Older Players

[IVER]

I am a Legend.....in the PDGA,to my grandchildren, and in my own mind.
How do I get the attention of the PDGA, and TDs, so that I can compete within my age group? Even at the Memorial, a very large tournament, Senior Grandmaster is as old as they offer. Other fairly large tournaments (Fade Station Open, here in Albuquerque) only offer Grandmaster, a potential 20 year age difference. If offered perhaps "they will come".
Don't get me wrong, I love the game, under any circumstances, but the idea of donating my money to get a lower rating gets old. I didn't get to be a Legend by having no ego.

 

[sonny]

I do not think the PDGA or TDs will be able to help you here. The problem seems to be that there simply aren't many old farts like us playing competitive disc golf. I'm 63 and I enjoy playing disc golf but senior grandmaster divisions are practically never offered in my area. And if they were offered, I suspect we would not end up with enough players to actually play. I don't play a lot of PDGA tournaments but out of the last three I played, I was bumped down from grandmasters to masters twice.

I believe if you want to see a Legends division offered, you will need to build up a base of players ready to compete. Good luck with that.

 

[DavidSauls]

This used to be a problem for Masters....then Grandmasters....then Senior Grandmasters.......You're just ahead of the wave, and it'll never catch you.

It's also a problem for a lot of the women's divisions. Perhaps Juniors, too.

One suggestion, for players in low-population divisions, is to get up with others of the same age range, locally or regionally, and find some events that you can all agree to all show up for, in numbers to encourage the TD to open the division for you.

 

[IVER]

The Glass Blown, with 845 AM entrants, had Senior Grandmaster as the oldest group. Now that is sad.

 

[thrembo]

You could move or travel to Florida to play. We had a legends division at a local C-tier.

 

[scarpfish]

The old guys are just like the ladies and the kids. We need to get people running destination events exclusive to their needs.

 

[UP Mountain Man]

This used to be a problem for Masters....then Grandmasters....then Senior Grandmasters.......You're just ahead of the wave, and it'll never catch you.

It's also a problem for a lot of the women's divisions. Perhaps Juniors, too.

One suggestion, for players in low-population divisions, is to get up with others of the same age range, locally or regionally, and find some events that you can all agree to all show up for, in numbers to encourage the TD to open the division for you.

David's right. On the WI DG Tour, the boys will plan their calendars to play the same events . Then they let the respective TDs know.

I've noticed that the Legends and Senior Grands are the men's divisions that are enjoying the experience, and each other, the most!

 

[sisyphus]

This is one of the reasons why I personally feel it's right, and necessary, to promote Senior Olympic Disc Golf. We had a blast the two times it was a demonstration sport, and I really enjoy playing the regional state games, but the participation numbers are (on some levels) disheartening.

My dad (who turned 80 that weekend) got to play with 77 year old Paulie Bagwell, as well as with a 73 year old in 2015, and they each took home a gold medal, because they were each the only one in their five year age groups. Good or bad (and he had a great time), my dad had never played disc golf until our road trip to the event.

 

[Dr.Smooth]

Suck it up. Play with the closest group that fits your age. So yeah you don't like donating money.

But if you are that old and playing well. It means you are in good health. A huge blessing for your age. So that means financially you aren't strapped with a heap of medical bills.

Get out their and play. You are ahead of the curve. And yes I know. Spent most of the 90's playing short terrible courses as dg evolved. But I still had fun.

 

[Improbably]

Disc golfers and their desire to be catered to. . .

It shall never end.

 

[BionicRib]

The Glass Blown, with 845 AM entrants, had Senior Grandmaster as the oldest group. Now that is sad.

2016 worlds had 9 players total in legend, grandlegend and senior grand legend. Very cool to see people competing at these ages, but I think you need to be realistic on your expectations for other events given these numbers.

 

[ru4por]

Kind of taking some heat from the usually compassionate DGCR crowd, IVER. I am a Grandmaster. Often forced to play REC for points, but around here we can usually field a GM division. Though it is generally the same group of guys. Sadly, we have lost a couple this year to Senior Grand, which makes that a viable division for them, usually getting three or four. They bump up against the same issue of SGM not being offered. They generally contact the TD, Disc Golf Scene comment board is what is used here, and request the division. Of course there are times that there simply is not enough signed up to support a card.

You are not entitle to a Legends division, right? A TD and volunteers bust their humps to bring a great event to a lot of folks who do zero to give back to the local scene. That goes for leagues to unsanctioned events to majors. Perhaps offering divisions like Legends, some women's and junior events, that rarely if ever fill, is work they simply don't have time for anymore. My guess is a sunny disposition, a friendly request and the offer to lend a hand in the tournament will go a long way toward getting yourself signed up in whatever division you seek. :thmbup:

 

[KniceZ]

It's been discussed before and it's usually bashed the serious competitors; but an alternative solution is to have handicapped events especially for the AMs. The handicaps could be provided by PDGA - i.e. no PDGA rating zero handicap. Which would encourage more folks to sign up.

It's not appropriate for B-Tier or higher events but it might be a way to get more women and older players involved in local events.

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

It's been discussed before and it's usually bashed the serious competitors; but an alternative solution is to have handicapped events especially for the AMs. The handicaps could be provided by PDGA - i.e. no PDGA rating zero handicap. Which would encourage more folks to sign up.

It's not appropriate for B-Tier or higher events but it might be a way to get more women and older players involved in local events.

Handicaps seems far more appropriate than age divisions, which have so much more to do with ego than skill.

 

[crazykrug]

Come play the US Masters in Des Moines Iver, we have an Advance Legends division with 2 already signed up.

 

[Smigles]

Handicaps seems far more appropriate than age divisions, which have so much more to do with ego than skill.

No please no handicap.

Age doesnt have to do with ego or skill. It has to do with your date of birth.

I dont want some 90 years old with a -30 handicap win against pros just cause of the handicap rule.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

Suck it up. Play with the closest group that fits your age. So yeah you don't like donating money.

But if you are that old and playing well. It means you are in good health. A huge blessing for your age. So that means financially you aren't strapped with a heap of medical bills.

Get out their and play. You are ahead of the curve. And yes I know. Spent most of the 90's playing short terrible courses as dg evolved. But I still had fun.

What an enormous and irrelevant assumption your second paragraph is.

 

[Shamis]

They should just give you your own division where the payout is less than your entry fee.

 

[Lazerface]

I am a Legend.....in the PDGA,to my grandchildren, and in my own mind.
How do I get the attention of the PDGA, and TDs, so that I can compete within my age group? Even at the Memorial, a very large tournament, Senior Grandmaster is as old as they offer. Other fairly large tournaments (Fade Station Open, here in Albuquerque) only offer Grandmaster, a potential 20 year age difference. If offered perhaps "they will come".
Don't get me wrong, I love the game, under any circumstances, but the idea of donating my money to get a lower rating gets old. I didn't get to be a Legend by having no ego.

I would say if you have 4 or more Legends eligible players and petition the TD to open a division for the group, most would do so. I don't think advertising a Legends division ahead of time is going to draw in players that otherwise would of skipped the event, but I could be wrong.

What I see most often from TDs is a list of the general divisions and then a blanket statement. "Additional divisions will only be offered for groups of 4 or more eligible players"

 

[da Crippler]

http://www.discgolfunited.com/disc-golf-tournaments/event-detail.cfm/tourn_id/4458

I would definitely like to see more age-protected events like this.