2023 DGLO

[Skamanda]

Anyone got any fun predictions? Thoughts on the new layout? Comments on play as it happens? Jokes about how pathetically boring the new FPO Hole 14 is? Let's hear it!

 

[biscoe]

What's the new layout?

 

[Skamanda]

What's the new layout?

A few basket changes, tons more OB (some in places that just don't really make any sense, like the entire right side of 1 and 7). Hole 16 is an island now, which is actually kinda cool - but shuts out a lot of the FPO field, who will have to throw a driver and risk skipping OB left or right. FPO is playing 7 from the long tee pad, to the base of the hill, in a completely wide open shot with no challenge whatsoever, rather than up the hill from the short pad.

Here's a link to the caddy guide: https://dglo.net/course-schedule/guide/2023/Toboggan-Caddy-Guide.pdf?1

 

[ru4por]

I have not played Toboggan this year....I will wait until Oct.

I am hoping that DGLO puts some serious effort and attention, toward trimming and cutting back Hudson Mills Original. [Moster as well, but I don't think they are playing it] It has gotten pretty bad, especially from the back tees. But, of course, the local courses [5 that are monopolized and effectively shut down to local play] will get little attention. Giving back to the local area, that the volunteer base is built off, will see no benefit. I have NO real interest in a Heinold venture.

Shrug....guess I should have lead with that.

Good luck this weekend, Amanda.

 

[Skamanda]

I have not played Toboggan this year....I will wait until Oct.

I am hoping that DGLO puts some serious effort and attention, toward trimming and cutting back Hudson Mills Original. [Moster as well, but I don't think they are playing it] It has gotten pretty bad, especially from the back tees. But, of course, the local courses [5 that are monopolized and effectively shut down to local play] will get little attention. Giving back to the local area, that the volunteer base is built off, will see no benefit. I have NO real interest in a Heinold venture.

Shrug....guess I should have lead with that.

Good luck this weekend, Amanda.

I'm not playing Toboggan in competition until OCC, but we played it a few times with Natalie for fun and practice. I've never been the biggest fan of the course - my knees and ankles took too much damage from track and cross country to have as much fun there as everyone else, and with the HRT killing my hemoglobin levels, I'm totally winded half way up every hill... On the plus side, I got a lot of perspective on just how many more shots I should throw a Comet on, than my other discs

I was hoping they'd do more for the courses I'll be playing, but it looks like Blue got no love, so I'm assuming OG and Indy didn't either. I'd assume Nate didn't want to spend money anywhere that wouldn't be seen on camera. One wonders if there'd even be an Amateur side of DGLO, if it hadn't existed before he took it over...

 

[biscoe]

DGPT "playoff" event. Does anyone outside the tour players themselves care about that at all?
Entry fee is higher than Worlds.

 

[bhadella]

I have not played Toboggan this year....I will wait until Oct.

I am hoping that DGLO puts some serious effort and attention, toward trimming and cutting back Hudson Mills Original. [Moster as well, but I don't think they are playing it] It has gotten pretty bad, especially from the back tees. But, of course, the local courses [5 that are monopolized and effectively shut down to local play] will get little attention. Giving back to the local area, that the volunteer base is built off, will see no benefit. I have NO real interest in a Heinold venture.

Shrug....guess I should have lead with that.

Good luck this weekend, Amanda.

Interesting viewpoint. It's nice when an event pushes a course towards it best upkeep but don't know that it is the events responsibility to upkeep the course (especially in a pay for use park).

 

[Skamanda]

DGPT "playoff" event. Does anyone outside the tour players themselves care about that at all?
Entry fee is higher than Worlds.

It means nobody but the tour card holders can play. The local FPO scene is pretty pissed that we've all been shut out of it. I've never played it in FPO before, but I know the likes of Sarah DeMar, Ashleh Baumann, Caryn Ballou, and Lindsey Messner have competed in the past. In a sad way, I'm fortunate to not be classified pro yet, so I can play DGLO in FA1 - but even with how badly the Toboggan beats me up, I'd still rather play in FPO. The FA1 field, even in Michigan where we've got one of the most competitive women's scenes in the US, isn't mostly competitive once you've got a rating above 875. The top card is probably going to be the same 4 women in FA1, the rest of the tournament after the first day...

 

[Skamanda]

Interesting viewpoint. It's nice when an event pushes a course towards it best upkeep but don't know that it is the events responsibility to upkeep the course (especially in a pay for use park).

In the case of a big event like DGLO, they could prompt the course to do a bit wider cutting on the fairways. OG especially has some pretty brutal rough (thorns and poison ivy all over the place). DGLO throwing a few bucks at gas and labor to mow the rough back an extra mower-width in most places would be very much appreciated by the players. For how much we're paying to play, especially...

 

[ru4por]

Interesting viewpoint. It's nice when an event pushes a course towards it best upkeep but don't know that it is the events responsibility to upkeep the course (especially in a pay for use park).

Agreed.

BUT>>> I do think there is some responsibility to give back. From my perspective, an outsider comes into town, takes away a weekend on the tournament schedule. His DGPT event and A Tier essentially shut down any area sanctioned events, for local clubs to make their living on. He is using 6 local top courses, really shutting them down for a few days for casual or non sanctioned event play. The event makes use of a lot of resources, in terms of park employees, local volunteer help and potentially park budget. There is less of this now in the pool for local clubs and players to benefit from. I think the Ledgestone enterprise does hold some responsibility to pay back the community and the local game/players. Our club has always had the mantra of leaving any course, we hold events at, in BETTER shape than when we walked in. Honestly....VERY LITTLE of my disc golf community benefits from upgrades, changes, improvements of money spent on Toboggan.

 

[Future_Primitive]

I was hoping they'd do more for the courses I'll be playing, but it looks like Blue got no love, so I'm assuming OG and Indy didn't either. I'd assume Nate didn't want to spend money anywhere that wouldn't be seen on camera. One wonders if there'd even be an Amateur side of DGLO, if it hadn't existed before he took it over...

I can report back that Indy was cleaned up nicely before our event this past weekend. Heard a few folks discussing how bad it was versus how nice it was the day of the event. Usually Indy does a pretty good job on the course maintenance.

 

[Skamanda]

I can report back that Indy was cleaned up nicely before our event this past weekend. Heard a few folks discussing how bad it was versus how nice it was the day of the event. Usually Indy does a pretty good job on the course maintenance.

Handy to know! Though yeah, Indy is usually pretty good overall when it comes to course maintenance. Hard to know whether it was going the extra yard for DGLO, or just doing their regular work...

 

[ru4por]

I can report back that Indy was cleaned up nicely before our event this past weekend. Heard a few folks discussing how bad it was versus how nice it was the day of the event. Usually Indy does a pretty good job on the course maintenance.

Truth. We had a tournament the following day after Kelli Jo. I honestly think the difference is the park system. Indy did not get hammered last winter and again this spring, the way Hudson Mills did. And, in general, Indy has become a FAR better disc golf partner than the Metroparks. I don't think Ledgestone has anything to do with the conditions at Indy.

 

[bhadella]

In the case of a big event like DGLO, they could prompt the course to do a bit wider cutting on the fairways. OG especially has some pretty brutal rough (thorns and poison ivy all over the place). DGLO throwing a few bucks at gas and labor to mow the rough back an extra mower-width in most places would be very much appreciated by the players. For how much we're paying to play, especially...

Agreed.

BUT>>> I do think there is some responsibility to give back. From my perspective, an outsider comes into town, takes away a weekend on the tournament schedule. His DGPT event and A Tier essentially shut down any area sanctioned events, for local clubs to make their living on. He is using 6 local top courses, really shutting them down for a few days for casual or non sanctioned event play. The event makes use of a lot of resources, in terms of park employees, local volunteer help and potentially park budget. There is less of this now in the pool for local clubs and players to benefit from. I think the Ledgestone enterprise does hold some responsibility to pay back the community and the local game/players. Our club has always had the mantra of leaving any course, we hold events at, in BETTER shape than when we walked in. Honestly....VERY LITTLE of my disc golf community benefits from upgrades, changes, improvements of money spent on Toboggan.

The financial relationship may be different since the bigger/nicer Michigan parks are "Pay to Play" where the funds from events might get more easily lumped into general revenue. An event with more than 800 players should have a bigger financial impact (favorably) to a club/association than any weekend slate of local events. If not, that needs to be renegotiated. Our local club (Charlotte) certainly has benefited from larger events (2018 Worlds, DGPT) in a both financial/infrastructure from large events. But if DGPT/DGLO is providing funding into "Pay to Play" parks but the funds aren't used to improve those parks; we all know where the failure lies (and it's not DGPT).

 

[ru4por]

The financial relationship may be different since the bigger/nicer Michigan parks are "Pay to Play" where the funds from events might get more easily lumped into general revenue. An event with more than 800 players should have a bigger financial impact (favorably) to a club/association than any weekend slate of local events. If not, that needs to be renegotiated. Our local club (Charlotte) certainly has benefited from larger events (2018 Worlds, DGPT) in a both financial/infrastructure from large events. But if DGPT/DGLO is providing funding into "Pay to Play" parks but the funds aren't used to improve those parks; we all know where the failure lies (and it's not DGPT).

The pay structure, for both park systems is no different for DGLO than for local club non sanctioned events. The only possible difference would be the number of porta johns one system forces the event to purchase. I suppose gate revenue could fluctuate due to spectators, but I suspect this is minimal. Any upgrades to the infrastructure is only realized at Toboggan and this has been rumored to be at the hands of Discraft. I will continue to maintain that DGPT and Ledgestone are a parasite to the local disc golf community. I simply am advocating for a more symbiotic relationship. Most area benefit from hosting a Worlds, I would hope anybody hosting a DGPT would realized at least a fraction of that return.

 

[glassila]

Anyone got any fun predictions? Thoughts on the new layout? Comments on play as it happens? Jokes about how pathetically boring the new FPO Hole 14 is? Let's hear it!

Hole 18 is waaaaay longer (over 300 feet) with a very narrow fairway bound by OB on both sides for the last 250 feet. It's now a par 4, but I think this will be a separator hole for sure.

When I saw the basket at the bottom of the hill on 14 I laughed. I figured it was for a different event or something.

Heimburg for the win in MPO.
Holyn Handly to break out in FPO.

 

[Skamanda]

...Ledgestone are a parasite to the local disc golf community.

So I learned something new today, that I guess may be common knowledge, but it's my first time playing DGLO since Nate took the reigns, so...

Prize credit on the Amateur side, despite the event being the Discraft Great Lakes Open, cannot be spent on Discraft merch. It is only good for Ledgestone merch, and must be spent the day it is given (you can't buy off the website, for example).

So, Nasty Nate apparently only allows you to funnel money into his pocket, not the company whose founder saw to getting the showcase DGPT course installed in the first place, whose name has been on the tournament for a great many years...

That's gross.

When I saw the basket at the bottom of the hill on 14 I laughed. I figured it was for a different event or something.

The last time I played the course with Natalie, we both threw to the approximate spot it's at (the basket wasn't in yet, but the caddy guide was available). It's such a boring hole. They could've at least put the basket between the two mounds, to make it more than just two drives in an open field with no obstacles or shot shaping, and a putt. If it plays anywhere near par for the whole field, I'll be genuinely surprised.

 

[TheCatsAreInCharge]

.....Calvin for another 2nd place finish.....

 

[Shallows]

Prize credit

So, Nasty Nate apparently only allows you to funnel money into his pocket,

it's not money though, it's prize credit. Essentially his own currency that obviously only he would accept. Good for him if he can convince Discraft to accept his currency but that's a bad deal for Discraft.

 

[Dontthrowrocs]

it's not money though, it's prize credit. Essentially his own currency that obviously only he would accept. Good for him if he can convince Discraft to accept his currency but that's a bad deal for Discraft.

They made a business deal. If either side had a problem with it, then they wouldn't have made the deal.

This place just cracks me up