This has nothing to do with James Conrad – I’m a fan. But the “Holy Shot” name – which is now almost universally applied to his miraculous, 250-foot throw-in at the 2021 Worlds – is dumb.
Consider this a rant.
I’d like to know who came up with the “Holy Shot” moniker.
And how and why Conrad’s throw received the well-known label.
To briefly recap, Conrad trailed Paul McBeth by one stroke heading into the final hole of the 2021 World Championships. After Conrad’s drive hit a tree, he was forced to lay up his second shot. That left him with a near-impossible, long-distance “birdie” bid, if you can even call it that.
We all know what happened next …
Chains.
Conrad ended up tying McBeth for the tournament and forcing a playoff nobody saw coming. He then wasted no time winning the first playoff hole and the title of “World Champion.”
Since then, Conrad’s stunning throw-in has been widely celebrated, even cracking SportCenter’s “Top-10” segment on ESPN. Many consider it the single-greatest moment in disc golf history.
But seriously …
Why this title?
Perhaps “Holy Shot” is a (kind of) clever play-on of the phrase, “holy sh*t.” This would make sense, as sh*t is just as divine as a shot in disc golf. Furthermore, thousands of people have viewed the footage of Conrad’s field ace and muttered, “Holy [bleep], that was amazing.”
If this is the reason, I get it.
But it’s not witty.
And it doesn’t work for disc golf.
The dictionary defines “holy” as “dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose.” James seems like a nice enough guy. He strolls around a disc golf course with his happy, elfin bounce.
But he doesn’t come off as overtly religious. And he certainly didn’t cross himself, “Tebow” or even look to the heavens in gratitude, à la JohnE McCray after his immaculate (lol) birdie.
There was ZERO religious about the occasion.
It was a disc golf tournament.
And an exciting one, at that.
The “Holy Shot” name is corny; it doesn’t fit the context. It’s an unnecessarily silly reference to something that was sport-defining – not funny. Conrad’s moment deserves a more serious brand. Unfortunately, the phrase stuck. And once the PDGA’s “Holy Shot” documentary dropped …
There was no turning back.
Good for James Conrad, of course.
Still, his accomplishment deserves better than a trite cliché.
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Conrad looks kind of like Jesus. That’s the “holy” part.
Hey, that makes sense!
I think it works, because of the “miraculous” aspect of things.
So it’s not that the shot’s “holy” or anything, but for it to have even happened, divine intervention would’ve been required.
Not seriously, but it’s meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, methinks.
His initials are also JC.
Steven, you are over thinking this one.
“…used to show that you think something is surprising, shocking, or impressive:”
From the Cambridge Dictionary.
If you don’t like that the shot is named after a swear….fine. But Holy Shot does work.
Wow interesting what people find problems with these days. I believe it was called holyshot because it was a miracle shot. Not really hard to figure out probably not something to get offended by
Although I am certainly not offended by the nickname, I would have preferred a different moniker. As a Christian, I’ve never loved the connection of a person who “looks like Jesus” and a common curse phrase…however, what’s done is done.
Side note…I think in an article like this, if the issue is the nickname, shouldn’t alternate(and more applicable) names be put forth?
Enjoyed the read as always, thank you.
That’s fair criticism …
Steve-O?
What say ye?
I just never saw why Conrad’s shot needed to be named. And “Holy Shot” just seems incongruous. But if it HAD to be named, it should be something that actually connects to disc golf: Miracle shot, super throw-in, great field ace…
No offense…. Those are terrible substitutes.
It really was a Holy ShOt moment.
Yeah, nickname’s aren’t easy. I tend to like ones that rhyme(“Miracle in the Meadowlands” or “War by the Shore”)…but using Ogden or Utah is tough(I tried).
People name things so that they can reference them later. There are plenty of shots that could be called miracle shot. It’s simply gives a title for quicker recognition. I guess writing articles to criticize things that make no difference is what we do these days. It certainly turns some people off.
I agree. It was a good shot, but we’ve also seen lots of aces and throw-ins from that distance and further. Yeah, this one is special given the context, but “holy shot” is a bit much. The fact that the PDGA made a documentary about it is just silly. It doesn’t need a name. It’s the “2021 World’s Conrad throw-in” if you need to refer to it. The commemorative discs are fine.
Oddly enough, those commemorative Envys sold horribly …
That was weird.