PMB/OB

[mas30066]

If Paul McBeth can figure out how not to throw out of bounds at the end of a major, I have a sneaking suspicion he might accomplish something in the sport.

Humor.

Don't know about anyone else, but I was actually really encouraged to see him hitting on all cylinders this week. Not a favorite player of mine, but it feels better for the growth and maturation of the sport when he's factoring right now.

 

[gammaxgoblin]

If Paul McBeth can figure out how not to throw out of bounds at the end of a major, I have a sneaking suspicion he might accomplish something in the sport.

Humor.

Don't know about anyone else, but I was actually really encouraged to see him hitting on all cylinders this week. Not a favorite player of mine, but it feels better for the growth and maturation of the sport when he's factoring right now.

I'm not a fan of sustained excellence and generational talent either...like LeJoke. I kid, of course, PMB is a favorite of mine but I can't wait for Bronbron to call it quits.

 

[pmay5]

Saw a little of the interview with TDGG and Paul said he felt a little "off" after #11. I think it showed, he missed some shots we are used to seeing him miss down the stretch. If he didn't make the great recovery shot on 13, it may not have been close.

 

[mas30066]

I'm not a fan of sustained excellence and generational talent either...like LeJoke. I kid, of course, PMB is a favorite of mine but I can't wait for Bronbron to call it quits.

To clarify, I appreciate the heck out of him. I just don't have a strong fan-affection for him. 100% with you on the generational talent, which is why I think it's really healthy for everyone when he's on his game.

 

[barriepappas]

Paul mcbeth means a lot more to the sport than his wins I think.

 

[Jolt]

At the level Eagle and Paul played this week there is no room to really play safe, he had to go for it on every shot. . .so OBs happen. .
I think this loss is going to for a while for Paul, this was "his" tournamet for a long time.
He has 5 Worlds and 5 European titles. . that 6th one seems hard to get.

 

[Rastnav]

At the level Eagle and Paul played this week there is no room to really play safe, he had to go for it on every shot. . .so OBs happen. .
I think this loss is going to for a while for Paul, this was "his" tournamet for a long time.
He has 5 Worlds and 5 European titles. . that 6th one seems hard to get.

Worlds last year and European Open this year, and nearly all the tournies in between. You can tell it is getting to him. And when you listen to things he says on podcasts or in his vlogs, you can sense he is both a little mystified and maybe having to keep a little self-doubt at bay.

I haven't fully followed his career, but my sense was that he was he combined generational talent with the mental toughness to grind out the rough patches on the course. He hasn't seemed quite as willing to do that all of the time lately and it makes me wonder.

He has a lot of irons in the fire, which is all to his benefit. But I wonder if he has lost a little bit of thw edge that comes from having only one thing that you really care about.

 

[Tee1]

At the level Eagle and Paul played this week there is no room to really play safe, he had to go for it on every shot. . .so OBs happen. .
I think this loss is going to for a while for Paul, this was "his" tournamet for a long time.
He has 5 Worlds and 5 European titles. . that 6th one seems hard to get.

He'll bounce back just fine. With all the talent these days in the MPO field I think it's still amazing he came that close to getting his 6th. I'm a big Pablo fan as well as a big fan of Eagle so either way it would've gone I was going to be happy. Glad to see Eagle coming back strong after an injury.

 

[Tee1]

Worlds last year and European Open this year, and nearly all the tournies in between. You can tell it is getting to him. And when you listen to things he says on podcasts or in his vlogs, you can sense he is both a little mystified and maybe having to keep a little self-doubt at bay.

I haven't fully followed his career, but my sense was that he was he combined generational talent with the mental toughness to grind out the rough patches on the course. He hasn't seemed quite as willing to do that all of the time lately and it makes me wonder.

He has a lot of irons in the fire, which is all to his benefit. But I wonder if he has lost a little bit of thw edge that comes from having only one thing that you really care about.

That's really a good topic of discussion. I'm sure with everything else that Paul has going on that he maybe doesn't get all the time he used to get for practice and focusing on that weeks tournament. He's still got the talent and skill but I have a feeling that he's not nearly as hungry as he used to be. I'd love to see Paul winning more tournaments but I'm also glad he's doing other things that he enjoys doing for the sport.

 

[DanJon]

At the level Eagle and Paul played this week there is no room to really play safe, he had to go for it on every shot. . .so OBs happen. .
I think this loss is going to for a while for Paul, this was "his" tournamet for a long time.
He has 5 Worlds and 5 European titles. . that 6th one seems hard to get.

Apparently he's bringing his EO Caddie Joonas over for USDGC this year, because of unfinished business.

So maybe he needs either an EO, World's or USDGC win per season to be somewhat satisfied.

 

[wims]

I think Paul is still hungry, that guy is very passionate about winning. I think it's a combination of young talent coming up and Paul getting 5 years past his physical prime.

 

[DiscJunkie]

As far as Worlds go, Paul has been the victim of the reduced number of rounds that are played in Words since 2015.
When Ken Climo was winning his streak of titles, the field usually played 8 or 10 rounds.
When PM was in his streak, there were usually 7 rounds and a 9-hole finale. 2015 was 6 and 9.
Since then: 2016 was 5 rounds and 9, 2017 was 4 rounds, 2018 was 5 rounds, 2019 was 5 rounds, 2021 was 5 rounds.

Statistically, the more rounds you play, the more likely the best player will win.
The PDGA has reduced the rounds played (they say) in response to the player's preferences and to make it easier to find hosts for Worlds.
I feel bad for PM. If he had played the same format as KC, it's likely he would have won even more than his 5.
With a 4 or 5-round format, it's highly unlikely that we'll ever see the dominance that we saw in the past.
Is that good for the sport? Probably yes.
And in all fairness, PMs still doing quite well.

 

[ray1970]

Funny how some people want to write Paul off these days. He missed forcing a playoff at the European Open by one stroke on the very last hole but he was also almost twenty strokes up on third place in a pretty talented field. If his dominance doesn't seem to be what it once was it likely has less to do with his own game and more with the explosion of talent in the MPO division over the last five years or so.

 

[BuiltTooLong]

Apparently he's bringing his EO Caddie Joonas over for USDGC this year, because of unfinished business.

So maybe he needs either an EO, World's or USDGC win per season to be somewhat satisfied.

I've always wondered when that would happen/why he hasn't done that sooner. He's the only caddie I've really heard him talk about and click with. His rating has to be crazy high when Joonas is on the bag. Definitely worth a shot.

 

[nothinbuttree]

I've always wondered when that would happen/why he hasn't done that sooner. He's the only caddie I've really heard him talk about and click with. His rating has to be crazy high when Joonas is on the bag. Definitely worth a shot.

I would guess as potential $$ gets higher, more and more players will opt for a caddie who is not a friend/family member/significant other. They can, throughout the day, be tracking how a hole is being played, history of how the player has played it, provide intel on current wind, mud/slick spots to be aware of, etc. Being an expert in that player's bag would be a plus.
They could be scoping each basket for distance, etc. May even become a nice way for folks to get to see professionals play close up--if they can provide a significant value.

 

[ThrowBot]

As far as Worlds go, Paul has been the victim of the reduced number of rounds that are played in Words since 2015.
When Ken Climo was winning his streak of titles, the field usually played 8 or 10 rounds.

[...]

Statistically, the more rounds you play, the more likely the best player will win.
The PDGA has reduced the rounds played (they say) in response to the player's preferences and to make it easier to find hosts for Worlds.
I feel bad for PM. If he had played the same format as KC, it's likely he would have won even more than his 5.

Kinda agree and kinda don't. There are other changes to the game that offset the number of rounds: especially longer and more challenging courses. I think you'd see too many injuries if players tried to push themselves through 8 rounds on modern tournament caliber courses. We also have some pros who complain about more than 18 holes of formal competition per day, due to the mental aspects. And same for playing more than 2 different courses for prep & practice.

It's also been postulated that "better" courses are sorting players by skill more effectively, so 5 rounds at "good" modern courses is just as effective at determining a World Champ as 8 rounds at old school Par 3 courses.

Personally I like the idea of the war of attrition, playing 9 rounds at 6 different courses. But the modern elite-tier game may have outgrown that.

 

[Nick Pacific]

Kinda agree and kinda don't. There are other changes to the game that offset the number of rounds: especially longer and more challenging courses. I think you'd see too many injuries if players tried to push themselves through 8 rounds on modern tournament caliber courses. We also have some pros who complain about more than 18 holes of formal competition per day, due to the mental aspects. And same for playing more than 2 different courses for prep & practice.

It's also been postulated that "better" courses are sorting players by skill more effectively, so 5 rounds at "good" modern courses is just as effective at determining a World Champ as 8 rounds at old school Par 3 courses.

Personally I like the idea of the war of attrition, playing 9 rounds at 6 different courses. But the modern elite-tier game may have outgrown that.

I could easily make the argument that those players may have played shorter courses but they also threw much slower discs that didn't go anywhere near as far. They had to throw just as hard to reach those par 3 and 4 holes with speed 7 Eagles and Cyclones as today's players do with Destroyers. And they didn't have the benefit of premium 12 speed plastic that could handle the torque of a full power forehand shot. They had to work really hard to get a teebird out past 400 feet or try a backhand roller or turnover shot on a difficult left to right shot.

Also look at the equipment in totality. Not only did their discs not fly as far, everyone had to carry a bag (no carts), the clothing (baggy cotton) sucked and their shoes weren't very good either. Also all this Van life having your own bed in your car wasn't a thing either. I'd bet the world's grind 20 years ago was much more physically demanding with 8+ rounds for all the reasons I outlined above.

As far as Worlds go, Paul has been the victim of the reduced number of rounds that are played in Words since 2015.
When Ken Climo was winning his streak of titles, the field usually played 8 or 10 rounds.
When PM was in his streak, there were usually 7 rounds and a 9-hole finale. 2015 was 6 and 9.
Since then: 2016 was 5 rounds and 9, 2017 was 4 rounds, 2018 was 5 rounds, 2019 was 5 rounds, 2021 was 5 rounds.

Statistically, the more rounds you play, the more likely the best player will win.
The PDGA has reduced the rounds played (they say) in response to the player's preferences and to make it easier to find hosts for Worlds.
I feel bad for PM. If he had played the same format as KC, it's likely he would have won even more than his 5.
With a 4 or 5-round format, it's highly unlikely that we'll ever see the dominance that we saw in the past.
Is that good for the sport? Probably yes.
And in all fairness, PMs still doing quite well.

100% agree. There's no way either Greg in 2018 or James in 2021 holds off Paul if there was two more rounds. I'd have bet the farm on that. James doesn't even run that holy shot on 18 but instead lays up and Paul takes a 1 shot lead going into the semi finals.

The only year out of the last 9 that I didn't see Paul winning was 2016. Ricky was too good that year, Paul was banged up with a back injury and that Emporia course plays very well to Rick's strengths.

 

[DiscJunkie]

100% agree. There's no way either Greg in 2018 or James in 2021 holds off Paul if there was two more rounds. I'd have bet the farm on that. James doesn't even run that holy shot on 18 but instead lays up and Paul takes a 1 shot lead going into the semi finals.

The only year out of the last 9 that I didn't see Paul winning was 2016. Ricky was too good that year, Paul was banged up with a back injury and that Emporia course plays very well to Rick's strengths.

Exactly!!
That's what I am saying.
Couldn't agree more.