2019 Pros Switching Sponsors Official Thread

I can ask for 10 different shafts and get 10 different results without even touching the club head. Endless adjustment options and combinations with club head and shaft, all legal and can be done within minutes. The 3rd layer is the multitude of ball choices.

I think you would be surprised at how many people will custom grind their own clubs because I know exactly what they want. They won't let another person touch them because they've been doing it for 20 years to get their own specific results

The engineer is an absolute tool in Ball Golf. They are told what to do, like programming a computer. Real Engineers the golfer who is out doing all of the research and development on the course, deciding which combination works best for them.

think about F1 racing and how dialed in the driver is with every piece of the car. They're the real engineers, but you're not going to see them stamping out parts for the car.

Good points. The amount of adjustments you can make to a golf club is essentially limitless now a days and it can all be done in seconds. I have tinkered with building my own clubs. I have reshafted and changed swingweight etc. It really is it's own hobby outside of actually playing golf. Each pro team has a whole tour van (which is a huge winnebago) to go in and make adjustments before and after the tournament or round to ever club if they desire. There are hundreds of heads and shafts and grips to choose from.
 
I can only speak from my observation in my area, so take that with a grain of salt.

In my area, Discraft is considered the white trash of Disc golf. An old company that has kind of fallen by the way side in it's presence. The only people around me that throw exclusively Discraft are old timers and the guys who need rides to league because of one too many DWIs.

If Discraft wants to up their game, increase they're media presence and create a new image, Paul could be the ticket. And I for one would like to see Discraft up it's efforts with some new plastics and a more professional look.

Some see Paul moving to Discraft as a step backwards (or sideways at best), but I think they're not seeing the bigger future possible picture. Then they're are those fan boys that just can't accept change.

I'll admit I was shocked, I thought Paul would throw Innova for life like Climo, but I got over it. One of the reasons I never gravitated towards any hero worship, they'll always let you down. Nobody can live up to someone elses expectations.

I don't know what the future hold for Paul, but I wish him the best and will still look forward to watching him play, even if it is with Discraft. I'll have to reconsider that statement however if he moves to DD!:D

Indeed, I am sure disc choice is very regional. Though the above is posed as your observation, I dare say it is simple supposition. I also dare say, that maybe you should look to your "old timers" for potential sage insight on discs, as many have probably thrown a whole bunch of them over the years.

I always questions brand exclusive bag owners. With the massive options in molds and plastics, limiting yourself to a brand seems myopic at best.

I do throw some Discraft, but living here, I get too much of it in tournament play to not find a spot for some of it in my bag. Beside, as an "oldtimer" I would have a hard time without my Magnet, Comet, Stratus or Buzzz.
 
Yes and crime is crime. I'd just as soon be a victim of violent crime as theft, wouldn't you?

This is so far off topic that it's not even funny. But if you want to play.

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100dangerous this list is based off FBI statistics.

Cleveland is ranked 15 and philly is 76. Cleveland is consistently ranked in the top 10 most dangerous and worst cities to live on other listst as well. Philly is no where near that on any list. Philly is just over 4x as large as Cleveland and per capita Cleveland has higher rates of rape, murder, assault and robbery. I'm not sure what you're trying to prove when all the statistics say the complete opposite. I'll post the stats below so you can do the simple math and see for yourself. As I said, it's best not to throw stones.

Cleveland
o Population: 385,809
o Cleveland's Violent Crime Rate: 16.36
o No. of Violent Crimes: 6,312
o Assault: 2,698 | Robbery: 2,985 | Rape: 494 | Murder: 135
o Chance of being a victim: 1 in 61

Philadelphia
o Population: 1,567,872
o Philadelphia's Violent Crime Rate: 9.92
o No. of Violent Crimes: 15,556
o Assault: 7,825 | Robbery: 6,199 | Rape: 1,259 | Murder: 273
o Chance of being a victim: 1 in 101

Now, can we get back to the topic at hand and stop cluttering this chat with other things.
 
Since apparently everyone is leaving Innova and Prodigy. Who is joining those companies? Drop that insider knowledge peeps.
 
With the number of sponsored players Innova is fielding, do they really need to recruit?
Prodigy has Seppo and Dickerson still.

I am not for sure that companies need that many top pros.

Prodigy will pick up some youth, and let them grow into the sport, if they keep with their past MO
 
Indeed, I am sure disc choice is very regional. Though the above is posed as your observation, I dare say it is simple supposition. I also dare say, that maybe you should look to your "old timers" for potential sage insight on discs, as many have probably thrown a whole bunch of them over the years.

I always questions brand exclusive bag owners. With the massive options in molds and plastics, limiting yourself to a brand seems myopic at best.

I do throw some Discraft, but living here, I get too much of it in tournament play to not find a spot for some of it in my bag. Beside, as an "oldtimer" I would have a hard time without my Magnet, Comet, Stratus or Buzzz.

I dare say, if you read my post, you would know that "I" bag some Discraft. And yes, I started throwing a Comet from watching old timers (and this forum).

I've been throwing a Comet for 4 years. When I first bagged it, I got laughed at by the regulars. It took two years before a buddy of mine decided he had to try one after watching me throw one for a while. You should hear the ribbing I got from putting a Stratus back in my bag!

"I" didn't say Discraft was the brand of white trash, I was only saying how Discraft is perceived in my area. Around here, the big push by the average player is Trilogy. It's new and exciting and oh those cool Viking themed stamps! Discraft and even Innova are old school.

One of the down sides to "grow the sport". Marrieds of newbies and ams toting Zuka carts stuffed full of cool looking discs they can't throw bragging about how these cool disc fly. Yeah, they're torqued over and fly just as far as the Surge, Nuke or Destroyer you were previously throwing.

"In my area" we're beginning to see a split, old school vs new, the club is falling apart, league participation is down and there are splinter groups going off to do they're own thing. Yeah, growing pains. And even the local PIAS isn't going to restock they're Discraft because they still haven't sold off what they ordered over 2 years ago.

I'd like to see Discraft re-up they're game, there are discs I would love to try if they only came in something other than a Z variant.

We'll see.
 
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Indeed, I am sure disc choice is very regional. Though the above is posed as your observation, I dare say it is simple supposition. I also dare say, that maybe you should look to your "old timers" for potential sage insight on discs, as many have probably thrown a whole bunch of them over the years.

I always questions brand exclusive bag owners. With the massive options in molds and plastics, limiting yourself to a brand seems myopic at best.

I do throw some Discraft, but living here, I get too much of it in tournament play to not find a spot for some of it in my bag. Beside, as an "oldtimer" I would have a hard time without my Magnet, Comet, Stratus or Buzzz.


I throw all one brand, with the exception of a midrange slot that rotates between 3 or 4 manufacturers. I don't find myself limited in anyway. I like their plastics and they have a big enough selection to fill all slots in my bag. Less for me to think about.
 
If we lend some credibility to the rumors found here and on reddit for a moment let's fast forward to February and imagine one of the possible "new look" scenarios!

Notes at the bottom:

Innova's Top 3:
- Barsby
- Sexton
- Conrad

Discraft Top 3:
- McBeth
- Jones
- Ulibarri

Discmania Top 3:
- McMahon
- Lizotte
- Shue

Prodigy Top 3:
- Dickerson
- Paju
- Orum (or Colglazier)

Latitude Top 3:
- Wysocki
- McCray
- Owens

Dynamic Discs Top 3:
- Melton
- Risley
- Oakley (or Keegan)

DGA Top 3:
- Elmore
- Bitney
- Criss

--------------------------

Notes:

- You have to be "full time touring" to be on this (for fun, irrelevant) list. Discraft obviously has MJ and Doss, but we'll likely only see them sporadically unless things change. I'm also counting MPO, so in cases like DGA where Jon Baldwin is the #1 he doesn't make the list because he mostly plays MP40+

- I didn't do FPO to keep the post short, and because there seem to be fewer moves. If someone wants to, feel free.

- If Jones goes with Prodigy over Discraft (seems to be the strongest 2 suitors), he goes immediately to #2 and bumps Paju to #3

- Small rumor that I heard awhile back but nothing new on is Grady Shue being courted by DD (he's dating Bjerkaas). That would move him from Discmania #3 --> DD #1, and bring Nate Perkins into the Discmania #3 spot.

- I omitted Westside and MVP because of their small teams with no real week-in and week-out road warrior NT/M/PT threat. Am I wrong? Agree or Disagree? Matt Dollar might be the biggest threat, but he doesn't tour much.

- Some people might argue that Emerson Keith and Matt Bell deserve to contend for the #3 spot in lieu of Devan Owens. Thoughts?


-------------------------

Or in general, reactions?
 
Don't know if that helps:
Devan Owens: Current Rating: 1019 (as of 09-Oct-2018)
Matt Bell: Current Rating: 1015 (as of 30-Oct-2018)
Emerson Keith: Current Rating: 1013 (as of 30-Oct-2018)
Maybe ranking them is not as important - it could be that an veteran like Doss, MJ, or Philo produce more revenue for the discgolf companies than a newer name with a better season. If you look from that perspective.

Other than that - I like the movements. And the fact that there is some diversity.
 
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^^ Looks about right. I could see Calvin Heimburg sneaking into Innova's top three but I agree with the way you have it now.

I'd put Heimburg in that "next up" category as well. Lots of potential there.

Don't know if that helps:
Devan Owens: Current Rating: 1019 (as of 09-Oct-2018)
Matt Bell: Current Rating: 1015 (as of 30-Oct-2018)
Emerson Keith: Current Rating: 1013 (as of 30-Oct-2018)
Maybe ranking them is not as important - it could be that an veteran like Doss, MJ, or Philo produce more revenue for the discgolf companies than a newer name with a better season. If you look from that perspective.

Other than that - I like the movements. And the fact that there is some diversity.

Those 3 (and the DD team outside of Melton) were the most difficult to parse out, especially since I didn't rigidly define what qualifies the "top 3" - it's just kinda a mix of what they've earned, who the fans want to see/hype-in-general, and some stats mixed in.

For example - in the moment to we weigh DO's 4 ratings points as heavier than Matt Bell winning a World Mixed Doubles title? etc. etc.
 
If we lend some credibility to the rumors found here and on reddit for a moment let's fast forward to February and imagine one of the possible "new look" scenarios!

Notes at the bottom:

Innova's Top 3:
- Barsby
- Sexton
- Conrad

Discraft Top 3:
- McBeth
- Jones
- Ulibarri

Discmania Top 3:
- McMahon
- Lizotte
- Shue

Prodigy Top 3:
- Dickerson
- Paju
- Orum (or Colglazier)

Latitude Top 3:
- Wysocki
- McCray
- Owens

Dynamic Discs Top 3:
- Melton
- Risley
- Oakley (or Keegan)

DGA Top 3:
- Elmore
- Bitney
- Criss

--------------------------

Notes:

- You have to be "full time touring" to be on this (for fun, irrelevant) list. Discraft obviously has MJ and Doss, but we'll likely only see them sporadically unless things change. I'm also counting MPO, so in cases like DGA where Jon Baldwin is the #1 he doesn't make the list because he mostly plays MP40+

- I didn't do FPO to keep the post short, and because there seem to be fewer moves. If someone wants to, feel free.

- If Jones goes with Prodigy over Discraft (seems to be the strongest 2 suitors), he goes immediately to #2 and bumps Paju to #3

- Small rumor that I heard awhile back but nothing new on is Grady Shue being courted by DD (he's dating Bjerkaas). That would move him from Discmania #3 --> DD #1, and bring Nate Perkins into the Discmania #3 spot.

- I omitted Westside and MVP because of their small teams with no real week-in and week-out road warrior NT/M/PT threat. Am I wrong? Agree or Disagree? Matt Dollar might be the biggest threat, but he doesn't tour much.

- Some people might argue that Emerson Keith and Matt Bell deserve to contend for the #3 spot in lieu of Devan Owens. Thoughts?


-------------------------

Or in general, reactions?

You're forgetting about Cale on the Prodigy side. I think he hits enough big events to fit the full time touring pro stipulation.
 
Notes at the bottom:

Innova's Top 3:
- Barsby
- Sexton
- Conrad

Discraft Top 3:
- McBeth
- Jones
- Ulibarri

Discmania Top 3:
- McMahon
- Lizotte
- Shue

Prodigy Top 3:
- Dickerson
- Paju
- Orum (or Colglazier)

Latitude Top 3:
- Wysocki
- McCray
- Owens

Dynamic Discs Top 3:
- Melton
- Risley
- Oakley (or Keegan)

DGA Top 3:
- Elmore
- Bitney
- Criss

--------------------------

We need a team challenge Tournament if this spread plays out. That would be some exciting golf!
 
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