📹 Is Gatekeeper next to be acquired by the DGPT?

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter where it always hurts to hear these 3 dreaded words: You’re still out.

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If you missed Jomez’s Takeover, then I got you: DGPT’s Basket

Let’s get into it.

GATEKEEPER’S YEAR OF THE CHASE

With the JomezPro & DGPT news behind us, let’s not forget about the unsung heroes of chase card. Gatekeeper Media has covered 3 comeback wins now in their 5th year on the road.

Last week, the Fish Golf Brah-dcast had on Derek Scull from Gatekeeper. He’s one of two founding members and does their business development. Here’s how he described their come-up:

• Starting in 2017, Gatekeeper was a drone company doing corporate flyovers

• They were hired by the Lancaster County (PA) DG club to film holes for the Muddy Run Course and its 1st tournament - 2017 Holtwood Open

• After switching to only DG, they filmed the 2018 Women’s Global Event at Stafford Woods (NJ) and caught Margaret Sassaman’s ace

• The PDGA shared the clip, Gatekeeper’s channel skyrocketed, and it made it on SportsCenter’s Top 10

For 5 years, Scull has personally grinded next-day coverage with his co-founder Chris German and their small team. Last year was their toughest to date, but they still have plans for the future.

• Continue to expand partnerships: Filming in at least 4 different countries this year

• Explore cross-over content: Worked with the American Ultimate Disc League and plans to continue finding avenues to spark growth

• Continue optimizing their process: Remote graphics and remote commentary with Nathan Queen & Andrew Fish

For years, Gatekeeper has always been a bridesmaid, never a bride. But the competitive landscape is changing, and they’ve been given their time in chase card spotlight.

While the DGPT stated they have no plans to acquire more media outlets yet, it seems like all roads will lead to them eventually.

OFF-WEEK HIGHLIGHTS

Hopefully, you spent the DGPT off-week on the course knowing I got you covered. Here’s a quick recap of the worldly events that happened:

SANTA CRUZ MASTERS CUP - 🏆GREGG BARSBY & OHN SCOGGINS

For 2 rounds, Gannon Buhr put on a putting clinic while attempting to defend his title. He demonstrated his depth by slamming chains while on both knees and from C3.

On Sunday, he turned 18 and threw a birdie-less bday round (+4, 976 rated). His friend and teammate - Alden Harris - took the reins but lost to CA native Barsby in a 3-hole playoff.

HUK CENTRAL - 🏆MICHAEL JOHANSEN & PAIGE SHUE

MJ took to the woods and showed everyone he’s still got it. Beating out young guns left and right, he averaged a 1049 rating and pocketed $3.3k.

303 OPEN - 🏆AARON GOSSAGE & NATALIE RYAN

In his home state, Gossage nearly lapped the field and won by 5 strokes over another CO native - Joel Freeman. This dominant win should kickstart his roller-coaster season start.

In FPO, Ryan clawed back from a 7-stroke deficit to win from chase card. On the eve of the OTB Open, the injunction hearing for her lawsuit against the PDGA & DGPT is tomorrow.

COPENHAGEN OPEN - 🏆MAURI VILLMANN & KAIDI ALLSALU

The European Pro Tour kicked off its 1st event in Denmark. You won’t recognize many names, but it was a taste of what’s to come with McBeth starting his Europe Swing in 3.5 weeks.

To watch, MDG Media put out next-day coverage, and Final Round was live-streamed on DG Stream for free. Catch McBeast getting more screen time soon.

FRESH PLASTIC

Sponsored by Powergrip USA… A PRETTY GOOD disc golf shop.

👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Gateway Speed Demon (12|5|-0.5|3)
I know what you’re thinking… That doesn’t look like a Wizard.

Surprisingly, Gateway Disc Sports makes more molds than their super popular putter. This flagship distance driver just underwent a mold refresh and is back as a Destroyer clone.

It was originally PDGA-approved 20 years ago, and the new variant got reapproved in February of this year. With a slight pop-top, this OS 12-speed will glide far and reliably fade even when thrown hard.

Dive deeper into Gateway’s lesser-known lineup and try one of their hundreds dozens of high-performance plastics. The Speed Demon is available in 3 different blends.

• Platinum: Their standard premium plastic like Star or ESP

• Cobalt: Firmest and domiest premium plastic

• Nylon: Gummiest premium plastic like the Lone Star Bravo blend. Will likely be the most OS

RANDOM DUBS

1️⃣ What’s cooler than being cool? Prodigy has dropped the lawsuit against Gannon Buhr following an agreement to finish his existing contract.

Yesterday on Instagram, Buhr announced the news and will remain on Team Prodigy for the rest of the year. On The Nick & Matt Show, he explained, “It feels good… that way I can focus 100% on disc golf and not have to worry about what’s happening to me.”

For all you #FreeGannonBuhr fans out there, don’t worry cause he’ll be very free come the off-season. With his stellar performances so far, he’ll be the biggest story to follow and will easily secure a big, new contract somewhere.

2️⃣ The disc golf community lost a foundational legend that loved the sport and shared it with many. Local to the Santa Cruz scene, Jon “JB” Baldwin (PDGA # 18114) took his own life on Saturday.

Take some time this week to tell your friends you love them, and spend 20 minutes getting to know the man who captured the respect of many with his sportsmanship, photography, and love.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Thanks for reading today. Get out and make your birdie putts this week!

- Charlie