Wednesday, June 3, 2009

WOW Almost 6 months just went by

Ok I"ve been REALLY slacking on the blogging.
We are getting ready to update our website and I need to start blogging again.
So much has happened already this year I'm not sure where to start.

Lets see,,,,,,, we have a few new discs the Warrior, Apache and Savage.
Ok I know what you"re thinking 2 of these are old discs, well they are actually old names.
The Warrior is a retooled Element X,,,, which has a more rounded nose, thinner flight plate with a new ergonomic grip radius where the rim meets the flight plate. This new Mid-Range is a very controllable slightly overstable disc that comes in both Sure Grip "S" plastic and our new "E" Evolution High Performance Polymer (HPP) polyurethane!.

The Apache and Savage are longer winged control drivers that fill in the gap between the Sabre and Illusion ( think beefier Assassin/Inferno type discs in wing length speed and glide. Right now the Savage is only available in E while the Apache comes in both E and S. The savage has a bit more low speed fade and both discs have a decent amount of resistance to turn and are great gliding discs.

Well thats about it for tonight,,, i'll try and come back here each day with news pictures and video.

see ya!!!!!!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

NEW Name for a Midrange.

Right now I'm thinking about a new name for a mid-Range between the Element and Warrior and could use some advice,,, would recycling the old Name Scout work?
Is it COOL enough??
We may recycle the other 2 names as well one day ( I always liked the names Apache & Chief).
Since we discontinued these names over 4 years ago would it be a good or bad idea to use them for NEW discs?

Also forgot too mention,,, we ran some flexible "S" Elements and Warriors for Ice bowl this year. If you're club is not running and Ice bowl this year ,,, it's not too late.
you can go to the website www.icebowlhq.com or contact rick Rothstein at rick@discgolfworld.com

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Retooled discs and NEW CLEAR Evolution

Ok,,, It's been a while since I had a chance to blog.
It's not like I didn't have anything to write as there have been many changes to existing models, we are running a NEW CLEAR E polymer and there were some great performances out of Nikko and John E towards the end of the year.

I'll start with some of the mold changes and try and get something written each day to get everyone caught up and informed about new projects.

We retooled the dimples off the Speed Demon making the wing LESS concave,,therefore LESS overstable, more gyroscopic and a little faster.
We also left some texture on the wing to reduce the drag, but it is not noticeable in the hand.
Right now we have the CLEAR E in the retooled Speed Demon but may experiment with some of the older E blends at some point.
The Spirit and Speed Demon are much closer now than before with the speed demons nose ( leading edge) being a little smaller. Combined this with the textured wing and less concave wing,,,,and it makes it fly faster and a little less over stable than the spirit.

We also retooled the top used for the BLURR, Blast and Rage to make them less overstable as well,,, but have not ran it in anything but the light weight "S" polymers. ( available at Marshal street)
We will be working the NEW CLEAR E into these models as well as the Sabre and Blaze soon!


Thanks to everyone for all the support this past year and we look forward to providing the players with cool new products in 2009.


BTW,,,,,
Players who are interested in our "MIXED BAG SPONSORSHIP" programs for 2009 should contact me by email for more information.
david@gdstour.com

Friday, October 10, 2008

Ozark courses are coming togther for the fall Harvest

Well we are 2 weeks away from the 2008 Ozark Fall Harvest.
we spent about 10 hours their on Thursday mowing the fields and trimming up some greens.
This year the courses will be looking better than ever with a few subtle changes.
I mover the tee on 1 ( Ozark) 15 feet to the right making it a little "S" shot instead of a hyzer, which should really bring the lake into play for those going for a birdie.
The Ob lake is also going to be a bit larger diameter.

Hole 5 usually has 2 options, donw the tunnel or out a hole up to the right.
The hole out to the right is basically grown over too much forcing all players down the middle.

We removed several trees on hole 6 and cut away any hanging limbs and moved the basket back and to the right so that it can now be seen from the tee. It looks like a ace run, but I'm guessing its much harder to play than it looks.

Trimmed a lot of overhanging limbs on 7 and really cleaned up the green on 8, removing just about all limbs head height and lower once you are over the lake.
also took down 2 huge branches that kept people from getting down to the green that were right on the waters edge often knocking discs in the water before they crossed over land!

the tree foliage will be perfect as the the leaves were just starting to turn this week.

registration is coming in with a HUGE contingency from Iowa.

theres plenty of room for players and even for those that just want to come down to camp and party!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Voodoo and Warrior prototypes

We finally got around to running he small bead putter, the Voodoo today.
The nose is a complete radius ( the wing is the exact same as the top) and there is a very small bead.
Initial testing went pretty well.
We ran a batch of blue in a soft/SS and a red in soft/medium.
I could barley tell the difference in flight between the two but of course one was more flexible than the other.
I found the Voodoo to be similar in stability to the Wizard when putting with the subtle fall off of hyzer at the very end of 30 and 40 foot putts.
When thrown harder ( 60- 80 foot) the stability was closer to the Warlock with just the right amount of predictable fade
The biggest surprise was when I really threw them hard.
They seemed to have just as much resistance to turn as a Wizard, but definitely FASTER and the fade was about a ZERO.
I threw some shots of about 250-280 feet on dead ropes and the disc barely mover 2 feet one way or another the whole way.
The disc feels really comfortable in the hand as the small bead is almost unnoticeable and seems to conform to your hand,,, I think "ergonomic grip" would fit quite well!

I guess I was hoping for more of a turnover disc than the Magic, but all in all I would have to say I am very Happy with the testing.
We will be releasing the Voodoo in about a week on our AUTO SHIP PROGRAM.

To get signed up for the first runs, please contact david@gdstour.com or have your club or favorite store call the shop 314 487 5204 or email office@gdstour.com.


BTW,
We are discontinuing the Element-X completely and retooled the mold to be a slightly slower more controllable mid-range and will be renaming it the Warrior.
It will still be similar to the element in wing length and rim depth but with a more buzzzzzish blunt in the nose!
I know,,,,, I know, we already used Warrior name years ago for the old E blaze, but stopped using the name over 4 years ago.
I really like the name Warrior and Element X just couldn't separate itself from the Element to gain and sales momentum, plus warrior just fits the discs purpose!

Yesterday we ran about 150 of them in 3 different formulas and they were a just bit too over-stable for what we were looking for. Kind of a cross between a demon and Gator which wont do much good in a beginners hands.
We are already retooling the mold,,,, looking to get a little turn in the middle of the flight before hyzering back, by adding a more rounded nose again think buzzzzish!!!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

John E McCray Finishes 3rd at USDGC

Well It's been one heck of a roller coaster ride for Tampa Native John E McCray over the last few years.
A while back John was diagnosed with Lime disease after improperly being diagnosed with gout. Special diets were given to help cure gout which accelerated the lime disease and nearly cost him his life!!


Anyone who knows John E knows what a fighter he is on the course and from what I hear, fought long and hard to get his health back. His 4 solid rounds and a 3rd place Finish at this years USDGC puts and exclamation mark on this comeback.

John E is the 6th ranked player in the world and If I know him, he's thinking about moving up in that ranking soon.
He has plans for going on tour in 2009 or at least making all NT's and Majors.
John E and Jen ( John E's wife) have been such a great addition to Gateway and loyal supporters from the first day we started Sponsoring him many years ago.
Their ongoing efforts to bring disc golf to Central Florida and the gold coast include; running leagues, clinics, tournaments, giving lessons and teaching new players the sport of discs golf.
They, with the help of others, installed one of the coolest courses I've ever played In Brandon Florida.

I have been proud to be a friend and sponsor to the McCrays and their loyal support never goes unnoticed. My admiration for their perseverance and commitment to the sport and our company is something that I know comes from the heart.
Most people would have know idea how much they have had to go through, not only with the health issues, but in promoting a company other than Innova in Florida.

John E and Jen just LOVE disc golf and it has brought much joy and happiness to their family over the years.
My congratulation's and appreciation goes out to John E and Jen for all the hard work that has taken place in order to be in Charlotte this week to compete for the championship and to represent Gateway Disc Sports as a professional disc golfer.

I'm sure John E is looking back at a stroke here and a shot there, a putt, a drive or a decision that would have made him the winner, but in my eyes he has already won something greater than any title or monetary amount will ever add up to!


WAY to go John E!!!!!!!!!!



Pics of John E and Brandon!





John E Nikko and Justin on our trip to Florida Christmas of 2003.
I think it was about 60 degrees that day, John E was freezing :)

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Gateway Players at USDGC

so after 2 rounds we have a few guys gunning for the BIG prize of over $10,000.00 at the the USDGC in Rock Hill South Carolina.

JOhn E McCray is in 2nd place at -17 with 2 stellar rounds of 61 and 59 and Nikko is sitting in 6th with a 60 ( leading score after round 1) and 63, -14.

In the lead is 2 time PDGA world champion Nate Doss with an Amazing score of 55!
needless to say they have their word cut out for them but theres still 2 more rounds and from what I hear you can have a 4 stroke swing on just about any number of holes out there!

Leader card is Nate, John E, Avery and Schultz:

Second card is quite interesting with 12 Time pro worlds winner & 5 time USDGC winner Ken Climo Chaperoning 3 young guns Nikko, Paul Macbeth and Greg Barsby,,, should be a lot of fun to watch!

George "go big or go hom" Smith is in 12th with 2 solid 64's and -8!

About David

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St. Louis, MO, United States
I own and operate Gateway Disc Sports, a disc manufacturing and course design and installation company.