Hello there! Tõnis AKA Disc Golf Fanatic here with another insight into the disc golf world.
Let’s get right into it!
Will Schusterick named CEO of Prodigy Disc!
Prodigy Disc is proud to announce that 3-time US Disc Golf Champion and Sales Director Will Schusterick has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer, his transition into the role will begin immediately.
In this role, he will manage the company’s daily operations at the highest level from Prodigy’s Georgia headquarters. He will also continue to oversee relationships with the company’s largest partners, play an active role in production planning, provide insights to the marketing team on current and future campaigns, collaborate with Prodigy’s global teams, and more. His love for the sport, passion for the brand, and deep institutional knowledge will serve him well as he takes on the role of CEO.
It’s a privilege to be asked to take on this role and help steer the next generation of Prodigy’s story. Handing off the executive leadership of this brand into the hands of disc golfers is exciting as we look forward to the next chapter in Prodigy’s history. I am excited to take on this challenge and can’t wait to get to work in this new role.
Will Schusterick – Prodigy Discs new CEO.
Prodigy’s full statement can be read here – https://www.prodigydisc.com/blogs/news/changing-of-the-guard-will-schusterick-named-ceo-of-prodigy-disc
No more jump or step putts inside 20 meters?!
The PDGA has started conversations about a possible change in their putting rules. The proposed change is to define a “putt” to be within 20 meters of the basket, as opposed to 10 meters.
Here are some key points from Doug Bjerkaas, who is the PDGA’s Executive Director:
A simple proposal: No jump or step putts inside 20 meters.
This discussion is happening for several reasons:
- Current Rule vs. Modern Technology: The 10-meter putting rule has been unchanged for nearly 50 years, but advancements in disc and basket technology have extended the effective putting range, making step and jump putts more common in circle two (10–20 meters).
- Legality Issues: Step and jump putts require precise adherence to rules (contact with the lie at release and no ground contact beyond it), but enforcing these in real-time is challenging.
- Difficulty for Officials: Accurately judging the legality of these putts requires near-instantaneous timing, which is an unreasonable expectation for most players and officials.
- Rule Violations: Video evidence frequently shows players unintentionally violating putting rules, which could impact the integrity of championships.
The purpose of this piece is not to announce a change, but rather to share with the membership that the change is being considered. “We need to make sure that the change is needed and if this change is the best way to solve the problem.” – PDGA.
Text source – https://dgmag.mydigitalpublication.com/articles/notes-from-doug-bjerkaas?article_id=4901159&i=837013
Ultiworld Disc Golf editor Charlie Eisenhood shares his thoughts on the proposed elimination of step and jump putting inside 20 meters:
A new PRO TOUR?!
On December 14th 2024 the GK Productions announced a rebrand and a new pro tournament series! Their new brand is now called “Go Throw.”
We’re excited to announce the 2025 Go Throw Tour, featuring your favorite pros across some of the worlds best courses. Stops include: Hideaway Disc Golf Ranch, Persimmon Ridge, Eagles Crossing, Kayak Point, Faylor Lake, and more to be announced.
Go Throw.
The DGPT and PDGA moved away from UDisc to keep all tour data in-house, and their reasoning makes sense. But with the new Go Throw Tour emerging, it feels like the perfect opportunity for UDisc to make its return to the pro scene.
Gibson has decided to limit his “touring” to 6-8 events in 2025
Drew Gibson: “… I’ve decided to limit my “touring” in 2025 to about 6-8 events in the US and put all my focus on creating media content via my YouTube channel as I still want to be very much a part of the sport we all love! Staying home and creating media allows me to be there for my family while also continuing to help push our sport forward.”
On the topic of Drew Gibson, in his latest YouTube video, he talks about the DGPT being late with its payments, which is obviously a RED FLAG for a lot of touring players and fans alike.
Here are a few comments from the community in response to Drew’s video:
Watch Drew’s video here:
2024 FAR/Ultiworld Fandom Survey results, part 4
Ultiworld Disc Golf has released another installment of the 2024 Fandom Survey, this time putting manufacturers under the microscope. The article explores questions such as:
- Do player sponsorships influence disc brand loyalty?
- How does the disc golf community perceive manufacturers?
- What factors lead players to support or avoid specific brands?
As the fourth installment of the 2024 FAR/Ultiworld Fandom Survey, this latest piece dives deep into these key topics.
Check out the full article here – https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2024/12/16/2024-fandom-survey-how-fans-feel-about-disc-manufacturers/
Let’s start with the question:
What is your overall opinion of the following manufacturers?
– Innova secured the top spot this year, garnering an average Manufacturer Fandom Score of 7.87, surpassing MVP/Axiom, who were the top manufacturer in 2023.
– Lone Star and Prodigy were the two lowest rated manufacturers for the second straight year.
Which company is your favorite disc manufacturer?
- Just as in 2023, Innova holds the top spot, with more than 25% of respondents indicating they are their favorite manufacturer.
- This year, we separated the brands MVP, Axiom, and Streamline in our survey. Discraft was the second most favorite manufacturer, but would fall to third behind the summed total of MVP, Axiom, and Streamline.
- Latitude 64 was the most favored company from the House of Discs family of manufacturers.
Here are the responses to the question from 6741 respondents!
What contributes most to your opinion of disc manufacturers?
- Unsurprisingly, “the quality of the discs they produce” was the most important factor driving fandom of manufacturers.
- A manufacturer’s brand and style was more influential to a respondent’s Manufacturer Fandom Score than the professional players they sponsor. This was true despite nearly 60% of respondents being DGN subscribers.
- Sponsorship of professional players was rated as contributing more to fandom than sponsoring local players. Interestingly, the reverse was true for events, where sponsoring local events contributes more than sponsoring DGPT events.
Here are the responses to the question from 4830 respondents!
Be sure to read the full article here – https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2024/12/16/2024-fandom-survey-how-fans-feel-about-disc-manufacturers/
2024 DGPT European Disc Golf Festival event highlights:
- The organizers are aiming to double the number of on-site spectators for the 2025 PDGA Major!
- The 2024 European Disc Golf Festival was the most-watched event of the year! The DGPT Krokhol Open came in second. Both events had higher peak concurrent viewers than the 2024 PDGA Pro Worlds.
Rebecca Cox shot an INSANE HOT ROUND!
Touring FPO disc golfer Rebecca Cox shot a 9-under par, unofficially a 1029-rated HOT ROUND, during the final round of the 2024 South Florida Open, a PDGA A-tier event!
Even though unofficial, this will most likely be Rebecca’s HIGHEST-EVER PDGA-rated round!
But for me, the even more insane part is that this 1029-rated round by Cox doesn’t even crack the top 20 highest-rated FPO rounds of 2024… This round is the 21st highest-rated FPO round of the year.
P.S! 1000+ rated FPO rounds off the Disc Golf Pro Tour are pretty rare, especially when there are only four 940+ rated players in the field.
Check out all the 2024 FPO highest-rated rounds here – https://discgolffanatic.com/2024-dgpt-winners-and-highest-rated-rounds/#2024_TOP_FPO_Highest_Rated_Rounds
Jonathan Borzick’s 1090-rated HOT ROUND!
Jonathan Borzick shot a 9-under par, unofficially a 1090-rated HOT ROUND, during the second round of the 2024 South Florida Open, a PDGA A-tier event!
This is by far the highest-rated round Jonathan has ever played in a PDGA-sanctioned event! His previous highest-rated round was 1058.
If the rating holds, this round will easily rank in the top 20 highest-rated MPO rounds played in 2024. Check out the full list here – https://discgolffanatic.com/2024-dgpt-winners-and-highest-rated-rounds/#2024_TOP_MPO_Highest_Rated_Rounds
The perfect Disc Golf related gift?!
Need a disc golf related gift, but don’t know what to get? Grab a Gift Card from Infinite Discs! Check it out here on Infinite – https://infinitediscs.com/?tag=98f7f34e
CHEAP DISCS?!
Looking for CHEAP discs? Check out What’s on Sale & Clearance Hot Deals here on Infinite Discs!
2025 DGPT season kickoff:
74 DAYS! (2 months + 12 days)
2025 DGPT season’s first event: Florida Open, Brooksville, FL, USA. From 28th February to 2nd March, 2025!
That’s it for this newsletter! If you haven’t subscribed yet, be sure to do so and share it with your disc golf buddies.
Share your thoughts!
Got any disc golf related hot takes, tips, pictures, memes, videos or anything else you’d like to share? Just reply to this email or send them over to info@discgolffanatic.com or message them to me through any social media platform (Disc Golf Fanatic).
Oh, and don’t forget to go out there and enjoy a round or two, because I definitely will!
I’ve played 592 rounds in 2024 so far!
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