2017 USDGC

[Harold Duvall]

Does it bug anybody else when discs hit a rope stake and arbitrarily become either a rewarded shot or a punished shot, depending on how the cookie crumbles? I feel like this would bug me less if they make that rope more flush with the ground but I'm guessing that there's some practical reason why it is the way it is.

The potential consequence of hitting the stakes bugs me a bit too. I do not subscribe to the notion that it is the same for everyone. It would be the same for everyone if each player threw hundreds of shots, but there is a fickle factor on any single shot. Players can lessen their chances, but the stakes are an element of chance that I would like to eliminate.

We use the stakes and top rope as a visual aid for the competitors and spectators. As 2017 Golden Rake Award Winner Tom pointed out, we have used ground whiskers to lessen the impact in critical areas like 9, 10, 11, 13 18 and elsewhere. We experimented with a high-end line sprayer as an alternative, but the turf at Winthrop is not as amenable for line spraying as a ball field, and we were not confident that the lines would last from prep day though US Doubles, Monday Qualifying, and the Championship. We will continue to look at this as an opportunity for improvement for the 20th Anniversary USDGC. Suggestions are welcome.

~ Harold

 

[davetherocketguy]

Sooo...whats the purpose of the two circles at this event? They keep referring to the inner one as the bullseye. The outer one is 10m radius and is the limit for jump putting (right?) but I don't get what the inner one is for.

 

[RistoS]

Sooo...whats the purpose of the two circles at this event? They keep referring to the inner one as the bullseye. The outer one is 10m radius and is the limit for jump putting (right?) but I don't get what the inner one is for.

The bullseye is basically a drop-in that DGWT don't want to count towards putting statistics, when it's a player's only stroke inside the circle on a given hole.

 

[jjtwinnova]

If anybody wants to watch the Minnesota Majestic, and watch a Ricky vs. Sexton battle that makes people cry...

 

[Dr.Smooth]

Personally, I think some of the ob is too tight. Like the infamous hole 17 that punishes severely descent shots..

So to create a course that punishes bad shots and rewards good shots. Winthrop is almost their but has some work to do.

The way I look at stakes are that you should stay away from them at least three meters to account for english or what not... so they actually do punish less than ideal shots..If you hit a stake and it bounces it.. its called golf. Reality is that golf is game of chances to a degree. To eliminate that would be like playing in weird sci fi movie where reality is some twisted notion of black and white eliminating all the grey and variation that exists in are world.. part of the beauty... sorry getting a little bit off here but you do understand my point.

But the reality is some of the ob is to ****ing close...Look at hole 9 I believe the 500 foot hyzer for a righty. Check out the spin tv of the big gun going for it in round 2... Beautiful shot that is roughly thirty feet from the pin.

So Mr.Duvall why is a 500 foot drive punished if you land 35 feet away from the pin?? Where not talking a 300 or even a 400 footer but really a 500 foot shot..

 

[Flick Maniac]

Did Risley finish hole 6 properly off the camera, with a mini placed under the hanging disc, and if not, why did they not give him 2 strokes for failing to hole out? Rules are rules and this is a practical show window for the sport.

 

[Steve West]

The potential consequence of hitting the stakes bugs me a bit too. I do not subscribe to the notion that it is the same for everyone. It would be the same for everyone if each player threw hundreds of shots, but there is a fickle factor on any single shot.

~ Harold

By the end of the tournament, each player does throw hundreds of shots.

 

[Steve West]

Did Risley finish hole 6 properly off the camera, with a mini placed under the hanging disc, and if not, why did they not give him 2 strokes for failing to hole out? Rules are rules and this is a practical show window for the sport.

It would have been a marking violation, the first violation just gets a warning. Maybe they warned him.

 

[RistoS]

So Mr.Duvall why is a 500 foot drive punished if you land 35 feet away from the pin?? Where not talking a 300 or even a 400 footer but really a 500 foot shot..

Probably because they're trying to justify an otherwise too easy par 4. That and #10 should be redesigned to meet the modern requirements.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

Might not be possible in all instances, but if the stakes are intended as a visual aid, then place them one full disc outside the ground line, which marks the official OB. Still doesn't solve issue of them getting in the way of a disc curling back in bounds or a possible beneficial deflection, but does put them well into out-of-bounds. Probably better permanent solutions...

 

[lyleoross]

What USDGC does better than any event out there is to push players to the edge of skill and risk assessment. The venue may not be perfect, what is? but it does accomplish those goals. I'll take it gladly, even though some don't like it's faults.

 

[Everett Evans]

Any one know how Stephen Miller got a 10 on 17 in the first round? Did his putt from the drop zone also go OB? Ugh if so.

 

[teemkey]

It would have been a marking violation, the first violation just gets a warning. Maybe they warned him.

Yeah, but then he'd have to putt again, which he didn't. Hence, if he was warned then he failed to hole out. Therefor we have to assume he wasn't called.

Even if video evidence was allowed, the violation has to be called promptly. So he's fine. Sigh.

 

[biscoe]

So Mr.Duvall why is a 500 foot drive punished if you land 35 feet away from the pin?? Where not talking a 300 or even a 400 footer but really a 500 foot shot..

Not to answer for Harold but I'm going with the idea that they are playing "golf" and not "throw the disc far at the basket without thinking".

 

[teemkey]

Live scoring shows Dave Dunipace DNF'd after 15 holes.

 

[Harold Duvall]

So Mr.Duvall why is a 500 foot drive punished if you land 35 feet away from the pin?? Where not talking a 300 or even a 400 footer but really a 500 foot shot..

#9 and #10 are Eagleable Par 4s. I think these are exciting holes to see that provide for one or two-throw swings. They are unusual in that a strategy decision can yield a full throw gain on a competitor playing well but safe. The power throwers can gamble, but they need to be both powerful and accurate. The green on #9 is about 70 feet wide. The front of the green is 415 straight ahead and it is about 460 to the Discatcher. The errant eagle attempt can still save par with a good recovery from a tricky drop zone. I guess I do not see the OB so much as punishment, but a balancing of power, accuracy, strategy, risk, and reward.

~ Harold

 

[Halcón]

Paige's back nine today. Ouch.

 

[roblee]

Most ground whiskers are 6" but did see some 9" by ACP International if that would provide more visibility.

 

[Streets]

Sexton!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[frasnow]

Nate Nate Nate Nate! Finally a well deserved major victory.