Ideas for an event on a 9 hole course?

[Muskiebite]

I've been approached by a local rotary club who want to have a disc golf tournament during a food fest. The course Staring Lake Park is a decent 9 holer, alt tees on majority of the holes.

I'm meeting with the club this week to discuss with them the food fest and what their expectations/budget/timeframe are. My initial thoughts are against a regular tournament due to the restrictions of the course only being 9 holes, and the club wants it to be a fundraiser so payouts eat into that. I'm considering one of the manufacturer events like a Trilogy Challenge,MVP Circuit, Or a 2 Disc event, flex start playing the course twice, once from long second from shorts and offering additional round buy ins.

If anyone else has a creative idea how to run an event on a 9 hole course please let me know.

 

[esdubya]

Yes on flex start, for sure.

Who do you think will end up playing this tournament? Experience level? Numbers? If mostly new players, consider offering a single 9 hole round division. Also if mostly new players, load them up on the players pack and go really easy on payouts, maybe even no payouts so people don't feel obligated to stick around for awards.

 

[Muskiebite]

I think it really depends on how we decide to market it. But my vision is beginner friendly so we can attact new comers/casuals from the food fest.

 

[esdubya]

I think it really depends on how we decide to market it. But my vision is beginner friendly so we can attact new comers/casuals from the food fest.

Cool. If that's the case, also consider having a number of side-games going on, like a putting challenge and a CTP, so someone can come by to try it out quickly and with much fun had. While she is doing in the putting challenge, sell the 9-hole tournament!

 

[F. Howl]

My club has held match play team tournaments on our nine hole course, but we bring in temps and squeeze in 3 extra holes. With just 50 people playing it was crowded! The match play helped keep things moving quickly though. Cuts the number of shots each card makes almost in half, and once you've beaten your opponent, just spectate till the next pairing.

 

[sjberry2017]

I think it really depends on how we decide to market it. But my vision is beginner friendly so we can attact new comers/casuals from the food fest.

I think the Trilogy Challenge would be a good idea if you could make it work. That way everyone gets a putter, mid, and driver in the players pack and the event is already geared more towards a beginner-friendly and fun tournament. Plus having the food fest already planned will make it easy for marketing.

If the Trilogy Challenge aspect is too much of a headache, just make it a two disc challenge with a few different options for new players to pick from for a player's pack and have a separate division for experienced players who supply their own discs

 

[esdubya]

I feel like there should be a guide on this sub for "how to run a tournament for new players"

 

[Muskiebite]

I feel like there should be a guide on this sub for "how to run a tournament for new players"

I'll make one as I go

 

[Lynn LeFey]

If you could squeeze in maybe three holes, 150ish feet, you could have a shortened course for kids (say, age 7-12) to try it out without getting too bored, or wasting too much of a parent's time. Maybe for the ones really interested, let them go multiple rounds or something.

You want to get kids excited? Maybe offer a Dynamic Discs starter Marvel set as a prize. Or one of those swanky Captain America stamped discs. Or the Marvel stamped minis. Or heck, just get some of those Captain America discs for the kids to throw, and have them aim for 'badguy' targets or something, as like a CTP one-shot competition.

For that matter, you could have an actual mini course, thowing minis, using the miniature basket. Either for kids OR adults. Or step up to those bigger minis like the Mini Buzzz or lil Wizard.

I'm going to be 100% honest. I kind of feel like 90+% of first time players don't need a driver of any kind. So a two-disc putter-mid combo would be great, really. Or a sort of tweener like a Warship, and a P&A. I've been playing almost a year, and unless there's wind, I don't strictly NEED anything more than an overstable Mid.

All this is me just dumping ideas. Use whatever helps.

 

[PBokor]

Since I have no idea what your volunteer roster looks like, take the following with a grain of salt.

How much distance separates the Food Fest from the course? If they aren't adjacent, then perhaps consider a couple or three portable baskets set up at the Fest (and maybe an ongoing putting clinic) to stimulate interest in kids and beginners and push them towards the course.

Looks to be a beginner friendly course, so everyone who registers early gets a mid and putter.

If possible, allow reduced rate, late registration (right up to the last minute or later without player pack) or at least provide some structured time afterwards for the recent converts to get a quick lesson and some course time.

Maybe get local businesses to sponsor holes (with appropriate advertising) to raise funds.

Sell discs to raise funds.

 

[Audible Vibration]

I agree with trilogy challenge. The players pack alone is worth the entry fee and I believe they provide prizes for top 3 also. I played in one last year ran by a first time TD, and he loved it. It was super casual and had fun rules like only being able to throw 1 of the 3 discs on a certain hole. Seemed like the right combination of flexibility and assistance/sponsorship.

 

[JeremyKShort]

I like a lot of the different manufacturer events (Ace race, birdie bash, battle of the aces, etc). Trilogy challenge often just turns into a regular round with new discs, and that kinda favors experienced players. I've never been to one that had different rules. The Ace race style events open it up to a lot of other players. I suppose you could run a Trilogy Challenge, they just never get creative with them down here.

 

[Audible Vibration]

Trilogy challenge often just turns into a regular round with new discs, and that kinda favors experienced players. I've never been to one that had different rules. The Ace race style events open it up to a lot of other players.

That's a good point. These were the first two tournaments I played in. I didn't place very high in Trilogy and it wasn't really a surprise who the winners were. I almost placed third in the ace race, and there was more variety in how my local club members finished.

The only thing I didn't like about ace race was only getting the one shot at each basket. After every hole I felt like I either wanted another run at the basket, or to sink the putt from where my first throw landed

 

[zud00]

I don't know if you've had your event yet, but I had a similar situation in our small town. We have a festival every 4th of July weekend and I was asked to run a tournament. I considered the Trilogy challenge but ended up doing something a little different.

Our course is 9 holes with alt tees. I wanted to cater to newer players and people from the community that may or may not have any experience playing. So I try to keep the cost low....

3 divisions (keep it simple):
Recreational is only $5. They play 9 holes from the short tees and do not abide by Out of Bounds rules.
Amateur is $10. They play 18 holes-9 from the short pads and 9 from the long pads. Play all OB.
Open is $15. Same rules as Amateur but they play for the cash.

I do a flex start and offer players the chance to play an additional round for only $5 to try to improve their score.

It really works well. The only issue is when groups finish their first 9 and go on to begin their round from the alternate pads, we sometimes get new groups getting ready to start. I haven't quite figured out how to make that work better, but it usually ends up working out.

This year I am ordering 50 custom discs to give away to the first 50 entrants and trophy discs for the top three finishers in each division. I think this will be our 4th year and I'm sure it will be the best yet.

We also try to have CTPs on every or most holes and will do a 50/50 toss and putting contest. But with the flex start, it is not guaranteed that the winners will be there at the end of the day so I have to track them down to give them their winnings or mail them out.

 

[Mike C]

One idea is to shorten the holes.

There was a 9 hole course I used to play that had an event like this. There would put flags on every hole to mark a shorter than usual tee.

It wasn't scored like a usual tournament. The idea was to try to hit metal or get an ace. I think metal was 1 point, chains 2, aces 5. Something like that.

Anyways its an idea that appeals to more casual people, while still letting experienced players have fun. It's a lot of excitement without any pressure of making putts and maintaining consistency hole to hole. Just throw at the basket and try to hit something.

 

[tdschrock1]

I ran a sanctioned event on a 9 hole course. the PDGA only requires 13 holes for a rated round, so I added 4 temp holes and played 3 rounds: http://www.pdga.com/tour/event/31691

The event and layout worked very well. If you don't want/need sanctioning, a flex start simple format would be your best bet. If there is a high variable on the number of players, I would avoid the ace-race style events that require bigger buy-ins - stick to a $5-$20 buy in and keep prizes simple.