George Smith Earns 10th Win at 31st Annual Mid America Open
Instead of starting my post with a typical excuse for not blogging in so long, let’s be real. Life got crazy and I was experiencing some disc golf burnout. Since my last post, I earned two college degrees and started my first full time job. Clearly disc golf has taken a back seat.
But now that I’m settling back into “normal life” with a “normal routine” I see everything really connecting back to the sport. It is my stress reliever and my social life. It promotes the values I want to uphold in my career at the Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: accessibility, fairness, health, and community. It’s an activity I can share with my boyfriend. It makes me think. And, most of all, I’ve gotten some pretty badass disc golf stories in my neighborhood lately.
Stories like this one I put together to send out to my local media have helped me to rediscover my love for the game. I hope this inspires you to pick up your bag and play this week, and that your feedback will get me out myself!
(Some alterations to this press release were made to fit the disc golf audience. If YOUR club needs help building relationships with your local media, let us know! I’m happy to provide guidance, and if there is interest, write about best practices or develop press templates for disc golf events. I’ll post links to press coverage here if the release is successful!)
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Last weekend marked the 31st Annual Mid America Open disc golf tournament presented by the Columbia Disc Golf Club, Dynamic Discs, and Columbia Parks and Recreation. The event included a doubles event on Friday and a three-round tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Albert-Oakland and Indian Hills Parks. The tournament included 123 players from Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.
George Smith, 44, of Columbia earned his tenth Mid America Open title with a score of -52 for the weekend. His Saturday afternoon round on the Albert-Oakland Top Course was 13 under par and rated 1087 (yeah, that’s not a typo). It was the highest rated round of his career to date. Smith began playing disc golf in 1984 at the Albert-Oakland Top Course, the only course in Columbia at the time. He has since traveled internationally as a professional disc golf player, his tour including tournaments in Japan and Finland. In addition to his tournament win, Smith also won the Friday doubles tournament along with Grant Hodges of Columbia, MO.
The weekend’s winners also included: Andrea Meyers (Jonesboro, AR), Open Women; Keith Amerson (Columbia, MO), Open Masters; Justin McCain (Joelton, TN), Advanced Amateur; Gary Harvey (Roeland Park, KS), Advanced Masters; Paul Morrison aka Mo Louis (Columbia, MO), Advanced Grandmasters; Justin Neudecker (Alton, IL), Intermediate; Mariah Flagg (Camdenton, MO), Intermediate Women; Scott Foreman (Columbia, MO), Recreational; Beth Aubuchon (Columbia, MO), Recreational Women; Jack Lowen (Blue Springs, MO), Juniors Under 13 Boys; and Cynthia Riocciotti (Columbia, MO), Juniors Under 13 Girls.
Tournament competitor lands a disc in the basket during the Ring of Fire
Smith putting during the Final Nine Sunday afternoon at Albert-Oakland Park
Smith finishes a hole during the Final Nine as a gallery watches from across a pond
Paul Morrison aka Mo Louis, radio personality from 102.3 KBXR, celebrates his win over the Advanced Grandmasters division during the awards ceremony Sunday evening
Smith and his trophy following the awards ceremony
Smith and Jack Lowen, Junior Under 13 Boys winner, with their trophies following the awards ceremony
Missouri Winter Wonderland
Hey Dogleggers, long time no talk! I promise I haven’t forgotten about you guys—I actually daydream about blogging quite often. For those who don’t know, I’m currently in my junior year of college, so let’s just say that I have to write a lot of stuff that’s not about disc golf during the school year and my brain can only produce so many words in a week.
Anyway, I’ve been DYING to tell you guys a little bit about the crazy winter we’ve been having here in Missouri. It’s been a winter wonderland. Not “wonderland” like the deep snow and beautiful trees on a Christmas card—we’re not quite northern enough for that. I mean WONDERland, like “I wonder if it’s going to be 60 and sunny, or if it’s going to be so cold the news anchors are telling me not to let my dog outside for more than 10 minutes.” So, let’s take a look at Missouri’s last few weekends.
Four weeks ago today I played in the 28th Annual Ice Bowl in Columbia, Mo. Columbia is not only my hometown, but the home of the original Ice Bowl in 1987. As we all know, the official Ice Bowl slogan is “No Wimps, No Whiners,” and for the 28th Annual there was nothing to complain about. The weather was beautiful, in the 40s and no rain or snow. I was very happy to be able to play in a division of 5 women, two of us celebrating one year since our first tournament! On top of that, I shot my personal record on the Oakland Top course with a 2 stroke improvement. It was a wonderful day!
Five ladies competed in the women’s division at Columbia’s 28th Annual Ice Bowl in January
The winners of each division at Columbia’s 28th Annual Ice Bowl
After such a great experience at the Columbia Ice Bowl, I was really pumped to play the following weekend in Jefferson City, Mo. However, the night before the tournament there was an ice storm and it wasn’t safe to make the 30 minute drive. Instead, I spent the day playing a 4-hole NOMAD course at my house and gathering with my neighbors to scrape ice off of my street. Not so wonderful.
NOMAD target set up in my backyard while the roads were too icy to get to a course
My street covered in ice, and everyone trying to get it cleared off.
I didn’t get any golf in the following weekend. There was more snow and I turned 21, so I think you can infer that I was a little busy doing other things…
Last weekend I finally made my way down to Jefferson City to play league at their new course. They still don’t have permanent baskets or tee pads installed, so we played the front nine twice with temp baskets. Just by looking at the front nine and hearing rumors about the back nine, this course is going to be a BEAST. There are a few water hazards, lots of elevation change, and a mix of tight tunnels and long fairway shots that have to be strategically placed. (It’ll definitely be worthy of a course guide when it’s finished.)
Although it only snowed a little while I was there, there was plenty of “leftover” snow on the ground, cause it hadn’t been above freezing in at least a week. The park’s namesake Binder Lake was frozen enough to walk on (although I never recommend walking on ice!), which is pretty rare.
During this round my winter weakness was particularly evident. I’m usually pretty good at not letting cold affect my mental game, keeping my throwing hand warm, and not letting my feet get wet. But the worst thing about winter disc golf is wearing so many layers that it limits my range of motion. For the most part it doesn’t impact my driving, but trying to follow through on a putt when I feel like the Michelin Man is just not going to happen.
Geese along the shore of Binder Lake, near Jefferson City’s new disc golf course
Jefferson City Disc Golf Club’s President Stan Balke putting from a tree on the new course
Me driving during league at Jefferson City’s new course
Just six days later, I played my first short-sleeved round of the year at Carrollton Park in St. Louis. It was a beautiful, sunny day reaching a high of nearly 60 degrees. Can you say complete weather 180!? Then, fast forward to today, when the high is expected to be only 38 degrees; my disc golf feat for the day will only consist of writing this post and wishing I were at the Gentlemen’s Club Challenge, where it is currently 65 and sunny!
Precarious basket at Carrollton Park in Bridgeton, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis
Ladies Only!
Hey Dogleggers! I apologize for getting so behind on my coverage of Worlds this week. I often convince myself that I’m going to have tons of free time when I travel. I somehow managed to forget that, since I planned on attending the majority of the events going on in Emporia, the rest of my time would have to be used for catching up on rest! That being said, I will be catching up on my posts over the next couple of days. I have coverage of the Player’s Party, Night Ace Race, an interview with Pete May, and an overall review of the event coming to you soon!
Now, on to the ladies-only event!
More than 30 ladies made it out to the Emporia Country Club on Wednesday night to compete for TONS of prizes in a ring of fire. Miranda Fulton put on this great event, and was assisted by the adorable Haley, who was in charge of yelling out “1, 2, 3, FIRE!”
As if a bunch of disc golf girls getting together to putt wasn’t fun enough, Miranda switched it up on us. Some rings were reserved for juniors or required use of forehand putting. Others required us to stand backward, or to “butt putt” by throwing the disc backward between our legs!
At an event where so many female disc golfers travel from so far away, it was really great to come together to be reminded that so many of us share the same passion for disc golf and growing the presence of women in our sport! I hope to see events like this at more tournaments in the future!
PS: I forgot to mention–every lady at the event got an awesome umbrella straw, even if they didn’t win! It was definitely a fun way to show off and start a conversation with others after the fact! GREAT idea!
Worlds Pro Clinic
On Tuesday night, more than 40 people attended the Pro Clinic featuring Ron Convers Jr., Jay “Yeti” Reading, and Robbie Olsen. The clinic’s general focus was on playing in the wind, as Kansas is famous for, but the tips given ranged from general disc physics to distance driving. Here are a few key tips from each of the pros for those of you who missed out!
Ron Convers Jr.
Look for visual wind clues
A common way to test the wind condition is to throw some grass or dirt into the air and observe the direction it blows before it lands. However, this only indicates the wind condition at the tee. Especially on longer holes, it’s important to look to the end of the hole for trees or other things that show the direction and speed of the wind. Your shot should be adapted to fit the wind throughout the duration of the hole and your disc’s flight.
Add field practice to your routine
When you’re just practicing on your home course(s), you tend to throw the same discs on the same lines over and over again. Ron suggests going to an empty soccer or football field and getting to know your discs better in this setting. You’ll have a better idea of what types of distance you’re capable of throwing. The monotony of throwing shot after shot will cause you to step out of your comfort zone and to put your discs on new lines. You’ll never know if your backup backhand driver should be your go-to flick disc!
“The best asset a disc golfer can have is a short-term memory”
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Every hole is a new hole. Don’t let a bogey or OB mess up your entire round.
Jay “Yeti” Reading
Play by the laws
The laws of physics, that is. There are four major forces that impact the flight of your disc. Of course, there’s gravity and lift. Then there’s momentum—everything in your throw should be utilized to increase momentum. When you’re doing a run-up, it will only add to your momentum if the elements of your standstill form are still intact! Lastly, the little scratches in your disc impact drag. Contrary to popular belief, blemishes on the outer edge of the disc are less important than those on the inner edge. Some of these can be smoothed out by rubbing the disc with a terrycloth towel.
Play to your strengths
When it comes to playing in the wind—or really any time—first consider throwing whatever style is most natural for you. If you throw right-handed backhand, you should always be on the lookout for a hyzer route, because chances are it’ll be the easiest for you to control.
Robbie Olsen
Distance is all in the hips
Just like a good golf or baseball swing, movement in the hips is key to any good disc golf shot. The hips are where the momentum begins, and using them properly will add distance to your throws.
Keep your core tight
In order for the momentum from the hips to travel to the arms, the energy has to travel through the core. By making sure your core is tight and is acting as a connection for your hips and upper body, you won’t need to pull back as far to still see an increase in your distance. As all of the pros at the clinic agreed, extra crunches or core-focused yoga can give your drives a boost!
Watch some of Robbie’s drives here: https://vine.co/v/h7Ivgl7F6pr/embed/simple
Course Guide: Municipal Golf Course
I’ve had the pleasure of walking the Municipal Golf Course’s temporary disc golf course three times this year, although I have not yet had the chance to get out there without the purpose of caddying! Municipal, located just outside of Emporia, KS, uses only half of the ball golf course, and plays a total distance of 8,608 ft for the long tees and 7,987 ft for the short tees. Course par is 65.
Throughout the week, this course will be used for the PDGA Amateur World Championships. The A and B pools of Advanced Men played it today, with a hot round of 55. Tomorrow the C pool of Advanced Men and Advanced Grandmasters will play the course. The Advanced Men will play it once more on Thursday or Friday.
Because I have not personally played this course and because I’m trying to spend as much time out experiencing Worlds while I’m here, I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves (they are worth a thousand words, right?). For an overall course map and hole-by-hole distance and OB information, head over to the Dynamic Discs website: http://www.dynamicdiscs.com/2013amworlds/courses/. Dynamic Discs has been very supportive of my efforts to keep you all updated on the Amateur and Junior World Championships by allowing me to use bits and pieces of their course map here on Dogleg. Thanks for being so great!
And now, to the course!
Welcome to Worlds
Hey Dogleggers! I’m very excited to have the opportunity to spend this week at the 2013 Amateur and Junior World Championships in Emporia, KS! This small town is booming with disc golfers, with more than 540 competitors here. During my time here, I plan on bringing you daily updates on all things worlds. Tomorrow [Tuesday] I plan on posting a course guide of the Municipal Golf Course, where the Advanced Men division will be playing in the morning. Other than that, I’d be happy to take requests on what you’d like to read. Just let me know in the comments, or tweet me @MLeeFry.
Since driving in from Columbia on Saturday, I’ve been to 4/5 of the courses, hung out at the field events, attended the players meeting, and socialized in our campground (which is PACKED with disc golfers!). The photo collages below make up just a small portion of what’s going on here in Emporia, and I look forward to updating you on more throughout the week!
Jay “Yeti” Reading introducing the EDGE Skills Challenge; Junior Doubles Champion and 13 and Under Putting Challenge Winner Braxton Lawrence; Skills Challenge Competitors; Luis Nava putting during the Skills Challenge
Sarah Nicholson presents the mayor of Emporia with an honorary PDGA membership; Founder and owner of Dynamic Discs Jeremy Rusco welcomes players to Am Worlds; Jay and Des Reading bring up the energy levels by giving away prizes from EDGE; 540+ disc golfers conjugate for the Players Meeting
dgNOMAD New Logo & Glow Chains!
This won’t be news to any of you who know JT here at Dogleg DG, but I’d like to let the rest of the world know that his design came out on top in the search for dgNOMAD’s new logo, and we think it rocks! Thanks also to everyone else who sent drawings, there were several contenders.
If you need need any logo or promotional work done you can stop looking, JT did an excellent job for us. From concept to revisions to final drafts, as well as staying in touch and putting up with my busy schedule, he was on top of it all. The new logo looks awesome printed in black on our red carry bags, and the color version does a great job displaying the “UV-ness” (JT coins terms as well as designs logos!) of our newest product, retrofit Glow Chains. Our Glow Chains snap easily to any existing basket or target in under a minute and give glow golf a whole new meaning! Check them out here .
And speaking of Glow Chains, if you’re in western Pennsylvania or Northeast Ohio you can see them in action at Young’s Run DGC during Valley DGA’s Glow Throw! The first of the monthly events is May 10th, check in a 7:00 for the first 9 and after dark the Glow Chains are coming out for the next 9! If you miss this one try back, there’s one every month May to November. More info at ValleyDGA.com or email info@valleydga.com.
Trevor at Valley DGA has done a great job helping spread the word on our new chains to some neighboring clubs, anyone else who is interested in a club purchase for glow leagues or tournaments (or just to get a discount!) should definitely let me know. Club orders get 10% discounts and free shipping, email club@dgNOMAD.com for details.
Last but not least, there’s still a week left before our next drawing, register to win either a set of dgNOMAD Glow Chains or one of our revolutionary ultralight portable NOMAD Disc Golf Targets! These little guys are under 3 pounds, available in 6 standard and 4 Glow colors, and let you take a target places you never thought possible…toss one in your backpack, on your dash, or even on your bike handlebars and you can throw anywhere! They have regulation size target zones, and in fact are the only PDGA approved Object Targets on the market. In addition to being made in the USA, our targets are economical so you can grab one for yourself and give the kids their own!
Enter the drawing for free stuff here.
Thanks for checking out our new product!
Jeff@dgNOMAD.com
Dogleg DG (& JT’s beard) featured on Go Ham’s TWIDG!
Earlier this week, Dogleg JT’s article “Prodigy First Run D1/D4 Full Review” was featured on Go Ham Disc Golf’s “This Week in Disc Golf (TWIDG)” weekly YouTube segment! What also got a mention in Go Ham’s video?… JT’s beard! Lol. Check it out around the 3:10 mark!
Here at Dogleg, we get pretty excited whenever we get featured on Big John’s vids. A BIG thanks to him for giving us a shoutout and featuring us once again in a vid! Check out Go Ham’s YouTube channel here.
Read JT’s “Prodigy First Run D1/D4 Full Review” post here if you haven’t already. It’s an in-depth review complete with video clips of us throwing and several pics.
The best round of DG ever recorded! McBeast throwing a 39 at Fountain Hills, AZ!
Hey guys and gals!
Now that the Memorial has wrapped up I wanted to make sure anybody that hasn’t had a chance to see Paul “McBeast” McBeth’s record breaking final round at Fountain Hills has a chance to see it. This is the best round of disc golf ever played and recorded. Paul shoots an incredible 39 in his final day to make an incredible push to force Will Schusterick into a play off!
Here’s the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-xGFbRdNv0
Go watch history!!! This is truly incredible and he makes it look effortless!
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
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
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!
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.
New Dogleg Disc Golf Promo Video — Online Now!
Greetings, all! It is time for the unveiling of what could arguably be the internet’s most rad disc golf video ever produced. No, I’m not just saying that because I produced it (OK, I admit — it might be because of that).
I had the opportunity to get some great footage of Destin, JT and me playing at Wills Park in Alpharetta, GA this weekend. The video, entitled “Rules of Disc Golf,” highlights what happened during about an hour-and-a-half round of play, all while informing what we feel will help you get the best out of your experience by following these simple rules.
The video was produced the next day, and within four hours of production, I had written and recorded a rock groove for the background soundtrack, fully organized the clips, and exported the clip sequence that was ready for upload. Talk about a productive weekend, right?? 🙂
We had a blast making it, and we hope you have a blast watching it. Enjoy!
– Justin
Next Stop, TV!
The disc golf community received lots of exciting news last December. Clearly, as I addressed in my earlier posts, the discopalypse and announcement of Prodigy Disc Golf stirred up tons of gossip. Dynamic Discs released its new line of discs. But the announcement that has the greatest potential to impact the sport went unnoticed in comparison. On December 21, PDGA Executive Director Brian Graham announced that the PDGA would be joining with two other sports organizations to create the Emerging Sports Network.
The purpose of the ESN, according to its website, http://www.emergingsports.info, is to recognize and celebrate the “most innovative, exciting, and competitive sporting endeavors available today. Though each of these sports might not have millions of fans and dollars to support their play, they do not lack the passion or the skills necessary to create great broadcasting.” The other two organizations pairing with the PDGA to make up the ESN are the Upstate Watercraft Promotions-International Jet Sports Boating Association (UWP-IJSBA) National Tour and the Extreme Volleyball Professionals (EVP) Tour. Before the PDGA became involved, the two sports had partnered together to form the Beach Sports Network, which has now evolved into the ESN.
As a partner for the ESN, the PDGA will produce four 30 minute video segments this year. The first of the four disc golf episodes will cover the Memorial Championship in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, AZ at the beginning of March. Between the three sports, 20 episodes will be created, then distributed by Comcast or another sports network. These episodes have the potential to be picked up by networks all across the country and to be seen by 66 million households.
The group who owns the rights to the ESN website and who will provide key help in producing the first disc golf shows for television is the Terra Firma Media Group, who specializes in strategic communications and “helping your company reach its audience.” Terra Firma already has a big role in disc golf. They run DiscGolfPlanet.tv and their clients include the USDGC, the Japan Open, Innova, Red Bull, and Kimberly-Clark.
I expect that partnering with the UWP-IJSBA and EVP Tours will have several, large effects on disc golf in the next couple of years. The most direct effect will be that disc golf will be more well known, and therefore, more people will want to play. This could eventually lead to more course installations and cooperation from Parks and Rec-type groups.
Although I do not see this until next year or later, I believe that if the ESN is successful, the PDGA will collaborate with the UWP-IJSBA and EVP to organize a tour made up of mega-events where all three sports are represented. Graham said in his announcement on Disc Golf Talk Radio that he hoped to have one of these events in the future, but I expect that there will be several if the ESN is a successful alliance. The other two sports have already synced up the time and place of several of their major tour events for the 2013 season, and this trend could easily transfer to include disc golf events as well.
These large events would put disc golf in a new position. They will attract better bids from Convention and Visitors Bureaus, which would cut costs for tournament hosting. They will also make tournaments more appealing for sponsors that apply to all three sports–like Nike or Gatorade. We can also expect that the cities that will host these big events will be on beaches, so they can accommodate jet ski racing and beach volleyball. Cities like Kansas City, who hosted the 2009 Pro and Am World Championships and is home to the Kansas City Wide Open (a national tour event), will be less likely to host these giant events. Large cities in coastal states will have a higher chance of hosting disc golf’s biggest events.
For Brian Graham’s announcement: http://discgolftalkradio.com/2012/news-from-the-the-pdga/
For the full interview with Brian Graham: http://discgolftalkradio.com/2012/interview-with-pdga-executive-director-brian-graham/
How do you expect the ESN to impact disc golf? Tweet @doglegdiscgolf with the hashtag #EmergingSN to let us know!
Support the Blog by Getting a Dogleg DG Tee!
We’re getting Dogleg Disc Golf Tees printed up! This “Original Logo” tee will be the first of several Dogleg Disc Golf merchandise items printed this year.
We will be selling the Limited Edition First Round for only $15! or…
PRE-PAY BY JANUARY 31 and get it for ONLY $11! (+s/h)
We’ll be offering these colors to begin with: Charcoal, Light Grey, White, Red, Green, Maroon, Pink, Purple, Goldenrod, Olive Drab, Blue, and Navy. The sizes available are Small-3X.
Trying to decide if the front will have a left pocket design of either the Dogleg logo or “Blog the Dog!”.
Contact JT or email DoglegDG@gmail.com for more details. Thanks!
Help support your favorite disc golf blog by purchasing a tee today! Remember ladies, a Dogleg tee would make a great Valentine’s Day gift! =)
-jt
Limited Edition First Round “Original Logo” Dogleg Disc Golf Tee
Dogleg Disc Golf wins “TOP 5 Disc Golf Blogs” Award!
Check this out guys: Dogleg Disc Golf was named in Disc Golf Station’s “TOP 5 Disc Golf Blogs”!
I want to start by thanking DiscGolfStation.com for considering us as a top disc golf blog nominee. It’s such an honor to be chosen in the Top 5! To read the full details, definitely check out the results here: Top Disc Golf Blog Winners! Be sure to “Like” Disc Golf Station on Facebook!
Next, I want to thank all of our fellow Dogleg contributors—you guys help made this achievement possible! And of course, I could never forget our fan base and support of our friends.
A Message from JT:
Here at DoglegDiscGolf.com, we strive to be different. Our goal is to deliver fresh content in a way that can relate to our audience unlike any other disc golf out there. We’re not pros. We’re just regular guys and gals that freakin’ love disc golf. We try to go extra lengths to explain topics, cover events and write a more in-depth review on things like disc golf apps. If we can’t relate and connect to our audience on a personal level, we’ve missed the point. We’re not here for money. We’re here simply because we love what we do. Keep slingin’!
Continue the love by subscribing to our blog, “Like” us on Facebook, and/or Following us on Twitter @DoglegDiscGolf.
Lots more to come in 2013, thanks again!
-jt
Back-to-Back Weeks, Dogleg is Featured!
That’s right folks! Two weeks in a row, Dogleg was featured on GoHamDiscGolf’s “This Week in Disc Golf” weekly YouTube segment. To which both weeks Destin’s articles were featured. Way to go Destin!
This Week in Disc Golf (01-09-2013) — Destin’s post “Winter Disc Golf Adjustments – Weight & Grip” gets featured.
This Week in Disc Golf (01-16-2013) — Destin’s latest post “A Post For Beginners – Where to Start” gets featured.
Congrats again Destin and a big thanks to Big John @ GoHamDiscGolf for the shoutouts! Be sure to follow Big John’s disc golf Vlog here.
My Basketwrap Designs are Installed!
Check out one of my most recent graphic design pieces!
This past year, I’ve been working with Justin Littrell of Disc Golf Birmingham on designing basket wrap graphics for the new Inverness Disc Golf Course (InDiG0) in Hoover, AL. These 70″x4″ vinyl sticker wraps that would go on all 18 of their Innova DISCatcher® Pro baskets plus the practice basket.
As of about a month ago, they finally have them installed and thanks to Jasper buddy, Dylan, for taking this photo for us!
I think they turned out pretty sharp! What do you think?
If you’re interested in a vinyl sticker design for the baskets of your local course, let me know! Email me at doglegdg@gmail.com. You can check out more of my design+art at www.jthamman.com.
-jt
Follow Us on Twitter: @DoglegDiscGolf
“Like” Us on Facebook: Dogleg Disc Golf’s Facebook
“Like Us” on Facebook!
After over a year and a half, our Dogleg Facebook page is finally up and running. I’m still working on getting more content onto it. But if you’re on Facebook, check us out. Dogleg Disc Golf Facebook.
Please “like” us by clicking the graphic below to go to our Facebook page and/or share with your friends. Thanks in advance!
-Dogleg Crew
Dogleg in Spotlight from GoHamDiscGolf
Check out the latest video below from GoHamDiscGolf. Dogleg Disc Golf was featured in this week’s “Disc Golf Source Spotlight”!
Exciting news for the Dogleg Crew for sure. Thanks again for all you guy’s continued support!
You can subscribe to GoHamDiscGolf’s YouTube channel for lots more disc golf related news stories and giveaways, by clicking here.
Dogleg Featured [Again] on Go Ham Disc Golf!
We’ve done it again, guys!
This morning on Go Ham Disc Golf’s weekly YouTube segment, “This Week in Disc Golf”, DoglegDiscGolf.com received another plug! This time it was for Jeremiah’s post on Night Rounds – Reviews on glow sticks, LED Lights, and Glow plastic. Check it out at about the 2:35 mark. If you’re into night disc golf, you will definitely want to check out Jeremiah’s post. Enjoy!
Great post Jeremiah by the way and thanks again to Go Ham Disc Golf for choosing another one of our articles to feature. Be sure to follow Big John on Twitter @GoHamDiscGolf and his YouTube channel at Go Ham Disc Golf!
-jt
Mancation 2012: Denver Disc Golf (Part II)
Continued from Mancation 2012: Denver Disc Golf (Part I)
After Saturday’s windy experience and lack of elevation at Arvada’s Johnny Roberts DGC, I was a tad bitter with my Colorado disc golfing thus far. First of all, I thought Denver was mountainous and had a lot more hills than it turned out to have. I expected Colorado disc golf courses to be filled with firs, spruces, and aspens, elevation changes, cool breeze and impeccable, breathtaking scenic views. Don’t get me wrong, now the Johnny Roberts course was indeed fun, but it was just not the scenic course I was hoping for. We needed to find a bigger, better course before this trip was over.
Then I remembered back a few weeks prior to our trip, North Colorado Disc Golf (@NoCoDG) tweeted us and mentioned that we needed to get up in the hills—that that’s where the bigger, better courses are. We researched that night and found out about Conifer Park at Beaver Ranch. The only problem?, it was about 45 min north of Denver and we had no car. After calling around town, we luckily found a car rental place that actually still had cars available. [There were several big events and conferences going on that same weekend, so it was hard to find any still available.] Locked it in for Sunday, check. Now we’re headed to the Mountains, boys!
Goodbye city. Hello Mountains.
Conifer Park at Beaver Ranch (Conifer, CO)
The whole drive up to Conifer was really nice. The Rockies—once off in the distance—were finally now getting closer and closer. Steeper inclines ahead as we winded up the hills leaving the city behind. The directions we had were horrible..or either it was that stupid GPS. Either way, once we got off the main road it felt like we drove in circles for a half hour trying to find one little road. I don’t know how many times it redirected us after we’d make a turn. The address on the GPS took us up one hill into this mountainside trailer park. Yea…don’t think there’s a disc golf course in this mess. “Heya Billy, 2 points if you ding one off da satellite dish into the plastic kiddie pool.” Yea..no. Ok after a different address confirmation, we’re back on track and finally get there. It’s already starting to look and feel like the “Colorado Disc Golf Experience” I was hoping for. Beaver Ranch is located down a long dirt road with a small dirt parking lot at the base. There to the side is a small cabin store-looking thing that reminded me of what you’d see atop a mountain while skiing. It is cool out, light breeze and the air is thin. Then you catch the subtle scent of the mountainous, evergreen air. Yes, this is it.
Some locals pull up about the same time we do and tell us Hole #1 is about a half mile from the parking lot.. Half a mile, seriously? Gees. That first time you know how it always seems like it takes forever? Well we walk and walk—crossing an overgrown, brush-filled creek. I’m talking thicket so thick, there could be bears hiding in there.
We get to #1’s teepad and the excitement and thrill level could not be any higher! This was intense. Hole #1 is straight uphill? Yes—with a very tight, heavily wooded fairway window staring right back at us. Hole #1 you’re basically teeing from ground level and throwing high and up into the mountain. Leaving no room for error, the first hole was a little intimidating. With the majority of us being from the Southeast, we’re not used to this level of drastic elevation change on the holes to follow.
There was a courtesy box and sign at the bottom of the wooden stairs leading up the fairway to basket #1. This was to put in your $3/per person (highly worth it) and grab a dated tag for the day’s round. After teeing off, the elevation change kicked in. I believe Tim was the only one that had a decent tee shot on this hole. On our next throws, we found ourselves fighting for a steady balance along the hill’s steep incline. I’m glad the day was cool, because with all the hiking/climbing we were about to endure, it could have been miserable.
Joe at Teebox #1
Joe Approach Shot on Hole #1
Basket #1 looking down fairway to #1 Teepad
The first four holes you’re playing your way up the mountain. So each hole the hike gets a bit more strenuous and the air gets thinner. Beautiful views of the trees and mountains off in the distance as you play. Tight cut lines surrounded by tall, thin pines and firs filled the landscape. Didn’t see any wildlife, but loved the nature sounds. I also did like how there was not a lot of small plant life around. This made it much easier to find your disc in the dirt or pine straw. Really the only thing you had to watch out for was if your disc became a roller and rolled off course…and down the hill. On Hole #10 I believe it was..we searched nearly a half hour for one of mine that skipped and rolled away. One of the zipline guides actually spotted it for us. Whew, did not want to lose that one. Oh and Yes, they had ziplines (next time I’m adding that to my list)!
Hole #2 Basket
JT on #4 Teebox
Joe on #5 Teebox
Needed a breather.
After the first 7 holes (1/3 of the way done), we needed a breather. Lots of walking, hiking on this treacherous hilly mountainside already. I’m glad we brought all of the water and snacks that we did. Come prepared if you play this course! Especially with this tight #8 (pic below) coming up, we needed to think about just how in fact we were going to pull off this next laser drive. It required roughly a 100+ft straight shot just to clear the tree line with literally less than a 15-ft window to work with. Here in the pic below, Jason’s eyeing the fairway leading up to the basket. Throw it soft to lay up and keep your line? or risk pinballing one through the trees and down the left side of the hill with a burner? Decisions. I’ve scored par on every hole up to this point and up by several strokes, so what do I have to lose? I’m going for it, son. Indeed did hit a tree or two, but would end up serving me well on this one.
Hole #8 Teebox and view of mountain from basket.
I managed to hang on at even par through the first 9, then I started to fall apart…as did everyone else. I would go on to bogey the next 6 in a row…ouch. The holes were getting longer and more difficult. We were feeling the burn from all the walking/hiking and arms were getting sore after the next handful of holes.
Jason about to ding the top of the #12 basket on a 310′ shot.
Basket #13…Anthill Mound. Unforgiving to say the least.
See the basket? Neither do we. But it’s in the midst of the Aspens in the back. #14 Approach Shot
I feel like we’ve been playing across the top of this mountain for hours. Isn’t it time the holes start making its downward spiral? Yep. Here goes. Hole #17 was a beast of a downward distance hole. This hole is some odd 430’+ long, but you’re pretty much teeing off from on top of the hill aiming to a downward basket. With a steep incline directly behind the pocketed basket, you could huck the hell out of your disc and not worry too much of overshooting the hole..As long as you angled it downhill. My goal, spike it in the hill behind the basket. Or at least hit it hard enough it would catch an edge and roll down to the pin. Check out the view from the teebox down to the basket.
JT on #17 Mountain Teebox to Downhill Basket. Seeyahhhhhhhhh. Bomb.
Tim bombing one at Hole #17. 435’+ to downhill hole.
Jason on #17 Teebox
Tim sinking a solid on #18.
Then the rain came. And it fell hard! With nowhere to go, we found slight shelter under some low-lying branches. The next few holes we played in the pouring rain. We were this close to the end—can’t stop now. Conifer Park is made up of “21” holes, but could not seem to find Hole #21. Hole #20 was a steep downhill hole with a heavily-wooded line to the basket. This hole you needed one to lay low and set down or your disc might be rolling all the way to the bottom off the mountain. There was one last teebox after Hole #20, but was not designated by a teesign. Could this be #21? It was long and far and required throwing over that overgrown, hellish creek I mentioned earlier. And the bad part about it? The creek lied maybe 50-ft in front of the basket. You either had to lay up before the creek, or bomb one hoping to land on the other side. We turned this into a CTP hole instead.
Course Recap:
All in all it was an excellent course with 21 beautiful holes. By far, the absolute BEST disc golf course I have played yet (yes, even topping Flyboys). Conifer Park at Beaver Ranch has the whole package. You’ve got the cool weather; the beautiful scenery; the mountains; the tall-standing thin trunked trees; challenging elevation…everything. This course is not for the beginner nor would I recommend for people out of shape. It’s rough. It demands lots of stamina, walking and hiking up steep terrain. Some holes have loose footing on the dirt and straw on the hillside. Bring LOTS of water/snacks. You’ll be out here for a few hours with just the amount of time to walk the entire course. It’s challenging and I loved every minute of it. I would catch myself taking in the scenery and snapping pics and missing some of the great shots we made. Ahhh if I just had some of those on film. No aces, but a few close ones. I love the outdoors, nature and I certainly love the mountains. This course made my “Colorado Disc Golf Experience”. It was everything that I imagined disc golf in Colorado to be like. I would’ve been highly disappointed to make it all the way out here from Georgia, and to have not gotten a chance to play something of this caliber.
Course Rating: 9.8/10
If you’re ever in the Denver area, you have to go play this course. Set aside a few hours to play..and of course, transportation to get there. Like I mentioned earlier, it is a ways out of the way but you will not regret it. No wonder it is rated a 4.6+/5 on DGCourseReview.com.
For a full look into our Denver Disc Golf Experience and over a hundred more pics, please check out our Dogleg Flickr page.
If you liked this post, don’t forget to “like” it and share below! Thanks guys!
-jt
Dogleg Disc Golf 