Announcements

A thank you and farewell to all

/ P.J. / 4 Comments

Not that this should be a shock to anybody, but the end of Rattling Chains has obviously happened.

However, I needed closure on this part of my life, as well as for the site, considering I still see e-mails asking about it.

announcementI had a time in my life where I was unemployed. This blog provided so many things for me. One, it allowed me to find one of the greatest games in the world. Though I don’t get to play as often as I’d like, I do still try and get out and throw plastic. I’m not an active PDGA member as I don’t plan on playing tournaments or anything, but I still support what they are trying to do.

Maybe, one day, I’ll get back into it. I do think I might subscribe to the magazine, though, as I miss that.

But for the time Rattling Chains existed, I fully believed in the cause. I wanted to bring a journalistic-style of blogging to the disc golf world. It’s something I still think can do well, if done right. As the site grew (and it did so nicely), we had a fun little staff who did some wonderful work.

Thing evolved, but when you try and grow and there’s nothing coming back, it gets tough. I didn’t play enough disc golf to have a full-fledged connection to it. The other main writers were doing so much with but just a thank you. Though, I can’t lie, I still hope to get out to the West Coast and play a round with each of the main players some day in the future.

Continue reading →

Advertisement

And we’re back … we think

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

By P.J. Harmer — Rattling Chains Staff

It seems like yesterday that we announced a summer break.

In reality, it was more than two and a half months ago. Crazy, right? But now we’re back and hopefully this break will have given us what we had hoped — a good break to recharge and push forward for the long haul.

announcement

We’re not sure how that worked.

See, that break turned into something else — one where we were able to reflect on things a little bit. One where we found other things and such. And one where we put this blog into perspective.

So we’re back, but maybe not as crazy as we once were.

Our goal for this break was to re-charge, write some stories to have a stash and a few other things.

We have a few stories done, some others being worked on and a couple of new writers who should bring some interesting stuff to the table. But our grandeur thoughts kind of fizzled, once the reality of life continued to rear its head.

Continue reading →

Rattling Chains seeking submissions of photos and bag contents

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

By P.J. Harmer — Rattling Chains staff

As we build content toward our relaunch later this summer, we want to fill up some of our user-generated features.

With that in mind, we’re looking for readers to send in photos for our Photo Focus and the contents of their bags for our “What’s in your bag?” feature.

announcementFor photos, we basically need you to send the image and give us the short story behind the photo — such as where it was, why you thought it made a good photo and any other info. As long as the photo isn’t super edited, we should be able to pull all the techie info from the image, so usually it won’t be something for you to worry about.

As for what kind of images? Anything disc golf. A fantastic view. A cool basket. Discs. Action shots. Anything you can think of when it comes to disc golf.

Our hope is to run this feature every two weeks or so.

If you have any images (you can submit more than one) you’d like to see featured on the site, please e-mail it with the pertinent info to pj@rattlingchains.com.

What’s in your bag?

When Rattling Chains first started, we did a feature where we showcased what people carried in their bags. This is done at many disc golf websites, but often in video format.

All we ask is you send us all the contents of your bag (not just discs) and a couple of images to use with it. Please also include your name, where you’re from and your home course.

The plan is to run this feature every two weeks or so, as long as we have enough submissions.

If you’d like to submit your bag contents for use on the website, please e-mail them to steve@rattlingchains.com.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer, flinging plastic and rattling those chains!

P.J. Harmer is the founder and executive editor for Rattling Chains. E-mail him at: pj@rattlingchains.com.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

The summer is arriving — time to step back and huck some plastic

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

By Steve Hill — Rattling Chains staff

In the immortal words of Alice Cooper, “School’s out for summer.”

Substitute “disc golf website” for “school,” and you’ll see what we’re getting at here.

announcement

The staff at Rattling Chains has decided to take a summer break, if you will, to recharge the batteries and make sure we are still bringing you the best disc golf content the Internet has to offer.

Truth is, we feel like we just finished final exams and need to blow off some steam.

With new employment opportunities, family commitments, and the desire to, you know, actually play disc golf, the day-to-day running of the site was turning into a bit of a grind. Since the handful of people behind this site are volunteers, and we all have things other than the site that take precedence, we felt it was important to take a step back, breathe, and get back to why we started things here in the first place.

The end result is, outside of our coverage of the PDGA National Tour, no new posts are scheduled to run starting this weekend until Labor Day.

Continue reading →

Wishing everybody a merry Christmas and a great holiday season

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

christmas

As many of you already know, the staff of Rattling Chains is taking this week off to enjoy the season with family and friends.

And maybe even hucking a disc or two.

Therefore, there will be no true new content this week.

We’d also like to take the time to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to visit the site as often as you do. As much as we love the game, we truly do enjoy bring original and quality content to you each and every day.

With that being said, we’d like to wish everybody who celebrates a Merry Christmas and to everyone, a wonderful holiday season.

Please check back sometime Wednesday, however, as we’ll be having a massive giveaway in celebration of the holiday season. There are several prizes to win — and a few different ways to win them.

Thanks again and we’ll be back next week!

If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, ideas or anything else, feel free to e-mail me and the crew at: pj@rattlingchains.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Wysocki to team up with Rattling Chains

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

By P.J. Harmer — Rattling Chains staff

Disc golf has gone through quite an evolution.

Even to those of us who are newer to the sport, there’s a history to be celebrated. From the early days of Frisbee to discovering disc golf and “Steady” Ed Headrick, the history is much longer than one might think. There are tournaments and historic courses. Players such as “The Champ” Ken Climo are known for all they’ve done in the sport.

Saying the name Dave Dunipace to many will quickly help turn a disc golf conversation to Innova.

Then there’s the more current names in the game — players such as Dave Feldberg, Nate Doss, Eric McCabe and Avery Jenkins — all recent world champions.

Then there are the young guns.

These are the players who might make people take notice as the next group of fun and exciting professional disc golfers coming through the system.

When discussing that next bunch of players, the conversation often begins with Ricky Wysocki, a 19-year-old out of North Carolina who is a member of Innova’s Star team.

And for somebody who isn’t even old enough to legally purchase alcohol, Wysocki is already making a name for himself in the disc golf world. In fact, he’s won more than $20,000 playing the game this year as a full-time touring pro.

Continue reading →

State of the Chains Address

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

I feel that with how slow things have been here recently, I owe our readers a bit of an explanation — hence the State of the Chains Address.

First, my apologies for no poll this week. I am skipping it this week and it will return this upcoming Monday. I’m low on ideas for polls and have received a few ideas, so I need to get them all ready to go.

As for how things have been…

One thing about this site — and the writers — is we came out of the gates without any pace. By that I mean we had many ideas and stories and we just kept putting them out day after day. We tried a few things and when they didn’t work too well, we scaled it back or replaced it. Things were good.

For those of you who write, you might see where this is going.

It’s one thing to blog, it’s another when it’s a niche topic. I have a personal blog on top of Rattling Chains. At times, it’s much easier for me to whip out stories there because it covers a variety of topics. Here, it’s disc golf.

Continue reading →

Women to be featured this week on Rattling Chains

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

Don’t be alarmed by the different look of the website. It’s for good reason, I assure you.

This week is a special week — and one that we as disc golfers need to embrace and help push.

Why?

There aren’t enough females playing disc golf.

And that’s a shame.

This sport is extremely fun and it works so well that people of any age, gender, race or anything else can play it. And with the proper work, anyone can become quite good.

Some of the finest disc golfers I’ve ever seen are female.

At the Vibram Open last year, I had the chance to watch some of the very best professional women — Val Jenkins, Sarah Hokom, Paige Pierce, Catrina Allen and Sarah Stanhope. The list can go on and on.

A few years ago — based on my stellar scores during the first round of a tournament — I was paired up with four women in the second round.

To say they thoroughly whipped me would be an understatement.

But what a difference. They were competitive, yet kept things loose, offered some advice and were extremely nice to be paired with, despite me not being so good.

Continue reading →

A card for your collection? Let’s find out…

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

Who is the winner?

Last week, I shared a story about the Avery Jenkins card.

This card played a part in me getting interested in the sport. Though I imagine I would have found the game again without this card — but who knows when?

It’s funny how things like this happen. I’ve since talked to people who have tried to find these cards, only to not be able to get one in a pack. And though the base cards can be found on card collecting sites, there’s still the cool feeling of finding a card you want when you crack a box and few packs.

Some of the cards I’ve pulled from packs over the years (Cole Hamels jersey card; Torii Hunter bat card; Jim Thome jersey card) mean more to me than some of my favorite cards that I’ve had to scrounge through eBay auctions or card shows.

So, yes, it was cool to pull Avery’s card.

And it’s even cooler to give a few of these away knowing some people are going to really enjoy them. Especially that they are autographed. And, another cool point is he signed these for these giveaways.

Anyway, reading the comments on here and on Facebook showed that Avery is, indeed, a great ambassador of the sport and earned his spot on a card.

I know, you are all wanting me to announce some winners. But give me some slack here! I wanted to show a couple of people’s comments from the original story.

Continue reading →

Two writers join Rattling Chains

/ P.J. / Leave a comment

Rattling Chains is proud to announce the addition of Steve Hill and Jack Trageser as regular contributors to the writing staff.

Hill, who already debuted on the site with his account of being a plastic addict, started playing the game in early 2011 and has been hooked since. Writing since the age of five, Hill said he is happy to be able to combine is writing passion with disc golf.

A sixth-grade math, science and journalism teacher, Hill earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2004 before relocating to Redlands, Calif., where he still lives.

Some of the items Hill will cover include noodle-arm reviews (for those who just don’t throw too far!), Southern California-based tournaments, adventures in the game, in-depth journalistic-style pieces and other topics as they arise.

“This is giving me an opportunity to scratch that journalism itch that never quite goes away, while helping bring a great sport to the masses,” Hill said. “I’m looking forward to the adventures ahead.”

Trageser (PDGA #9715) is bringing more than two decades of experience in disc golf to the site.

The owner of the School of Disc Golf, he is a professional player with multiple tournament wins on the PDGA tour. Trageser also coaches a team in the Santa Cruz County Interscholastic Disc Golf League.

He has experience in designing and installing courses and teaches a course on disc golf at Cabrillo College. Maintaining a strong passion for growing the sport, he is focused on helping players at all levels develop skills and have more fun with the game.

Trageser’s main focus will be bringing instructional posts to the site, with an emphasis on the mental component that makes golf and disc golf unique and compelling. He’ll also bring stories from two decades in the sport, the business side of the game and some product reviews.

“Rattling Chains aspires to be both the premier online destination for disc golf enthusiasts and a professionally designed, accurate window to the sport for the outside world,” Trageser said. “I’m excited to join a team that is committed to providing well-written, compelling content that spans all aspects of disc golf. Hopefully my focus on instructional posts will generate a healthy interactive dialogue that results in real improvements in our readers’ games.”

Trageser’s first post is slated to run Tuesday (March 27).

Rattling Chains is excited to have two writers with a journalism background join the site. We hope the readers enjoy the insights each have to offer.

If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, ideas or anything else, feel free to e-mail me and the crew at: pj [at] rattlingchains.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!