Xtractmor now a full-time sponsor of pro disc golf
♦ The Rome company is promoting its brand through the growing “socially distanced” sport.
Xtractmor, a subsidiary of Hydro Dynamics Inc. of Rome, has become a full-time sponsor of the Disc Golf Pro Tour.
CEO Doug Mancosky said he hopes to promote the locally developed technology that’s used in brewery, winery and distillery operations.
The sponsorship was introduced at the DGPT Ledgestone Insurance Open in Peoria, Illinois, last weekend. The event, hosted at the Lake Eureka course, was televised on the Disc Golf Network.
“On a personal level, I have always really enjoyed the sport,” Mancosky said. “At Hydro Dynamics we are always looking for unique opportunities to get our brand out there.”
Sean Jack, director of partnerships and business development for the DGPT, said the sport has seen explosive growth.
“We’re an inherently socially distanced activity,” Jack said. “I live three blocks from the Golden Gate Park course in San Francisco and I’ve never seen so many people on the course.”
The Ledgestone tournament had Xtractmor, a subsidiary of Hydro Dynamics Inc. of Rome, is now a sponsor on the Disc Golf Pro Tour. The company had a pole wrap on the 14th hole of a tournament in Illinois last weekend. 180 men and 40 women compete for prize money and close to 800 amateurs competing for trophies as well.
“A lot of tournaments are pro-am,” Jack said.
Mancosky said he sees connections between the brewing industry and the growth of disc golf.
The Xtractmor technology is used to produce larger quantities of flavoring from hops, fruits and coffees. Wineries and distilleries use the device to accelerate the aging process and produce more beverage in shorter periods of time.
“Our device is a spinning disc inside a housing, so we like discs,” Mancosky said. “So the disc golf thing just made sense. We’re just big fans of sport in general and like to support new and emerging sports.”
He said he’d had his eye on disc golf for some time before he reached out to the tour, “and we were able to find something that worked for both of us.”
Floyd County Parks and Recreation has opened an 18-hole disc golf course at Shag William Park in Shannon. Interest in the sport has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic since players are typically spread out across large open space.
Disc golf is played like pro golf, except the players throw the devices into a basket instead of trying to hit a ball into a small hole. Players carry between 10 and 30 discs; some act as drivers, some as irons and some as putters.
Mancosky said that use of the XtractMor technology is growing steadily. The Rome company now has business relationships with several major international breweries as well as many smaller craft operations such as Brooklyn Brewery, Yazoo Brewing and Anchor Brewery.
“Breweries and disc golf are good friends,” Jack said. “A lot of breweries are already sponsoring the tour. If they’re able to get into a craft brewery and this breaks the door down, then it’s well worth it on their end.”