You think you can play DG a little until....

[Woodpecker]

You think you can play DG a little until you see a few world class players perform.

On a whim, I drove to Houston this last weekend to spectate the Texas State DG Championships. I followed Niko Locastro and Avery Jenkins around the first round.

Was I impressed! WOW!

Both of these guys can stand flat footed and flick the disc over 300'. And with such accuracy!

On the last hole on the first round, 580' with a huge oak tree blocking the line to the basket, Niko did a 360 spin around high anhyzer to pull the shot around the tree and ended up about 65-70' away, right on line with the basket. What was unbelievable about the shot is that it was straight into a 10-15 mph wind.

What can you say about Avery? I thought some of his shots would never come back to earth! Just awesome!

Woodpecker

 

[ChanningP]

That's awesome man, I would love to see those guys play or even play with them

 

[srm_520]

Make you realize there is room for improvement?

I think it's always amazing to see a professional at their sport. No matter what the sport is - the just seem to do things you didn't think was possible. Speaking of...the Masters is next week...should be good.

 

[zenbot]

Nikko and Paul McBeth showed up for one of our monthlies. It was just insane. They both can drain 80 foot putts pretty regularly and can park stuff that would take me 2 decent drives to get close to.

 

[TalbotTrojan]

The best way to get better is to play with people that are better than you. I heard that just about everywhere.

Today I got the joy of playing with a guy who has been around the sport for longer than I have been alive. Even in his old age he was out driving me. Oh and did I mention that he had just come from the doctors office after getting looked at for some blood cancer. Yeah, that made me feel good.

 

[solomon.trenton]

that is why some get paid to play and we pay to play.

 

[tamahawk]

the bowling green NT is later this month, i am hoping things work out for me to go at least one day and watch some of the action. it is only about an hour drive for me, so i'm excited about this opportunity.

 

[discodave]

I know it's not disc golf, but I was at the Byron a few years ago and watched Tiger hit an 8 iron straight up in the air about 80 feet high and then tag it on the way back down....ridiculous! Never been to a pro dg tourney but I love watching pros do their thing, makes you appreciate their skill level and how big the separation is between them and the average Joe.

 

[skottyb]

the bowling green NT is later this month, i am hoping things work out for me to go at least one day and watch some of the action. it is only about an hour drive for me, so i'm excited about this opportunity.

I thought Bowling Green was just an A tier this year...

 

[tamahawk]

i may need to look into that, i know in years past it was an NT event, so i assumed it to be the same this year. i'll go to the bgdc site and get the details, thanks for the info!

 

[bazkitcase5]

its actually a B tier this year and its the same weekend as the NT in oklahoma

but I'll be going to bowling green!

 

[Woodpecker]

When I was following Niko and his girlfriend, Carmen, around in Houston at the Texas State DG Championships, I found out they were coming into San Antonio to play in a little C tier event before moving on to Kansas City. I gave them my phone number and told them to call. I didn't except a call cuz I'm sure they get a lot of invites from their fans where ever they go.

Surprisingly, they called and who did they have with them? Valerie Jenkins!!

My family has a ranch with a cabin which was built in 1935 about 5 minutes away from the tourney site so I offered to put them up there if they wanted and they accepted.

I got to play the last two days with them and it's been a blast. The thrill of the day was one shot I threw on a 330' hole. I threw a sidearm "S" shot and parked it about 15' from the basket. Both Niko and Valerie high fived me. Two world class players complimenting me on a shot. How absurd is that!

After we got done playing, I introduced them to Texas BBQ. We got a pound of brisket, half a pound of turkey, sausage, a full rack of baby back ribs, a quart of potato salad and a quart of cream corn. I thought it might have been too much but, boy, was I wrong. When this bunch puts on the feed bag, all I can say is, stand back. I think Niko's got a hollow leg. LOL

When we got back to the ranch, I took Niko out fishing. I figured this was one sport I got a chance to beat him. Wrong again! He caught a bunch with two of them weighing over 3 lbs. The boy can fish!

Niko, Carmen and Valerie are three of the nicest, down to earth people I've met. Anytime they are down this way, they are always welcome at my house. Maybe next time, Avery will show up.

Woodpecker

 

[Ryan P.]

well done woodpecker. i bet that was an awesome experience.

 

[sidewinding]

Nikko and Val Jenkins did a two hour clinic at Disc Nation on Wednesday afternoon. It was awesome. I got there early and watched Nikko throw about 100 drives. The basket was in a wide open field about 350' away and he threw every type of shot there is and consistently put them all within about 20'.

What I noticed is that when he or Valerie threw you could hear a really loud snap. Their throws look very similar to mine but the difference is that once theirs get on their line they just keep going what seems like forever. Snap = Spin. Spin = Distance.

He only did one 360 turnaround distance throw because he did not want to lose any discs because the grass was not mowed past the 500' range.

My wife won the womens CTP and got one of the five Nikko signed Gateway prototype E Savages that he had with him. I won jack squat.

 

[EclipticOne]

Those are pretty awesome stories. It is so nice when you hear that the people most of the public looks up to are just like us personality wise it makes you want to do more. It stinks for me when i hear that stars are jerks in real life. takes all the coolness out of their movies and music..

 

[bazillion]

Yeah I saw Stevie Rico at the Wintertime Open a few years back - he was driving one of the temporary holes that they set up in the wash. Air temp in the 50s, light drizzle falling, and he drives about 450 feet around a grove of trees and sets his disc down about ten feet from the pin.

Da-a-a-a-a-a-ang.