↕️ The most underrated round ever?

Island Disc Golf, OS Plastic, and 4D Chess

September 13, 2022

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The newsletter that makes an off-week feel like a Major.Email Read Time: 5 Minutes & 32 Seconds

If you missed the Butler primer, then I got you: Is a World title worth $1M?

Let’s get into it.

Butler County DG Classic - Silver Series

RESULTS - 🏆JOEL FREEMAN & KRISTIN TATTAR

MPO/ On a weekend with not much competition, there was a lot of action. Chandler Kramer almost skipped this event but instead shot the course record (-8, 1046 rated) in Round 1.

The FH specialist followed it up with another -8 (1044 rated) boosting himself into solo lead with 3 strokes over Linus Carlsson and 4 over Joel Freeman. Kramer’s back-to-back hot rounds put his FH on the map as world-class.

But the tournament wasn’t over, and his frustration grew after each hole in the final round. There was nothing he could do as he watched Freeman gain stroke after stroke.

Quickly making up the deficit, Freeman was a birdie machine. He played that course with no trees and overshadowed Kramer’s record by SIX strokes.

Freeman went on to win his 1st DGPT event (not including his Match Play win) by 9 over the field. His final round of -14 (1077 rated) has been described by others as “not possible” and “round of the year.”

But the “best round ever seen” is stoking the rating debate. With the next best score being 8 strokes away surely Freeman’s round deserves a higher rating, right?

FPO/ It seemed odd that out of all the top FPO contenders Kristin Tattar was the only one to show at this Silver Series. But Paul McBeth shared on Nick & Matt that she can’t take a day off.

If she does, then her injury tightens up and can worsen. So rather than taking a deserved break, she chose to stay hot.

Tattar won wire to wire beating the field by 8 strokes. She threw the disc where others couldn’t and took home her 9th win of the year.

When one queen passes on, another is there to take her place. Tattar has continued her dominating season.

STANDOUT PLAYERS

This was the 2nd to last event to qualify for the USDGC/Throw Pink tournament. This coming weekend - Green Mountain Championship - will be the last time for new invitees.

From this weekend:USDGC invite: Linus Carlsson, James Proctor, Dylan Horst, Connor O’ReillyThrow Pink invite: Holly Finley & Leah Tsinajinnie

HIGHLIGHT

In Round 2, Freeman rolled his upshot past hundreds of trees for an eagle look. He didn’t make the putt, but hole 6 was a glimpse into his control over the disc.

Canadian Nationals

The largest event in Canada happened over the weekend. The 2022 Canadian National Championships are held at Prince Edward Island every year.

The pros that make it their priority to fit this tournament in do so because of the experience, courses, people, and nature of PEI. This island is home to 4 of the top 10 courses in Canada.

But one in particular - Hillcrest Farms - is “the course that every course dreams about.” It’s a John Houck design that feels out of this world with its natural splendor.

This event is put on by TD Benjamin Smith. You may know him from JomezPro’s Throw Canada about his contribution to Canadian DG and how he’s destined for the hall of fame.

Typically names like Paul McBeth, Nate Sexton, & Thomas Gilbert are on the participant list. Unfortunately, it didn’t make SexyBeast’s short list as schedules are as packed as ever.

Of those that did make it here are the results: MPO - 🥇 Thomas Gilbert. FPO - 🥇 Ella Hansen.

Fortunately, this could be the last year the Tour misses this storied event. Discmania has taken notice and decided to put PEI on the pedestal it deserves.

Starting in 2023, The Discmania Open will be held on PEI’s courses in September for the next 3 years. And the local club - Maritime DG Association - will be putting in a Worlds bid ASAP.

Fresh Plastic

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

👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: Discmania Razor Claw 3 (4|2|0|4)*Warning* I’m about to say the magic words that cause wallets to open and packages to appear… “Overstable approach disc.” Tomorrow (9/14), Discmania is releasing Eagle McMahon’s latest disc.

This 3rd version Signature Series is described by himself and reviewers as the most OS yet. The durable Meta plastic will maintain its board flat profile allowing you to chop through trees on your approach.

The retooled Tactic feels slightly bigger in the hand due to the blockier shoulder that brings the increased beefiness. If you want to add to your pile of “torque-resistant” and “wind-fighting” approach discs, set your alarms for 11AM ET.

From less OS to most, the approach disc spectrum looks like this now: Stock Tactic < SockiSlammer < Zone < Razor Claw 3 < Toro. One size doesn’t fit all, so find the one that works for you.

Check it out and more at Powergrip USA. Use PLYRSMTGSEP22 for 10% off your order.

Random Dubs

1️⃣ On the latest of BEarhart’s Level Up series, he discussed adding more distance. The #1 easiest way is to switch out your Max D disc for one that’s more US.

But if that’s not good enough, then double-check your form. There are 2 mistakes that rob distance:

  1. The “pull-through” mentality causes people to fall into their throws instead of rotating their upper body. Fix: Create space between elbow and torso.

  2. Big x-steps are bad. Fix: Quicken your footwork keeping them perpendicular to the target.

Easter egg: Aaron Gossage has one of the most unique power grips. No ring/pinky fingers tucked under.

2️⃣ Last week, 6x World Champion - Paul McBeth - went on the interview circuit with the major podcasts. They all asked him similar questions, but one stood out.

On The Nick & Matt show, he further explained his strategy on playing Gossage’s game in the final round. It was much more than just copying his lines.

McBeth plays chess, while others play checkers. He wasn’t copying Gossage. He was gaming him.

He threw the same shot shape but with a different disc knowing Gossage might read the line incorrectly and mess up a fraction of his shot. For example, McBeth threw Force before Gossage threw Nuke off Hole 5’s tee.

Then he did the same thing off Hole 12’s tee. There’s no denying that McBeth plays on another level in head-to-head matchups.

Tweet of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and enjoy summer this week!

- Charlie

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