Dragonfly Rising

sighs in supernatural humidity The Deadlands have gone aquatic. Welcome to the Dragonfly Rising, where the air is thick enough to drink and the contracts are signed in swamp water. Nineteen souls stepped onto the crossroads at Dragonfly this week, and by the time the mist cleared, one of them was wearing the Noose Protocol around his equipment bag like a sheriff's badge. The Bayou's appetite is just getting warmed up.

Noose Protocol Finds Its First Sheriff 😑

Houston Finch didn't just win RPA this week—he rewrote the course's record books while doing it. Starting from signup slot #13 (the frontier loves its omens), Finch carved through the Dragonfly layout with a -14 and a 997 rating that left the rest of the division staring at a five-stroke gap. The man parked approaches, cashed putts from every angle, and generally made the course look like it owed him money. Guy McAtee gave chase at -9, a score that wins most weeks in most places, but this wasn't most weeks. Finch was playing a different game entirely—the kind that gets your name etched into supernatural ledgers before the first culling even begins.

Dale Drains the Deadlands Dry 🤠

Over in RAD, Nate Dale posted the highest-rated round of the entire field—a bogey-free -8 that earned a 1005 rating on PDGA Live. No bogeys, no stumbles, just clean execution through the Dragonfly wetlands. Dale's card was a masterclass in course management, threading gaps and scrambling when the marsh tried to claim errant discs. The man also donated $100 to the league's charity pot, because apparently you can be a frontier executioner and a good person. Jonathan Lang finished one stroke back at -7, proving the competition in RAD is going to be a knife fight all season.

Pool B's Battle for Survival 🐊

RAE saw Alex Collings take the top spot with a steady -4, navigating the Dragonfly's technical corridors while the rest of the field watched their discs disappear into the rough. Over in RAH, Dillon Mueller claimed the victory with a +6 performance that, in this context, counts as survival. Small fields don't mean small stakes—every throw in the Deadlands is a negotiation with the spirits, and these two made their payments on time.

Dragonfly Shows Its Teeth... and Wings 🦅

Six eagles landed on hole 12 this week—a mass avian event that suggests the Dragonfly's signature par-4 was feeling generous, or at least less murderous than usual. Houston Finch's -14 course record stands as the statistical outlier of the week, a performance that would make even the most jaded frontier veteran tip their hat. The course rewarded precision and punished hesitation, as Dragonfly always does.

Ace Pot Survives Another Culling 💀

The Super Ace Pot sits at $2,898.00 after Week 1, growing fat on the hopes and misses of 19 competitors. Nobody hit the jackpot this week, despite some close calls that I'm contractually obligated to describe as "heartbreaking near-misses" rather than "standard disc golf outcomes."

Fox and Lang Skin the Competition 💰

The skins game paid out $68 in total, with Chris Fox and Jonathan Lang each hauling in $20. Clayton Rackham took $18, just missing the top earners' circle. Another $10 went to the league pot, ensuring the frontier's coffers stay healthy.

The Noose Protocol Finds a Neck 🪢

The AllIn tag reshuffle hit the Bayou like a flash flood. Houston Finch claimed the #1 spot in Pool A along with the Noose Protocol—the spectral rope that coils around its bearer's equipment, pulsing with dying red light when rivals approach elimination. The protocol emerged from the first culling's supernatural contracts, and now it's wrapped around Finch's bag like a promise. Over in Pool B, Alex Collings holds the #1 position with the Ash Echo, keeping the frontier's ledger balanced between the two pools.

The Loa Are Watching Your Every Throw 👁️

Week 1 is in the books, and the Deadlands have tasted their first blood. The water level is rising, and next week the Pact begins to take shape—a mid-season ritual where the top half of the leaderboard earns immunity from the drowning mechanic. The spirits are taking notes, and your next round is already being judged. Don't let the Bayou claim you before you get a chance to prove your worth.