🌲 A magical wooded wonderland

2021 Worlds, Never-ending Drama, and The Police

Aug 25, 2022

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter that gives you the same feeling as looking away before your laced drive lands.
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Today’s Worlds pregame is brought to you by Powergrip USA. Save 10% with code PLYRSMTGAUG22.

Let’s get into it.

His Disc Golf Dream

Last week, I filled you in on Brock Cummings’s new project. He reached out and answered some questions.

Describe the project for us.

BlackBerry Pines is 27 acres of East Texas Piney Woods. The concept is a place people can come and connect with nature.

The disc golf course (⭐4.8 on UDisc) is an amenity to the property. The goal is to have cabins/yurts/campsites to host DG events as well as yoga/camping/corporate retreats.

Do you have prior experience in this?

I’ve only dreamt of the idea. As for DG credentials, I’ve been a sponsored athlete for Innova Champion Discs for the past 5 years.

I turned pro at 40 and have been touring on and off for 5 years. I’ve played courses all over the world and have applied that knowledge to the course.

How long has this been planned and what's the current status?

I’ve had the idea for a decade plus but didn’t start until 2019. 18 holes have been in the ground since earlier this year.

I’ve already run 3 events (2 non-sanctioned and 1 PDGA), but the course is still getting tweaked. Player feedback is vital before finalizing the layout.

The disc golf course is open via booking tee times here. And camping reservations are available here.

Are you funding it on your own?

Currently, I’ve spent my own money. I’m hoping Patreon will help, and I’m always looking for investors.

Is this a passion project or your main source of income?

The game plan is to create a sustainable living off of this. I’ve built my life around very little overhead, so getting rich isn’t the goal. Creating a life to grow with the property and retire out here is the focus.

How can people support you?

Besides visiting the property yourself, Patreon is the best way to support this dream.

BlackBerry Pines is a magical wooded wonderland that is untouched. This place will take you away from the fast pace of life and help connect with nature.

PDGA World Championships Pt1

PREVIEW (8/30-9/3)

What’s more to say that you don’t already know? The biggest stage, the grueling 5 rounds, the best of the best battling it out starts in 5 days.

Today’s preview details last year, and Tuesday’s will recap 2022 DDO where the courses were previewed. In the meantime, re-watch the once-in-a-lifetime Worlds from last year.

LAST YEAR RECAP

Two years in the making, 2021 Worlds neared the tail end of a post-Covid year where some favorite Tour stops were still cancelled.

MPO/ Skipping to the good stuff… After 4 rounds split between Mulligan’s & The Fort in Ogden, UT, the top players emerged. Paul McBeth led by 1 stroke over James Conrad, Kevin Jones, & Calvin Heimburg.

With slightly windy conditions, the energy was palpable. McBeth was locked in lacing drive after drive and hitting big putt after big putt.

It wasn’t until Hole 9 where his certainty started wavering. Hitting 1st available, he scrambled to save bogey - opening the door for Conrad and Jones to make up strokes.

But it faded after Hole 16, and it was clear that Conrad was the last man standing in McBeth’s way to take down his 6th title. Then we all know what came next.

It was collectively the greatest moment in every disc golfer’s life. The Holy Shot.

Now, take a moment to think back where you were on the evening of June 26, 2021 when that yellow Envy smashed chains and you jumped out of your seat…

And the rest was history. Conrad took down the playoff after 1 hole and won his 2nd Major and 1st World title ever. James Conrad was your 2021 World Champ.

FPO/ MPO’s crazy ending was nearly mirrored hours earlier by the FPO. Going into Championship Saturday, it was another classic Catrina Allen & Paige Pierce battle.

Allen led with 1 stroke over Pierce, but they traded #1 several times throughout final round. Even on the teepad of 18, the event’s end was unclear with Pierce only 1 stroke ahead.

Then after their drives and 2nd shots, it felt all but decided. Allen sat edge of circle for a birdie bid, while Pierce had a routine upshot to apply pressure to Allen.

But under her own pressure to become the most winning woman ever, Pierce couldn’t deliver. Her upshot went OB causing her to card a double bogey.

No playoff was needed after that. Catrina Allen laid up for par and became 2x World Champion.

Random Dubs

1️⃣ UDisc finally did it. They added the one feature that everyone’s asked for… Real-time course traffic.

Shout it from the rooftops, league nights, or everywhere cause the tool gets better the more who use it. It’s currently on the web version but will come to the app in the fall.

If UDisc wasn’t already worth the yearly fee, then this takes the cake. Plan your weekend rounds without fearing backups.

2️⃣ It wouldn’t be Worlds without a little pregame drama. On Monday, Paige Pierce had an “incident” with the Emporia Country Club.

Her side of the story (from her manager):

A Country Club member gave Pierce a cart key
She headed to practice, but an employee told her the course is closed
She wanted the prep time and escalated the situation to a “manager”
The CC threatened to call the police
Pierce realized the situation and left the course herself

Just a “he said, she said” blown out of proportion… But here’s an interesting quote from Jeff Jacquart (PDGA Competition Director):

I can't express enough our disappointment on our organization’s end. Sometimes these players just get a little too demanding and don't understand the amount of work it takes to make these events happen…

Historically, Pierce & the PDGA don’t see eye to eye on many things. We’ll see if anything else unfolds as the days tick down to Worlds start.

Meme of the Week

He says he’s a “pro disc golfer” too (Source: u/spushing)

Thanks for reading today. Get out and get carded this weekend!

- Charlie

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