😱 Urban Disc Golf & TD Embazzlment Scandal

Hello there! Tõnis, also known as Disc Golf Fanatic, here with another insight into the disc golf world.

Off week for the pros? No, not really.

It might be an off week from the DGPT, but not for a lot of professional disc golfers.

If my math checks out there were a total of 7 × 1075+ rated rounds played by MPO players – Aapo Karhi (1102), Gannon Buhr (1092, 1075 & 1094), Grady Shue (1090), Evan Smith (1087), James Proctor (1082) and one 1000+ rated FPO round by none other than Ohn Scoggins (1021). All ratings still unofficial.

Here’s a quick summary how two of them performed:

Yet again, the first person I have to talk about is the still rising prodigy (pun intended) and #1 ranked player in the world:

Gannon Buhr

First of all, Buhr shot an unofficial 1087-rated event average at the Rip, DGPT Q-series event (A-tier). He won wire-to-wire & went bogey-free for the entire event. He shot a 1092-rated, 12-under round 1, followed by a 1075-rated, 10-under round 2, and finished strong with a 13-under, 1094-rated round 3.

He outplayed the now 2X MPO World Champion, his closest competitor in 2nd place, by 12 strokes, and Ezra Robinson, who finished 3rd, by a staggering 17 strokes. That’s just insane…

Aapo Karhi’s HISTORIC PERFORMANCE at Kuopio (Finland)

Aapo Karhi shot a bogey-free 14-under par at the PDPT Kuopio (Finnish Pro Tour) during round 3! Unofficially rated at 1102, if this holds it would be the HIGHEST-EVER PDGA-rated round by a Finnish player!

Current official record belongs to Niklas Anttila at 1098-rated.
In addition, Karhi’s round is the 4th highest-rated round in MPO for the 2024 season!

Next up on the Disc Golf Pro Tour:

The Green Mountain Championship, DGPT Playoffs event, from September 19th to 22nd at Jeffersonville, Vermont, USA.

Sweet, isn’t it?! Sadly, with sweetness, there’s always a touch of sour…

TD Jonathan Ray scandal

This past week was certainly overshadowed by tournament director Jonathan Ray, his cancellation of The Masters at Bud Hill, and the embezzlement of ~$30,000 from disc golfers.

For the most part, it’s simply 100% tried-and-true embezzlement.

Wild Runs Disc Golf

Quick math: There were 176 players registered and paid, $150 per player! Plus 26 players on the waitlist (all paid), that’s already $30,000 in just entry fees! In addition, most probably additional money from sponsors and vendors.

Brief summary of Jonathan Ray’s statement:

• Jonathan takes full responsibility for “mismanaging” the funds;
• He faced personal medical issues during the season;
• Ray admits that it’s been a “horrible financial year”;
• He expresses deep embarrassment for letting everyone down;
• Ray confirms that he will be filing for bankruptcy;
• He commits to repaying everyone, though the process will take time.

You can read the full statement by Jonathan Ray here.

Here’s a longer overview from Wild Runs Disc Golf about the whole situation:

It’s safe to say that people are not satisfied and are demanding justice.

On a much more positive note…

Urban Disc Golf Marathon

This past weekend, 281 disc golfers in Estonia played in the Tallinn Oldtown/Urban Disc Golf Marathon 2024!

First things first, I managed to snag an ACE on one of the holes I personally set up! A 200ft/60m par 3! Completely hidden basket/blind shot from the teepad. A group of friends were spotting for us and they told that it hit the branch and trickled down into the basket.

A total of 281 players participated in the event! We got to play disc golf all across Tallinn’s downtown, oldtown and near the harbour area.

• – 81 unique holes!
• ~7 hours of disc golf & pure fun!
• ~10 miles of walking & ~28,000 steps in total.

Once again, I had the opportunity to help out the organizing team. Our crew’s job was to set up 23 holes near the Toompea hill & Snelli Pond. I think we did an excellent job!

Results – https://discgolfmetrix.com/3084337

Here’s a short video of the Vanalinna Open 2024 on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/p/C_8uj47ulkW/

Brodie Smith is BACK…

Don’t get too excited! The infamous touring disc golfer is back on X (Twitter), after a month of being hacked, he got his X account back.

Tired of missing short putts?

Here’s a quick video from Paul Ulibarri on how to make those short putts that hurt the most…

I go into some details of how I’ve figured out how to make short putts quickly.

Paul Ulibarri

Update on Disc Golf’s All-Time Top Tournament Prize Money Earners List

#1 Ricky Wysocki $784,174.76

#2 Paul McBeth $769,701.09

That’s $14,473.67 more than McBeth. Wysocki is slowly but surely pulling ahead of McBeth.

McBeth vs Wysocki total career earnings chart:

“I played disc golf with Lauri Markkanen”

Funny story from Reddit user r/Cautious-Hurry6395, who played a round of disc golf with NBA All-Star forward for the Utah Jazz, Lauri Markkanen.

For readers in the U.S., it’s like playing a round of disc golf with NFL star Patrick Mahomes, but not knowing who he is.

Which Putters Does Kevin Jones Use?

Kevin Jones switched sponsors mid-season and is now with Team Innova. He is currently putting with the Innova Invader in Halo Nexus plastic!

Have you ever wondered which putting putters professional disc golfers are using? I’ve compiled a huge database of over 130 players and their go-to putting putters! Check it out here – https://discgolffanatic.com/what-putters-professional-disc-golfers-use/

16 Best Disc Golf Midrange Discs for Beginners

Looking for a place to buy disc golf discs & equipment? Check out “What’s on sale” here on Infinite Discs.

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. By referring your friends, you can earn a free disc and more!

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 466 rounds in 2024 so far!

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