Saturday, May 14, 2011

2011 GMDGC Scouting Report

As we transition from an exciting 2010 into an unknown 2011, lots of questions loom on the Vermont disc golf circuit. Will Johnny Betts continue his dominance or fade off into family life? Can Chris Young capitalize on a hot finish to the year and catapult into 2011? Will the prophet of disc golf Jeff Spring finally return to the sport and take his proper seat at the head of the Green Mountain Disc Golf table?

Both fortunately and unfortunately we'll have to wait to see what 2011 holds for us. In the mean time speculation builds like James Sweat's consumption of energy drinks.

Johnny Betts
The face of disc golf, especially in far northern Vermont. The reigning GMDGC champion three years running and the only person yet to have won a Pro Division title in Vermont. Johnny comes off victories at Gnomes and Wrightsville in 2010 as well as a very strong finish at his own Black Falls Open. 2011 could bring continued dominance for Mr. Betts, but word on the tour is that Johnny isn't long for disc golf tournament life.

Mounting responsibilities at home, endless work at Black Falls and Cherry Hill, combined with what seems to be a distaste for disc golf in general or at least tournaments, could lead the champ to take some time off.

2011 Prediction: Expect to continue to see Johnny dominate the northern tournaments that he hosts. His experience at those courses plus his mid-range dominance will be enough to put him on top of some leader boards this year. But, reminiscent of not qualifying for enough NEFA points the year the finals was held in his own state, don't expect to see Johnny at many tournaments in 2011.

2011 Expected Finish: 5th

Chris Young
“Young Bucks.” CY. Most likely the best disc golfer in Burlington. Coming off a second place GMDGC finish in 2010, Chris Young managed a dominating performance at the Money Game Finals in November. Multiple hundreds of dollars richer and feeling confident at the conclusion of 2010, watch for CY to make a break on the GMDGC pro field early on in 2011.

Young is a master of sketchy approach shots and can be deadly accurate when putting. He's consistent and can never be counted out. He dueled it out with Johnny Betts in an epic tie-breaker at Wrightsville in 2010.

2011 Predictions: Expect to see Chris Young ready for 2011. He'll be off to a hot start, mark my words on that one. But, being in the cross hairs all season isn't an easy position to be in. Expect to see Chris Young attacked from all sides by the likes of Dave Frothingham, Jeff Spring, and Todd Holmes before the season is over.

2011 Expected Finish: 3rd

Todd Holmes
Dr. Holmes. This man has ice water in his veins. Todd has had opportunities but has had trouble cashing in on them. He was barely edged out by Chris Young for second in the points series and had Young on the ropes at the money game finals before being eaten alive on Matty O's punishing 18th hole.

Todd excels at putting and can make shots with both hands. His best finish in 2010 came at the LPO. To be victorious in 2011 Todd needs to lock down at least two wins.

2011 Prediction: Todd's family won't be getting any bigger now and he's moved into a new compound in the woods. So, life should settle down a bit for the Doctor in 2011. Expect to see more consistency in his game and more top card finishes. Todd's going to have to fight for it if he wants to win in the new year.

2011 Expected Finish: 4th


Dave Frothingham
Frothy. The President. The hardest working man in the disc golf business. Dave's done it all for the GMDGC in the past few years and only has a 4th place finish in 2011 to show for it. I know you won't give me credit, but you heard it here first, 2011 is Dave Frothingham's year.

His home course has new baskets and the club is growing steadily. Dave's hard work, endless putting practice, and devotion to being a student of the game will pay off this year. Expect to see Frothy light up leader boards across Vermont in the near future.

2011 Prediction: Chis Young is going to be the story early in 2011, but that's just the way Frothy wants it. He'll need plenty of top three finishes to grab the trophy, but his straight shots and solid putting should take him a long way. Dave's going to win it all in 2011.

2011 Expected Finish: 1st

Jeff Spring
J. Spring. The Messiah. The Prophet of Disc Golf. Seriously, have you seen this guy recently? Fresh off weeks on the Long Trail and months of living in near isolation he wears a thick beard, peasant shirts, and sandal-type shoes. But, don't be fooled... this guy's the real deal.

Early chatter in 2010 focused on J. Spring and his remarkable progress in the sport. He destroyed the field at Pinnacle but declined after that, tying for ninth at the Sap Bucket and finishing sixth at Black Falls. Then he just straight up disappeared. He wasn't seen after that for months and when he reemerged to lend a hand at Twin Falls, it was like the messiah had returned. He'll need to channel as much good karma as he can to battle the field in 2011 though.

2011 Prediction: Even with tons of support on the tour, J. Spring's still going to start the year rusty from ski bumming all winter. Expect him to be eclipsed early by the likes of Young, Holmes, and Mr. Betts. But, J. Spring's tough, rock hard some might say, so he won't be beaten easily. He'll win at least one tournament this year and take another step closer to Vermont Disc Golf dominance. 2011 may be Frothy's year, but 2012 is the year of Spring.

2011 Prediction: 2nd

Other Possibilities

Jim Conroy: There's lots of talk about getting Jim Conroy to go pro. He'll be the first one to tell you it's not going to happen, but there's going to be a lot of speculation and pressure from the crowd. Conroy had a very solid AM 1 performance in 2010, racking up wins at Wrightsville and Burke View at the end of the season to secure first place. I'll tell you one thing, if Conroy is convinced to change divisions, he won't be going anywhere without Ian Thurston. Conroy beat Thurston by only .14 points on the season and won't be happy if Ian gets to survive the bump and stay in AM 1.

James Sweat: Worked hard in AM 1 all season but couldn't pull it together at the end to take down Jim and Ian. If the Sweat Machine hadn't stumbled at Wrightsville and Burkeview, the end of the year would have been much different. There's been a lot of talk, especially from Jeff Spring, encouraging James to move up. He won't hear of it, but there's no doubt the conversation of moving will continue through the Ice Bowl and into early 2011. If he does move, his long drives will be a real benefit for him.

Josh Rappeport: The man who loves changing divisions. There's not tons of talk about J-Rapp moving divisions, but never count this man out. He surprised many by moving to AM 1 mid-season last year, but had many strong showings in his new division. It wouldn't be out of character for J-Rapp to make a move just a bit before you expected it.

Jeremy Becker: Das Gouda. Becker finished the year in 6th place in the pro division, nothing at all to be ashamed of. His best finish of the year came at Black Falls, which shows that he can play well on tough courses. Injuries held Becker back in 2010, but if he's healthy in 2011 he could throw a real monkey wrench into the division. Watch him early in the season to see if he's ready to step it up and end up on the podium in the pro division.  

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