The Future of Disc Golf Trackers

I already teased MeepMeep! trackers in my blog about disc golf retrieval systems back in February. But I think it’s worth doing a full write up and examination of the trackers. Adding technology to sports is nothing new. Tennis has Hawkeye, Soccer has Goal line Technology, and the NFL really needs to put a tracker in their balls so I don’t have to sit through a 4 minute commercial break where a coach challenges a spot that’s clearly a first down. Back to disc golf thought.

MeepMeep is a tracker that you apply to the disc, and then leave on while you play your rounds. It’s not currently PDGA legal. But I hope that someday soon stick-on trackers for discs will be legal. I love the MeepMeep! teams desire to provide accessibility to disc golf. Players with impaired eyesight should still be able to play and love the sport of disc golf without the fear of losing their discs. Here’s their mission statement and values. They align with the goals and values of Sabattus Disc Golf and we’re happy to carry their product.

Past: There was no tracking your discs for a long time. Other companies tried to create both the disc and the tracker, but it was very expensive and the discs weren’t great flyers.

I just lost a disc up in some thick grass last weekend at a course I was playing. You know when you have a decent sized gap to hit, so you put the disc on a hyzer so you can hit the gap and get a long glide down the fairway, and it holds that hyzer for about 250 feet when you only meant for it to hold like 220 feet? Of course you do, you’re a disc golfer reading this blog.


Anyway, I saw about where my disc went into the grass but I couldn't find my Red Champion Wraith after looking for about 5-10 minutes. So my group abandoned it and I played on. I’m a bit sad about losing that disc. That Wraith had been in the bag for a year and was finally starting to season . I was able to throw it flat and get that turn I was looking for. Not having the MeepMeep! on my disc was kind of a bummer.

But this doesn’t have to happen anymore.
I didn’t have a MeepMeep! on my disc or I would have been able to just open the app, scroll to the Red Champion Wraith and click on the Play button.

Present: Currently, MeepMeep helps you locate discs that you can’t see. You still have to keep your eye on the disc, because the sound isn’t designed to be heard from very far away. If you’re within 30-50 feet you should be good.

Does it work?
Yes! I’m never going to recommend a product that doesn’t work. This is attached to my favorite disc, a Champion Wraith that is leaf colored. So I threw it into a pile of leaves on purpose, because I trust MeepMeep! to help me find it quickly and easily.
It’s literally as easy as opening an app and clicking a button so that your disc rings until you turn it off. Here’s a video of me demonstrating it.

Do I need this for all of my discs?
I’d say you really only need this for discs that you throw into thick grass, heavily wooded areas, or into places that you can’t see from your drive. Primarily they’re going to go on my distance drivers. They’re not PDGA approved yet, so I won’t be throwing them in any tournaments. But I think they’re great for casual rounds. Especially on courses that I don’t know too well.

I was fortunate to be given an early sample back in April and have tested it a few times. I spoke with the head of development for them about my experience and they were very interested in feedback and when I found a problem they were able to correct it quickly and then email me back. Their customer service is excellent.

How much does a MeepMeep affect the flight of my disc?
It makes your disc more stable, and it won’t fly as far because of the extra few grams. I tested it on my Champion I-Dye Wraith that’s 10+ years old. For me it’s a disc that flips right over on my backhands and rides an anhyzer for most of the flight before panning back to flat and then a little tail hyzer.
But when I put on the MeepMeep! I found that my Wraith would flip over for a moment, and not ride the anny but instead stable up and glide then hyzer out. I do lose a little bit of distance throwing the MeepMeep! But it’s not much, I was still able to throw the disc about 350 feet.

They recommended trying the tracker on grippier plastic. I think this is going to go on anything GStar from Innova or Ethereal from ThoughtSpace that I throw. They’re a little bit softer, grippier, and less stable plastics anyway so it makes perfect sense for me.

Benefits of MeepMeep! Trackers

• One possibility with the MeepMeep! is to increase the longevity of your discs, that beloved driver that’s now too flippy can be saved with the MeepMeep! We all have a disc or two that we loved and gave away to someone starting out, or with a slower arm speed because we kept flipping it over.
• You can buy any color disc you like. No more avoiding green discs because of tall grass, avoiding white discs because of snow, or leaving your brown, orange, or yellow discs at home in the Fall! I love the way Tie Dye discs look when they fly, but I’m always afraid to lose them. 8% of men are red green colorblind, now they can choose discs based on feel and weight without being mad that a perfect disc blends in.
• Future Flight Analytics (I have no idea when this is coming). Knowing what your discs are going to do for distance will be amazing. Say you’re playing a tournament and you pull out your Bushnell RangeFinder and see that you’re 278 feet to the pin. You know your Leopard3 has been hitting the 275-280 foot distance very well the last time you practiced. So you lace it up the fairway and land pin high for an easy putt. Who knows what other analytics are possible? Angle of release, velocity, distance turned, distance faded? Sure, it’s a ways away. But MeepMeep! Has a functioning tracker already, and I’m hoping support from the disc golf community will come quickly.
• You already know how your disc flies. One of the reasons the Tobu discs struggled was they tried to create discs and trackers at the same time. You can attach MeepMeep! to a disc mold that you already love and know.

Yes, MeepMeep! does cost almost the same as a new disc. But if you’re like me you have some discs that you love and don’t want to lose. Learning a new disc and seasoning it, those take time and it’s easier to just locate the disc that you already have and love to throw.

Future: Plenty of discs will have trackers on them. I’m hoping that with the commercial success of these trackers we could see these being PDGA approved. Then who knows what they’ll be able to accomplish? Maybe a better coaching system for your discs or something like Top Golf?

I’ll be using MeepMeep!’s on at least one disc. And I’m hoping that with time we could see the future of these and the sport grow.

May your discs miss all the trees, and may the grass MeepMeep! with your discs,
Andrew Streeter #70397