MVP Gyropalooza 2026
Intro
Early this year my buddy Barry was the “lucky” recipient of a golden ticket to the annual MVP Gyropalooza event at the MVP factory in Marlette Michigan; a town that has not much else beyond the MVP factory. He is a huge MVP fan-boy and had previously attended three Gyropalooza events in the pre-covid era. Back then he was intrumental in a popular glow round that took place around a Days Inn in a nearby town.
I am not an MVP fanboy. I do bag a Trail which I really do like but, beyond that, I only bag one other disc from the MVP family - a Streamline Turbulance. My bag is an ecclectic mix of discs that “work for me”. I’m not sponsored and don’t really have any brand loyalty. I don’t really understand Barry’s affection but I’m also glad it is a source of joy for him. Life can be rough and I’ll not knock anyone for the small joys they find in the mundane.
Barry invited me to this years Gyropalooza which and, without thinking about it, I just accepted. My buddy wants to do something that is important to him and he thinks is fun - I’m in! Hindsight tells me I should have looked into the offer a bit more. I thought Gyropalooza would be a “festival” for disc golf but based on the “-palooza” suffix. It was not. It is something unique and; not really for me.
If you are an MVP uber-fan like Barry - you can probably stop reading here. I don’t want to shit on your parade. If you are a regular schmo who has thought about going, the rest of this post is for you.
Marlette and the Surrounding Environs
First, as I previously mentioned, Marlette, doesn’t have much going on. There isn’t much in the town and there is even less nearby. Its beautfiul country with trees, farms, deer stands, and some paved and some unpaved roads. If you want to “get away” from the hustle and bustle of life it’s a great place to visit. If you want to stay occupied and cut loose - it’s probably not the place for you. It’s also generally devoid of Michigan beers which I was really disappointed in - Michigan has some fantastic breweries but they don’t get much love in the Marlette area - or anywhere in Sanilac county that I could tell. If you want a Busch Light though you might find it on tap at some of the random “pubs” in the area.
Beyond the dearth of activities, good restuarants, and good beer - there is the MVP factory. It’s a very nice newer building and the people who work there were all wonderfully warm and welcoming. Honestly, as companies and people go - I was very impressed with everything there. Every encounter I had with an MVP person - and with the other attendees at the event was great. The fans were all nice and generous with answers when I asked questions. The employees seemed to genuinely be happy to be there on a Saturday.
The Event
The problem, for me, was it wasn’t really a festival so much as a bunch of standing in relatively short lines to play mini-games. There was a long range Glitch putting thing. There was a one-try only 55’ putt for the world championshps in honor of Silas Shutlz (who was there a bit later in the day). There was a putting contest on an elevated basket, a standard basket, a marksmen basket. There was a “guess the disc by feel” thing I skipped since I don’t really know what any of them feel like - I probably wouldn’t have even identified the Trail or Turbulence. There was a digital attempt to recreate the Holy Shot (which seemed a little glitchy; but maybe I really can’t throw an Envy more than 150’). There was a small scavenger hunt and - probably the best thing to me - a mini disc golf game themed for halloween/sci-fi. MVP clearly has a bit of a love affair with Sci Fi theming.
Honestly, though, that was the extent of the event - for me - a bunch of waiting in short lines to putt a few times then get back in line. I got bored really fast.
There was an opportunity to meet some pros - which, if you’re into that kind of thing would be cool. There were some of the MVP Premier Team: Elaine King, Sarah Hokum, Silva Saaranin, Aaron “Goose” Gossage, Eagle McMahon, Raven Newsome, and Simon Lizotte. In addition from the Premier Team was Maidson Walker (of the Two Hot Geese fame) and, the aforementioned Silas Shultz who I suspect will be getting promoted after his World Championship win. I saw that there were badges for Big Jerm and Paul Krans but I didn’t see either of them. I assume Big Jerm is enjoying time with his newly expanded family and, honestly, I’m not sure I would have recognized Paul Krans. I saw no sign of James Conrad.
You could meet with them all and get an autograph if that was your thing and you wanted to wait in another line. It is not my thing and I didn’t want to wait in a line so I just sat to the side and watched Barry enjoy the experience. Sarah Hokum seemed genuinely nice and pleased to meet fans. Many of the others up there looked exhausted and sort of checked out. However, a few of them did stay around for the contests later in the afternoon that pitted the days “mini game” champs vs the pros.
Barry and I left after we had accumulated 65 “Gyro Bucks” which he was able to use to buy 6 discs and enter five into a raffle for a cart (he didn’t win). We went to lunch and then found a local course to play. Lunch was meh and the course was weirdly short- it was wooded but most holes were under 200’ - it had a uDisc rating of 4.1 so I had hoped for a bit more challenge. Barry had to be back to see if he won anything in the raffle so we went back - I was honeslty dreading it. My back was sore from standing on the concrete floor earlier but I’m glad we went back becuase we got there right as the Pros vs Mini Game Champs contests started. That was also a little boring but also the best part of the day.
I think I missed one of the contests. But I did get to see Simon compete against a guy in the 65’ Glitch putt-off. Simone got out to an early 2-0 lead and then started to try tricky things like anny putts and skips. The other guy got so close so many times but Simon cruised to victory.
Then we saw a younger kid compete against Eagle in a marksmen contest. This was the best part of the day. The kid had ice in his veins. First round was from 25’ and both of them hit 3/5 putts. Second round was 35’ and both hit 2/5 putts. Then out to 45’. The kid didn’t hit any but his last toss somehow managed to stay on the top of the basket. It didn’t count but it was cool cause there is only about a disc of area up there. Eagle ran his and came close until his second to last one hit the band knocking the kids into the basket. The crowd went wild and Eagle was super stoked for the kid. Eagles last putt was close but - missed and the kid got the win! The MVP announcer dictated that if you ever have a putt land on top then fall it that it is forever to be called a “Tony” in honor of that kid. I’m down for that.
Next up a guy who won two of the mini games. So he got to complete against Silva on a normal basket then Raven on an elevated basket. First he went against Silva Saaranin - that went to sudden death and both made their first putt in sudden death. They both then missed a couple until Silva sealed the deal. By this point my back was sore from standing on concerete agains so I missed the contest against Raven. I’m not sure who won.
Some Other Notes
I paid for a parking spot at the factory instead of doing a shuttle thing from some other lot. I think I’m glad I did. Leaving at lunch and coming back was nice and convenient.
There were food trucks there but none of the food was jumping out at me - no surprise - plus my Alpha Gal sucks so a lot of good looking options are off the board anyway since I can’t eat mammals. Ticks suck.
We got some nice little drawstring backpacks which were significantly nicer than any drawstirng backpack I’ve ever seen. The shoulder straps are really comfortable and there are 3 big pockets plus a fleece lined side pocket for your phone or whatever. We also got a patch, a wrist band (I didn’t keep), some streamline stickers (I gave away), a pin (I lost), and a disc called the MVP Mass. Its a pretty stable approach disc (4,2,0,3). We got to sort of operate the stamping machine and do an understamp on the disc. It was neat to see the machine at work but it was about 2 seconds of entertainment. I paid for some upgrade so I also got a glow Control and a tee-shirt. The shirt is a nice feeling material that is very stretchy. The print on it is a sort of 1950’s sci-fi/mid-century modern print on a dark plum colored shirt. I’ll probably wear it a few times and then give it to my daughters boyfriend (I’m not big on big prints; its very nice just not my style).
The Fly Mart and Store Owners
Honestly, I think if you are an MVP fanatic or dealer of MVP merchandise this is where the event has the most value. I bought a Trail and a new Silva Proxy and they only charged me $19 for the two discs. You could get a lot of discs in premium plastic for $10 each.
The day before the main event they have a special Dealer day where they do stuff with store owners and take them out to lunch and let them play all the mini-games in advance. I asked one dealer about it and he really raved at the general treatment MVP gives dealers vs all other manufacturers. It was cool to hear the manufacturer was doing a bunch of side things to help local shops such as in-store exclusive discs that you can’t sell/buy online - which drive customers into the shop. At the end of the event they also let the dealers go into the flymart and buy a ton of discs at cost (I think).
Dealers were lined up to get in there with boxes they were prepared to fill.
The Crowds
My biggest worry going in was the crowed at this place would be huge - that hundreds and hundreds of people wouold be there and I’d be in realy long lines. That wasn’t the case. Lines were generally less than 15 people long and moved quickly. But, you were only doing the thing for a few seconds so you spent a lot more time in line than you did doint things. There are 100 golden ticket winners and their guests plus some dealers and, probably, their guests. So the crowd is pretty small all things considered.
Golden Ticket Winners
Barry got a few perks with his Golden Ticket. His badge was gold so staff frequently congradulated him on the win. He also got a metal golden disc (about half the size of a regualr one). He and the other golden folks got a reserved hour before the crowed to meet the pros so Barry had them all sign his golden disc. I’m not sure if there were other benefits.
Sarah Hokum
I really do want to call her out specficially. While I didn’t talk to any of the pros I freqently saw Sarah really engaged with participants and she had the most to say to people in the signature line. This is not to knock any of the other pros there - Sarah just stood out as being really warm and welcoming. Barry noticed it too. So kudos to Sarah for her great fan interactions!
Conclusion
I won’t go again. I thought it would be more of a festival - live music and a party vibe. It was, by all measures, pretty quiet and reserved. Lots of line standing in lines with chances to talk to MVP die-hards. If that’s your vibe you should go - otherwise, skip it and give your golden ticket to someone who will really find the joy in it.
Honerable Mention
On Friday, Oct 23rd, we went and played a private course about 30 minutes away called “Mill Creek”. The guy who lives there and built the course was super nice and welcoming. The course is beautiful - especially in the fall with the leaves changing. He had just leaf-blown the main 18 fairways! The course is a bit tight in some places with holes nearly overlapping and many of the holes have the same RHBH friendly hyzer finish - but it was so damn pretty it is hard to say anything that might be critical.
If you’re in the area it was the best course we saw by a good margin. Call ahead and make reservations. Essentially - it is the guys property that he lives on and his family deserves warning before strangers popup in his driveway. Definitley make the effort to get out and play.
Discussion
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