Once October settles in, the disc golf season slows down. The daylight fades, temperatures drop, and both rounds played and discs sold start to dip. Every year, manufacturers scramble to keep attention on their brands. They need something to promote, something to post, something to make players care again for a few more weeks before the black friday rush and then the REAL off-season hits.
Enter Halloween Discs.
How It All Started
Innova was first. Back in the 1990s, they started stamping jack-o’-lantern faces on Aviars — a simple orange putter turned into a spooky seasonal collectible. Players liked the novelty, and Innova noticed. The pumpkin Aviar became an annual tradition, and they’ve released one nearly every October since.
Of course, the other brands caught on. Discraft started making Halloween Buzzzes with ghosts and skulls. MVP joined in with glow plastics and creepy character art. Now almost every manufacturer runs a seasonal “spooky” batch — pumpkins, skeletons, haunted woods — you name it.
And to their credit, they sell.
A few of them.
To a few die-hard collectors.
But for the most part, Halloween discs are shelf-fillers. Nobody really wants to bag a pumpkin Aviar in April or a skull-stamped Hex in June. They’re fun to look at, for a few weeks a year, but not something you’er going to want in your bag.
The Retailer Reality
For shop owners, Halloween stamps are a trap that’s easy to fall into. You see the buzz online, the flashy stamps, and you figure it’s worth bringing a few in. Then November hits, and you’re still staring at a stack of orange putters you can’t move.
We learned this lesson back when we ran the store. Every year we’d stock up on a few spooky runs — thinking this year would be different — and every year we’d end up liquidating them in Black Friday sales or mystery boxes. Manufacturers keep making them, retailers keep buying them, and the cycle repeats.
When It Does Work
Every once in a while, a Halloween release actually hits. That usually happens when it’s not just a new stamp, but a new plastic blend or a twist on a popular mold. This year, Innova’s split-color Halloween Roc3 was one of those exceptions — the disc itself was special, not just the artwork.
That’s the key difference. Players will buy great discs that happen to have Halloween stamps, not Halloween stamps that happen to be on great discs.
Our Advice
If you’re a disc golf retailer, be careful. Stock a handful for your die-hards and collectors — they’ll ask for them anyway — but don’t overcommit. It’s better to sell out early than get stuck holding piles of orange plastic until spring.
Halloween stamps are a fun tradition, but they’ve never been a strong business play.
Sometimes, spooky sells — just not for long.
