🐐 Does McBeth move mountains?
Putt For Dough, Glow Season, and Erin Andrews
Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter that lets you blow off a 2hr podcast for 18 holes.
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If you missed last week, then I got you: The Decade of GYRO
Let’s get into it.
Riding the Back of McBeth
The recent PDGA Euro Tour “drama” includes a combination of private convos, questionable favoritism, and likely coincidences. [WARNING: Legend has it if you say all 3 in front of a mirror, Drew Gibson will appear & tweet your deepest secrets].
Three weeks ago, Paul McBeth dropped his tour schedule which includes a surprising amount of European events (7). He’s skipping out on 4 Elites and 4 Silvers in exchange for 5 Euro Tours.
His reasons are mostly unknown, so many speculate this is to grow his brand/Discraft while sprinkling in some tourism. Either way, it’s clear he wants a change of pace.
This week, the DGPT announced a partnership with a live production studio - Pulsea aka “a horrible pixel mess”) - for full-scale broadcasts of 7 Euro Tour events (including 4 on McBeth’s schedule). And they’re counting these events at the same level as Silvers for DGPT points.
After the news broke, there was no limit to the confusion and so-called drama:
But soon after, Jeff Spring stopped by The Upshot podcast and cleared the air…
The DGPT has been working on this Euro expansion since last summer
Only now was the announcement ready and was pure coincidence with McBeth’s
No one knew about it - Several pros stated they didn’t have any prior knowledge
There will be planned oversight for the broadcasts, so expect DGN-quality streams
It’s a win for the sport AND fans
Watch McBeast tear up beautiful European courses LIVE
Provide a bridge for aspiring European pros to earn a Tour Card with a win
Grow the already thriving DG community. The coverage paired with McBeth’s stardom will surely influence the next generation
At the end of the day, both parties know that international DG is the next leg of growth, and the timing was bound to happen. One thing we can all agree on is Drew being the face of DG TMZ.
Shelly Sharpe Memorial (A-Tier)
RESULTS - 🏆ANDREW MARWEDE & JENNIFER ALLEN
Hope you enjoyed the teaser for what’s to come in a month. It didn’t have the same fanfare as DGN or BigSexyBarri’s antics, but The DG Guy satiated us in this dry spell.
The calm conditions showed us the potential of the latest XL layout at Vista Del Camino. With lengthened holes and island greens, the course will pair perfectly with Fountain Hills for The Memorial’s Hyzer Olympics in March.
MPO/ For the past 4 years, the winner has been Adam Hammes or Anthony Barela. This weekend they struggled, and a cookie-loving Michigander took their place.
In Round 1, Andrew Marwede smoked the field by 5 strokes (-10, 1082 rated). He put his drives into C1 and didn’t let his putters touch the ground.
From then on, it was smooth sailing. Marwede minimized any mistakes and finished with 6 strokes over DGA teammate Noah Meintsma.
Averaging 1061-rated golf, Marwede beat Gibson by 11 strokes, Hammes by 12, & Barela by 13. Apparently, the bag switch from Innova to Discraft wasn’t as easy as AB originally thought.
FPO/ With only 12 competitors and Maria Oliva throwing new discs, Jennifer Allen showed why this is her local track. She won by 23 strokes and averaged a 983 rating.
HIGHLIGHT
In the final round, Jake Brown makes easy work of the 3rd hardest hole on the weekend (Hole 13). The 20-year-old from San Diego, CA hit 1000 rated after just 3 years of playing.
Fresh Plastic
Sponsored by Powergrip USA… A PRETTY GOOD disc golf shop.
👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Kastaplast K1 Glow 2023 Edition
With daylight savings still months away, glow season is alive and well. Tomorrow (1/26) at 1AM ET, Kastaplast is releasing their 2023 Editions of the K1 Glow Reko X (3|3|0|2) & Svea (5|6|-1|0).
For years, the Swedish manufacturer was touted as the best in the biz for glow. Only recently have they been dethroned by MVP’s Eclipse 2.0 and surprisingly Lone Star Disc.
Even if it’s not the clear winner, Kastaplast isn’t far behind, and their K1 Glow always feels more premium. Truthfully, having a disc too bright can mess with your drives and approaches at night.
These runs are pretty much the exact same as previous stock glow releases. They feel great, glow great, and will be perfect for your bag.
Random Triples
1️⃣ Discovered by SmashboxxTV, the AI craze has found its way to our sport. Someone *Tyler Brickley* created a chat bot called ChatDGPT to answer any and all DG-specific questions.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Brickley took down the site. I’ll have to rely on the actual ChatGPT for a bedtime story of Gannon Buhr winning 2023 Worlds.
2️⃣ On GK Pro’s latest couch therapy session, Nate Perkins announced the end of his partnership with Discmania. His 7-year run of repping the shield will be replaced by repping his friends, DGPT, and himself.
Lately, he’s been assuming the role of player agent with Shaffer Sports Management. This upcoming season he’ll continue to join the DGPT crew as their on-course commentator. In his words, he’s “the Erin Andrews of disc golf.”
His days of winning an Elite event are likely over, but he’s just getting started on the rest of his career. He’s one of the many in the pre-YouTube generation who are finding their role after full-time touring is over.
3️⃣ This could be the beginning of the end of $30+ discs. Prodigy announced that they reevaluated their “supply chain costs and have lowered prices across all plastic types.”
Now, whether that means supply is meeting demand OR that Prodigy moved most of its manufacturing overseas (China) remains to be seen. Either way, those who like Prodigy will enjoy these price reductions:
Air Spectrum plastic ⬇️ $2.50
300 Glow plastic ⬇️ $3
500 Spectrum ⬇️ $2.50
400 Glow ⬇️ $3.50
400 ⬇️ $2
Special Edition discs ⬇️ ~$1.50
500 ⬇️ ~$4
Meme of the Week
Thanks for reading today. Get out and ace this weekend!
- Charlie
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