Biggest reason people don't play tournaments

[rd.bittle]

My question is why not? In my example, 12:45-3:15 would be 2 1/2 hours. Most courses are somewhere between 5000-9000 feet. Say 3 1/2 miles walking at most.

Some folks walk like they have cement boots on. Sloth along at a slow pace. I'm not saying rush through a round. Just wish people would move at a reasonable pace and be ready to throw when it's their turn. If 2 round tourneys took 6 hours instead of 9, I'd probably play in one almost every weekend. The pace drives me crazy, so I play in about 5 or 6 a year.

This would give you 2.5 hours for first round, 45 min for lunch, then 2.5 hours for 2nd round.

While this could work, in a perfect world, People aren't exactly equal. The groups would have to be 3 and all really close in ability. Zero lost discs. No holes that cause even a 10 min wait for any group. Ect..................
...............

 

[DanJon]

Hanging out with friends and disc golfing for 9 hours? That sounds horrible :|

So you are always on a card with your friends?

 

[bradharris]

My question is why not? In my example, 12:45-3:15 would be 2 1/2 hours. Most courses are somewhere between 5000-9000 feet. Say 3 1/2 miles walking at most.

Some folks walk like they have cement boots on. Sloth along at a slow pace. I'm not saying rush through a round. Just wish people would move at a reasonable pace and be ready to throw when it's their turn. If 2 round tourneys took 6 hours instead of 9, I'd probably play in one almost every weekend. The pace drives me crazy, so I play in about 5 or 6 a year.

Your example was 1-3 which is 2 hours. And that doesn't take into account the time the TD needs to finalize the cards, determine payouts, and settle any ties.

The only way you could get two tourney rounds in 6 hours is if there's some sort of live scoring set up where the turnaround between rounds is near instant. There would be no lunch break, just come back to HQ, reshuffle and go right back out. Even then, you'd have to be on a short course with few backups or lost disc potential. You could start early in the morning and feasibly be done in time for a late lunch.

There's nothing stopping anyone from setting up a tournament in that format, but it likely won't draw as many players as the traditional format.

 

[jdw80550]

Played tons of tournaments for a long time. Had a good time.

Played leagues for a long time. Had a good time.

Stopped playing in as many tournaments, and quit playing leagues on a regular basis. Having a much more enjoyable time.

Not necessarily playing better, but definitely having more fun.

 

[scarpfish]

I've lost count of how many times we're waiting for the "last" card to come in, only to find out they all walked to the parking lot and are drinking beer at their vehicles, scorecard in a back pocket.

Or took it out to lunch with them.

And it's not always the tourney noobs who don't understand what a mess that creates that do this.

 

[johncw12]

Tournaments

If tournaments stopped tomorrow, I would never play disc golf again.

 

[roggenb3]

So you are always on a card with your friends?

Maybe he's just friends with everybody.

 

[scarpfish]

This is exactly what I was thinking. I played fewer events last year because our local (no travel) 2 round events start with sign-ups at 8am and end after the raffle somewhere around 5pm.

Oh, if most tournaments I've been to could be done that quick. I've been past 7pm on a few occasions.

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

So you are always on a card with your friends?

I consider anyone that signs up to play my tournaments to be my friends.
After I play round or two with them, things might be different.

 

[JC17393]

Four players per group, taking 20 seconds per throw (counting everything from putting the bag down, marking the lie, selecting a disc, and making the throw), scoring in the mid-50s (say an average of 55), will take roughly 73 minutes and 20 seconds just to throw all the shots necessary to complete the round. The average person walks at 3 mph, so in theory, if the course requires about three miles of walking, that's another hour spent. That's a total of 2 hours and 13 minutes for ideal perfect conditions and zero delays or hesitation.

Add in variables like difficult to find throws (blind shots, throws into foliage, etc), additional throws above the average, or delays caused by outside influences (weather, other park users, etc), and the round is going to easily push past 2.5 hours and approach 3 hours.

I think the only way to assure a maximum of 2-2.5 hour long tournament rounds is to play super short courses and/or limit the field to 36-54 players.

 

[ejvogie]

So you are always on a card with your friends?

I set the boards, so yes

I consider anyone that signs up to play my tournaments to be my friends.
After I play round or two with them, things might be different.

Also, some of this

 

[DavidSauls]

Pace of play isn't the fault of slow players----well, not only. Just as you can drive faster on Sunday morning than in rush hour, a full course accumulates every little delay. We can alleviate some of this with caps, short tees, spotters, etc, but if you want to play a competition with a lot of people, it's going to be slow.

 

[jeffmonty]

Four players per group, taking 20 seconds per throw (counting everything from putting the bag down, marking the lie, selecting a disc, and making the throw), scoring in the mid-50s (say an average of 55), will take roughly 73 minutes and 20 seconds just to throw all the shots necessary to complete the round. The average person walks at 3 mph, so in theory, if the course requires about three miles of walking, that's another hour spent. That's a total of 2 hours and 13 minutes for ideal perfect conditions and zero delays or hesitation.

Add in variables like difficult to find throws (blind shots, throws into foliage, etc), additional throws above the average, or delays caused by outside influences (weather, other park users, etc), and the round is going to easily push past 2.5 hours and approach 3 hours.

Add to this the guys that seem not to consider their next shot until it's their turn to throw. They go to the bag for a disc, line up the shot, go back to the bag (20' away) for a different disc, look up the fairway from a couple different angles to make sure they're throwing the line they want, take some practice swings, double check their stance, couple more practice swings, throw their shot, and miss by a country mile.

Now that I think about it, I guess I'm lucky these rounds don't take even longer than they do. What am I complaining about?

 

[Improbably]

Other:

Lack of course reinvestment specifically for public courses.

No one bats a eye if a private course rolls the same greens fee they normally charge into the entry.

I could not imagine a sanctioned event at a public course going over well if money was set aside for course fundraising.

Not to say that successful non-sanctioned fundraisers don't happen but they have a much different tone than what a lot of players consider "real" events.

 

[DiscNorth]

How long do people usually play, or what score do they usually become consistent with, before looking for tournaments to play in?

 

[ru4por]

How long do people usually play, or what score do they usually become consistent with, before looking for tournaments to play in?

I don't think there are any real rules to the decision. I would imagine that you would want to be comfortable with your game and the rules before jumping into a sanctioned event.

Unsanctioned events or leagues are a great introduction to tournament play, for the player considering this move.

The goal should be to have fun, if you are ready for that, things should go smoothly.

 

[PBokor]

I think it depends on more than a few variables. Off the course, I am a super competitive, type A kind of guy. On the course, I am the exact opposite. I disc golf for quiet, internal pleasure only, and consider it a form of 'walking meditation', so competition is a low priority for me.

That said, I will likely join in on local weekly informal doubles soon, just to test the waters. For sanctioned events, I would feel terrible if my ineptitude caused other players grief, so will probably remain a spectator for the foreseeable future.

 

[ru4por]

I think it depends on more than a few variables. Off the course, I am a super competitive, type A kind of guy. On the course, I am the exact opposite. I disc golf for quiet, internal pleasure only, and consider it a form of 'walking meditation', so competition is a low priority for me.

That said, I will likely join in on local weekly informal doubles soon, just to test the waters. For sanctioned events, I would feel terrible if my ineptitude caused other players grief, so will probably remain a spectator for the foreseeable future.

Certainly respect your take. I think it would be very hard for any player to cause much grief in AM3, in nearly any tournament. Rules are mostly common sense and common courtesy. I think you would find the majority of players very accommodating to any new player in tournaments. But, I do think you are right to give leagues a run before branching out. Tournament are only going to be cool, if you are comfortable giving them a try.
I played casual for nearly three decades before starting up tournament play, so I get the hesitation.

 

[teemkey]

I think it depends on more than a few variables. Off the course, I am a super competitive, type A kind of guy. On the course, I am the exact opposite. I disc golf for quiet, internal pleasure only, and consider it a form of 'walking meditation', so competition is a low priority for me.

That said, I will likely join in on local weekly informal doubles soon, just to test the waters. For sanctioned events, I would feel terrible if my ineptitude caused other players grief, so will probably remain a spectator for the foreseeable future.

To get an idea on how your skill level fits in with tournament play, look up sanctioned events at courses you're familiar with on the PDGA events page. If MA3 (Recreational) isn't offered, look at MA2 (Intermediate) scores, and/or age protected Amateur divisions you would play in.

 

[Hampstead]

How long do people usually play, or what score do they usually become consistent with, before looking for tournaments to play in?

I know some guys who started playing tournaments the same month that they started playing disc golf.

There is no formula. It's up to you to decide when you feel you're ready.