NT, PT, and Majors dates and locations are officially announced:
https://www.pdga.com/news/2021-pdga-elite-series-schedule-announced
https://www.pdga.com/news/2021-pdga-elite-series-schedule-announced
-
Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)
2021 Elite Series and Majors schedule announced
- Thread starter ToddL
- Start date
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
I think we'll need to wait and see what manufacturers are the main sponsor for each event to determine why some events may be on or off the elite schedule. If either Discraft or the local team reduced their commitment to run the Memorial at that level or local constraints (no permission) prevented it, it won't make it on an elite tour that year.
Ultiworld talked with Jeff Spring, plus the TD of The Memorial, and both say the biggest issue was the inability to close Fountain Hills and Vista to the public during the event. It introduces conflicts and interferences every year, that elite events should be moving away from.
Maybe there's more to it behind the scenes, but that alone seems like plenty good reason to me.
https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/09/21/memorials-drop-from-the-2021-pro-tour-marks-end-of-an-era/
Maybe there's more to it behind the scenes, but that alone seems like plenty good reason to me.
https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/09/21/memorials-drop-from-the-2021-pro-tour-marks-end-of-an-era/
BillFleming
* Ace Member *
I can believe that (I was a volunteer at Vista). There was a serious issue with a member of the public that almost got the entire course shut down, but ended up getting only one hole changed. We may never know why the Memorial isn't on the tour anymore...but....
Are you familiar with Vista? Hole 9 (normal layout) is south from the overpass on the left side of the lake. You throw over the water and come back to land or throw left over the sidewalk and come back. That hole was going to be 18 for the Memorial. After the Shelly Sharpe Tournament (where they 'test' the layout), a triple mando was put up. As I heard it, a member of the public was walking the path and got hit in the face by a disc....it required stitches and the city shut down that hole for the Memorial.
I'm sure the sponsors and Spinners On The Green had to scramble to get the new layout approved.
So no way to close down the parks, too many members of the public using the park, and slow downs/backups due to waiting for the fairway/throwing path to be clear. I even witnessed members of the public walking across fairways while the tournament was happening.
Another issue may have been players going into the water to retrieve discs....wading, etc isn't allowed in the ponds.
BillFleming
* Ace Member *
It's hard to edit after posting...so
That should be:
There was a serious issue with a member of the public that could have gotten the entire course shut down, but ended up getting only one hole changed.
That should be:
There was a serious issue with a member of the public that could have gotten the entire course shut down, but ended up getting only one hole changed.
Last edited:
Casey 1988
Shun the frumious Bandersnatch!
So then Clearwater Minnesota Preserve a new tournament for the 2020 year is ran extra tournament at later date to fill in the Pro Tour nice, we can see what that course eventually becomes in the future.
Casey 1988
Shun the frumious Bandersnatch!
Duh :doh: it was new course not new tournament. My bad. I made a mistake.
I hope The Preserve uses both of the courses the new one and the older permeant course they used in past. The old Combo was using for second course a Temp Disc Golf Course that was set up on the site of new course when it was an old Traditional Golf Course
Last edited:
R-Ogre
Double Eagle Member
yay!
boo!
brutalbrutus
* Ace Member *
Ehh... Though also kinda boring, the Vegas courses are much better than Fountain and Vista...
...I just wish there was a way to entice more players to go for the eagle on the multi island hole
biscoe
* Ace Member *
Professional disc golf outgrew the Arizona courses several years ago. They are finally admitting that fact.
_MTL_
Flippy Flopper
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2008
- Messages
- 3,514
NT dropped them a long time ago because they can't close the parks. And DGPT made the same decision.
Players are gonna shoot -12 or -13 on any of these courses whether par is 56 or 70.
krupicka
Double Eagle Member
Another change is that DGPT events get NT sized halos. Scheduling A-tiers got that much harder...
I personally find this to be the sad end of an era. The Memorial is the bookend counterpart to the USDGC. To say that players have "outgrown" the courses is not accurate in my view. Fountain Hills has a couple short filler holes but the course gets judged by them unfairly. Vista isn't optimal and never was, but it is tradition. Players have always scored well on these courses, but there has still been fairly good score separation and exciting finishes. I always felt it was better to have a course that wasn't overly punishing as the opener; we are not a sport where our "athletes" can have winter training facilities, so a more forgiving course helped the snowbound players get back into the groove. I do understand the crowd issues, and those are valid reasons to pull the tournament from the tour schedule, but it doesn't make me less sad.
I also have a distaste for the newer tournaments like Vegas and Ledgestone. Those seem artificial to me. I dislike the courses for both tournaments, and their arrival and quick rise to prominence seemed contrived. I understand why the pros like them, they have lots of added cash and solid infrastructure, but as a fan I don't really care how much the purse is. I would much rather watch the KCWO. Soul counts for a lot for me, and the game of disc golf as a whole is losing a lot of soul lately. Which is weird to say. The talent is at a point where it has never been, but I don't find watching McBeth's robotic disc golf mastery entertaining. Simon is fun to watch, and Nikko is still banging, but otherwise I honestly get more entertainment out of the Jomez commentators and production than the actual disc golf being played. Of course this is the way of the world. You always value the place things were at when you first started, and then you become a slightly bitter hipster before accepting change and moving on. I'm sure disc golf is heading in a positive direction, I just can't see it right now.
I also have a distaste for the newer tournaments like Vegas and Ledgestone. Those seem artificial to me. I dislike the courses for both tournaments, and their arrival and quick rise to prominence seemed contrived. I understand why the pros like them, they have lots of added cash and solid infrastructure, but as a fan I don't really care how much the purse is. I would much rather watch the KCWO. Soul counts for a lot for me, and the game of disc golf as a whole is losing a lot of soul lately. Which is weird to say. The talent is at a point where it has never been, but I don't find watching McBeth's robotic disc golf mastery entertaining. Simon is fun to watch, and Nikko is still banging, but otherwise I honestly get more entertainment out of the Jomez commentators and production than the actual disc golf being played. Of course this is the way of the world. You always value the place things were at when you first started, and then you become a slightly bitter hipster before accepting change and moving on. I'm sure disc golf is heading in a positive direction, I just can't see it right now.
BillFleming
* Ace Member *
BTW - the Memorial is still on for March....just won't be part of the Elite tour....it's been dropped to an A tier.
_MTL_
Flippy Flopper
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2008
- Messages
- 3,514
Maybe not.
https://www.pdga.com/news/2021-tier-request-form-now-available
"The number of A-Tiers will be limited, with no more than about 100 tournaments in the United States being sanctioned at that level. Unfortunately, that means not all events requesting status will receive it—even those that have previously run as A-Tiers. "
Of course I can't imagine this one doesn't get an A tier slot.
But kudos to the PDGA. Another decision of quality of quantity.
biscoe
* Ace Member *
A Tiers have been limited for at least the past few years. IMO it is ridiculous. If they want fewer they should raise the standards. It's not like they have any A Tier "brand" they are protecting at this point nor does the PDGA provide any support to them beyond what is provided a C Tier.
Flick Maniac
* Ace Member *
Personalities are fun and add to the experience, but for me its always the magic of the perfect unbelievable flight that keeps me watching. No matter if its a faceless drone who threw the shot.
