2017 Glass Blown Open

[Steve West]

So, hole 5 was almost useless. It gave out a lot of different scores, but gave them out - not quite at random - but in a way that did not help the course sort players.

Hole 18 was the star, it gave out plenty of different scores and gave them out to the right players which contributed a lot to the total ability of the course to sort players.

 

[chadair]

The problem of weathered-out days has been addressed in contests like sailing or glider flying by building in "rest days" in to a longer format contest. The rest days become playing days if a proceeding day is lost or the forecast shows that the following days may be lost. If the weather is good, then the rest day becomes a way to practice up, participate in a fun round, or just hang out. As one of the older AM players, I would appreciate a break when there are 5 or more rounds cued up.

 

[DanJon]

What happens if you have three days set aside (Thurs, Friday, Sat) and it storms Thursday through Sunday?

 

[scarpfish]

The problem of weathered-out days has been addressed in contests like sailing or glider flying by building in "rest days" in to a longer format contest. The rest days become playing days if a proceeding day is lost or the forecast shows that the following days may be lost. If the weather is good, then the rest day becomes a way to practice up, participate in a fun round, or just hang out. As one of the older AM players, I would appreciate a break when there are 5 or more rounds cued up.

Outside of Worlds, how many tournaments go beyond four rounds?

We're not going to see rest days in disc golf for the simple fact that it adds too much ancillary expense in terms of time and money. While I love what DD has done to the GBO, the fact I have to commit three days and only get one round on each, made me quit playing it years ago.

 

[Pwingles]

Jones East actually played amazing when I filmed it Friday. There were maybe 2, 1 card backups? Way better than last year.

What do you mean by Olpe being raw? The infrastructure was amazing there! So well maintained. I was seriously impressed by all the little things they've done. My only criticism would be the rock greens on a couple holes.





Thanks guys! I'm so proud of what the team did this week. I feel like our round 2 videos are the best we've ever put out. I love how Cory added the slow mo before and then behind the scores, then the scores transition into the drone footage.

Only that as a course its still new. Growing pains of having to log many rounds and make changes for the better. Example, last year vs this year, the very long par 5 (?) had a very very small gimmicky island green, this year its across the pond on an actual island and plays much better. The wall they added to hole ones island green, in addition to the new pin placement, is a big improvement on the year before. Im sure next year they will listen to feedback and find more things to fine tune as well, but its all stuff that you can only really do after you set it up and play it before you decide if its an improvement or not.

I agree about the rock greens, but im not sure if its something they can fix for day to day play. Surely if they wanted to they could try and have a short term fix in place for events like the GBO, wood chips or something. Although, with the way the wind is there, a lot of it would likely blow away.

One thing id really like to see is some gravel or wood chips around some of the tees to try and help with the mud and tracking it on tee pads, which makes them very slick.

 

[SD86]

What do you mean by Olpe being raw? The infrastructure was amazing there! So well maintained. I was seriously impressed by all the little things they've done. My only criticism would be the rock greens on a couple holes.

Thanks guys! I'm so proud of what the team did this week. I feel like our round 2 videos are the best we've ever put out. I love how Cory added the slow mo before and then behind the scores, then the scores transition into the drone footage.

I think I understand what he meant by "raw". Not easy to describe, but I think I saw the same thing on film, especially in the cloudy conditions. That's not a complaint on my part, either: I'm sure the course was fine, and it did look well maintained.

I really liked the slo-mo footage of the players throwing, also. There's a lot of good teaching points we can pick up in watching just those few seconds of the pros throwing. And the editing job was very well done, of course, but we've just come to expect that. :thmbup:

 

[turbine712]

Wow, You got beer! And some other stuff.

In regards to the pint glass that Radius was giving out. I was very disappointed that when I went to get my glass, the coupon stated that you can get a free glass with the purchase of a beverage. The bartender told me that the minimum charge was $5.00 for the GBO glass. Well all the beers they were selling were $4.00 which meant that in order to receive a GBO glass you had to buy two beers. I told them that it doesn't say that on the coupon and was told that it was Dynamic Discs fault for not putting that on the coupon. So... I had to buy two beers and gave one to a guy that works for CCDG . This was the only part of the tournament that I was disappointed in. Otherwise had a great time. Met tons of nice people. It was a memorable trip.

 

[NegaSnapples]

In regards to the pint glass that Radius was giving out. I was very disappointed that when I went to get my glass, the coupon stated that you can get a free glass with the purchase of a beverage. The bartender told me that the minimum charge was $5.00 for the GBO glass. Well all the beers they were selling were $4.00 which meant that in order to receive a GBO glass you had to buy two beers. I told them that it doesn't say that on the coupon and was told that it was Dynamic Discs fault for not putting that on the coupon. So... I had to buy two beers and gave one to a guy that works for CCDG . This was the only part of the tournament that I was disappointed in. Otherwise had a great time. Met tons of nice people. It was a memorable trip.

Could you not just buy one beer and have him charge your card $5.00? Or just paying with cash would probably work. Regardless, if that's your biggest complaint, the tournament must be wonderful.

 

[BrotherDave]

I'm so tired of people calling the courses here 'snoozefest hyzer courses'.

I'll happily play any of you guys at Jones East if that's how you feel.

I'll happily play Jones East, that looked like a quality, park-style course. Olpe though, I'm only playing you there if I'm using your discs. :|

The event looked great from the coverage I watched. I thought the Olpe course looked brutal. It seemed perfect for pro play. I would lose many discs there.

If I had to criticize one thing, it'd be that Jones East seemed to not create a lot of separation of scores among the pro women. I may be wrong about that, but it seemed like there weren't many birdie opportunities.

I watched youtube rounds from Jomez and CCDG, really great content. Thank you guys.

I wholeheartedly second this. Olpe did look brutal and dare I say fairly gimmicky in places. It is so not my preferred flavor of disc golf. Jones East looked really solid though, maybe just had some 'tweener pars like the vid commentators mentioned.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Jomez and CCDG vids, a massive thank you to those folks. :thmbup:

 

[turbine712]

Could you not just buy one beer and have him charge your card $5.00? Or just paying with cash would probably work. Regardless, if that's your biggest complaint, the tournament must be wonderful.

Nope, they wouldn't take 5.00. I had to buy 2 beers. And yes this was a wonderful tournament. If I don't go to Bowling Green next year it will probably be GBO again.

 

[araytx]

Emporia - I confess that Worlds dissapointed me in terms of the courses. Therefore, I was pleased at the modifications I saw that clearly made the two rounds played, much more competitive and exciting. It's possibly I missed something at Worlds, but I was impressed enough this weekend.

That's interesting, comment Lyle. I felt as if the two courses played were much easier than last year at GBO. #1 -- Olpe wasn't used at Worlds and for those of us who did play Olpe last year at GBO it was made a bit easier on SEVERAL holes. #2 -- Jones East was the same with the only changes being on holes 3, 13, & 18. 3's pin moved to the right to basically take the long deuce out of the realm of realistic possibility. And then 13 and 18 were made shorter and straighter. Now, for those who say the dead straight shot is the hardest, I guess that goes, but I don't see that. Again, talking as my eyes saw it.

Had they played Country Club, you would have seen that it was exactly the same.

 

[Pwingles]

In regards to the pint glass that Radius was giving out. I was very disappointed that when I went to get my glass, the coupon stated that you can get a free glass with the purchase of a beverage. The bartender told me that the minimum charge was $5.00 for the GBO glass. Well all the beers they were selling were $4.00 which meant that in order to receive a GBO glass you had to buy two beers. I told them that it doesn't say that on the coupon and was told that it was Dynamic Discs fault for not putting that on the coupon. So... I had to buy two beers and gave one to a guy that works for CCDG . This was the only part of the tournament that I was disappointed in. Otherwise had a great time. Met tons of nice people. It was a memorable trip.

Either they lied to you, or our bartender didnt get that memo. I bought my first beer and gave him my voucher for the glass, and i got my beer in the glass.

 

[Lazerface]

This encapsulates exactly where the sport is right now. It's at a crossroads between which segment of players to cater to, and I am not sure there is a correct answer yet.

Exactly. It's a fine line. So many weekend warriors are playing this game for the experience, and that includes many in the open division.

 

[DanJon]

Exactly. It's a fine line. So many weekend warriors are playing this game for the experience, and that includes many in the open division.

Yep, makes it especially funny when top pros are complaining about weather delays or cancellations and extending the tournament into Sunday/Monday.

Half the people playing wouldn't be able to accommodate that.

And they're the ones subsidizing the payout.

 

[SD86]

I wholeheartedly second this. Olpe did look brutal and dare I say fairly gimmicky in places. It is so not my preferred flavor of disc golf. Jones East looked really solid though, maybe just had some 'tweener pars like the vid commentators mentioned.

Yes, Olpe looked brutal. I did not think it looked gimmmicky, though (we may have different ideas of what constitutes 'gimmicy', of course). It also looked like a course that would be challenging to professionals. The likes of me has no need to play that course, but it was very nice seeing the top pros challenged by a course.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Jomez and CCDG vids, a massive thank you to those folks. :thmbup:

Me, too! Great job by all! :thmbup:

 

[slowplastic]

Yes, Olpe looked brutal. I did not think it looked gimmmicky, though (we may have different ideas of what constitutes 'gimmicy', of course). It also looked like a course that would be challenging to professionals. The likes of me has no need to play that course, but it was very nice seeing the top pros challenged by a course.

This is pretty much exactly how I felt watching the tourney footage. Loved to see the challenge to the pro's but I would not want to play that course with my own discs.

 

[SD86]

This is pretty much exactly how I felt watching the tourney footage. Loved to see the challenge to the pro's but I would not want to play that course with my own discs.

I'll be scoring about 12 on EACH of those peninsula holes because I'll be going the long way around.

Not likely I'm getting a 3 on some of those 500+ ft. holes, either, but they're playable...

 

[roblee]

This was my first GBO. I would echo all the superlatives posted here. No doubt the energy, attention to detail, value, and desire to provide a first class experience for every level of participant were high priorities for DD. There was something magical about the way the DD machine was fully engaged and in sync.

One thing from my personal perspective was that the schedule for SG1 was not dumbed down as seems the trend for PDGA influenced events (e.g. Worlds). The courses were good challenges and the start times were considerate. There were at least 3 of us that could and would have played Legends if offered. Only suggestion: Offer Advanced and Pro Legends next year. Set a reasonable time for them to make or not then offer any unclaimed spots to other divisions. Thanks DD for some great memories.

 

[JC17393]

Yep, makes it especially funny when top pros are complaining about weather delays or cancellations and extending the tournament into Sunday/Monday.

Half the people playing wouldn't be able to accommodate that.

And they're the ones subsidizing the payout.

I think that estimate is probably very conservative. 262 in the NT (180 in MPO/FPO)...maybe 50 of them total qualify as "touring" in the sense that they don't have a day job to go home to after the tournament. And I'd wager probably a good 25% of those couldn't afford another day's accommodations even if they had nowhere else to be...I'd say it was higher but most probably were crashing on couches/floors or parking RVs/vans in driveways.

Honestly, I can't see anything changing in terms of building in extra days until the full time touring players outnumber the so-called weekend warriors on a regular basis at the biggest events. That's not likely to happen for a while yet. At best, we might see a change in policy so that TDs have to be more proactive if potential bad weather is forecasted and change schedules to get more holes played before or after the weather hits (2 rounds in one day instead of just one, for example).

 

[lyleoross]

That's interesting, comment Lyle. I felt as if the two courses played were much easier than last year at GBO. #1 -- Olpe wasn't used at Worlds and for those of us who did play Olpe last year at GBO it was made a bit easier on SEVERAL holes. #2 -- Jones East was the same with the only changes being on holes 3, 13, & 18. 3's pin moved to the right to basically take the long deuce out of the realm of realistic possibility. And then 13 and 18 were made shorter and straighter. Now, for those who say the dead straight shot is the hardest, I guess that goes, but I don't see that. Again, talking as my eyes saw it.

Had they played Country Club, you would have seen that it was exactly the same.

Remember, I watched this all from video. It should be acknowledged that video angles an coverage can give very different impressions. I'd probably say that Jones and older have more impact onot me than CCDG. Again, from a video spectatingredients POV.