🍖 KC's disc golf is like their BBQ: Sweet & Spicy

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter where record heat waves can’t keep us off the course.

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If you missed KCWO’s preview, then I got you: Roc the Vote

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TOUR COVERAGE
41st KC Wide Open (Silver)

RESULTS - 🏆GANNON BUHR & ALI SMITH

On paper, this weekend looked more like an off-week than a Silver, but it proved that Kansas City is in fact a hotbed for disc golf. In no particular order, here are the storylines you should remember or you may have missed:

1 - Bad Rock Creek: A course where you shred or get shredded.

Before the weekend started, this course was hyped up as one of the hardest on Tour. While there were tons of red, there was no shortage of birdies.

The mix of precise bombs with slow-speed lines made for a fun watch. The same shot wasn’t tested again and again, and it forced pros to get creative.

The property had everything you need for premier disc golf. There were nail-biters in both divisions, and the deserving KC Disc Golf Club was highlighted.

Hopefully, the Pro Tour returns next year and even elevates this to an Elite. The seemingly bigger crowd than DDO deserves to cheer on more pros.

2 - It was a scrappy weekend for a Tour veteran surrounded by 0x winners.

Out of the 26 FPO, only one had a DGPT win under her belt. Lisa Fajkus is a 3x Silver Event winner with her latest being the 2021 Challenge @ Goat Hill.

For 7 years, she’s been a road warrior and has fought hard to remain relevant as newcomers arrived. This weekend she fell just short of ending her 2-year win drought.

And yet again this season, the woman to raise the trophy had the home-state advantage. Kansas City’s own Ali Smith learned the sport at Bad Rock Creek.

She’s practically been on every inch of every fairway and made that clear by minimizing OB strokes and being the only FPO player to finish under par.

While Smith led after 2 days, Sunday quickly became a race between all 4 on the lead card. A lot happened down the stretch and the final 2 holes made the difference.

Hometown hero and a smaller field aside, Smith has come into her own this season. The 2021 PDGA AM World Champ is just getting started.

3 - The young prodigy gets creative on this new track.

With a quick glance at the registration list, you would’ve expected Buhr to run away with it. But the limited field had a few surprises in his way.

Joseph “Joey Buckets” Anderson is a Georgia boy known for his smooth BH and his commentary debut back in May. He popped off a 1081-rated -13 on Friday and continued to be part of the conversation.

Alongside was Jake Hebenheimer who’s no longer the horseshoe putter on Tour. While his season has been up and down, he’s worked hard to become a mainstay and has days where he can catch fire like Sunday.

But the ridiculous talent of Buhr strikes again. He putted 67% from C2 and showed creative lines that rivaled some of Simon’s… A big flex drive on Hole 12 resulted in an overnight mando which got stolen and replaced.

With this win, he’s now won 4 DGPT events this season (2 Silver, 2 Elite) and has surpassed Heimburg’s 3. Since he’s skipping the Europe Swing, Buhr plans to grind form improvements and gym time during his 2 weeks off.

HIGHLIGHT

Everyone says if you can throw dead-straight, then you can win. Buhr took it to a whole new level with his old “test” Prodigy M2 all weekend long.

POWERED BY POWERGRIP USA
Fresh Plastic

👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Niklas Anttila Nordic Phenom 2 (10|4|0|3)
The young, Finnish superstar has been making waves across the States and recently won in the Czech Republic.

Available tomorrow (7/12), the long-awaited 2nd edition of his Signature Series PD makes its debut in Horizon plastic. This beautiful disc will be the perfect addition to any Discmaniac’s collection or bag.

Unlike last year’s flat-top Nordic Phenoms, this run came in with a mild pop top. While this is common for C-Line PDs, this amount of dome isn’t for the newer S-Line runs.

As for the plastic, it’s exactly like the S-Line Horizon runs of Cloud Breakers or Doom Birds. The Nordic Phenom 2s will be a little stiff and very grippy.

You can expect them to have exceptional glide and be useful for a variety of shots. Grab your next go-to fairway driver tomorrow!

EURO TOUR & RARE FINDS
Random Dubs

1️⃣ While the KC Wide Open challenged pros, the hardest course of the weekend was actually 4,500 miles away in Sweden. The 5th stop of the Euro Tour - Skellefteå Open - took place on the 3rd best course in the world.

The Discgolf Terminalen is an epic destination with 4 courses, a driving range, and a pro shop. It’s next to Latitude 64°’s headquarters and is their flagship champion-level design.

This course is so renowned that Paul McBeth cites it as inspiration for his designs. And Mr. 6X himself has history here… 8 years ago, he won the Scandinavian Open which was a Major back then.

Fast forward to Sunday, McBeth won by 2 strokes on his 33rd birthday while battling Finland’s Lauri Lehtinen. If that name sounds familiar, then it’s because it is.

Last year, the 3rd highest-rated Finn came to the States, made notable finishes, then left early due to injury. He took the opportunity to fulfill his 6-month mandatory military service before competing again this May.

In 2 months, Lehtinen has played 5 European events and has yet to finish outside the top 5. He’ll face more US pros during DGPT’s Europe Swing and will make the trek over for Worlds after.

As for McBeth, his personal Europe Swing is over. He played 6 weeks straight and won 3 of them. Can he keep his streak alive for 2 more?

2️⃣ It’s a slow Tuesday morning, and you’re scrolling through land for sale. You’ve always dreamt of finding affording property for a private course.

Yesterday, the owners of SKÖL Ranch DGC posted their home (and course) for sale. For $900k, you could become the owner of the following…

• 20 acres of true mountain golf in Florissant, CO (8,200 ft. elevation)

• 20 baskets - 36 tee boxes

• 4.9-ranked on UDisc

• 4.98-star Airbnb listing

• 2,000+ sq. ft home

• 300 sq. ft. finished Tuff Shed (potential pro shop)

• Mild weather with no mosquitos: No plowing in the winter, no AC needed in the summer, and the course is playable year-round

The couple is moving on from this passion project in search of their next course. They want this property to go to a disc golfer, and that could be you.

Tweet of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and play this week!

- Charlie