• Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
    It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)

WACO Charity Open presented by Prodigy

Nice to see C. Henderson bounce back with a -5 today.

I'm midway through R1F9 and her backhand form looks good aside from lifting her left arm above the disc on the reachback. Glad to hear a bit of a spoiler that she comes back strong! Seems like a promising FPO player for someone that's only been playing less than three years.
 
Tomorrow will be fun to watch. 11 players within 3 strokes of the lead in MPO.

It's likely to take a 12/13/14 down to win. Very scoreable, oops, sorry, birdieable conditions today.

Sunrise at 7:34am pushed things back on hour.

Though it'll be much cooler (58-65 degrees), the north wind at 15 mph will make holes 17 & 18 must gets with the tailwind. Just be careful on #15 with the headwind... cannot afford to go OB there.
 
Paige Shue is really outplaying all the big names in Discrafts FPO team. .

Mama Paige has always lived with fans underestimating her skill set. I think Brian Earhardt pointed this out, but Paige Shue remains one of the best putter throwers in the sport for FPO, even after three years without touring full time. And courses that favor that skill set (like Brazos East, Brewster, Fox Run, Idlewild, etc.) will give her a legit chance.
 
Watched some FPO highlights, and it's nice to see Kristin being Kristen. You'd never know she had surgery. Her game is just so complete, and well-balanced... It's a joy to watch her play.


Re: Paige Shue: throwing putters is her thing. Love her enthusiasm. Glad to see the change in sponsors is working well for her.
 
Last edited:
Pretty windy today. Hammes will be -10 +/- 1 today (my guess). Play accordingly.

Yesterday they were talking about how this course tends to allow for winners from the lower end of the rankings--such as Kona, Montgomery, Jerm, etc. Begs the question, is the top end of the rankings too distance dependent? People say drive for show, putt for dough, but the field is very competitive on a course where distance is not critical.

Not just an issue at the professional level, but at all levels I think distance is a more significant separator than is often given credit.
 
I used to get mad at Eveliinas putting..now i just get sad. .

I think that was the two worse putts i have ever seen. . to miss the basket completly from a meter away . .from a well payed full time pro--

She has this weird modified power grip too when she putts, instead of a fan grip. I would 100% start right there before anything else. Yeah yeah, I know Ken Climo did the same thing, but Kenny was also 6'4 and had dinosaur paws, and her being a five and a half foot tall female I'm guessing does not.

I was watching the FPO coverage from Vegas last week and they mentioned her saying that she hadn't thrown a single disc outdoors in 4 months. To me, that is crazy. She is like only 22 years old or something like that. I don't give an F how cold it is in Finland, a world championship mindset will have you practice putting in any temperature in any condition. A championship mindset will have you practice putt in freezing temps until your right hand gets cold then you glove it and switch to the left. Perhaps she just doesn't have that killer mindset that it takes to become elite level. There's still time, but it goes quick.
 
She has this weird modified power grip too when she putts, instead of a fan grip. I would 100% start right there before anything else. Yeah yeah, I know Ken Climo did the same thing, but Kenny was also 6'4 and had dinosaur paws, and her being a five and a half foot tall female I'm guessing does not.

I was watching the FPO coverage from Vegas last week and they mentioned her saying that she hadn't thrown a single disc outdoors in 4 months. To me, that is crazy. She is like only 22 years old or something like that. I don't give an F how cold it is in Finland, a world championship mindset will have you practice putting in any temperature in any condition. A championship mindset will have you practice putt in freezing temps until your right hand gets cold then you glove it and switch to the left. Perhaps she just doesn't have that killer mindset that it takes to become elite level. There's still time, but it goes quick.

I do think she plays in a BIG indoor hall over the winter. but i do agree. . if discgolf was my fulltime jobb and putting my weakness i would be out doing +200 putts every day in the rain, cold or snow.
I´m in Sweden and have been playing all winter, not really that cold
 
What's that yellow slower disc PP has been throwing? She knows it well it's fun to watch.
 
When Castro leaned that shot up against the OB signage, he move the lay into the green for his shot. What's that rule?
 
Pretty windy today. Hammes will be -10 +/- 1 today (my guess). Play accordingly.

Yesterday they were talking about how this course tends to allow for winners from the lower end of the rankings--such as Kona, Montgomery, Jerm, etc. Begs the question, is the top end of the rankings too distance dependent? People say drive for show, putt for dough, but the field is very competitive on a course where distance is not critical.

Not just an issue at the professional level, but at all levels I think distance is a more significant separator than is often given credit.

I don't think the top end of the rankings are too distance dependent. I think this particular course, plus the winners you listed seems to lean toward that, but it doesn't seem that way to me for the following reasons.

First, the lower-ranked pros that won at WACO have reasonable explanations. When Jerm won, he was probably in tier 1B or tier 2 of the top pros in the world, and his back problems have significantly impacted his game since. Montgomery won during the COVID shortened year because he went en feugo for one of the two rounds. It's much easier to win with a smaller sample. And I don't remember Kona winning that clearly, but I think that was her best year.

Second, this course is short and technical, which gives shorter arms the chance to win unlike most courses on tour. Other wooded courses like Idlewild and NW Black/Gold/Ultraviolent are significantly longer, but not too long for most top pros. It's simply that these lengths stretch so many pros, leading to less accurate shots, so its the people who can throw long and accurately who rise to the top. Almost all of the guys that play more than 4 Pro Tour events can throw 450 consistently. However, not all of them can throw 450 consistently and accurately.

With that said, I love the bEAST (the course this weekend) for that exact reason. Having a course that gives different players than usual a chance to shine is essential. The greater the variety of courses, the more players will get a chance to shine. The greater the variety of courses, the more entertaining it'll be to watch (my subjective opinion). So I hope they keep this course, but find ways to vary the other courses on tour (one ball golf course per year is enough for me, and even then I'd be fine with never seeing the same one twice). I wish there were a mountainous and wooded course on tour. The kind of elevation at DGLO is what I'm thinking of, but that's not wooded golf. I'm thinking of if Kensington Toboggan and WR Jackson had a baby. But that's an aside; I'm simply saying that I love WACO for it's uniqueness, and want more courses that fill a niche on tour. It's challenging to the top pros in a way that gives anyone who is accurate the chance to win.
 
Pretty windy today. Hammes will be -10 +/- 1 today (my guess). Play accordingly.

Yesterday they were talking about how this course tends to allow for winners from the lower end of the rankings--such as Kona, Montgomery, Jerm, etc. Begs the question, is the top end of the rankings too distance dependent? People say drive for show, putt for dough, but the field is very competitive on a course where distance is not critical.

Not just an issue at the professional level, but at all levels I think distance is a more significant separator than is often given credit.

I've played Brazos East. What it does do is be very favorable for players with equal balance BH/FH driving AND the ability to throw the flip up forehand on tight spaces, together with the ability to get hot putting, and comfort with the straddle with all those wooded putts that will invariably happen in the wooded section. Jerm, Kona, all have that. Not that a BH or FH dominant player can't win it, they just have to be on point the whole time.


I don't think the top end of the rankings are too distance dependent. I think this particular course, plus the winners you listed seems to lean toward that, but it doesn't seem that way to me for the following reasons.

First, the lower-ranked pros that won at WACO have reasonable explanations. When Jerm won, he was probably in tier 1B or tier 2 of the top pros in the world, and his back problems have significantly impacted his game since. Montgomery won during the COVID shortened year because he went en feugo for one of the two rounds. It's much easier to win with a smaller sample. And I don't remember Kona winning that clearly, but I think that was her best year.

Second, this course is short and technical, which gives shorter arms the chance to win unlike most courses on tour. Other wooded courses like Idlewild and NW Black/Gold/Ultraviolent are significantly longer, but not too long for most top pros. It's simply that these lengths stretch so many pros, leading to less accurate shots, so its the people who can throw long and accurately who rise to the top. Almost all of the guys that play more than 4 Pro Tour events can throw 450 consistently. However, not all of them can throw 450 consistently and accurately.

With that said, I love the bEAST (the course this weekend) for that exact reason. Having a course that gives different players than usual a chance to shine is essential. The greater the variety of courses, the more players will get a chance to shine. The greater the variety of courses, the more entertaining it'll be to watch (my subjective opinion). So I hope they keep this course, but find ways to vary the other courses on tour (one ball golf course per year is enough for me, and even then I'd be fine with never seeing the same one twice). I wish there were a mountainous and wooded course on tour. The kind of elevation at DGLO is what I'm thinking of, but that's not wooded golf. I'm thinking of if Kensington Toboggan and WR Jackson had a baby. But that's an aside; I'm simply saying that I love WACO for it's uniqueness, and want more courses that fill a niche on tour. It's challenging to the top pros in a way that gives anyone who is accurate the chance to win.

Agree with a lot of that. IIRC, I know it's been a little while but it was only two years ago that Kona won by something like double digits.

Ella---just why?!

Likely, because she is still relatively new and has skills she hasn't yet brought to the forefront of her game. All three OBs at the end can be attributed to that. On 16 & 18, her background in Ultimate has caused her to be almost exclusively relying on hyzer flip for distance. The good old hyzer flip is fantastic when it isn't windy, but when it is, the good old hyzer flip can add some unpredictability because of a) its tendency to over-glide (like it did on 18's tee throw), and b) its being a natural low-to-high release causes it to sometimes become HIGHzer flip in flight (like it did on 16's tee throw). People sometimes give certain golfers grief with the force-over overstable, but when Ella adds that to her backhand distance game, she'll be tougher. With her distance, I was surprised she didn't go pure hyzer backhand across the water on 18 with the tailwind today. Or maybe she intended to. Both places where spots where having an overstable forceover would have been a much safer throw.

The Forehand that went OB on the approach on 17 looked like she was so fearful of going over the water and it not coming back, that she threw hyzer. Ironically for the sidearm she only throws forehands are only forceover overstables or pure hyzers; she doesn't really throw the true flat/straight forehand that was called for there, like Kristin does. And she clearly wasn't going to throw a forceover at the water, so she went to the only thing she had left, the hyzer. Hyzer would have been OK well out over the water, but I think the wind made her double think it. Sure it was tough being on the ground but past the OB line, but the tree kick was the only thing keeping her from going into the woods anyway. It would have been a break to be inbounds the way she threw.

Remember she's only what, 3 years in, to DG? As she adds those to her game, and at her young age, she is going to get better & tougher to beat.

Agreed, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

I am glad Kristin made that putt on 18 after so many uncharacteristic misses down the stretch.

Of course Ella should have. That's what she had practiced all week and had made it into the circle with a similar wind on Friday. You should always go with what you personally do best. Similarly, Kristin, who has enough backhand power to make it to the circle in the tailwind could have gone for it too -- especially considering that she was first and down a stroke going in. But that wasn't Kristin's plan either. If Ella lays up left like everyone else it's really advantage Kristin because the approach over the waht is a touchy shot that the veteran has a big edge on her int throwing. Plus she hadn't really practiced that.
 
Last edited:
Top