Photo Focus: Sept. 9

September 9, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

(Photo focus will run every few 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.)

Lighting the way at Pyramids. (photo by Tim Johnson)

Pyramids in Leicester, Mass., is a spectacular course that plays mostly through the woods, with great use of elevation. It also plays back-and-forth across a clear, picturesque stream.

The stream is visible in the center of this photo.

My brother, nephew and I played the course in August, having our own “invitational” family tournament.

During play, this lone beam of light, illuminated the tee of hole No. 4.

— Tim Johnson

Techie info:

Camera: iPod Touch
Aperture: f/2.4
Exposure: 1/60
Focal Length: 3.9mm
ISO: 100

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!

Product Review: Vibram unLace

September 6, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

By P.J. Harmer, Steve Hill and Jack Trageser — Rattling Chains staff

Oh, Vibram.

It seems whenever I am away from the game for a while, Vibram releases a disc to get me interested in things again. Those who know me can tell you I’m a bit of a Vibram fan boy. I don’t hide it. That also means I usually hold the company to a much higher standard.

I had been excited for the release of the Lace. And though others gushed over it, I couldn’t get into it. It was too much disc for me. I couldn’t handle it or make it do what it should do.

With that in mind, I was skeptical for the release of the unLace, Vibram’s second distance driver and the understable partner to the Lace.

Realize this, too — I carry one distance driver, and occassionally a second one. Both are Innova products and both are at 150 grams or lighter. The main one is my Blizzard Katana (132), and I sometimes carry a Valkyrie (150).

So how would a 172 unLace match up?

Holy smokes!

Maybe it’s because I haven’t thrown seriously in a couple of months. Could it be that I forgot all my bad habits and, in turn, was doing something right? I took the disc out on an open field to see what kind of things I could do with it.

The first throw went about 230 feet or so.

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Two universal truths — and 7.5 tips — to help improve your putting

September 4, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

By Jack Trageser — Rattling Chains Staff

Anyone who plays golf of any kind understands putting is a big part of the game.

Surprisingly, though, most don’t take the time to develop the systematic approach required to produce real and lasting improvement. That’s good news for those who are willing to do so — assuming you’re interested in having an advantage that directly translates to lower scores and more fun After all, missed putts aren’t fun.

As the title of this posts claims, we’ll examine 7.5 ways to help you in this regard. First, a good way to start is by recognizing there are two universal truths in regard to putting in disc golf (and ball golf, for that matter):

1. Consistent putting is a major component to consistently scoring well in disc golf.

2. More than any other element of the game, good putting requires a solid, well-developed mental game.

The first point is important if you play tournaments, leagues, or any other type of competition where scores are accumulated over numerous rounds. You may shoot a hot round (where you’re in the zone) every now and then, but unless you consistently make a large majority of the putts, you won’t consistently score well, regardless of how great the rest of your game is.

Everyone can relate to how frustrating it is to have the best drives all round yet end up not having the best score.

The second point is the theme that ties together the tips listed below. Players are different in terms of the physical aspects of putting technique, and what works for one player (grip, stance, form, etc.) won’t necessarily work for the next. Everyone, however, faces the same challenges and can benefit from these approaches.

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And we’re back … we think

September 2, 2013 / 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.

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.

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McBeth dominates Vibram Open en route to NT title

August 28, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

By Steve Hill — Rattling Chains staff

Dominance.

That is the only word to describe the display Paul McBeth put on Sunday en route to winning the Vibram Open at Maple Hill and securing the PDGA National Tour Elite Series Championship.

Paul McBeth clinched the PDGA National Tour title with a 13-stroke victory at the Vibram Open. (photo courtesy PDGA Media)

Heading into the final round of play with a four-shot lead over Will Schusterick, McBeth got hot early and shot a course-record 14-under par 45, good enough for a 1119-rated round. The hot round left him with a 33-under 203 for the tournament, earning him the $3,000 purse with a 13-stroke victory.

Schusterick earned $2,400 and a second-place finish with his 20-under par 216, while Cale Leiviska and Cam Colglazier tied for third and $1,875 with 19-under 217s. Paul Ulibarri’s 15-under 221 was good for fifth place and $1,500.

The win marked the sixth major tournament championship in 2013 for McBeth, who recently won his second straight world championship.

Once he got locked in on Sunday, McBeth said it was only a matter of how far under par he would finish.

“I think once I was up nine, I knew I pretty much won the tournament,” he said. “I think I was at like 10-under with six holes to play, and I just looked over to someone I was following and I said, ‘Well, I guess it’s just time to see how low I can go.’”

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Vibram Open to settle National Tour races

August 22, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

By P.J. Harmer & Steve Hill — Rattling Chains staff

Updated 4:36 p.m. EST

One final showdown will settle the PDGA’s National Tour this weekend at Maple Hill in Leicester, Mass.

The Vibram Open, the closing tournament of the National Tour Elite Series, will be where points-leader Paul McBeth looks to hold off Ricky Wysocki. The tournament runs Thursday through Sunday.

Tee times start at 7:45 a.m. local time Thursday, and 7:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Players begin playing at 8 a.m. on the final day.

The Vibram will also pay out more than $50,000 in prize money. The men will split $45,000, with the winner earning $3,000. Second place is $2,400 and third place gets $2,000. The women, with a field of 15, will split $7,000. The winner earns $1,500, second is $1,200 and third will get $1,000.

That strong payout is something tournament director Steve Dodge said players have come to look forward to each year, and has contributed to the tournament’s growing stature.

“Consistently having a $50,000-plus payout – I think this is our third year that we’ve gone over $50,000 – and setting up everybody for success – here’s exactly what our payout is, here’s exactly how everything’s going to work, and having that all laid out well in advance – gives the touring players and all the locals something significant that they know is going to happen,” Dodge said.

“It’s like Christmas,” he continued. “It’s a given. You know it’s happening, you know it’s going to be really fun, and you want to be there.”

Plus, the tournament is competitive, as the women and men have tight races for the NT series championship on the line.

On the men’s side, four players are within 24 points of the lead. But, the reality is unless something drastic happens with McBeth and Wysocki, one of them will be claiming the men’s tour title Sunday in Leicester.

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Rattling Chains seeking submissions of photos and bag contents

July 11, 2013 / 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.

For 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!

Happy Independence Day!

July 4, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

By Steve Hill – Rattling Chains staff

What better way to celebrate America’s birthday than rattling some chains today, right?

But before you head out, here’s some eye candy in the form of patriotic disc art. A big thanks to the readers who contributed these photos for everyone else to enjoy.

Be safe, have fun, and happy Independence Day!

A patriot on a Legacy Patriot, courtesy of Adam Hassett of Sweet Hat! Disc Supply.

A red, white, and blue shaving cream dye, courtesy of Brian Pierce.

A whole stash of U.S.A.-themed discs, courtesy of Army Infantry Sergeant Andrew Belet. Thank you for your service!

More patriots, this time with the spin-dye treatment by Dan Howard on some Skulboy discs. Photo courtesy of Skulboy.

Regardless of your political leanings, Kevin Morrow’s talent shown on this glow Leopard is undeniable.

Nothing like getting a flag dye straight from the Innova factory on an Augusta Wraith, courtesy of Jeff Corbin.

A Dynamic Discs Dyemax in honor of 9/11, courtesy of Wade Racher.

A disc alone wasn’t enough for Kevin Morrow, who also blasts these patriotic chains.

Steve Hill is the associate editor for Rattling Chains. Email him at steve@rattlingchains.com and follow him on Twitter @OneMileMore.

Schusterick overcomes heat, himself to win Beaver State Fling

July 2, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

By Steve Hill – Rattling Chains staff

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster season for Will Schusterick.

After a dubious, dramatic playoff victory at the Memorial that found him in it only because of a scorecard error, he then posted an eighth place finish at the Texas State Championships, followed by 13th and 10th place National Tour showings.

Will Schusterick throws during this past weekend’s Beaver State Fling. (photo courtesy PDGA Media).

A couple of top-five finishes later, though, and as the season rolls toward the World Championships it seems Schusterick is peaking again at the right time.

The fourth-ranked player in the world took a share of the lead early at last weekend’s Beaver State Fling in Estacada, Oregon and never looked back, holding on for a two shot victory with a 35-under-par 209 to earn $3,600 in prize money.

Nate Doss shot a 33-under 211 to take second place and earn $2,300, while Ricky Wysocki and Dave Feldberg tied for the third place purse of $1,685 with 32-under 212s. Adam Hunt threw a 31-under 213 to round out the top five and take home $1,400.

Heading into Sunday’s final round with a two-stroke lead over Feldberg, Schusterick said his consistently long drives saved him on a day where he lost his putting stroke for the first part of the round.

“I actually missed seven putts inside the circle the last round, but they were all for birdie,” Schusterick said. “I was putting horribly the last round. Like, terrible.”

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Beaver State Fling could help settle the dust for the National Tour

June 27, 2013 / P.J. / Leave a comment

By P.J. Harmer — Rattling Chains staff

And then there were two.

The 2013 PDGA National Tour has but two events remaining this season and this weekend’s Beaver State Fling could truly set the tone for the season-ending Vibram Open, which is set for mid-August.

The Beaver State Fling, which is being held Friday through Sunday at Milo McIver State Park in Estacada, Oregon, has a total of 159 players registered, as of Thursday morning. Of that total, 79 are in the men’s draw and 24 in the women’s. The rest make up the masters’ divisions.

Adding more to the storyline are those players who are still contending for the National Tour series championship are all signed up.

That includes the top five in the men’s — where five players are within 65 points of one another. In all reality, though, if nothing catastrophic happens, it’s a two-man race between current leader Paul McBeth (475 points) and Ricky Wysocki (463.5).

Should those two falter, Nikko Locastro (453) is within striking distance, with Will Schusterick (424.5) and Dave Feldberg (410) as long shots.

Take into account, however, that of the first seven NT events, only the top five will count toward the final standings. Those totals will be added to the Vibram Open finish to decide the final NT champion.

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