The Blue Jay Flight Report: Maple Hill weathered the storm

A strange weekend at a course that never feels ordinary

Maple Hill can turn a good shot into a bad break in half a second. A disc catches one tree, skips toward the water, and suddenly the whole tournament feels different. This year the biggest change did not come from a kick or a rollaway. It came from the sky.

The nor’easter brought heavy rain, possible lightning and high winds into the weekend forecast. The Disc Golf Pro Tour suspended Saturday play, canceled that round and shortened the MVP Open from four rounds to three.

Nobody wants to lose a round at an event this important, but asking players, volunteers and spectators to ride out dangerous weather would not have made the competition better.

The Tour said it worked with Maple Hill, its safety and meteorology teams, the player council and the National Weather Service on the revised Sunday plan.

With Powerball Cup places still in play, that decision affected far more than the weekend schedule. It changed how much golf remained for players trying to save a season.

Once play resumed, the finish still felt worthy of Maple Hill. Ricky Wysocki won MPO, while Sintija Klezberga took FPO and became the first Latvian professional to win a DGPT Elite event. Wysocki adding another big result makes sense to anyone who has watched him attack a pressure putt.

Klezberga’s win felt different—in the best way. It was a career-changing result and another sign that the top of the women’s game is becoming more international every season.

MPO champion — Ricky Wysocki

FPO champion — Sintija Klezberga

Weather impact — Saturday play was suspended and the event was reduced from four rounds to three

Historic note — Klezberga became the first Latvian professional to win a DGPT Elite event

Why I watched this one from home

This was supposed to be my third straight year at the MVP Open. I had the tickets and I was ready to go, but the nor’easter changed the plan.

I stayed home. It was disappointing, but between the drive, the wind and a full day outside, it was the sensible decision.

Maple Hill is still my favorite course, and the last two years of seeing it in person are a big reason why. Television cannot quite show how steep some of the walks are or how small a landing area looks when you are standing behind the rope.

When the gallery gets quiet before a water carry, you feel the shot before the disc ever leaves the hand.

The place has a personality that is hard to copy: stone walls, tight woods, open landing zones, water and all that tournament history sitting inside a working Christmas tree farm.

It is beautiful, but it is never soft. A throw can look perfect until it misses by a foot. Missing this year hurt, but it also made me more certain that I want to get back there.

Four players played their way into the Powerball Cup

The MVP Open had another race running underneath the battle for the trophy. It was the final chance for players outside the standings cut to earn one of four MPO wildcards into the 2026 Powerball Cup. Ezra Aderhold, Mason Ford, Zach Arlinghaus and Fritiof Fagergren got them.

That made the middle of the leaderboard every bit as tense as the top. One saved par or one late bogey could decide whether a player’s season continued.

I enjoy that kind of pressure because it gives every card a reason to matter, even when the tournament lead is several strokes away.

A tough cutoff left some huge names outside

The list of players who missed tells the other half of the story. Paul McBeth, Simon Lizotte, Albert Tamm, Matthew Orum, James Conrad and Garrett Gurthie were among the familiar names who did not qualify.

Mauri Villmann, Jakub Semerád, Evan Scott, Parker Welck, Luke Humphries, Alden Harris and Andrew Presnell also finished outside the field.

That is enough talent to make an excellent tournament on its own. It does not take anything away from those players; it shows how little room there is on Tour now.

A few missed events or one uneven stretch can leave even a proven winner chasing points at the end.

For newer fans, the cutoff is a quick lesson in just how deep professional disc golf has become. For everyone else, it means the Powerball Cup will look different: fresh matchups, first-time opportunities and no guarantee that the most recognizable names will be there at the end.

The approval list was busy too

Away from the tournament, the PDGA approval list gave equipment fans a few new names to remember. The Tropos from Trash Panda, the H13 Jaunt and Thought Space Athletics’ Machina were approved on September 28. Discmania’s FD4 and Premier Essence had joined the list the week before.

Approval is worth noting, but it is not a flight review. It only tells us that the submitted model met the PDGA’s technical standards for sanctioned play.

Until manufacturers publish flight numbers, plastics and release details—and until people throw the production runs—profile photos and rim measurements can only take the conversation so far.

The Jaunt is the one I keep coming back to

Of all the new approvals, the Jaunt is the disc I most want to see in the air. H13 is easy for me to root for. The company has a real family-and-team feeling around it, from the people behind the brand to the Sage Team and the emphasis on giving back to the disc golf community. That matters to me just as much as adding another mold to a lineup.

For now, the PDGA page gives us the public details I can confirm: an approval date, certification number, measurements and two photos of the orange sample. H13 may have shared more information privately or within its team, but it is not my place to publish anything the company has not chosen to announce publicly.

I kept the most useful dimensions in the table below and linked the complete technical record for anyone who wants a closer look.

So I am excited, but I am not going to pretend I know how it flies. A real review should come after throwing a production disc on different angles and comparing it with molds people already know.

Once I can do that, I want to answer the questions that actually help: Who will get the most out of it? What shot becomes easier? Which plastic feels right for the job? For now, it is enough to say that the Jaunt is approved and very much on my watch list.

PDGA certification photographs

Next stop: Winthrop

The Tour now heads to Rock Hill, South Carolina, for USDGC and the Throw Pink Women’s Disc Golf Championship, October 8–11. USDGC is the final MPO Pro Major of the season, with the FPO Throw Pink A-tier running alongside it.

Winthrop is a completely different test from Maple Hill. The ropes, landing zones and signature obstacles make placement feel almost as important as distance.

Attack at the wrong time and the score can get away quickly; play too cautiously and the next shot may be just as uncomfortable. It is a great course for watching decision-making, not only big throws.

Then comes the Powerball Cup, October 15–18 in Lynchburg and Bedford County, Virginia, with the championship rounds at Ivy Hill. That gives the season a clean final stretch: one last Major weekend, then the finale with a field Maple Hill helped settle.

What I am watching next

I want to see whether Wysocki carries the Maple Hill momentum into Winthrop, how Klezberga follows the biggest DGPT win of her career and which wildcard qualifier makes the most of the Powerball Cup opportunity.

I also want the first real details on the Jaunt, Tropos and Machina—especially the Jaunt.

That is what made this such a full week. The weather changed the event, the winners made history, the finale field shifted and new plastic arrived on the radar.

If you have a disc golf friend who missed part of it, send this their way—and tell me which story you are following into next week.

Player to watch — Who carries the most momentum into Winthrop?

Story to follow — Which Powerball Cup wildcard makes the deepest run?

Disc to test — Which newly approved mold do you want to throw first?