2017 USDGC

[lyleoross]

Lucky George. He gets all the good holes.

Henry called, he wants his hole back...

 

[JTacoma03]

I don't see any information on this on the website....other than it being mentioned on the schedule.

Sign up for tee times? Show up and wait? Group size? Shotgun at 9am? Fee?

In the past it's been $10, and you sign up for a tee time in the Pro Shop (it goes fast so do it earlier in the week). The proceeds benefit the EDGE program I believe, so it's for a good cause as well.

It is 100% worth it to experience a round there.

1) can't take a week off for frisbee...
2) wouldn't qualify lol - my 940 probably couldn't reach the pin on more than half the holes

Funny you say this...I'll be there producing a series on my experience at the tournament (not going to be part of the coverage team this weekend, which is a bummer but oh well).

One of my ideas is to have Avery and I "try" to qualify (meaning buy a qualifying round tee time and play it on camera). We'll talk about how the course is treating us, and as a 940ish player myself who doesn't get to practice much I'll probably get rolled by the course - but if people can live that experience and see the difficulty - all good.

 

[JC17393]

Does anyone know how the hole were assigned to the various 18 states? These don't seem to change and appear random, but I'm sure there is some meaning behind why Hole 1 is Maryland and Hole 17 is George, etc.

Once upon a time, each hole were sponsored by a state. The sponsorship was either a collaborative effort organized by the state's PDGA coordinator or it was a club or business in that state. At some point, those state's kinda got locked in to those holes, but I don't know if the sponsorships continue or not.

I know Maine sponsored hole 3 for years because it was my boss who did it, but he stopped doing it 5-6 years ago and it's still the Maine hole. For all I know, they might still hang his banners near the tee in a legacy supporter kind of way. None of us have been down for the tournament since 2012 to see.

I also distinctly remember that they made hole 1 the New York hole in 2001, for obvious reasons. Can't recall if that was the only year or if the change to Maryland happened more recently.

 

[TheOtherBill]

In the past it's been $10, and you sign up for a tee time in the Pro Shop (it goes fast so do it earlier in the week). The proceeds benefit the EDGE program I believe, so it's for a good cause as well.
It is 100% worth it to experience a round there.

Do any other tournaments do this kind of charity event the day after? I bet lots of us chuckers would like to try the Ledgestone course in the tournament setup, for example.

Also, what's the coverage format going to be this year?

 

[DiscJunkie]

One of my ideas is to have Avery and I "try" to qualify (meaning buy a qualifying round tee time and play it on camera). We'll talk about how the course is treating us, and as a 940ish player myself who doesn't get to practice much I'll probably get rolled by the course - but if people can live that experience and see the difficulty - all good.

Having played Winthrop Gold several times, I think it would be a treat to see highlights from a non-pro playing the course.
Being a 940-ish player myself, I really don't want to see a whole round, because I know what a beat-down looks like.
However, most viewers probably don't have a perspective on the difference between an Am and a Pro on Winthrop Gold. Might be fun to watch some highlights.
You'll be a brave man for putting yourself out there for the whole world to watch.
I say "GO for it!"

 

[Steve West]

I just want to see up-close what the hole looks like from the front of the tee to 499 feet from the tee. We never see that with the top MPO cards.

 

[brentjacobs]

VIP pass for sale

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128822

 

[notroman]

Do any other tournaments do this kind of charity event the day after? I bet lots of us chuckers would like to try the Ledgestone course in the tournament setup, for example.

Nate usually runs a Ledgestone warm up c-tier every year in the spring. Same temp monster course, same ropes. I don't think it ever fills.

 

[Harold Duvall]

Is 14 going to have the hazzard rope inside the 10 meter circle again this year?

Good question. Our intention last year was to have all of the Hazard and OB lines outside of the circle except number 6, but I messed up on several holes including #14. The lines are close this year, but except for The Beach, all of the Hazard and OB lines should be outside of the circle.

~ Harold Duvall

 

[Harold Duvall]

ps .... #2 is also inside the circle by intention like #6

 

[ToddL]

Funny you say this...I'll be there producing a series on my experience at the tournament (not going to be part of the coverage team this weekend, which is a bummer but oh well).

One of my ideas is to have Avery and I "try" to qualify (meaning buy a qualifying round tee time and play it on camera). We'll talk about how the course is treating us, and as a 940ish player myself who doesn't get to practice much I'll probably get rolled by the course - but if people can live that experience and see the difficulty - all good.

I've played it a few times in a competitive setting, back when I still actually played on a regular basis as a 960 player, and it was ugly. Winthrop Gold is a very odd course. It's not actually hard, but it'll still destroy you. If you go into with a Roc and a putter, you can score pretty close to even par, and that's a perfectly respectable score. The difficulty is when it tricks you into thinking you can do more. You think you're good enough to drive the green. You think you're good enough to crank a 400' drive just to get a little closer to the pin. You think you're good enough to nail that landing zone and stick your drive 10' from the OB line. And it starts to snowball really quickly.

The actually good players can make those shots. The old guys who know they can't throw far don't even attempt those shots. But the mediocre mid-level guys who know "I've executed that shot plenty of times in the past" get suckered into trying it and end up losing.
I'm sure anyone watching me play it would just be shouting at their screen, "Dude! Put away the damn driver! It hasn't worked for the last 8 holes - just stop trying it!!"

 

[JC17393]

I've played it a few times in a competitive setting, back when I still actually played on a regular basis as a 960 player, and it was ugly. Winthrop Gold is a very odd course. It's not actually hard, but it'll still destroy you. If you go into with a Roc and a putter, you can score pretty close to even par, and that's a perfectly respectable score. The difficulty is when it tricks you into thinking you can do more. You think you're good enough to drive the green. You think you're good enough to crank a 400' drive just to get a little closer to the pin. You think you're good enough to nail that landing zone and stick your drive 10' from the OB line. And it starts to snowball really quickly.

The actually good players can make those shots. The old guys who know they can't throw far don't even attempt those shots. But the mediocre mid-level guys who know "I've executed that shot plenty of times in the past" get suckered into trying it and end up losing.
I'm sure anyone watching me play it would just be shouting at their screen, "Dude! Put away the damn driver! It hasn't worked for the last 8 holes - just stop trying it!!"

That's a good description. Winthrop is a thinking man's course. It's as much a mental grind as physical because so much of one's success there is predicated on proper placement of every shot rather than raw power/distance (despite the wide open feel of it).

If you can throw 400+ feet, great. But can you do it and land your disc on a 30 foot wide strip of fairway that slopes left and is cut super short to encourage skipping/rolling/sliding toward the OB/hazard? Or would you be better off throwing to the wider flatter landing zone at 320 feet, then throwing a longer approach to the green from there? Either way, the best you're going to do, barring a throw-in, is a 3. So is it worth shortening that second shot by 100 feet if there's a greater chance of landing OB/hazard and adding a stroke (or more) to your score? And that doesn't even take into consideration angles of approach. Play it to the side that allows you to approach the basket from the same height or below, or go to the side that makes you approach it from above the green and it is sloping away from you.

And the course is unrelenting like that. There are very few throws where you can just grip and rip and take what you get without concern for landing in a bad spot. And if you do make a mistake and penalties start adding up, you start pressing to make up ground and end up making more mistakes. Then things pile up in a hurry.

It's what makes it great.

 

[DanJon]

Does anyone else think Harold Duvall shouldn't have a newbie title under his name?

 

[JTacoma03]

Do any other tournaments do this kind of charity event the day after? I bet lots of us chuckers would like to try the Ledgestone course in the tournament setup, for example.

Also, what's the coverage format going to be this year?

I know the DGWT and the DGPT both try to do it as much as possible. Not sure if it's a charitable contribution scenario in those cases or not though.

Coverage will be standard DGWT style. I'm actually not on the coverage team at USDGC for the first time in 5 years. I'm a little bummed, but super excited at the same time to be able to bring a different perspective to the event.

Having played Winthrop Gold several times, I think it would be a treat to see highlights from a non-pro playing the course.
Being a 940-ish player myself, I really don't want to see a whole round, because I know what a beat-down looks like.
However, most viewers probably don't have a perspective on the difference between an Am and a Pro on Winthrop Gold. Might be fun to watch some highlights.
You'll be a brave man for putting yourself out there for the whole world to watch.
I say "GO for it!"

Totally! I've played it once or twice in the past, after being exhausted from a week of working and with borrowed discs, but this will be fun to actually have a fresh mind.

My hope is to provide that exact perspective, and definitely do it in highlight form vs. a full round. Will people learn why I'm working in dg and not trying to tour? Oh probably, but hey you gotta be able to laugh at yourself too right?

...But the mediocre mid-level guys who know "I've executed that shot plenty of times in the past" get suckered into trying it and end up losing.
I'm sure anyone watching me play it would just be shouting at their screen, "Dude! Put away the damn driver! It hasn't worked for the last 8 holes - just stop trying it!!"

Haha! Oh man, I've been (and might still be...) there too. I'll play medium-aggressive. I'm not trying to show off, I know my place in the dg world...but you bet your ass that as a lefty I'm going to aggressively take the corner on Hole 5! :hfive:

Does anyone else think Harold Duvall shouldn't have a newbie title under his name?

I appreciate the irony.

 

[DiscFifty]

(not going to be part of the coverage team this weekend, which is a bummer but oh well).

At one point you were on my list of top 3 disc golf commentators. What's going on, haven't "heard" from you in a while. If you don' mind...what exactly is your professional involvement with disc golf now days? Thx.

 

[Flick Maniac]

2017 Caddy Book is up!!

FTFY. You had 2015 in the link, now should work with the 2017.

 

[JTacoma03]

At one point you were on my list of top 3 disc golf commentators. What's going on, haven't "heard" from you in a while. If you don' mind...what exactly is your professional involvement with disc golf now days? Thx.

Thanks! I've been busy, that's for sure!

I've been focusing on bigger picture stuff for SpinTV, now I'm coordinating all of the US-based productions while Jussi focuses on Europen-based productions + DGWT + everything else he's involved in.

I also just ran my first B-tier, that was an experience!

I'm hoping to get my voice out there more by diversifying the kinds of things we do. Since we've been covering more and more tournaments we haven't grown our non-coverage content at the same rate, so that's been a big priority of mine - things like On Tour series, this USDGC project, more In The Bag videos with FPO players, and a huge passion project that Avery and I are trying to put together. I'll be so excited to tell the world if/when this idea gets the full greenlight.

The last couple of commentary sessions I've done are on 2017 Pro Masters Worlds (an experimental format), and I got to guest on CCDG Coverage!

Man, just writing that pumped me up. I love working in disc golf. :hfive:

 

[DinosaurThunder]

If anyone is looking for live stream info - no live stream at the event this year (just like all DGWT events/Last years USDGC). The buzz/excitement of this tournament is slightly dampened for me personally because of this (I went on and on about this LY - no need to rehash), but I am looking forward to the post production. Also, this wont stop me from following along with the live scoring/Avery's stream :hfive:. As others have noted - I think it's time to plan a trip next year and see the action in person.

I have my money on Sexton this year. :thmbup:

 

[Roc1029]

I've played it a few times in a competitive setting, back when I still actually played on a regular basis as a 960 player, and it was ugly. Winthrop Gold is a very odd course. It's not actually hard, but it'll still destroy you. If you go into with a Roc and a putter, you can score pretty close to even par, and that's a perfectly respectable score. The difficulty is when it tricks you into thinking you can do more. You think you're good enough to drive the green. You think you're good enough to crank a 400' drive just to get a little closer to the pin. You think you're good enough to nail that landing zone and stick your drive 10' from the OB line. And it starts to snowball really quickly.

The actually good players can make those shots. The old guys who know they can't throw far don't even attempt those shots. But the mediocre mid-level guys who know "I've executed that shot plenty of times in the past" get suckered into trying it and end up losing.
I'm sure anyone watching me play it would just be shouting at their screen, "Dude! Put away the damn driver! It hasn't worked for the last 8 holes - just stop trying it!!"

This sums it up perfectly.

 

[_MTL_]

I've played it a few times in a competitive setting, back when I still actually played on a regular basis as a 960 player, and it was ugly. Winthrop Gold is a very odd course. It's not actually hard, but it'll still destroy you. If you go into with a Roc and a putter, you can score pretty close to even par, and that's a perfectly respectable score. The difficulty is when it tricks you into thinking you can do more. You think you're good enough to drive the green. You think you're good enough to crank a 400' drive just to get a little closer to the pin. You think you're good enough to nail that landing zone and stick your drive 10' from the OB line. And it starts to snowball really quickly.

The actually good players can make those shots. The old guys who know they can't throw far don't even attempt those shots. But the mediocre mid-level guys who know "I've executed that shot plenty of times in the past" get suckered into trying it and end up losing.
I'm sure anyone watching me play it would just be shouting at their screen, "Dude! Put away the damn driver! It hasn't worked for the last 8 holes - just stop trying it!!"

This pretty much is perfect.

The year I competed, I learned one thing as a 963 player (currently): You only attack in certain spots and certain holes.

This was my strategy:

1 - try to get birdie everytime
2 - Aggressive tee shot, if it's not perfect, get the 4 move on.
3 - Just make sure I'm in bounds.
4 - Just get a 4
5 - Keep it in bounds no matter what. 5 is fine.
6 - Throw it wide and hope for the skip. If it doesn't get the 3 move on.
7 - Just don't miss the mando.
8 - If I threw a good drive, try to birdie. If not, 4 is fine.
9 - This was an attack hole. Midrange left a wide open 330 shot.
10 - This was an attack hole. Putter 140 feet left a wide open 330 shot
11 - Played for 4 every time. Didn't even try to get to the green in 2.
12 - Played for 4 every time. Didn't even try to get to the green in 2.
13 - Just be in bounds whatever happens
14 - play really wide, if it skips to the pin, awesome. If it doesn't lay up.
15 - Throw my tee shot as far as I could to cut the angle down.
16 - Just don't take worse than a 3
17 - lay up
18. Played for 4 every time. Didn't even try to get to the green in 2.

Best I shot was 72. lol