American Disc Golf Tour

[JC17393]

i've always liked how the GBO did 1-day C-tiers during the week but it didn't occur to me until now that it's one way you could increase the number of spectators at our big events.

if i were on the fence about going to watch a relatively close Major or NT, the opportunity to play a tournament round during the event would be a huge draw.

Aren't those one *round* C-tiers played before the proper event starts, though (like Thursday before a Fri-Sun tournament)? I always thought they were more like bonus play for those getting into town early or locals who might not have gotten into the big tournament. Not sure how much of a draw for spectators they really could be, since I'd imagine most folks coming out just to spectate would probably come for the weekend rounds only.

What they used to do at the USDGC (they might still, it's been a few years since I've been) is have a small tournament at a nearby course on the final day. Players that missed the cut could play as well as non-USDGC participants, then when it ended, they could shoot across town to Winthrop and catch the leaders just as they began their round.

 

[DavidSauls]

Okay, so my wife and I just watched the replay.

Pros; the course and camera quality was great.

Some of the info about disc golf for people who don't know about it was kind of cool.

The gallery was bigger and more involved than I thought it would be.

Cons; Solo Billy isn't the best way to present disc golf. The lady doesn't watch DG coverage much and her first thought was that he sounded less than professional.

The camera angles were a little off.
I'm sure part of this was because they were hard wired, but even she said that the angles were often misleading as to where the basket was.

Too bad more pros couldn't be there. I would have loved to see some more big names splashing up the scorecards. Understand why they weren't though.

Hooters girls? Really? They added nothing and could hurt female perception of our little sport.

I haven't seen the webcast, but a lot of the reviews I've read are more or less along these lines. Some a little more exuberant.

But all of those reviews are from disc golfers, some with an anti-Salient bias, others thrilled with anything disc golf-related. So my honest question is----

How do you think it would come across to a non-disc golfer? Boring? Intriguing? Confusing? Exciting?

Leaving aside whether any non-disc golfers would see it to begin with, that's a large part of the ADGT formula. Presumably, to get it to ESPN2 where the general public would stumble across it and become fans. So, to the degree anyone can shut out your experience and see it with fresh eyes---How do you think it looks to a non-disc golfer?

 

[DavidSauls]

Aren't those one *round* C-tiers played before the proper event starts, though (like Thursday before a Fri-Sun tournament)? I always thought they were more like bonus play for those getting into town early or locals who might not have gotten into the big tournament. Not sure how much of a draw for spectators they really could be, since I'd imagine most folks coming out just to spectate would probably come for the weekend rounds only.

What they used to do at the USDGC (they might still, it's been a few years since I've been) is have a small tournament at a nearby course on the final day. Players that missed the cut could play as well as non-USDGC participants, then when it ended, they could shoot across town to Winthrop and catch the leaders just as they began their round.

All of the schemes for creating a gallery by enticing or coercing players to hang around have a serious limitation---they're only going to create or add to the gallery by 50-100 people. That's fine when trying to create some kind of gallery.

But if an event envisions a large enough gallery to look good on video, or perhaps even to create revenue from ticket sales, it takes a whole lot more than just holding Ams and non-finalists hostage for their payout---or such an early-morning event as the USDGC has or had.

 

[AndyJB]

Here's the thing: no non disc golfer is going to watch it. Period. So it doesnt matter how it looked to outsiders...they will never find it.

I remember the first years of the X-Games...it was the weirdest crap to ever be shown on tv. It wasnt just skatwboarding and BMX...they had skydiving, downhill layback racing, kayak bungee jumping....it was just bizarre. If course many of those sports did not survive to the modern X Games. But from the jump, they had quality camerawork, the best angles, high production values and multiple commentators explaining the ins and outs of each discipline. The judges and at least one commentator were people who were considered legends in their sport. It gave legitimacy to niche, off the wall sports.

I havent watched Salient's little broadcast but from what everyone is saying it is nowhere near that. It was still made FOR disc golfers, but with Crump oddly tossing out little snippets of how the game ks played....but still using terms like hyzer, anhyzer etc. It tried to straddle some unknown middle ground. And that just highlights how dumb the Salient guys are: if their goal was to provide a TV product that was so much better than a "YouTube thing" why did they format their broadcast exactly like a YouTube thing...but did it worse?

 

[lyleoross]

Aren't those one *round* C-tiers played before the proper event starts, though (like Thursday before a Fri-Sun tournament)? I always thought they were more like bonus play for those getting into town early or locals who might not have gotten into the big tournament. Not sure how much of a draw for spectators they really could be, since I'd imagine most folks coming out just to spectate would probably come for the weekend rounds only.

What they used to do at the USDGC (they might still, it's been a few years since I've been) is have a small tournament at a nearby course on the final day. Players that missed the cut could play as well as non-USDGC participants, then when it ended, they could shoot across town to Winthrop and catch the leaders just as they began their round.

Neal Dambra ran an early morning C tier before his A tier start times on Sunday at the Woodville Open. The C finished up just as the top cards on the A drove hole 1. It worked really well. We walked off the course, bought lunch, and followed the lead.

 

[bradharris]

I remember the first years of the X-Games...it was the weirdest crap to ever be shown on tv. It wasnt just skatwboarding and BMX...they had skydiving, downhill layback racing, kayak bungee jumping....it was just bizarre. If course many of those sports did not survive to the modern X Games. But from the jump, they had quality camerawork, the best angles, high production values and multiple commentators explaining the ins and outs of each discipline. The judges and at least one commentator were people who were considered legends in their sport. It gave legitimacy to niche, off the wall sports.

http://www.spike.com/video-clips/uwrgs0/ultimate-x-early-x-games

 

[bradharris]

What they used to do at the USDGC (they might still, it's been a few years since I've been) is have a small tournament at a nearby course on the final day. Players that missed the cut could play as well as non-USDGC participants, then when it ended, they could shoot across town to Winthrop and catch the leaders just as they began their round.

There's no cut at the USDGC anymore, so I don't think this is happening.

 

[rhatton1]

Here's the thing: no non disc golfer is going to watch it. Period. So it doesnt matter how it looked to outsiders...they will never find it.

I remember the first years of the X-Games...it was the weirdest crap to ever be shown on tv. It wasnt just skatwboarding and BMX...they had skydiving, downhill layback racing, kayak bungee jumping....it was just bizarre. If course many of those sports did not survive to the modern X Games. But from the jump, they had quality camerawork, the best angles, high production values and multiple commentators explaining the ins and outs of each discipline. The judges and at least one commentator were people who were considered legends in their sport. It gave legitimacy to niche, off the wall sports.

I havent watched Salient's little broadcast but from what everyone is saying it is nowhere near that. It was still made FOR disc golfers, but with Crump oddly tossing out little snippets of how the game ks played....but still using terms like hyzer, anhyzer etc. It tried to straddle some unknown middle ground. And that just highlights how dumb the Salient guys are: if their goal was to provide a TV product that was so much better than a "YouTube thing" why did they format their broadcast exactly like a YouTube thing...but did it worse?

I'd disagree witht this. They may not pay but to watch free people will turn up if well advertised. Back at the British open in 2008 we got around 50 spectators on top of the players for the final nine. People who had never heard of disc golf before but had seen the local television piece or a piece in he local paper giving them a time and place to come out and watch. Nice weather and they did. I suspect we would get a lot more if we were to did this again 8 years on. With a much gretaer local knowledge of the sport.

Just realised this post was about tv not gallery watching, apologies, replied to the wrong comment!

 

[dreadlock86]

Aren't those one *round* C-tiers played before the proper event starts, though (like Thursday before a Fri-Sun tournament)? I always thought they were more like bonus play for those getting into town early or locals who might not have gotten into the big tournament. Not sure how much of a draw for spectators they really could be, since I'd imagine most folks coming out just to spectate would probably come for the weekend rounds only.

What they used to do at the USDGC (they might still, it's been a few years since I've been) is have a small tournament at a nearby course on the final day. Players that missed the cut could play as well as non-USDGC participants, then when it ended, they could shoot across town to Winthrop and catch the leaders just as they began their round.

the year i went, 2012, there were multiple single round C-tiers during the GBO itself. i think the first one was the day before and the next was on day 1 or day 2.

if i could play a tournament round on saturday and watch the lead card on sunday, i'd totally consider driving several hours to an NT or major. plus, any place hosting such an event has enough good courses nearby to accommodate that without interrupting the pro event.

Neal Dambra ran an early morning C tier before his A tier start times on Sunday at the Woodville Open. The C finished up just as the top cards on the A drove hole 1. It worked really well. We walked off the course, bought lunch, and followed the lead.

this is awesome :clap:

 

[beereakfast]

I'd disagree witht this. They may not pay but to watch free people will turn up if well advertised. Back at the British open in 2008 we got around 50 spectators on top of the players for the final nine. People who had never heard of disc golf before but had seen the local television piece or a piece in he local paper giving them a time and place to come out and watch. Nice weather and they did. I suspect we would get a lot more if we were to did this again 8 years on. With a much gretaer local knowledge of the sport.

Just realised this post was about tv not gallery watching, apologies, replied to the wrong comment!

Hate to break it, but 50 spectators is like our hacky sack circle back in junior college, 18 years ago. No one is gonna jump on those numbers. Unless this changes drastically, it will not matter how much you wish for it. Small Sailboat racing is bigger than us. When was the last time you randomly watched a one design sailboat race, or hacky sack on ESPN? We will triumph when that changes! Good luck!
If you expect anyone to see this stuff on the equivalent of public access, How many fringe sports have you gotten into through this kind of exposure?

 

[MikeK]

Anybody know if Goodpasture ever got his refund?

 

[BraveThrower43]

Anybody know if Goodpasture ever got his refund?

I don't think so. They're stubborn enough to never give the $ back despitem the pressure.


It's been odd how quiet all of the salient and adgt pages. I wonder if this drama and the event itself finally broke them

 

[DavidSauls]

It's been odd how quiet all of the salient and adgt pages. I wonder if this drama and the event itself finally broke them

Very odd, indeed. I would have expected them to be crowing about their success, or blaming everyone else for their failure, by now. Either of which would be more entertaining than silence.

There is a theory that they're not done yet. In the Ultiworld article, Boucher said that re-playing the broadcast on ESPN2 would be dependent on the production quality, not viewer numbers. So the theory goes that they're busy right now, trying to convince ESPN to show it, or to convince big sponsors that it's worth paying ESPN to show it. Perhaps even to recoup their losses. It might explain the silence.

In other matters, they've cancelled the next ADGT tour event---the Crooked Creek Classic. Or, at least, removed it from the PDGA schedule (it was listed as sanctioned for both). Which has created tremendous excitement locally, as the Columbia Disc Golf Club has picked up the baton with plans to run a tournament there, later this year. Honestly, you've never seen such glee at a tournament being cancelled.

 

[Consult20]

Very odd, indeed. I would have expected them to be crowing about their success, or blaming everyone else for their failure, by now. Either of which would be more entertaining than silence.

There is a theory that they're not done yet. In the Ultiworld article, Boucher said that re-playing the broadcast on ESPN2 would be dependent on the production quality, not viewer numbers. So the theory goes that they're busy right now, trying to convince ESPN to show it, or to convince big sponsors that it's worth paying ESPN to show it. Perhaps even to recoup their losses. It might explain the silence.

In other matters, they've cancelled the next ADGT tour event---the Crooked Creek Classic. Or, at least, removed it from the PDGA schedule (it was listed as sanctioned for both). Which has created tremendous excitement locally, as the Columbia Disc Golf Club has picked up the baton with plans to run a tournament there, later this year. Honestly, you've never seen such glee at a tournament being cancelled.

And for posterity, here's a screen shot of when it was actually listed...

 

[DavidSauls]

If only you had a screen shot of the flyer.....oh, wait, there wasn't one.....

Well, it's still listed on the ADGT website. Then again, so is the registration form for the American Open.

 

[JedV]

If only you had a screen shot of the flyer.....oh, wait, there wasn't one.....

Well, it's still listed on the ADGT website. Then again, so is the registration form for the American Open.

:doh: One day we'll try to open their page and all we'll get is 404 page not found.

 

[Consult20]

:doh: One day we'll try to open their page and all we'll get is 404 page not found.

The First Annual 404 Page Not Found Tournament? I like it.

 

[DavidSauls]

:doh: One day we'll try to open their page and all we'll get is 404 page not found.

We did that for about a week in January. Sadly, it didn't last.

 

[MonkeyGrass]

The First Annual 404 Page Not Found Tournament? I like it.

That would be the BEST Salient Tournament EVAH!! :clap:

 

[ejvogie]

That would be the BEST Salient Tournament EVAH!! :clap:

Well, we don't have to shoot very far to hit THAT goal :\