Ironically it was the same players slow play that caused this to be an issue in the first place. At which point they received a group warning to speed things up.I watched it but was also doing other things so missed the conversation about it aspect evidently.
As a TD I take issue with the "inmates running the asylum" aspect of it to begin with- someone in a position of (supposed) authority struggled with the decision and decided enough is enough. That should have been it right there. There are potential safety issues with wandering around the woods in the dark as well as potential issues with play like simply being unable to find a disc. Your staff has been out there since some time very early in the morning and have to stick around because the players decide not to listen when the round is called for the day. Your spectators are wandering around in the dark woods as well. Your coverage looks like sh*t because it was shot in the dark., etc.
I see it as no different than deciding to continue to play in a lightning delay- just a lesser degree of safety concern.
In a supposedly self-officiated sport there are many decisions that the players get to make which dictate how things go (including enforcing/not enforcing speed of play rules which is partially how they got to that point to begin with)- this simply is not one of them.
I agree with most of your points. As I recall, the only time darkness was an issue was in the wooded part of hole 18. Once the were in the open there was still enough daylight.
The PDGA guidelines for TDs don't specifically mention darkness I don't believe.
The main concern was forcing everyone, players, staff, media, to get to course 2 hours early in the morning, causing a different batch of logistical issues.
I'm ok with the way it played out. The players didn't go rogue. They discussed with tourney staff and received the ok to proceed. If only they didn't play so slow earlier it wouldn't have been an issue
This is the second time in last few weeks they finished in the dark. I don't recall which tourney, but same scenario played out where they finished in the dark due to weather delay.