🏰 Disc Golf Disneyland
Policy Changes, Kasta Giveaway, and 27 Backups
Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter where banging chains reign supreme over football or fútbol.
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If you missed last week, then I got you: Taking Care of Dodge’s Baby
Let’s get into it.
The DGPT’s World-Class Destination
The Pro Tour’s VP of Partnerships - Sean Jack - stopped by the Chain Clankers podcast to share further details on what they’re calling DG’s Disneyland. Last week, Jeff Spring teased the headquarters idea but Jack is its mastermind. It will consist of:
150-200 acres
2 championship-level courses
9-hole pitch and putt course
Studio/booth for commentary and other media
Van/RV hookups for players to live there in the off-season with a training facility
Putting arena
Outdoor amphitheater
Other lodgings: yurts, tiny houses, camping sites
Hall of Fame
Jack has been working on this concept for about a year now. He believes this is extremely important and plans to make it a reality within 5 years.
Additionally, he dropped some facts on the current state of DG. We are closer than people think to beat Pickleball’s numbers as the fastest-growing sport.
DGPT reached 3.3 million unique people on YouTube in 2022
Worlds this year had 50k peak concurrent viewers, and that same day LIV golf had 60k
Pickleball’s Pro Association touts 35 million FB impressions, while the DGPT has 350 million
If you build it, they will come.
PDGA Effectively Bans Trans Women From Tour
After “weeks of deliberation,” the PDGA has announced changes to their gender eligibility guidelines. Here are the cliff notes from their 1,619-word statement:
Trans women who transitioned after puberty CANNOT compete in FPO at Majors (Champions Cup, USWDGC, European Open, Worlds)
That same group CAN compete in FPO at Amateur Majors, Pro Master Majors, and all other sanctioned events (A-Tiers and below). To qualify, the guidelines have become stricter than before
After mild research, the medical subcommittee (7 individuals) unanimously advised the PDGA board against allowing trans women to compete in FPO
~36k PDGA members completed the committee’s survey. 67% said they disagree with trans women competing with other women. Breaking it down further:
80% of DGPT women
68% of pro women
55% of amateur women
Immediately following the statement release, the DGPT announced it will adopt the FPO Majors guidelines for all its events. As for those affected, Natalie Ryan isn’t going down without a fight and believes this was a personal attack.
She’s attempting to raise $20k on gofundme for legal fees to challenge the PDGA. On the flip side, Chloe Alice (another FPO trans woman) has announced she’s hanging up her discs and pursuing her dream outside the sport.
Fresh Plastic
Sponsored by Powergrip USA… A PRETTY GOOD disc golf shop.
👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Kastaplast Moomin Discs Giveaway & DD Supreme Judge
It’s the season of giving, and Powergrip USA’s here to fill your stockings with Kastaplast.
Created by Finnish-Swedish writer/artist Tove Jansson, Moomin has collaborated with Kastaplast on an artwork series. Each disc features a limited edition Moomin stamp inspired by its iconic stories.
Simply enter the giveaway here by 10PM ET this Sunday (12/18), and 3 lucky winners will each receive a set of 5 discs from Kastaplast. Even if you have no idea what Moomin is, this is your opportunity to join the Berg gang for free.
K3 Berg - Moomin
K1 Glow Guld - the Groke
K1 Lots - Moominmamma
K1 Soft Kaxe - Sniff
K3 Reko X - Moomintroll
Doing its best to follow that, Dynamic Discs is dropping its 2nd disc in its new Supreme lineup. The Prototype Classic Supreme Judge (2|4|0|1) arrives tomorrow (12/15) at 12PM ET.
This is their most popular putter reinvented with a new mold and blend. Like a Link or Wizard but with added smoothness, these will easily replace those beat-up Judges sitting in your practice basket.
Random Triples
1️⃣ Every week, a new DG business pops up that will seemingly never last. But a tried and true business you never thought of is Mobile Courses.
Leonard Muise - course designer for OTB Open & Golden Gate Park - has led the way for decades. He shared his structure with UDisc:
Fully-enclosed trailer of 20 Mach V baskets, 10 Mach VII, and turf tee pads
$500/day for 9 holes, $750/day for 18, and $500 for each extra day
But typically, he’ll waive the fees to set up his merch tent for the day
2️⃣ Stop wasting hours of your life at the practice basket. There are perfectionist pros who recommend recording your putts to match your stroke to your thoughts.
But Paul Ulibarri believes in the opposite - only putt for 10-15 min a day. He breaks his practice into two halves: 1) get a feel for close-range putting 2) go to your problem zone (25-30’) and get a feel for that.
Once he’s happy with his putt, then he’s done. If it needs more work, then he continues. Rinse and repeat daily.
3️⃣ On The Trevor Staub Show, Josh Hofstra - Head of Marketing & Business Development for Lone Star - squashed rumors of a Paige Shue or Brodie Smith pickup. But with Anthony Barela’s separation from Innova, maybe the Arizonan has his sights set on Texas.
Not getting the bump up to Innova’s Star Team, AB ended their 9-year run. His leave is bittersweet… But with the evident “highest ceiling in the game”, he likely found an offer he deserves.
“One of the most gifted athletes in our sport… could win everything when he dials it in” - Nick Carl
Meme of the Week
Thanks for reading today. Get out and throw your backups this weekend!
- Charlie
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