Saturday, August 29, 2009

Third round of the European open Finished

Feldberg and Lungmark are tied again. Ken Climo moves up to within 2 shots. Finals on Sunday.

Feldberg -28
Lundmark -28
Climo -26

Friday, August 28, 2009

New course in Northeasten PA

If you like playing disc golf, you're in luck – a new course has opened in Stroud Township.

Money approved for new course in Texas

Fayette County – The City of Flatonia was awarded $75,000 to acquire and develop the Seven Acre Park, located in the west central area of the city. Development plans include a trail, disc golf course, skate park, picnic tables with slabs and grills, and Xeriscape garden with interpretive signage and drip irrigation.

New disc golf course opening at Youth Park


In Pinellas county park Fl.

Click here to read

New course at Ferndale's VanderYacht Park in Bellingham WA

Read story here

New course now open at John C Lancaster park in MD

Read story here

Jesper lundmark leads alone


After round 2

Lundmark -19
sward -17
Feldberg -17

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Dave Feldberg leads after round 1 of the European open



Dave and Jesper Lundmark from Sweden are tied at 51.

Update on Bunker Hills course

I talked to Tim Gill today, the designer of the course. He said they had to cut back on the money for the course, so it is only going to be a 9 hole for now. It's going to be a good 9 though. He said it should be done in 3 to 4 weeks.

New course to be built in Saratoga spa state park Saratogo springs New York

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Saratoga Spa State Park would get a visitors center near its entrance, a "Frisbee golf" course and new trail loops under a master plan released Wednesday by state leaders. A second traditional golf course and botanical garden didn't make the cut.

New course to be built in Helotes texas

Discussion of and action on the creation of a disc golf course - Council member Whitehead said he had been apprehensive about spending the money, but the money is already in the budget; so he is in favor of it.

Council member Massey had fun at the demonstration. It can only be good for the community; it is a low impact sport and can help people lose weight. It won’t take much money. The area is not good for a playground because it is in a flood zone. (I just think I should mention here that a lot of parks/playgrounds in this and the San Antonio area are in flood zones. It’s a good use of that land. I’m guessing that not too many people go to the park during a flood.) Also, a playground would have required a restroom (I guess golfers can hold it longer?).

Council member Legendre said that originally he didn’t care one way or the other, but he had fun and the money has already been budgeted. Disc golf will bring more people to Helotes and there would be less vandalism (?).

Council unanimously approved the installation of a disc golf course in the Helotes Natural Area (which, I’m guessing, will no longer be a natural area), and authorized Mayor Schoolcraft to administer and oversee the design and construction.

Council also unanimously approved P&Z’s recommended amendments to the B-3 Overlay District.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Finally got scores for the Cranberry classic


See them all here

Ham Lake course update

I just talked to the public works director for Ham Lake.
He said they got behind but expect to start work on the
course expansion next week and have it done in 2 to 3 weeks.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Nice story about the Jenkins from ESPN.


By Jack McCluskey



LEICESTER, Mass. -- In many ways, Avery Jenkins and disc golf have grown up together.

His parents picked up the sport in the '80s, planned family vacations to places where they could catch a tournament on the weekends and bought disc golf baskets for the backyard. Now Jenkins, 31, is closing in on his 10th year of traveling on the pro disc golf tour, making a living playing the sport.


Jack McCluskey Instead of using a club, just pull your arm back and let 'er rip.

"[Most] kids grow up playing basketball in the backyard," Jenkins said. "I was in the backyard shooting at disc golf baskets."

This past weekend, Jenkins and his sister, Valarie, were two of 177 pros entered in the Vibram Open, the final stop on the Professional Disc Golf Association National Tour. With a total payout of almost $50,000, the Vibram Open is also one of the richest tournaments in disc golf. As defending champions, Avery and Valarie stood to pocket $2,500 and $1,500, respectively, if they could pull off repeats in Leicester.

So although it was the middle of August, this Christmas tree farm -- the Maple Hill course is closed from Thanksgiving to Christmas so that people can cut and cart their own trees -- was bustling with activity. With the mercury climbing close to 90 degrees, and the sky high and cloudless, a group of about 20 people gathered at the top of a hill and waited for the clock to strike noon.

Standing on the crest of the hill, backs to the trees lining the road, the spectators watched a red disc zip over rows of still-young pine trees and a green swath of grass sloping down the hill toward a medium-sized, lily-pad-dotted pond. They murmured approvingly as the disc settled softly onto the ground on the far side of the pond, just inside an overgrown, rutted cart path, in a landing zone marked with wood chips.

It was a fine first shot for the man in the lime green shirt, Barry Schultz, who came into the final day of the three-round tournament at an astounding 18 under par. Schultz shot a 49 on the first day of play at the par-62 course, breaking the year-old course record of 51 set by, surprise surprise, Avery Jenkins. And he would go on to win the tournament in a runaway, finishing with a 25-under 161, 7 shots ahead of the rest of the field.

His second shot would take him past the cart path, over more rows of young pines and into some open space lined with wood chips just before the tree-line proper. Past that open space was a square swatch that had been cleared from the full-grown woods and boxed in with planking.

In the center of that swatch stood the pin, complete with a blue cloth flag with a white number 1 on it, flapping in the breeze. The only difference between this and a traditional golf pin is, on the pole hangs a metal basket, and hanging above the basket are a number of metal chains. This is the first disc golf basket, or Pole Hole. And it stood a mere 760 feet away from the tee box.

For Schultz and the other top pros teeing off on the final card at noon, the distance isn't the hard part. A good driver will take care of the distance. It's making a good shot, avoiding the rows of trees, setting up a makable putt and, maybe most of all, keeping dry.

After all, this is disc golf. And as Schultz said, holding up a driver disc, "Throw this in the water, you just lost your driver."

Not your father's Frisbee

Although for many the phrase "disc golf" may conjure up images of long-haired hippies in tie-dyed T-shirts tossing floppy Frisbees off trees or telephone poles, the truth couldn't be more different.

First of all, there's a big difference between your father's Frisbee and the discs used by competitive players. Discs are smaller in diameter and denser in composition, and have different aerodynamics -- they fly faster and farther than Frisbees and, thanks to advances in manufacturing techniques, hold their flight characteristics better after impact with a wall or tree or telephone pole.

Although there are hundreds of colors and styles of Frisbees, they all do virtually the same thing in the air. Discs can be made so that they do very different things in the air. Some are sharper, heavier; these are drivers. Some are more rounded, smaller; these are putters.

Next, consider the people throwing the discs. Although there is sure to be some long hair involved and although there may even be some hippies, there also are doctors and lawyers, teachers and plastics engineers, people from all walks of life. And the elite-level players are just that: elite. Don't think you can stumble out of bed onto a disc golf course and hang with Schultz, Jenkins & Co.

Throwing a Frisbee may be easy, but throwing a disc down a hill, over a stand of trees and a pond and into position to make a second approach shot at a green box set inside the tree line of a woods is not.

And although not all courses are set up like Leicester's Maple Hill course, the concept is the same. Frisbees are a hobby; disc golf is a sport.

From the ground, through the air … into chains?

Although the majority of the action in a disc golf tourney takes place in the air, the efforts to grow disc golf as a sport are taking place on the ground.

"Disc golf is really a grassroots sport," said Brian Graham, executive director of the Professional Disc Golf Association, the sport's international governing body. "It grew up around the world by the hard work of volunteers."

By and large, volunteers still do the vast majority of the work. The PDGA has only five full-time employees and three consultants, but "hundreds and hundreds of volunteers."



"We have 40,000 lifetime members in 28 countries," Graham said. "Just about anywhere you go in the country where there's a course or a tournament, there are PDGA members and disc players willing to help."

Although the PDGA has been around since 1976, and disc golf itself has been around since long before that (although no one is sure exactly when or where the first disc golf game occurred), Graham says there's still room to grow.

When the PDGA was founded, there was one dedicated disc golf course in the world. By 1980, there were 60. By 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 2,748. In 2007, there were 11,943 PDGA members. A year later, that number had increased almost 9 percent to 12,980. The PDGA Tour has grown at an even higher rate, with events jumping 16.7 percent from 852 in '07 to 994 in '08, and total purses increasing from $1.7 million in '07 to just more than $2 million in '08.

But all that growth didn't happen overnight. There have been delays and missteps along the way.

"We kinda made the same mistake that soccer did," Graham said. "We started with a top-down approach." Much like the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos trying to sell Americans on the game by signing Pelé back in the 1970s, disc golf tried to market its pros before it was even sure anyone would want to watch them.

"There was a pro tour before people even knew what disc golf was," Graham said.

So now Graham and the PDGA are taking disc golf to schools. A pro disc golfer named Jay "Yeti" Reading explained one such initiative, called Educational Disc Golf Experience, or E.D.G.E.

"It's a complete curriculum for Grades 3 through 12," Yeti said at the Vibram Open, where he won the putting contest. "We give you everything you need to learn the techniques and play the game.

"We're impacting an amazing number of kids right now. Our country is battling an epidemic of childhood obesity, and we think disc golf is a lifetime activity that can help kids develop a healthy lifestyle."

After the tournament was over, Yeti, who has played disc golf professionally for the past 10 years, was flying to Texas to introduce the sport to 50,000 more schoolkids.

And, it's possible that a student who learns about disc golf from Yeti in Texas goes to college and studies the sport with one of the top players in the world. That's because Dave Feldberg, a former world champion and still a topflight disc golfer, teaches a for-credit class on disc golf at the University of Oregon.

"Disc golf is golf for the next generation," Feldberg said a day after finishing tied for sixth at the Vibram Open, shooting an 11-under 175, for which he received a check for $862. "It takes less time, less money, less land, less stress. Today's athlete? They're not wanting to put on dress slacks and traditional golf gear to go enjoy themselves with their buddies."

"I was like a catfish, dude, swallowed it whole"

Billy Crump is nothing if not a salesman.

"I drove 15 hours one way to be here," Crump said. "I'm not getting paid. Just to talk, because it had to be done."

Crump is providing live blow-by-blow coverage of the tournament via webcast on the Open's Web site. "I'll talk for five and a half hours straight," Crump said. When he introduced himself, Crump said, "I'm the Nature Boy, and I can talk."


Jack McCluskey Looks like a tricky shot, doesn't it?

Nature Boy's story is a familiar one among the disc golf community. Some friends dragged him to a disc golf course several years ago, and he promptly failed miserably and declared the game "the stupidest thing I've seen in my life." Then he went back and played again and, as he put it, "I was like a catfish, dude, swallowed it whole."

His pro career, to hear him tell it, was not exactly a huge financial success. His first year on tour, he made $200 and kept at it only because the guys he was traveling with were doing significantly better. They made sure he had enough to eat and enough for the entry fee to that weekend's tournament.

"I always said, 'One day I'll quit playing and just cover you guys,'" Crump said, adding proudly, "I've been called the Jim Nantz of disc golf."

Although he doesn't seem to have an official title or position with the PDGA, Crump acts as a one-man promotional department. He is a broadcaster, producer, ad salesman, marketing consultant and media director. "We all say we're on the precipice," Crump said, hoping this latest shove will push disc golf off the cliff and into the mainstream.

He's not the only one selling the sport, however. Not by a long shot.

"We all say, 'It's gonna be huge in three to five years,'" Avery Jenkins said. "We've been saying that for years."

Vibram Open tournament director Steve Dodge said the disc golf community has debated what to call the kind of golf they play in the PGA. "I think we settled on 'conventional,' but you know that only works if ball golf is more popular," Dodge said. "Who's to say in 20 years this isn't conventional golf?"

Disc golf's Golden Bear

Ken Climo is to disc golf what Jack Nicklaus is to traditional ball golf.

"When people try to compare me to Tiger, I say, 'Tiger hasn't broken the records yet,'" Climo, 41, said by phone from his home in Clearwater, Fla. "I think I'm the Jack. I've got the records, and somebody's gotta come get 'em."

The records Climo was referring to include total tour wins (he has 220 and counting) and world championships (12, including nine in a row from 1990 to 1998). He also might own the record for reverential references by contemporaries and competitors.

Jenkins, who won the 2009 world championship in Kansas City earlier this month, said he grew up idolizing Climo. Dave Feldberg was in awe of Climo's accomplishments, noting that no one is even close to Climo in total majors; Feldberg said he and Barry Schultz are probably closest at five apiece. Crump called him "a living legend" and pointed out a picture of Climo throwing a disc on the side of an Innova Disc Golf van parked at the Vibram Open.

Video game disc golf

Disc golfers rejoice! EA Sports has added a disc golf feature to the Nintendo Wii version of "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10."

"Welcome to Disc Golf!" the demo screen on the EA Sports Web site reads, above a computer rendering of a blue disc with "EA Sports driver" written on it. "Are you ready to play one of the fastest growing sports in America?! Disc Golf is very similar to regular golf. The goal is to get the disc in the basket in the least amount of throws. Play on all courses. Have fun!"

Using all the courses from the normal game, players will be able to play the courses using discs instead of clubs and balls. Legendary disc golfer Ken Climo says it's an exciting advance for the sport. "You can play Pebble Beach with a disc," Climo said. "That's gonna give our sport a lot of exposure."

Will being featured in Tiger's newest video game be the push disc golf needs to hit the mainstream? Not so fast. After all, the disc golf option is on only one video game console. "It's baby steps," Climo continued. "It's gonna come, it's just gonna take a while. Ball golf is 400 years old, that's what I keep telling people. As a sport, disc golf is just more than 30 years old, that's not very old. We're basically just coming out of our adolescence."

If adolescents with Wiis buy enough copies of "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10" and play enough of the disc golf option, maybe the sport will enjoy another growth spurt. Only time will tell.
-- Jack McCluskey

Other pros have sponsors, but Climo has his own line of discs. That didn't come easily, though. Climo didn't get his current deal with Innova until after he'd won his seventh straight world championship.

"I don't know what took them so long," he said, then laughed.

Under the terms of the deal, Climo gets a quarter per disc sold in addition to a monthly paycheck. "It started out at a little less than $1,000 a month, maybe a little over $1,000 in the summertime when sales are good," Climo said. "Now I'll get checks for around $4,000 a month in the summertime."

Although that might not sound like much, it's more than any pro disc golfer has gotten before. For the most part, sponsors still are making deals with players mostly for merchandise. They are small companies such as bottled-water distributor Brazilian Springs -- a proud sponsor of the Vibram Open.

"For the most part, we've been successful on the regional level," said Graham, the PDGA executive director. "Though we do have one large company interested in us, asking lots of questions."

The one-man disc golf salesman extraordinaire, Crump said he's been told "no" by more companies than he can remember. But, like most things in disc golf, there has been gradual progress.

"Our sport is where traditional golf was in the '30s and '40s," Graham said. "Those guys lived out of the trunks of their cars, driving from tournament to tournament and barely making it."

It wasn't always possible to make a living playing disc golf.

In the beginning of his career, Climo built houses during the week and won tournaments on the weekend. Graham was a civil engineering designer for 23 years before being hired as PDGA executive director in 2007. Schultz was a plastics engineer back home in Wisconsin before he went pro full time. Sarah Stanhope, who won the women's division at the Vibram Open with a 9-over 191, is a high school science teacher in Greenville, S.C.

But the success of pros such as Climo has helped pave the way for players such as Avery and Valarie Jenkins, Feldberg and Schultz to make a living off disc golf.

"We're playing for more money. There are more sponsors," Avery Jenkins said. "When I started traveling in 2001, we were in a '71 Winnebago that got five miles to the gallon. We were making just enough to get from weekend to weekend.

"Now we're not fretting about making it to the next weekend."

Valarie agreed: "We're not buying houses or nice cars, but it gets us along." The Jenkinses have traded up from the Winnebago to a Ford Tioga motor home, complete with three beds, air conditioning and even a flat-screen TV hooked up to an Xbox and a Nintendo Wii.

"Now we get about double [the mileage], 10 miles a gallon," Jenkins said.

To hear most members of the disc golf community tell it, someday soon they'll be doubled in number. After all, they're right there on the precipice. All they need is that final push, one more toss. Then disc golf will really be airborne.

Jack McCluskey is an editor at ESPN.com.

Team Discraft has a new member


He is an 8th grader from N.C. named Andrew Coggin. He's a three-time Jr. World Champion, and a three-time Jr. World Doubles Champion. He has a great future in the game.

Vita.mn disc golf tourny at Highland Hills


Join Vita.mn on Saturday, August 22 at Hyland Ski & Snowboard Park in Bloomington for the second-annual Disc Golf Tourney.

The $30 entry fee includes a round of disc golf, lunch, beverage, disc, door and hole prizes and a Vita.mn swag bag.

The top three scorers will be awarded cash prizes of $150, $100 and $50.

$1 Summit Horizon Red Ale beer will also be served before and after tourney to players.

Schedule:
10 a.m.: Registration
11 a.m.: Shotgun start
1-2:30 p.m.: Lunch and awards

Register online here. Players can also register at Fairway Flyerz' retail store in St. Paul (2950 Rice St., 651-484-5035). On-site, cash-only registration will be accepted the day of the event, if space is available.

Win free entry fees for two and a Fairway Flyerz prize pack (disc golf bag with 12 to 14 disc capacity, t-shirt, hat, towel and more) here.

NOTE: Event will be rain or shine, but if weather is extreme, the event will be made up the following day on August 23.

Price: $30
When
Aug 22, Sat. -- 10:00 am to 2:30 pm
Where
Hyland Ski & Snowboard Course
8800 Chalet Road
Bloomington, MN

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Vibram x link putter


If your interested in trying the new Vibram rubber putter it is available at Sun King discs. For $15.99.

New disc golf course at Portage lake state park Ohio

New disc golf course at Portage lake state park Ohio

Monday, August 17, 2009

Discs that float


I have seen several questions about what discs float.
I put together a list so everyone can see.

Aerobie- Sharpshooter
Discraft- None that I could find
Dga- Blowfly
Ching - none
Gateway - none
Discwing - none
Snap - none
millenium - none
Innova - Dragon dx, Hydra dx and rpro, 150g pro pig
Quest - Odyssey ultra, Odyssey powerdriver, Odyssey control, Odyssey midrange, crossfire, Raging inferno dt ultra light, Inferno ultra light, Tbone ultra light, Rockit ultra light.
Lightning- #2 driver, #3 flyer under 170g, #1 slice under 170g, #3 hookshot under 170g, #2 hyzer, #3 hyzer, Rubber putter, #2 Rubber putter, #2 Roller under 182g.

If I missed any let me know and I will add them.

Vibram Open tournament results

Click here to see results

My review of Elm Creeks new disc golf course

Elm Creek disc golf course is mostly open now. There are 3 holes closed.
1,2,3 are suppose to be open by fall.
The course is 7188ft, par 56. Nice concrete tee pads. The cost to play is $3.00, a very resonable price. The course was created by Par 72 course design, timmy gill.

We started at 7am. Played 2 and 1/2 rounds. By the end it was very windy, the course is very tough in a strong wind. In the calm it is a challenging course with some long holes and the need to be have controled shots.

I would recommend it and I will play it again.
Here is a video made by someone that shows some ot the course.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Ski hill transforms into disc golf course

By Melissa Ganje & photojournalist Carrie Kohlmeier, FOX 21 News
Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:24pmHuman Interest Outdoors Twin Ports

DOUGLAS COUNTY - A trek through the woods and a game of skill. There's a new disc golf course at Mont du Lac in Douglas County.
It's an outdoor sport one Duluth man can't get enough of. Bryan Lagergren says, "I've been playing since 1996. I think within 2 weeks after I started playing, I ended up selling my golf clubs, really fell in love with the sport."
So, he decided to design and build a disc golf course. "It's been my dream forever, I've always wanted to just get a chunk of property and have my own course," said Lagergren.
His family bought Mont du Lac from the original owners in January. In the winter, the 232-acre property will still remain a ski hill but after the snow leaves, a disc golf course will be open and ready for play 7 days a week.
"It's just an awesome course, the elevation change; it's a workout to play this course," said Evans Mealman of Duluth.
The course just opened a month ago after Lagergren spent about 6 weeks building it with help from friends. "There were probably maybe 4 or 5 of us that came out here and put in some hard work but I think it's definitely paying off for everyone now," said Derek Pederson of Duluth.
It's an 18 whole course right now but by the end of the week, Lagergren said there will be 21 holes ready to play.
"I wanted to just kind of show off all the terrain that's out here. We have straight shots, we have tight tunnel shots and we have a couple holes where you shoot up to the water and a couple where you shoot over the water," said Lagergren.
Through wooded terrain and open field, from 185 feet to the longest hole at 605 feet. "The variety of holes, there is everything you could possibly ask for, said Pederson.
"Lagergren is just a mad scientist when it comes to setting up disc golf courses so it's bound to be crazy," said Mealman.
It is one challenging course, built on a ski hill, secluded and serene. "Most of the time you come out here, you have the whole mountain to yourself. You can hear the birds chirping, it's pretty peaceful," said Lagergren.
"You can get out away from everything, away from the town, away from a ton of people and just get out and relax," said Pederson.
Mont du Lac is just off Minnesota Highway 23, south of Duluth's Fond du Lac neighborhood. The disc golf course is open at 10 a.m. 7 days a week. It's $5 a day or $30 for a season pass.
There is also disc golf leagues on Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. and a tournament on July 11-12, Lagergren says anyone is welcome to participate. Call Mont du Lac at (218) 626-3797 for more information.

Giants Ridge Disc golf

Drive your discs at one of Minnesota's best disc golf courses! Situated in over 180 acres of wilderness with over 10,000 feet of fairway distance, our course is one of the world's largest. Our 18-hole mountain course has dual concrete tees and multiple pin placements. We have a pro shop, practice tee, and driving range. Instruction is available. Average play time for 18 holes is 3-1/2 hours.

Season Passes:
Adult Season Pass - $60
Age 14 and younger - $40
Daily Rates:
Adult Rate - $5 (includes access to course all day)
Children - $3 (ages 12 and under)
Disc Rental - $5 (includes 3 discs and a carrying bag)
* Rentals may require a $6 deposit for lost discs or a $2 additional charge for each disc lost.

Course map

Virtual tour

Two new courses near Duluth


Minnesota gets two new Disc Golf Courses
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Good news for Frisbee Golf Disc fans out in the Land of One Thousands Lakes, Minnesota has opened two new Disc Golf courses in the Northland area. According to an article from the Duluth News Tribune, two new Frisbee Golf courses are opening up near Duluth. One of the Minnesota Frisbee Golf courses is at the Mont du Lac ski area in Wisconsin, sure to be a fun time for all the avid Frisbee golfers outer there in Wisconsin, not too far from Duluth. If you are in the area get your Frisbee golf discs over there and see what the course is like. We’d love to hear about your Frisbee golf course review.

The second Frisbee golf course in the Duluth, Minnesota area in at the Morgan Park Disc Golf Course in Duluth. It is a seven-hole Frisbee golf course that is located at 1242 88th Ave. W. This is the second disc golf course in Duluth, as there already is one at Lake Superior College. Great news if you like Frisbee golf and live near there. If you are you have to get some Frisbee golf discs and get out there on the links. According to the Duluth News Tribune, the course might eventually expand to a nine hole disc golf course: “We have a potential for two more holes, but the city wants to see how this goes first,” said Morgan Park Neighborhood Coordinator Debbie Isabell Nelson. Apparently Duluth’s newest Frisbee golf course was a joint partnership between the town and local businesses and residents. The city bough five of the Frisbee Golf baskets, while the money for the other two were collected from local businesses and area residents. And if you haven’t gotten a Frisbee golf disc, here your chance! The City will give away 250 free disc golf discs for people who do good deeds. The grand opening will be from 6:30 – 8pm on Thursday.

And the other disc golf course in Mont Du Lac is no joke either. It is a full-sized disc golf course with 18 holes of Frisbee golf action. You know there are tons of Frisbee golf players that can;t wait to check it out. It was designed by Bryan Lagergren of Duluth. Some of the Frisbee golf holes will be long and others will be shorter. The longest Frisbee golf hole is 605 feet while the shortest is a par-3 185 feet. The Frisbee golf course features woods and open holes all along the beautiful skiing area. It is located on Minnesota Highway 23. it will cost $5 to play or you can buy a Frisbee golf season pass of r $30 bucks. “It’s been my dream forever,” said Lagergren, who built the course in six weeks with friends. “I wanted to just kind of show off all the terrain that’s out here. We have straight shots, we have tight tunnel shots. … We have a couple holes where you shoot up to the water and a couple where you shoot over the water.”

Loche ness course in Blaine set to open late Sept.


A nine-hole disc golf course is expected to open at the end of September at Lochness Park in Blaine.

"Get ready to enjoy the fall colors and a little disc golf," said Jim Kappelhoff, Blaine parks and recreation director.

The Park Board voted last November to move forward with disc golf course designer Mike Snelson of Fairway Flyerz Discs, Inc. Snelson served as the lead designer for nine disc golf courses, co-designer for four courses and design adviser for 14 courses in Minnesota and Wisconsin.



Because Lochness is a former landfill capped in the 1970s, no construction can happen at the park without Minnesota Pollution Control Agency approval. That approval has been granted, but construction is postponed until trees around the course can be trimmed.

Kappelhoff told Sun Focus because trees can spread diseases such as oak wilt and dutch elm when in vegetation, trimming can't start until after August.

The length of the course is almost 4,000 feet for beginners and more than 5,000 feet for professional disc golf players. The par is 36 for all players.

The total estimated cost is $9,811, which includes labor and equipment. Kappelhoff told the Park Board that amount could be almost cut in half because the Blaine Public Works Department would install most of the tee boxes and targets.

Kappelhoff said anyone interested in playing disc golf will need to bring their own discs, which are relatively cheap.

"Some people have discs in their garages," he said.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

lattitude 64 has an new high speed driver The Blitz.


Our latest high speed driver is approved and out on the market. The Blitz is a fast overstable driver good for windy days. It has a solid reliable flight without being silly overstable. With a good snap you can throw this baby as far as our Riot. Can we say XXX on steroids??

This is how it measures:
Outside diameter: 21.2 cm (max weight 176,0 grams)
Inside rim diameter: 16,8 cm
Height: 1.6 cm
Rim depth: 1.2 cm
Rim thickness: 2.2 cm
Flexibility rating: 9,2 kg
Rim configuration rating: 30.50

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Nice disc golf video from Sweden

The sport is really taking off in Sweden.

New disc golf course opens in Rosemount MN


Sean Buckley tossed a disc at the Brockway Park Disc Golf Course in Rosemount. Disc golf was added to the new park in response to the growing populairty of the sport. The park is being developed on the site of a former glass manufacturer. Playscapes and picnic shelters will be added this fall.

Innova Destroyer now in Champion plastic


About the Destroyer
The Destroyer is a very fast stable long distance driver. This disc is much like a faster Wraith, but with a little more high and low speed stability. Great disc for sidearm throwers and those with lots of power. Can handle headwinds and throws with off axis torque. Not suggested for beginning players.

Innova Xcaliber now in Champion plastic


About the XCaliber
The XCaliber is for those who have got to have the biggest and the baddest. Extremely fast with glide and stability. The XCaliber achieves maximum distance when thrown low, flat, and hard. This is the one for confident bombs in windy conditions. The XCaliber has the stability to let the biggest arms throw with full power. If you have a cannon for an arm, you'll want an XCaliber. Great disc for sidearm throwers and those with lots of power. Can handle headwinds and throws with off axis torque. Definitely not designed for beginning players.

Worlds wrap up





Avery Jenkins Wins World Championship
Completes Family Sweep in Open Division

by Dr. John G. Duesler, Jr.

It took one week, 140 holes, and a swarm of butterflies in the gut, but Avery Jenkins overcame some late putting problems and a strong closing surge by Josh Anthon to capture his first Professional World Championship title in Kansas City at the 2009 PDGA World Championships.

Avery Jenkins brought a two throw lead with him into the final nine holes, played at the scenic Blue Valley course in Kansas City. But a drive that came up short on hole five, and a missed putt on six left the door open for Anthon to capitalize and move himself into a first place tie.

The estimated gallery of 1500 fans that surrounded the Men's Open group throughout the afternoon were delighted at the intense drama that unfolded near the end. On the 476 feet long, hole nine of the finals, both Jenkins and Anthon had solid drives onto the island green, leaving them with relatively easy upshots and drop-ins to force the sudden death. And while Jenkins neatly hit the bottom the basket to rest easily with his drop-in, Anthon shorted his second throw, leaving himself with mind-numbing 27-feet putt that he needed to force the extra holes.

Anthon eyed the basket carefully, as the electrified gallery held their breath to see if Josh could make what, at that point, was the biggest putt of his career. He backed off his lie once, as if to punctuate the importance of that single throw, but stepped back up quickly and confidently and proceeded to hit the heart of the chains to make the shot and set the immense crowd roaring and sprinting into position to watch the epic battle continue in sudden death.

Both players seemed very tight on the first two holes, as each misthrew crucial upshots on hole one, and laid up on hole two to keep things tied up. But, if there were any butterflies on the first two holes, Jenkins and Anthon showed no signs of them on hole three, where they each unleashed booming uphill drives that were all of 400 feet into the fairway.

After the sudden death moved past the third and fourth holes, the fateful, and shorter hole five is where the tournament would be decided. Jenkins lead off with a low-liner up the sloping 287-feet hole, leaving himself with an 18-feet putt. Anthon's drive looked similar to Jenkins's, but the disc never faded towards the basket and landed some 35 feet away.

Again the crowd was hushed as Josh slowly climbed the hill towards what he knew was a must-make putt. And while his excellent throw was definitely chain high, Anthon's toss was off-center enough for the disc to fly-by without going in the basket.

This left the crowd bellowing chants of, "Come on Avery" and "Finish this now," as Jenkins stepped over his historic last putt. With the confidence that a World Champion must have, Jenkins smashed the chains in the middle of the post and won his first professional world championship, clearly the biggest win in his outstanding career.

Only one other Men's Open World Championship required a playoff, as Gregg Hosfeld defeated Mike Sullivan in Toronto in 1987.

For Avery Jenkins, his World Championship win was especially poignant, as his sister, Valarie Jenkins had earlier captured her third consecutive women's World Championship by defeating Des Reading.

The Professional Disc Golf Association would like to express our most sincere gratitude and thanks to the Kansas City Flying Disc Club for a most excellent 2009 PDGA Disc Golf World Championships. 922 players from 13 countries and 44 states attended the event making it the largest world championships in history. It was also stated by many of the competitors that this was also one of, if not the best, world championships in history. Tournament Directors Jack Lowe and John Chapman, along with Rick Rothstein and a bevvy of volunteers put on a show that will be tough to match for years to come and they should all be very proud of their accomplishments.

Log on to PDGA.com over the next couple of days as we will be publishing additional feature wrap up stories on the 2009 PDGA Disc Golf World Championships.

The PDGA would like to congratulate the following members for claiming world championship titles in the respective divisions:

Open - Avery Jenkins

Open Women - Valarie Jenkins

Pro Master - Phil Arthur

Pro Women Master - Elaine King

Pro Grandmaster - David Greenwell

Pro Women Grandmaster - Kathy Hardyman

Pro Senior Grandmaster - Dr. Rick Voakes

Legends - Jerry Robbins, Sr.

Advanced Men - Matt Keatts

Advanced Women - Maureen Higgins

Advanced Masters - Joe Rotan

Advanced Masters Women - Marie Fry

Advanced Grandmmasters - Paul Wright

Advanced Grandmasters Women - Sue B. Lande

Advanced Senior Grandmasters - Gary Camp

Junior <19 Boys - Nageeb Laborde

Junior <19 Girls - Audrey Quirk

Junior <16 Boys - Oscar Stenfelt

Junior <16 Girls - Nicole Cazares

Junior <13 Boys - Andrew Coggin

Junior <13 Girls - Gabriella Gray

Junior <10 Boys - Nicholas Duran

Junior <10 Girls - Lydia Dillen

Vibram Gets in the Game with Unique Rubber Disc Golf Putters

NORTH BROOKFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vibram is changing the course of disc golf with the introduction of two putter styles and a mini course marker, all made of Vibram rubber instead of the traditional plastic. Disc golfers throw discs from a tee area to a target (hole), completing each hole in as few throws as possible. Discs of various profiles (driver, mid-range and putter) with different flight characteristics are used, depending on the distance and terrain, just as woods, irons and putters are used in traditional golf.

“Usually, plastic has been the material of choice for discs,” explained Vibram Open Tournament Director Steven Dodge. “The Vibram X-Link rubber compound offers a step up in both grip and durability. Over the life of the disc, this will lead to a more consistent flight, which is the overall goal.”

The exclusive X-Link Vibram rubber compound offers many advantages over the traditional plastic material including more durability in hot and cold conditions and better grip, which leads to greater flight consistency. Designed by Quabaug Corporation, the exclusive North American manufacturing licensee for Vibram, the putters and mini will be launched at the Vibram Open at Maple Hill in Leicester, Mass. August 14-16.

Unlike plastic, which tends to shatter in cold and become floppy in heat, Vibram disc putters withstand extreme temperatures for consistent flight regardless of weather. The Vibram putters also resist scuffing, denting and warping, resulting in more reliable throws. As with all products made by Vibram, grip is paramount.

The VP (Vibram Putter) is a driving putter available in standard or firm X-Link. Referred to by one field tester as “the greatest driving putter ever made,” the VP will be released at the Vibram Open. The Summit, with a name borrowed from Vibram’s hiking legacy, is a straight putter for anhyzer (slice) approaches or drives. The Vibram Mini, boldly emblazoned with the Vibram logo, gets style points as a course marker. Expected MSRP for each putter is $17.95. Both putters and the mini will be available at Pinnacle Retail stores on August 14th.

About Quabaug Corporation and Vibram

With proven technology and a 70-year history in the manufacture of soling for footwear, Quabaug Corporation is uniquely qualified to offer disc golf products that capitalize on the superior resilience of rubber. Located in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, Quabaug Corporation employs 300 people and manufactures Vibram® shoe soling and QuaBoing® resilient rubber surfacing.

Quabaug Corporation also offers dog toys, training tools, leashes and collars in its line of Vibram® Pet Products. These include Vibram balls, sticks, discs and the Shooey Chewie tug toy, which are all molded in the USA from rubber compliant with California Proposition 65. In addition, they provide specialized hoof protection products for farriers.

Vibram is a registered trademark of Vibram S.p.A of Italy. Quabaug Corporation is the North American manufacturer of Vibram products under exclusive license. Visit Vibram at www.vibram.us.

New course at Bunker Hills to be done by mid Sept.


I have been talking to the director of Parks for Anoka county, and the landscape Architect for the county. The word is the Bunker Hills DGC work will begin this month and be open in early to mid Sept. The layout is 18 holes par 60. longest hole 850ft. 4 par 4's, one par 5, rest par 3's. The location is the first left in the park coming in from the Bunker Lake blvd side. This is the course layout.