPM co-owner Keith Inwood. “First off, they’re designed to be very durable. We use heavy duty materials because we want these baskets to endure,” he tells us.
“Another feature we’ve gotten a lot of positive reports on are their ability to catch discs and reduce spit-outs,” Inwood adds.
Something about that patented helix design helps prevent the dreaded spit out, so you can putt with confidence. Luke Humphries, in the video below, agrees: “We feel like they catch fantastic.”
And finally, Keith Inwood gives a nod to the aesthetic of the RPM basket, telling me how people really appreciate their appearance. Paul Oman, broadcasting alongside Luke Humphries in the video below agrees.
“These baskets are gorgeous…” Paul remarks and later adds, “[Simon Feasey has] crafted these beautiful baskets…”
Not only will you start seeing these on courses in the U.S. but you may be seeing them in your own backyard, as RPM plans to launch some portable baskets for individual use as well.
In a way, it seems as if the stars are aligning. RPM already had plans to get the baskets to the US and since the recent footage came out, Inwood is getting “daily inquiries” into how to get one stateside.
Be patient, but definitely stay tuned, because they are coming soon! (Be sure to subscribe (no spam, free, win infinite gift cards) or follow us on instagram, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted!)
New Zealand Disc Golf History Detour…
As I stated in the introduction, while I was researching RPM and disc golf in New Zealand in general, it struck me as intriguing how a nation on the other side of the world could get so firmly entrenched in a sport that started, by all accounts, in the US.
This sent me down a rabbit hole that I thoroughly enjoyed exploring.
The following are my findings. That being said, I want to issue a bit of a disclaimer. This is what I uncovered, and are based on the information I had at my disposal, and what I believe was part of the story of how disc golf made it to New Zealand.
I’m not an investigative journalist, but simply someone very interested in the sport and its origins. If you think I got anything wrong (very likely considering I’m decades behind and on the other side of the world), please feel free to let me know in the comments or contact me.
Now, let’s get into it…
Disc Golf and New Zealand
Remember as a kid when, you’d pick up a dandelion that had gone to seed, and you’d blow on it and gaze as the seeds drifted off to wherever they’d go? After that, if you were like me, you didn’t give it much thought.
But, if one of those seeds you blew, somehow caught an airstream and drifted halfway around the world, you’d probably find that pretty interesting…
Well, in a way, that’s what has happened with disc golf. And not just in New Zealand! Disc golf has taken root all over the world and I, for one, find it infinitely intriguing how it’s done so.
And in this particular case, I’m incredibly curious how it landed, and with nearly 100 courses on an island(s) nation of just over 5 million people, and how it became so firmly rooted there.
It took me a while, but I think I was able to track the information down. I will say, having not lived it myself, and having never visited New Zealand (though with much desire to go some day) it’s perfectly plausible that this doesn’t account for ALL of the story (or that there are inaccuracies). But, to the best of my knowledge based on a lot of reading, outreach, old newspaper clippings and research, this is how I believe disc golf landed in the beautiful confines of New Zealand. Here’s what I found…
Some New Zealand Disc Golf History
To understand disc golf history in New Zealand, or anywhere, I think it’s important to understand just how immensely huge the groundswell of Frisbee and Disc Sports were prior to the popularization of disc golf.
I’m talking about spectators in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s filling up entire stadiums to watch various disc sports.
Appreciating the magnitude of this flying phenomenon helps us understand how this groundswell would reach the far corners (from a US-centric perspective) of the planet and its inhabitants.
One of the key players, as far as New Zealand is concerned, is a gentleman by the name of Bob Gentil, who is still very active in New Zealand’s disc golf community today. As early as the 1960’s he can remember throwing a Lincoln Frisbee (a brand that would later lose a copyright infringement case to the original Frisbee company Wham-O) with his siblings as a way to stay out of his mother’s hair. And at certain point thereafter, he never left home without one.
In 1978, Gentil got a gig delivering a yacht from Auckland, NZ to the US (a good gig if you can get it) and stopped in Hawaii for a spell on the way. It just so happens that while he was there, The International Frisbee Association was in town and hosting the Hawaiian championships. Sweet Serendipity!
This was Bob’s first real introduction to organized frisbee and the groundswell seen in the video above, completely swept him right up. Here, Bob explains in a history he will be unveiling shortly (on his website and was kind enough to share with me early), is where Frisbee went, in his eyes, from being a game to being a sport.
From there, In 1981 while representing New Zealand at one such event in Santa Cruz, California, Bob made his way over to what would eventually become the now famous DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course, and became officially hooked to the sport of disc golf.
But Bob, it turns out, would have nothing to do, in any official sense, with the establishment of RPM Discs.
“So, how did RPM Discs come to be?” You rightly wonder. Let’s take a look…
Meanwhile, On a Parallel path…
Meanwhile, on a parallel path to Bob’s, there was a gentleman by the name of Nigel Barnwell, who got just as swept up in the Frisbee groundswell. Originally from the UK, he would make his way to New Zealand himself.
According to Bob, both he and Nigel finally crossed paths in 1976. Bob, with all of his overpowering passion for the art of the flying disc, had finally met his match. Here’s what he had to say about Nigel Barnwell…
“I’d describe Nigel as ‘a character’ and the first person I’d come across with a Frisbee passion to match mine.”
– Bob Gentil
So, in the Summer of 78′ when Bob went off delivering a yacht and serendipitously passed through Hawaii, Nigel travelled and found himself smack in the middle of the frisbee world in the United States as well.
And while Bob was taking in the Hawaiian Championships, Nigel was seeing things on an even bigger scale by experiencing scenes similar to the video above at the Wham-O World Frisbee Championships at the Rose Bowl!
He also, while in California, joined the very young DGA (now PDGA) and holds a membership number of 1222.
As you might imagine, when they reconvened in 1979 back in New Zealand, having seen the enthusiasm flying discs could invoke in people, Bob, Nigel, and others from their crew, were probably full of energy for what they could bring to New Zealand.
This, it turns out, is where RPM’s story begins…
RPM Discs and Disc Golf in New Zealand
At the time, having recently joined the now PDGA, I’m sure disc golf was part of Nigel’s calculus. But given the overpowering hold that Frisbee and other discs sports held on the world, I’m guessing it was a very small part.
In those days, most of the disc golf-like experiences were still object golf.
Nevertheless, in 1979, Nigel Barnwell would establish his company of ‘Disc Sports Ltd.’ which would primarily involve the creation of flying discs. This company would last until 1999. In the interim, I assume disc golf was beginning to show serious signs of life because in 2004 Barnwell would start a new disc golf oriented company named ‘Disc Golf Aotearoa Limited’.
A few short years later, the current owners Simon Feasey and Keith Inwood would join the business in consecutive years. Then, around 2011-12 Simon and Keith founded the brand RPM discs, but the team wasn’t yet complete…
A couple of years after, they note, their invaluable teammate, player/team rep, quality control manager, RPM ambassador and more, Jackson Sullivan (aka “Jacko”) became a shareholder and is part of the management team as well.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Now they are dedicated to growing the sport of disc golf in New Zealand and throughout the world. To do so, they are instrumental in establishing courses, as well as creating high quality products that disc golfers can enjoy throughout their careers.
Disc Golf Content Recommendation!
Before we wrap up, I want to give you a recommendation for your disc golf viewing pleasure! If you are in the Northern Hemisphere and are looking for some disc golf content to tide you over in the offseason (or any time really), I’ve got a great channel for you.
Tee Box Media covers New Zealand disc golf (which has their summer while northern countries have their winters) and they bring a refreshing love for the game to every broadcast they do. They were also very helpful in answering questions for this post which was greatly appreciated.
In addition, given that they cover a lot of RPM sponsored players, it’s a great way to watch how the RPM experts utilize each RPM disc.
Check out the Tee Box Media YouTube Channel and be sure to give them a subscription. You won’t regret it!
RPM Discs – In Summary
Now, more than ever, I want to someday make that journey to New Zealand for a disc golf vacation. And sure, skipping a winter would be welcome. But more than that, I would love to play rounds with the locals, visit their growing number of excellent courses, experience the culture (disc golf and general), and see how the game we all love was able to take root and blossom.
From start to finish, I enjoyed every aspect of this review. From researching the origins of New Zealand’s now vibrant disc golf community, to testing and reviewing their fantastic discs, and to making connections with folks at RPM Discs (Keith, Jacko and Simon), Bob Gentil, Tee Box Media and others who readily supplied information. And let’s just say, I happily owe a lot of pints, whenever I get there.
I suggest you grab the opportunity if it arises as well…
Thanks for reading! If you have any other thoughts on RPM Discs in New Zealand, let us all know in the comments. Also, please consider subscribing to my monthly newsletter. There’s no spam, it’s free, and you are automatically and permanently entered into a raffle to win $50 gift cards to Infinite Discs.
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