Biggest reason people don't play tournaments

[CaptainAnhyzer]

....... and players competing in different divisions should be segregated from each other during play as much as practicable.

Key word is practicable........ if it makes the tournament runs smoother, I go with it.

In addition to violating that provision, mixing divisions for the first round has all sorts of pros & cons. If done for the purposes evening out everyone's lunches, the medicine might be worse than the disease.

If everyone likes the mixed cards and improved flow, i don't see the harm.

The fact that we sellout our events, year after year, speaks volumes IMO. A well run tourney is reason to come back.

 

[Three Putt]

In addition to violating that provision, mixing divisions for the first round has all sorts of pros & cons. If done for the purposes evening out everyone's lunches, the medicine might be worse than the disease.

I know. I keep reading the breakdown and imagining how much I'd get yelled at if I tried that. It keeps coming back to me as "a lot". :|

 

[Three Putt]

Around here, it's standard 1 hour from the last card. Sometimes that last card drags in a long time after the first cards---so those early finishers end up with a very long lunch break.

I always find it funny when those first cards come in and you tell them an hour from the last card, and then some people stand around waiting to leave until the last card comes in so they have a specific time to be back. Uhhh....just be back in an hour and you are cool. I have no idea what they are waiting for. Checking scores? "I just can't eat unless I know if I'm in 3rd or 4th"? Just go away and eat something already!

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

I know. I keep reading the breakdown and imagining how much I'd get yelled at if I tried that. It keeps coming back to me as "a lot". :|

Yelling at the TD normally doesn't get positive results over here.

But if I got a bunch of complaints about it, i'd be willing to change it.

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

I always find it funny when those first cards come in and you tell them an hour from the last card, and then some people stand around waiting to leave until the last card comes in so they have a specific time to be back. Uhhh....just be back in an hour and you are cool. I have no idea what they are waiting for. Checking scores? "I just can't eat unless I know if I'm in 3rd or 4th"? Just go away and eat something already!

Oh man..... people hovering around Tourney Central is a peeve of mine. You start discussing numbers while we're trying to count cards and I shoo them off.

HUGE PLUS at Hyzer Creek is the shed we use for TD work. Once we get all the cards the door shuts and nobody can hover around the scoreport and get in the way.

 

[gradus]

Hours? Who runs two rounds in one day with a 2-3 hour lunch break?

I've played many a tournaments in my 31 years of playing. Aside from Worlds, I've never had more than 60 minutes between rounds. As a TD, I try to limit the break to 45 minutes.

Break doesn't start until all the cards are turned in. Hour break plus the time to get started again. May not be 2 hours for the TD, but it's pretty close to two hours.

 

[krupicka]

For our events it is typically it's 25-30 minutes between first card and last card. We do one hour for lunch from last card until R2 tee off as that is what I learned when I started out. I was trying to find if that recommended time is just something passed along verbally or if it is codified anywhere. If it is, I couldn't find it.

 

[DavidSauls]

If everyone likes the mixed cards and improved flow, i don't see the harm.

The fact that we sellout our events, year after year, speaks volumes IMO. A well run tourney is reason to come back.

No harm if everybody likes it. Doubtful that everybody likes it, though. There is a lot of cover in a sellout, though many may love the event in spite of the mixed groups. Those who don't, have the competition manual to back them, and it's quite a stretch to squeeze uniform lunch times in into the practicable exception. One benefit of playing a sanctioned event is the expectation of standards, including this one.

I've played events that did this---and, further, mixing in the pros---and my feelings, and those of people I spoke to, were mixed. I enjoyed playing a round with people I'd never otherwise get a chance to, and in a small division, not ending up with the same people all 4 rounds.

On the other hand, some prefer to be grouped with the people they're competing against. Some, particularly we older folks, like our divisions, in part, for the company we're keeping. Some beginners and weaker players feel intimidated being grouped with much better and more serious players; some better and more serious players don't want to be saddled playing with beginners and weaker ones.

For those who love it, great. For those who don't, the trade-off for a shorter lunch break may not be worthwhile. Which isn't to say they won't love the event, overall.

*

And with all that digression, I agree---and least in events that don't fill---that TDs should set up groups to speed things along, where they can. For slower divisions, smaller groups, and if you have major backup holes, try to get the slower divisions through them early in the round.

 

[DavidSauls]

I always find it funny when those first cards come in and you tell them an hour from the last card, and then some people stand around waiting to leave until the last card comes in so they have a specific time to be back. Uhhh....just be back in an hour and you are cool. I have no idea what they are waiting for. Checking scores? "I just can't eat unless I know if I'm in 3rd or 4th"? Just go away and eat something already!

Very true. Though we have a sign where we post the next tee-time, and refuse to answer inquiries from players. "What's the sign say?" is all they're getting from me. It cuts down on the hoverers a bit.

 

[Cgkdisc]

For our events it is typically it's 25-30 minutes between first card and last card. We do one hour for lunch from last card until R2 tee off as that is what I learned when I started out. I was trying to find if that recommended time is just something passed along verbally or if it is codified anywhere. If it is, I couldn't find it.

There's this from the "How To Run a PDGA Event" doc.

C6. Lunch Break
Explain how much time will be taken between rounds. Urge players to get off the course, turn in the scorecards, and hustle out to lunch. Leave the tournament staff to their task of verifying scorecards and recording scores. Explain that you will take "X" amount of time after the last group comes off the course (usually 1 hour). Mention that if they are done while other groups are obviously still playing, then they have more than X-minutes before the next round starts. Players should not hang around waiting for the next rounds' start time to be posted. "Go to lunch and get back quick!" Then look for the start time to be posted.

 

[cheese dog]

That is what i have never understood about 1 hour starts after the last card is turned in. I have no clue when the last card was turned in as i am already at lunch. I really wish tournament directors would set an actual time to return. I have seen good people get disqualified because they were eating lunch with someone that was in a different division and had a different return time.

 

[TimSyl]

I'm probably different than most, but I don't understand the need for an hour after the last card. Who needs an hour to eat lunch, especially if there is food on site? Who needs to "rest" that long after walking 2-3 miles????? I think we should adopt some PGA stuff and penalize groups for slow play. AND, tee off second round 1/2 hour after last card.

 

[Major Tomahawk]

I'd rather watch the NFL than play tourneys in the fall and winter.

 

[Hampstead]

I have seen good people get disqualified because they were eating lunch with someone that was in a different division and had a different return time.

I have never played in a tournament that has different "return" times for different divisions.

Must be a regional thing.

 

[CreemCheese]

Oh man..... people hovering around Tourney Central is a peeve of mine. You start discussing numbers while we're trying to count cards and I shoo them off.

Tournament this weekend was like that. People were discussing their scores hole by hole while sitting at the same table that the td was double checking scores. It's a huge park, I couldn't understand why they couldn't walk a few feet in any direction.

 

[DavidSauls]

I'm probably different than most, but I don't understand the need for an hour after the last card. Who needs an hour to eat lunch, especially if there is food on site? Who needs to "rest" that long after walking 2-3 miles????? I think we should adopt some PGA stuff and penalize groups for slow play. AND, tee off second round 1/2 hour after last card.

"....if there is food on site...." being an important qualifier.

Perhaps, what sort of food.

I've played lots of events where you either pack your lunch, or head off to a local fast-food joint, and the fast-food isn't always that fast.

As a TD these days, I'm lucky that I'm TDing where there is no place to leave to. Pack your lunch, or sometimes we provide it. No one should be late returning.

We'd cut the lunch to 45 minutes, but aren't sure we can get all the TD duties done in that time.

 

[krupicka]

We cut our last lunch out our last event to 45 minutes (trying to be mindful of daylight) and it was a little too tight to turn around the boards.

 

[Three Putt]

Tournament this weekend was like that. People were discussing their scores hole by hole while sitting at the same table that the td was double checking scores. It's a huge park, I couldn't understand why they couldn't walk a few feet in any direction.

I'll always remember J.T. Rosenthal standing behind me loudly yelling "Six! Four! Two!" while I was trying to add up scores, then walking out and loudly yelling that he had never, ever been to a tournament that had taken so long to post the round scores before. :\

I guess he thought he was being funny...

 

[takman]

1. Piss
2. Moan
3. Piss & Moan

 

[ohtobediscing]

That is what i have never understood about 1 hour starts after the last card is turned in. I have no clue when the last card was turned in as i am already at lunch. I really wish tournament directors would set an actual time to return. I have seen good people get disqualified because they were eating lunch with someone that was in a different division and had a different return time.

If you were not the last card turned in, then if you take an hour for lunch you'll be back early.

The reality of setting a definite time for the start of 2nd round is that y'all are slower at tourneys, so the last card is left with 10 minutes to eat. Meanwhile, the 1 1/2 hrs you could have had to eat have been used to stand around and wait till all the scores are added up to see where you are in the standings, which you would have found out immediately after returning from lunch----if we'd of had time to total them up, which we didn't, because you're standing around, asking us WHERE YOU ARE IN THE STANDINGS.

So, do us a favor: turn in your card, go to lunch and leave us alone ( rule questions excepted). By the time you return, your card assignment will be done, and the 2nd round will start when their allotted lunchtime is up------which will never be before previous groups' lunchtimes are up.

If the math for that is too hard, you really should have paid attention in elementary school.