8th Annual MN Amateur League set to start in March

[smarkquart]

This will be our 8th year running one of the most unique and potentially fun leagues out there.

What makes us unique is that we do not play the same course but instead travel throughout the Twin Cities hitting up the biggest and best courses the Cities has to offer. This usually gives us a three or four year rotation between courses. Also, as a full league we only meet once a month, so while we ask a full time commitment from members throughout the year, with the schedule determined months in advance, it should not be difficult to make most of our events.

To make it even more unique, while we only meet once a month as a full league, three times a month you are scheduled opponents in which you will go head to head. Once you contact your opponent, you may play him or her at any time and place of your convenience. It is these wins and losses that determine your place in the month league event.

We also have many voluntary things going if the league events and matches are not enough. This year we are starting a Doubles Tough Shot Challenge Series, you can play at any time for bag tags, and with an active presence on our email server and Facebook group, there is almost always someone out playing looking for a group to have fun throwing with.

To top it off, our league also annually hosts the first Discraft Ace Race in Minnesota every year (Becker, MN). This year will be no exception. Furthermore, every year in August our league takes an out of state road trip. We have kind of made it a habit to go to Highbridge every other year.

Now, our league is designed for amateurs, which by our definition ranges from beginners to advanced players averaging about 940 or so. We use a skins scoring system during events to help level the playing field. As the season progresses you will naturally be filtered into groups of like ability, but a skins system allows those who may blow up on a hole or two to remain competitive on the day; thus an amateur being an amateur will not end their day on a few bad shots.

The league is competitive, but it is competitive within the confines of being amateur. Therefore the top priority of the league is to have fun. This is not a beer-swigging softball league, but we do aim to have laughs and a good time.

If you leave in the Twin Cities area and are interested, I would be more than happy to hook you up with more information. Our first league event will be March 29th, 10am, at Moir Park. This is a preseason event -hence the smaller course when normally we play the big 18s - so there is no commitment at this time to join. If you are interested at that time, you can sign up there and we will get you your April opponents already scheduled.

The majority of the core membership ranges from 26-50, but we have a few juniors (children of some of the members) coming up as well. Juniors get a price break.

It may be a work in progress, but we do have our website up and running at www.balrodg.com

 

[Moffwicket]

This is a fun league to play in. Source: I'm in it.

To get an idea of skill level, I usually shoot around +2 at Bryant Lake and Acorn, give or take a couple, and I'm in the top 6 at least.

Points favor participation highly, but skilled players who also participate a lot will be at the top of the leader boards.

 

[Gr8HornedRat]

BALRODG

Banded Amateur League for Recreational Organized Disc Golf

Come join in the fun!

 

[elmexdela]

sounds awesome...to bad ill be in mankato for most of the summer to actively participate

 

[yangs1]

I joined this league 2 years ago. A lot of fun and good people. I've made some great friends.

 

[smarkquart]

sounds awesome...to bad ill be in mankato for most of the summer to actively participate

Getting matches may be tough from that distance. You would have to schedule three matches a month. They can be at any course and any time that is convenient for you, but some of our players are from the north metro.

Events, however, are not as difficult to make because the schedule is already out and people can plan accordingly.

Preseason - March 29th - Moir Park
Season Opener - April 19th - The Valley
May 17th - Crown College
June 21st - Kenwood Trails
July 12th - Acorn
August 2nd - Becker Ace Race
August 15th-17th - Highbridge Road Trip
September 12th (Friday) - Night round at Plymouth Creek
Year End Event - October 11th -Bryant Lake

The Events schedule is always taking into consideration the local tournaments so that players interested in the big tournaments do not have a conflict. May has the MN Am Championship, June is the Majestc, and July is Am Worlds.


The Year End also concludes the CTPs (if money left over in the Ace Pool), Bag Tags, and the Doubles Tough Shot Challenge Series.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

I wish I could commit the time to join, but I already know I can't. Have fun!

 

[BirdieMachine]

All events are skins play. There are no carry-over skins if a hole is tied. Groups for events will be based on current standings. Top 4 in the first group, 5th-8th place in the next group, etc. Points are awarded as follows among each group:

1st: 4.05 points
2nd: 3.05 points
3rd: 2.05 points
4th: 1.05 points

There will always be a first place (tie breaker if necessary), but other positions could result in a tie.

For example: Player 1 gets 6 skins, players 2 and 3 get 3 skins, player 4 gets 1 skin. Points would be awarded as such:
Player 1: 4.05 (1st place)
Player 2: 3.05 (tie for 2nd)
Player 3: 3.05 (tie for 2nd)
Player 4: 2.05 (3rd place)


Wouldn't it be-

4.05 (1st place)
2.55 (Tie 2nd)
2.55 (Tie 2nd)
1.05 (4th)

I may be able to play, depends on my schedule.

 

[smarkquart]

The way we worked it out is as such:

The first number is the points accumulated by playing well. These are points earned at events and matches. 4.0 for winning your flight at an event and 3.0 for winning a match. 3.0 for coming in second at an event and 2.0 for at least attending a match. 2.0 for finishing third at an event and 1.0 for finishing last in your flight of four. Flights are never more than four and are determined by your pre-event ranking which is determined by the results of previous events and matches.

A player who finishes fourth in the top flight started the day as a higher ranked person than the one who ends up at the top of the second flight, but thanks to the points earned by finishing last and first respectively, hopefully we can continue having a rotation in and out of flights to keep events fresh and people trying their best so that they do not slip down the rankings.

We have a great time, so there is no shame or whatnot for being in the bottom flight. Because of the way the standings work, you will likely be grouped with those of like ability, and with all of his being friends and friendly, you are still going to have an enjoyable round. Obviously someone is going to walk away with the 4 victory points for winning that flight and will likely move up a flight at the following event. The person who got smoked and finished last in that higher flight will likely move down to join the bottom flight.

The second number is strictly an attendance number and is not affected by how you play. We have a threshold of .35 in order to be eligible for year end prizes. You get 0.05 for attending an event and 0.02 for making a match. Do not necessarily think of it as a decimal point because there are not enough events and matches to make a full 1.0

The points are set up to always reward attendance, not occasional dominating performances. We want plays to always show up and feel like that no matter how they feel they are playing, they are earning something positive, something that gives them an advantage over someone who is only an occasional player. The better players will natural float towards the top of the standings. While oft-absent league members can win ace pools if they contribute that day, all other prizes and awards are protected by that 0.35 threshold.

As I said, we want to reward those who have a commitment to the league, so we reward as many points as possible while also ensuring (as you can see by the point spread for those winning) that no one can run away with the points. That is why in the example below we do not split the 2nd place tie into 2.5; we just reward both 3.0 (also, splitting to 2.5 messes with our attendance number).

Before I really mess this up with such a convoluted answer, because it is rather simple when you can see it in action, the basics is that we are competitive but we promote having tremendous fun at the same time by ensuring that the playing field is as level as possible. We have a few sub 800 players, most are around 860-900, and we have a few around 920-940. Again, the top players will gravitate to the top after an event or two, but between this point system and playing for skins, if a player wants to remain on top they better be consistent and attend events.

Hopefully this helps. We traditionally have a 15 minute or so player's meeting before the Preseason event starts to explain to new players the rules and cover any changes that we had made from last year. The preseason event does not award any victory points, but otherwise it is meant to demonstrate how skins works, how the points would affect you, and just kicks everything else off like the Ace Pool, Bag Tags, CTPs, and the Doubles Tough Shot Challenge Series (voluntary).

All events are skins play. There are no carry-over skins if a hole is tied. Groups for events will be based on current standings. Top 4 in the first group, 5th-8th place in the next group, etc. Points are awarded as follows among each group:

1st: 4.05 points
2nd: 3.05 points
3rd: 2.05 points
4th: 1.05 points

There will always be a first place (tie breaker if necessary), but other positions could result in a tie.

For example: Player 1 gets 6 skins, players 2 and 3 get 3 skins, player 4 gets 1 skin. Points would be awarded as such:
Player 1: 4.05 (1st place)
Player 2: 3.05 (tie for 2nd)
Player 3: 3.05 (tie for 2nd)
Player 4: 2.05 (3rd place)


Wouldn't it be-

4.05 (1st place)
2.55 (Tie 2nd)
2.55 (Tie 2nd)
1.05 (4th)

I may be able to play, depends on my schedule.

 

[BirdieMachine]

Not sure I get it. What if 3 players tie with 6 skins a piece? Do they all get 4 points and the last place (0 skins) get 3 points? That wouldn't be fair to the other groups is all I'm saying if you reward ties and give out more points in that group.

 

[smarkquart]

Not sure I get it. What if 3 players tie with 6 skins a piece? Do they all get 4 points and the last place (0 skins) get 3 points? That wouldn't be fair to the other groups is all I'm saying if you reward ties and give out more points in that group.

No ties for first place. All those tied for first place at the end will then play a sudden death play off. So, no more than one person per group will gain four points.

As for ties, no system is perfect. There is a possibility that a group could award one person with 4 points and the remainder with 3 apiece. The top player of the flight below still gains ground on all of those who tied for 2nd in the higher group. That is why there is no tie for first place, so there is a guarantee that someone who plays well will always gain ground on those who did not play as well as the top person in their group.

In the specific scenario you provided, there would be 1 first place, 2 second place, and 1 fourth place. 4 points for the top, two people getting 3 points, and 1 person getting 1 point.

What we have found over the years is that two or three players will gravitate and stay near the top. They generally do not fall down into lower flights unless they missed some matches and thus lose ground to those who are more active in their matches that month. From there we see about eight or so players jockeying for position for the bottom spots of the top flight, all of the second flight, and the top spots in the third flight. It is volatile enough where it keeps the groups fresh each event and gives them something to play for, while it is still stable enough (because we are only talking a max gain or less of 3 points per event) where no one is going to run away with anything.

On top of that, at the end of the season these points are only used to determine seeding for the final flights of the year. To make it interesting enough, we have it that leading up to the final event that the top eight players are still eligible to the win the championship and that only the top three players in the standings have a locked position in the top flight. Players ranked 4-8 play a quick four hole play-in (straight scoring) for the final spot in the top flight. The remaining four players of that play-in then form the second flight. When the event is over, the top player in each flight wins a prize. So, yes, 2nd overall place wins nothing while those technically ranked 5th, 9th, etc win something.

Then again, the league is supposed to be fun while being that competitive. We are not talking a huge payday but more along the lines of pride. There is some good cash in ace pools, bag tags, and CTPs, but those are independent of your final ranking.

Hopefully this explains most of it, but I am more than happy to answer any other questions. It may or may not sound complicated or thought out when put in writing like this, but once you see it in action it is a lot of fun, very competitive for all skill levels, and very easy to understand once you start seeing points accumulate.

 

[BirdieMachine]

Fair enough, sounds pretty good then. I'd like to play but it depends on my schedule. Not sure yet.

 

[smarkquart]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4HQFWqbpjE&feature=youtu.be

Hopefully this gives a good taste of how skins are played.

 

[MNThrower]

Looking forward to joining this league this year! I'm stoked on the skins format. Definitely makes it less intimidating for a newbie like me.

 

[smarkquart]

Looking forward to joining this league this year! I'm stoked on the skins format. Definitely makes it less intimidating for a newbie like me.

Definitely. We do have a wide range of ability and as the season progresses people start filtering up and down where they belong, making truer groups at events. Yet even at the beginning if you get paired with someone who is on fire, you are not going to feel demolished.

It simply works that no matter how badly you may get destroyed on a hole, you never fall behind by more than one skin. If the best player shoots a birdie and you would have soldiered through for what could have been a six, you only lose one skin, and you only lose that one skin if that top player was the only one to score that low. Skins really adds an additional level of participation with those in your group. If you would have shot a five but two players are going for a birdie, you cheer for the one player to block the other, thus no one getting the low score on the hole, and despite normally losing three or four strokes to these top players, you lose nothing as no skin was awarded.

If you can muster up a great shot every now and then, you can be competitive. You can also influence how it all ends by playing the role of the spoiler by blocking skins here and there if you play consistent enough.

A good consistent player should still ultimately prevail in the end because he or she should always be in contention on almost every hole for a skin, and even if they got blocked every once in a while, they should still break on through for a few skins. Yet there are no forgone conclusions. If I were to normally shoot four or five down, but luck would so have it that on most holes that there is at least one other player, and likely a different player every hole, who can match me, I may win very few skins, while someone else who is throwing poorly but is able to put together a few good shots when I do happen to falter, I could very well lose despite in all reality throwing ten or more strokes better.

Also, skins changes the dynamic of how you play since you are not worrying about your stroke total. If you know someone is going to be putting in for a skin and you are still sixty or more feet out, you will run the basket in hopes of blocking that skin because if you miss, it does not matter how far you miss because the hole is complete anyway; the other player got the skin and that is all you will fall behind.

 

[Steve West]

Not sure I get it. What if 3 players tie with 6 skins a piece? Do they all get 4 points and the last place (0 skins) get 3 points? That wouldn't be fair to the other groups is all I'm saying if you reward ties and give out more points in that group.

The other groups don't mind. The points seem to be there just as the minimum amount of "making it count" to make it fun.

All I know is I played whenever I could, had fun every time, and at the end of the year they told me I was playing a four-hole round to get into the finals. Or something.

 

[smarkquart]

Bump to the top. The preseason is just over a month away. Unfortunately it looks like the snow will still be around. Thankfully we will be playing Moir which is still playable even during a thaw. Holes 1 and 8 might be a little soupy, but it will be a great start to the season. The event schedule should be one our Facebook page.

 

[smarkquart]

Our preseason event is now less than two weeks away. There is no commitment to play in the preseason, to check us out and see what we are about.

 

[Kodachrome]

i think i might show up. how i play really depends on the day; sometimes i can hang with open, sometimes i'm intermediate so i think it'll be a good match. can you show up and play for fun since it's preseason or do you have to sign up in order to play tomorrow?

 

[Peter 127]

This sounds like a great deal of fun. Unfortunately, I have a number of scheduled events this summer. Happy huking!