Just a quick reminder!
Hey Dogleggers!
Just wanted to remind everybody that it is Memorial Week! Discgolfplanet.tv has live coverage of the 2013 Memorial Tournament from today until Saturday. Just head on over to Discgolfplanet.tv to tune in and enjoy watching the best in the world play the first major National Tour event kicking off the 2013 disc golf season!
-DiscRaptor
Running a tournament is like singing in public. Wait… What?!?
I am just over five weeks from my first crack at being a tournament director. It really feels like the home stretch. At this point, it looks like this thing is going to be really successful. I’d like to share my experiences with you and hopefully help you through my successes and my failures.
I tend to be a bit of an oddball. I am constantly thinking up twists to the game that could be fun or fall flat. I am convinced that blue discs fly farther when you throw them toward water and pink discs are under-stable. The idea of running the same tournament that everyone else runs is like standing in line for a crappy roller coaster. I just can’t do it. I’ve got better things to do with my time.
Last year I played in an April Fool’s Worst Shot Doubles tournament that I was really excited about and it turned out to be an absolute flop. It wasn’t really worst shot. It was farthest from the pin, so an errant shot could just be followed with a safe short shot and there was no need to recover. The course was disgusting and covered in broken glass, stagnant water, and old mattresses. It was really disappointing.
When my partner from last year joked about playing again, I responded “I bet we could do it better.” and the idea was born. It was like a song that gets stuck in your head. I found myself thinking about the things that did and didn’t work last year and the things that I could add or twist to make it better.
One of the first things that I had to decide was “why” this tournament was going to exist. Just having a song stuck in my head is no reason for me to sing in public. People would much rather listen to someone else that has sung before and knows what they are doing.
I came up with three reasons:
- I have a lot of friends that don’t play. If I could focus more on the fun and less on the competition, I may be able to talk them into enjoying disc golf with me.
- We have a regular Sunday game at my local course and it would be great to get some new blood playing regularly.
- I wanted a group of people willing to try playing with my crazy twists.
So the tournament was for all skill levels, with weird rules, intended to get the word out about our regular Sunday game. It was time to start combining things from tournaments, our regular game, and my weird rules to come up with a combination that worked.
The regular Sunday game is random draw doubles and the losers owe the winners a beer. They also add one to their handicap and the winners take one away from theirs. New players usually take a couple of weeks to settle into a handicap that works for them but most weeks are fairly close at the end of the round.
This format works well for small groups but in a large tournament, without handicaps, I needed to find a way to stop someone that may be really competitive from being upset about picking up a brand new player as a partner and I wanted to make sure that there was no incentive for a foursome to “cheat” and not pick the worst shots. I decided that if player’s were only competing with others from their own card and cards rotated partners throughout the round, this would eliminate both problems.
There was no reason to charge for the tournament because there were no costs involved and no club to raise funds for. Everyone could bring a beer and the best score on the card would take two beers, the worst would take a single beer, and we would throw together some other competitions for the one leftover beer per card. While I was at it, I decided anyone that brings a beer unique to the tournament can take two strokes off of their final score. That would help set the tone.
I decided to have special rules on every third hole and have the partners switch after each special hole. I came up with a scorecard that helps show the special holes and when to switch partners. I honestly don’t know how this is going to work out. It may be that there are too many special holes and switches. It may be just fine. Time will tell.
Our course has 24 holes. There are 18 numbered holes and six letters that are just mixed in throughout the back half. I decided to have the letter holes played as individuals for a tie breaker. This could be another way for a competitive player to feel like they have a better chance.
After I came up with the format and the fees, I had to figure out how to advertise and get people to sign up. I chose the Sunday before April Fool’s day and named the tournament April Fool’s Shenanigan Doubles and decided to use two different methods to advertise. Disc Golf Scene is a great way to publicize to disc golfers but new players would never know about it. A facebook event was my answer for the less serious and potentially first time disc golfers. As players say that they are attending my facebook event, I just add them to the registered players list on disc golf scene.
A couple of weeks later someone looked at a calendar and broke the news to me. I had six players signed up to play a tournament on Easter Sunday. Since when is Easter in March? I pushed the tournament back to April 7th and let everyone registered know to contact me if they wanted to be removed from the player’s list.
One other problem that I didn’t think about until it was too late was that people assume that they need to bring a partner and pass on the tournament without looking at it based on the name. Once you pick a name, you aren’t allowed to change it. I wish that I would have put “Random Draw” in the name.
Now that I have a good sized group of players registered, I am a little bit worried about the true first-time players. I think that I am actually going to run a “how to play disc golf” clinic two weeks before my tournament and ask people that want to come to go to their local disc shop and pick out a mid-range and a putter that feels good in their hands beforehand. During the clinic I will give them a chance to throw all of the drivers that I own to see what does and doesn’t work for them. This will also give me a chance to teach them basic rules and etiquette.
At this point I am just over five weeks away and I already have 36 players pre-registered. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone enjoying this crazy idea that I had a few weeks ago. I have managed to get some of the best prizes donated that I have seen at any non-A tier and non-sanctioned tournament.
In my next post I will talk about how I worked with great sponsors like Gorilla Boy, Fade, NutSac, Dynamic Discs, Millennium, Gateway, Flywood, Dogleg, and more.
Intro to the DiscRaptor
Hey guys and gals, just thought I would do a quick post to introduce myself and what I hope to bring to the Dogleg community.
My name is Justin, I’m 27 and currently live in Seagrove, NC with my wife and Hoover my 5 year old Lab/Coonhound mix. I’m currently a photojournalism student with a concentration in sports photography and hope to translate that to bringing the sport of disc golf to the masses through photos. Outside of disc golf my interests pretty much peg me as a nerd, LOL! I’m a huge music fan, mainly heavy metal, but do enjoy music as a whole to a degree. My favorite bands include: Machine Head, Pantera, Amon Amarth, Battlecross and Testament, but the list is quite more extensive. I’m a big tech guy, specifically custom PC builds. I’ve built the last 4 PC’s my wife and I have owned and recently started getting into case modding as well. Art is another big passion of mine. I do everything from pencil drawings to acrylic and spray painting, and yes I do disc golf related work. One project I have going at the moment is trying to figure out a way to do LED paintings that can light up!
I was introduced to disc golf last summer by a buddy of mine, Dex, who I’ve known all my life. He called me up one day and asked me to come down to the park near his house and try it out. I had heard of disc golf before, but never gave it much thought as a sport that would interest me. I am a former baseball and football player used to really challenging sport; I just never thought of disc golf as something I’d enjoy. Well, I get down to the park and my buddy is out there with a bag full of discs. He explains the rules to me, shows me the basics of a BH throw and tells me to let it rip. The disc went 50 ft then hard left into a tree. Needless to say, as a former athlete, I was less than pleased when he put his shot under the basket 245 ft away. I’m not one to give up easily, but looked at Dex while just shaking my head. Dex has been playing for a few years, told me I just had to get the mechanics of the throw down first and that distance would come with playing/practice. The next hole was almost the same story, I threw a disc maybe 75 ft this time, but Dex again parked it at 300 ft. This went on for another 5 or 6 holes and I became increasingly frustrated. That’s when it clicks in Dex’s head, since I’m a former Shortstop and 2nd baseman, maybe I would have better results from a FH throw. He shows it to me, hands me a higher speed/more stable driver and says rip it like you would if you were gunning out a runner at first. It clicked. I put that muscle memory to work, put all I had into the throw and let it rip down the fairway. The disc was parked 5 ft from the basket 315 ft away, my jaw dropped. Watching a disc I had thrown sail that far, that fast, it was like a rocket leaving my hand, and I was hooked.
Since that moment I’ve dedicated my game to driving FH. I drive FH for distance, control, as well as anhyzer now. I will throw close to 95% of my drives FH and probably 80% of my upshots. The FH drive just feels so natural and smooth to me. I seem to generate much more power and snap with far less effort throwing FH as well, but the best thing about it is that is doesn’t hurt my shoulder like a BH drive does. My baseball career ended in High School when I tore my labrum on both the front and back of my shoulder, my family couldn’t afford the surgery to fix it, and they are still torn now. This causes my shoulder to pop out of socket when exerted too much.
Those are the main reasons I’ve come to Dogleg. I want to spread the knowledge I’ve gained over the past year about driving FH and playing disc golf with injuries. I found Dogleg through Twitter and immediately emailed JT when I saw I could join and help contribute. I don’t see a lot of information out there right now about FH driving and disc selection. I hope to help anybody that I can with disc reviews from a FH player’s perspective and any throwing tips I can give. I also want to share what I’ve learned over the last 10 years about conditioning and strengthening joint injuries for recovery, preventive methods and how to translate that into a routine to help with both distance to your drives and overall health.
I would also like to share any disc golf related pieces of art or projects I work on if anybody is interested in seeing them.
I look forward to contributing and talking with the Dogleg community, as well as spreading the word about Dogleg around the NC disc golf community!
-DiscRaptor
Dogleg Has It’s Own Fantasy League!
Hey Dogleggers! We have our own fantasy League now! It’s private, so email me to receive the code to join: destinjamesmusic@yahoo.com.
The first tournament in the Dogleg league is on March 15th, but there are only 14 spots left, so sign up quickly if you are interested!
Destin
Fantasy Disc Golf, Anyone?
Even though I was never a huge football fan, and I’m still not — especially since getting married, I would enjoy playing Fantasy Football with my friends. It was a way to have a fun connection to the guys and the games every Sunday — a reason to watch.
Recently I found PlayFantasyDiscGolf.com. It is a simple concept of picking 4 Professional Disc Golfers for events to win, and you earn points if you are correct, and at the end of the season you can win some pretty cool prizes!
You can create your own league, or join others. I haven’t analyzed the site all that well yet, but it looks much easier and more inviting than Fantasy Football.
I want to keep this post short, because there is only 1 day to join a league (or more than one if you want!) and make your first picks for the first tournament this Wednesday, The Memorial.
visit PlayFantasyDiscGolf.com and check out the rules, the F.A.Q.’s, join and get started!!
This could be pretty fun!
Destin
Just an intro to get started.
Honestly, I am a little bit awe struck to actually be writing on Dogleg. My plan is to just go with it and enjoy the ride. I would like to think that writing some of my experiences may help someone out there or possibly encourage them to take a chance and try something new.
I am going to start with a little bit of background information about myself. My life is not all throwing plastic in the park, even if I would like to pretend that it is. I have actually only been playing disc golf for a few years.
I was born and raised in the central part of Michigan. I grew up the son of a teacher and thought that everyone had summers off. I was crushed when I got my first “real job” and realized that it lasted all year long. Can you imagine how good you would be if you could really play disc golf all summer?
I have a tendency to get things in my head and obsess about them relentlessly. The current addiction is disc golf (which helps explain why I am writing this intro). In the past I have been the director of our local youth soccer league along with coaching and reffing for over ten years. I was really into running for a while and even completed a marathon (I am still signed up for an ultra at the end of this summer but I don’t think that it is going to happen). Now I am organizing a disc golf tournament. I will post more about that in upcoming articles.
When I was a kid, my siblings and I used to play a game that we called frisbee golf. We would pick a tree and see who could hit it with a frisbee in the least number of throws. Then we would throw from that tree to another one. I didn’t know it was a real game. I just figured we had made it up.
About five years ago, my mom bought my brother and me each a starter set from Innova. I remember wondering why they looked so strange and then going out and playing our old way around my brother’s house with our kids. I found out that there were actual courses and dragged my kids and co-workers around playing with me. Then I found out that we have a local club and they play regular rounds. I played a few rounds with them and I was hooked. I will be starting my third year of league play this year and I am planning to branch out and play a lot more courses this summer.
I consider myself an average disc golfer. I am really good at my home course and not so good anywhere else. I can throw a 350’ drive standing still but I have no form or accuracy when I move my feet. I know that I need to improve my putting to improve my game but I haven’t committed the time to it yet.
In researching potential sponsors to donate prizes for my upcoming tournament, I noticed that Dogleg was willing to let people contribute to their site. I feel like I have learned a lot about the sport and organizing a tournament and I would like to share it with anyone willing to read about it. I know that I will continue to learn as I go, until after my tournament is over and I plan to post along the way in the hopes that it will help someone else.
Well, that’s it… I want to thank Dogleg for the chance to share my thoughts and ideas with their readers. My first post on Dogleg. I promise the next ones will have more information that you can use.
Our One Disc Challenge
The Intro:
A few weeks ago fellow Doglegger, Destin, casually mentioned that we should battle in a “one” disc round at one of the local parks sometime soon. I had heard of people playing rounds with one disc before, but just the thought of being limited to only one disc did not sound fun to me. Even though I don’t carry a plethora of discs, I do like having options for different shot types I encounter. I’m always up for a fun, friendly competition so I took Destin up on the challenge.
What disc should I actually choose?
I wouldn’t say that there’s one disc in my bag that I would truly consider my all-around go-to disc. I do have a few that I throw often for multiple shot types, but never considered them for every single shot. I figured I could at least choose from some of those as a starting point. I knew we had at least one normal full round before the challenge, so I would take that opportunity to test some of those discs out.
The Discs:
Some of the discs I tried out were my beat Innova Leopard, Discraft Zombee (2012 Ace Race disc), Discraft Buzzz, and my new MVP Vector. Here’s my little background history for each of the above mentioned discs:
Innova DX Leopard (weight = ~171g) – This is the oldest disc that I have. I’ve used this disc for several years now and have carried it in my bag ever since. If you guys have been following my posts, you know that I mention this disc a lot and actually putt with this thing instead of a true putter. From several years of throwing it, I seem to know its exact flight path for approach/putting. I’ll use it for anything under 150. It has become very understable over the years—especially at high speeds, so teeing off with this thing is out of the question. I also use this disc if I’m in the woods and need a good anhyzer disc to get around trees. This beat Leo has a wonderful, big s-curve at short distances when thrown at an anny.
Discraft Z-line Zombee (weight = 175-176g) – The first time playing with this disc was at my first Ace Race last summer. This 2012 Discraft Ace Race disc was recently named the Zombee. I immediately fell in love with this straight-gliding shooter with small fade at the end. It has a shallow rim and is cupped out making it easier to rest a finger on the outside of the grooved rim. This disc can really hold its line for me when thrown hard enough and finishes with a nice slight fade at the end. The longest approach/putt shot I’ve ever hit was made with this disc a few months ago at around ~125 ft. Still [knock on wood] no Ace to date, but the closest I’ve ever came to one was also with this disc from around ~180 ft that hit the center post and bounced back out of the front of the chains, AHH! During a normal round, this is my go-to midrange for shots 100-230 ft or so. I’ve never teed off with this disc on a hole further than 250, so not sure how well it flies at max potential/speed. I haven’t really found anything I dislike about this disc so far.
Discraft X Buzzz (weight = 175g) – I’ve heard and read rave reviews on Discraft’s line of Buzzzs, so I just had to get one and try it out. I got a great deal on one off eBay several months back. I’ve heard how well they hold their line and overall how great a midrange disc they are. I will break this disc out every once in awhile, but I’ll be honest and say that I still haven’t quite figured out its best characteristic. Maybe I should just use it more often to really give it a chance. I tend more to use this disc in practice or for ‘gimme’ shots when my game’s not on the line. But with having used that beat Leo and Zombee for most shots under 200, I haven’t found a good enough reason to switch to the Buzzz full-time yet. I am sure it really is a great disc though; I just need more practice with it. It does feel great in-hand and has that solid, sturdy feel to it.
MVP Vector (weight = 176g) – This is the newest disc in my arsenal and has already found a permanent spot in my bag. For a midrange, I can throw this bad boy further than any other midrange disc I own. I don’t know if you know, but MVP discs supposedly have GYRO™ technology which gives its flight path a more stable/balanced, accurate and consistent glide. The Vector is slightly overstable making it more wind resistance. I was surprised at the results the first day I took this disc to the course, for a midrange. If thrown at a little harder speed, it has a very long glide and little fade at the end. Depending on the type of terrain you’re playing, the Vector’s “grippy” rubber-like edge could prove beneficial. I find this disc to have less of a skip and more of a “magnetic” stop when it hits. It seems to grip better to the ground—great for approaches/putts.
The Fan Poll:
These four discs had their advantages and disadvantages on the course that day, so I was still unable to fully commit to any one disc right away. I thought to myself, Do I go with a driver that can get me further distances off the pad, but then suffer on putts because it’s overstable? or Do I go with a midrange and get less tee distance but comes with better chances of sinking approaches and putts? Ahh the decisions. So here’s what I did. I turned to our awesome fanbase (you guys) on both our @DoglegDiscGolf Twitter and Dogleg Facebook and posed the question, “If you had to play a full 18-hole round with only ONE disc, what type of disc would it be?” We received a lot of great response and I want to thank you guys for that! Here’s some of the responses…
Facebook Feedback:
Billy T. – Discraft XS
Trey P. – If the course is long a mid-range, Buzz. If the course is mostly shorter holes I’ve had success throwing my putter.
Manuel L. – A echo star boss
Dylan C. – Glow aviar putter!
Justin A. – MVP vector
Aaron M. – flat dx roc
Tommy J. – Valkyrie or a buzzz
Destin W. – Zombee!! (2012 Ace Race Disc)
Oscar J. – 173 medium neutron Ion – Yellow Green – my name and number on inside rim.
Alan M. – Boss 136g
Robert T. – i would use my trusty discraft buzz
Jeremiah B. – Definitely a Roc.
Twitter Feed:
@WolfPackDiscs – DX viper #innova #discgolf played many one disc challenges with it
@Restonification – Z Buzz. What else is there?
@MCW7979 – From what’s in my bag right now, my Star TeeBird.
@captain_jager – simple that would be a crisp wraith. You can do anything with that disc.
@BigAppleachia – My Lat64 AirSaint147. Its a driver w/glide does anything a mid can, and putts too! #discgolf
@Delt_Nikolas – Ti Buzzz. Buttery smooth.
Challenge Day:
The challenge day was finally here. This past Saturday, we met up at Oregon Park. It’s early afternoon and the temp’s barely breaking 40 (we live in the South now). Wind conditions looking less than favorable and peaking at 15-20+ mph wind gusts. Not exactly my ideal conditions for a first time, one-disc challenge. But lets do this!
After all the feedback from our followers, I decided to go with the one disc that received the most votes—the Buzzz. Heck I’ll give it a shot. My choice: 175g Discraft Buzzz, Destin’s choice: 169g Innova Star TL.
For this one-disc round, we moved up to the shorter pads to better our Ace chances with the unruly wind conditions. I think we both had a rough start getting use to just throwing one disc and unsuccessfully controlling its inconsistent flight paths in the wind. Hole #1 was a downhill shot, which was a great way to start any round. Those downhill shots build confidence in your throws when you can easily go yard off the pad. Once we got past the first three holes out in the open, the course takes a turn for the woods. Shielded by tree lines from the wind, I did much better with my drives from there on out. The likeability of the Buzzz was growing on me when the wind no longer became a major factor. I was finally figuring out how to hold it and throw it further and further with a few minor hand adjustments.
| Gotta love Georgia Pines…always making a mess and leaving tight shots. |  |
“Needle”ss to say, it was a tight race throughout the round. Destin was on a high for beating me for the first time ever earlier that morning in a normal round. We were neck and neck until he birdied one late in the round, going one up. Then it came down to the final hole. Uphill into the crosswind. All I needed was a birdie and I could have tied it up…or he bogey..or even double. Nope, he got the best of that wind on that last hole. We both layed up close to the basket leaving for a short par toss each. Well-played Destin, well-played. [Below] Destin acting estactic as he pulled off back-to-back wins that day on me. First for both haha. Besides the wind, had a great day overall. Fun times. I call rematch.
Feel free to comment below with your One-Disc Challenge experiences and/or your favorite all-around discs. Enjoy! —jt
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Love is in the Air
If I had a dollar for every time a disc golfer told me he wished his girlfriend played disc golf, I’d have enough money to install a course in my backyard. If I had a dollar for every time I have played disc golf with another girl…well, let’s just say I would be thankful disc golf is free to play.
The ratio of male to female disc golfers is astounding. As of this month, only 6.7% of PDGA members are women. Of the 3,523 players registered as professionals, 250 are women. These ratios mean that many tournaments offer more divisions for men than for women. This was even the case at the 2012 Amateur World Championships, where there were 3 fewer women’s divisions; no lady champions were named for the Junior <19, Senior Grandmasters, or Legends divisions. It is clear that there is a lot of room for growth in women’s disc golf. For a sport that is so focused on progressing, girls could be a huge resource.
A great place to start utilizing this resource is to get your girlfriend (or wife, or other special lady in your life) interested in disc golf. This seemed to be the trend at my first tournament, the 27th Annual Ice Bowl in Columbia, MO, the home of the Ice Bowl. Of the 55 players at the event, 6 played in the women’s division; all of us had a male significant other who was also competing.
The 6 ladies who participated in the Columbia Ice Bowl
So, then comes the big question, “How do I get my girlfriend to play?” As a disc golf girlfriend, here are 10 tips I recommend trying. No guarantee, but they worked on me!
1. Match her personality
One of disc golf’s best qualities is that it is a sport for everyone. It can be tailored to fit any level of skill, competitiveness, timeframe, or budget. The first step to getting your girlfriend to play disc golf is showing her that it is a sport for her. If she’s generally not interested in sports (like me), present it as a fun game and a great way to get outside on a nice day. If she’s more athletic, make it competitive, but still friendly. To get her interested, you have to make sure that the way you talk about disc golf appeals to her as an individual.
2. Easy on the terminology
The words we use to describe disc golf make up an entirely new language. You’ll need to pay attention to which terms she already knows and which ones are still new. You don’t want to confuse her, but you also want to make sure you’re not condescending by explaining too much. For me, it took a lot of effort to learn the lingo. I wasn’t familiar with basic golf terminology like “par” and “birdie,” so learning things like “hyzer” and trying to memorize that Wizards and Magics are putters was sometimes overwhelming. So, in the beginning, make sure you clearly define what each term means, and don’t get frustrated if you have to explain it several times each round.
3. Make sure she has the right discs
An important aspect of disc golf strategy is using the right disc for your throwing style. For beginners and for women, chances are that the right discs for them will not be the ones you use. Most beginners should start with just a putter and maybe a midrange; at such an early stage, most people throw putters and drivers the same distance. A putter can be used to get comfortable with playing—learning courses, developing good form, and snapping the wrist. Once these skills have been mastered, it will be easier to recognize patterns of how other discs fly. When she does need a driver, start with low weights and fairway drivers (I used an Innova Starlight Roadrunner until I lost it in a pond, then moved on to Discmania’s Jackal). These discs are easier to control, especially if she’s still working on building power and strength in her throws.
4. Start easy
Once you’ve been playing for a while, it can be hard to remember how much work it takes to play a round at your favorite par 64 course. Keep in mind that it is unlikely that your girlfriend will have the same disc golf endurance when she starts playing. You’ll probably want to start at a course with shorter holes that aren’t heavily wooded or surrounded by poison ivy and thorns (common course conditions here in the Midwest). If your options are limited, start by playing 6- or 9-hole rounds at a difficult course, and progressively play more as she gets more comfortable and develops her disc golf muscles.
5. Ladies first
Let her take the pad in casual rounds, regardless of whether or not she’s earned it. Be a gentleman. Easy enough. The only exception is if she asks you to go first, which may be the case if she’s unfamiliar with the hole and wants to learn from your shot.
6. Use “lady par” to score
When anyone first starts playing, it is unlikely that they will be able to regularly par holes. In order to make scoring more encouraging, add 1 to the par on each hole. A standard par 54 course becomes par 72. Playing and tracking progress will be a lot more fun if she has scores to be proud of—no one wants to announce a round with 13 double bogies, even if its better than they normally play. Adjusting the par will more accurately reflect how well she is doing as a beginner.
7. Make it a date
Pack up a picnic lunch or take a trip to a course that is especially scenic. If she’s not quite hooked on disc golf yet, she may feel like a third-wheel when she’s out with you and the course. Make sure she knows that the important part is adding disc golf to your relationship—not the other way around.
8. Encourage her to play with other girls
For a girl, learning to play disc golf only by watching experienced males is like being raised by wolves. No matter how much time and effort you want to put into helping your girlfriend, her body is fundamentally different than yours. A man’s center of gravity is in his shoulders, whereas a woman’s is in around her hips. Generally speaking, women typically have less upper body strength than men. Obviously, the process of pulling one’s arm across the chest for a backhand throw is significantly different for the two sexes. Your girlfriend will be able to get more detailed tips from girls who already throw, and not feel like as much of an “outsider” in the disc golf community. A great place to start is to introduce her to girls in your local disc golf club, then encourage her to invite her friends to come out and play too.
9. Resources and Networks for Women
In addition to introducing your girlfriend to individual female disc golfers, make sure she knows about the groups and networks that have been created to expand her opportunities. Start by finding ladies leagues in your area, or a disc golf club that has bag tags specifically for women. Beyond the course, the Internet is a great place to stay up to date with the female disc golf community. PDGA Women and DiscGolf4Women.com both have a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter, and have a variety of resources for ladies of disc golf to get more involved in their community.
10. Return the favor
If she’s willing to take a chance on disc golf, it’s only fair for you to do something equally out of your typical realm of interests for her. Suck it up and watch a chick flick or go to the mall with her. Let her know that you appreciate her giving disc golf a try. She’ll be more willing to play again in the future, and be more likely to get hooked. Eventually, she’ll be the one begging YOU to go out for a round.
Go to Dogleg’s Twitter @DoglegDiscGolf and Retweet our latest “Love is in the Air” tweet for a chance to win. If we get at least 50 retweets, we will be giving away a FREE Dogleg Disc Golf Tee! To be eligible, you MUST retweet it!
dgNOMAD Glow Chains/Portable Disc Golf Glow Target Review by JT
Good evening!
Do you enjoy night disc golf? Have you ever wanted to get into night disc golf? Or do you simply wish you just had a super lightweight practice target that you could easily tote around and set up in minutes?
Just about everyone could use some practice on their short-game, right?
Well I might just have an idea—or solution if you will—if you answered “yes” to any of the above questions.
A few weeks ago I posted a teaser video for this upcoming review here on the blog. Let me just preface this by saying the filming of this 13 minute video review took longer than anticipated to cut, edit and produce the music track in it. But several weeks later and many late nights put into it, I can proudly say IT’S FINISHED!
Just in case you missed the teaser, the guys at dgNOMAD were grateful enough to send a set of their new UV Glow Chains for us to review right here on Dogleg. While I was at it, I also bought one of their Ultralight Portable UV Disc Golf Glow Targets to include in the review as well. Both of these products are awesome I must say!
OK enough of the suspense already, just watch the video review!
Once again, special thanks to Jeff at dgNOMAD for hooking us up and a BIG thanks to fellow Doglegger Justin for filming and producing this video. You guys rock!
To get your very own dgNOMAD Glow Chains or dgNOMAD Ultralight Portable Disc Golf Target, check them out at dgNOMAD.com. Tell them DoglegDiscGolf sent you! =)
-jt
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Dogleg Featured: TWIDG by Go Ham
This past Friday, Dogleg Disc Golf made it again ad a feature on Go Ham Disc Golf’s “This Week in Disc Golf (TWIDG)”!
Fellow Dogleg contributor, Jeremiah, had two posts this week that made Go Ham’s weekly video. The first of the two was Jeremiah’s disc review of the new Prodigy D1 and D4. The second featured Dogleg post last week was the Disc Golf Addict–a pretty funny list you should check out.
Great job Jeremiah and a big thanks again to Big John at Go Ham!
Watch Go Ham’s TWIDG below:
»Read Jeremiah’s Prodigy D1/D4 Review here!
»Read Jeremiah’s “Disc Golf Addict” post here!
Disc Golf Addict
Found this on a website and thought I would share.
You Know You’re A Disc Golf Addict When…
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Prodigy D1 & D4 Review
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I will use the post to drive more user feedback. Take my brief review with a grain of salt, as I was forced to play with my non-dominant hand… still recovering from shoulder surgery. |
Most, if not all, proto D1 & D4 discs currently come in max weight. The D1 is meant to be very fast and over stable, without the dreaded meat hook at the end. The flight path was narrowed significantly… reducing the side-to-side travel down the fairway. The inner lip has been rounded as part of Prodigy’s patented Easy Release Technology. The easy release is meant to reduce both grip lock and blisters. (Soap Box Rant: Innova’s most recent production of discs (late 2012) has a micro-bead on the inner lip that is extremely sharp and difficult to release.)
I am consistently getting more distance (20-40 ft) on every throw with both the D1 and D4. The D1 flies over stable, as intended. Prodigy claims the D1 flies well into a headwind as it does with a tailwind. I have yet to play in these conditions.
The D4 is designed as a very fast, under stable driver. In my experience, this disc is not under stable. I would actually classify it as slightly over stable. Obviously, I am not getting a solid pop on my release, but I was expecting something along the lines of a fast Innova Roadrunner or Mamba (Definitely not the case). I figure a 150 class disc will make the D4’s alleged under stability more apparent.
Overall I am happy with the purchase and look forward to throwing more Prodigy plastic. Both of these discs throw very well and get max-d with every toss.
What are your comments / reviews?
– Jeremiah
Running Tournaments
Grip and Rip DGC began as an outcropping from the Dogleg crew’s drive to bring another course to our hometown of Jasper, AL. The new course is still being decided by the local city council, but they are pretty close to making a final decision. When researching all the details for starting a club, I found the PDGA to have a helpful How-to guide.
We cut our teeth with Discraft’s annual Ace Race tournament, which proved to be a valuable learning experience. Skills learned included: managing costs, gathering sponsorship’s, taking pre-registration monies, registering with the local park, setting up the course for tourney play and coordinating schedules with football season (if you are not from the Southeast, then you wouldn’t understand =)).
With all this Ace Race tournament director experience, I decided to take the PDGA’s Officials Exam to better understand the rules for sanctioned play. PDGA Rules – The rules are interpretative in some cases. I am more of a casual player, so I don’t necessarily agree with all the tedious rules (just my preference). The 10 official’s exam can be taken an unlimited amount of times and is only $10, which is good for 3 years. The PDGA now has a Pre-Register Tool that allows tournament directors to collect payment online. It does cost $2-3 for the player to use, but the players list updates in real-time.
I started building a GnR website with a forum to house all of the club’s activities. This proved to be more complicated than anticipated; so we setup a Facebook group under “Grip and Rip Disc Golf”. The events section is extremely helpful, since it allows local players to accept the tourney invite. The real-time feedback allows for us to judge the expected attendance ahead of tourney day.
Contrary to popular belief, tournaments are time-consuming to run, and yield little profit for the club. However, they are beneficial in growing the sport. Without groups of disc golfers coming together with similar interests, new parks wouldn’t be built and existing parks wouldn’t be improved. Just in the Birmingham metro alone, there are 7 new parks coming online in 2013! I really hope we can continue growing this beautiful sport.
Dogleg Disc Golf 