🍂 Season changes

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If you missed USWDGC’s recap, then I got you: Diamonds are Forever

Let’s get into it.

NEWS
2024 DGPT Season

Last Friday, the DGPT released the 2024 US schedule (Europe coming soon)…

The bad news: One of your favorite stops is likely gone.

The good news: I had all weekend to digest the news and fallout.

Here’s the 60-second rundown of everything you need to know:

Phased out

• 9 of this year’s 30 events are out. Most notable are the Las Vegas Challenge (typical opener) and Silver Events

• Everything will be called a DGPT Event

• No more Wrap Around Events

New

• All-Stars will be on the East Coast in Orlando, FL

• The Tour will premiere with the Florida Open on McBeth & Dylan Cease’s latest venture - the Gran Canyon

• WACO got upgraded to a “+” making it 4 days with a 2nd course

• It’ll be 5 months before there’s an MPO Major. The 4 Majors will be backloaded into the last 3 months

• Filling in the sparse map, a Qualifying Series is coming that may include past Silvers. They will be souped-up A-Tiers for earning a Tour Card

• The points will be weighted with more emphasis on Majors and Playoffs

After the announcement, pros and “snubbed” TDs took to social media with their own takes…

So why all the changes? DGPT CEO - Jeff Spring - went on The Nick & Matt Show to explain:

• With its limited resources, the DGPT wants to focus on only the best events (courses, payout, spectators, money)

• Geographically improving travel

• “Events come and events go”

With these changes, the one thing that most pros can agree on is the fewer events. It’s no secret that injuries and burnout seem to be at an all-time high.

This year has been jam-packed and the off-season is just over the horizon. So whether these changes are for better or worse is hard to predict…

Will pros skip the middle section to rest up before the end grind? Or will it be the best season yet?

TOUR COVERAGE
USDGC / Throw Pink

PREVIEW (10/5-8)

There’s nothing like the United States Disc Golf Championship. From the fan experience to every iconic hole, it’s the most prestigious event that takes 4 days of extreme focus to win.

Starting tomorrow, the 25th USDGC will challenge pros with a mostly unchanged course. And while holes may be familiar, the difficulty comes in the execution.

Besides the Christmas trees, there are no gimmicks here. The lines are well-defined and pros can’t complain about unlucky tree kicks or root skips.

They’ll need every shot in their arsenal to ride out the nerves and stick to their game plan. This event was designed to make the simple things become the hard things.

So carve out your weekend and push aside baseball or football, cause you’ve got disc golf to watch. As a special treat, Ken Climo (5x US & 12x World Champ) will join Ian & Philo in the booth to call the action all weekend.

LAST YEAR RECAP

MPO/ 🥇Gannon Buhr (-33) 🥈Niklas Anttila (-32) 🥉Calvin Heimburg (-29)

On Sunday, it became an intense battle between two young guns. But from Hole 14 on, the moment belonged purely to the 17-year-old Buhr who won his 1st Major.

If it isn’t already seared into your memory, take a moment to rewatch his huge putt that sealed the deal. Then hear about the putt’s backstory in his interview with Corey Murrell.

FPO/ 🥇Catrina Allen (-16) 🥈Kristin Tattar (-13) 🥉Henna Blomroos (-12)

With all the feels of a Major but only considered an A-Tier, “Throw Pink” is the FPO side of USDGC. Last year, Allen shot hot early to create a lead that she’d hold on to until the end.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

As the final Major and event before the Tour finale, this will determine who wins MPO Player of the Year. Currently, Heimburg (2 Elite, 1 Silver win), I. Robinson (2 Majors), & Buhr (3 Elites, 2 Silvers) are neck and neck in the race.

According to UDisc, those 3 have a combined 32% chance of winning come Sunday. So whoever finishes on top will likely snag the coveted POTY title.

As for FPO, this could be the recently engaged Tattar’s chance to win her 1st Throw Pink. She was absolutely beaming during Monday’s preview show and seemed ready to compete.

It’s also her chance to complete the made-up “Super Slam”. She’s already won all 4 Majors, but this event would cap off her best season yet.

POWERED BY POWERGRIP USA
Fresh Plastic

👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Discmania S-Line FD3 (9|4|0|3)
The workhorse of any Discmaniac’s bag is available in S-Line plastic starting today at 11 AM ET.

The reinvented FD3 has seen releases in C-Line and special run Color Glow. But now it’s in the plastic that many fell in love with back in its Innova days.

In that golden era, this mold was used as a replacement for hard-to-find Sexton Firebirds. It still fits that category as a mellower meathook compared to FAF Firebirds and the latest Halo Sexton edition.

This fairway driver will fight the wind or be your go-to FH disc. Unlike the flatter Color Glow run, the S-Lines came out with the slightest of domes.

Visit Powergrip USA and grab the slightly-less-beef, beefy 9-speed workhorse today!

HIT TIMING & NIKE
Random Dubs

1️⃣ The overlap between our sport and ball golf is bigger than many think. If you’ve dabbled in hitting balls with sticks, then this is your moment to shine.

Grab one of your irons collecting dust and hit the practice field. Instead of smacking balls, we’re going to use it to learn release timing.

From Trebuchet DG, this drill entails throwing your golf club from a standstill BH swing. The weight will slow down your timing and force you to exaggerate your release.

The proper release angle is not toward your target; it’s more at 10 o’clock. Swinging the head-heavy, long club will make you feel the correct mechanic.

But remember, like many drills this will only reinforce timing the hit. It won’t teach you the other dozen things for proper form.

2️⃣ Mental strategies can change from week to week. Sometimes you trick your brain into thinking trees are mostly air, while other times the gap looks impossible.

Touring pros struggle with it too. Albert “Bazooka” Tamm shared his ever-evolving mental strategy on the Fish Golf Brah-dcast.

Recently, he can’t stop overanalyzing his shot. So, he’s trying to be more like Nike: Just Do It.

As soon as he decides on the slope, wind, and distance, then he’ll step up and execute. While Tamm’s instincts are forged from thousands of reps, you too should trust your practice and be like Nike.

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and find a tie dye driver in the rough this weekend!

- Charlie