Hello and welcome to round one front nine coverage of the Discraft Great Lakes Open We are in Milford, Michigan for the fifth Stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Bigbarry commentary coming at you About to start an awesome event here. Yes, we are And we got some good guys on the card. Of course as always we've got Simon Lizotte The wonder child from Germany. Obviously, this course is infamous and famous for its huge hills And it's treacherous rough long holds Nikko Locastro after that big win at the Preserve Championship see if he can ride some momentum here on the Disc Golf Pro Tour And look who we've got here. We've got my buddy Paul Ulibarri in the booth and on the screen at the same time Yes, I am and looking really sad We've got KJUSA He is doing Big things this season already second place last year at the DGLO Obviously that big forehand big backhand combo Gonna be a huge advantage on this track starting off on the big Hole one par three 477 feet Downhill about 850 feet.
It's just this is just a true introduction into this course 61 floors of elevation up and down throughout the course at the end of the day your legs are tired And so are your arms ready for our one o'clock pairings teeing first from Bremen, Germany Simon Lizotte Common play on this one. You're going to see a lot of fairways and mid-ranges thrown backhand Just want to hold that anhyzer and obviously if you've got the power to the forehand That is a big weapon on this hole Yeah, and definitely a tricky wind to start off the tournament too a little jittery right to left crosswind Just tricky going downhill to a blind shot And this is turning nicely But going so far downhill even when it's turned that much it's just gonna fade as Simon doesn't get quite enough turn with that mid Still inside circle two from St. Louis, Missouri. Nikko Locastro We saw a lot of forehands from Nikko at the Preserve something that he's been working on a lot and there's a few opportunities on this course to utilize that and Yeah, this actually plays like a really far sidearm on the first hole it really does, I mean it really pushed like you have to have A power power sidearm to get it there.
I feel like it's really hard to flip something up more understable So and it looks like Nikko has put down the backhand mid-range and is lining up the forehand And that is gonna be short There's just so has so far to go hyzer If you're gonna get that distance, you have to get the disc turned up just a bit maybe even turned over Just for a moment Yeah the amount of power you have to you have to Have in order to get an angle like that all the way to the basket is There's only a few people in the world who can really do it And you're going mid-range. Yeah, this is a Comet Cam Todd used to say that the Comets were the fastest disc Discraft ever made just because they glide forever And they just they roll nice, too It cuts up just a bit short at circle two's edge I'm just really excited to watch this guy play this course that forehand obviously He's one of the people that you're talking about that elite distance But even he's gonna have to flip this one up a little bit I feel like Keeps that low outside and that's that power that's that next level of power and you're going to see this just cruise past Nikko's and all the way in the circle and that That is such a tremendous shot to start off with absolutely Yeah, one of the only few that can really get away with throwing sidearm on that hole with that, you know Even that low and it never flipped all the way to flat It was just well, it was flat, but it was never turned over most people if they're going to get there They have to get the distance just turn over a slight bit Kevin, obviously doesn't need that 66 feet a bit of a run Kind of I mean, I tried to make it it seems impossible from out there Simon maybe he feels the same way right now Giving it that classic German smile that he never maybe it's not a German thing.
Maybe it's just a Simon thing And Kevin after that great tee shot he makes good from 25 feet Yeah last year. He was actually number one circle two putting so Kevin Jones. Yeah. Wow Something about this course causes for a lot of outside the circle putting and we got 143 players in the Mpo field Only 18 deuces to start the event off only 13% The hole average just above par. There's a little bit of trouble if you hit early on the right side and drop straight down That's almost instant bogey. And then if you go too far, right It's actually pretty tight off there and into the right side And that's one of these things these This course is really well known for the Tobacan course is known for its up and down hill design hole 2 is no exception at 726 Feet playing uphill the entire way The first shot is crucial not only does the hole play a lot further because of the extreme elevation It also has some of the thickest rough on the course Get off the fairway and birdie is not an option stay in the fairway and birdie will be tough.
Let's see how it plays out Here's Kevin's drive And that's exactly what you're talking about a big booming turnover right down the middle of the fairway that sets them up Simon try to match Kevin's drive a little bit more turn if this flexes out this would be huge It's still really far Yeah, it's so far up there that it's almost you're willing to take it off into the rough And that's actually if there's any part of this fairway or any part of this hole that the rough is, okay It's just a little bit off to the right side This is looking perfect That's a beautiful shot but that is still I mean, you're only 300 feet from the pin probably feels like you're 450 Yeah, it's extremely uphill and and with the run-up it really causes on the second shot It really causes you to lose a lot of power as well That's probably the main issue.
Yeah. Sure Nikko with a huge any I didn't know it felt like it was just gonna he's okay. It was okay. It was just an early release Nikko using more of the fairway than maybe he was intending to but still ends up right in the middle and you can see the Run-up issue. Kevin might have experienced a little bit right there Just so hard to get that momentum carried into the throw One of the game's farthest throwers only throwing it a couple hundred feet and it's just You almost have to run up sideways and then throw a bit of like a controlled grip lock.
Yeah It's like a difficult shot to master but it's definitely a unique throw as Nikko kind of runs straight up to it that that is really a display of Athleticism as he gets it high And carries over the crest of the hill and into 25 feet away from the pin territory. That's a fantastic shot He told me he weighs 135 pounds I mean Running uphill doesn't even slow him down. Yeah. Hey guess what? Get on try to use my body to get up there bud? How many knee surgeries have you had? That's a great shot though That was a nimble approach that was well done I had to go from the side and then do a little hop skip thing that I didn't do but I thought I did god If you even saw me attempt that shot end my career And Simon from a tricky spot look at that awkward release and he crests the hill with a nose up slide to 30 Actually inside 30 that was a fantastic shot from S imon Yeah, and what was really impressive about that is even with the vines and stuff in his run-up he was able to maintain the control really focus on his angle, which I think is the reason why he got up there and he continued his pace in his and his footwork Which is so tough to do Was that outside circle two? Yes.
Yeah. That was good effort And this is just inside the circle No, this is actually outside circle 2 as well Yeah, oh wow, depth perception problems. My eyes aren't what they used to be Simon's laughing at me Oh This is a Texas States rerun is this this massacre coming up It could very well could be no not for Simon though. Simon makes good That's a great birdie And this hole used to be a par five nothing's changed besides just them calling it a par 4 And I feel like it was It is a pro level par 4 But if you don't have pro level distance, I mean it plays like a par 5 all the way You think players get more aggressive by calling it a four sure I think that everybody's just gotten better and so You know the average score is going to be way lower I think the rough has also gotten a little bit more lenient on the hole left and right.
Yeah and from years past especially You know or early 2010, 11, 12 something like that Yeah That was what this place was known for and then they had those trees that invade The invasive species on the course and a lot of trees had to come down at that time and Anyhow, the course has been tightened up a few places like here on hole three this par four 915 feet down this huge hill left side ob coming into the drive If a drive isn't stay if it isn't turned straight and held straight It will fade OB eventually so you've got to make sure you throw either a fairway driver or a mid-range even One of the more visually appealing holes really that we play.
Yeah, I think this is on a lot of players dream 18 I think so. Yeah, this is a fantastic hole Simon off to the right side. The only issue is being off to the right side He's going to have that big mound in the way. So he's going to have a completely blind approach. Oh But still again 120 foot approach And Nico, don't worry that's not a foot fault there have been Little marks put on either side of the tee box so that players can Use either side so they don't have to use these rubber t-mats And Nikko actually leaked that one a bit too far left and ended up out of bounds And look at this straight drive from Kevin. Just going with a mid-range Just a boring 450 right down the middle actually that's more like 500 probably yeah. Yeah for sure And this is turned over and one of these one of the problems this hole is once it starts turning over it just doesn't stop And that rough on the right man, if you didn't have spotters you forget about it. That's a lost disc every time Yeah, I wasn't that wasn't great Nikko gets his meter off this out of bounds here and Nikko's probably pushing 400 430 440 feet here.
This is a pretty Lengthy approach to save the par and not the easiest run up with the tall grass kind of right there And that's a nice wide swing. He's calling for it to go And creeping right up there. Just just outside circle one Not a bad shot Wow Just a mid-range and then a little flick of the risk approach Could not make that hole look any easier. That was so good I think the spotter threw mine out I'm, just kidding I just pitched straight out. Oh, wow. That's a great par save. I mean 350 feet to five great approach We finally make our way all the way up to Simon's drive.
He's got his putter in his hand I think he was running back to maybe get a a spot in the basket maybe You got to pick your point trust your your distance and then 120 feet he did it. Yeah. He really did cut a lot off of that tee shot it didn't seem like quite impressive threw it so far, but it's Simon Lizotte so You can expect it to go about 20 feet further or 20 percent further than it looks sometimes Why does he put the chalk on his hand if he just wipes it off on his shorts I'm, just I don't know so then you can do that so they can do that right there.
Wow. What a save I love the commitment. Yeah, how he really opens the hand way out in front of him. Like he really wants it. That's awesome And Kevin after playing the hole Exactly the way he drew it up cleans up the birdie putt from 22 feet Simon will do the same and just have a short tap in for your par I think I was thinking about the the camera always adds 20 pounds So Simon's drives always go 20% further than it looks and I always look fat Hole four par four 580 feet Play here is either backhand back door there or sidearm flex shot trying to land somewhere right around here And just give yourself a good look up this tunnel one of the shorter par fours in the course But it's not without its challenges. That's for sure And you've got this mound green here anything that skips past this mound is gonna go way past the hole There was a spotter that kept coming in and out of the bushes every time he Simon was about to go he'd like to pop out And going over the top that's another play I didn't talk about Mostly because I don't even think of that as an option for most people but that is certainly a play It's going to come up a little bit short of where Simon would like to be Kevin using this old D2 This is hung out wide, but this is looking really nice Yeah, that's that's the landing zone you kind of want to be in right there a little nice kick too off the right side that'll set up a little backhand putter approach most likely Kind of surprised to not see Kevin go with the flippy forehand there I really feel like that that inside turnover line really sets up for a great forehand turnover, but that's a shot that we've seen him go with a lot lately as Nikko swings his hyzer in and You can see the penalty of not getting around those trees that is going to be a very difficult place for Nikko There's a good release this just creeps around backside and that's a good place.
Yeah, that's exactly where you want to be Nikko's actually kind of pinched up against the rough here so He took his time to get in there, but he really had to like commit follow through with the arm. Oh And that branch took it all just so difficult to get all those things and then get past that last limb, right and the angle right all those things just like Makes it a very difficult shot as open as this course is known for being The rough like not just the rough, but the in the fairways the the the branches that hang out in the fairway Are a huge obstacle in this course as Simon Decides he wants to play from over there now I like the idea.
He said I did it. That was the worst shot I've ever thrown I love him so much man. He's the best except for right there. That was not the best but the personality is And that scooted up Yeah won't talk much about that one, but it was so lucky it was just horrible it's all right Yeah, and Kevin after that great drive man. Oh and this is the problem looked like he'd put the brakes on but just enough steam to get past the edge of the hill and he's gonna have to Really work for the birdie Now I kind of like that though when you're in the position that he is in it's easy to leave it short And then have that really tough uphill approach. So I like the fact that he did You know he missed it by a foot is it? Shorter than that and it's perfect, but it's better than being a little bit less than that And then you're and then one foot equals like 30 feet.
Yeah, you know Got to make that commitment S imon with a nice Approach to get out of the woods Oh, wow, he just sat that one in there Wow. Oh look at this Almost zero wobble on that That really was like almost like a basketball hat Half court shot or something like that the way that he just like lofted it up and it just dropped right in there It was so picturesque. Yeah Fantastic putt really had to work hard for the birdie Wow And that was from just outside the circle Kevin with a jump putt and when this thing's on I mean This kid is lights out. Yeah, lethal Kevin moves a three down through four fantastic start these opening holes are not easy Thank you to Discraft Moving on to hole five par three 300 feet this is one of the first holes that we saw Mcbeth really run into some issues on his historic 18 under round and Had to make a huge putt to keep the perfection going just so many trees here commonplay is gonna be that backhand turnover or forehand semi-flip-up sidearm to uh, try to just Somehow dance around all these trees.
There's just so many of them And wow, what a great skip that was Yeah, I didn't know it was a stable sidearm I throw that's interesting I thought you had to go kind of flip up but the stable play Some merit to that Nikko trying to learn from that line keep it tight Look at that it just didn't really go anywhere after it hit the ground looks like it just went two feet after it skipped but To hit the gap is great. Yeah. I've been throwing more of a flip up Uh-huh. That's what I thought that was the play here, but apparently stable all the way might be the Might be the play Simon comes up pretty short And really them extending the tee horizontally Has really opened up the angle for this forehand Just that extra couple of feet And yeah, see when you go back door you have so many more tiny trees I think yeah that stable forehand line Really, Kevin made it look so easy But just a couple extra feet you get off the tee box really opens up that line Oh, wow, that was a great effort Simon Wow, that was a great line as well and he'll be off left One thing about these rounds it or this round that Was actually kind of nice is it wasn't as hot as the practice rounds like it definitely cooled off for us fantastic weather very little wind just Nikko again a beautiful step putt that nose up spin step putt is really working for him There was nothing different from that one and the other one.
No, though. I mean that was two chain links higher and that's it Kevin with a great opportunity to go four down through five keep that hot start rolling here Making it look easy folks He does make it look easy It really does like just kind of piercing the fairways with good shots making 25 foot putts an occasional jump putt But I mean, it doesn't look hard It feels hard when you're playing it Oh look at my round. It's really difficult It's a really difficult thing to do It's a grey out right now folks. Yeah, it's really hard out there I Was right there with you. I think I had one birdie at this point How about that only 19% of the field birdie that hole the shortest hole on the course at 300 feet you think maybe a few more but those Trees really make it tricky onto hole six par four 632 feet another Somewhat short par four but very tricky on the landing zone Call this one the turtle back as you can see here the mound Is shaped like the back of a turtle and it makes the putts So tricky once you get up there to the elevated basket as well Flip up drive here from.
Kevin. This is pretty much Perfect in every sense of the word. Yeah, it's perfect and massive. That is that's really far. He doesn't make it look that far In this camera view, but in real in real life in human life. Yeah in the human life It's 500 feet. Yeah yeah, he has less than And he's got probably less than 200 feet left here's a good shot And there you go. That's regular person and Nikko rips. Yeah, no doubt Can be a bit tricky if you go too far left, so Super important to flip it up flat as Simon does not get it as flat as he'd like and that is going to be in a tricky place, especially with him not feeling Super comfortable throwing the forehand right now. If you go off left, the forehand anhyzer is a good option to Scramble, but I actually meant to Say something when he threw that roller. He actually had a sidearm Up shot and he chose the roller because he couldn't get the sidearm. So it's definitely affecting his round But you do have the option to throw the forehand Something that you like to do, so that's uh, not the worst place to be no No, I I would actually prefer to be on the left side rather than kind of just straight at it.
Not that far left yeah, it's kind of horrible, but Yeah, I can I can make it happen. I like that. I like the way that it opens up the angles. Yes The straight shot just definitely seems really tricky And Nikko going from a standstill Asking for the big skip not a bad approach from being down the hill I can't even imagine what he's looking at right now from this position it can't be too good That was almost spectacular wow And this needs to keep holding its turn It does pretty much all the way up to the edge of the circle Yeah, not bad from there. That still wasn't great if it holds that that turn a bit more then it's parked And Kevin just look at that drive. Look what you're left with from there. Just Gonna easily work his way to five down through six. Yeah. Yeah, very very impressive That drive was far Yeah Yep big drive Simon not really Too much of an option. He might give it a bid, but this is a prayer from What was that full commitment? That's what that was if there's not a smile on his face when he stands up Okay, it's kind of a smile.
There it is Were you tweeting that no, he made a funny sound when he fell down and I was just making fun of him a little bit Nikko comes up a bit short there This is a really challenging putt Six birdies to start off and look at that outside the circle on the elevated basket on the mound full commitment That's a way to get your round started yeah, and I was just Not in the mood. Hey, that was a BigJerm stamp on the bottom of that disc. That's right That's the one you gave me a couple weeks ago. Oh That makes me feel good to see that you just made a big putt with that Yeah, what about the other ones that we're like short left, right? Those are your putters.
Those aren't mine, buddy I told you you want to make big putts you got to put with a BigJerm stamp So a tap in birdie for Kevin Jones is his hot round has just continued on to hole seven par four 500 feet low ceiling Incredibly challenging tee shot and you have to get far left. This hole has really been made more difficult by bringing this basket around And off up the hill into the right Before it was a little bit straighter and didn't matter so much where your tee shot landed right now. You have to be far left Otherwise, yeah, you have this big turnover shot that's really difficult high branches and you definitely off the tee A lot of people are going with their more stable Disc yeah Because if you throw a flip up you there is the chance to skip off the top of that hill And go out of bounds left.
I've seen it happen and And that's an okay shot from kevin, but i'm sure he'd like to have another 50 feet up and left And this is going to be in the backhand turnover range as well I do not believe you'll be able to get a forehand up to the pin from that angle Wait just you wait. Yes, you wait And it is a good option for Someone who does have the forehand turnover line just because you can really get it to go left And then fight back away from the out of bounds line, but it with the low ceiling It is a very tough thing to do and i'm not surprised to see All four of these guys go with the backhand Simon with the early release somehow splitting the gap Unfortunately not kicking hard left because there is a lot of danger down to the left side He'll be able to take a step out into the fairway and advance Up and try to just save his par yeah, this is a really good sidearm.
Yeah That's a good scramble He even said he didn't want to throw it because of his arm But sometimes you have no options sure And um, it's not like a super hard throw. I don't know how much it's really affecting him right now, but At that arm speed it would be hard to imagine that it really hurt that much And this shot was just really good. Yeah, just next level. That's a premier shot One of my favorite shots in the game is the big high sweeping anhyzer and Kevin's just saying I don't care what you like i'm gonna go big sidearm spike hyzer And if you got the power to do it man go for it Yeah, live your dreams, you know live your dreams, dude I'm gonna go with the big high spike myself Yeah, right And this is looking pretty nice as it's tracking back to 36 feet to my lie in my previous one.
Yeah. Well, you just got practice in the last hole See back-to-back Cam Todd action maybe This is kind of prime spot for Simon to do what Simon does but he lays it up I'm sure he's trying to give that a little bit of a run. Yeah. Yes. He was And look at that just like We called back to back not quite as elevated as the hole before but Two putts outside the circle to get your two birdies in the round so far That's getting it done Yeah, scrapping, you know trying to get some together for sure And Kevin off right side his first blemish of the round You can't really call a par on hole two of blemish That's really his first missed opportunity to score. He needs to make that putt though. He knows it. Yeah, I mean 29 feet uphill challenging putt for especially for a player like Kevin who loves that jump putt Sometimes being just on the inside of the circle Right most frustrating places to be as a committed jump putter for sure I mean you just you saw what I did from that same spot.
Yeah, you want you just want to be three feet further You almost want to take the disc and just putt it behind you two feet and then jump putt it But that's stupid and we wouldn't do that That's wasting shots we don't waste shots Holy 8 is a par 3 462 foot hyzer all the way if you're a lefty you better have a big forehand because this hole is Just a big spike hyzer and you want to come down To avoid having to play the luck shot You want to get just underneath that ceiling but most shots are going to be crashing up into those limbs And you're just kind of crossing your fingers and hoping you get through Yeah, there's not a player that's like i'm going to land it right there perfectly.
We're all just like oh, come on Yeah, it's kind of closing your eyes, but that looks good. Yeah And there there's the tree, you know one of the Exactly when there's I mean you just you throw the shot and you Hold your ear sideways for about six seconds and then you listen Yep, and you hope you hear the sound of earth and not trees.
Yeah, but I'm curious. This one looked really early And it's over there early it went forward that we know Kev Jones Should make the correction from Nikkos. That's the one thing on this hole You don't want to be the guy who goes first you really don't because you don't know what the wind's doing. Sometimes the wind lifts It shoves you down So I I like the release there. That was a lower line Enough height to get over that last tree before you get to the tree line with the basket But it didn't quite Make it into the circle. I don't believe Simons didn't hit really anything. That was that was that shot where you're like you can land you can definitely kind of land right there but you're so far above the basket that it's like The wind there's just so many variables.
It's just impossible to really aim it there Yeah, the best thing to do like just take an overstable disc and just chuck it up there Does he do it again? This is a clinic right now Nikko's 100 circle 2 I think if not, it doesn't matter because he's making 100% of them He's just killing it yeah that was a different way so yeah those are different styles, yeah Jeez Is disc golf easy now I mean for those two seems like it Because I feel like it's still as hard as it's ever been But they're not getting the memos that i'm getting Really what's going on? Simon? Dude, this could be the first ever Slomez star frame Simon Do not disappoint the fans I didn't want to disappoint Simon I felt like I had a putt for the world title.
Come on simon No way. That's amazing That i've never seen before I think that might be a Jomez first four for four all outside the circle Oh my gosh, that's incredible. That's the best twenty-five dollars Jomez is ever gonna donate We had to work for that 25 dollars. That is so cool Man moving to hole nine if you guys do it here i'll pitch in 100 bucks a hole nine par three 428 feet is what they have listed at but uh, I actually measured it at 356 It but it plays every bit of 450. So it doesn't really matter how far it says you have to chuck it far And it's got that low ceiling and you have a ton of limbs that are trying to catch your disc And that's one way to avoid the low ceiling Let's just throw it in the bushes.
Yeah, but if you get just past that grass line, that's a great shot to try to Navigate that low ceiling. No, it really is. I was playing some practice rounds with uh Actually Mcbeth and he was he was throwing the roller as well I heard that he would be doing that this year and so I was Trying to do Mcbeth stuff and instead I did Ulibarri stuff Just call it text you just you just Ulli'd yourself well And Nikko lining up that roller beautiful shot Nikko Wow, that's what I was trying to do.
Wow Even when Nikko does it it's Mcbething it, isn't it? I mean until someone breaks his course record, then it's a Mcbething Okay I'm surprised. I really thought we would be seeing more air shots, but Kevin rolls it into the rough It seems it just seems so easy it does it really does and I looked at it today and I ended up throwing the air shot but the roller just seemed For some reason more inviting than ever before. Maybe it's just the way they cut their grass this year We all ended up throwing the roller even Simon now, that's really surprising That's also too straight and that's gonna be in the rough Oh no He must have just caught one of the little limbs that drags you into the big limb And then that big limb shoots you straight down and this is the first real danger that our card's been in of uh, Taking a bogey Simon somehow hit chains on top of the basket. How did that happen? It sounded like he made it like what was that? It made the sound of a made putt but it hit the band That's weird Wow, okay, this is so good.
So right now kevin jones is just Slaughtering the course and he's three back of the pace that Mcbeth set When he was ten down through nine Yeah, but to be fair there was that par five that is now a par four. He's just killing it man. But yeah, he's just only two throws back Of what Mcbeth did when he shot the 18 No, come on Heavy left side chains just sliding out And actually that's not necessarily true that's not the first bogey scare we had Nikko made that nice par save on hole three, right, right but um That is the first bogey. We're gonna have and it's on the last hole the front nine And here is our leaderboard check-in after nine holes. Kevin jones, obviously, he's on top at seven under Calvin Heimberg Ricky Wysocki, James Conrad right there behind him They're shooting incredible golf at six down and obviously a slew of players right there behind him.
How did you feel about that front nine? That was awesome. I thought it was pretty fascinating How many long putts were made? I feel like this course really brings that out of the player to where you have to make those long long putts to score So that could be a record for the front nine for for follow flights or for Slowmez's. Thank you so much The JomezPro Founders Club you guys are awesome. Awesome. You're the reason this all happens. Thank you so much So You