USDGC Blog

Congratulations Garret Gurthie on winning the USDGC Distance Competition!

Here are the competitors with their 1st round and 2nd round distances as well as the disc they used:
Garret Gurthie – 558 ft., 510 ft. (Inferno and Illusion)
Linus Astrom – 504 ft., 505 ft. (Mirus)
Rob Braton – 531 ft., 540 ft. (Surge)
Avery Jenkins – 555 ft., 542(?) ft. (Destroyer)
Cory Sharp – 519 ft., 513 ft. (Surge)
Steve Brinster – 504 ft., 510 ft. (Destroyer)
Markus Kallstrom – 501 ft., 507 ft. (Wraith and Destroyer)
Johannes Hogberg – 522 ft., 525 ft. (Destroyer and Mirus)

Congratulations to everyone for making the finals and putting on a great show!

Nate Doss – 62, finished the day 1 stroke behind Ken Climo. Asked about his round Nate said it was a battle out there, started par on hole 1, bogeyed the 2nd, made a long putt to bogey the 3rd hole. On 3 he went OB on his first shot and came up 75 ft. short on his second drive but he canned the 75 footer! Nate said his start was hard to handle but he got birdies on 4, 5, and 6. Fought and battled the whole way. He had 4 OBs going outside the ropes on 2, 3, 14 and 17. On 14 he nipped the tree and it finished OB, his 2nd drive finished 35 ft. left and he hit the uphill putt for a 4.

He stepped on the box on 17 and there was no wind. He says he thought about throwing his beat Challenger but decided to go with the stable Challenger since it had been holding a great line all day, it came up short. His 2nd drive was with the beat Challenger and it dropped inside the ropes.

His go to disc the entire tournament has been the ESP Pulse, it’s stable, he can throw it hard even in lots of wind. Huge putt for 4 on 14. 35 left and hit the uphill putt, gave a lot of confidence to finish strong.

Nate missed most of the rain during his round. Had to get warmed up in the rain and during the 1st few holes it was really coming down. But then it quit and except for a very light shower that started on 17 he played the rest of the day dry. That’s Zeppy in the photo mugging it up with Nate.

David Greenwell – 61 Had a tough break on his drive on Hole 17, he caught the top corner of the hay bails with his 8x KC Roc and bounced back OB, Dave says one more revolutions and he’s in there for a birdie. He ended up taking a 5 on the hole. He feels really good about the hole usually making in bounds safely in bounds, that’s a different attitude then a lot of players! He felt he played a pretty good round. Only one other bogey on hole 10, he had a great drive and the upshot with his Star Wraith skipped one to many times and skipped oB. Hole 11 close call, the 2nd shot was straddling the line. Be birdied some tough holes, 888 (hole 13), 15 and 18.

MVP disc was his putter, an original bar stamp Rhyno. Worst part of game the last few years has been his putting. Other discs that served him well were his Champ 1st run Sidewinder and his Roadrunners. TeeRex and Star Wraith were his overstable discs. Dave said the difference today was he made a bunch of good putts and played safe, you cannot get greedy, the course will make you pay.

Gregg Barsby – 60, says he had a better round today, kept playing safe. Kept to the game plan to stay conservative especially on the back. Went OB on 12 but saved for a 5. Best birdie on hole 1 got off to a good start. His MVP discs were his Elite Z Predator or Old school Pink Magnet. Fun round, Good group including Cory Sharp. Gregg’s from Grass Valley California. Also famous for his assist, helping Geoff Bennett Qualify, see the video here

Brandon Kilby – Nearly aced 17! He crashed dead center with his DX Roc, the chains splashed it out and left it under the basket for a drop in deuce. It was OB if he hadn’t caught metal. He’s birdied 17 both days his longest putt being 6 ft. Some players are trying to hit the drop zone in front of the tee but are having trouble keeping it in bounds on the lay up or the subsequest up shot. Tough, tough hole.

Brandon says he sad a good round but it could have been better, he did get a little wet on the last couple holes. He had more OB then hed like, about 6 OBs. Birdied 2 drives with Champ Wraith then a Roc up to the basket and made the putt from 35 ft. The wind picked up around hole 5. The keys for Brandon were to play smart, don’t be greedy and throw a Roc. His go to disc besides the Roc was his Champion Wraith for longer drives.

Brandon qualified winning the Golden Ticket, in last year’s Roc sales through Zonedriven, read more about it here. He’s from Fredericksburg, Virginia. His home course is The Grange, and he’s only been playing for a year and half.

There is a bunch of great merchandise in the shop. Much of it with the USDGC logo or branding on it. This stuff looks fantastic, it’s just one more reason to come to this remarkable tournament.

The little woman won’t be happy when she sees what I’ve spent!