The Great 8

[Olorin]

Have you ever dreamed of playing disc golf from sunrise to sundown? If so, come join us to play 144 holes on 8 central NC courses in one day! The Great Eight, North Carolina's 11th annual Disc Golf Ironman competition, will be held on Sat. June 20th. We start at dawn and play until dark

We only play doubles for flow of play, so find a partner and come tackle these 8 courses.

The emphasis is on having fun meeting the challenge, but there are also awards in several categories as well as several extra prizes.

Pre-registration is required because we start at dawn. There are only a limited number of spots available, and we expect a full field. Also, the best starting holes will be given out in the order that registrations are received, so it benefits you to register early.

Unfortunately, though, I’ll have to give you the pre-registration information soon because we’ve run into a glitch in the system. So check back here often for more details.

You won't want to miss the fun!

[tamahawk]

I wish I was close enough to play in the Great8, sounds like a blast!
Eight courses, one day, WOW~

[t i m]

I'll ask the obvious: what are the eight courses? And can you hyperlink them to the course reviews to get people curious... if there are some great courses in there, it will add to the desire for people to roadtrip down to play.

[solomon.trenton]

that would be freaking awesome. stupid job and it being too far away. :( drats!!!!!

[SomeChump]

I need a partner.

[Olorin]

Here are the courses that we'll play.


Zebulon (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2045http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2045)
Cedar Hills, Raleigh (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=396)
Kentwood, Raleigh (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=523)
Buckhorn, New Hill (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=199)
UNC (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1078), Chapel Hill
Valley Springs (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1959), Durham
Wellspring (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1089), Burlington
Cedarock (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=488), Burlington

Unless some other old guys show up I'm looking forward to setting the GrandMaster's record and once again setting the record for the oldest player. I'll be the first 50 year old to play the Great 8, but this will be my 11th time to do it, so hopefully it'll go OK. (In 2008 we we got behind schedule and had to play the final 10 holes in 18 minutes after already playing 134 holes!)

[sonny]

Olorin,
I'm telling you buddy, your "old man" record will be toast. Now that I have the date, I'll be locking up my partner this weekend. We'll be there and we'll be finishing. I'm 55. Not sure, but my prospective partner is probably over 50 too.

Be sure to post up the sign-up info when it's set.

[TalbotTrojan]

Sounds like fun to me. I wish I could be there. Maybe someone in Central NC will give me a job so I can be there in the future.

[Tolbert]

Hi Olorin, any info on pre-registration yet? 4 PA/Delawarians are planning to come down to represent. Thanks

[War Eagle]

how far of a drive from Columbia?

[Olorin]

Raleigh is 3.5 hours from Columbia SC.

[Olorin]

You can find more information at the Great 8 website (http://www.thegreat8.com/). I'm sorry, but there have been some technical difficulties and the website isn't fully functional yet. Registration should be working by May 17, but you should go ahead and email Jay Pontier now, to let him know that you're interested. Your registration won't be final until you've paid, though. We expect to fill again, so you probably want to check the website every day until you're registered. In addition to discs in the Players Pack there will also be substantial prizes for a long drive contest, a last shot of the day CTP, and Ring of Fire. These are only available to players who finish all 8 courses, though.

[SomeChump]

Bummer. Gotta work that day now.

[sonny]

All right Lowe... I'm hoping there is still space for another team in the Great 8. My registration form went into the mail today, so Jay should probably have it tomorrow. Saturday at the worst.

I'm really looking forward to it! Any training tips?

[Tolbert]

Its on! the tri-state area (DE,PA & NJ) will be sending 2 teams to represent! this Saturday we're playing 7 courses in the northern DE area as a warm up/get an idea of what we've signed up for. (since iron hill (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2737) is one of them you could say 8 courses in distance)
Excited!

[Olorin]

Here are some training tips as you prepare for the adventure of the Great 8.

Go to Great 8 Training (http://sites.google.com/site/dgresources2/Home/great-8/great-8-training).
You might also be interested in a fun training game called TRS (http://sites.google.com/site/dgresources2/Home/great-8/great-8-training/g8-training--trs) if you have a large park with a walking path around it near you.

Here are the tips from that site, too:


Seek to build up your endurance because you’ll be walking about 14 miles or more. Fast walk as often as possible.
Play Speed (Time + Throws). You’re trying for the best combination of time and throws. Your score is your time (converted to a decimal) + the number of throws. You can find the complete rules for Speed in the Files section of Disc Golf Resources (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/DGResources/files/Practice%2C%20Training%2C%20%26%20Games/).
Work on your ability to play quickly.
Build up your tolerance for heat. Try to play or train around 12:00 noon as much as possible.
Practice putting. Play putting games to make it more fun.
Lose weight, if needed, so that you’re not carrying around extra pounds.
Strengthen your back. For some players back pain from bending over hundreds of times can be the greatest source of pain the next day. During the tournament make sure to bend correctly or you’ll pay for it later.
Invent games to make your training more fun.
If needed, about 10 days before the tournament start going to bed earlier each night and waking up earlier, so that you’re acclimated to getting up very early on tournament day and starting at sunrise.

[sonny]

Excited here too!

I have a logistics-type question -- Are teams matched up with another team to play with or do teams play separately? I've heard about a team one year that played speed golf, gunning for the fastest time on the courses. Team members sped ahead of their partner to speed play along. One partner would be left to putt while the other headed straight for the next tee - that sort of thing. That's cool for teams that want to do that, but if we're paired with another team; this could be frustrating for both teams.

I'm thinking fresh shirts, socks, and shoes to change into will help. I'm also thinking the beer at the end will be special sweet!

The funniest thing to me is the long drive contest at the end. Like I'd have a prayer if this competition was held first thing. :D

[Olorin]

Everyone who registers will receive a long document with all of the information you need. There's a long list of things to bring and prepare.

Because of the unique nature of this event we play in pairs, so it's just you and your doubles partner. You're not paired with any other teams because as you point out that would be logistically impossible. Not to mention that you couldn't play fast enough as a foursome to finish by dark. That can only be done by pairs who keep moving.

BTW, if you want something to aim for the record to finish the 8 courses, playing time only, is 3 hr 39 min. That's an avg of 27 min per course! Held by Frank Murray and TJ Murray in 2007.

[mashnut]

Holy cow! :eek: I could probably do one or maybe two courses at that pace, but 8 is nuts!

[Tolbert]

The 2 tri-state area teams did a warm up run this past Saturday in the northern delaware area. We played-

Lums Pond (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=62)
Iron Hill (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2737&mode=ci) (in the 10,000+ ft gold tee layout)
Riverview (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1761)
Belleview (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1001)
Brandywine (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=40&mode=ci) &
Anson B Nixon (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=50)

The day after I was really feeling it, but the day of I felt great and we set a nice pace for ourselves.
Just over 2 weeks to go!

[magictenor1]

Is there any truth to the rumour that this year's great 8 will include a side trip to the famous hole on #8?

[sonny]

Is there any truth to the rumour that this year's great 8 will include a side trip to the famous hole on #8?

I'm looking forward to # 8 at Buckhorn. It's a short downhill shot with a big beautiful OB lake behind the basket. Kinda like down a hole.

Just a week away now.

[magictenor1]

I truly wish I could be there with you guys. i will be in Texas the weekend of the forth and after and do plan to play a lot.

[sonny]

I'm getting really psyched about the Great 8.

It's been ten years since I've played three of the courses: Valley Springs and the Burlington courses. And I've never played UNC. Playing Buckhorn has always been a treat for me. When I moved from Durham in '96, Valley Springs was only about three years old. I've heard great things about how it's grown and I'm excited about playing there again.

What an adventure! Eight great courses in one day! And a tournament? Whoa - sign me up! Oh yeah, I AM signed up. Alll right. The bucket's getting closer to the fan.

So should I take a couple days off next week to rest, or just keep playing every day?

[trashbaby]

just saw that there are only 4 groups playing pro. Ya'll have fun in the other divisions. You're gonna have to run and shoot well to have a chance to win advanced or intermediate

[Olorin]

A few items about the Great 8...



I'm bringing DGCR Travel Tag #3 with me, so if you have one to swap bring it and we'll do it in Burlington after we finish.
If you're a DGCR regular, like the PA/DE guys, would you please PM me with your real name? I've got Sonny and Tolbert, but I'd like to know any others so that I know who to look for on Sat. I'm one of the guys helping to organize this tournament, so please make sure to say hi. Everyone on the tournament committee is jazzed that there are teams coming from PA, Delaware, VA, and other states. I think I heard NJ and Boston too.
You can see the Division that each team is registered for at the Great 8 Divisions google doc (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rLaQ6nUPsv0X_vsyaJfWu0Q).

I can't wait until Saturday! It looks like it'll be about 98-99 degrees, so be prepared!!

[sonny]

just saw that there are only 4 groups playing pro. Ya'll have fun in the other divisions. You're gonna have to run and shoot well to have a chance to win advanced or intermediate

Win?? ROFL! Just to finish this adventure is a big win for me. ;)

Lowe - If you want some competition in Masters (and if it would be allowed), I could probably convince my partner to switch. We're old enough. :p Both of us are really just in it for the good times.

[Tolbert]

Heck Yes!! The 2 tri-state area teams are pumped! (you heard right Olorin, 1 of the 4 of us lives in NJ)
I'll be sure to give you a bleary eyed hello Saturday morning.

[kerplunk]

Is there any truth to the rumour that this year's great 8 will include a side trip to the famous hole on #8?

very nice.

i am going on stupid vacation this weekend- i even had someone ask me if i wanted to play. maybe next year...:mad:

[lko102]

This sounds like a lot of fun! Too bad Illinois is so far away...Good luck to everyone that does manage to play.

[Olorin]

The results of the Great Heat... err... I mean Great 8... have been posted. Click the hyperlink for Great 8 Results (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rXzR7fuxiTnPhZ8761dmm2A). Make sure to look at the bottom to click on the 2nd worksheet "Winners" too.

A special shout out of congratulations to Sonny and Tolbert who tied for 3rd in their division! Sonny also captured the record for "Oldest Player" at age 55. After 5 courses Sonny & Tim were tied for the lead! They were also 4 ahead of Tolbert & Anthony. Sonny & Tim were in 2nd after the 7th course, Wellspring having the 2nd best Int score there. Unfortunately, on the 8th course (Cedarock) they faded a bit while Tolbert and Anthony turned in the 2nd best Int score, to end in a tie for 3rd place. Pretty cool that DGCR teams did so well. And it was quite an accomplishment for Sonny, playing against guys much younger!

I played Singles so my scores didn't count for awards. I did set the GrandMasters (or really the "Intermediate GrandMasters") record with a blazing 455! (I hope you caught the sarcasm.) That's 18 over par (of 437). Woo hoo! By no means very good, but it's become about my average. At least I've got one "Old guy" record, though.

[t i m]

Olorin,
Sounds like a great event. Sorry I couldn't make it down... instead my brother and I did a much less strenuous 118-hole day of our own, playing the courses in Richmond, VA... we couldn't get the time off from work to make the drive and play the Great 8, but it sounds awesome, and we were out there all day, playing in spirit (even if we didn't get in as many holes as you all did). Hope to make the event sometime in the future.
Congratulations on your old guy record.

And props to the winners -- some of those scores are ridiculous. Even for doubles. The winners were shooting between -12 and -13 average per course, which is pretty impressive.

I'd love to see a similar challenge in some other parts of the country... like an MD challenge with Seneca, Ptap, Rockburn, Druid... 4 courses, 90 holes, but I can promise no pair would be shooting double digits down on most of those courses...

Great idea and well done.

[SomeChump]

Olorin,
Sounds like a great event. Sorry I couldn't make it down... instead my brother and I did a much less strenuous 118-hole day of our own, playing the courses in Richmond, VA... we couldn't get the time off from work to make the drive and play the Great 8, but it sounds awesome, and we were out there all day, playing in spirit (even if we didn't get in as many holes as you all did). Hope to make the event sometime in the future.
Congratulations on your old guy record.

And props to the winners -- some of those scores are ridiculous. Even for doubles. The winners were shooting between -12 and -13 average per course, which is pretty impressive.

I'd love to see a similar challenge in some other parts of the country... like an MD challenge with Seneca, Ptap, Rockburn, Druid... 4 courses, 90 holes, but I can promise no pair would be shooting double digits down on most of those courses...

Great idea and well done.

Maybe we should put together the Tidewater 110? Start at New Quarter, Newport News, Bennett's Creek, Ace Run, Munden Point, and finish at Bayville? By the time you got to the longer drives you'd need the break anyway!

[DiscJunkie]

I regret that I couldn't make it. My 20yr old son had to work.
I'm already thinking about next year...

[Olorin]

I regret that I couldn't make it. My 20yr old son had to work.
I'm already thinking about next year...
Bummer! Bring it on down!! Where do you live?

In 2010 there will be some significant changes to the courses played in the venue. That's all I can say for now... so stay tuned... ;)

[pokamitch]

O, you need to find a course to end with that can have lights set up. Even solar units or a generator thing on a 9'r that can be played for 18.... just a thought.

[Olorin]

We're working on the date for the 2010 Great 8. Some changes and surprises are in the works, so stay tuned.

[hogleggbob]

man i wanted to do this tourney, but its the same weekend as the charlotte am championships... bummer

[sloppydisc]

I want in, and hoping the date doesn't occur on the same day as my daughter's dance recital again. I just need a little luck, and some dumb enough to be my partner. Keep us posted.

[sonny]

Saw my buddy Tim at the local monthly today and asked if we're teaming up fot the Great 8 again this year. Count us in! We'll be back. We may be old, but we ain't scared of you kids.

[rjmimagery1]

Is it too late to register? I've got 2 potentials for partners, just depends on which one wants to do it the most! I'll reg. tonight if possible! Thanks!

[Frank Delicious]

Registration hasn't opened yet and it looks like the Burlington courses are going to be out this year. Tentatively the new courses are going to be Middle Creek and Leigh Farms. It will end at Valley Springs.

[AdamCaudle]

Could I get a link?

Nvm found it.

[Frank Delicious]

http://thegreat8.com/

[AdamCaudle]

But it all says 2009 dates. Do you know any info for this year?

[Frank Delicious]

It has not been updated yet. It will be sometime mid to late july. You got some time.

[AdamCaudle]

Ahhh okay, cool. There's a good chance I will be there with my friend Adam.

[Olorin]

The 2010 Great 8 will be July 24th.

I'm one of the planners and this is official. The website and online registration will be updated soon.

There will be changes to the venue. We won't be playing the Burlington courses, and we will be adding Middle Creek, but the 8th course hasn't been finalized. We'll end at Valley Springs.

Look for more info at The Great 8 (http://www.thegreat8.com/) website.

[AdamCaudle]

I look forward to playing it this year!

[Olorin]

Since we're moving the Great 8 to all Triangle courses we've been debating which course to play as #7 since there are several new courses in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Durham. We've decided that this is somewhat of a transition year, and the new courses still need a little more maturing, so the 7th course of 2010 will be...

...Cornwallis

OK it's short, but it's well known, easy to navigate, and right on the route to Valley Springs from UNC. I don't foresee this as being permanent, but only for this transitional year.

[Tolbert]

sweet, hopefully a deuce fest. short tees or long?

[sonny]

I'll enjoy playing Cornwallis. Lot of sentimental value for me, plus it's a course (like Kentwood) where you can leave the bag in the car and just carry 3-4 discs without your score suffering.

So Lowe -- are you planning to play doubles and join the competition or will you play singles again this year?

Glad I got registered before the field filled up. Bring it on!

[Tolbert]

Less than 4 weeks now!! Who's training? Seems the website is down, any word on that? The tri-state teams are getting excited!

[sonny]

The Great 8 is coming up quick now and I'm getting psyched. Ten days eh? I don't get out much, so playing all the Triangle courses is gonna be a real treat for me. I've managed to get in a round in at Cedar Hills, a round and a half at Buckhorn, and a couple rounds at Zeb this season. Hope my game holds up another couple weekends. For an old man, I seem to be playing pretty well lately.

Haven't seen my partner in a couple weeks, but he's registered for the Midtown Chiropractic tourney this weekend. It plays half the Great 8 courses. That's gotta help.

Hope the humidity drops. Been brutal the last couple days. But I'm in training!

[Olorin]

Less than 4 days until the Great 8!

We may be in for another Great Heat since the weather forecast for Sat is 97 degrees. Please make sure to get yourself as heat acclimated (http://www.acefitness.org/fitnessqanda/fitnessqanda_display.aspx?itemid=281) as you can (although it takes 10-14 days). Please be familiar with the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heat-stroke/DS01025/DSECTION=causes). Thankfully we get breaks to cool off between rounds. Frogg toggs or cool ties might come in handy.

Regardless of the heat it'll be a full day of fun and hucking discs. I've been training for several months, so I can't wait!

[Tolbert]

Farmers lock up your daughters. The Crew is in North Carolina.

[sloppydisc]

Forecast now says 99 with a heat index of 109! This should be fun. I won't say I have really trained for it, but I have logged around 1000 miles on my bike this summer, and have been playing as much as I can squeeze in. I have tons of water and snacks so I should be fine. Now my partner may be another story. Is there a high score prize? The way I have been playing lately leads me to believe I have a chance.

[Frank Delicious]

It's on like a very very hot donkey kong

[Buzzhenn]

Hope you all have fun and stay cool tomorrow. Wish I could join you, but I started playing (and found this site) after it filled up. Good Luck and Stay Safe.

[sloppydisc]

I am currently doing my warm-ups for the first round at 6:30 AM tomorrow. I have found that somewhere between 4 and 6 cold beers followed by about 7 hours of sleep keeps me loose. Good luck to all tomorrow, it should be fun. My first tourney will be 8 rounds. I am a fool!

[sloppydisc]

Thanks to everybody that made the Great 8 happen as well as to those that played. I had a great time even though it was a bit toasty out there. Today will be a day of kicking back for me. Hope everybody survived and is well today. There were a lot of people limping and hurting last night.

[chrishysell]

What courses did you play this year? I remember doing this back in the day, quite possibly the very first one. Two guys ran and finished about 2:30 in the afternoon, many hours before the last groups.

BTW, the heat index hit 112 today in Raleigh, they just reported it on the national news.

[sloppydisc]

Zebulon
Cedar Hills
Kentwood
Middle Creek
Buckhorn
UNC
Cornwallis
Valley Springs

Long day, and hot as HELL, but a good time.

[billnchristy]

Great job for all those who competed. We held our monthly mixed doubles today and only one other couple showed up because of the heat...wah wah.

[Plankeye]

I know the two guys you are talking about Hysell. They had trained to run a marathon the year before so they were able to run the courses and complete it that quickly.

I think that was also the year that OHO was on the same weekend. I met them at Burlington on the way back to Raleigh and we played 1 round at Cedarock left handed.

[Frank Delicious]

I slept until 2 pm on sunday. It was awesome.

[sloppydisc]

But did you win the long drive? Or couldn't anyone tell since it was dark? I left after the ace on the CTP contest. My daughter's B'Day party was Sunday and I had to get up early. The extended activities ran too late for us old guys.

[Frank Delicious]

No, Norris threw an r-pro boss something like 159 meters which was way farther than anything I was gonna muster.

[U_NICED_ME]

I cannot believe you did this on Sat, it was one of the hottest days ever!!! Congrats to you all!!! :)

[sloppydisc]

Next year the Sweet Sixteen! Then we can play almost all the courses in the area. But maybe we should make that more than a 1 day event.

[Olorin]

Congratulations to everyone who played in the Great 8 (and survived the 114 degree heat index!) This was the hottest Great 8 in 12 years!

You can find the results here (http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AluMDr96n2fSdExxVmZmTUdXMlo5aUM3STkyZlhmM VE&hl=en&pli=1#gid=0).

Here's a link to a nice news article in the Cary News-- Disc golfers go for a spin in Cary (http://www.carynews.com/2010/07/28/19419/disc-golfers-go-for-a-spin-in.html).

Tolbert, Joshua and their crew get the award for traveling the farthest. Good to see sloppydisc, FrankD, and Sonny braving the sun.

[Tolbert]

Congratulations to everyone who played in the Great 8 (and survived the 114 degree heat index!) This was the hottest Great 8 in 12 years!


Tolbert, Joshua and their crew get the award for traveling the farthest.

Sweet! the tri-state crew had a blast! we hope to make it 3 years in a row in 2011! Til then, take it easy NCers, hit me up if you find yourself in delaware.