🏆 Courses are born to die one day

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter that spots your $5 buy-in when you’re running late to league night.

Email Read Time: 5 Minutes & 31 Seconds

If you missed MVP’s recap, then I got you: Spectacular Season

Let’s get into it.

NEWS
The IDGC is Changing

There’s a sad truth in life… All courses are born to die one day. September 27th is the date for Appling, GA’s Cathedral of Disc Golf.

Home to PDGA & Champions Cup, the International DG Center’s 2 out of 3 courses must have most of their trees cleared due to a beetle infestation. Removing WR Jackson’s iconic holes is the only way to prevent it from spreading further.

But hopefully, with one bucket list course gone, there are two bucket listers in its place. The PDGA has announced the following…

• A rebuild of the property - 2 new championship-level courses & 1 beginner-friendly course

• 2024 Champions Cup (Major) will still take place here but delayed until Oct 31 - Nov 3. For reference, the other Major dates: European Open (Jul 17-21), Worlds (Aug 21-25), USDGC (Oct 10-13)

I reached out to John Houck the designer of WR Jackson’s Gold layout. Here’s his official statement for now:

The news about WR Jackson and the beetle infestation is sad, and the news about upgrading the course is welcomed. Championship courses today require a different approach to design, as we continue to develop the “art and science” of what we do.

I started that design in 2005. By 2007, when the IDGC opened, I felt like WR Jackson was a breakthrough in my design evolution, and it changed the way I approached all my projects during those years. It’s been great to hear people like Chris Dickerson and Catrina Allen say it’s their favorite course on tour, or to hear Eveliina and Henna say it’s their favorite course in the US.

It’s a new era now, and my designs have taken major leaps forward again as, among other things, courses now demand room for thousands of spectators. There’s also much more that Dee and I have innovated recently at HouckDesign, and in the next couple years we’ll be debuting 5-6 courses that are well beyond what WR Jackson was.

The IDGC is a great piece of land, and I would of course love to be the one to bring that course into the new era -- I think it can still be one of the best courses in the world and benefit from all the advances in course design over the last several years.

Reading between the lines, it’s assumed that (currently) he’s not involved in the new courses and property changes. Either way, the PDGA announcement has left many questioning their decisions.

Will this Major be too late for pros and fans to participate or care? Should we instead settle to have the event at a different location temporarily?

Will the new courses live up to the legacy of WR Jackson? Will this plan even hold? Time will tell.

TOUR COVERAGE
US Women’s Disc Golf Championships (Major)

PREVIEW (9/21-24)

After an 11-hour drive from Leicester, MA to Burlington, NC, the touring ladies had 2 days to prep for their last Major. Starting today, this amazing event will spotlight the women in our sport.

With 340 players, this will be the largest Women’s Major in history. Ranging from pros and AMs of all ages, there will be 21 divisions playing on 3 courses at Cedarock Park.

The 90 FPO will battle the championship-level course all 4 days. The Regulator is considered one of the most challenging tracks in the state.

Running along Rock Creek, every hole tests different shots and decision-making. Some require powering down into landing zones while others are OB-lined with dangerous greens.

So how is this the last Major with Throw Pink just two weeks away? That event is not a Major even though it has all the prestige and feel of one.

Hate it or love it, the USWDGC is not going to combine with Throw Pink anytime soon. This weekend is meant to spotlight the women and provide all divisions an opportunity to compete together.

LAST YEAR RECAP

🥇Hailey King (-30) 🥈Valerie Mandujano (-29) 🥉Ohn Scoggins (-28)

With Tattar out (nerve pain) and the courses short, everyone was in the hunt for a Major win. But in the end, it was the Wisconsin native who came out on top.

King learned how to play on these courses, and it showed. Averaging a 987 rating, she won her 1st Major and $7k in front of her home crowd.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fresh off her MVP Open win and having hometown advantage again, Hailey King - a newly minted Charlottean (NC) - has a leg up. She’s proved she can stick to boring golf and has a history of mixing her distance with accuracy.

As for proven Major winners, there’s really only one. Kristin Tattar has 4 days to break more records and one of the best seasons ever.

POWERED BY POWERGRIP USA
Get Rid of Your FOMO

Have you been experiencing FOMO as people show off their Simon Lizotte Time Lapse protos or even his commemorative DGLO Waves? Join the club.

But I’ve got a little tip for you… The stock Time Lapses are coming very soon, and the protos are supposedly more OS than meant to be.

In the meantime, the following molds are nearly identical and in stock right now at Powergrip USA:

• Mint Discs Apex Goat (12|4|-1|3)

• Discmania Horizon Cloud Breaker (12|5|-1|3)

• Discraft ESP Zeus (12|5|-1|3)

QUICK TIPS
Random Dubs

1️⃣ I’ve got two form tips for you this week. One from a proven winner on Tour and the other from one of the best online coaches. Both are quick hitters but will improve your game.

Cole Redalen wants you to remember to always reach low and out in your backswing. He’s improved his form drastically over the past few years, but clearly, it’s always an ongoing journey.

2️⃣ Like all sports, there are specific sounds that are so satisfying: the clash of chains, the whirl of a disc, and the snap on a throw (e.g. Gossage last weekend).

What many don’t realize is an audible snap isn’t a real sign of a good throw. It’s mostly a result of how you grip the disc.

Now, what you can do to incorporate real snap is to fix your wrist cues. The 2nd form tip comes from Jaani Länsiö (DG Spin Doctor).

He says a common mistake comes from forcing the wrist open and snapping. To do it right, you must LET it happen as a result of good form.

In the comments, Coach Chris Taylor reminds us that the wrist rarely goes into extension before or during release. Depending on your wrist flexion during the pull, it may reach close to extension but doesn’t get back to neutral.

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get some tree love this weekend!

- Charlie