American Disc Golf Association

[discgolftom]

You are fortunate to be starting your venture in a time when it is literally almost impossible to fail in terms of attracting players to disc golf events.

I agree and thus my reasoning for getting into the Sport.

I may have glossed over it in reading the thread but have you ever played the game? What was your introduction to it if not?

My God-Son, Jamie, loves the game. Plays almost daily. He was living in upstate SC and moved back home to Georgia the first week of December. My youngest Son, Austin, a 16 y/o is his best friend. They started to go play at the course here in Bulloch County all the time and have lot's of fun. Jamie would give Austin some discs and they'd go compete.

I grabbed a few discs and went to our high school football field to throw. I have a bad back and rotator cuff - I just couldn't do it. But - I came home and watched some videos of some local Tournaments. I immediately loved Disc Golf. I wanted to participate, but couldn't as a Player, so since my skills include hosting events / tournaments, I decided to create a Tournament Series and have fun with the sport.

So - I reached out to the PDGA on Monday and got a little info, but the man I needed to work with was headed to vacation till the 4th. So - I reached out to some local TD's to get their opinion on the state of the Sport. They invited me to come play ( talk ) with them one day soon, and I'm going to volunteer at their upcoming Tournaments as well. I then reached out to a few Vendors to get their opinion, they were 100% confident that the Sport was going to grow.

A few days later, I put together a basic idea of the concept that I wanted to create. I ran it by these same TD's and Vendors and they loved the idea. After reviewing my concept - one Vendor went as far as to say " That sounds really good. I think you will get a full field. "

Jamie, had mentioned it to a few Players and they too loved the idea.

Please note that imo playing the game is not a prerequisite for running a successful event. Covid has propelled disc golf onto a trajectory that is going to have folks from outside the game recognizing potential value in it. Just as the legions of young talented players are coming so will people with experience marketing and promoting things other than disc golf events. Whether the game is ready for this in the longer term remains in question but in 2021 it will be hard to fail if your metric for succeeding is attracting players.

Agreed. The Southern Classic Tournament via the ADGA will be a HUGE success if we do what we say we are going to do. Only time will tell.

Hopefully, we will get the PDGA's blessing on our divisions and payouts. Would love for them to sanction our Tournaments.

Thanks for input. Glad to see there are a few Peeps here that get it . . .

 

[discgolftom]

No doubt. You only need a small percentage of available players, to fill an event these days.

We only need 72 Players total per Qualifier and have all 4 Qualifiers fill up to make the Championship event the best it can be . . .

Still thinking if we are going to advance 72 players, 4 per tee -or- advance 90 players and have 5 per tee.

 

[Deej]

Foursome>five some

 

[captain jack]

What would Jesus do ?

 

[biscoe]

Hopefully, we will get the PDGA's blessing on our divisions and payouts. Would love for them to sanction our Tournaments.

Thanks for input. Glad to see there are a few Peeps here that get it . . .

I get some things. Those of us have worked on disc golf events for a long time can easily get caught in a status quo mentality that is a bit self-limiting. On the other hand the growth numbers say that what we have been doing does work. Whether that is due to us or in spite of us who can say?

I believe you will find there is some sort of way to mold your format to fit PDGA guidelines. I also believe you will have a much easier time of your entire endeavor if you are running sanctioned events.

On the other hand I have an enormous philosophical problem with the concept of "amateur" events which sell themselves on the basis of "look how much stuff we give you." Other sports do not do this. It devalues organized competition for its own sake as well as the concept of amateurism in general.

 

[biscoe]

Foursome>five some

Amen.:thmbup:

 

[discgolftom]

I believe you will find there is some sort of way to mold your format to fit PDGA guidelines. I also believe you will have a much easier time of your entire endeavor if you are running sanctioned events.

Hopefully the PDGA will. I'll know next week. Sanctioning is the way to go since we will be attracting PDGA players. Might as well make the play performance help their rating, etc.

On the other hand I have an enormous philosophical problem with the concept of "amateur" events which sell themselves on the basis of "look how much stuff we give you." Other sports do not do this. It devalues organized competition for its own sake as well as the concept of amateurism in general.

I believe an Amateur winning prizes and not cash is ok.

What competitor really wants to play for a trophy or plaque?

I'm going to research some previous pro tournament payouts later this weekend.

 

[hiflyer]

I believe you will find there is some sort of way to mold your format to fit PDGA guidelines. I also believe you will have a much easier time of your entire endeavor if you are running sanctioned events.

Hopefully the PDGA will. I'll know next week. Sanctioning is the way to go since we will be attracting PDGA players. Might as well make the play performance help their rating, etc.

If I've misinterpreted your response posertom, sorry.
Why do you keep thinking the PDGA has to bend for you? YOU need to comply to THEIR standards.

 

[biscoe]

What competitor really wants to play for a trophy or plaque?

Literally millions of them across virtually every extant sport. Believe it or not the vast majority of those millions aren't even playing for the trophy or plaque.

 

[Jay Dub]

If I had a choice of a trophy or a couple hundred $$ I'd take the trophy. You can make money anywhere. It takes more work to get that trophy and it'll last longer than the money.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Hopefully, we will get the PDGA's blessing on our divisions and payouts. Would love for them to sanction our Tournaments.

Thanks for input. Glad to see there are a few Peeps here that get it . . .

I don't think YOU get it. I really do not understand what in the world you are talking about getting the PDGA's blessing. As I've said before there are 2 steps to getting the PDGA to sanction your event: Pay the PDGA. Abide by PDGA rules. It really is that simple.

You're comment seems to indicate you want to do something outside of the established PDGA standards which is not going to go well for you. In other words - it ain't happening.

What competitor really wants to play for a trophy or plaque?

Answer: A LOT.

I just ran a tourney this past October that was an AM only trophy only event in compliance with the true amature guidelines that the PDGA has. We capped the field at 84 and sold out all the slots about 10 days prior and had players on the wait list and this is only the second year we've run the event.

I'm going to research some previous pro tournament payouts later this weekend.

I thought you said your event was going to be an AM event? Why the research into pro payouts?

 

[discgolftom]

Why do you keep thinking the PDGA has to bend for you? YOU need to comply to THEIR standards.

I don't expect them to "bend" for us and make our concept work. I'm just hoping they will so that they can sanction our Events.

It's a no-brainer that we'd have an easier road if our events were sanctioned by the PDGA. Would be great for us, the Players and the Sponsors.

However - we don't have to "comply" with anything. We have options.

 

[discgolftom]

Originally Posted by discgolftom:

" Hopefully, we will get the PDGA's blessing on our divisions and payouts. Would love for them to sanction our Tournaments. "

I don't think YOU get it. I really do not understand what in the world you are talking about getting the PDGA's blessing. As I've said before there are 2 steps to getting the PDGA to sanction your event: Pay the PDGA. Abide by PDGA rules. It really is that simple.

They have the X categorization. Perhaps our concept may qualify as "Experimental". I won't know till I ask next week . . . Would be great for everyone if they do. However - we have options if they don't.

Originally Posted by discgolftom:

" I'm going to research some previous pro tournament payouts later this weekend. "

I thought you said your event was going to be an AM event? Why the research into pro payouts?

I wonder if our Champions Prize of a 4wheeler, Jetski, etc may be close to what a Pro may earn at a smaller Pro Tournament. I'm curious to see.

 

[davetherocketguy]

They have the X categorization. Perhaps our concept may qualify as "Experimental". I won't know till I ask next week . . . Would be great for everyone if they do. However - we have options if they don't.

So what exactly out of the norm would you doing to warrant the X-Tier status?

 

[discgolftom]

So what exactly out of the norm would you doing to warrant the X-Tier status?

~ Amateurs Only

~ Advanced - will be 900+ and Intermediate will be 899 and under. Advanced can not play down - but, Intermediate can play up if they wish.

~ If someone doesn't have a PDGA rating - they have to play in Advanced.

~ Top 4 in each Qualifier earn a Trophy / Plaque.

~ 90% of all the Player Entry Fees from each Qualifier [ 4 ] will be paid out to a certain # of places in Championship - with the Champions Prize being a 4wheeler, Jetski, etc. If all 4 Qualifiers sell out - this Champions Prize will be worth more than $10,000!

Based on what I've read and what has been mentioned on this forum - our concept as is may not qualify to be sanctioned by the PDGA.

 

[tallpaul]

No doubt. You only need a small percentage of available players, to fill an event these days.

Of course, by that metric, the American Open (ADGT) was a success, too. They drew about 70 players and the tournament happened.

Just for the record; a car load of some of my favorite people traveled all the way from St. Louis for this event; and had an absolute blast, and nothing but great stories to tell of said adventure...

 

[norlon]

The Charlotte Amateur Championships in 2019 had 349 players and was trophy only. Players come because it is run well on awesome courses and had a sweet players pack.

Cutting off the divisions at 900 will lose you a lot of 900-930ish rated players that will have no chance in advanced.

A 4-wheeler or Jet Ski doesn't sound like that cool of a prize for the average disc golfer, who would need land, access to water or at least a vehicle with a trailer to haul it somewhere they could use it. The winner of your event will probably be a teenager or 20-something without any of those things.

 

[DavidSauls]

Just for the record; a car load of some of my favorite people traveled all the way from St. Louis for this event; and had an absolute blast, and nothing but great stories to tell of said adventure...

I met a few of the Am players. We had a disc store in Columbia at the time, and some came by to buy discs -- with the irony that we made more money off the event than Salient did. Some may have come to Stoney Hill while in town, as well. But, you're right, they all loved it. Why, I didn't ask; a long drive and huge entry fee to play on a golf course. But they did.

 

[discgolftom]

Here is a screen shot from a Pro/Am last month.

Total Purse $10,176

Men's Open Winner made $1,171

# players in last place made $86.

Our Amateur Champion can win a brand new 4wheeler, Jetski, etc with a MSRP of $10,000 by paying only $100 in Entry Fees + gas to play in a Qualifier and the Championship.

 

[DavidSauls]

~ Amateurs Only

~ Advanced - will be 900+ and Intermediate will be 899 and under. Advanced can not play down - but, Intermediate can play up if they wish.

~ If someone doesn't have a PDGA rating - they have to play in Advanced.

~ Top 4 in each Qualifier earn a Trophy / Plaque.

~ 90% of all the Player Entry Fees from each Qualifier [ 4 ] will be paid out to a certain # of places in Championship - with the Champions Prize being a 4wheeler, Jetski, etc. If all 4 Qualifiers sell out - this Champions Prize will be worth more than $10,000!

Based on what I've read and what has been mentioned on this forum - our concept as is may not qualify to be sanctioned by the PDGA.

* Amateur only is permitted without making a special request.

* Divisions will be permitted if, instead of calling it Intermediate, you call the <900 Recreational. (Yeah, I know, it's a dumb name, but that's another thread. Shorten it to "Rec" so it doesn't sound so bad).

* Assigning unrated players to the top division is permitted.

*** The waivers you need are (1) less than 100% payout in qualifiers, (2) winner-take-all payout in finals, and (3) Finals being open only to qualifiers, instead of open to anyone.

#3 is probably the easiest.