⛲ The land of 1100

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter that will be your caddie - I carry your bag, give you the best advice, and make sure you don’t miss a thing.

Let’s get into it.

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PRO COVERAGE
Off-Week Action

Before jumping into the month-long TX Swing, many pros spent their weekend having fun with A-Tier vibes. Here’s what you should remember or may have missed:

THE MEMORIAL

Back in 2022, Paul McBeth took down this event for the 7th time, and it came to be known as the McMorial. But now that he’s been skipping out, Buhr is making the case for a rename… The Buhrial? It still needs some workshopping.

Either way, the 18-year-old chased down Aaron Gossage who led the event up until Sunday’s Hole 4. Buhr earned his 1st win as a Discmaniac and became the back-to-back champ against a stacked field.

But that wasn’t the only milestone hit:

• On Friday, AB birdied 17 holes in a row to shoot an 1113-rated round. It’s the 5th highest ever and matches McBeth’s -17, 1132-rated back in 2013 at the same course

• Terry Miller “thediscgolfguy” entertained us all weekend and finally passed the 100k subscriber mark

• The debate over self-officiating and time violations was hotter than ever

Jacob “Cupcake” Courtis is a great putter but suffers from the yips. Not only did it cause backups, but it created a weird dynamic on the cards.

Hopefully, this topic gets put to bed this season. The DGPT will likely use the new “on the clock” rule, and pros will have more incentive to call others out.

MOBILE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ezra Robinson gave the hometown hero a run for his money. After a subpar 1st round, Matty O came back and fought hard forcing a playoff.

The pair went head-to-head for 5 holes, but in the end, it was Matty O who tapped in the W. After earning the title for the 5th time, he was asked where he was going to eat.

He said, “When I get to Waco, there’s this one restaurant. It’s like the #9 Mexican joint. It smells like sewage, but it’s so good. Roll Tide, baby!”

Flex Line Productions will release their post-coverage soon, so you can relive a Matty O win in front of his home crowd.

THE CANCER PLAYBOOK OPEN

Less than 2 hours from Waco, this quick 2-round barnburner was probably the best-fielded B-Tier ever. Väinö Mäkelä fended off Mexico’s best pro, 2024’s dark horse, and fellow Finns.

This was his 1st career win in the US, and it was all covered by GK Pro. His touring group of Anttila & Nieminen are all showing promise of making waves this year.

CRUSH ON THE CONCHO

Bradley Williams continues his reign as the most winningest pro in the Lone Star State (113th TX win, 1040 rated). He separated himself from the field and won by 5 over Houston-local Robert Burridge.

POWERED BY INFINITE DISCS
Fresh Plastic

♾️ Infinite’s Highlight: 10 Years of Discmania USA
Established in 2006, Discmania eventually expanded and planted US roots back in 2014.

For this anniversary, the Shield is releasing several celebration discs. The 1st is the Golden Swirl S-Line FD3 (9|4|0|3).

• This workhorse fairway has a unique look. It changes from dark swirls to a golden shine when in the sun

• This run is a tad more OS than stock S-Line but doesn’t have the beef of Metal Flake or Color Glow runs

• There’s a slot in everyone’s bag for something this beautiful and useful

Next up is another 1st for 2024. The Cosmic Fury 2 (3|3|0|1) is the 1st of a few drops that will directly support Kyle Klein.

• The plastic is a mouthful (Metal Flake Lumen Neo), but this run of Logic is tasty

• Mostly flat with a touch of dome and are a little flexy without being too soft

• Flight-wise, they’re a Mind Bender in glow and putter form - torque-resistant and dead-straight with a natural finish

Discmania is on a roll with these latest releases. They keep dropping discs that keep making the bag. Shop Infinite Discs for your own!

QUICK HITS
Random Dubs

1️⃣ Not all heroes wear capes… The pizza delivery guy. The person who invented the snooze button. And Scott Stokely who shares his wealth of knowledge tirelessly.

His latest contribution comes in the form of a standard FH grip tutorial. He goes over stacked vs. pistol and how to ensure a clean & consistent release.

It was nothing new, but at the end of the 7-minute video, he had an interesting tidbit. It was a tip specifically for those who are older or injured.

Since wrist mobility is extra important for FH, those who can’t bend their wrist as far back as they used to have limited ceilings. Instead of throwing with the recommended 2-finger grips, switch to just using the index finger.

It’ll sap some power but should allow you to get more range of motion and hopefully a more useful FH.

Stokely also shared his touring plans for the season. He recently found out that his bladder is prone to infection and can take him out for days at a time. It requires surgery to fix.

But due to limited time to compete, he’s decided to hold off and complete his reintroduction to the US Tour as planned. He’ll then fix the issue afterward.

2️⃣ Visualization in sports is a tried and true thing. This includes disc golf.

If you’ve ever played the whole course in your head the night before a tournament, then you’re already doing it. You’re training your brain to know what to do, so you don’t have to overthink it when the time comes.

But actually, you’re only halfway there. On the MindSide podcast, Leah Tsinajinnie (touring pro, PDGA board member, & Ultimate Club Nationals champ) recommended visualizing the worst possible outcome too.

Balancing the scenarios can help you better react when things go unplanned. You can stay in the moment knowing that it can’t get worse than what you’ve already “experienced.”

So go ahead and visualize hole 1 as you hit 1st available, lose your disc, re-tee, and eventually limp to the basket for quad bogey. Cause it can’t get worse than that, right?

Tweet of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and miss trees this week!

- Charlie