OOP in in disc golf stands for Out Of Production, meaning that the manufacturer no longer makes that particular disc mold. Discs go out of production (OOP) for many reason including:
- Disc mold is no longer selling well
- Manufacturer is making room in their lineup for new molds
- Manufacturer has gone out of business
- The PDGA disapproves the disc (i.e. Quest Turbo Putt)
- Manufacturer simply does not have capacity or resources to make the particular disc
In some cases a manufacturer will stop producing a disc mold in certain plastics, but continue making that disc in other plastics. A manufacture may even take an entire plastic line out of production. For example, Discraft used to produce a flexible version of their popular ESP plastic as seen in the featured image, but ESP FLX is no longer produced.
This post was written by the DG Puttheads and originally posted on dgputtheads.com.
You will come across the term OOP most frequently on disc product listings on online disc golf stores or eBay and Facebook listings. When discs go out of production the price usually increases because they become more difficult to find and can become collectors items.
It is always a good idea to have backups of your disc golf discs in case you lose them or they break in to far. For this reason you should prepare if any discs in your bag are announced to go out of production. If that disc is important to your game then it is a good idea to immediately purchase more of that mold when you find out that it going OOP. If that disc is less important or can be replaced by another mold that is still in production, then you may want to consider changing molds knowing that future backups may increase in price.
Testing discs that you already know are OOP can be enjoyable and give you a good perspective of how discs have changed over time. However, proceed with caution if you decide to add an OOP disc to your bag for the above mentioned reasons.
The Discraft Crush went OOP in 2017 and is difficult enough to find that you probably will not want to add one to your bag at this point.
How Do I Know If A Disc Is OOP?
The only way to truly know if a disc golf has gone OOP is an announcement from the manufacturer. The PDGA keeps a list of all approved disc golf discs and sometimes they list the last date that the mold was produced. However, this list is not official, is missing many (if not most) of the OOP dates, and sometimes a disc may even be brought back into production.
Are OOP Discs Legal?
Yes, using an OOP disc is legal in sanctioned disc golf tournaments as long as it had previously been PDGA approved and adheres to all PDGA technical standards.
Where Can I Find OOP Disc Golf Discs?
If a disc has only recently gone out of production then you may still be able to find it in stores. However, disc golfers tend to buy up OOP discs quickly either as backups or collector items. The best place to find OOP disc golf discs is usually eBay or Facebook thrower exchanges. These options will allow you search for the specific disc you are looking for and specify ‘OOP’ or ‘Out Of Production’ as a filter. There are some disc golf stores that offer special sections dedicated to OOP and collectable discs, but they are often limited or difficult to find.
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