Gateway "Voodoo" approved on 3/31/2009

The new "Voodoo" putter by Gateway Disc Sports was approved by the PDGA for use in sanctioned events on March 31, 2009.

PDGA Approved Discs & Targets: http://www.pdga.com/tech-standards

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[LSDiscs/Lars]

that doesnt make any sense to me because they already said pdga approved on them and I've already seen people using them.

[Nascar Mike]

Funny this topic is out. A friend and I were just talking about this the other day. We have a tournament coming up and he wanted to let me know so it could be announced at the players meeting that it was illegal. So much for that. Thanks for the update.

[Scott Kickbusch]

My question now is the re-tooled Element X/Warrior. Gateway contends it does not need to re-certify the disc becasue PDGA rules say you can change a mold and leave the name the same and not re-certify the disc. It's the loophole Innova uses to certify a disc once and then sell X and L molds sold under that same name. Gateway already had a disc called the Warrior that was approved, so they contend the new Warrior is covered by that approval.

That's all fine and dandy, except the original Warrior was a 21.0 cm diameter driver with a legal weight limit of 174.3g. The new Warrior is 21.9ish cm diameter disc which would have a legal weight of around 181g like the Element X had. However, since Gateway is not re-certifying the disc the specs listed on the approved disc list for the Warrior are still the old stats from the small diameter driver. So, new mold or no, the list still says the Warrior is legal to 174.3g.

Does that make my new 178g Warrior illegal for PDGA play? I think it does.

[Chuck Kennedy]

Dave has submitted the discs for testing and agreed to pay the full approval fee. Not sure if he'll call it the Warrior but it will have new specs listed based on those measurements if he decides to keep the Warrior name with this "new" mold.

[Smokey]

lolololololololololol.......sorry its just funny that there is no preliminary way to approve a disc before final certification. This would allow companies to test discs out in the "real world environment" i.e. tournaments before submitting the disc for final approval.

[Chuck Kennedy]

The approval tests are easy to run by anyone. There's no need for manufacturers to submit a new disc that will meet the specs for approval until they are satisfied they have the disc the way they want it. Discraft does that every year with their Ace Race disc which is a way to test drive a disc among a wide group of players and get feedback before committing to a final design, name, fee and approval process.

[Brandon Swanson]

I heard Nikko was using the Voodoo at the Memorial (which he won). If that is true, then he was using an illegal disc to do so right (although he probably didn't know it since it was stamped on the discs)? Anyone know if there's any truth to this?

[Jared Person]

Nikko lived with me the last 2 months before the memorial down here is So-Cal warming up during the winter months, and i can say with absolute certainty that he does not use a VooDoo and certainly didnt use one in the memorial. When you have 5 year old wizards that are tried and true, there just no reason to fix something that isnt broken.
That said, thank goodness i can finally put my Voodoo back in my bag, i think i could have won the AM division at At memorial if only i had my voodoo....LOL

[Scott Kickbusch]

It is really irrelevant on many levels. Even if you had a picture of him putting with a Voodoo at the Memorial, the event is over. Once the event is over, it is over. There would be no way to penalize it now. Even it he admitted doing it, there is nothing in the rules that dictates a punishment. It would not matter.

Also, as was noted, Nikko putts with Wizards. The chances that he used a Voodoo are slim and none. If there is a rumor going around about it, it's probably somebody just stirring up trouble. That would be too bad, as it's not Nikko's fault that the company that sponsors him forgot to approve some new discs. He was probably as unaware of the issue as everyone else at the Memorial.

[Brandon Swanson]

Jared Person said:

Nikko lived with me the last 2 months before the memorial down here is So-Cal warming up during the winter months, and i can say with absolute certainty that he does not use a VooDoo and certainly didnt use one in the memorial. When you have 5 year old wizards that are tried and true, there just no reason to fix something that isnt broken.
That said, thank goodness i can finally put my Voodoo back in my bag, i think i could have won the AM division at At memorial if only i had my voodoo....LOL

Thanks for setting the record straight. I wasn't trying to rag on Nikko...I was really trying to more rag on Gateway's blunder on this one. Watching video of him playing you can see that he is a tremendous putter. He's got a scary amount of potential. As a funny note, my buddy here in WI DID win the ADV division at the memorial!

[Jared Person]

If only i could have used my VooDoo!!!!!!!!!...Scott right, tell him congrats!

Brandon Swanson said:

Jared Person said:

Nikko lived with me the last 2 months before the memorial down here is So-Cal warming up during the winter months, and i can say with absolute certainty that he does not use a VooDoo and certainly didnt use one in the memorial. When you have 5 year old wizards that are tried and true, there just no reason to fix something that isnt broken.
That said, thank goodness i can finally put my Voodoo back in my bag, i think i could have won the AM division at At memorial if only i had my voodoo....LOL

Thanks for setting the record straight. I wasn't trying to rag on Nikko...I was really trying to more rag on Gateway's blunder on this one. Watching video of him playing you can see that he is a tremendous putter. He's got a scary amount of potential. As a funny note, my buddy here in WI DID win the ADV division at the memorial!

[Scott Kickbusch]

The situation brings up some issues about the approval procedure and the penalties (or lack thereof) for manufacturers that do not follow the procedures. Hopefully, this whole thing will cause a review of that. Other than that, it's a competitive no-issue. If the Warrior had kept the Element X name, it would never have been looked at. The Voodoo is just a modified Wizard. Nobody got an unfair advantage from using them.

Mark Stephens said:

No need to rag. The disc met all PDGA standards & was submitted. What was not submitted was the $300 check. So, all it really came down to was the PDGA wanting their money (which is understandable), not Gateway making an "illegal" disc.