Gotcha, that does sound like a good format if it is a one round tourney, and play would be much faster with three-somes so it wouldn't eat up the whole day for players. There would be logistical issues with handing out prizes, etc. but if it were cash only then you could mail out checks.
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Biggest reason people don't play tournaments
- Thread starter cc0049
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Gotcha, that does sound like a good format if it is a one round tourney, and play would be much faster with three-somes so it wouldn't eat up the whole day for players. There would be logistical issues with handing out prizes, etc. but if it were cash only then you could mail out checks.
It will be great to have a slew of course around you down here, tori. I play with a couple Tech guys nearly every weekend. Shoot a PM once you get settled in and are looking to get out and play.
SonicGuy
Banned
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True. Only way to do two rounds is if you keep the same cards. Maybe you could shuffle cards on the fly, idk. You could do a set time for awards later that night, people could leave and come back. Or just wait the extra hour.
THUGNIFICENT763
Banned
I went to that crap back in 2002, it was pretty awesome back then. I was 16 at that time. I remember the best performances were Ministry, CKY, and Audioslave, in that order. That was the last good year, as it soon devolved into a festival of buttrock bands. I remember my group getting kicked out of the Wendy's in Somerset. Their booths had those molded plastic seats and one of my friends cranked a fart that was apparently loud enough to offend some elderly people, who complained. The manager asked us to take our food and leave. Good times, Somerset.
Tee times are no panacea for the pace of play. Well, they are for the first group. If you're the 18th group or later, it's no different from a shotgun start.
And if you have 18 groups, teeing 10 minutes apart, the last group tees about 3 hours after the first, and finishes the same.
You also have to dispense with the player's meeting, or you've got people waiting around 1, 2, 3 hours. Same with awards. If you've got people who travel together but have tees, say, 1½ hours apart, they spend a lot of time hanging around.
If you have 2 rounds you have to keep cards together, and it limits how many groups you can half.
Awards can be mitigated by keeping divisions together, scoring and paying them off as they finish, instead of waiting for everyone and having a ceremony.
In short, there are some benefits, but speeding play isn't one; and a number of logistical issues to deal with.
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By all means, try it. I'm very much in favor of variety. I've played a number of tee-time events, particularly some with 1 round per day for 2 days, and it works. But, for various reasons, they included rounds that lasted over 5 hours.
And if you have 18 groups, teeing 10 minutes apart, the last group tees about 3 hours after the first, and finishes the same.
You also have to dispense with the player's meeting, or you've got people waiting around 1, 2, 3 hours. Same with awards. If you've got people who travel together but have tees, say, 1½ hours apart, they spend a lot of time hanging around.
If you have 2 rounds you have to keep cards together, and it limits how many groups you can half.
Awards can be mitigated by keeping divisions together, scoring and paying them off as they finish, instead of waiting for everyone and having a ceremony.
In short, there are some benefits, but speeding play isn't one; and a number of logistical issues to deal with.
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By all means, try it. I'm very much in favor of variety. I've played a number of tee-time events, particularly some with 1 round per day for 2 days, and it works. But, for various reasons, they included rounds that lasted over 5 hours.
Tee times only really work on multi-day events. If you were to take a typical 72-player tournament (4-somes on 18 holes) and do it as a tee time affair, you're looking at 5-6 hours to complete a round instead of the 2.5-3.0 hours in a shotgun start.
18 groups of four in 8 minute intervals takes 2:16 to get everyone out. Stretch it to 10 minute intervals and it's 2:50 to get all 18 groups started. Basically, by the time you get the last group started, you could have had the entire round played.
And really, if you're in any group but maybe the first two or three of the day, there's little difference pace-wise between playing a tee time round and a shotgun start round. The same bottleneck hole that clogs up a shotgun tournament is going to back up tee time groups too. Happens every year at the USDGC (hole 5 and 13 are notorious back-up spots).
The only real benefit to a one-round per day, tee time event is a much smaller individual commitment. You don't necessarily have to get there early or you don't have to stay late...you're only "stuck" there essentially for the length of your round. No sitting around before the players meeting, no sitting around during lunch, no sitting around for awards. The trade-off is having to commit to multiple days.
18 groups of four in 8 minute intervals takes 2:16 to get everyone out. Stretch it to 10 minute intervals and it's 2:50 to get all 18 groups started. Basically, by the time you get the last group started, you could have had the entire round played.
And really, if you're in any group but maybe the first two or three of the day, there's little difference pace-wise between playing a tee time round and a shotgun start round. The same bottleneck hole that clogs up a shotgun tournament is going to back up tee time groups too. Happens every year at the USDGC (hole 5 and 13 are notorious back-up spots).
The only real benefit to a one-round per day, tee time event is a much smaller individual commitment. You don't necessarily have to get there early or you don't have to stay late...you're only "stuck" there essentially for the length of your round. No sitting around before the players meeting, no sitting around during lunch, no sitting around for awards. The trade-off is having to commit to multiple days.
wolfmandragon
* Ace Member *
Very true. With the name golf in disc golf, one would think more TDs would look at how over the centuries traditional golf figured out some pretty good practices.
As for the other members comment on needing volunteers to fill in dropouts, If the tournament is pre- pay, there won't be many drop outs. Those whom want to join on the day of the tournament would be required to show up before the first tee time and be on standby.
Among other benefits of tee times:
You also get to watch other players, if you want. These could be top players, or just your buddies from another division.
You might get a late tee and get to sleep in.
You might get an early tee and get to leave early.
Tournaments can have really big fields. Less chance of getting shut out of an event.
Some massive courses are only going to get 1 round in, even with shotgun starts, so why not?
No lunch breaks that last a lot longer than you needed. (The flipside is, if you have a 10:00 tee and don't finish until 3:00, the lack of lunch may hurt).
The drama of announcing the first hole, and teeing with a small gallery.
You also get to watch other players, if you want. These could be top players, or just your buddies from another division.
You might get a late tee and get to sleep in.
You might get an early tee and get to leave early.
Tournaments can have really big fields. Less chance of getting shut out of an event.
Some massive courses are only going to get 1 round in, even with shotgun starts, so why not?
No lunch breaks that last a lot longer than you needed. (The flipside is, if you have a 10:00 tee and don't finish until 3:00, the lack of lunch may hurt).
The drama of announcing the first hole, and teeing with a small gallery.
That's not how it works in my world. I've seen a number of spots got unclaimed on Saturday morning, even for tournaments that pre-filled long before. That's in good weather; see what happens on a rainy day.
I've also seen people drop mid-round, for injuries or just 888. An instant issue with threesomes.
Part of this goes to 1 round vs. 2 rounds. A lot of courses around here, tournament rounds last 2½ to 3½ hours. That may be longer than a casual round, but if I'm traveling any distance to a tournament, I want to play more than 1 round.
Tee times work best on epic courses, where 1 round is plenty, and tend to be very long anyway.
wolfmandragon
* Ace Member *
Injuries i can see, but quiting mid round due to a bad score? Weird, but I am not a tournament player, so sure I guess.
I played in quite a few ball golf tournaments and no one quits those. I guess it's a different mindset.
I would be more interested in playing a tournament with golf carts. I love walking courses, but carts speed up rounds quite a bit
I played in quite a few ball golf tournaments and no one quits those. I guess it's a different mindset.
I would be more interested in playing a tournament with golf carts. I love walking courses, but carts speed up rounds quite a bit
I'm with you. I've quit too many times with injuries, but never for bad play. I've almost quit for bad weather.
When running a tournament, you're dealing with all sorts of people, and have to plan accordingly.
We had a guy throw 4 straight discs into a pond, then threw his bag into the pond and quit. It's pretty rare for a tournament player to quit mid-round, but it does sometimes happen.
wolfmandragon
* Ace Member *
I threw a five iron in a pond once... But in my defense, I thought it was just cattails until I heard the plop... Who needs a five iron anyway
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The poll is missing one other option.
"That morning BM always seems to hit me on about the 3rd hole on tournament day"
This.^^^ Every time
SonicGuy
Banned
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So why can't you do a turn and play two rounds? Tee off by division with open last. By the time the last open card is playing you should have the ams off the course and eating lunch buffet while you shuffle the cards to send em back out.
Added bonus is no need for final 9, everyone can just follow the last open card out there.
Added bonus is no need for final 9, everyone can just follow the last open card out there.
wolfmandragon
* Ace Member *
I think the final nine is there to pull in the crowd. It allows everyone to watch the same action. Until DG gets so large that the course can't support a single, large gallery, the final nine is here to stay.
If you wanted to dispense with the idea of people being grouped in the second round by scores, I suppose its possible. I think in a competitive event though, being grouped with your closest competitors is important, especially for the top card in each division.
Another problem is morning of logistics. If everyone is pre-registered, then I suppose you can have tee times set for them the night before. At many of your lower tiered events, people are still taking registration the day of which kind of kills the whole "I can show up late" benefit for people with late tee times. Then you have people who are registered who don't show up. What do you do with the two other guys of that threesome then?
Another complication yet is that its not uncommon for players from one place to carpool to tournaments some other place. If one player has an early tee time and the other a late one, it makes things inconvenient for both of them. The late tee timer has to show up early. The early tee timer has to stay late.
Final 9's are never needed. Hardly any of your one day events have them anyways.
You can, but it's a little trickier than it seems. Someone in our club once worked it out, as a proposal to change our tournament format (which wasn't adopted).
The first consideration is how many groups there are, how spaced the teetimes, and how long it takes to play the course.
Say you've got 5 cards for one division, and are teeing 10 minutes apart. The first card comes off the course at 12:00; the 5th card at 12:40. So at that point, you re-set the groups into order by score, and send the first card off....when?
1:00, an hour after the first card finishes? Someone on the 5th card for round 1, but the 1st card for round 2, has 20 minutes for lunch. Or less.
1:40, an hour after the last card finishes? Someone on the 1st card in round 1, but the 5th card in round 2, won't tee until 2:20, a lunch well over 2 hours.
And you have to have few enough groups, or a short-enough course, that everyone from the 1st round has teed and moved on in time for the 2nd round to start.
OR, you keep groups together for both rounds. This has the undesirable effect of competitors for first not being on the same card, and thus not knowing how their opponent is shooting.
Yes, it's possible. But not easy.
