Product Review: DGA Elite Shield disc golf bag

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By Jack Trageser — Rattling Chains staff

After using the DGA Elite Shield bag for more than a month, it is my favorite bag ever, as well as the best accessory product ever marketed by Disc Golf Association. Time will tell whether it passes the all-important durability test, but it seems to be very well equipped in that regard as well.

It should be mentioned right that one’s preference of disc golf bags — like the golf discs they are designed to carry — is a highly subjective matter. Most significant in this regard is size. Some prefer the minimalist approach — a bag that is as small as possible and meant to hold a few discs and maybe a water bottle. Others have a rather different philosophy, and represent the “If there is even the remotest chance I might need it, I will carry it” school of thought. These folks want to carry 30 or more discs, two wardrobe changes, enough food and water to survive in the wilderness for 10 days, and seven miscellaneous pockets and straps full of other stuff.

The DGA Elite Shield bag.

The DGA Elite Shield bag.

I prefer something between these two extremes. I want room for about 14 discs, a large water bottle, and the outer layer of clothing I’ll remove halfway through the round. I’d also like several convenient storage pockets for my snacks and little stuff, too. And, now that I’ve gotten used to backpack-style straps, my bag must at least include that as an option as well. Finally, I like to keep the cost reasonable — $75 or cheaper.

Keep in mind these personal preferences when I say that the Elite Shield bag by DGA is the ideal bag for me.

The company is best known for its dominant share of baskets installed worldwide and its pioneering status in the sport (perhaps you’ve heard of “Steady” Ed Headrick, the PDGA’s first member, the father of disc golf and the inventor of the Pole Hole catching devise?), but DGA also markets its own line of discs, apparel and accessories.

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Poll 43: Your favorite type of disc

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We’ve talked about discs before, but it’s time to find out what your favorite type of disc is to throw.

And by type, we don’t mean plastic, rather the range.

weekly_pollBefore we get into that, however, we want to visit last week’s poll and see what some people had to say.

Last week, we asked a simple yes or no question — should there be dress codes at tournaments?

It seemed like this would definitely invoke some thoughts and opinions as it seems like something that is sometimes talked about at tournaments among different levels of players.

Of the 145 people who cast a vote, 62 percent (90 votes) said yes, there should be a dress code. The no vote had 55 votes (38 percent).

Some noted they voted yes because they see something small being helpful, others thought there should be some bigger parts to the rule.

Let’s see what others said.

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Ice Bowls a great way to experience tournament play on a lighter level

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As clouds dotted the sky and a light breeze chilled the air on a 55-degree day in San Marcos, California, I couldn’t help but think one thing:

Not bad for an Ice Bowl.

steveSuch is the luxury that comes with Southern California living, an “Ice Bowl” in which a mild threat of rain showers makes players look skyward every few holes, then get back to business.

But, more than the weather, what I took from the 6th Annual San Marcos Ice Bowl, held January 6 at Montiel Park, was that the aforementioned business was actually quite casual, especially for what is dubbed a tournament.

Sure, there was a player meeting and scorecards were passed out. There were backups on tees and people wanting it to be quiet during a putt.

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Finding entertainment from the disc world on YouTube

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It’s been a while since we’ve run a post full of YouTube videos.

Originally, the YouTube feature was supposed to be a regular thing on Rattling Chains. Though it hasn’t worked out that way, it’s nice to do some surfing on occasion to see what’s out there.

The turn of the year is usually a good time to check things out as many people seem to upload trick shots or compilations of aces and things like that as a year-end sort of thing.

These videos are always pretty entertaining.

While it’s true that most of these people probably take multiple shots to get the result, it’s still pretty impressive they get the shot done at all.

Either way, they are still entertaining.

So sit back, enjoy your day and hopefully you have the time to check out some of these videos as they are quite fun to watch!

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Rattling Chains named top disc golf blog

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Thank you.

There’s not much more else I can say.

Late Monday night, we were informed that Rattling Chains was named the top disc golf blog by DiscGolfStation.com. In the growing age of digital media and blogging, this is quite an honor.

harmer_sigWe were contacted by Disc Golf Station a week ago, letting us know we were being considered. I answered the two questions I was asked and sent things back.

Then we got the news.

I’m obviously stoked — for the site, for those who contribute, but most of all for those who have supported us for the past 10 months. The fan base this site has built might not be as large as some other disc golf sites, but we have a loyal and vocal group who will tell it like it is.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

These fans will tell us when we’ve done well, tell us when we’ve messed up, when we’ve misspelled something or when we got something right. And I like that. They send us ideas and thoughts and it helps us grow as a site.

Clint Henderson, of Disc Golf Station, said they sent e-mails to about 20 disc golf blogs, and considered many others in the initial process. It’s nice to know how we stacked up against so many other blogs.

When I started Rattling Chains in 2012, the goal was simple: create a disc golf blog that covers the sport like no other place — with journalistic integrity, entertaining and original content, and consistency. Add all that together, and our hope was to help grow the sport through the written word as we dive into stories others aren’t telling.

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Photo Focus: Jan. 15

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(Photo focus will run every two weeks or so on Rattling Chains. The idea is to focus on disc golf photographs submitted by staff members and readers. To see the guidelines for submitting a photograph for this feature, click here.)

Hole No. 22 at DeLaveaga. (photo by Jack Trageser)

Hole No. 22 at DeLaveaga. (photo by Jack Trageser)

The trees at DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course — especially the oaks — provide all kinds of unique framing opportunities for disc golf photography.

The original shot of the hole. (photo by Jack Trageser)

The original shot of the hole. (photo by Jack Trageser)

This particular photo of hole No. 22 was taken on a cold — for Santa Cruz — morning at about 10 a.m. It’s of the gap through which I had just attempted a birdie putt.

I used my Samsung Galaxy S3 Android phone using a simple auto focus setting.

This image is cropped in. The original provides a better idea of the true shape of the tree. By cropping the shot as I did, I thought it created an image that invokes the possibility of an entire mystical disc golf course, accessed through the knothole of an old, gnarled oak tree.

Techie info:

  • Camera: Samsung Galaxy S3
  • Exposure: 1/180
  • Aperture: F/2.6
  • Focal length: 3.7 mm
  • ISO: 80

– Jack Trageser

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!

Poll 42: Dress codes

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Oh disc golfers — with our interesting choice of clothing and such.

I am sure most of us have seen some outlandish and interesting choices of clothes people wear playing this fine sport. Whether loud and crazy tee shirts to basketball shorts or whatever else, it can be quite the mix.

weekly_pollYou’ll even see these sort of things at tournaments.

Is this an acceptable sort of thing as the sport continues to grow and moves forward?

We’ll get to the question and thoughts down below. But let’s first look at last week’s poll and comments.

We wanted to know last week if it mattered to you if so many professionals jumped to Prodigy.

The overwhelming response was no, which garnered 114 of 176 votes for a whopping 65 percent. Of the voters, 62 (35 percent) said yes.

That seems to speak volumes. Let’s see what some people said in the comments.

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Break it down — being simple with disc golf can make the game more enjoyable

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It’s amazing what happens when you can break things down in a simple way.

Over the years, I’ve had my bouts with being too competitive in sports, despite knowing I was usually over-matched.

Years ago, I was a semi-competitive ball golfer. It’s not that I was great by any means. But within the divisions in which I competed, I could do decently well. On my home course, I never shot anything better than eight-over-par, and that only happened a few times. Often enough, I was more in the range of plus-12 to plus-20, on average. Sometimes better, sometimes much worse.

harmer_sigDespite knowing I had a ton of limitations, didn’t hit the range as much as I should and didn’t understand the game as well as I thought I did, I still got irritated and would get into my own head.

That’s not a rarity.

Up until the past few years, I took sports way too seriously. I over-thought things. And, to be fair, I’m not the greatest athlete. That doesn’t take away the feeling that I should do better than I do.

And, I won’t lie, it’s irritating to watch others do well when I think I should be doing much better.

A few years back, I hit a wall, realizing I took things too seriously. I needed to do something to calm it down a bit. You know, the approach of taking a deep breath and looking at the big picture.

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Creative Corner: Floating baskets

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By Darren Dolezel — Rattling Chains staff

It’s been a while since I got creative with disc golf. Finally, I found time to make something I had been wanting to do for a while.

With a lot of discussion about urban disc golf and where we could shoot, I started thinking about all the features in New York’s Central Park. I wanted to figure out where we might be able to put a basket.

Anyone up for a round of floating disc golf? (photo by Darren Dolezel)

Anyone up for a round of floating disc golf? (photo by Darren Dolezel)

One of the things that draws me to that magnificent park is all ponds and water. That made me wonder — how could I place a basket and get a full view of the famous boat house. Then it dawned on me — a floating basket.

After thinking about it for a week or two, I broke out some tools and went to work.

As frivolous as I can be at times, I like to create stuff out of junk as kind of a way to recycle. I took an old piece of plywood from the scrap pile and cut it to a measurement of 4 feet by 3 feet. I then drilled 16 holes around the outside edges, giving me a spot to push string through. That would give me the base and the ability to attach an inner tube.

However, I still had to find an inner tube big enough to pull this off. That turned out to be easier said than done.

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Gauging the true cost of disc golf

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By Tim Engstrom — Special to Rattling Chains

All players of disc golf are somewhat ambassadors for the sport, me included.

We are quick to say how inexpensive the sport is when we list the reasons it is a wonderful game. And it’s true — it is an inexpensive sport. But let’s face it, costs can add up.

It starts off at a cheap price. You buy a $9 low-grade disc and go throw it at a park with no pay-to-play fee. Soon, you realize you want more discs. So, you buy a putter, a driver and a mid-range.

Fourth-graders at St. Theodore Catholic School (Minn.) hold up putters in March 2012 when local disc golfers taught disc golf to a physical education class. When starting out, people likely only need one disc, which helps with the inexpensiveness of the game. (photo by Dave Sime)

Fourth-graders at St. Theodore Catholic School (Minn.) hold up putters in March 2012 when local disc golfers taught disc golf to a physical education class. When starting out, people likely only need one disc, which helps with the inexpensiveness of the game. (photo by Dave Sime)

Then, as you get better, you realize you need more discs for various shots. You buy an understable disc to throw anhyzers, and an overstable mid-range to bend around corners. Perhaps you try a different putter or maybe you want to get that more expensive plastic like your buddy now has.

Oh, and you just have to replace that disc you lost. Soon, you’ll need a shoulder bag to tote all these discs.

Despite the investment, it’s still a cheap sport. The course is free. The collective investment in plastic saucers cost less than equipment for most sports, short of soccer and basketball.

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