No Discraft Pro's on Lead Cards Lately...

[Mr. America]

Before reading this thread, I had no idea who was even with Discraft outside of MJ and Doss. Now I know that they have MJ, Doss, and.... uhhhh... Cam Todd?

I guess I could look at their website if I really cared.

I am glad that people have "switched teams" and still are playing well. Even if the Prodigy players are still using many of their old discs.

 

[atl scott]

Prodigy signed the very best players in the world ... Beard was asked to leave before the venture even got started.

Juicy details?

 

[SteezeOG]

Did someone just say Prodigy discs because they just perform? I don't know if you know their short history or not but they've had oval, overweight, and faded discs in the first few months. Most every proto or first run I threw was a glideless turd that felt cheap but I was charged more than any other disc ever. If that's your definition of performance than Discraft will be just fine.

 

[ScottyLove]

There is only about 60 miles between us, and I still have not seen one.

LOL!!! Okay... I'll come down to league sometime and you can see mine. Love the course down there!

 

[dashiellx]

Come on, JOHAN He's Dutch.

Its Denmark

That's right....to most Americans, though, it's all the same place.

I have to agree with The Hammer, unfortunately, most people don't know the difference. However, this is bugging the crap out of me.

Someone who identifies as Dutch comes from Netherlands. Someone from Denmark will refer to themselves as Danish or as a Dane.

Sorry, doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things or in relation to the thread, was just bugging the crap out of me.

 

[ScottyLove]

Nope. Definitely not bored watching McBeast's career season in the making. I just want to see how he finds a way to win the next one...cuz he keeps coming up big even when behind. Spotlight is on and the dude shines.

Why would we be tired of watching superstars do their thing? Does anybody care what the Charlotte Bobcats do? **** no they watch LeBron, CP3, Kobe, KD, etc.

Another 100% agreement... bored of watching the top players in the world?? That's crazy. I don't care what they throw. I just wanna see the best and the repeating top cards are kinda of creating rivalries.

So nope... bring on McBeast, Locastro, Wysocki, and the others every week!

 

[BirdmanCR]

I think to be on top you have to actually win a worlds so wouldn't kolling be out?

 

[TOURNEYPLAYER]

I think to be on top you have to actually win a worlds so wouldn't kolling be out?

Didnt Koling win Am worlds?

 

[Monkeypaws]

Now that spring has finally arrived here, and our courses are flooded with users, I'd have to say that most of these folks I'm seeing, or waiting behind, none of whom looks over 23, probably don't even know that such a thing as pro disc golf even exists. I'm fairly certain it would also have zero influence on their decision of what discs to buy; looks(tie-die), cool names(Boss, Nuke), and price win that one.

 

[_MTL_]

I think to be on top you have to actually win a worlds so wouldn't kolling be out?

That logic eliminates Ricky Wysocki and Will Shusterick - clearly the two best in the world right now - among others.

Worlds is a huge deal, but it's just one event.

 

[WhiteyBear]

I mean, just because they switched teams doesn't mean that Prodigy is the best discs out there right? How long have the top 10, Prodigy wise, been throwing Prodigy and ONLY Prodigy? Keep that in mind.

Give it 2-3 years and come back to this discussion.

 

[ejvogie]

Didnt Koling win Am worlds?

Hell, Wysocki dropped down to 19 and under for his Am World's win because Wiggins was in beast mode at the time, and had destroyed Ricky at Am Nats.

Then the next year the roles reversed and the SockiBomb hasn't looked back.

 

[Halcón]

Sorry, doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things or in relation to the thread, was just bugging the crap out of me.

It matters to the world, who sees most 'muricans as monolingual, culturally ignorant morons. So, thank you for posting that, cause it was buggin' me too.

 

[SirRaph]

Perhaps after they lost a bunch of players to Prodigy, Innova and Discraft are realizing that sponsorship isn't doing them a ton of good at this point. They've got a huge market share, and the demographic where they sell the most discs (noobs) doesn't care at all about the top pros. It'll be interesting to see if that's the direction those companies continue, or if Prodigy's model of making sponsorship a much higher paying thing for players ends up having any real benefits for the company in the long run.

That's an interesting point.

Selling to noobs is largely about one thing: distribution.

Selling to tournament players is a multitude of things. But word of mouth, distribution, and marketing all play a factor.

One thing I will say is that the long standing DG companies like Innova and Discraft have both been in the business long enough to have seen patterns when they have a strong or a weak team. And they continue to sponsor players. So there must be enough to justify some cost.

It will really be interesting to see how Prodigy fares. I'm not intimately familiar with the people behind it, but I do know that this stage of their company's existence is the toughest part. They've absorbed the cost of designing, molding, marketing and distributing their discs, forked out the cash to pull in the big boys. Whether they can recoup that money quickly enough to keep themselves liquid is going the be interesting.
Whether they can absorb the cost of sponsoring those players over the long term, and whether or not they continue to hold onto those players, and whether they ultimately find that sponsoring the best players in the world is worth it financially...it will be interesting.

 

[The Hammer]

I have to agree with The Hammer, unfortunately, most people don't know the difference. However, this is bugging the crap out of me.

Someone who identifies as Dutch comes from Netherlands. Someone from Denmark will refer to themselves as Danish or as a Dane.

Sorry, doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things or in relation to the thread, was just bugging the crap out of me.

I'm actually impressed that someone picked up on that. I thought for sure no one would get it.

 

[emook]

Perhaps after they lost a bunch of players to Prodigy, Innova and Discraft are realizing that sponsorship isn't doing them a ton of good at this point. They've got a huge market share, and the demographic where they sell the most discs (noobs) doesn't care at all about the top pros. It'll be interesting to see if that's the direction those companies continue, or if Prodigy's model of making sponsorship a much higher paying thing for players ends up having any real benefits for the company in the long run.

Disc golfers who spend a bunch of time on forums are buying a ton of prodigy discs. I have yet to see a casual disc golfer throwing one. I doubt you can sustain a market share just based on the small segment of the disc golf population us forum nerds represent.

You make a fair point.

Who on the pro circut throws MVP? Exactly.

Yet, noobs love those things. I see them all over the place.

I understand Prodigy's marketing strategy, but I basically think it's going to be a big bust. Supporting top players does nothing for the sport as a whole, in my opinion.

Until someone says "oh, I'm switching my whole bag out from Innova to prodigy b/c Will did it" then I'll stand by my opinion.

But they seem to moving discs left and right, so who knows.

you all make some valid points, but are missing a huge issue with our sport in general that effects not only prodigy, but other disc brands. All these people you say and see are buying these discs aren't buying them from the manufacturers. Disc golf will never grow constantly existing within itself. No one is truly supporting any company unless each time you buy or replace a disc you're buying it from a store or a distributor of some thing. Having 1 disc bought and sold 5 and 6 times does not help our sport at all.

 

[Daniel Marcus]

Wait What??

Fact is Doss, Jenkins, and McCabe don't have the same skills as the guys at the top any longer.

Have you seen Nate play recently? I think he just won his THIRD world championship less than 2 years ago! I would be willing to bet he wins another one or two before he's done... He's in his 20s... Wow...

 

[DangeRuss]

I don't see why Discraft hasn't at least signed a couple more people from the Michigan area. There is plenty of talent around here just waiting to be sponsered.

 

[_MTL_]

Have you seen Nate play recently? I think he just won his THIRD world championship less than 2 years ago! I would be willing to bet he wins another one or two before he's done... He's in his 20s... Wow...

Nate is in that second tier of players right now.

The top tier is Ricky Will Paul and maybe Dave.

But there is a big drop in wins after that.

In NT and larger fields, almost every single time Ricky Will or Paul wins.

Nate is amazing player and an amazing talent, but he hasn't honestly done too much since that worlds (well he won an NT and the players cup shortly after, but last year he only won one A Tier and nothing bigger)

 

[DG_Before_Breakfast]

Nate is in that second tier of players right now.

The top tier is Ricky Will Paul and maybe Dave.

But there is a big drop in wins after that.

In NT and larger fields, almost every single time Ricky Will or Paul wins.

Nate is amazing player and an amazing talent, but he hasn't honestly done too much since that worlds (well he won an NT and the players cup shortly after, but last year he only won one A Tier and nothing bigger)

They are the hot ones right now for sure. Not a long period to make a judgement on though.

I think Nate burned out a bit after people gave him crap for not winning every tournament after the 2011 Worlds, so the last off season he went to Oregon and made beer with Val. Kind of need to have a life beyond Disc Golf since you can't get rich at it. Or you could blame titanium plastic if you wanted