October 28: What’s in Your Bag?

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

This week’s edition of What’s in Your Bag? comes to us from Sean Steele, who calls the windy and well-known courses of Emporia, Kansas home.

After getting his start playing back in 1996 with some friends after football practice, Steele didn’t get overly serious about disc golf until 2010.

“I instantly fell back in love with the sport, and since then have been playing almost daily rounds with a few tournaments this past year,” Steele said.

Since returning to disc golf, Steele has seen the opening of major retailer Dynamic Discs offer him a wider selection than back when he started.

“Back in ’96 you had Innova and Discraft, so in 2010 I had more options than
the Cyclone and Shark of my previous playing days,” he said. “Luckily Dynamic Discs had opened up its headquarters and I had the best selection at my front door.”

Steele in particular gravitated toward much of the plastic originating from the Latitude 64 factory in Sweden, and the company and its subsidiaries now dominate his lineup.

“I took a liking to the glide, feel, and appearance of the Latitude 64 plastics, and since then have molded a bag around that plastic with the discs that work best for me,” Steele said. “Dynamic Discs, with their releases (also molded by Latitude 64) have really hit my needs with their flat top mids and long, but easier to throw, drivers.”

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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!

April 7: What’s in your bag?

April 7, 2012 / P.J. / Leave a comment

Aaron Cronk's bag -- A Fade Crunch

This week’s What’s in your bag? feature shows us the contents of Aaron Cronk, who starts with his banana-colored Fade Crunch and builds from there.

Cronk, of Lutz, Fla., calls USF Riverfront (Tampa) his home course.

Now let’s take a peek at his bag contents…

He’s been playing for about a year. Discs 1-11 are drivers, 12 and 13 are mid-ranges, and 14 and 15 are my putters.

1. Innova Katana (Star): This is my top distance driver. I get more distance and more speed out of this than my other discs. This has also become my favorite roller disc for big distance.

2. Innova Wraith (Echo Star): Great for distance and skip shots. The wraith was the second driver I ever owned.

3. DKG Tempest (Cu plastic): All DKG discs float in water. When I started using this disc, I was landing closer to the basket than I had before. These discs beat in pretty good and this has become one of my most flippy distance drivers

4. Innova Wahoo (R-Pro): Floats in water. This is an older disc that has been beaten in pretty good. It flips over real easy so if I throw it flat, it’ll go right. This is also one of my roller discs.

All that plastic...

5. Innova Archon (Champion): This disc flies straight for me. If I put some anhyzer on it, it will fade back and land flat.

6. Innova Sidewinder (DX): This disc is beaten in to the point where if it’s thrown flat, it’ll fly to the right with little fade at the end. This is another one of my roller discs. When I want to throw a roller with less distance than my Katana, I’ll use this.

7. Innova Roadrunner (Champion): This is relatively new to my bag. I got it from the Tour del Sol Triple Crown Series at Pine Oaks in Ocala, Florida. I’ve used it for straight shots so far. Roadrunners are supposed to be great roller discs, but I still need to test it out.

8. Innova Viking (Champion): The viking was the first disc I ever owned so it holds a special place in my bag. Needless to say, this is also one of my top discs. The Viking holds a great line with a nice fade at the end. It’s a slower driver so I use it when I need less distance.

9. Innova Viking (DX): This is another disc that is beaten in. When I need more high speed turn than my champion Viking, I’ll throw this flat and it will turn right for me.

10. Innova FL (Pro): This a Pro Plastic Firebird with less fade at the end. I like to use this mainly for tomahawk throws to get out of trouble.

11. Innova TL (Champion): Basically a TeeBird with less fade at the end. This feels better in my hand than a TeeBird, and I use it for straight shots.

12. MVP Axis (Proton): This is my straight flying mid-range. It’s similar to a Buzzz SS but seems to get a bit more glide on it. This is also good for turnover shots.

13. Discraft Zone (Pro D): I use this for an over-stable mid-range. It’s great in the wind. I like the Zone for short skip shots and flex shots.

14. Gateway Wizard (Super Stupid Soft): This is my back up putter if my putts are a bit off. I also use this for windier conditions. I like my putters to be on the heavier side and this is 175g.

15. Gateway Voodoo (Super Stupid Soft): This is my main putter. Out of all the putters I’ve tried, this feels the most comfortable. This weighs 174g.

Also in the bag…

1. Birdie Bag: Everyone should get one of these. Florida gets pretty humid and muggy so when my hands get sweaty, I bust this out.

2-3. Fruit snacks and peanut butter sandwich crackers: If I’m going to play more than one round, I like to throw snacks in my bag.

4. Water bottle: I always carry water with me no matter how short of a time I’m going to play

Other goodies...

5. Gateway Dual Stash Mini: This is my main mini. It’s great to keep extra cash in it for handicap or to pay the occasional squid.

6. Innova Mini: This is my back up mini that I hope to never use (don’t want to lose that cash). It’s great to have in case a friend needs to borrow a mini though.

7. Sharpie Mini Marker: Fits in my bag better than a normal sized marker. You never know when you’ll buy a new disc or get that ace.

8. Pencil: just a standard golf pencil. I also carry a mechanical pencil as a backup.

9. Nail File: Sometimes I forget to cut my nails before I play. I used to carry clippers, but I would cut my nails too short and end up bleeding. If anyone had this happen to them, get a nail file.

10. Marshall Street Reusable Scorecard: Even though I use my cell phone and Easy ScoreCard Pro to record my rounds, this is a great backup. The cards are erasable so they’re great for handicap rounds. Also these are waterproof so they can handle bad weather.

That’s what’s in Aaron Cronk’s bag.

What’s in yours?

Want to submit your bag and contents? Here’s what we need: A couple of photos of your bag and discs. Put together a list of everything you carry in the bag — from food to discs to anything else. Then maybe give a paragraph or two about your bag and if there’s anything you do between casual and tournament rounds etc. Finally, don’t forget your name, location and home course! Cell phone photos are fine, but please try and make it as high quality as possible. Grainy shots might not be able to be used. E-mail all of these things to pj [at] rattlingchains.com with the subject “What’s in my bag.”