Perspective

Tina recently put some really profound thoughts into my head, earlier this year I had tournaments where my performance was a success when I averaged out to a 4 digit rating. I would be happy with being above my rating no matter what, so why would I be so upset when did average these things but unfortunately missed cash? It doesn't make sense to beat yourself up when you are doing things that are above where you are. Now I understand that the potential of what could be is higher, but our ratings are what they are because that is what we have done over the past year. I need to not think about any of this and just let the game happen, trust that no matter what I can handle any situation because of the hard work I have been putting into this game.

I have had some conversations with players that have a better grasp on the mental side of the game and they also have helped me think about what needs to change. Paul Oman reminded me that I have all the necessary skills to do anything in this game, I just have to let the game happen no matter what. Nate Perkins told me that I need to worry less about the adverse situations I may end up in. Jonathan Ray told me that I need to not worry about what other players think of me, and to keep working hard and to be me. I believe that these things all have incredible ways to help me push forward in my game. It's not about being a 4 digit player or anything like that it's about working hard to become the best player I can be. Stop allowing the wrong thoughts in and pushing forward with my game. I am thankful that these guys have helped me realize that there is more I can be doing.

I am very lucky to have such a great support system through friends, family and sponsors. I feel like I have more to say but I just needed to put this to writing so I can have something to look back on. I am constantly looking to improve in every way I can. I feel like this step will be the biggest step of my career if I can figure it out. Thanks to everyone for their continued support!

More fun times are ahead, we will be up in my favorite place soon for the Green Mountain Championships. I am excited to just soak it all in and do my absolute best. Plus Tina and I will begin planning our wedding so it will be nearly impossible to not have the best time!

Tina and I are always looking for ideas for new videos, what would you like to see? Is there a topic that you would like us to cover?

Keep those Putter Pants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPFOsy1nGP0
Enjoy!

I Love Disc Golf!

There are so many reasons why I love this sport and the community of disc golfers. The many different people I get to meet remind me just how lucky I am, I get to travel this beautiful country and meet so many different people each and every day. This sport is already something that brings me continued pleasure, even when disc golf seems hard, I seem to embrace the adversity and feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I come out on the other side. My entire GBO experience was one of so many different emotions that all were amazing. I had frustration at Olpe, satisfaction at Jones East, relief at Radius, happiness at the Dynamic Discs Store and DC, and just an overall sense of awesome being in Emporia. I feel at home when I have conversations with anyone at DD, the simple fact that I am considered part of this incredible family is incredible. It's something I didn't know was truly there until I became a part of it and all I want to do is help it grow and continue to be the best brand in disc golf.

Many people have reached out to me to show support, give praise, and seek advice. If you have done this please know that you are such a big part of my happiness. You all have given me something to strive for. You make it all worth it. So thank you so much for all that you have done for me and I will not stop here.

I may not be one of the worlds top players, yet, but I will be working each and every day to find the right ways to get better and give back to this incredible community. If my play sometimes suffers because I get to impact maybe a single person then I am completely for it. Giving back and helping this sport grow will always come first. We are getting to travel to so many new/old places this year and it seems like they only get better and more beautiful. Tina and I are truly lucky.

I love how this sport makes me feel. I love what this community does for each other, especially when we put aside all of the unwanted drama. I love the places I get to see. I love the courses I get to play, sometimes... HAHA. I love the people. I LOVE DISC GOLF!

If you have the opportunity to give back or spread disc golf, DO IT! Don't wait until tomorrow or another day, do it today and give back every chance you get. As always, thanks for reading and keep those PutterPants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SmoWEgOAzk
Enjoy

Getting Through a Slump

After a very positive start to my season I found myself getting complacent and expecting only good golf. In reality that is just not how golf works. You have to continue to stay on top of each and every throw, round, and tournament. I was making simple errors and not connecting on my putts. I was still doing some very good things in my rounds but my mistakes outweighed the good. It became more of a mental battle to keep myself going and trusting that I could still play golf and keep pushing forward searching for the right game. I decided to change up my practice routine for a tournament to be a bit more vigorous, I planned on playing more than just 1 or 2 rounds on the courses. I wanted to get some more solid practice golf in an attempt to better myself. I still kept the philosophy of having no expectations, but with this added preparation I felt as if I was getting to such a good place in my game. I was playing from shots in practice that would better me in my tournament rounds. Sometimes you need a change of pace to reconnect yourself with your golf game.

The biggest things about understanding slumps is why they are happening in the first place. What are you doing different and how do you regain the focus?  More often than not they are from lack of focus, you may feel the same but your focus isn't completely on the details when they need to be. For instance in Temple I continually put my upshots long of the basket, making it very difficult to score, for Nick Hyde, Texas States and Jonesboro I took extra time on my approaches to correct from those mistakes and get my approaches in the circle to give me more opportunities to score. Another focus issue I had was psyching myself out of putts on Chainstar's, now these baskets are not the best but it shouldn't effect my putting like it has, I need to step up and do my part and if something bad happens just take that in stride. A little bit of time on the practice green and getting my timing back in line helped incredibly and I found myself putting very well. I have a been having a few short misses lately but I might be attributing that to a bit of fatigue and I am excited to have a little bit more of a relaxing leading up to the GBO. What I hope someone takes out of this, is to trust your skill set, even when it feels so off and you are finding frustration, just stick to the basics and do the easy things great to build your confidence back up.  Up your focus when you are in the moment and let things be easy.

I am very fortunate to have a great support system, I always feel as if I have people in my court and that makes it easier to keep pushing forward. I can't thank Tina, Dynamic Discs, Handeye Supply Co, BOOOM, The Nati, and Launchpad enough.

I know I still have a long way to go, but it was great having a handful of humbling moments to help me reset my focus and get me back to where I need to be. Thanks everyone for reading. Keep those PutterPants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4cUFgggQIE
Enjoy

GCC and The Memorial

After a very eventful start to the year hanging with Jonathan Ray and helping with the Chasin the Chains winter series in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, and San Diego, I was very eager for the tournament season to get underway, but I didn't think these past two weeks would be as exhausting as they were. Side note, I did pick up my second PDGA win at the Chasin the Chains Flex Start at Conocido shooting a 1064 rated round, I was super pumped and it gives me confidence that I can continue to have a great year if I play my game!

GCC! After missing last years GCC due to work it was nice to get out to this event and take in everything it had to offer. There will always be complaints about each and every tournament, but in Vegas we ran into a lot of weird things that I felt could've been avoided with more foresight from experienced players. Either way the courses each had unique challenges, some a little more gimmicky than others, but they were challenges none the less. I held together after my first round to have a very strong finish to put myself in a solid place. The second round was mixed with just a handful of mistakes but other than that it was very solid golf. The third round was where I realized that I wasn't much of a fan of the courses because it kept feeling like we were playing the same holes. You throw far and avoid a hazard and pitch up over more hazards to a basket on a mound. Lots of "tweener" holes that couldn't necessarily be reached but the majority of the field would take the same score on the hole. I would shoot my lowest rated round of the weekend, which lit a fire under me a little and allowed me to gather myself going into the final round. I was motivated and I knew what I was capable of. I had one hiccup that cost me a stroke or two early, but the real bummer was on the final hole. I played what I felt was the right shot and got a reverse skip and roll into the water. I collected myself got a good read on the wind and threw the shot exactly how I wanted but it wasn't good enough and I found myself OB again. I still had an opportunity to make a putt for a 5, but I didn't realize that there was a random patch of OB 18ft from the basket out of my vision from where I was putting, I didn't even know that there was OB there because you rarely ever ended up behind the basket. So I end up throwing OB for the third time on the hole and made my putt for a 7, not the way I planned on finishing my round that was going so well. That was one of the gimmicky things that I noticed and it was a total bummer to have ended the tournament the way I did. I complained plenty about it, but in the end it is what it is and I had to live with how it all played out. Please understand that the things I am saying here do not take away from all of the people involved at the GCC who worked tirelessly to run a successful event and kicked off the year with style.  There can always be ways to improve and I hope they listen to the feedback and make next year even better. In the end I was able to average over 1000 for the weekend and finish in 26th place. Of course we expect more but I am very pleased with how I handled myself on the course and even when I didn't shoot my best I was able to play some really solid golf. Finding the positives isn't always easy but it can really help you shape yourself to be successful in the future.

With only two days of rest we headed down to Phoenix and tried to practice some of the courses to just refresh ourselves but with some inclement weather we never really got any solid practice in. Still feeling fatigued from GCC I could tell that The Memorial was going to be a tough uphill battle. The first round was very boring out at Fountain Hills with not many birdies and not many bogies. I wasn't upset but I just found myself not being able to score, it was feeling reminiscent of GCC, playing holes where it felt tough to score except these were all holes that you can score on, I just didn't. Then we were off to Fiesta Lakes, this is not a caliber of course that I think we should be playing at a DGPT event, but it shouldn't determine how I played. I went out and did not play very well and I let my thoughts on the course influence my play. This was my biggest mistake on the weekend, I allowed myself to be influenced in a direction that would ultimately hurt me for an entire round. I found lots of OB and had a couple of bad breaks on putts, but I could've turned it all around had I gone in a little more hungry to play and compete. This was another moment where I found myself getting motivated by my lowest round of the event. I went into round three at Vista Del Camino a lot more hungry. I started slow missing the first three but the one thing I managed to do was focus on each shot and trust that if I kept to my game that I could still score very well. I managed to play incredibly clean golf and put up a very solid round to climb 30 places moving from 71st to 41st. Going into the final day back at Fountain Hills, I was fortunate to have an incredible card with Jake Palmer, Jacob Mott and one of my very close friends AJ Risley. We had such a good vibe going and it all propelled us to play some incredible golf. We all climbed up some in the standings which was great to see, but I lost the card so it stung a bit more. All three of those guys came out ready to play and I hope to have more cards like that in the future. Plus we four way chest bumped every time we got a star frame... we did it four times that round, one hole where nobody was even inside of the circle, it was great! After everything is said and done, I was constantly checking the scores to see where I ended up, I finished 39th which is very respectable considering my play in the early rounds. I managed to again shoot just over 1000 on the weekend and that is something that became a goal for the weekend. I battled and I climbed back from the dead. It was great just being able to play a tournament after coming short two years ago.

Now we are off to Texas, with a ton of events coming up real soon. So be on the lookout for some WhalePants clinics! I am looking forward to having the opportunity to compete more and continue to prove myself in this sport. I have incredible support from my sponsors, Dynamic Discs, Whale Sacs, Booom, Team Nati, Handeye Supply and Launchpad. I want to thank everyone who has supported Tina and I in all of our endeavors, you guys make this all possible and we are hoping to give back. I want to thank Tina for putting up with me and working with me everyday to be a better person, I definitely wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.

Thanks everyone for reading! Keep those PutterPants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylA2OehiOfU
Enjoy!

Battling the Offseason

With the offseason finally upon us, I have been putting a lot of time into trying to better my game. I have constantly been missing the point to my practice, I am not listening to what I preach about having 'No Expectations', this is leaving me frustrated within my practice because my expectations of what I should be doing are too high. I am comfortable that this will only be a challenge that will only make me better. I am still in limbo between being at the top to being just another player in the field, when I am at the top I am having fun not thinking about much and just playing disc golf, when I am playing average golf it is usually because I am over thinking and expecting to have a certain outcome. I have been doing very well in the field which is a great sing, but once I hit the course and my score becomes a thing I start finding odd feelings and the frustration sets in. Granted the courses I am playing are not top quality courses but they offer plenty for me to get better and make my game more consistent. I plan to play only a handful of scored rounds from now on, I will not keep score unless it is at league or a tournament. If I am playing casually I am no longer going to keep score, I am going to throw to learn from every shot, good or bad, they all have something to offer. 

My putting has been in a funk, I think some of that is from using some new Wardens, but most of it is from over thinking. I am getting back to how it used to feel and I will put it to permanent with more practice. The reason I am using new Wardens is during the last season I had been using the same putters for over a year and whenever I tried to make the switch to something new there was such a big difference it was basically putting with a new disc. This time I am using my offseason to build up my backups, so if something happens during the season I am prepared. Plus having more practice putters that feel like my bagged putters will only help my practice to be more consistent. 

I am planning on running clinics and private lessons this off season which will be an awesome opportunity to continue to meet new people and spread disc golf as much as I can. So if you are in the Tucson or Phoenix area please let me know and let's make something happen. Also stay tuned for some more videos, Tina and I will be putting out more and more each month!

I am so incredibly thankful again for my sponsors. Over the year I have found some incredible people to work with and feel honored to support Dynamic Discs, Whale Sacs, Booom, Nati Disc Golf, Handeye Supply, and Launchpad. I am super excited for 2017 and everything it will hold.

Thanks to everyone for reading and the support! Keep those PutterPants and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJvJOsSfVcg
Enjoy!

Finish Strong

I feel bad because I haven't posted in awhile and so much has been happening. I feel like the way this year is closing out has been a total positive. I have played some of the better golf, even with moments where I know I am better than what I am showing, but everything is trending in a positive direction. Touring with Tina and making WhalePants happen is incredibly awesome and I love what we get to do, the people we get to meet, and the places we get to see. The way I am feeling right now is that I am still incredibly hungry for more, I want to get even better, I want to finish stronger!

I have rounded out the year with playing some pretty incredible events. I was fortunate enough to travel back to Twin Falls, Idaho for the Disc Dash For Cash. This remains one of my favorite events of the year. All of the beautiful scenery and amazing people in Twin Falls makes me want to come back each and every year. I was able to take 4th place again at this event, falling behind Eagle, Nikko and Ulibarri. Being able to play multiple rounds with these guys was such an incredible learning experience and I love that I can continue to learn with every round. One of the biggest things to take out of this event, was the usage of the Marksman Basket. This to me will be the best thing for our sport. In short, it rewards better drives, approaches and putts, rather than a player being able to jam everything from 60ft and in.  The value of every shot goes up, forcing players to play golf rather than throw relatively close and make a putt. All in all I can't wait to be back and I greatly encourage any player to go to this event, you will not be disappointed!

Tina and I spent some time in Salt Lake City with Chris Tellesbo. I love getting back and enjoying some of the simple things. We then played a one round unsanctioned tournament on a ball golf course. I took 2nd place after a long grueling day with some of my favorite people in Utah. I couldn't have asked for a better group to spend the day golfing with, it just happened to be a day where I would win some extra cash to support us while we are on the road. So thank you Justin, Amy, Chris, Nick and Tina for a memorable day of Disc Golf.

We then ventured down to Texas for back to back A-Tiers. VPO and Piney Woods Open, these each have a special place in my heart. VPO was the first course where I felt that I could actually play Disc Golf at a high level, and Piney Woods is easily one of my favorite disc golf facilities that helped spark Tina and I being together. Leading up to these events I wasn't necessarily playing my best golf, but I had this confidence that I knew I could elevate my game to perform where I needed to. First round of VPO I was fortunate enough to play with some of my great friends, Weston, Chase and Tyler. I would have a pretty rough start to my round but battled and managed to land myself on the lead card. The rest of the tournament went very well, I remained positive and took home 5th place, I had a blast battling and am very happy with my finish. Yes it can always be better but I am still going to appreciate the good when it is right there in front of me. I was only beat by the four 1000 rated players at the event. I see positives in that I shot above my rating and I learned a great deal about how every shot counts from round 1 to the final round, stay focused throughout the entirety and alleviate yourself from having the "well if this would have gone in" moments. On a side note, Disc Dash was the first time Eagle and I have ever played competitive rounds together, and we got to have two more at VPO, I am so happy to see how far he has come and how much he has helped me get my game, I can't wait for many more in the future. Big thanks to Skip and everyone who helped at VPO I can't wait to be back.

I could feel my excitement build as I knew that we were heading to Tyler. The courses at Linsdey Park offer a plethora of different shots and all three courses have some of my favorite disc golf holes. Going into PWO I just felt awesome to be in a place where I knew I was going to have fun, or so I thought... The first round went well, I had a couple of hiccups but still played solid golf and put myself in a solid position to place well. And then Dogwood happened.... This course is incredibly challenging and can rattle your mental game to its core. This is exactly what happened. I let every kick, every shot, and every missed putt dig at me. I let each and every moment rip at my emotions and I found myself very distraught and struggling to compete at my best. The best thing I can take from this round is that I did not give up and I kept battling to a seemingly okay finish. I didn't completely fall off but I made it very difficult to make a move. Bobby Brown, Jeremy Rusco, and Brian Lamoreaux all showed me incredible support and gave me a much needed confidence boost going into the final round. Brian said one of the best things I needed to hear 'Look Forward' it was super simple and it sparked me to get after my final round. I started out on fire being -5 through 6, I would unfortunately take a 4 on the 7th hole but hitting a putt after going OB on my second shot was big. Bobby Brown was there and I turned to him and knew he had my back for this round and I could still finish strong. Following up with back to back birdies after the 4 gave me confidence to finish strong. I would add two more OB strokes this round but they would only cost me taking par. So the confidence was still strong and I knew I could manage this round to shoot well. I would come in with the hot round and move up 8 places to finish in 8th place. It was a great feeling and I knew I had it in me. This was such a similar feeling to when I shot hot at GBO, I was positive, even when something bad happened it didn't stop me from what I was going to do, it felt as if I was there to play disc golf and enjoy every moment of it. I feel like this feeling is being in the zone and I want to tap into this feeling more. How do I get that feeling when it seems like nothing is going my way? How do I recover like nothing ever happened? These are things that I am going to keep battling and looking to improve so I can be better. I am disappointed with how I acted and how I managed myself during the second round, but I am very happy that I could bounce back the next day and make everything right. This will be something I can learn from and only get better from here. I can't wait to be back in Tyler! Big thanks to Steven Storrie and the whole Dynamic crew for putting on one of the best tournaments of the year, you guys are awesome and I am very lucky to be in the same family. 

I am excited for this off season. I learned and grew so much and I can't wait to see what I can do with another dedicated off season to improving every aspect of my game. Tina and I both have the same drive and I know that both of us will elevate our games to new levels.

I can't explain how great all of my sponsors have been this year. I am so lucky to be apart of so many incredible companies that want to push the sport to new levels. Thank you to all of my sponsors and the fact that you are truly making my dreams a reality! Thanks Dynamic Discs, Whale Sacs, BOOOM, Nati Disc Golf, Handeye Supply Co., and Launchpad. Be sure to go check out all of these truly incredible companies!

Thanks to all of the support you guys give me as fans or fellow disc golfers! Thanks for reading and keep those PutterPants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYyfnrtLA_I
Enjoy!

Disc Golf Can Be So Cruel And Yet So Awesome!

It has been a minute since I last wrote and for that I apologize. Either way I am happy to be on the road living the dream with Tina Stanaitis. With all of the chaos of traveling I have not only played but have witnessed some of the ups and downs that disc golf has to offer. I have shot 120 points difference in two rounds, I was 0.7 points from qualifying for the DGPT Quarterfinals, I got 888'd at USDGC qualifying, I watched my good friend get 888'd just after I watched him play some of the most stellar golf I have seen, I have seen the true nature of some of the players in this sport both good and bad. Even with all of these ups and downs this sport is still so awesome and the best thing to be a part of.

I have been trying to sit back as most of the drama unfolds in the disc golf world. I still have the understanding of "EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY" concept and I will stick to that. Having seen and talked with a lot of the people involved in the many different organizations it has opened my eyes to the deeper conflicts that we face. The one thing remains even with all this chaos, and that is that we all stay together as a collective to make this sport the best thing that it possibly can be. We have to push for the right changes and advocate in the correct way. We need to make ourselves heard and remain respectful to everything that has gone on before that paved the way for our sport to be where it is. I think we will soon find that happy medium and we will all love everybody very soon.

My own game has been pretty solid lately. I am doing things that I haven't been able to do before. I learned so much from USDGC qualifying, I tried to qualify last year and compared to this year I was executing shots that allowed me to be way more comfortable throughout my rounds. I love to see progress and seeing the 12 month change is awesome. I feel like I am comfortable throwing each and every shot, before I used to have a shot in mind and hope that I would execute the shot, but now I have this confidence when I play that I am going to execute the shot. That feeling is going to keep driving me forward. One thing I will say is that with the change to Dynamic Discs and opening the doors to Latitude 64 and Westside Discs, this has opened the doors to having more confidence in each and every disc I bag. The molds are consistent and I have been able to find the exact discs I need to tackle each and every course. I couldn't be happier, so another big thanks to Dynamic Discs for this incredible opportunity.

Tina and I are deep into our WhalePants tour and want to continue this tour into next year so please let us know some awesome places for us to come do a clinic or run some other kind of event. We want to keep growing the sport each and every stop. We have had a great time and seen how incredible the disc golf community can be with the support at our smaller events. We can't wait to see what the next few years will hold. Thanks again to all the support we have received so far.

My final message in this scattered brained blog is that lets keep making this sport incredible and keep being awesome. Even when this game chews us up and spits us out, lets have the most fun and make the best of it. As always thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Keep those Putter Pants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBOWreo5Uyk
Enjoy!

Thanks

There has been a ton of stuff going around on Facebook about whether or not I am with Discmania anymore. The truth is we have decided to go our separate ways. We did not see eye to eye in a lot of different areas and that lead us to having some differences. I am bummed that things could not have been worked out, I could have taken different steps to make it work and they could have as well. But here we are and I wish them nothing but the best in the future. They did a great deal for me and I am lucky to have had a lot of great opportunities because of Discmania. I have been fortunate enough to meet a ton of great people throughout my time with them, which can hopefully lead to many more great experiences in the future.

Luckily enough I am going to continue to travel with Whale Sacs CEO and total babe Tina Stanaitis! We plan on hitting a great deal of awesome tournaments and staying on the road. We plan on running some clinics and selling some Whale Sacs, Discs and Gear to help support our tour. Please check out www.ohwhales.com to find some of my #putterpants tour fundraisers and be sure to check out some Whale Sacs to get the grip you are looking for when crushing on the course. Enough with the plugs. Right now I don't have a real future set up when it comes to a sponsor but am hopeful that something great will come soon, until then I am excited to do some more promotion for disc golf and give back to this incredible community that has made me feel so welcome. The amount of positive support I have been receiving is crazy to me. A lot of people have my back and really want what is best for me. This is such a great feeling and I couldn't be happier. So a big thanks to anyone and everyone who has been supporting me. I realize that I can continue to promote and play because of all of this great support.

I played the Twin Falls Classic for the second year running, and needless to say I came up short for the second year in a row. I am such a fan of Twin Falls and I don't know why, but the classic has my number. This will not stop me from coming back and supporting the great community, just makes me more hungry for next time. The biggest thing that came out of the tournament was I cashed an ace on camera in my first round. It was a pretty great feeling and being able to relive that moment is super cool. We were very close to getting on ESPN but they ended up bumping us at the last minute. We still have a long way to go to make it there more often, but I know as a community we will get there! If you want to check out the ace go here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7tjMIl7Jnw . Big thanks to Central Coast Disc Golf for filming, I'll always be a big CCDG fan!

With my lack of performance in Idaho and other small things happening, I have found myself very motivated for what the future holds. I am focusing in on a lot of outside factors that I am hoping will improve my game. These include a healthy diet and more time put towards field work and preparation. This can be counter-intuitive to my no expectations, most fun, lets go mentality, but I think I can still keep those while still being the same player I have been while at my best. Either way I am excited to be learning some new discs and expanding my game every single day.

Again I want to say thanks to everyone for all of the great support. You guys are the reason I am trying to get better everyday and continue to grow the sport every single day! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Keep those Putter Pants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pVABElms84
Enjoy

Everything is Different

Ever since GBO and FSO everything feels so different. People are treating me very different, from other players to the people I meet in passing. It is such an incredible feeling to know that I actually belong here. I even feel different with how I play, there is a different feeling of confidence in my play. I know what I can and can't do. I know that I can still get better, and I am not going to stop here. I have it very good, I am lucky to be able to see so many different places, but there is a part of it that no one sees that is chewing me up on the inside. That feeling fades almost immediately when I throw a true putt, pure a line, or park an upshot. Disc Golf still gives me that incredible feeling that this is something special and I want to continue to share that with everyone.

Fort Steilacoom Open, what a ride. This is a tournament that I had watched videos and heard about but I didn't know what to expect going in. You can ask anyone who saw me playing leading up to FSO that I didn't look my best at all. I didn't feel good, I had a lot going on personally, but for whatever reason with the poor play, distractions, and it being my birthday weekend, that I was able to completely zone out and find a really good groove. That groove basically was me having zero expectations, having zero worries, and feeling zero pressure, I have found out this is when I play my best. It for whatever reason works for me and I have been using it going forward and has helped me improve a great deal. I was lucky enough to get to play with Chris Waugh in my first round, a incredibly talented local player, I knew if I kept pace with him I would be just fine. I ended up finishing out with the hot round. The entire round I never knew what my score was, I just kept playing and having fun enjoying the fact that I was playing disc golf. So I've been here before, leading the tournament after the first round, I had felt the pressure before and I let it take me, but I still had the zero mentality going. Starting the second round I knew this course was going to play a little bit more difficult because of the OB so the scrambling game was out the window. But I really didn't think much about it and was ready to have some fun playing with some awesome dudes. I threw OB on my very first throw.... I laughed threw my upshot and took my 4 like a champ. I bounced back well and kept cruising through the rest of the round with a good attitude even when I took a bad break. I found a good stretch through the middle but thought nothing of it, I knew I was having fun. Finished with a hiccup but it was all good, I saw the scores and realized I had done just fine and had extended my lead from two to three. My good friend Jared Roan managed to come in hot and was going to add some pressure to the final round, but I couldn't have had someone better to push me. I still had the zero mentality but I was feeling a ton of pressure, because this was a situation I had not been in before. Every single throw I felt pressure, but the one thing I didn't do was think. I let me instincts kick in and allow me to execute shots I could. I blocked my mind from entering the situation. I was also very thankful to have a gallery following, they ended up being the best distraction for me, allowing me to act like a goon and brush off any negative vibes. Hole 8 was the moment that I realized that I had what it took to win the tournament. The hole is a long very wooded tunnel, that isn't birdied often. I missed the tunnel and kicked to the left side and felt there was no real chance of saving a 3. I looked at the lines I had to possibly get to the basket and executed a shot that gave me a putt, I stepped up and and hit the putt. That moment sticks out more than any as I felt like I was going to win. The only time I ever looked at the scorecards all weekend was after my drive on 18. I started doing some math in my head and the only way someone was going to catch me from the other cards on the course was to shoot the course record or break the course record. I laid up my putt and tapped in for the win. That feeling still brings me goosebumps, but that wasn't the part that meant the most, the amount of people who personally reached out to me over the next few weeks was crazy. Those comments and support meant so much, I can't even describe how good it felt to feel so supported. Thank you to anyone who took the time reach out, it really touched me and has helped me incredibly. The funny part about winning and beating Jared in the end is that we had been competing a ton in tournaments before with Jared always coming out on top. Jared told me that if I was going to beat him I would have to win the tournament, and here we are. Without him and all the other people who have pushed me I wouldn't have been able to do what I have done. A huge shout out goes to Dustin Marx, Dustin Marx Jr. and Jr's Mom, you guys made the experience incredible! Thanks to Simon, Eagle, Tina and everyone who helped push me everyday! Enough about this! Thanks again to everyone! If you want to catch some of the round coverage from FSO check out NWDG (https://www.youtube.com/user/EMVLife).

I am not sure what else to say honestly. I am so happy with how well this season has gone. I see my hard work paying off, and I am not ready to stop yet. If you want something bad enough and you are willing to work hard for it, you can make it happen. There will be plenty of moments where you feel like you should give up or change, don't! You can make it happen. My dad said this to me and it is something that will stay with me forever, 'Hard work works' this will stay with me along with 'fino alla fine' which means 'to the end' in Italian. These phrases have always stuck out when things just don't seem to be working but the small reminders motivate me to making it work and pursuing through the harder times.

Thanks to all of my sponsors. Discmania, Booom, Whale Sacs, Deuce Squad, and Launchpad.

The FSO win was for everyone I have met playing disc golf, I feel like this was not only a win for me but a win for anyone who wants to make it in this sport. Thanks again for reading and remember to keep those PutterPants on and have the Most Fun!

PS: More PutterPants discs are on the way stay tuned!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Fl1sT2r4g
Enjoy!

Totally Cashews...

So I haven't been able to write anything down since some of the craziness happened this year, but WOW how crazy it has been. I constantly find myself thinking back to where I was a year ago and if I had any idea that I would be doing what I am doing or have done what I have done. I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunities I have been given by Discmania. This has lead to me meeting some incredible people and I have been lucky to make some incredible memories.

GBO.... Huh... What a crazy ride that was. I wasn't even playing all too well leading up the tournament. I lowered my expectations and remembered that disc golf is fun. I shot my hottest round to date and ended up leading the tournament. The next round had a lot of craziness and seemed to fly by even with a rain delay and a super long backup. Considering the conditions I felt I handled it well but fell off quite a ways. But I turned it around on the final day to have a very solid finish. This experience was incredible. I had no idea what to think or how to handle any of it. I was just happy to get the chance to prove that I can be there and if I keep the right mindset I know it can happen again.

What GBO did for me was give me confidence into playing the next few tournaments and I have shown that I can keep performing at a high level, though I have also showed myself that there is still so much to learn and I am not 100% there yet, but I am close. The biggest thing I learned was how I need to approach tournaments if I want to succeed. Having zero expectations and just thinking that I am going to go play is enough motivation for me to do well. If I ever think about how low I want to score or who I want to finish above, it seems to cloud my judgement and forces me to over think and over work. When my expectation is at zero I just play and take everything shot by shot. I have recently found myself expecting more again and I am battling my subconscious to stop thinking and let things just work out, but it is never hard, we all have slumps, we all have highs, but how we manage them to keep ourselves on top is key.

I have lost sight of a lot of things lately and I am excited to get back to giving everything back to where it needs to be. I always talk about consistency, this is something I am struggling with the most, not just in disc golf, but in every walk of life. When it comes to my disc golf consistency, I feel like my game is so altered by the courses we play for tournaments and I lose sight of what I used to be doing well before and now it seems so foreign to me. The one thing I have to keep doing is throwing, always looking to get better, always looking to get more consistent.

I want to thank anyone who has supported me lately, you guys are the reason I am working harder everyday to make it. I had so much support around GBO and ever since, hopefully I can keep building on that and make a run at another tournament, but really I am just going to go enjoy this incredible game we all feel so deeply about.

There is more I want to say but am not sure how to word it all, I will hopefully be able to formulate it all for my next installment. As always thanks for taking the time for reading my blog. Keep those Putter Pants on and have the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLhEjllbU3E
Enjoy!

DDx Expectation and Touring

There has been a lot of posts about the DDx lately and I want to hopefully clear the air on what the disc can and should be used for. First off if you are expecting this to be a Destroyer out of the box then you are mistaken. This is going to fly like a seasoned distance driver, something that you don't have to throw as hard as you possibly can to get the result you are looking for. The way you should be looking at the DDx is a 12 speed fairway driver.

The S-Line DDx is very similar to the FD in stability, now this is not a flippy disc, it is a disc that you need to throw smooth and with the right angle. These have the potential to fly the farthest with the lowest amount of effort, making the S-Line great for players with lower arm speeds. They come in handy as a flip up sidearm disc as well, I have been using the S-Line DDx mainly for the flip up sidearm and big turnover shots. This disc still is on the bubble for making my bag, I am going to keep it in for a few more weeks to find out if it earns a permanent spot. Expect the S-Line to be great in the woods when you need to focus on your line and not on power. 

The C-Line to me is the version that has the least amount of glide, now when I say least I mean it still has a tremendous amount of glide and the disc is very useful. These became my least favorite because of the lack of glide and how they were similar to my beat up PD2s. With them having overlap with my beat up PD2s they didn't offer anything substantial to make the bag. They fly very true to the numbers but just do not work out for me. If I run out of super seasoned PD2s then I will be able to use the C-Line DDx as a great substitute. I am still greatly anticipating another batch to see if it was just the first batch that felt this way, but time will tell.

Now my favorite version is the C-Line Metal Flake. These absolutely crush! They are very smooth and easy to throw. They have similar stability to the C-Line but with about the same glide as the S-Line version. These do not turn as hard as the S-Line but are very controllable and are, in my opinion, the most versatile version of the DDx. These are great on the sidearm, and bomb on the backhand, and you can get them a little beat up and have them for max distance rollers. The biggest reason I like these as much as I do is they resemble the CD2s flight characteristics almost identically just with a lot more speed. The disc still provides gentle turn with a solid fade for a super straight flight. The one thing I have to figure out when throwing a max distance shot is when to use my PD2s and when to use the DDx. Often I find myself thinking I should've thrown the other, so with more throws and rounds under my belt, I know I will find the correct balance.

Please remember what I said about how to throw this disc. I have seen Simon and Eagle both throw this disc with good control shots and get incredible distance out of them, so if they can keep them from flipping over and getting max distance, so can you! Don't blame the disc if you throw it wrong! The DDx is going to make your game better, but only if you let it. 

Touring has been an absolute blast and we are only trying to get better at what we do. The Flying Circuses have been very positive and the Combine was an eyeopening experience to see how many dedicated players there are out there. The one part about touring that I need to dial in is how and when to fit in practice time. I miss doing field work and putting every night. Sometimes it is just not that easy after you drive a long way, or run an event to be diligent to get out and do some work myself. I have to realize that if I want to get better that I need to buckle down and push forward and make the work happen. Eagle has the same mindset so hopefully we can make practice permanent on the road. I have been super close to shooting consistent rounds, I am averaging over my rating but to me it is not enough. I want to climb higher just like every other player. Finding consistency is key and I will find that through preparation and practice. 

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Keep those Putter Pants on and keep having the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGE7n-aexSw
Enjoy

The Tour Begins

I had been greatly anticipating the start of this tour. For way too long actually. Southern California had been treating me wonderfully, with beautiful weather and my growing love to throw at Ralph Lewis Park. I could get up early and throw, I could throw after work or I could just putt in the back yard. It was like a dream place to hone in on my skills and improve myself. I finally was able to see the full benefits of all those hours spent in the field this past weekend in Orangevale,CA, but we can get to that in a bit. I learned a ton about the intricacies of my work environment and how hard everyone works to make our company so great. I was ready to be back out on the road very quickly, I missed being in peoples faces and promoting the discs in person. I love being able to show how much I enjoy throwing a disc and how easy it is for people to want to try it after they see that passion. This gives me such great enjoyment and I know being on the road is going to be my strongest attribute, now we have to find a way to keep that a reality.

Leading up to the St Patrick Classic I had not been able to play as much golf as I would have liked but helping with the World Tour event was a necessity and I was very happy to be involved in making the event as special as it was. Without being able to play as much I lowered my expectations for the tournament and was just excited to be playing disc golf. I was happy to be in a competitive atmosphere with good people. This helped me battle to a solid first round, where I figured out that all the time I spent working in the field with understable discs for sidearm shots paid off. I scrambled my way to a respectable round, and I scrambled a ton. I was having problems getting off the box but was making up for it with great upshots and solid putts. The following day I had more of the same but was less fortunate when it came to some of the kicks and my scrambling couldn't always save me. But I was left still in the hunt and with one round to play that is all you can really ask for. I set 3 goals for myself in the final round and those were to go bogey free, shoot in the 40s and to take a 3 on hole 15 (I had taken 5s on it both rounds before that). I was able to get 2 of the 3 goals. I picked up 2 bogeys, one from OB and the other from an early tree hit, but I was able to get the other two. I shot a 49 in my final round and had a 40ft birdie putt on hole 15 that came up short but I tackled the hole that had caused me problems and that was a satisfying feeling for me. One of the biggest moments was when Tina wrapped up her round and came and finished the last 6 holes with me. She helped me not think about the game and I just was throwing and having fun. I would finish birdie birdie birdie to work myself to a 49. It is always a great feeling when things come together and you play well, I still want to be better about how I handle the bad breaks, I don't think I was bad but I know I can always improve in that department. This weekend showed me that there are a lot of areas I can still improve on but most importantly that I am heading in the right direction and have a lot more in me that I can't wait to show.

I am really looking forward to the DDx to be released, so in my next blog I will be doing an in depth review of the disc to show you guys why you should too. Stay tuned!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Keep those Putter Pants on and to have the Most Fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PoF97A_FA
Enjoy!

New Perspective... And More CD2 Love

Last weekend I had the incredible opportunity of being at an event and not participating. This was very new to me, considering I want to play every single event and have the opportunity to challenge myself. Being able to caddy for an amazing disc golfer, Tina Stanaitis, was a great way to gain a new perspective on the game. I was assessing situations differently; I was seeing things I had not seen before. I did not always give my advice, this was incredibly hard to stick to because Tina knows her game best and in reality she knows exactly what she can and can't do. After watching her crush her rounds on a bad back, and put up an incredible round and put her self in second place, I couldn't contain myself, so I went out and played as many of the holes as I could. Seeing the holes from a different perspective helped me make better decisions and control my game. This got me thinking about how I have prepared and practiced off the field or course, so I began watching more rounds of golf. Watching many different players and how they look to play. I used to watch hours of soccer and focus on smaller points in the game to assess how I would handle them the next time I was on the field. This translates very well to disc golf; you see the decisions someone makes and the outcome, and in the back of your mind you think and analyze what you may have done. I am greatly anticipating how this will impact my game in the long run but I have a new found desire to put more time into the little things with my practice and finding consistency that will hopefully carry my game to the next level.

That wasn't the only thing I was able to take out of the weekend. Watching Tina compose herself on the course, through pain, through pressure, and even a couple of missed putts, she always had a smile and kept pushing forward and enjoying the game. This is something I feel very strongly about, being able to compose yourself on the course and truly enjoy the game for what it really is, something special. I want every disc golfer to make note of these small things and help us all grow together.

Everyone knows how much I rave about the CD2, and today is no different. I have recently found a new use for the CD2... Sidearm! I took something I heard Big Jerm say to heart about how using an overstable disc on a sidearm is only going to hurt your arm and lessen your ability to throw over long periods of time. After putting a ton of time in the field, I can now control my sidearm more and save my arm a great deal of energy by working with angles and letting the disc do what it will naturally do. I have even been working with the MD3 and FD to work in even different sidearm shots to give me more shots in my arsenal. The characteristics of the CD2 make it a perfect candidate for sidearms because it is a disc that doesn't mind a lot of power and snap, as long as you get your angles right the disc will carry an incredibly long way with very little effort. Having this versatility with one disc gives me an incredible amount of confidence that if I ever find myself in a situation where I have no idea what to throw I can trust that a CD2 is generally going to be my best bet. When in doubt pull the CD2 out!

As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Keep those Putter Pants on and remember to always have the Most Fun!

Thanks Eagle for the tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mTRvJ9fugM
Enjoy!

A New Year

A crazy ending to 2015. I didn't keep up with my blog and that was a disappointing piece of 2015. I really wanted to keep putting my thoughts down so I could look back and keep myself from taking any steps back, which is basically what happened... I have been finding myself again holding myself to a high standard and not having as much fun when I play and I couldn't understand why. I know I am playing my best when I am happy and joking around, but I lost sight of that and expected perfection from myself. It was a fundamental downfall to my recent play. I have done some incredible things and some atrocious things on the course . I have never missed more 20 footers in my life, all because of lack of focus and concentration, but most importantly lack of FUN.  I can't tell you how crazy a difference it makes when you just change the wording of your self talk. I went from using the words 'don't', 'bad' and 'worst' to using words like 'do', 'good' and 'better.' These really helped translate my overall mood. I would look to motivate myself more rather than bring myself down. The best times I have had are when I look at a shot and throw a shot that normally nobody ever takes, I commonly say before I throw 'Most fun wins, right?' and that just eases my mind and helps me enjoy what I am doing. I realize I am jumping around a ton but the moral of the story is just have FUN. Enjoy this beautiful game, each and every throw. I lost it for a moment but I now realize that I won't let it go again. Thank you Tina for helping me find this again, you're the best.

Wrapping up the end of 2015, I played a handful of tournaments and did some great things and some not so great things. I had an absolute blast just getting out and enjoying my days. I have now settled into a job in California working for Discmania and I couldn't be happier. The opportunities are endless and I can't wait to see what comes next. I plan on hitting plenty of tournaments and putting in more time and effort to practice and overall health.

Look forward to more posts and videos.

Let me know what you guys want to hear about next.

Vlagh!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Remember to have the Most Fun and keep those PutterPants on. Hope you enjoyed it. Cheers!

Sidenote: Thanks to my new sponsor Deuce Squad! So pumped for the Squadmania collaboration!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcm7VFDSU_0
Enjoy

The Humbling

With the most recent events I have been very weighed down with a lot of extra work. Some of you may know I am going on tour for Discmania. This is a tour that will help us promote the brand and hopefully get the best discs into many different players hands. This is going to be a long stretch as it will see me out until the end of October. I will have the opportunity to meet many new people and play many new courses. I couldn't be more thankful to Discmania for the opportunity and I hope it stretches into bigger things next year.

My play has been so up and down. I have confidence but lack execution. I feel comfortable but lack the result. Maybe I am holding myself to a standard that is too high. Maybe I need to look at many of the players who are better than me and take notice of where my play has been lacking and put forth the effort to make a change. Finding out the little problems I have in my competitive rounds has been a big step in getting better but I tend to have short term memory loss and continue to make similar mistakes. My biggest problems comes from over throwing when I am looking to maximize distance. I realize how much I lose when I go into a shot jerky and out of control. I need more control/distance field work, working on maximizing distance but not sacrificing control. I think something that needs to happen is a look back at my form, and come the off season this will be my main focus. Gaining more distance and fixing some flaws in my form. One of the next things I have to put forth some quality time into is my short game, both on the approach and putting. I have missed countless putts inside the circle over the past two weekends and they really are starting to drag. I missed a handful of putts because I had to straddle. This is something I thought I had down and didn't need much practice with but everything has been coming up short. When it comes to being on the approach my judgement of distance has seemed off I am either blowing by the basket or leaving it way short. This I feel is where I can cut down a handful of strokes a round if I simply fix these minor mistakes.

Coming into the last two tournaments I felt like I was going to have a good showing and came up short... WAY SHORT! Being a sponsored player doesn't mean I am going to finish in the cash every time I play, it only means I am representing a brand every time I play. I have to remember how hard I have worked in the past and I have to continue that trend if I want to cash at every tournament. I have to be humble and understand that if I want to continue to climb in the world of Disc Golf, I have to work every day at it. When I am tired and having to drive all day, when I have played a bad round, when I have played a good round, when I just don't feel up for it, I have to continue to work no matter what is going on.

Seeing the caliber of players on my team if I really want to continue on with them I have to push my game farther and higher. They have made me humble and I will not stop until I am on their level and we can all be looking for top finishes at every tournament we play.

Make sure to follow me as I drive the "Maniac" around. http://www.discmania.net/2015/08/12/discmania-us-tour-fall-2015/

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. Have the #mostfun and make sure those #putterpants are fitting nicely. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a2nXwXLXZo
Enjoy

Patriot Classic and #MostFun

So a few weeks ago I was able to participate in the Patriot Classic in American Fork, Utah. This is played on a course that is very tight and technical and can bite you hard if you choose the wrong times to attack it. Something about this course that hurt is the fact that even in the amateur divisions the scores will not vary too much from the top pro scores. 20 out of the 21 holes were reachable from the tee. This meant if you had some good fortune and kept your drives clean you were looking at a birdie often. But there were plenty of places where you could find yourself inside the circle but having no putt at all. I have mixed feelings on courses like this for tournaments considering it can hurt the Open Players ratings, but I love these courses for the skill set it forces me to have. Alright I am done sounding like a downer, now to the fun and the heart of what happened during the tournament. I was very fortunate to have one of my best friends come out and caddy for me all weekend long. Little did I know he was going to show up decked out with a personalized caddy top with my last name on the back and a big Discmania Logo on the front! It was such a cool motivator and helped me stay positive the entire tournament.

Throughout the tournament I felt myself working through different ups and downs, but would shoot a decent round and continued to leave myself in contention after each round. I battled to be on the lead card both for the 2nd and 3rd round. This is a great feeling especially knowing when you aren't shooting your best you are still in contention. I would be going into the final round in 3rd place... but after that round I fell to finish 8th place. I looked back at the final round I played it wasn't really anything I could've done differently. I found myself inside the circle a lot but the types of putts I had to navigate were always awkward. Either from a knee with trees in my face, big wide lunging straddles around thick trees and bushes, to being completely buried in a bush with no option but to lay up. I would end up 2 birdies and 2 bogeys. The bogeys came from the double mando hole, where I missed like a champ, and on one of the holes they considered a par 4, so those didn't bother me much. But the fact that I couldn't string together many birdies is where my round hurt. Either way I was still having fun and enjoying the round.

The biggest highlight of the tournament was on the longest hole I would card a birdie 3 in each round. I found myself very confident on that hole and it might have fit the stronger parts of my game but I felt accomplished in executing 3 rounds in a row. The hole played from a tight tunnel into and open fairway that would finish to a tight green. The hole really required a good placement drive to a good upshot. Throughout the weekend I saw that hole eat up a lot of very good players including the player who won the tournament took a 6 in the second round. I found myself feeling nervous in the final round playing that hole, but right before I through the disc I started singing before I threw to settle my nerves. The disc I was using is a Maroon First Run PD2 who I have referred to as 'Adam Levine'. So I sang "This Love" by Maroon 5 and pumped my drive out in the fairway and cleaned up for an easy 3. Little things like this has helped my game improve every round. Keeping things light and fun has been key and this is one small way I have chosen to enjoy my time playing disc golf, even in the more serious moments it can still be fun.

With any tournament you will find holes that will back you up. We pulled up to the final hole of the final round and were waiting for another group to wrap up and there was some discussion of a playground near by... I went running and decided to play a bit while we waited. I figured why not? This is supposed to be fun, remembering that the reason we play this sport is because it is fun. Maybe I went too far but it was fun and gave me a lasting memory that I will use in more rounds to come.

After finishing in the tournament I had a lot to take from the tournament and I love that I am continuing to learn more and more about my own game. I think being able to constantly learn I will continue to improve and push my game to another level.
Remember whenever you are on the course to keep things light, keep things fun and really enjoy yourself. It could be on the first hole of a casual round or the final hole of a tournament round, you are playing disc golf and that is such an awesome thing. Each round, each throw, and each putt should be looked at as something fun. I know it can be taxing to keep that attitude all the time but the more you do it, the more you will find yourself shooting better scores and walking off the course much happier even when it didn't go your way.

I will be throwing up another blog soon, most likely a disc review. So let me know what you guys want me to review next.

Thanks for reading. Remember to keep those #putterpants on and have the #mostfun. I am a Discmaniac. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPpTgCho5ZA
Enjoy

Discmania P2 and a Bonus FD3 Review

There is something to say about a week or two of no tournaments. Ton's of field work and casual rounds with buddies. It is always really nice to dive back in and remember the small things that make this sport so great. I have recently got my younger step brothers into playing and seeing them sometimes crush one out is even awesome for me. I have equipped them up with some super lightweight plastic and they are completely hooked, everyday asking if we can go play. This is what the sport does to so many players, the constant want to go and throw. I really hope they can follow suit and become some awesome golfers in time.

To the good stuff. I have really wanted to do a P2 review considering it's easily my favorite disc ever. Some people may think I am a 'Psycho'.... HAHA! But it's the truth, the disc is something I trust on any hole at any time. The P2 has been my go to putter for putting, approaches, and drives.

C-Line: I will start with the C-Line version of the P2. Recently released, I was very excited to see what they could do. Hearing about how stable they were, I quickly picked up a batch and took them to the field. They are very stable, easily the most stable version. They are also very reliable in the wind for a putter. To me they had the least amount of glide, this is where my dislike for the C-Line started. There are a lot of positives for the C-Line, they are great in the wind, you can rip on them as hard as you want, and they like to skip when working towards the bucket. Where the dislikes range for me range from, less glide than other versions, poor grip in most situations, and awkward feeling in my hand. Out of all the P2s the grip on the C-Line is the least, along with an awkward feel in the hand really pushed me away from throwing these. Plus it wasn't good enough to take the spot of my S-Line P2 and that was the disc it was challenging with.

S-Line: The S-Line P2 has enough praise already being thrown by the top two players in the world, Simon Lizotte and Paul McBeth. There is a reason you see the top players bagging this disc. The consistency and stability you get, along with a long shelf life, make the S-Line P2 hard to beat. For me these are my go to stable thrower and approach putter. I can trust this disc to work left quite a bit. The beauty of the S-Line P2 is how much you can really get behind one while still having it finish. These have a slightly more grippy feel than the S-Line giving me confidence in more conditions. For these to lose their stability you have to a number on them, this allows you to continue throwing one and feel it out. I tend to throw these with a power grip unless I am using it on the approach, where I will fan out my fingers. These can handle a good amount of wind as well. They aren't going to crush into big winds but on a breezy day you can trust that the disc will continue to work. These compliment my D-Line P2s perfectly giving me an artillery of putters to tackle any course. If you are looking for a stable putter that can handle some power then don't hesitate and grab a S-Line P2.

D-Line: The D-Line P2 was one of the first Discmania discs I purchased and it has been my putting putter ever since. I have also worked them in to being my favorite disc to throw off the tee. Keeping these in different stages of wear is key. I tend to keep 2-3 in my bag as throwers only, keeping one newish, beat in stable (I know that seems weird, but some will still finish after being thrashed), and beat in straight to understable. The D-Line P2 seems to gain glide as it beats in. They love being in the air so if you can get enough behind them they will go a long ways and not deviate far from their original line. If I am ever in doubt of what to throw I will pull one of these out lace it down the fairway and move on. These cover shots from 175'-350', I have thrown a P2 400' a few times but it is rarely a shot I will need on the course. Now as a putting putter the D-Line P2 is a great putter. Being deeper I feel there is more disc to catch the chains. The D-Line plastic offers great grip and always gives a smooth release. The D-Line P2 is the best putter on the market, it handles the box and the circle incredibly, get your hands on one and don't look back.

P-Line and Color Glow: These are the versions I have the least work with. I tried out the Proto KC material P2s for a while but always worked back to using a D-Line. The KC/P line P2 are not as great off the box and the stiff plastic made for a lot of putts spitting out. They ultimately were just not the putter I was looking for. The Color Glow P2 is something I have heard good things about and a lot of players say they are quality. While I don't doubt that but having thrown the C-Line P2, I am hesitant to try the Color Glow in fear of the same issues.

Basically the P2 is a catch all kind of putter. I don't know what I would do without a P2 in my bag. Remember to work on throwing your putters more often, get good with them off the box and when you are attacking the basket, not only when you need to put it in the basket. Utilize the reliability a putter gives you. Keep those #putterpants on!

FD3: So I recently received an awesome package from Discmania containing the soon to be released FD3. When I saw the numbers I knew this could be a disc to fill a slot that is hard to fill. Having never getting myself into the PD much until lately, I was not fortunate enough to have a stack of First Run PDs so I was missing a good stable control disc for my bag. I recently stopped bagging Firebirds to put more work into flicking PD2s. In doing so I have added great distance to my sidearm game and have learned to control the PD2 in the right situation. Enough about all of that, the FD3 is an awesome disc and will fill a hole in your bag, I almost guarantee it! This is a very controllable disc, it has a good flight with a good dump at the end. It remind me of a slower dumpier PD, or a super beat in flat Firebird, or a faster more stable FD2. All comparisons come together to make a great disc. With my testing I have been throwing them consistently to feel out what they can handle. With a good hyzer they will hold and work hard left, thrown flat the will carry for a long way before dumping, and thrown on an anhyzer they will drift and always finish but not as hard. When testing the FD3 on a sidearm it took some time for me to really feel it out. They don't like a lot of torque and snap but if you try and control it more and let the disc work this disc is great on a sidearm. This has added a different element to my sidearm game. I think everyone should be pumped about this disc being released. It is an awesome disc for Discmania and will help all 'Reinvent your game'.

If you have any questions or want more details about the discs I reviewed please don't hesitate to message me at any time.

Not sure what I will blog about next, but be sure to stay tuned for something awesome.

Thanks for reading. Remember to keep those #putterpants on and have the #mostfun. I am a Discmaniac. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIaaP23qxY
Enjoy

Team Discmania, RPO and Having the Most Fun

A couple weeks ago there was a big announcement that was probably one of the biggest moments in my life, I was announced as being added to Discmania as a sponsored player. This is something I have been working towards years and reaching this step is amazing. I am now even more hungry to accomplish my goals and continue to move onward and upward in the disc golf world. I have to give a big thanks to Discmania for giving me the opportunity. I would also like to thank all of the players/people who helped me get to where I am today. This is only a small step and I plan on continuing going forward.... TEAM DISCMANIA!!!! AHHHHH!!!!! SO PUMPED!!!!... I couldn't help it. Ha!

http://www.discmania.net/2015/06/05/new-additions-to-discmanias-us-promotion-team/
Check out the article!

It had been a while since my last tournament and I was anxiously waiting another chance to compete. After reflecting on my recent poor showing in tournaments I had to dissect what the problem was. I forgot why I was playing disc golf, I forgot that this was supposed to be fun, I forgot that any bad day of disc golf was better than not playing at all. I went into the tournament at a course I knew very little about but was ready to just enjoy myself. Riverpark is a relatively easy course with a lot of birdie looks, it's a course that you should rarely take a 4 but should look to find a lot of 2s. With that in mind I knew I had to let the birdies come whenever and wherever and play smart golf. I was lucky enough to play on an awesome opening card with a bunch of the local guys and my best friend (Chris Tellesbo). Having the local guys helped because they knew the ins and outs of the course and I could sometimes follow their lead a bit. I was mainly throwing off of feel and trusting my ability. I would finish the round tied for 3rd and found myself on the lead card with two of the guys I played the first round with. The entire round I kept making jokes and chatting with everyone and having fun. I was lucky to have my buddy (Brandon Hinson) caddying for me who kept putting positive thoughts and wise information in my ear. He was a big help on that first day, the best thing he told me was to 'get it there' I kept leaving some putts short and he worked that into before each putt he would chime in and it helped. The next round was filled with more fun and lots of birdies and I would only take two 4s over two rounds one from hitting the first tree on a hole, I would get my redemption on that hole later, and from a tight OB just near the basket on a good solid drive that made it back in, so I had very little to be upset about and was stoked that I would be tied for 2nd going into the final round the next day. Brandon couldn't join me for day 2 but I ended up having another buddy step up to do some caddying for me (Casey Lee). Casey had the same influence as Brandon and kept with the positive chatter and fun times throughout the round. I would start the round very slow falling off pace but I didn't put much thought into that knowing we were playing 22 holes and there was still time to make a move. For me on the final round there was one key hole that pushed me to stay in contention, that was hole 15, the same hole I bogeyed the day before but had been moved back and made even more difficult. As we walked up to the hole Brodey Hansen, a fellow competitor and now a great friend after playing with him 3 whole rounds and some, put a bounty on the hole saying he would pay $5 dollars for any birdie on the hole. To give a bit of description to the complexity of the hole, I will say that it is a very difficult two to get, it is there but it takes really strong execution to make it happen, the hole starts with a few trees that you throw through to find the fairway, along either side of the fairway are lines of trees that love to grab on to your disc and sit it down, on the right side of fairway beyond the trees was a small pond that played OB, on the left side of the fairway beyond the trees was another fairway that played in bounds but didn't help you access the basket any easier, so sticking to the fairway was key, down the fairway the basket was tucked away in a bungalow of trees with a small entrance way right at the front, the hole plays 385', I hope that somewhat paints the picture of the hole.

RPO Hole 15, Sick screen shot I know! Ha!

So after seeing a couple of players find trouble on either side of the fairway, looking to have some fun, and to find some redemption from the day before, I grabbed my trusty C-Line FD and pumped a straight shot that turned over slightly before finding its way in to the opening and scooted about 15-20' long of the basket. I was the only player looking at a 2 on that hole while the other players were having to scramble to find 3s,4s, or 5s after some OB strokes. Before that hole I came to find out after, that I was behind and that hole really opened up an opportunity for me to fight back into contention. After everyone played close to the basket I stepped up to my lie, which was directly in a bundle of trees and bushes, I went to a knee to give me self a better line to the basket and canned my putt. There was a decent gallery and heard some awesome cheers and that the shot was near perfect on the hole. This was such a great feeling, it's hard not to be boastful when you tackle a difficult hole, but I must say if it hadn't been for Chris, Brandon and Casey in the preparations before and during the tournament I wouldn't have been confident executing that shot, so a big thanks to those guys for the boost in my confidence.

Where the people are standing is the opening to the basket. Photo Credit Casey Lee

After finishing up the round I was able to finish tied for 4th place and pretty stoked about the finish. Even with being tied for 2nd, I was the only non-local guy on the final card and I battled all weekend long to a strong solid finish. The tournament was run great so big props to everyone who was involved in running RPO, they really made it an awesome time. After the tournament they were going to have a raffle for a Skins Safari Doubles match, with the top 3 finishing Open players, the top Masters player and the top Female player from the tournament. With my finish I didn't qualify but I wasn't discouraged because I had just played a lot of fun golf and was happy walking away satisfied with what I had achieved. Brodey had purchased some tickets and unbeknownst to me had planned on if he won twice he was going to give me the other winning ticket. Brodey went on ahead an won twice and I was lucky enough to participate in an awesome skins match where 10 of us were competing for $780! On a side note, THANK YOU BRODEY! You're the man and I look forward to playing with you again, I have a PD waiting for you! This was another opportunity to play and have some fun. As the safari match got going I was paired up with Karina Nowels the top finishing Female player from the tournament and an exceptional golfer, I was confident we could take a shot at bringing home some cash. After playing 5 of the 6 safari holes we wen't into the final hole with all skins pushed. All of us were itching to try and pick up the final hole. We had previously discussed if we pushed all holes we would split the pot, so either way we all were walking out winners. The final hole was hole 18 to the practice basket, This was a long shot and would take a total crush to get there for a two and steal the skins. Brock Shepard and his partner TJ Smith both crushed their drives and were looking good. When it came down to my turn to throw I stepped up and said to myself 'have fun and just throw.' I crushed my Maroon Early Run PD2, nicknamed 'Adam Levine', finding a silly gap and skipped off a path way and finished pin high but 50' right of the basket. Karina and I had the closest look after all the drives were said and done. Brock stepped up and jump putted his off the front pan and gave the crowd quite a roar but it wasn't meant to be. Karina took a look from our putt but finished a touch short. Having the last putt of the Safari Doubles Skin Match was a pretty cool feeling knowing that there was a lot on the line but no matter what I still had the feeling that it was just great being there and being able to play. I settled in and sent my P2... it finished and caught the front pan. The crowd roared but it wasn't meant to be. We pushed the skins and in the end it was an awesome addition to a great weekend. This is an event I won't miss next year and hopefully will come back and represent again. I had a lot of awesome feelings going into the weekend, especially after being announced to Team Discmania. Again I am super thankful for to them for the opportunity and am so excited what the future may hold. 

I constantly post about having the Most Fun, I hashtag it, I tell people all the time to remember to have the most fun, I try and live it every time I am on the course. This is something that resonates with me and gives me confidence just like #putterpants does. No matter what this game is about fun and the competition side should be all about fun. Even on the worst of rounds or days you can still find the enjoyment that you are out playing disc golf. I played a round yesterday where I missed almost every putt it felt like but I still had a blast playing. Remember why you started playing the game, if you are like me it's because disc golf gives you an awesome feeling and it shouldn't be ruined only enhanced, and we do that by enjoying every moment.

Next post will be a Discmania P2 review! Going to review C-Line, S-Line and D-Line. I will add some small things about the P-Line, but I don't have any work with the Color Glow P2 so will leave that up to someone else. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading. Keep those #putterpants on and remember to have the #mostfun. I am a Discmaniac. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z97lQTLFShU
Enjoy

Having a 'Go To Disc'

It was great to hear some of the feedback I received from my 'In The Bag' video I posted recently. My buddy, Chris Tellesbo, mentioned that he could see that I cared about a lot of the discs I was throwing, as if I had a connection with a disc. I never thought about it like that, but it was completely true. I enjoy pulling out a disc from my bag and having complete and total confidence in what the disc is capable of doing. This has been tested quite a bit recently having lost quite a bit of quality plastic. Whether it has been a perfectly seasoned disc or a specific run of a disc. I have been forced to break in a number of discs quickly and efficiently. I am putting in countless reps with certain discs to make sure I have the best feeling before I decide to bag them for a round. This is where putting in a lot of field work has been crucial. I am getting to the point where all I want to do is work on field work, fine tune my mechanics and fixing anything that feels wrong. I have worked myself into having a good conservative run up when I need to be more focused and am picking a landing area and I can still get aggressive when I have room to work and need a little bit extra behind the disc. All of this has been from throwing brand new discs and getting comfortable again. I am now getting to the feeling that I want to get away from having a 'Go To Disc' and really want to be able to trust whatever is in my hands as long as I have an idea how it will fly. This turns me to relying more on my own capabilities and skill set rather than trusting a disc to do something specific. Granted I still have a 'Go To Disc' in my bag whenever I feel uncertain or worried I can trust pulling out my beat in D-Line P2. My favorite thing to do is take on longer holes and only throw my P2 just to see how it would differ. In doing this it allows me to tackle a hole with a more cautious approach and can always resort to playing smart. Plus who doesn't like attacking a 1000ft par 5 with only a putter?

I have a few tournaments coming up and am just super pumped to be out and playing. My PutterPants competition was great because it showed me that a lot of people care about having fun playing and enjoy being on the course. Getting back to the foundation of why we all play is great.

Thanks for reading. Keep those #putterpants on and have the #mostfun. I am a Discmaniac. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VQV8jTl5Q
Enjoy

Discmania FD Review and a PutterPants Giveaway!

S-Line FD, Yellow 2nd Run FD, Pink 3rd Run FD, Glow FD

So this week I am going to just jam you guys up with an in depth review of my favorite disc, the Discmania FD. I want this to be as informative as possible. I will cover multiple plastics, but keep in mind I have only thrown C-Line and S-Line so that is where my focus will stay. I will also talk about some of the different runs of C-Line plastics, but also this is an area I only have most of my work with 2nd, 3rd and Glow run. With all of that out of the way I will do my best to inform you guys the best I can so you can hopefully go out and pick up one yourself and enjoy the best fairway on the market. Read all the way to the end and I will give you a little insight about the #PUTTERPANTS Giveaway that should be going live at the end of this weekend.

I will begin with the S-Line FD or the Jackal. This was the first Discmania disc I bought about 4-5 years ago along with a D-Line P2 and even now still has a place in my bag. The S-Line FD has an incredible amount of glide out of the box and a very neutral flight. There are a lot of benefits to this disc. It is not only a top disc for beginners to get extra controlled distance when starting out but has the versatility for the top level pros to use them as turnover fairways and even rollers. In most cases I will pull mine out when I either need to throw a roller or a big turnover. The S-Line FD has a very comfortable rim that should have a good feeling in most players hands. The S-Line plastic tends to be a bit more flexible allowing for a solid grip in all conditions. Something to keep in mind when considering the S-Line FD is that it will not be a wind fighter but where you can see this disc shine is in calm conditions to a tailwind. No matter what kind of course you are playing, from a tight wooded course to a open range course, you will find plenty of instances of where you can use this disc. This is a disc I will suggest to players of all ages and skill level. The S-Line is much more beginner friendly than the C-Line. Something to note about the S-Line FD is most of  the runs have stayed very consistent so you can trust what you get. It's the biggest reason why Discmania is pushing the level of the game is not only giving you consistent molds but if there is any change the will give you much needed insight on what has changed and how the disc will fly. So if you are looking for a long neutral disc that will get better with age and become a great turnover/roller disc that can tackle any course, I highly suggest picking up an S-Line FD.

As I was writing this post the Discmania store released the 5th Run Firm Jolly Launcher FD which I have yet to test out, but I do intend on snagging a few up and really testing them out. With the C-Line FD you have to understand that there are different runs that will offer you different flight characteristics. Like I said about Discmania they will have incredible consistency in whichever run but if its different by the next run, all of the information you need about how it might be different is offered so you have a better understanding of what you are getting. When it comes to C-Line FDs I have the most work with the 2nd, 3rd and Glow run versions. I did not have a good chance to test out the First Runs as much. I had one but decided to ship it off to my buddy Aron, seemed like a good home for the disc. I will lead in with the 2nd run. These are the most stable run of the FD, they tend to be very stiff and very flat. If your FD is stiff and flat, check the rim for bubbles, if you see bubbles then you have a 2nd run FD.

Bubbles in the rim.

For how stable these are they still have a great amount of glide and can bomb like any other FD, but at the tail end of the flight you will see this disc work harder and finish left. This disc gets pulled out in situations for longer glidey hyzer shots, pumped straight shots, and just about any other fairway shot. With the stability this disc has it reminds me of a glidey beat in Firebird that takes less effort to keep in the air. With that kind of consistency the 2nd Run FD is a staple for my bag, I recently didn't have these but have come into a few and I really enjoy throwing this disc. This version I wouldn't totally suggest for beginners considering how beefy it can be, but would highly suggest this disc to players with a bit more power. This version is the best at battling the heavy winds you sometimes see on the course. These are now very hard to come by in anything over 170g but from my understanding these at the lower weights are still very stable and a very great thrower. Moving on to the 3rd run FD, these can be seen as the slightly firm (not firm like the 2nd run) with swirls in the rim.

Swirls in the rim.

Jamie Thomas has referred to them as the good FDs, which is completely spot on. This version of the FD is easily one of the straightest versions with a slight hint of stability. This allows for players to really get behind this disc and trust that it will have a good straight finish. If you really get behind them you will get a significant amount of turn before the disc will work back to straight. These are great for long glidey hyzers, turnover shots, long flex shots, and tunnel shots. This is a disc you can completely rely on, but I wouldn't go and throw it into a monster head wind. This version is the FD I pull out the most for its consistent flight. This version also has a long shelf life so if you decide to keep it in your bag you shouldn't worry too much about the flight changing all that much. This really goes for all of the C-Line FDs, and really all C-Line discs, that you can get a long life with a consistent flight right out of the box. The last of the three I have worked with in the C-Line plastic are the Glow FDs, these have been talked about by Jussi Meresmaa and other top Discmania players as a solid addition to the FD line up. I have found that these have a tremendous amount of glide and are very similar to the good 3rd run FD. These tend to beat in a little bit quicker which will add to the neutral flight and even present some reliable high speed turn. These I feel actually have the most glide out of the C-Line lineup. This is a disc I tend to pull out for longer drives with poor footing or little run up space, or long straight tunnels and basically anything the 3rd run can do. Why carry both a 3rd Run and a Glow? Most of the time I will just settle with having a 3rd run in my bag but when the weather gets bad or the course I am playing has some tricky fairways and awkward footing I will toss in the Glow to have the extra glide for when I am not throwing as hard. Plus the Jolly Launcher plastic I feel adds to the durability where the Glow does beat in faster, but only in the comparison to the JL plastic otherwise it takes a while to really beat in.

If you have any more in depth questions about any of the FDs I have mentioned feel free to comment here or message me on facebook.

I have been mentioning on Instagram and Facebook about #Putterpants and a Putterpants giveaway. I had been chatting with my buddies about what would be the best way to run this competition since not many people maybe understand what #Putterpants stands for. For me #Putterpants is a reminder to have fun and enjoy myself on the course, along with remembering to putt with confidence. My buddies and I used to say after hitting a long putt for 2 "Putterpants Party of 2" and it caught fire among us. So anytime I wouldn't be putting well I would crack a joke about how I needed to put my Putterpants on. Now it even works when I throw my putters off the tee. Having the confidence on the course is key and this is my constant reminder. So here is how the contest will work...
1. Use the #PUTTERPANTS on Facebook or Instagram.
2. Follow me on Instagram (@theericoakley), or add me on Facebook.
3. Give a brief explanation of how you might view putterpants helping you on the course.
4. Post a Rad Picture of you with some Discmania disc or canning an awesome putt for those of you who don't have any Discmania discs.

After 7 days I will chose 3 random winners out of the top 10 best submissions. The prize will be a sweet Puple/Pink Transitional D-Line P2 with the mini shield stamp. If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Thanks for reading. I am a Discmaniac! Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUv2zaj9mPs
Enjoy