Disc Golf Pro Tour

[DGPT]

We will be stepping into the SmashBoxx tonight.
Stay tuned for the biggest disc golf announcement of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/user/smashboxxtv/live

10:00 EST.

 

[heartman]

I literally don't know what to expect.

 

[heartman]

Stay tuned for the biggest disc golf announcement of the year.

woah ... wait a sec

surely you mean second biggest? because Disc Golf World Tour was the biggest announcement ... Jussi said so himself

 

[puttlikeablowfly]

Discgolfprotour.com is registered to Steve Dodge. Based on previous articles in the PDGA magazine and other sources, it shouldn't be a surprise that he would be trying to make a go of something like this.

Also found an online presentation from him from a couple of months ago:
https://prezi.com/_kcs5h06u3il/disc-golf-pro-tour-investment/

The presentation included the PDGA logo at the end. I also realized I hadn't looked at PDGA Board minutes lately, so I looked and found this from the latest minutes (July 14th):
-----
Dodge National Tour Proposal –Graham
Brian Graham advised the Board that Steven Dodge was requesting approval of the latest proposed draft Master Services Agreement submitted by Disc Golf USA regarding management of an elite national series of events to replace the PDGA National Tour in 2016. Dodge has stated that he needed a signed agreement in hand to reach the previously agreed upon level of investment by the July 15 deadline. Discussion ensued and the Board and Graham were in agreement that it was never the intention of the Board to sign any sort of formal agreement until after July 15, and only if the agreed upon investment level had been reached by that point. Following the conclusion of each BOD member providing their thoughts on the proposed agreement, Dave West announced that the floor was open for a motion. No motions were put forth.

Further discussion continued and it was the consensus of the Board that future privatization of the National Tour was a concept that they were in agreement with, but that this agreement just didn't feel right and Dodge had not reached the self imposed level of investment by the agreed upon deadline. Graham stated that he felt that a change of this magnitude should be put out for bids allowing others the opportunity to submit a proposal and the board was in agreement.
MOTION
(Decker/McCoy)
Contingent upon the $400,000 goal in investments not being met by July 15, to set an agenda item for the 2015 Fall Summit to begin discussions to create an RFP for outsourcing the 2017 National Tour.
Yes:
Decker, McCoy, Sinclair, West, Nagtegaal
Motion passes 5-0
-----

The Fall Summit was last month, but no minutes are posted yet. Guess we'll find out more soon.

 

[puttlikeablowfly]

Hmm ... Silver Cup held the same weekend that Am Worlds starts. I hope WI-area volunteers are ready!

 

[puttlikeablowfly]

2016 schedule:
June 23-26: Maple Hill Open, Leicester, MA
July 8-10: Silver Cup, Manitowoc, WI
July 29-31: Minnesota Majestic, East Bethel, MN
Aug 18-21: Ledgestone Open, Peoria, IL
Sep 15-17: Green Mountain Championship, VT
Sep 17-18: Tour Championship, Smugglers' Notch Resort, VT

 

[puttlikeablowfly]

March 2-5, 2016 NT 28th Memorial Championship presented by Discraft Fountain Hills AZ USA
March 10-12, 2016
April 28-30, 2016 NT Glass Blown Open Emporia, KS USA
May 6-8, 2016 NT Kansas City Wide Open Kansas City, MO USA
May 20-22, 2016 NT 31st Annual "Steady" Ed Memorial Masters Cup - Presented by DGA (Pro) Santa Cruz CA USA
May 27-29, 2016 XA St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational Seaside, CA USA
June 10-12, 2016 NT Beaver State Fling Estacada OR USA
Jun 23-26, 2016 NT Vibram presents the Maple Hill Open Leicester MA USA
July 21-23, 2016 M European Masters Stockholm, Sweden
August 6-13, 2016 M PDGA Pro Disc Golf World Championships Emporia, KS USA
August 18-21 XM PDGA/WFDF Team Disc Golf World Championships Vancouver Area, BC, Canada
August 24-27 XA European Championships (European Players Only) Oulu, Finland
August 27-28, 2016 NT Brent Hambrick Memorial Open Columbus, OH USA
September 9-11, 2016 M Tim Selinske U.S. Masters Disc Golf Championships Stockton, CA USA
September 23-25, 2016 M United States Women's Disc Golf Championships Sabattus, ME USA
October 5-8, 2016 M United States Disc Golf Championship Rock Hill SC USA

 

[onemilemore]

Here's some in-depth information on the Tour, with thoughts from Steve Dodge, Nate Heinold, Will Schusterick, and Val Jenkins:

Disc Golf Pro Tour built on sustainable schedule, 'culture of the disc'

I really think the scheduling and festival will really set this tour apart. It'll be interesting to watch, for sure.

 

[puttlikeablowfly]

Please delete my previous post (didn't let me edit it):

My attempt at a combined pro majors, NT, DGWT, DGPT calendar from the respective websites

March 2-5, 2016 NT 28th Memorial Championship presented by Discraft Fountain Hills AZ USA
March 10-12, 2016 DGWT event in La Mirada
April 28-30, 2016 NT Glass Blown Open Emporia, KS USA
May 5-7, 2016 DGWT event in Czech Republic
May 6-8, 2016 NT Kansas City Wide Open Kansas City, MO USA
May 20-22, 2016 NT 31st Annual "Steady" Ed Memorial Masters Cup - Presented by DGA (Pro) Santa Cruz CA USA
May 27-29, 2016 XA St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational Seaside, CA USA
June 2-4, 2016 DGWT event in Estonia
June 10-12, 2016 NT Beaver State Fling Estacada OR USA
Jun 23-26, 2016 NT and DGPT Vibram presents the Maple Hill Open Leicester MA USA
July 8-10, 2016 DGPT event Silver Cup in Manitowoc, WI
July 21-23, 2016 M European Masters (DGWT event) Stockholm, Sweden
July 29-31, 2016 DGPT event Minnesota Majestic in East Bethel, MN
August 6-13, 2016 M PDGA Pro Disc Golf World Championships Emporia, KS USA
August 18-21: DGPT event Ledgestone Open in Peoria, IL
August 18-21 XM PDGA/WFDF Team Disc Golf World Championships Vancouver Area, BC, Canada
August 24-27 XA European Championships (European Players Only) Oulu, Finland
August 27-28, 2016 NT Brent Hambrick Memorial Open Columbus, OH USA
September???, 2016 DGWT event TBA
September 9-11, 2016 M Tim Selinske U.S. Masters Disc Golf Championships Stockton, CA USA
September 15-17, 2016 DGPT event Green Mountain Championship in VT
September 17-18, 2016 DGPT Tour Championship in Smugglers' Notch Resort in VT
September 23-25, 2016 M United States Women's Disc Golf Championships Sabattus, ME USA
October 5-8, 2016 M United States Disc Golf Championship (DGWT event) Rock Hill SC USA

 

[DanJon]

Well this is going to be an interesting year for Pro Disc Golf.

 

[onemilemore]

Well this is going to be an interesting year for Pro Disc Golf.

The nice part is there isn't any schedule overlap with the DGWT and DGPT, so we'll get quality players all around.

 

[DanJon]

The nice part is there isn't any schedule overlap with the DGWT and DGPT, so we'll get quality players all around.

Definitely, and not to take anything away from Jussi's efforts but I'm honestly more excited to see what Mr. Dodge has in store.

Also excited to see the PDGA & WFDF combine efforts. Should happen more often.

 

[SeveN]

Super stoked for the PDGA/WFDF Team Disc Golf World Championships held in my hometown, Vancouver.

Haven't been lucky enough to meet any of the touring pros in person yet. This will change this year!!!

 

[liquidarity]

What courses in the Vancouver area could host a prestigious event? A cursory glance shows that some of the higher rated courses are out on Vancouver Island. I have visited Nanaimo and Victoria before and would be glad to go either location to watch some disc golf next summer.

 

[Reniger]

There's a reason that there aren't multiple tours/leagues for bigger sports. Only one NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB. Yes, before you say it, there are European leagues and some in Asia, but they hold about 1% market share...

With three Disc Golf tours, I fear any success without MAJOR collaboration - which the PDGA NT has no interest in. This will be further challenged by the fact that two new tours trying to gain traction in 2016. I don't see conflicting dates, but again, no collaboration. I don't see many pros actively focusing on all three tours tours. Paige said in an interview after the USGDC the she feels she needs to slow down and play less tournaments in 2016 to accomplish her ultimate goal of being the first 1000 rated woman. Jerm said the exact same thing. (sans the woman part) And Paul even said that he has to "focus more" and that he is resting after the USDGC, implying that he is already fatigued from the current season...

All in all, I think announcing TWO new tours in 2016 that are shunning/shunned by the PDGA is a huge mistake and counter-productive.

Just my 2¢.

 

[JC17393]

There's a reason that there aren't multiple tours/leagues for bigger sports. Only one NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB. Yes, before you say it, there are European leagues and some in Asia, but they hold about 1% market share...

With three Disc Golf tours, I fear any success without MAJOR collaboration - which the PDGA NT has no interest in. This will be further challenged by the fact that two new tours trying to gain traction in 2016. I don't see conflicting dates, but again, no collaboration. I don't see many pros actively focusing on all three tours tours. Paige said in an interview after the USGDC the she feels she needs to slow down and play less tournaments in 2016 to accomplish her ultimate goal of being the first 1000 rated woman. Jerm said the exact same thing. (sans the woman part) And Paul even said that he has to "focus more" and that he is resting after the USDGC, implying that he is already fatigued from the current season...

All in all, I think announcing TWO new tours in 2016 that are shunning/shunned by the PDGA is a huge mistake and counter-productive.

Just my 2¢.

Why are you assuming a) that these new tours are being "shunned" by or are "shunning" the PDGA and b) that there's no collaboration/coordination amongst all the parties?

My assumption is that all the DGPT and DGWT events are going to be PDGA sanctioned (some already are and have been for years). From all appearances, both the new tours are trying to blend in with the already established PDGA NT/major schedule...the only conflicts on the combined schedules are international.

Honestly, other than these new "tours" linking together a few events, I don't see a whole lot different from past years. Players are going to choose the paths that they feel best benefit them. If that happens to follow one or more of these "tours", great. If it doesn't, it won't be the end of the world.

In a way, these new tours aren't all that different from the various state and regional series that go on every year, just on a larger scale.

 

[krupicka]

I don't see them shunning the PDGA. They are putting in major investments independently for their visions. If the PDGA made the kind of risky investment here that DGWT and DGPT tours are making, then everyone would be up in arms that the PDGA is spending that kind of money. It will be an interesting year that's for sure. The trick in any of this is making these ideas sustainable year after year.

 

[Reniger]

Jussi made a very strong point several times in different interviews that DGWT was completely separate from PDGA. Now, Vibram is taking another approach which is separate from the NT.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Steve dodge seems really odd but the interview was a good listen and curious to see how next year unfolds.

 

[Disc Golf Live]

Interesting contrasts between the Jussi and Dodge visions. It will be telling to see if either team can garner significant support from outside the DG industry. That has always been the elusive will-o-the-wisp which tourney organizers chase.

The Dodge plan seems at least concentrated enough to support touring players travels'. Jussi's frequent flyer miles building plan, not so much, particularly as he said payouts are not a priority. Jussi has had some luck already with media in his (limited) home market, while the Dodge plan is short on substance but has big hopes for media, eventually. Neither has "numbers" significant enough to open the wallets of major contributors, I think, but we shall see.