Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/08/21/tournament-talk-ledgestone-is-always-leading-the-course-design-debate/
Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen – PDGARicky Wysocki and Catrina Allen’s wins at Ledgestone this weekend were important and memorable for similar, and wildly different, reasons. For Wysocki, this was his first Elite Series win in more than a year. Catrina Allen got her first Elite Series win since Delaware in 2019, and perhaps more importantly, her putter showed signs of catching up to the rest of her game.
Both Wysocki and Allen have been dogged by plenty of internet conjecture about their play and how they conduct themselves on and off the course. For both of these players, a win like this has got to feel amazing, especially considering how consistent they both played. Allen was first in the field in fairways hit, parked percentage, C1 in regulation, and C2 in regulation. Wysocki only took 5 bogeys on the weekend, two of which were on the famous (infamous?) hole 12 at Northwood, so were they really bogeys?
Speaking of Hole 12 at Northwood…
Back it up
Many players in MPO reported extreme back ups at that hole specifically, and a slow pace of play in general. Some reported an average wait of 15 minutes or more on every tee. One down-card player posted on Facebook that they had an hour long wait at hole 12. Props to the Disc Golf Network crew and commentators for keeping their stuff together during those delays, as the livestream was interrupted for half an hour at points with the feature cards stuck in backups.
This is how long the back up is on 16 Kyle Klein
Posted by Corey Ellis on Friday, August 14, 2020
Overall pace and waits on Northwood didn’t feel so prevalent a year ago during Pro Worlds, but it raises the question: should there be a higher ratings cut off for participation in Elite events?
Of the 182 players registered in MPO at Ledgestone, 110 were rated below 1000, of which 27 were rated below 950. Hindsight being 20/20, it seems clearly inevitable that having that many sub 1000-rated players attacking perhaps the most difficult hole on tour would cause significant delays. By comparison, 18 players of the 188 person field at Pro Worlds were rated below 950, and 101 below 1000-rated.
The PDGA instituted a ratings minimum to register for Elite Series events starting in 2020. With the minimum set at 900, however, it affected only a fraction of potential players from previous events. Three players at the 2019 Pro Worlds would not have qualified. It was colloquially referred to as the “Lloyd Weema Rule.”
Back ups are part of the game of golf in every form, but when pace of play becomes such a glaring issue that it impacts the broadcast and the quality of the live product, should something further be done at the organizational and rule making level to help prevent this? Or, is this more a course-and-hole specific problem which needs to be anticipated and addressed before the 2021 version of Ledgestone? Should there be a mandatory cut after three rounds for longer tournaments? What about two rounds through three day events? I don’t have the answers, but I’m sure plenty of you do have ideas.
Speaking of the course….
Ladies first
DGN producer Mahmoud Bahrani tweeted a *perfect* summation of how the FPO field and game in general could benefit from a more tailored approach to course design and selection:
“We had more FPO highlights than MPO highlights at LIO. Their broadcasts were more entertaining to produce and watch,” Bahrani said.
DGN commentator Jamie Thomas agreed, saying the early wake-up time on the west coast wasnt so bad seeing as how he got to call Sunset Hills.
Course design and selection for Elite Series events should take these divisional differences into account. Maple Hill has taken the most public lead on addressing this by installing their Diamond course, which features some new tee pads and baskets which are designed with the FPO players in mind. Moving forward, the DGPT and National Tour should make it clear that simply using “ladies tees” is not sufficient. Let’s call it what it is, which is lazy and sexist.
Missy Gannon argues that, while course design is an important factor in any tournament’s success, simple adjustments to the par could go a long way towards addressing this issue.
“I agree that Sunset Hills is one of the most attackable courses on which our division competes on tour,” Gannon told Ultiworld. “I believe that a few contributing factors to that are average hole length, elevation, and par. The result was scores that were much more reminiscent of what our MPO counterparts shoot over a tournament.
“With that being said, however, I don’t necessarily think that Sunset Hills represents the ideal model for course design. They have done a great job making this traditional golf course work for disc golf by utilizing as many trees as possible, water carries, elevation, and a course par that feels fair, but I don’t think it presents enough variety of golf shots. I am not a course designer but if I were to offer some advice as a professional female disc golfer, I would recommend assessing par first and then considering putting in shorter tee pads where it makes sense.”
What does she mean by assessing par?
“For instance, a moderately-wooded, slightly uphill, 435-foot hole will likely be a par 3 for the men, and we will see a healthy percentage of birdies,” Gannon continued. “For the women, that hole would probably make more sense as a par 4 if we are looking to see a relatively similar outcome of birdies. Par plays a significant role in the mental aspect of the game. The argument that par is irrelevant is a tired one in my opinion. We can really learn a lot from UDisc stats and I think it is a great resource for course designers and TDs.”