The annual Discraft Ace Race is on! If you read my earlier post about non-competitive events, then you’re already somewhat familiar with the Ace Race. For those that aren’t familiar with it, the Ace Race plays like this: you pay $25, you get 2 identical prototype discs, a mini, and a hat, and then you play a modified version of the course, where every hole is an opportunity for an ace. You have one throw from the teepad to try to make it in, and get as many aces as you can. They’re all makable, but don’t expect any gimmes, there’s still definitely a challenge there. Didn’t hit an ace? Oh well, move on to your next hole and try again.

This event is seriously a lot of fun. There is some level of competition here–whoever hits the most aces and/or hits metal receives a fat stack of Discraft discs, and then there are also other prizes for things like oldest and youngest people to ace. An added bonus to it all is that unlike real tournaments where you don’t know who you’ll end up playing with, you can show up to the Ace Race with your friends and play as a group. I should mention that these are not PDGA sanctioned events, so you can draw your own conclusions from there.

Check out Discraft’s Ace Race page to see if there’s an event near you. If not, try looking into running it yourself! This is seriously one of the best non-tournament events on a national level. I think Discraft is doing a great thing by offering this every year, its a great way to bring people out (even newbies) to enjoy this sport together.

Oh yeah, I should mention that my only ace to date was at last year’s Ace Race, and the discs they gave me, the Impact, have earned a permanent spot in my bag. And it WAS a legitimate ace, dangit! About 230′ I’d guess, with a slow sidearm hyzerbomb. So if you’re feeling a significant lack of aces in your history (or feel like chocking one or two more), then the Ace Race is the place to head.

The folks at Discraft have released another instructional video, this time focusing on putting, specifically, putting with confidence. This one is less action packed that previous installments, largely it is just Mark Ellis explaining his thoughts and observations on what will make you a consistent putter. Though it has the feeling of a Tony Robbins infomercial, Ellis makes some valid points here, and it’s sure to help out your game, especially if you feel that putting is the weakest point in your game. This video is a little long winded, in my opinion, and judging by the faces of the audience in the video, we got the brief version. Still, I commend Discraft and Mark Ellis on continuing to put out videos in this series. Too often, the top pros of disc golf speak like, well, jocks, and you only hear a clumsy rewording of the obvious. I appreciate that Ellis knows how to address an audience and make valid points, and is ready to admit that he was not always the player he is today.