Category: General

If one travels from the United States across the Atlantic Ocean toward northern Europe, they might reach the Baltic Sea. The eastern arm of the Baltic Sea is known as the Gulf of Finland. Along the shores of Gulf lies the Capital of Finland, Helsinki, and northwest of Helsinki is the city of Nokia.

Nokia is known throughout the world for the phone/electronics company that used to be located there, and bears its name. For disc golfers, Nokia is where The Beast at Disc Golf Park is found. And Nokia is home to disc golf manufacturer, Prodiscus.

First in Finland

Prodiscus was founded in 2006 by Kai Vesa, and started as an importer of disc golf products. However, after a few years, the company wanted to expand beyond just importing products. They decided to work toward producing their own line of discs.

In 2010, their first disc was approved by the PDGA for production. That disc was the Jokeri, an overstable putter that remains one of their most popular molds, and an exceptional throwing putter. Following the Jokeri, Prodiscus began adding more discs to their lineup. For the next few years they would design and release 1-3 new molds per year, slowly growing their brand and the discs they offered.

Popular Molds

Their most popular molds are the Jokeri, Midari, and Laseri. Those are a putter, midrange disc, and a control driver, respectively.

As mentioned previously, the Jokeri is an overstable putter. It is beadless, an excellent driving or approach disc, and perfect as a headwind disc. The Jokeri was the first mold for Prodiscus, and it has been a hit from the beginning.

The Midari is one of Prodiscus’ midranges. It is shapable with its straight flight and good fade. The Midari is available in base and premium plastics.

The Laseri is a control driver that lives up to its name. It is a laser-straight disc with just a little turn and fade. Pick up a Laseri in a premium plastic and it will give you consistent flights for a long time. It also comes in base plastic.

Finnish Names

The naming convention used by Prodiscus is to choose English words, then add a Finnish vowel. Thus, the Joker becomes the Jokeri, and the Laser becomes the Laseri. The proper pronunciation is to say the English word, followed by long ‘e’ sound, as in ‘feet’. Their names also take inspiration from mythology and ancient civilizations. Sparta, Titan, and Troija (an ancient city in Asia Minor) were chosen for that reason.

Along the way they developed several different plastic blends for their discs. Those include Basic, Basic Hard, Premium, Ultrium, and Platinium. The most popular of these options is the Ultrium.

Ultrium is a premium plastic that feels like a slightly more grippy Star plastic. Their Premium plastic is similar to Champion in durability, but a little gummier for added grip. Basic is similar to other base plastics. It is grippy and less durable than other Prodiscus plastics.

Sponsorships

In addition to the new molds and plastics they were releasing, they also started serving the disc golf community by sponsoring some of the most promising players in the world. Current European Champion Henna Blomroos, Devan Owens, and Henrik Johansen were all sponsored by Prodiscus. Other big names originally sponsored by include Kevin Jones and Luke Humphries, who have gone on to make careers out of disc golf. Some of the current athletes sponsored by Prodiscus include a top European Masters player, Kristian Bengtsson and US Tour disc golfer, Josh Coghill.

 

Prodiscus has also created several different levels of sponsorship and made them available to disc golfers with a variety of skill levels. Here are the Team levels:

Team Spartan: This entry-level sponsorship if for people who use Prodiscus products and want to help promote them. It is the Team for amateurs who just love to play, or who want to improve and compete at higher levels.

Team Ambassador: This Team level is for Prodiscus fans who are already working to grow the sport. It is for people who run tournaments and leagues, and who promote the sport. These team members will be supported by Prodiscus as they help grow the sport.

Team Prodiscus: This is the highest Team level. It is for players who compete regularly and are committed to improving their game while serving as a representative of Prodiscus. This level already has members who are growing as disc golfers, and whose names you will be hearing about in the future!

Anyone Prodiscus fans interested in applying for any team membership may contact Prodiscus directly at: team@prodiscus.fi

New Molds

Prodiscus works hard to give the best possible equipment to the disc golf world. They are also working to add to their product line. There will be several new molds coming out soon. Prodiscus says one of the new molds, the JokeriX, which was PDGA approved on May 9, has a rim depth that is between the Jokeri and the Sparta. The JokeriX and MidariX will be joined shortly by the SpartaX.

Kai Vesa, the founder of Prodiscus is optimistic about the future of the sport, and the future his company. Like other businesses in the industry, they got a boost from the pandemic that will last for years to come.

“Our future looks really promising. We’ve made major investments for our own factory and our manufacturing volumes are going up significantly”, he said. “And so is the demand for Prodiscus products.”

Disc Golf In The Future

Kai anticipates big things for the sport as well. He predicts even bigger sponsors and audience than ever before. He also expects that Finnish and European players will be regularly challenging the top US players for the top tournaments every year. We got a glimpse of that earlier this year with Kristin Tattar either winning or finishing on the podium at several major tournaments.

Whatever the future may hold for disc golf, Prodiscus will continue to innovate and create new molds and products for the disc golf world. They were the first Finnish disc golf manufacturer, and they strive to be the best. According to Kai Vesa, “We try to be down to earth company that serves the customer the best way possible.”

 

Visit Prodiscus here: Prodiscus USA

Check out our Prodiscus products at Infinite Discs here: Available Products

Win a Prodiscus Disc

Let us know your thoughts about Prodiscus discs and you could win a free disc! Have you tried a Prodiscus mold? Let us know which one(s) and what you thought. Haven’t tried Prodiscus  yet? Check out their discs and let us know which one could make it in your bag. We’ll pick three random commenters and send them a free Prodiscus disc.

 

Cache County, Utah, is in the northern most part of Utah. Commonly called the Top of Utah, the county sits on the border of southern Idaho. It is about an hour from the Fort, home of the 2021 World Disc Golf Championship. The county gets its name from the trappers in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s who used to store, or ‘cache’, their furs in the valley while waiting for an upcoming rendezvous.

Cache County has a long history of dairy production and a reputation for producing delicious cheese. It is home to a land grant school, Utah State University. The County Seat is Logan, Utah, where the largest disc golf retailer in the world has its headquarters: Infinite Discs. And Cache County is home to Wing-It Disc Golf.

Starting A Disc Golf Business

 

I suspect that a large number of us have thought how fun and interesting it would be to design our own discs or start our own brand of disc golf. Whether we are picturing ourselves as the new Innova, or just wondering if we could produce a mold or two that would resonate with other disc golfers, the idea of creating a new disc is appealing to many of us. Two brothers that live in Cache County decided to pursue that dream.

Brothers With A Plan

 

Wing It Disc Golf began fairly recently, and started with conversations among Eric and Jamin Burningham and their friends. The group shares a love of disc golf, and wondered what it would take to produce discs locally. Ed and Jamin decided to act on that idea, and found a local plastics producer to talk to about making molds for a disc.

After finding a plastics manufacturer in the county, the brothers began working on a 3D model of the disc they wanted to make. Then came the process of making a mold out of the 3D design. Once that was done came the job of finding a plastic that they liked.

Eric and Jamin decided on a polyurethane/ABS combination that they like. The plastic was durable yet grippy. Plus, it felt good to the brothers and other people who gave their input. That brought them one step closer to a finished product.

Winging It In Utah

 

Along the way to producing a disc, the pair had to come up with a name for their new company. The name they chose was Wing It Disc Golf. According to co-founder Jamin, “We picked Wing It Disc Golf because neither of us were pros. We were basically ‘winging it”. Eric, the other co-founder, is a serious birder, so the name turns out to be a nod to his other hobby.

The brothers also wanted to use birds and their flight to be themes for the names of their discs, but that turned out to be more challenging than they thought. Said Jamin, “We found that bird names were very popular choices for disc names. So much so that we felt it a little overused. “

 

High In The Sky

 

Instead of a bird-related theme, the name Stratosphere was chosen for their first mold. The Stratosphere was PDGA approved at the end of 2021, and the first run was selected for the Infinite Discs VIP club and sent out in early 2022. Since then, the Stratosphere was released to the public. The plastic for those first runs is called Lift Plastic, a nod to flight in general, birds and discs.

The disc-making duo is planning their next disc, which will be a higher-speed driver. They are still in the early phases of development for that disc, so it will still be a while before it is released. However, they have more lined up for the future besides new molds.

Currently, Jamin and Eric are experimenting with plastics, including adding agents into the Lift Plastic that will allow them make the lighter weight discs that are popular among beginning disc golfers. They don’t have that process down yet, so it may be a while before they can release lighter discs. Until then, they’ll keep experimenting with plastic and working on new molds.

Following A Dream

 

Eric and Jamin are brothers who share a love of disc golf. They truly enjoy playing with each other and with friends, and just having fun in the outdoors throwing discs! They also share the desire to grow a business, and both have a goal of providing discs for people who want to enjoy our sport. The two brothers are excited about the future of their company and the sport of disc golf. They love the growth that disc golf has seen the past few years, and are happy to be a part of increasing that growth. The fact that they are able to produce their discs here in Cache Valley makes chasing their dreams all the better.

Follow the progress of Eric and Jamin on their website here:  Wing It Disc Golf

Be sure to visit Infinite Discs to see the Wing It Discs we have in stock, here: Infinite Discs

Win A Stratosphere!

 

Post below and tell us what you think of Wing it Disc Golf’s first disc. Have you thrown it? Let us know what you think. Also, let us know what speed and flight rating that you hope they release for their second mold. We’ll select three random people and send them a free Stratosphere disc just for commenting!