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[Gateway] Medium Wizards No Longer PDGA Legal?

I had a firm organic crack on a tree on one of my first throws with it.
 
I won't throw my G9i in cold weather because I'm afraid it will crack. I've got two softs that I'll use instead, and I'm thinking about getting an Ion to mess with. I don't want to be without this nice firm driving putter now that I've found it.
 
Here's a thought about this PDGA sanctioned tourneys. If the PDGA is in control of their own "sanctioned" tourneys, in that they lay out the ground rules for running one. Since they set the rules for these tournaments, they should clearly list out what plastics are approved, not necessarily what is disapproved, but what is approved, that list would be shorter and to the point, they list out discs that are approved for touney play. If it gets more technical, they should list the mold and plastic that is approved, like approved wizard mold - S, SS, SSS plastic.
 
icyblueroads said:
Here's a thought about this PDGA sanctioned tourneys. If the PDGA is in control of their own "sanctioned" tourneys, in that they lay out the ground rules for running one. Since they set the rules for these tournaments, they should clearly list out what plastics are approved, not necessarily what is disapproved, but what is approved, that list would be shorter and to the point, they list out discs that are approved for touney play. If it gets more technical, they should list the mold and plastic that is approved, like approved wizard mold - S, SS, SSS plastic.
Click to expand...

What about every other manufacturer that does not separate their molds by stiffness? They just kinda go run to run and what comes out is what you get. Think of how many people in the marketplace are hunting for a "gummy" version of some disc or a "firm" version of another.
 
notroman said:
What about every other manufacturer that does not separate their molds by stiffness? They just kinda go run to run and what comes out is what you get. Think of how many people in the marketplace are hunting for a "gummy" version of some disc or a "firm" version of another.
Click to expand...
My guess is that the vendor still would seek get PDGA approval of the other plastic mold. molds get approved, maybe plastics should get approved. There are way more molds than plastic types. If that vendor has a problem with consistency, then it is a control problem and they have to solve it. Maybe they have to understand what is causing the problem for them not making their plastic consistent from run to run. maybe it is their supplier or their process, but it seems to make sense that a plastic would have to get approved. they are in charge of their own "sanctioned" tournaments, the ownus is on the vendor to keep in compliance with what the PDGA rules. thoughts
 
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icyblueroads said:
My guess is that the vendor still would seek get PDGA approval of the other plastic mold. molds get approved, maybe plastics should get approved. There are way more molds than plastic types.
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Once a mold gets approved, it stays approved pretty much forever.

Plastic types change almost run to run, so it would be pretty costly time and money wise to get each plastic run approved. It would be cool if manufacturers had a way to test flex in-house and basically fill out a report with each new batch of plastic that they can submit to PDGA to let them know that the new blend is still within spec. That way there's a paper trail and you can actually impose fines on a company that happens to violate the rules.

Honestly I would like the flex rule in general to be re-evaluated and perhaps changed to reflect new disc technology. I still think that a gummy version of a warp speed driver is much more dangerous to the potential bystander than a stiff putter. Maybe there should be flex limitations based on the sharpness/width of the wing.
 
I agree with an inhouse test and there being an rules over flexibility by how blunt a disc is. Also, if it is tougher to sell PDGA approved plastic/discs for usage in PDGA sanctioned tourneys, the competition would change. if the PDGA kind of "audits" a manufacture say every other year or when a new plastic is use, then the PDGA can put some kind of approval stamp on their process which states that the vendor's process has passed PDGA audit and that the vendor has processes in place that ensure that they are and can stay incompliance with this rule. something like that
 
The flex test can easily be run by manufacturers and it's normally non-destructive. A disc that meets the flex standards can be flex tested and bounce back to be sold without any evidence it was bent 50% of its diameter.
 
I'm sad after reading all of this, the two medium magics I got in are perfect. Stiff, chalky, and slightly slick. Best Medium blend I've ever felt. :(
 
icyblueroads said:
My guess is that the vendor still would seek get PDGA approval of the other plastic mold. molds get approved, maybe plastics should get approved. There are way more molds than plastic types. If that vendor has a problem with consistency, then it is a control problem and they have to solve it. Maybe they have to understand what is causing the problem for them not making their plastic consistent from run to run. maybe it is their supplier or their process, but it seems to make sense that a plastic would have to get approved. they are in charge of their own "sanctioned" tournaments, the ownus is on the vendor to keep in compliance with what the PDGA rules. thoughts
Click to expand...

Almost all of the manufacturers have major differences from run to run of the "same" plastic. It would cost them significantly more to buy higher quality raw materials and to control a lot of environmental variables that go into how discs come out, and that cost would get passed on to the players.

I think the suggestion of manufacturers being responsible for testing a couple discs out of each run is much more realistic, and doesn't have the same cost that would mostly get put on players who don't even play sanctioned tournaments.
 
Streets said:
I'm sad after reading all of this, the two medium magics I got in are perfect. Stiff, chalky, and slightly slick. Best Medium blend I've ever felt. :(
Click to expand...

The Magics were never questioned or tested. So far this whole ordeal only concerns the Medium/G9i Wizards.
 
I get that the approved stiffness issue is actually quite small when looking at the big scheme of things, and that the changes being proposed would be wide-ranging and much larger than the problem they are trying to solve. But the PDGA hasn't been around for that long, and the rules they've made are all pretty young. We are in a very important time in disc golf, where things are changing very fast, and perhaps a reworking of rules and structure is what disc golf needs to grow and mature as a sport. This is just one sign among many that the "status quo" should be left behind, and a more adaptive structure be put in place.
 
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