2015 Ledgestone NT presented by Discraft

[discguy42]

I think the questionable one was not 17, that was clearly going to stay out, but the second shot on the par 5 hole they played after that. Jomez didn't have a good angle on that one. You can hear JohnE and nate having a laugh about how the crowd said "it didn't hit anybody"

That was hole #2, 897, Par 5, OB everywhere, and a mando in there too.

JohnE went for it and he threw into the crowd hoping for everyone to get out of the way, THEN for a skip to help his shot land safe? I think that is a little too much "wishfull thinking" on his behalf for a "go-for-it" shot.

Then he proceeds to try again and fade OB to the left of the basket...this course dictated smart play and some played smarter than others.

This happens all the time in the ball golf world. I see players on the PGA hit into the crowds outside of the "ropes" almost on a weekly basis. There is also no stroke and distance penalty's either, play it from where it lies.

Simon killed the "course-management" aspect of this layout. I never thought he would be able to pull off a win at a course that had OB EVERYWHERE! I think he had only one OB stroke in the final nine. He KILLED and PARKED so many upshots that it made Paul have to "risk" and run more shots than normal for him.

That said, Paul was the UBER PRO during his loss to Simon. He was smiling, laughing, was in high spirits, he even told others when they had good shots, he had several "low-fives" off the tee for Simon when he crushed a drive.

The final hole was pretty epic too, Nates crazy roller, Simon's crush over the water, Paul risking his only swirly Destroyer (with him at the moment) to send it as well. JohnE stepping up to the tee and laying down his own smashed shot to show the young'ens he can still throw the long disc!

 

[oddjob]

Playing where it was last IB should be eliminated from the list of options. previous lie or DZ.

 

[Jax11]

That was hole #2, 897, Par 5, OB everywhere, and a mando in there too.

JohnE went for it and he threw into the crowd hoping for everyone to get out of the way, THEN for a skip to help his shot land safe? I think that is a little too much "wishfull thinking" on his behalf for a "go-for-it" shot.

Then he proceeds to try again and fade OB to the left of the basket...this course dictated smart play and some played smarter than others.

This happens all the time in the ball golf world. I see players on the PGA hit into the crowds outside of the "ropes" almost on a weekly basis. There is also no stroke and distance penalty's either, play it from where it lies.

Simon killed the "course-management" aspect of this layout. I never thought he would be able to pull off a win at a course that had OB EVERYWHERE! I think he had only one OB stroke in the final nine. He KILLED and PARKED so many upshots that it made Paul have to "risk" and run more shots than normal for him.

That said, Paul was the UBER PRO during his loss to Simon. He was smiling, laughing, was in high spirits, he even told others when they had good shots, he had several "low-fives" off the tee for Simon when he crushed a drive.

The final hole was pretty epic too, Nates crazy roller, Simon's crush over the water, Paul risking his only swirly Destroyer (with him at the moment) to send it as well. JohnE stepping up to the tee and laying down his own smashed shot to show the young'ens he can still throw the long disc!

The last hole was amazing. I was sitting on the bleachers right behind the tee pad. It was truly special to witness those tee shots in person. So thankful that I was there for that.

 

[lyleoross]

I always find it amazing that people who put in zero or low effort, and have no experience in designing courses and running big events want to tell the people doing it how wrong they are.

Anyone who brings in that much revenue, that many people, and puts on that kind of a show doesn't have to apologize to anyone in any way. What happened here was great for the sport, looked great, and is part of the increasing trend of courses that require thinking and versatile skills. If someone wants to argue it wasn't perfect, I've yet to see any product in any venture that was perfect.

Safari holes, as a business comment - if your goal is to be fair to the top card, you can argue against safari courses, if your goal is produce an exciting final, that will be enjoyed by those watching, then safari courses are to be expected. The question becomes what makes the tournament exciting for those watching, since that is the ultimate goal of the sport and the players, since that is where the money ultimately comes from. Sponsors aren't paying to make the pros happy, they are paying for the eyes - like it or not.

Player conduct - appalling, instant media means we get to see it in ways that we didn't get to in the past. Frankly, it should be ignored, all players act like donkey's some of the time, and some act like donkey's most of the time; it is only the ones who act like donkey's all the time that should concern us. I haven't yet to see one who is a constant pain, including the most infamous ones.

 

[Forester]

Isn't JohnE relatively new to Lat. 64? Another incident like this and I can see him booted from the team.

 

[Pbmercil]

Was JohnE's behavior really that bad? I didn't watch the live stream, the edited video didn't make him look bad. Just playing really fast, which isn't that wierd. He plays almost that fast when he's winning too, and I've seen him go rapid fire on rethrows like that before too.

 

[Streets]

Isn't JohnE relatively new to Lat. 64? Another incident like this and I can see him booted from the team.

LOL!

 

[Dana]

I'd like to talk about the "Bridge Hole", #6 at Lake Eureka Temp which yielded some large #'s from elite players. This basket placement was a "sucker pin" placement. Very similar to Winthrop Gold #17. If you try to park it, you have to throw a GREAT shot (this goes for parking it from the teepad or from the layup zone). Players could have played it to the fatter part of the green! These players who chose to keep attacking the basket, which was on the very small part of the green, might just deserve the numbers they got.

Stroke/throw and distance worked well here. I would consider fattening the green a little more and leaving the basket where it was.

 

[Dwiggy444]

Regarding JohnE's approach shot on on Hole 2 (the 3rd hole of the finals):

I was in the gallery for the entire Final 9 and was standing along the OB line of Hole 2 about 60ft from the basket. Everyone in the gallery was looking down the fairway to our left to watch the approach shots and most were aware that there was a mando way down the fairway that would cause most shots to travel down the fairway normally. From where we were standing, nobody could see the players, so we couldn't see the discs leave their hands.

Nobody in the gallery saw JohnE's approach shot until it was halfway to us and approaching from BEHIND us, so the effort to get out of the was significant. The disc missed my wife by a few feet and, as far as I can remember, it landed in between two people who basically "hit the deck" to get out of the way. I think they were seated when everyone started yelling "FORE", so they had a difficult time getting up to avoid the disc.

Based on what I saw and remember, I'm pretty sure that disc had no chance of landing in bounds. I don't believe that it hit anyone and, even if it did, it was travelling too slow to skip in after it hit the ground. AND...I'm not sure that throwing a huge 400' approach shot over the gallery was the best choice that JohnE could have made in that situation.

 

[discguy42]

Was JohnE's behavior really that bad? I didn't watch the live stream, the edited video didn't make him look bad. Just playing really fast, which isn't that wierd. He plays almost that fast when he's winning too, and I've seen him go rapid fire on rethrows like that before too.

P, I dont think it was that bad at all. NOT anything like or close to some of Nikko's antics, he was subtlety peeved at minimum.

You could just tell he was upset with himself mostly ( I think, as I am not he) and you could see/feel the "Lets get this STUFF done then I am outta here" vibe he had going on.

He was just "done" and it showed a little bit toward the end, as he racked up a F-this score of 53 in the Final-9!

He also pured his drive thru the trees on the safari hole too ( combo of #4 & #5 ) and put it out with Simons and Pauls shots!

He did smash a long, sweet Turbo putt on hole #7 I think. Saw it live, but the Jomez final 9 does not show it?

 

[discguy42]

P, I dont think it was that bad at all. NOT anything like or close to some of Nikko's antics, he was subtlety peeved at minimum.

You could just tell he was upset with himself mostly ( I think, as I am not he) and you could see/feel the "Lets get this STUFF done then I am outta here" vibe he had going on.

He was just "done" and it showed a little bit toward the end, as he racked up a F-this score of 53 in the Final-9!

He also pured his drive thru the trees on the safari hole too ( combo of #4 & #5 ) and put it out with Simons and Pauls shots!

He did smash a long, sweet Turbo putt on hole #7 I think. Saw it live, but the Jomez final 9 does not show it?

Smashboxx.tv shows his turbo putt here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEksfvrH7oM
at 1:30:10. He walks up, picks up the disc and rips it to the basket.

I dont think Jomez had time to set up to film it.

 

[DG_Before_Breakfast]

Wow, gotta go find some video of this to see Simon actually beating Paul. Clearly, it was you guys berating him for having too much fun throwing trick shots that inspired Simon.

 

[Anon]

Wow, gotta go find some video of this to see Simon actually beating Paul. Clearly, it was you guys berating him for having too much fun throwing trick shots that inspired Simon.

LOL. He actually mentioned it in his victory speech.

So yea... I'd say there was a little bit of motivation from the virtual peanut gallery.

 

[discguy42]

Wow, gotta go find some video of this to see Simon actually beating Paul. Clearly, it was you guys berating him for having too much fun throwing trick shots that inspired Simon.

Also Simon started the final 9, two strokes (-2) behind Paul. During the previous round #4, on the last hole, Simon threw out of bounds pin high left into the dugout fence of the ball field. THEN proceeded to doink a tap in putt low on the cage for the bogey 4 :doh:.

Here are the all the links from the PDGA to catch up on the Ledgestone Insurance Open!

http://www.pdga.com/ledgestone/video

 

[@iDiscGolf]

Was JohnE's behavior really that bad? I didn't watch the live stream, the edited video didn't make him look bad. Just playing really fast, which isn't that wierd. He plays almost that fast when he's winning too, and I've seen him go rapid fire on rethrows like that before too.

No. Not that bad. Can't you tell by now everything in this thread gets exaggerated. Im suprised it's not in the landfill yet to tell you the truth.

He was visually frustrated and seemed to be entirely "over it". It's not like him. He'll be fine and snap back I'm sure. Whatever.

 

[Pbmercil]

No. Not that bad. Can't you tell by now everything in this thread gets exaggerated. Im suprised it's not in the landfill yet to tell you the truth.

He was visually frustrated and seemed to be entirely "over it". It's not like him. He'll be fine and snap back I'm sure. Whatever.

Yeah that's pretty much what I figured. Anybody that's ever played a few PDGA events can relate to that feeling. It sucks, and its so hard not to just mentally quit on the round. What most of us can't relate to is having that happen in an NT, with thousands of people watching in person and on youtube. JohnE is a blast to watch, and I hope he can finish his year strong.

 

[Streets]

Nikko essentially gets away with murder during events (or at least used to) but JohnE gets a little testy during a frustrating round and PEOPLE LOSE THEIR MINDS OMG!!!!!

 

[cjdiscgolf]

Nikko essentially gets away with murder during events (or at least used to) but JohnE gets a little testy during a frustrating round and PEOPLE LOSE THEIR MINDS OMG!!!!!

Nikko was warned multiple times by PDGA staff and marshals during worlds.

However they never were in the same round so nothing ever came of it.

Once he gets warned, he calms down b/c he knows next one is a stroke.

 

[@iDiscGolf]

I mean the TD directly said that he designed the course to test their patience. Seems kinda diabolical...

 

[Emoney]

Great tourney, thx for all your effort Nate. Everyone had to play the same course and everyone had bad breaks. Simon played the cleanest and won, so glad to see that. I love stroke and distance, it puts pressure on the player and tests the mental game like crazy. Loved all the holes. Great job everyone.