IDGC News, Reel Me In or Cut Me Loose, Mailbag

April 2, 2026·1 hr 5 min·5 clips

Paul McBeth is redesigning the IDGC championship course and asked a lefty to help make it fair.

1. The Upshot, hosted by Charlie Eisenhud and Josh Mansfield, covers disc golf news and takes on April 2nd, one week before the Champions Cup major. 2. Both hosts are regular disc golf analysts; there are no guests on this episode. 3. The episode's central topics are the PDGA's IDGC reconstruction announcement, the Gannon Burr time-enforcement controversy, and a series of hot-take debates via the 'Reel Me In or Cut Me Loose' segment. 4. The PDGA announced plans to build a new championship course at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling, Georgia after pine beetles and hurricane damage destroyed enough trees to effectively end WR Jackson as a usable course. 5. Paul McBeth has volunteered to design the new course pro bono, reaching out to left-handed player Brian Erhart to co-design so the course is playable and balanced for left-handed throwers. 6. The new course is targeted for completion by end of 2026, with the Champions Cup expected to return to the IDGC in 2028, meaning back-to-back Virginia Champions Cups before that return. 7. Charlie and Josh discuss the IDGC as the PDGA's institutional home and argue the Champions Cup should permanently live there rather than rotating, valuing the connection to the Hall of Fame and disc golf headquarters. 8. A listener named Johan submitted a hole-by-hole breakdown of Gannon Burr exceeding the time limit on holes 8, 15, 16, 17 (twice), and 18 at Queen City Classic with officials making zero additional enforcement calls after the first time extension. 9. Charlie proposes implementing a PGA Tour-style system where a card is officially 'put on notice' for falling behind expected round pace, and if the card stays behind for two more holes the entire group receives a stroke — arguing this is the only incentive strong enough to break the social barrier to calling violations. 10. Josh and Charlie both conclude that Gannon Burr is exploiting lax enforcement strategically, pointing to evidence that he speeds up his play specifically when he appears close to receiving a stroke penalty, demonstrating awareness of the threshold. 11. Despite criticizing the enforcement failure, both hosts explicitly say they do not blame Gannon for taking advantage of it, framing it as rational gamesmanship comparable to James Harden's use of the unnatural shooting motion before the NBA changed the rule. 12. Charlie and Josh debate whether the DGPT should scrap all existing PDGA rules and design a purpose-built professional ruleset, with Charlie arguing the current rules were designed for amateur play and the professional game has evolved past them. 13. A listener mailbag entry suggests the PDGA mandate annual rule-update quizzes tied to membership renewal, which both hosts endorse as a low-friction way to keep the player base current on rule changes. 14. The 'Reel Me In or Cut Me Loose' segment has Josh defending his early-season prediction that Gannon will win ten events and multiple majors — Charlie calls it a cut-loose but narrows the scissors for the ten-win part while accepting the multiple-majors part. 15. Charlie defends his take that Onikken Sten will finish second in the FPO Pro Tour standings behind Silva Sarnin; Josh cuts it loose, arguing Evelina Salon's higher rating and better performance on open courses will push Evelina above Onikken as the season moves away from wooded tracks. 16. Jessica Girthy's Queen City Classic win set a new record for the longest gap between elite series wins in FPO history at 2,786 days between her 2018 Ledgestone win and the 2026 Queen City title, surpassing Birgitta Lagerholm's prior record of 2,164 days. 17. The hosts compare the Big Easy Open course at Grand Cypress Bayou to Hornet's Nest at Queen City Classic, preferring the potential of Bayou despite an admitted mid-round pacing problem, and criticizing Hornet's Nest for having too many par-four holes with an identical tunnel-shot template. 18. Charlie and Josh debated publicly criticizing courses after tournament play, ultimately agreeing that public pressure has driven meaningful improvements in course selection and schedule design, and sanitizing criticism would reduce the incentive for change. 19. Disc golf fans who follow enforcement controversies, the IDGC/WR Jackson story, and the internal debates of the professional disc golf world will find this episode substantive and engaging. 20. Listeners looking for match coverage or post-event results analysis will not find it here; this episode is almost entirely news, debate, and takes.

As heard by us

A candid, slightly loose debate about when disc golf players should speak up and when they should let the course do the talking.

This episode keeps its focus on a clear disc golf debate: when players should be candid about a course, and when public criticism starts to feel excessive.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a frank disc golf argument that actually lands somewhere.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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