Prodigy Disc

[Lewis]

i cannot confirm if its truth but i would garauntee that they are at some percentage invested in the company

You won't confirm but you will guarantee?

Not that it matters to me, but I find myself imagining this group bringing their idea to the Shark Tank looking for venture capital. Not that they would, it's just a funny image.

 

[Chainchaser]

You won't confirm but you will guarantee?

Not that it matters to me, but I find myself imagining this group bringing their idea to the Shark Tank looking for venture capital. Not that they would, it's just a funny image.

Here is how it would go:

Kevin: What are your sales?

Prodigy: We announced our line but have no product to sell so we have no sales but we are going to pay our pros salaries.

Kevin: No sales?? You are dead to me!! Thanks for coming guys!!

 

[Pwingles]

Here is how it would go:

Kevin: What are your sales?

Prodigy: We announced our line but have no product to sell so we have no sales but we are going to pay our pros salaries.

Kevin: No sales?? You are dead to me!! Thanks for coming guys!!

Then Lavonne hits mark with a disc and everyone perks up

 

[Chainchaser]

Then Lavonne hits mark with a disc and everyone perks up

I doubt even Mark would bite on that really!!! The no sales would cause all the sharks to be out!! Although he did recently invest in the christmas tree guy with handle bar stache so you never know!!

 

[Sadjo]

Wow. A heck of read this morning.

I'm guessing we won't know full details of player deals because the company isn't publicly traded. I assume one reason we know some deals so some athletes is because of publicly traded companies and because in high profile sports there seems to be a look at what I'm getting mentality.

I think arming the top touring players with Prodigy Discs is a great move. You're are your local B or A tier event and the top two women and the top 5 of 7 finishing pros are all wearing Prodigy clothing and all are thanking Prodigy Discs, its going to have an effect on the AMs watching the awards. That will filter down to the local players on the course that don't care as much about touring players.

I recently installed a course in Clayton, GA. No other course in the area. I'm the only one selling discs. I know if I had a small stock of Prodigy Discs today I would sell a lot of the brand new players by simply saying..."These are what 8 or the top 12 players in the world are throwing."

If I were part of Prodigy Disc, the only thing I would disagree with as far as things have gone so far is no website up yet. I'm sure someone got an earful because of the website not being up or functional.

 

[throwfromthewoods]

The only facts are, Prodigy plans to have a full line-up (I understood it to be 16 total discs, but that could've been inventive speculation), they have a slew of top pros backing their product, they'll all be out by mid-spring, and these players have a very vested interest in making sure the company profits.

anything beyond that, it's either not our place to know yet, or we are expecting too much. The hype might be too much to maintain expectations. It's like the Hobbit of disc golf.

 

[dashiellx]

That is a definite because, and i know this is dumb, even if the pros have been throwing them they have not thrown them in pressure situations. It will be interesting to see where everyone is at after a year. Will schusterick win a third USDGC or will innova ban prodigy all together? Will discraft allow former pros to throw prodigy at the memorial or will they have to throw something else.? Will DD allow them at the GBO?? These are thing we want to know I tell you!!!:wall:

While I think you are mostly joking, is there any precedent for tournaments not allowing certain discs to be used? I don't think a Vibram pro has won the VO.

If I were part of Prodigy Disc, the only thing I would disagree with as far as things have gone so far is no website up yet. I'm sure someone got an earful because of the website not being up or functional.

I agree this is the only thing this company has done that comes across as a rookie mistake. All Prodigy has done is announce their existence and all the pros did previously was announce they were leaving their sponsors. DGCR members are the one who created the hype.

 

[Lewis]

anything beyond that, it's either not our place to know yet, or we are expecting too much. The hype might be too much to maintain expectations. It's like the Hobbit of disc golf.

Tolkien's hobbits were the undercover surprise heroes who were able to succeed because the bad guys took no notice of them. So at best, the comparison should be more like Ditka and the Bears winning the Super Bowl, and at worst, more like the Philadelphia Eagles' self-proclaimed "dream team" missing the playoffs the past two years and seeing their coaching staff get fired. It will probably be something in between the two extremes, but at this point there is an overabundance of hype, which is exactly the opposite of what Bilbo and Frodo experienced.

 

[throwfromthewoods]

Tolkien's hobbits were the undercover surprise heroes who were able to succeed because the bad guys took no notice of them. So at best, the comparison should be more like Ditka and the Bears winning the Super Bowl, and at worst, more like the Philadelphia Eagles' self-proclaimed "dream team" missing the playoffs the past two years and seeing their coaching staff get fired. It will probably be something in between the two extremes, but at this point there is an overabundance of hype, which is exactly the opposite of what Bilbo and Frodo experienced.

I was referring to the film.

 

[Lewis]

I was referring to the film.

I haven't seen the film, but I'm surprised to hear it was that different from the books.

 

[Meulen]

I'll try to summarize all of my statements made over many posts. At the end of the day, I hope Prodigy Disc can be successful, it certainly can't hurt the sport to have more options. Here is my take on the company known as Prodigy Disc as the events have unfolded to date:

Pros:
They were able to create a great deal of "hype" surrounding their product (even if it was accomplished through silence).
They signed some of the best disc golfers currently playing.
These team members seem to be actively pushing the new company's product.
This company will make flying discs.
There seems to be at least some methodical thinking involved.

So far, Prodigy Disc is 90% hype. There members hold a slew of titles, collectively. The team members have actively been pushing the Prodigy branding since the announcement. Flying discs do exist. They waited until January first to release their first disc, so they are aware of some the benefits from the PDGA.

Cons:
There are no discs to purchase yet.
There is no website.
Possible information over-load with different information coming from each team member.
Information released so far was just confirmation of speculation, with the added knowledge that four high-speed drivers will be the first discs released.
The company doesn't appear to be a "prodigy" or "revolutionary", yet.


At this point Prodigy Disc is an equipment manufacturer, with no product. Although they may or may not have made their first 500 discs, they must be commercially available. So 500 discs for just the team members shouldn't count, unless they picked them up from the local sporting goods store where Joe Schmoe has an equally opportunity to purchase. Also, I don't see the benefit in molding the discs after announcing the company. It isn't like they were waiting on capital to come in from investors to pay for raw materials. Why not have the product ready to ship on day two to online retailers? We all know the initial shipment of discs is going to sell fast. No website seems like a big misstep. Sure, you've got Facebook, but it isn't that difficult to have a debugged website ready to go at the flip of a switch (as stated by another member on the forum). I follow quite a few of the team members on Facebook, and I feel like I'm at information overload with all of the talk, but no tangible evidence on how the discs perform, feel, etc. Current announcements have included the founders, team members, and which discs will be released first. I'd say the forum speculation was spot on with regards to the founders and team members, maybe not so much with the actual product. I think by having the word "prodigy" in their company name, I expected the initial image to be very well polished. The founders themselves said this has been years in the making. I wouldn't say the reveal was a complete failure, or even bad for that matter, but when team members start throwing out the word "revolutionary", it better damn well be.

This is all just my opinion, please don't let it ruin your day.

 

[Tpro]

I'll try to summarize all of my statements made over many posts. At the end of the day, I hope Prodigy Disc can be successful, it certainly can't hurt the sport to have more options. Here is my take on the company known as Prodigy Disc as the events have unfolded to date:

Pros:
They were able to create a great deal of "hype" surrounding their product (even if it was accomplished through silence).
They signed some of the best disc golfers currently playing.
These team members seem to be actively pushing the new company's product.
This company will make flying discs.
There seems to be at least some methodical thinking involved.

So far, Prodigy Disc is 90% hype. There members hold a slew of titles, collectively. The team members have actively been pushing the Prodigy branding since the announcement. Flying discs do exist. They waited until January first to release their first disc, so they are aware of some the benefits from the PDGA.

Cons:
There are no discs to purchase yet.
There is no website.
Possible information over-load with different information coming from each team member.
Information released so far was just confirmation of speculation, with the added knowledge that four high-speed drivers will be the first discs released.
The company doesn't appear to be a "prodigy" or "revolutionary", yet.


At this point Prodigy Disc is an equipment manufacturer, with no product. Although they may or may not have made their first 500 discs, they must be commercially available. So 500 discs for just the team members shouldn't count, unless they picked them up from the local sporting goods store where Joe Schmoe has an equally opportunity to purchase. Also, I don't see the benefit in molding the discs after announcing the company. It isn't like they were waiting on capital to come in from investors to pay for raw materials. Why not have the product ready to ship on day two to online retailers? We all know the initial shipment of discs is going to sell fast. No website seems like a big misstep. Sure, you've got Facebook, but it isn't that difficult to have a debugged website ready to go at the flip of a switch (as stated by another member on the forum). I follow quite a few of the team members on Facebook, and I feel like I'm at information overload with all of the talk, but no tangible evidence on how the discs perform, feel, etc. Current announcements have included the founders, team members, and which discs will be released first. I'd say the forum speculation was spot on with regards to the founders and team members, maybe not so much with the actual product. I think by having the word "prodigy" in their company name, I expected the initial image to be very well polished. The founders themselves said this has been years in the making. I wouldn't say the reveal was a complete failure, or even bad for that matter, but when team members start throwing out the word "revolutionary", it better damn well be.

This is all just my opinion, please don't let it ruin your day.

How GripEq started?

 

[onemilemore]

I think everyone on this board demanding they know how much these guys make or who is backing the project should post how much they made this year. Guys its rude to ask things like that and makes some people uncomfortable to disclose information like that, its rude when people ask about innova and dc bonuses and its rude to ask these young players how much they're making. If they wanted everyone to know then I'm sure everyone would.

I know this is from a few pages back, but I wanted to respond.

Before I became a stay-at-home dad (where my salary is now goofy smiles and a handful of two-year-old temper tantrums per day), I was a teacher in the Redlands Unified School District. In my sixth year and with my bachelor's degree and teaching credential, I made $56,545 per year. You can find all of that information here, in addition to every other teacher's salary in the district. I never once thought having a posted salary schedule was unfair or uncomfortable. Indeed, if teachers can have their salaries posted for a bunch of Internet-savvy 12-year-olds to find and use, then I think some pro disc golfers can handle it. But that's not my point...

My point is this: A ton of top pros leave their sponsors and make a big deal about it. The main unanswered question, that many have asked, is why? What was the draw that made them leave? I think this question will be asked for awhile until someone gets a concrete answer.

It would be unwise of these pros to share the details of their Prodigy Disc contracts with anyone, even each other. Sharing your salary and wages with your coworkers only leads to envy and strife, because not everybody is going to get the same offer or negotiate the same deal. Best to keep your private life private, be happy with the deal you agreed to, and not worry about what the guy next to you is making.

Also, I believe team salary caps are a compelling reason for the publication of player salaries in a lot of pro sports. If you don't know how much the San Francisco 49ers are paying Alex Smith, you don't know whether they're meeting the salary cap requirements. In individual pro sports, like golf or tennis, where the competitors make their income from tournament prizes rather than from salaries paid by a team, a competitor's prize winnings are easy to calculate. In disc golf, this is already published on Innova's website for the players they sponsor, but any more than that is not anybody else's business.

In short, take an interest in the prize money won at disc golf events if you like, but treat a player's deal with his sponsor like you treat other athletes' endorsement deals: it's nosy to ask, and you're only going to find out if they want everybody to know.

Lewis, you are another poster who I enjoy reading, because your responses are always well-reasoned. I appreciate your salary cap comparisons here and how disc golfers can be looked at from only the perspective of sponsorships.

However, I disagree on one point: Publicizing a vested interest in a company pushes it, in my eyes, beyond a simple sponsorship to a deeper level of business.

And, if it is nosy of people to ask, then so be it. But, I am a journalist at heart. Writing for a disc golf website that strives for journalistic balance, rather than just reporting that there is a new company on the block, I inherently want to know what the reason was for these players all to jump ship. Hopefully we'll find out one day, because I think this is the most compelling storyline in this entire situation.

My last point is this: I have observed in my short time playing that there is a school of thought in disc golf that people want the sport to explode, but that it has to be all sunshine and rainbows. I'm sorry, but that isn't reality. If we want to see the sport elevated to a more mainstream, professional level, then there are going to be some uncomfortable questions to answer and situations to deal with. NFL head coaches face the press win or lose, and it isn't always pretty. But it still happens.

I am not saying that disc golfers need to hold press conferences and availabilities - that's not necessary. But I think it is naive for people to think that we should only say good things all the time about everything happening in this sport. More balance and transparency will actually make it seem more professional in the eyes of the mainstream that we so badly want the sport to reach.

 

[Pwingles]

How GripEq started?

Hopefuly without all the bs of grip's startup tho

 

[Jay Dub]

All top pros in sports know with the big money and fame come more responsibility to their fans. McBeth is doing his part somewhat with his thread on these forums. If they want to be looked at as "real" pros they need to realize the expectations of them and they will lose some privacy. It comes with the territory, as they say.

 

[Meulen]

How GripEq started?

Might be comparing apples to oranges? I don't know the entire history behind GripEq, but I know they didn't sign all the pro's before their product had proven to be successul. I understand they had input from a handful of pro's but certainly not the number Prodigy has picked up. I also don't remember Grip having the Lebron style announcement. I also the feel the precedent has been set that you have to wait for a custom type bag, not the story with discs. When most other disc manufacturers state they will be making an announcement, the product usually is in place immediately following that announcement.

That was a lot of words for not knowing much about GripEq. Someone please correct me.

 

[wake911]

i don't give a rats behind how much theses guys are making to do this. It will affect me NADA. All I care about is if I throw one of their discs and i like it, that i can buy another one that will throw the same, without breaking the bank to purchase them.

I think it is cool to get an athlete backed manufacturer out there. Hopefully it goes well for them, and the discs are good. It will be interesting to see how some of the other small manufacturer's respond to this different style of attacking the market. Maybe it'll motivate some other folks to take some chances and that will be the jump start the PDGA and Disc Golf needs to reach whatever next level there is.

 

[Tpro]

Might be comparing apples to oranges? I don't know the entire history behind GripEq, but I know they didn't sign all the pro's before their product had proven to be successul. I understand they had input from a handful of pro's but certainly not the number Prodigy has picked up. I also don't remember Grip having the Lebron style announcement. I also the feel the precedent has been set that you have to wait for a custom type bag, not the story with discs. When most other disc manufacturers state they will be making an announcement, the product usually is in place immediately following that announcement.

That was a lot of words for not knowing much about GripEq. Someone please correct me.

Im only asking questions... I agree with pretty much everything you say / have said... cheers

 

[Meulen]

Im only asking questions... I agree with pretty much everything you say / have said... cheers

I wasn't trying to cause conflict, just continue the conversation. It's sometimes hard to seperate honest questions from sarcasm on this board :doh: No hard feelings. :hfive:

 

[Chainchaser]

That is a definite because, and i know this is dumb, even if the pros have been throwing them they have not thrown them in pressure situations. It will be interesting to see where everyone is at after a year. Will schusterick win a third USDGC or will innova ban prodigy all together? Will discraft allow former pros to throw prodigy at the memorial or will they have to throw something else.? Will DD allow them at the GBO?? These are thing we want to know I tell you!!!:wall:

This is sarcasm for anyone who does not understand.:wall: