The Disc Golf Pro Tour will use one of four PDGA and player-approved basket models for its 2017 season, organizers announced today.
The DGA Mach X, Dynamic Discs Veteran, Innova Discatcher Pro 28, and Prodigy Pro Basket will be the only ones catching putts and aces on the tour. These models, per the tour’s news release, adhere to its stated standards of appearing on the PDGA-approved list for championship level targets, as well as being deemed “consistent and fair” by 75 percent of pros who were surveyed.
Currently, the PDGA lists 44 baskets as approved for championship level play, so the DGPT has pared down that list substantially. Some notable absences from the Pro Tour’s release are the DGA Mach 5, DGA Mach 3, and Discraft Chainstar, which feature prominently at many courses. The announcement did state that other baskets will be considered and tested throughout 2017.
Disc Golf Pro Tour Points Champion Ricky Wysocki, for one, welcomed the news.
“I like that the players now can know what to expect when playing a DGPT event when it comes to what baskets we play on,” Wysocki said in a text message. “It almost eliminates a variable to the game (spit-outs) that shouldn’t be a variable because the only baskets approved aren’t as prone to spit-outs as those not approved.”
Paul McBeth, who won the DGPT Championship in September, took a more measured approach to the announcement.
“[This] is a step in the right direction, but as far as it’s stated, the baskets we play on aren’t completely official,” McBeth said in a text. “I see they state that there are still other baskets under consideration. I know the Vista course for The Memorial doesn’t have any of those four baskets. Many of the courses I’ve yet to play, so we will see how quickly these basket regulations come into effect. I will be competing in six of the DGPT events this year, so I look forward to getting familiar with the new regulations.”
Disc Golf Pro Tour Director Steve Dodge did confirm that the Vista del Camino course will be getting an equipment upgrade for The Memorial.
In additional DGPT news, the tour added four new manufacturer sponsors for the upcoming season: Dynamic Discs, MVP Disc Sports, Prodiscus and Vibram.
Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2016/12/09/disc-golf-pro-tour-approves-four-basket-models-2017-season/