Should Las Vegas be allowed to host the Western Region National Tour event?

[Discette]

Hey I posted a similar question on another thread, and no one noticed. I thought I would make a new thread with a poll.

The Memorial owes a majority of its success to its place on the schedule and the weather in Arizona in February.


The Memorial also has a stranglehold on the NT date for the Western Region. As it stands, there will never be a different location for a Western NT because the Memorial is given exclusive rights to host it EVERY SINGLE YEAR! Since the PDGA no longer holds the Spring Summit during the Memorial, it is not relevant to the scheduling and sanctioning.

How about the PDGA lets Las Vegas have the NT every other year? Players that are traveling for the two week Vegas and Memorial jaunt will likely still do both if the events take turns being the NT for the West. Come on PDGA, let Vegas have a shot at hosting the NT!

Would the Memorial be any less popular if Vegas was the NT and the Memorial was the A-Tier?

Here are some additional questions:

Do you think it is fair for the Memorial to be the only event ever allowed to host the Western Region NT?

Do you think Las Vegas should be allowed to host the Western Region NT every other year?

 

[PMcBeth]

I don't think Vegas course is near NT quality, Bring back La Mirada Disette!!! February isn't to bad in SoCal either.

 

[corin_brown]

I don't think Vegas course is near NT quality, Bring back La Mirada Disette!!! February isn't to bad in SoCal either.

Word to this.

 

[Discette]

La Mirada is not in the same region. If Golden State Classic came back, the Santa Cruz Master's Cup would have to drop to A Tier.

As long as there is not another event in California that wants to host the NT, I don't have a problem with Santa Cruz getting the event every year.


The problem I have, is Vegas has been trying to get on the NT schedule for years and is always being turned down. Why does the Memorial deserve the only chance to host the NT?

As for courses - Is Vista Del Camino much different than Sunset? Both courses are tricked out with different layouts and additional OB's to make them more championship worthy.

 

[New013]

the champ has spoken, vegas courses suck

 

[The Hammer]

La Mirada is not in the same region. If Golden State Classic came back, the Santa Cruz Master's Cup would have to drop to A Tier.

As long as there is not another event in California that wants to host the NT, I don't have a problem with Santa Cruz getting the event every year.


The problem I have, is Vegas has been trying to get on the NT schedule for years and is always being turned down. Why does the Memorial deserve the only chance to host the NT?

As for courses - Is Vista Del Camino much different than Sunset? Both courses are tricked out with different layouts and additional OB's to make them more championship worthy.

Vista is a whole lot better to look at than Sunset. Sunset is full of hobos, deafening noise, no water, and not even a hint of elevation change. I've played both the GCC and The Memorial. The GCC is run well, but not NT material. Also, what other courses are you going to include? Sunset definitely won't cut it on it's own.

 

[gcr_russell]

Vista is a whole lot better to look at than Sunset. Sunset is full of hobos, deafening noise, no water, and not even a hint of elevation change. I've played both the GCC and The Memorial. The GCC is run well, but not NT material. Also, what other courses are you going to include? Sunset definitely won't cut it on it's own.

True. I'd say the courses are the only limitation Vegas is running into. Location and weather are pretty much just fine, as the event already pairs well with the Memorial. The club is an excellent group of guys well verse at running events. I enjoy playing in Vegas but the caliber of courses compared to other parts of the country is just fairly low. The locals would like to add courses and take advantage of some of the surrounding desert or golf course/disc golf hybrids, but they have had a lot of difficulty in getting more baskets in the ground in quality locations. Once that problem is solved a rotating NT would be perfect. (I also have never liked the name Gentlemans Club Challenge, not sure the PDGA would want that to be one of their featured tournaments.)

 

[Clonan]

Just played came back from Vegas. Played Sunset Park. Not sure where else they could do an NT in Las Vegas. Unless they made some SERIOUS modifications to the course (any type of elevation, major bum removal), the thought of the PDGA doing an NT there is laughable. But I don't know any other course that's decent in the area.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Probably better to do Texas or Florida NT early and have Tahoe or Colorado several months later as the NT for the region that includes Nevada/Arizona. Keep GCC and Memorial as big A-tiers.

 

[bradharris]

The focus of NT and Major events should be on the spectator experience.

Tiered events should continue to focus on the player experience.

Events that are popular to players may be better served as A-Tiers, focusing on providing the best experience possible for the players.

Events that are exciting to watch and can draw a strong spectator base are the best options to make up the NT. Even if the players don't enjoy the courses or experience as much, for NTs and Majors, spectator numbers are more important.

 

[keltik]

The focus of NT and Major events should be on the spectator experience.

Tiered events should continue to focus on the player experience.

Events that are popular to players may be better served as A-Tiers, focusing on providing the best experience possible for the players.

Events that are exciting to watch and can draw a strong spectator base are the best options to make up the NT. Even if the players don't enjoy the courses or experience as much, for NTs and Majors, spectator numbers are more important.

I agree with this.

 

[BENFTS]

I don't think Vegas course is near NT quality, Bring back La Mirada Disette!!! February isn't to bad in SoCal either.

Agreed! all the Vegas courses are sub-par.

 

[sandtiger]

(I also have never liked the name Gentlemans Club Challenge, not sure the PDGA would want that to be one of their featured tournaments.)

They literally just featured it as the first story of their weekly email. Complete with cowgirl picture.

So I don't think they have an issue with it.

 

[JedV]

Just played came back from Vegas. Played Sunset Park. Not sure where else they could do an NT in Las Vegas. Unless they made some SERIOUS modifications to the course (any type of elevation, major bum removal), the thought of the PDGA doing an NT there is laughable. But I don't know any other course that's decent in the area.

Agreed 100%

Played there 2 years ago... Sunset Park is nothing special. The other courses in town are tiny.

 

[rj29274]

Sex sells. Even if it is morally offensive to some.

 

[gcr_russell]

It's not offensive to me just awkward. When I tell people I'm going to the Gentlemans Club Challenge the natural assumption is that I'm making the rounds at a bunch of strip clubs.

 

[sacnshaft]

Sunset park is the best we have and we've tried multiple things this year to add another course for GCC. We contacted a few ball golf courses and even tried reserving more land around the lake at sunset park, all of which we were denied. We do the best we can with what we are given as far as the layout goes and I think its a challenging layout year after year. There is a draft of the pro layout I'll post in the GCC thread

The majority of the people involved in running GCC don't want it to be an NT. We have really big masters and grand masters fields that would lose out if it went NT. We enjoy being the best A-tier of the year.

 

[ru4por]

The focus of NT and Major events should be on the spectator experience.
Tiered events should continue to focus on the player experience.

Events that are popular to players may be better served as A-Tiers, focusing on providing the best experience possible for the players.

Events that are exciting to watch and can draw a strong spectator base are the best options to make up the NT. Even if the players don't enjoy the courses or experience as much, for NTs and Majors, spectator numbers are more important.

Other than players, who are these spectators we are providing an experience for? I honestly believe that there are no spectators and likely will never be any. I say this with great love for the game, but I think it is truth.

 

[Discette]

Sunset park is the best we have and we've tried multiple things this year to add another course for GCC. We contacted a few ball golf courses and even tried reserving more land around the lake at sunset park, all of which we were denied. We do the best we can with what we are given as far as the layout goes and I think its a challenging layout year after year. There is a draft of the pro layout I'll post in the GCC thread

The majority of the people involved in running GCC don't want it to be an NT. We have really big masters and grand masters fields that would lose out if it went NT. We enjoy being the best A-tier of the year.

How would making Vegas an NT change these numbers? The Memorial is an NT with nearly the same size age protected divisions.


2014
GCC 199 Pros - Memorial 222 Pros
Open 97 - 120
Master 41 - 42
GMaster 39 - 30
SeniorGM 4 - 6
Legends 3 - 0
Master Women 4 - 4


And why would Vegas need two courses to be an NT when it can currently host 200 players with only one course? There is only one course used at Masters Cup and one course used for Vibram Open.

 

[sacnshaft]

NT's shift more money to the open field. We don't need 2 courses but our 1 isn't good enough.