2021 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships June 22-26

[Jolt]

Pro level of the sport in Europe hasn't yet been sufficiently monetized to generate enough spectator and viewership income and/or persuade an entity with deep pockets who's willing to underwrite the expense. Hopefully that's getting closer to reality in the next several years.

They threw some insane money (for Discgolf) into Tampere Disc Golf Center
They had sponsors like FORD at the European Open
And they have spectators at a level i´ve never seen in the US.

I hope it will happen. . i want to see Worlds at really good DiscGolf courses...not ballgolf ones.

 

[araytx]

That is it. They have made Worlds into just another weekend event for the most part.

Not a "THEY" in this case. The "We" that is the pro disc golf athletes pushed for and got that change. It's what this particular "we" wanted.

I dislike the Baseball term "World series" It's a closed group that can compete and only US based (in that matter outside of the US most countries don't like the team franchise model without relegation/promotion either,) Whilst their may not be many overseas competitors at the disc Golf World Championships this year it is open to all and there have nearly been European World Champions previously (Kallstrom 2nd etc)

Worlds in Finland is going to be an incredible event when it happens with, I would expect, live television coverage, National media interest and thousands of fans lining the fairways.

The Toronto Blue Jays won the Major League Baseball "US" Series in 1993.

 

[biscoe]

Not a "THEY" in this case. The "We" that is the pro disc golf athletes pushed for and got that change. It's what this particular "we" wanted.

Touring pros are definitely "they" in relation to myself.

 

[Luckj]

Not a "THEY" in this case. The "We" that is the pro disc golf athletes pushed for and got that change. It's what this particular "we" wanted.

As a newer fan I've been underwhelmed by the Worlds. This is supposed to be the defining tournament, this is what goes on your disc and is what makes Climo the greatest and McBeth the current great. Yet, all I see is another weekend tournament at a ball golf course and a decent course at the fort. The DGPT championship seems more interesting (as unpopular as that is to say) with its culmination of the season style. If the Worlds wasn't labeled I'd think it was just another round.
Maybe I'm just disconnected from the history on this though, always open to hearing what I'm missing.

 

[brutalbrutus]

The only thing that really distinguishes it from most other tour level events, is the pressure the players put on themselves to win it.

Most of these tour events have large volunteer staffs that have their course(s) looking as good as possible. Their is live and post pro vids at nearly all those events nowadays, so that not used to playing in front of cameras thing isn't as prevalent.

 

[elmexdela]

its starting to feel like usdgc or the new "tour championship"

it all is starting to get the blender treatment and feels lackluster/disheartened/buzz wordy

you know what really is holding dg back

 

[ToddL]

Well, the Masters is just another golf tournament too.

 

[Flick Maniac]

Does anyone have stats on which tournament historically has more international players (number or precentage), Worlds or USDGC? Must be Worlds since you have to qualify for the latter but cant be all that big difference

 

[Cgkdisc]

Does anyone have stats on which tournament historically has more international players (number or precentage), Worlds or USDGC? Must be Worlds since you have to qualify for the latter but cant be all that big difference

If you limit the stats to just MPO, pretty sure USDGC would have a higher average percentage of international players in the MPO field over the years, partly because the field size is smaller and the purse usually bigger. Our 2001 Pro Worlds international percentage might have been higher than USDGC that year because it was a qualifier for the World Games.

 

[_MTL_]

The only thing that really distinguishes it from most other tour level events, is the pressure the players put on themselves to win it.

Most of these tour events have large volunteer staffs that have their course(s) looking as good as possible. Their is live and post pro vids at nearly all those events nowadays, so that not used to playing in front of cameras thing isn't as prevalent.

Differences between NT's and DGPT events and the worlds:

- Majors have a full PDGA support staff. This includes a scoring team and a PDGA marshal per course.
- Majors must have at least 25% of the entries in added cash, NT's / DGPT only require 10%. The worlds has 288 players paying $250, that's a minimum of 18K cash added.
- Manufacture bonuses are heavily focused on worlds. A worlds win is a larger bonus than other majors and certain more than NT / DGPT win.
- The worlds is 5 rounds, NT and DGPT is 3.


I understand this post and can see from the outside it appears that way - but it's simply not accurate.

 

[Ryan P.]

I think there are a lot of differences between worlds and other tournaments, and they all boil down to decisions that DG has made in its history to consider Worlds a lot more prestigious.

_MTL_ explained above the quantitative aspects that elevates world's from other events.

As for the qualitative aspects (why we consider worlds to be more prestigious), I would say that it boils down to pros want to win worlds more than other tournaments. Albert Tamm traveled to the US for worlds. Paul was planning last year (before the shut down) to take a few months off in prep for worlds. We buy the discs that say "world champ." We, as the masses, have elevated worlds to the status it is. You can disagree (and I'm happy not everyone thinks of worlds as the most prestigious), but the masses seem to have decided this. Until the masses change their mind, Worlds is more prestigious.

 

[dehaas]

Y'all are being dgers thinking like dgers about events hosted by dgers.

I'm not saying a solid bid might not be put together by a European area, but to have all the US contenders travel (I know contenders really are only a couple) to Europe isn't realistic. Infinitely easier for other Europeans to travel within the continent than herding all the US players to Europe.

Logistics will be a deciding factor and be the Achilles to any amazing European bid. I'm not saying there aren't venues capable of hosting, and that the hosts wouldn't do it up huge (Finnish TV) but saying if you're trying to cater to the largest mass, Europe just doesn't make sense. Especially when you figure costs involved with shuffling that larger player base to another continent.

 

[Jolt]

Y'all are being dgers thinking like dgers about events hosted by dgers.

I'm not saying a solid bid might not be put together by a European area, but to have all the US contenders travel (I know contenders really are only a couple) to Europe isn't realistic. Infinitely easier for other Europeans to travel within the continent than herding all the US players to Europe.

Logistics will be a deciding factor and be the Achilles to any amazing European bid. I'm not saying there aren't venues capable of hosting, and that the hosts wouldn't do it up huge (Finnish TV) but saying if you're trying to cater to the largest mass, Europe just doesn't make sense. Especially when you figure costs involved with shuffling that larger player base to another continent.

They travel to the European Open almost every year so why should it be harder for them to travel tot an European Worlds every 3-5years?

 

[brutalbrutus]

It's amazing how far the game has gone in 5 years...

In 2016, there were 40 players rated 1000+ at Worlds... This year there are 110... and that doesn't include the couple dozen Euro players that would likely be here if Covid weren't a thing...

According to the PDGA site... In 2016, 180 players finished the year at 1000+. Right now, there are 327 at 1000+

 

[brutalbrutus]

Also recently passed 180,000 members, I signed up in '14 and am 62413

 

[Flick Maniac]

It's amazing how far the game has gone in 5 years...

In 2016, there were 40 players rated 1000+ at Worlds... This year there are 110... and that doesn't include the couple dozen Euro players that would likely be here if Covid weren't a thing...

According to the PDGA site... In 2016, 180 players finished the year at 1000+. Right now, there are 327 at 1000+

1000 isnt really what it used to be opcorn:

No but really. 1000 rated is no thing. 1030+ish starts to be a big deal

 

[Horsman]

1000 isnt really what it used to be opcorn:

No but really. 1000 rated is no thing. 1030+ish starts to be a big deal

Or with the growth of the sport we also see a growth in the amount of 1000 rated players

 

[Ryan P.]

It seems that 1000 rated is still a thing. Brodie's 1000 rated discs that sold out quickly are proof of that. we can argue about whether it should or shouldn't be all day, but it's still a big deal because a lot of people still think it is.

If I understand what Flick Maniac is saying, it's that 1000 rated is no longer a big deal, and that 1030 is the new big deal. I'd say it's closer to 1020. Regardless, 1000-1010 rated players aren't getting top 10 at Worlds like they did the in the first 10 years of ratings.

 

[Horsman]

It seems that 1000 rated is still a thing. Brodie's 1000 rated discs that sold out quickly are proof of that. we can argue about whether it should or shouldn't be all day, but it's still a big deal because a lot of people still think it is.

If I understand what Flick Maniac is saying, it's that 1000 rated is no longer a big deal, and that 1030 is the new big deal. I'd say it's closer to 1020. Regardless, 1000-1010 rated players aren't getting top 10 at Worlds like they did the in the first 10 years of ratings.

Agreed that its not a big deal but I will say it was a big deal to me personally when I hit that mark a few years ago, and after the next update when I go down to the 980's I will be slightly sad but I feel like I accomplished something that 99.9% of disc golfers never will.

 

[araytx]

I don't think anyone in tennis thinks Wimbledon or the US Open are "just another tournament." Golfers don't think the Masters or the Open is "just another tournament." Drivers don't think of Daytona or Brickyard as "just another race." Even though they have the same or similar formats to a lot of others throughout the year.