Top Of The World View: Keep Calm & Hammes On

How the 2021 Santa Cruz Masters Cup was won
Flynn Carrol, throwing a soft Vibram Ridge, just like I taught him. Photo: Jack Trageser

The 2021 Masters Cup is over. The stuff I wrote the last three days about spectators and volunteers and the course and the weather… Sunday was more of the same. 72 degrees with puffs of wind bringing faint whiffs of the Pacific ocean. The spectators were, like, totally chill. So chill, in fact, that they were almost rowdy.

Since Sunday was the final round, and final rounds are about results, so that’s what I’m a-gonna write about.I got some good pictures and videos, too, so stick with me. I watched most of the lead card’s final round, and will explain why I think Adam Hammes won the Masters Cup by demonstrating some quick thinking, quicker feet, and a skill necessary for a good score at DeLa.


First up, though, is a look at two good friends of mine who competed in MP50, because this series is all about what I saw!

Flynn Carrol is a regular playing partner at DeLa and much better than his record in past professional Masters Cups (he won the event as an Advanced player) would indicate. I saw a good amount of his Friday and Saturday holes, and he battled! Didn’t let the inevitable bad breaks get him unraveled.1

Jon Baldwin nails his 35-foot uphill putt on the first hole in his sudden death playoff with Robert Bainbridge at the 2021 Masters Cup. GIF: Jack Trageser

This year, Flynn had the modest goal of throwing three rounds above his current 939 rating. His rounds went 951, 989, 945. Good job, Flynn! And no more strokes for you! Seriously, no more.

Jon Baldwin is another local friend who did well. Jon is no stranger to winning here and on the Worlds stage,2 but as easy to root for as ever. He ended up tied for first with Robert Bainbridge, and they were told to play holes 1-4 (the hill) in rotation, sudden death format, until someone won a hole. They both had outside circle putts, and Bainbridge insisted Jon was out. I couldn’t tell.

Someone nearby whispered “Gamesmanship,” assuming Bainbridge wanted to see if Baldwin’s attempt might possibly miss and roll back down the hill.

Jon stepped up first, nailed his putt, and the modest crowd whelped with glee. Bainbridge’s putt to match Jon’s birdie came up short, no metal, and it was over except Baldwin thanking Innova.

Hammes Shows How to Win at DeLa; Pierce’s Game Continues to Evolve

I am admittedly something between a die hard and casual pro disc golf consumer. I know most of the names and watch a good deal of coverage. My take on Paige Pierce — aside from the Captain Obvious observation that she is singularly talented in all aspects of disc golf — is that she combines those superior skills with a 100% aggressive, 100%-of-the-time game plan. The result is a mess of runaway victories, and a few that probably got away only due to her pedal-to-the-metal approach. On Sunday with a three-stroke lead to begin the final round, I saw an approach that was more Bobby Fischer than Mike Tyson. She seemed content to play some defense and see what the rest of the field might do. Sure enough, her lead grew simply through the faltering of others, and Paige Pierce cruised to victory. 

Adam Hammes went wire to wire, shooting a 14-under par 61 in the first round, then 11-down in the second round, and 8-down Sunday. With the 24-hole Masters Cup layout and three rounds, that is 33-under par for 72 holes. That rate seems right about where the PDGA wants it.

Hammes had his ups and downs over the final round, but successfully avoided the big mistakes that enable one to cough up a lead quickly. As we walked down the short fairway on hole 20 — AKA the Gravity Hole, AKA The Lady — I checked scores on my phone while trying not to trip over a gnarled root and tumble into the ravine that makes this hole so potentially treacherous. 

UDisc Live showed James Proctor on the last two holes, trailing Hammes by one stroke. Proctor had saved his best round for last, posting a -13 par 62. He had trailed Hammes by six strokes at the start of the round. I wondered how up-to-date UDisc was at that moment. Maybe Proctor was already in at -33, or even -34.

The quick thinking and nimble-footed Adam Hammes. Photo: Jack Trageser

I looked up to see Adam Hammes gauging an uphill putt, the basket 35 feet in front of and above him and a deep, vegetation-clogged ravine below. His putt was just short of money. It hit the front rim and the hard dirt in front of it in quick succession, then did that thing so many would-be roll-aways do, pausing on its edge as if contemplating whether to flop to the side or go for a ride.

This one opted to roll, and it headed for the ravine, picking up speed as gravity pulled from the depths below. Then Hammes’ disc hit some tree debris and things took another turn, literally and figuratively. The still-rolling disc turned right and began rolling back toward Hammes rather than plunging deeper into the ravine.

Hammes, as he watched all this unfold, might have had about a half-second to appreciate the good break turn at the end of that bad-break roller before realizing the disc was now heading straight toward him (and he’s not standing in the safest place to hit the deck). As you can see in the video I captured, he showed quick thinking and nimble movement to dodge the disc and the one-stroke penalty that would have come with any contact between him and it.

Hammes watched the disc roll another 10 feet or so down the hill before coming to rest in a rare flat spot on that hole. He picked up his bag and walked down to his disc with zero body language. Nothing to indicate that he was inwardly screaming about having just been “DeLa’d.” He set up again, fired with full commitment, and nailed the putt in dead center chains.

DeLaveaga throws adversity at players, and offers them plenty of tempting (jenky!) excuses (jenky!) when things don’t go well. The players who win here all understand three things:

  1. DeLa needs to be played differently, and she can be managed when played correctly
  2. Bad things will happen no matter what
  3. Must remain calm

Hammes ended up winning, four holes later, by one stroke. But if the rolling disc hits him or he misses the comeback putt, he ties or loses. It was all in the balance there on the Gravity Hole, and Adam Hammes made three championship-caliber moves for the win.

  1. He reacted quickly to avoid making contact with his rolling disc (thinking and acting nimbly)
  2. He did not react outwardly at all to display frustration at the bad break
  3. He focused on and made the next shot

I believe all three were needed for Adam Hammes to become the 2021 Masters champion. 


  1. Foreshadowing alert! 
  2. Look it up, lazy bones! 

I wrote this story and the entire Top of the World View series for Ultiworld Disc Golf.

Top Of The World View: Opening Day At the 2021 Masters Cup

A legend sat in the midst of the spectators at DeLa
Top Of The World at DeLaveaga. Photo: Jack Trageser

My 2021 Masters Cup experience began a little before 8 am. An opaque fog hung low enough to obscure baskets and leave a fine layer of mist on resting discs. I came out early to watch some of my MP50 peers tackle the course with guile and experience, and was rewarded with some quality golf and a soundtrack of incessant birdsong, soft library voices, and the tree-muffled ringing of chains.

This quiet pursuit of sport persisted until after 10 am, until the fog began to break apart. As my group worked its way through its standard 4-hour Masters Cup round, I started a list of observations that I would continue after joining the primary Open feature card of Paul McBeth, Ricky Wysocki, reigning champ Garret Gurthie, and Sean Brookman. Enjoy said observations, in no particular order.

First off, if you’re unfamiliar with the last name, Brookman is a Santa Cruz local and winner of this year’s Amateur Masters Cup. Local tradition dictated that his victory came with paid entry in the PDGA National Tour Masters Cup, as well as a spot on a feature card in round 1. Brookman, who at age 40 isn’t exactly a young phenom,1 showed the moment was not too big for him, birdieing the uphill opening hole.

Sean Brookman putts during the 2021 Masters Cup. Photo: Jack Trageser

A bit later in the round, one of Brookman’s drive would come to rest 10 feet up in a tree. In Santa Cruz, that means a stroke penalty in addition to the tough upshot that resulted from the disc being stopped prematurely. I am a traditionalist on most matters when it comes to my two favorite sports — disc golf and baseball — but I’m all for a computerized strike zone and would like to see the ending of the 2-meter penalty rule universally abolished. It’s too arbitrary and too ambiguous. DeLa now has a giant upturned root ball bisecting event hole 22; if a disc lands atop this part-log, part-earth thing, is it OB? And, really, it’s just a bad look having a rule that differs from region to region. As a Californian and Santa Cruzan, I say: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that! . . . er, PDGA Rules Committee, abolish that rule!

I was bummed for my buddy Sean about that bad break, but he saved his bogey and went on to shoot 1-under par. McBeth and Wysocki both shot 10-under, and defending champ Gurthie started rough and came in at 1-over. Maybe because I haven’t followed a lead card in person for a couple of years, or maybe because I knew Brookman had never gotten the “feature card” treatment before, but the unsubtle presence of the JomezPro film crew leaped out at me. The players have obviously bought into an agenda that calls for compelling footage, and camera operators frequently stand within a few feet of players as they execute their shots.

Ricky Wysocki putts during the 2021 Masters Cup. Photo: Jack Trageser

DeLaveaga has a couple crossing fairways, and on one of these, holes known as “Frick and Frack,” film crews from JomezPro and GK Pro adroitly avoided bumping each other’s gear as they switched places. This patchwork approach for covering the most action possible is quintessential disc golf, and I love it.

You know how some things are better once you finally see them in person? For me, today that thing was Calvin Heimburg. The height was higher, the fro was fro-ier, and the chill that comes through on the Disc Golf Network broadcasts was undeniable. The guy is like a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and The Big Lebowski. One of my goals as a player is to keep a low resting heart rate, and this guy at least seems to be the posterboy.

I plan to follow the women’s lead card on Saturday, and expect some great action. Paige Pierce leads but Catrina Allen, Hailey King and Juliana Korver, AKA Phil Mickelson, are all a “DeLa’ed” away. I love watching the ladies because they throw lines I can (mostly) throw myself, and the competition is just fierce.

One final thing on my mind. I spotted old friend Tom Schot sitting in a beach chair tucked just off the back of the fairway on hole 19, not far from one of the spectator pods. These pods, I was happy to see, were filled with fans who were mostly new to the game. 

Disc Golf Hall of Fame inductee and course architect of DeLaveaga Disc Golf Course, Tom Schot. Photo: Jack Trageser

How many of them had any idea that the architect of this famous, historic course, an early inductee to the Disc Golf Hall of Fame, was in their midst? The history of our sport used to be common knowledge to all who played, and although that may not be the case right now I have a feeling that the sport’s early days will soon be the stuff of celebrated lore — if they’re not already.


  1. although he’s been on a phenomenal run 

2021 Masters Cup Preview- Sort of

Your School of Disc Golf headmaster is a Jack of All Trades, and one of those trades is journalism. I’m covering the 2021 Masters Cup for Ultiworld Disc Golf as a columnist, and I will dutifully post excerpts and links here as well. Here y’go!

It’s Masters Cup weekend and I plan to be out on the course, giving you a different perspective than your standard “who’s winning” sports coverage. It’ll be the perspective of a local who has played DeLa since the 1980s and participated in past Masters Cups as a player, volunteer, and spectator.

It will also be the perspective of a disc golf coach who enjoys watching how various players handle the mental side of the game, particularly at courses like DeLaveaga where adversity is guaranteed and exacting execution is required on nearly every hole.

Since the tournament is yet to commence, some sort of preview piece is in order. And since I already promised “different,” let’s see how many times I can use that word to describe the course and the tournament.