Brodie Smith PDGA #128378

[Superbford]

I had no idea McBeth was dealing with an injury. Deets?

I don't hold Paul accountable for sticking up for Brodie. He probably should have just stayed out of it, but they're pals, and you take up for your pal when someone gives them a hard time. I still maintain that Brodie needs to lighten up.

No, Paul is not in my personal favorite 3 MPO players, but he's the Michael Jordan of disc golf. The only reason it gets boring watching him is because every single throw is perfect.

He began last season coming off a bad ankle injury to end 2019... this year he will begin fully recovered. It isn't like he was bad last year, but starting with the injury and then covid stopping the season wasn't beneficial for him... or of course!

 

[ILUVSMGS18]

He began last season coming off a bad ankle injury to end 2019... this year he will begin fully recovered. It isn't like he was bad last year, but starting with the injury and then covid stopping the season wasn't beneficial for him... or of course!

I think the pause was actually a good thing for him rehab wise. Gave him a good understanding of where he was injury wise and to see what he needed to do. He did look kinda rusty at some points, but without a World's to compete for, he could be rusty for a bit while he regained his normal form.

 

[Tomphoolery]

I tweeted at McBeth and Uli about Ezra, and Brodie was already on the case. Good looks Brodie, showing up for your new teammate.

I now have a fantasy about Brodie saving his image by becoming best buds with Ezra. Brodie unlocks Ezra's true competitive spirit, and Ezra teaches Brodie a thing or two about just being chill.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Brodie is a hot take machine...

It's actually not a bad idea in some situations. Sure, it would be nice to widen tee pads to give players a bit more creativity off the tee pad. But when the cost question is asked he responds with "well just have the DGPT pay for it." Uh huh...where is that money going to come from? I love how people can come up with great ideas like this but fail to recognize what it takes to make something like that happen. We're talking a minimum of $3k per course the DGPT would have to cough up - even if its only half the tee pads that are expanded or whatever he's talking about.

"Ok Brodie...we'll do and pay for the improvements you want but the cost is coming out of the MPO/FPO payouts." Wonder how that would go over...

-Dave

 

[roadtripstuff]

Brodie is a hot take machine...

It's actually not a bad idea in some situations. Sure, it would be nice to widen tee pads to give players a bit more creativity off the tee pad. But when the cost question is asked he responds with "well just have the DGPT pay for it." Uh huh...where is that money going to come from? I love how people can come up with great ideas like this but fail to recognize what it takes to make something like that happen. We're talking a minimum of $3k per course the DGPT would have to cough up - even if its only half the tee pads that are expanded or whatever he's talking about.

"Ok Brodie...we'll do and pay for the improvements you want but the cost is coming out of the MPO/FPO payouts." Wonder how that would go over...

-Dave

While this is one thing Brodie and I definitely don't agree on, I think it's pretty silly and would look ridiculous, but let's not pretend this is disc golf 20 years ago, or hell even 5 years ago. DGPT is pulling in 75K plus a month (at least during the season) and can definitely afford to make some of the courses more challenging for their events. I don't however think that huge slabs of concrete are where the money should go.

 

[Casey 1988]

While this is one thing Brodie and I definitely don't agree on, I think it's pretty silly and would look ridiculous, but let's not pretend this is disc golf 20 years ago, or hell even 5 years ago. DGPT is pulling in 75K plus a month (at least during the season) and can definitely afford to make some of the courses more challenging for their events. I don't however think that huge slabs of concrete are where the money should go.

Me either though to have some uniformity on the pads with all being in good working order concrete/similar like the fixed pavers for a course, this would help enormously as I think getting rid of some pads that are just the turf carpet or rubber pad on rocks/gravel not laid over a concrete pad and attached on edges into rocks/gravel or right into the earth. Yes the pads would be allowed but only if a solid concrete/fixed paver situation is below the turf/rubber pad. If the idea could happen Then the driving surface for entire course will be nearly uniform from player to player for the whole tournament for each single hole the way they are shaped/surface with only time not is in rain/snow during DGPT.

 

[wolfhaley]

I think he needs to take care of that lip first and foremost :gross:

There's many different aspects involved with this though. Toboggan is a temp course only with rubber tees. That'd be a no go even to get concrete tees. The Memorial, which I can't remember if it was an NT or DGPT stop, has some tees that added onto a sidewalk. Others are giant concrete circles. The Preserve has turf style tees. Maple hill has brick tees, etc.

He should probably play more than a handful of events before deciding what's "best" for disc golf.

 

[Jugular]

How is it a hot take to say "how about we move the teepads?", or "why aren't all teepads made from concrete?", or "can't we just standardize the teepads?" because even though I've only been playing disc golf for a short while I've heard those questions dozens of times.

 

[jakebake91]

I found this tweet hilariously ironic. I thought Brodie was living his best. Apparently not, if you believe this.....

Because Lord knows he wants ALL of us to know what he's doing and thinking at ALL times.

 

[Nick Pacific]

There's many different aspects involved with this though. Toboggan is a temp course only with rubber tees. That'd be a no go even to get concrete tees

I wouldn't rule this out just yet. I know that Nate Heinhold has taken over the reigns of DGLO, and now that Discraft and Discgolf is bigger and more influential than ever before, this might happen, especially with Discraft being local and this being their flagship event. Nate could make the case that as long as the baskets are pulled, there won't be much traffic out there.

And it's not like the disc golfers are the only ones out there on that course during the offseason. I see people hiking and running those hills all year long, there are crossfit and hiking groups out there often.

Cement teepads themselves aren't exactly some environmental disaster and they can always be removed down the road should issues arise. Tree loss and erosion are much bigger issues than that and they can be mitigated by pulling baskets/closing course off.

 

[ToddL]

It's not a dumb take, but also nothing new (not that he was claiming it was). That example he gave "I had been throwing the big sweeping hyzer but when they installed the tee, I couldn't throw that any more!" Well, yea. The designer put the tee in that spot for a reason. If they don't want you to throw a hyzer, then they can put the tee in a spot that prevents it.

Like others have said, moving the basket is much easier and cheaper than building a new tee. Some tournaments move the basket to a few locations through the rounds. Probably a lot more could.

DGPT is pulling in 75K plus a month (at least during the season) and can definitely afford to make some of the courses more challenging for their events. .

They have appx 15 full time employees to cover as well. They're well on their way to rolling in cash, but I don't think they're there yet.

The Memorial, which I can't remember if it was an NT or DGPT stop, .

NT for a decade or so, PT the last couple of years.

 

[ru4por]

Brodie is a hot take machine...

It's actually not a bad idea in some situations. Sure, it would be nice to widen tee pads to give players a bit more creativity off the tee pad. But when the cost question is asked he responds with "well just have the DGPT pay for it." Uh huh...where is that money going to come from? I love how people can come up with great ideas like this but fail to recognize what it takes to make something like that happen. We're talking a minimum of $3k per course the DGPT would have to cough up - even if its only half the tee pads that are expanded or whatever he's talking about.

"Ok Brodie...we'll do and pay for the improvements you want but the cost is coming out of the MPO/FPO payouts." Wonder how that would go over...

-Dave

It take it as a newer disc golfer, ambling about a course with a cam, just saying stuff. I respect his business acumen, but simply don't think he is presenting a business plan as much as he is just musing. At worst, I think it should all just be shrugged at and dismissed.

If serious about replacing tee pads for DGPT courses...well, that is just short sighted in some cases. What is best for the few handful of DGPT players may not be best for the population of golfers that play the course for 51 of the other weeks of the year.

 

[davetherocketguy]

How is it a hot take to say "how about we move the teepads?", or "why aren't all teepads made from concrete?", or "can't we just standardize the teepads?" because even though I've only been playing disc golf for a short while I've heard those questions dozens of times.

Ok maybe hot take is the wrong term. But I hear suggestions like this all the time from people. Often great ideas but with little thought in how to implement it. Ok...standardize all teepads. Great idea and I am all for it but....Where is the money going to come from to pay for pad replacement? Who will be responsible for making it happen at each course? The reality is these are not easy questions to answer and are typically avoided by those making the suggestions. I love great ideas if they have a practical solutions.

 

[robdeforge]

supposedly something like this is what he's talking about:

for one I think it doesn't "look" nice at all, and for wooded courses (like Brewster Ridge) I really don't know how feasible that would be

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

I think I started a thread about this years back, not sure what happened to it. It doesn't make sense for most holes on most courses I don't think, but occasionally it could be a design feature. *Shrugs*

 

[Jugular]

I think having a minimum length and width (and flatness or limited construction materials/methods?) for all teedpads is a good idea, perhaps even a mandated safe follow-through pad extension would be good, but I don't agree with some of the vague ideas mentioned on Showmez Ep2 where they were mentioning a 20' pad or having the pad be always free of any branches etc.
I watched Brodie's video but I couldn't quite grasp what the suggestion was, was it that the pad always extends a certain width?
I do feel like it's not a bad time for the PDGA to start talking about some standardisation for teepads with the plan that it comes into play in a few year's time. Teepads need repair/replacement/repositioning from time to time so giving time for courses that want to host the bigger tournaments time to comply with some clear guidelines seems like a good step forward.

 

[ru4por]

I think having a minimum length and width (and flatness or limited construction materials/methods?) for all teedpads is a good idea, perhaps even a mandated safe follow-through pad extension would be good, but I don't agree with some of the vague ideas mentioned on Showmez Ep2 where they were mentioning a 20' pad or having the pad be always free of any branches etc.
I watched Brodie's video but I couldn't quite grasp what the suggestion was, was it that the pad always extends a certain width?
I do feel like it's not a bad time for the PDGA to start talking about some standardisation for teepads with the plan that it comes into play in a few year's time. Teepads need repair/replacement/repositioning from time to time so giving time for courses that want to host the bigger tournaments time to comply with some clear guidelines seems like a good step forward.

I don't think this is even close to feasible. In my experience park systems, municipalities and funding determine what tee pads are put in. Given unlimited funding, sweeping approval and an intelligent standard, yes this is a topic that could make for good discussion...but so was smaller baskets.

 

[Moose33]

We have a local course that has two distinctly different pads and baskets that make four possible and interesting layouts.

There is never just a pad that is Only shorter, it's usually a different and sometimes harder angle.

I don't like the idea of a second pad being super close like the above image. However I think the main issue is not every course is set up or even can get permission to put in concrete everywhere.

I fought with one local park over the idea of concrete pads for years and they don't want anything on the land that couldn't be removed easily. That could be an issue many places(Toboggan, Milo and Golf courses spring to mind).

 

[Jugular]

I don't think this is even close to feasible. In my experience park systems, municipalities and funding determine what tee pads are put in. Given unlimited funding, sweeping approval and an intelligent standard, yes this is a topic that could make for good discussion...but so was smaller baskets.

If the PDGA just issued a suggested standard, not that it would impact compliance yet, but with a view that some day in the future, depending on how well/quickly courses were able to comply, it could become a requirement. Then responsible course maintenance and installation would surely start to coalesce around that standard.

 

[reezyF]

If the PDGA just issued a suggested standard, not that it would impact compliance yet, but with a view that some day in the future, depending on how well/quickly courses were able to comply, it could become a requirement. Then responsible course maintenance and installation would surely start to coalesce around that standard.

In addition to the challenges from the Parks side of things another issue comes to mind for me: how is the suggested standard determined?

While we (mostly) all agree bigger, flatter tee-pads are better, how big and flat should they be? 4'x8'? 6'x12' 8'x16'? Round or rectangular? Concrete or turf....

I would imagine this would require a statistical analysis of ideal tee conditions and how they impact play for the widest range of players possible, maybe in addition to thorough player survey. Perhaps this is already been done. It doesn't make sense to me to arbitrarily say lets put up the dollars to make them ALL X ft wide by X ft long without corresponding data to quantify the benefit of the standardized tee dimensions.

I agree with brodie that nice, standardized teepads would be great, but I feel there is a great deal of research and analysis to be done to provide an actual Cost-Benefit analysis.