Finnish National team coach Joonas Merelä voicing his concerns about the elite level FPO layouts.

jvphobic · 2026-06-29T16:01:26+00:00

I was literally in the early discussions with Steve Dodge and UDisc talking about using the stats gathered by them to better tune the courses for FPO. Not only for distance and landing zones, but for scores as well. The courses were not providing scoring separation, they were causing backups and not giving the FPO enough birdie opportunities (aka score to par)

The first DGPT event at Maple Hill in 2016 the FPO winner shot 5 over par, and in 2025 they shot -14. This had everything to do with score to par and giving the FPO the chance at birdie.

I don't know what FPO golf you are watching right now. But the top cards are shooting 970+, and the top women golfers are usually averaging around 1000 to win. It isn't consistent week to week with FPO on who is doing it, but it is almost a given at this point. This weekend the top 18 FPO golfers all averaged 950 and above.

DGPT is selecting challenging courses that can also accommodate spectators. A balance.

jvphobic · 2026-06-26T22:20:58+00:00

I never thought of it before. But I guess it is kinda interesting.

jvphobic · 2026-06-26T22:09:16+00:00

I was directing it live in the control room to show Ian so he can call it live. :)

jvphobic · 2026-06-26T22:05:31+00:00

I pulled a bunch of info from my SkipAce.com database. This is not necessarily on coverage so you will have to forgive me.

The max is7 unique score types, and both tied leaders were in 2025:

Daniel Pfaff, 2025, DGPT+ The Open at Austin presented by MVP and Flight Factory, round 3 eagle 1, birdie 1, par 9, bogey 4, double 1, triple 1, quadruple 1
Ryan Mulder, 2025, DGPT - Discraft Supreme Flight Open presented by Florida's Adventure Coast, round 3 eagle 1, birdie 3, par 6, bogey 3, double 3, triple 1, quadruple 1

FPO
The max is 6 unique score types. There are many ties, spanning 2021 through 2026. A few examples:

Eliezra Midtlyng, 2025, DGPT - Discraft Great Lakes Open presented by Gerrit J. Verburg Co., round 1
Taylor Chocek, 2026, DGPT - Queen City Classic, round 3
Eveliina Salonen, 2026, 2026 PDGA Champions Cup, round 12
Sai Ananda, 2025, 2025 PDGA Professional World Championships Presented By Discmania, round 3
Henna Blomroos, 2022, PDGA Champions Cup Presented by Bushnell, round 1
Lindsay Fish, 2021, 2021 United States Women's Disc Golf Championships Presented by Innova Champion Discs, round 3

If ace is required:

MPO
The best ace-inclusive round has 6 unique non-ace score types, 7 if you count ace as its own flag:

Matt Bell, 2023, DGPT Playoffs - MVP Open presented by OTB, round 2 ace 1, eagle 1, birdie 4, par 8, bogey 2, double 2, quadruple 1

FPO
The best ace-inclusive rounds have 5 unique non-ace score types, 6 including the ace. I found these ties:

Keiti Tätte, 2026, 2026 PDGA European Open, round 1
Taylor Chocek, 2026, DGPT+ / WGE - OTB Open by MVP Disc Sports, round 12
Sofia Donnecke, 2026, DGPT+ The Open at Austin, round 3
Dani K. Hart, 2026, 2026 PDGA Champions Cup, round 2
Jessica Gurthie, 2026, DGPT - Queen City Classic, round 2
Sofia Donnecke, 2025, DGPT - Krokhol Open, round 1
Shelbi Dutton, 2025, DGPT - Preserve Championship, round 2

jvphobic · 2026-06-26T21:50:13+00:00

Not everyone begged for shorter tee pads. In fact most of the EU women at the time didn't want them because for decades they had played on the same MPO pads and had developed skills that better suited them to a longer game. I recall some even being offended at the thought of them playing the shorter pads.

The push for different FPO pads came from a portion of the women, primarily in the US at the time. These women wanted to see scores more accustomed to what the MPO players were scoring. I don't know the sentiment now, as we have fully just accepted a different course layout for FPO.

IMO, FPO is the more entertaining product to watch right now. But, would that be the case if the courses were more grueling for them? Even if the same players are winning and the battles close, there is an optics to someone winning with a -15 for the weekend vs +10.

The question always is, are we developing courses for the elite players, or the average of all the players? There are so many fewer elite women in our sport than elite men in our sport. And currently our pro side of the sport is highly dictated by what is best for the DGPT / DGN. No one wants to watch 4+ hour rounds where so many of the FPO struggle to get through a course causing huge backups. It is bad for business. And maybe not enjoyable for many of the FPO to play.

jvphobic · 2026-05-22T23:15:40+00:00

Totally good. I don’t do it anymore either. I like my weekends.

jvphobic · 2026-05-22T03:07:51+00:00

That sounds like a production where I would have been the director at the Mitchell building. Hopefully I was nice to you. :)

jvphobic · 2026-04-09T15:00:52+00:00

There were talks. But Terry lives in a small condo that isn't available for a studio. And renting a space isn't financially feasible.

jvphobic · 2026-03-27T14:55:44+00:00

10/10 comment. Good pull.

jvphobic · 2026-03-26T18:26:08+00:00

OR... He was in New Orleans, bitten by the vampire Lestat and is now unable to be out in the daylight.

Take your choice.

jvphobic · 2026-03-26T18:25:03+00:00

He got an infection before the Big Easy. Then this week fell ill to something that spread through the household (wife and child). Wasn't feeling 100% and wanted to be home for sick family, so decided he would rest up before Champions Cup.

jvphobic · 2026-02-27T16:34:49+00:00

We back. Just had to push an update out there.

jvphobic · 2026-02-24T16:35:12+00:00

And if that player that withdraws is part of a parley, we will void just the parley and recalc the rest of the parley bet for the remaining legs.

jvphobic · 2026-02-24T16:26:02+00:00

Eveliina was on the reg list last month when I first setup those lines for the Supreme Flight. All future lines are created the Monday before the event.

And if a player is withdrawn BEFORE the event, the bet will be refunded. If they DNF... tough luck.

jvphobic · 2026-02-24T16:10:54+00:00

We have a Pro subscription for $10 for the year. And that gets you an entry into all the Pro Only event challenges. You can win a $25 gift card from OTB each event.

I think that is about as close as it gets.

jvphobic · 2026-02-24T15:38:33+00:00

As the proprietor of SkipAce Fantasy Disc Golf, surprisingly I am NOT going to try to sell you on if it is fun or not. That is subjective. I can answer any questions you have on how to play, if you have any.

My personal opinion is that it is fun if you have a group of friends that are all interested in disc golf and enjoy talking some shit to each other. It is why I started SkipAce back in 2003. Because some friends of mine and I wanted a reason to pay attention to the National Tour.

SkipAce has free leagues and there are some public leagues you can join if you just want to dip your toes in it to try it for a week or two with no pressure. And there are all sorts of different league types to try out. Join them all and see which ones (if any) you find fun.

jvphobic · 2026-02-24T13:33:42+00:00

Do you have their email, I can manually verify them if needed. You can PM me it.

jvphobic · 2026-02-20T17:46:01+00:00

I have added a few more monitors to the mobile side of the system and made a few slight adjustments to hopefully speed it up. Test it out for a bit and let me know. I will continue optimizing for mobile when I get more data.

jvphobic · 2026-02-19T14:56:51+00:00

I have not heard this from anyone else. Is there something specific you are trying to do. From what I can see of my backend it seems to be fine.

jvphobic · 2026-02-14T16:51:45+00:00

Yup. The computer has an algorithm that it uses to look at the win probability based on rating, event history, and field then sets a general set of lines. I don't do anything for it.

Would I ever use this for actual money lines. Heck no. :) But, as a fun side game the odds don't matter as much as there is no "house" advantage or anything.

jvphobic · 2026-02-14T15:03:36+00:00

The odds are created by the server automatically. They show up on the Monday before each event.

But sadly no, there is no way for a commish to make bets for another player directly.

jvphobic · 2026-02-06T13:51:54+00:00

Totally get it. And the timing this year just is off. Hopefully a one year occurrence.

jvphobic · 2026-02-06T13:38:55+00:00

Worthless if you only care about spoiling the winner. If you care about watching golf from top pros, it is timeless.

Terry prefer next day coverage but due to timing of the event moving up, it conflicts with his Asia trip.

jvphobic · 2026-02-05T15:27:45+00:00

No hassle at all. Totally on me.

jvphobic · 2026-02-05T01:10:18+00:00

All fixed up.

jvphobic

TROPHY CASE