💣 Socki time bomb

Hello and welcome to week 8 of the off-season.

We made it. We’re putting 2021 behind us and starting new. May your 2022 UDisc Replay be filled with more aces than this year (🥚).

To all the Redditors out there: Thank you, and I appreciate you.

Let’s end this year right.

Contracts Watch

PREDICTIONS

Ricky Wysocki 🪑

Well that was anticlimactic… Westside’s throne announcement was all tease. Anyway before Wysocki either wows or disappoints everyone, here’s all the off-season speculation that got us here:

• Nov 9th: Dynamic Discs officially opened their new 80k square foot warehouse. And Eric McCabe (Team Manager) hinted on Instagram of a future roster announcement.

• Nov 29th: Reddit thread on DD’s big signing to be Wysocki with a multi-million dollar deal.

• Dec 5th: Ridge Roller announces the end of their partnership with Wysocki. In 2021, he had a signature cart and bag that can be seen on all his coverage. Note: DD and ZÜCA carts are closely tied.

• Dec 17th: Shaffer Sports Management announces their partnership with Wysocki.

• Dec 18th: Hunter Thomas from Foundation declares, “Got the verification I need to make it official.” And leaks Wysocki’s move from Innova to DD.

Several podcasts have also discussed the speculation. And the conclusion is if Wysocki is leaving Innova, then it will be announced on January 1, 2022.

⏰ 3 DAYS UNTIL THE 2022 SPONSOR IMPLOSION (JAN 1ST)

🚨 NEW 🚨

• Nikko Locastro - Westside Discs announced the end of their sponsorship with Locastro. A new contract (if any) hasn’t been announced. Prior to Westside, Locastro was known as one of the top pros without a major manufacturer contract. He sported a mixed bag before it was a popular option.

• Kevin Jones teased a major announcement in an interview with Cory Murrell. The newly minted Charlottean (new homeowner) has been working with “the company” to put out an announcement video very soon. His contract with Prodigy (3-year) is up. And it’s fair to say he could leave, but it could just be a contract extension. Rumors have gone around that Jones’s contract is 3x Chris Dickerson’s. If I had to pick between the two, Dickerson is the one making the move away from Prodigy this off-season.

• Adam Hammes signed a 3-year extension with Discraft (5 years total). No surprises here, but Hammes will be taking the reins from Brian Earhart with the 2022 Tour Series Zone. Earhart announced at the end of the 2021 season that he’s stepping back from competitive play. He’ll be focusing on his podcast (The Flight Diary), commentating, and coaching.

MOVES MADE

• Andrew Marwede - From Innova to DGA (3 years)

• Matt Bell - From DGA to Thought Space Athletics/EV-7 (1/3 years)

• Cole Redalen - From Discraft to Infinite Discs/EV-7 (1/3 years)

• Matt Orum - From Prodigy to Westside Discs (2 years)

• Eric Oakley - From Dynamic Discs to Infinite Discs/TSA (1 year)

• Gavin Rathbun - From Discmania to Dynamic Discs (2 years)

Running a Disc Retailer = Dream Job?

If you’ve been thinking about starting your own online retailer, then Alan Barker (owner of Infinite) has two words for you: “Good luck.”

The Upshot Podcast hosted a retailer roundtable with Derek Fell (Birdie), Danny Corbett & Aaron Rowley (OTB), Alan Barker (Infinite), and Justin Taylor (Skybreed). They shared stories and opinions on retail challenges, sale patterns, and the future of retail.

Covid changed the landscape of online retail forever. Only now has it begun to level out in terms of growth and stock availability. For the past 1.5 years, even the largest retailers had to take whatever manufacturers could/were willing to give them.

Stimulus checks and big player moves (McBeth, Wysocki, & Pierce) drove huge waves of plastic sales. And with that explosive growth comes losses. Many new online retailers who decided to ride the wave will likely phase out.

In order to future-proof their businesses, established retailers are trying to become the next Dynamic Discs or Infinite Discs. Derek Fell (Birdie) believes that if you want to be in contention long-term then you have to have your own line of discs. This will lead to better brand recognition, loyalty, and profit margin.

Thinking twice of your dream job? Disc retail is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Support your local shops when you can.

New Plastic

For those actually excited about the Westside King Mystery Box, then you’re in luck. The PDGA approved the Westside Bear in October, and supposedly the new disc will be included in the over-hyped mystery box. The Bear will fly like a more overstable version of the Stag (Stag Pro).

Discmania fan boys are either up in arms or overjoyed at the news of Innova’s recently approved Power Disc. The disc has nearly identical specifications to the (new) Discmania PD. When it rain[maker]s, it pours. Who’s printing money now?

Putters Everywhere

• Discmania released more info on Eagle McMahon’s Creator Series Rainmaker. Based on his wants, they created a slightly shallower P2. It fits his hand and bank account better. This is reminiscent of McBeth’s Luna compared to the Discraft Roach.

• In order to pay for their recently acquired pros, EV-7 is adding a 3rd disc to their putter-only lineup, the MÖBIUS. It’s a beadless, understable putter.

• Birdie Disc Golf Supply Co. is was known for sponsoring Ricky Wysocki, Casey White, and other pros as a disc/clothing retailer. Now they’re expanding to distribute their own discs (similar to DD, Infinite, & TSA). The Marvel putter is Birdie’s 1st proprietary mold. It has yet to be PDGA approved but appears to be a shallow, beadless P2 clone.

Random Triples

1. If you’re into numbers and the potential flaws to the PDGA ratings system, Andrew Fish does a deep dive into a recent MD tournament played on a very short layout. (TL;DR Play sanctioned junior layouts to boost your rating.)

2. The 2023 PDGA World Championships will be held at Smugglers’ Notch in Jeffersonville, VT. This is home to the annual Green Mountain Championship and where 2018 Worlds was held. The courses at Smuggs are known to be diverse and challenging. Anyone could be crowned the 2023 World Champ.And the newest PDGA Major Championship will be held at the Toboggan Course (Milford, MI) in 2023. The PDGA Champions Cup will make its debut in 2022 at the W.R. Jackson Course in Appling, GA. Some don’t agree it should be held at a rotating location due to the prestige carried with a major title.

3. The PDGA just hit 200k members. It took 41 years to reach 100k, then only 4 years to double that. Are you a member only for the $10 tournament registration discount?

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today - Happy New Year!Get out and play your first round of 2022 this weekend!

- Charlie

2022 Season Countdown: 8 Weeks 🥏

1st DGPT event - Las Vegas Challenge, February 24th - 27th