Top Pros Registering for NTs

[Thumber]

Is this really an issue? Sure some players who didn't register on time don't get to play this year. I suspect the organizers of the Memorial are very aware of the amount of gnashing of teeth and beating of chests going on over this, and will take action for next year

The reason the memorial is so popular is that it is run at a time when there is very little going on in the DG world. If the Memorial was in June, the players that failed to register on time would just go play some other big tournament elsewhere in the country.

Not sure I buy that the Memorial is the "closest we have to a professional event" line. Seems pretty disrespectful of the USDGC, Vibram Open, Glass Blown, etc etc etc

The main reason this is even an issue is open players didn't place enough priority on registering. Lots of players, including myself would love to play the Memorial. Its in a warm place during the worst month of the year. Pricing is not the issue. $200 vs $400 makes no difference to someone who is taking a week off work, flying to Arizona, paying for food, drink, merchandise and accommodations while there.

I suspect there will be changes next year, but have little sympathy for those who didn't get in this year due to their own negligence. They all knew the game.

Its called Open, not Pro. As in Open to all. Just because you choose to try to make a living playing Open does not give you priority over others who are willing to pay the same entry fee and took the time to make sure they got in.

 

[Timeetyo]

I may have missed these details if they were posted in this thread, but does anyone know how long it actually took to sell out open both this year and last year?

 

[skottyb]

Former champs of an event should always have a spot in the event, just my 2¢.

 

[scarpfish]

If people are willing to donate $200 for a disc golf experience (vacation) why not $250? Why not $300? People will get upset that they can't afford to play in a "prestigious" event?

They won't get upset, they'll just stay home.

 

[cjdiscgolf]

http://www.pdga.com/las-vegas-anyone

So when this fills even though the registration start date is ON THE FRONT PAGE OF PDGA.COM, who will complain?

 

[JC17393]

http://www.pdga.com/las-vegas-anyone

So when this fills even though the registration start date is ON THE FRONT PAGE OF PDGA.COM, who will complain?

Given that the Memorial registration start date was also on the front page of PDGA.com, I'm gonna guess that anyone who doesn't register before it fills will complain. Why would things change?

 

[DiscinMiller]

I dont necessarily feel bad for someone like Nikko missing registration, but it simply put isnt good for the game. As much as i would like to go p lay open there and embarrass myself in front of the dozens of cameras and hundreds of fans, thats not going to grow the game. We need the top pros competing against each other.

I understanda n open tournament means its open. But most other sports (stick golf, for instance) have opens, but you still have to qualify.

If you are going to make a living on this sport, you are going to earmark some time away from practicing to make sure you are at the computer the moment registration opens. All of us have had to do this at some point. Whether it was for open seating on southwest or concert tickets. It happens.

Also, if you are the TD of an event like this, you are going to open yourself up to these types of problems unless you make it an invitational. if you want the best turnout for your tourney and help grow the sport, that needs to be done

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[Aim For The Chains]

Finding a way not to raise entry fees for a tournament that has an abundance of demand is a mistake. If a tournament could actually pay a staff, other people/parks departments might be interested in running tournaments. This is the type of scenario that the Disc Golfer would actually pay close to the value they have been receiving from volunteers since forever. Allow the business of Disc Golf to make more money.

and give an incentive to those who work hard to put together a GOOD event. Even a PDGA membership is extremely cheap compared to many other organizations you can join which are "official" ... Hell my RE tech fees are nearly the same as PDGA membership per/mo'

The cost to play disc golf already is very small and IMO it could only help to increase across the board. Even discs are too cheap.

 

[BuzzzChief]

Its called Open, not Pro. As in Open to all. Just because you choose to try to make a living playing Open does not give you priority over others who are willing to pay the same entry fee and took the time to make sure they got in.

Bingo!!! Let's have some perspective, people. This is not the PGA. As much as the sport has grown, we are still relatively small and we don't have the structure or the money to support a full-blown pro tour. And I don't think we're ready for that either. An invite-only pro event can't make money on sponsorship, spectators and broadcasting alone. And until the sport grows to that level, it still needs to be an "open" format, because the top guys need donators to boost the payouts.

Now of course, the tournament organizers could do things to help grow the sport to the next level. They could give a handful of special priority invites to boost the level of competition and establish the event as a premier one. But that's up to the TD. But they didn't do that, and everyone knew the rules, and "it's saturday afternoon" isn't really a good excuse for missing the boat. Someone else wanted it more!!

 

[Aim For The Chains]

so why are there other divisions? generally you don't find players traveling the world to play in those either....... but open is for everyone?! lol.

 

[Thumber]

so why are there other divisions? generally you don't find players traveling the world to play in those either....... but open is for everyone?! lol.

Yes, Open is for anyone who wants to play for money. There is no guarantee of making money, but its the only spot you can play for it

 

[AndyJB]

Former champs of an event should always have a spot in the event, just my 2¢.

I agree with this. It's that way in most individual sports. Ones that I know for sure are the Mr. Olympia Bodybuilding contest, the U.S. Open of Tennis and the Worlds Strongest Man. Of course those only apply to the biggest events in those disciplines, but I don't see why it can't happen for every NT event. There aren't that many prior winners at these things anyway.

 

[Discette]

Is this really an issue? Sure some players who didn't register on time don't get to play this year. I suspect the organizers of the Memorial are very aware of the amount of gnashing of teeth and beating of chests going on over this, and will take action for next year

The reason the memorial is so popular is that it is run at a time when there is very little going on in the DG world. If the Memorial was in June, the players that failed to register on time would just go play some other big tournament elsewhere in the country.

Not sure I buy that the Memorial is the "closest we have to a professional event" line. Seems pretty disrespectful of the USDGC, Vibram Open, Glass Blown, etc etc etc

The main reason this is even an issue is open players didn't place enough priority on registering. Lots of players, including myself would love to play the Memorial. Its in a warm place during the worst month of the year. Pricing is not the issue. $200 vs $400 makes no difference to someone who is taking a week off work, flying to Arizona, paying for food, drink, merchandise and accommodations while there.

I suspect there will be changes next year, but have little sympathy for those who didn't get in this year due to their own negligence. They all knew the game.

Its called Open, not Pro. As in Open to all. Just because you choose to try to make a living playing Open does not give you priority over others who are willing to pay the same entry fee and took the time to make sure they got in.

The Memorial owes a majority of its success to its place on the schedule and the weather in Arizona in February.


The Memorial also has a stranglehold on the NT date for the Western Region. As it stands, there will never be a different location for a Western NT because the Memorial is given exclusive rights to host it EVERY SINGLE YEAR! Since the PDGA no longer holds the Spring Summit during the Memorial, it is not relevant to the scheduling and sanctioning.

How about the PDGA lets Las Vegas have the NT every other year? Players that are traveling for the two week Vegas and Memorial jaunt will likely still do both if the events take turns being the NT for the West. Come on PDGA, let Vegas have a shot at hosting the NT!

Would the Memorial be any less popular if Vegas was the NT and the Memorial was the A-Tier?

 

[The Hammer]

The PDGA needs to implement more invitation only style events.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Yes, Open is for anyone who wants to play for money. There is no guarantee of making money, but its the only spot you can play for it

so some players basically are throwing up a donation without issue. Its not actually FOR THEM to win money we know that's not possible at most events unless some kind of miracle occurs.

 

[Thumber]

so some players basically are throwing up a donation without issue. Its not actually FOR THEM to win money we know that's not possible at most events unless some kind of miracle occurs.

That's the nature of gambling. If you want to run an Open event then you accept that its open to anyone willing to gamble.

If you want a prestige event showcasing only the best, then make it an invitational

When I started playing open I knew I was going to be a donator. I chose to play open so I could play with better players, learn more and I didn't want or need anymore plastic. As I learned I got better and I have even won a few bucks along the way

 

[sprintermatt]

OK, how's this for a solution...

The PDGA sends an email out to current "touring card" players. These players have an opportunity to sign up through the PDGA a couple days before the tournament is to go live. There's a small transaction fee for this convenience. Refunds will only be 80% for withdrawals (given proper advance notice). This would be a benefit to the TOURING CARD players. All hundred or so of them.

This would be expressly for NTs and Majors. If they opt to forgo the early registration, they can fight with the masses for a spot.


This would allow those who are touring pros a chance to register without hovering over a computer at a specified time. It would be a stipulation of running an NT or Major. THIS IS WHAT YOU DO IF YOU WANT TO RUN AN NT OR MAJOR. PERIOD. END OF DISCUSSION.

Touring pros would be able to correspond via email to confirm a spot. Payment would be through the PDGA, not through the tournament registration site.

 

[JC17393]

The PDGA needs to implement more invitation only style events.

Why is it up to the PDGA?

The PDGA doesn't run tournaments. Local organizers do. Yes, the bigger events get a lot more support from the PDGA (particularly majors and NTs), but those events don't happen without the locals creating the event in the first place.

If there is really a demand for more invitation only events, people need to start creating them or converting existing events.

 

[Scottycb1]

Simple solution. If you are not 970 which is the line to play open, you don't get to play open in National Tour or Majors! I understand some people want to play open for the experience, and that does fatten up the purses for top pro's but at the same time, if your top players are getting left out of the biggest tournaments because of the online registrations it hurts the sport. You want to showcase your best talent, not anyone can register for a PGA Tour golf event, it has reserved spots, and that seems to work well as their winning purse is almost $1,000,000 every week.... Top players bring in top sponsors which grow the sport. Amateur rated players should play amateur rated divisions in NT's and Majors while Professional rated players should play Professional rated divisions. As a 1010+ pro, I am not asking for handouts, and I am in the Memorial field, I am just asking for ratings to actually mean something, the system is there, why do we not use it?

 

[Thumber]

Why is it up to the PDGA?

The PDGA doesn't run tournaments. Local organizers do. Yes, the bigger events get a lot more support from the PDGA (particularly majors and NTs), but those events don't happen without the locals creating the event in the first place.

If there is really a demand for more invitation only events, people need to start creating them or converting existing events.

This. Currently, the Memorial is an Open NT. Its not an invitational. Maybe that will be changed for next year.

The vast majority of people signed up for the Memorial (or most tournaments for that matter) aren't signing up with an expectation of winning. They are signed up to be part of the circus. To be at the show and have a great time

The Memorial's popularity is due to the weather at that time of year. The courses themselves are good, but not exactly mind-blowing