The "Beginners' League" at Watson Trail

[Stubborn Puppet]

Get ready for Game 3:

Gateway Discs has generously provided the league with a really nice selection of premium discs to use as CTPs as well as free minis/markers to hand out to all players, free stickers and some other cool schwag to use as prizes. In addition, I am going to be adding a very cool, long sleeved, tie-dye Wizard shirt to the Ace pool.

This week we're going to have 2 CTP's.
In the first round, it's going to be on hole 4. It's a tricky one because it's not hard to get close to aceing hole 4, but if you miss, you're way out in the creek. Remeber though, an Ace IS CTP. The prize is a nice Wizard ball cap.
In the second round, the CTP is on hole 3 for your choice of 1 of 3 Element midrange drivers (an excellent disc for every player to have). Again, hole 3 is easy to get close to, but if you actually go for the Ace and miss it... you could end up way down the hill or even O.B.
Either way, all players should have a pretty equal chance of nailing either of these.

After hearing a few thoughts, I've decided that if you win a CTP, you either should take what was being offered or give it to the person who was next closest on the CTP flag. There can't be any more trading it for a different prize.

I do not have any pro or master players lined up for this week unfortunately. I have talked to a couple of them I hadn't before that have also said they will plan on showing for a few league nights, and I am going to remind those who previously said they would that we still would like to see them. Be patient, I'm sure they will come and will return after we show them a good time and plenty of appreciation.

Remember, I have payouts for Daniel, Eric, Mark and David. Eric and Mark will start our evening with a tie-breaker shootout on hole 1 to determine who takes first and second from the moderate division from last week. If one of them doesn't show, the first place will default to the one who does. The other player WILL still get the second place payout.

See you there!

[Stubborn Puppet]

The Blues trumped the league tonight. We gained a new player, but lost 6 to the hockey game. What can you do?
Eric Holloway did not make it tonight, so there was no tie-breaker shootout. By default the 1st place from Game 2 goes to Mark ($14). Eric, you still get your $7 for second (I'll hold it for you).

This week we played singles again, no special rules (but those are coming soon)

6 Players
The league balance was $28.22 going in
Fees paid of $30
$18 towards payouts
$6 goes towards prizes and expenses
$6 towards end of league party
New league balance: Prizes and Expenses = $16.22 / Party = $24

Previous Ace Pool was $14
all 6 players entered the pool
New ace pool is $20 (plus the shirt)

After the match the field broke down into 2 divisions: Advanced Beginners and Moderate Beginners

Advanced
Name, Score, Place, Payout

Mark Munter, 53, 1st, $9
Daniel Doss, 56, 2nd
Andy Lansing, 57, 3rd


Moderate
Name, Score, Place, Payout

Cassidy (Kid) Thomas, 66, 1st, $9
Karl Schutte, 67, 2nd
Don Rush, 67, 2nd

Mark Munter won the Wizard cap on the first round on hole 4 (nice parking)
Andy Lansing took a sweet Gateway Element CTP on round 2, hole 3.

No aces were hit.

I'm glad everyone had a good time. Hopefully we'll get a big field next week as it sounds like we're gonna get at least 5 of the 6 back and it sounds like we may have at least two new additions to the field.

[Stubborn Puppet]

Get ready for Game 4!

Tonight, we'll be starting off in the usual way with a singles round on the 9 holes and we'll have a brand new Innova Roc as the CTP on hole 2 in the first round.

FOR THE SECOND ROUND: We will be going on Safari for all 9 holes. This means alternate tee locations for every hole. Some of them simplify the hole, but create a totally new experience while others are going to really challenge you to think about a new, more challenging line to the same approach. For this second, "safari" round, the CTP is offered on Hole 7. It is a very challenging shot, but all skill levels should have an equal chance of getting it. The prize will be a "Players Choice" pick from the league inventory box (you get to grab 1 item, not as much as you can hold ).

It should be great fun to be for sure!

I'm holding payouts for David, Eric, Mark and Cassidy. Hope to see you guys there... as well as all of you and some new players.

Remember, "KIDS ARE WELCOME!" I will make a special division (with splits) for anyone 13 or under. Bring 'em along and introduce them to a fun activity you can share as a family.

[Stubborn Puppet]

Well, we didn't quite get the turnout I'd hoped for on Game 4 of the league, but we did get another new player (John Renteria, welcome) and what an interesting game we had.

Round 1 was a normal round, but round two was played from alternate tee positions on every hole (which do not normally exist). That went pretty well, despite a few of them being very challenging.

Here's the breakdown:

6 Players
The league balance was $40.22 going in
Fees paid of $30
$18 towards payouts
$6 goes towards prizes and expenses
$6 towards end of league party
New league balance: Prizes and Expenses = $22.22 / Party = $30 Total = $52.22

Previous Ace Pool was $20
all 6 players entered the pool
New ace pool is $26 (plus the shirt)

After the match the field broke down into 2 divisions: Moderate Beginners and New Beginners (nobody made par on either round, so no advanced beginners division tonight)

Moderate
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Mark Munter, 58, 1st, $12
Daniel Doss, 59, 2nd
John Renteria, 61, 3rd
Wendell Ferger, 61, 3rd

New
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Karl Schutte, 67, 1st $6
Cassidy (Kid) Thomas, 71, 2nd

Wendell Ferger got both CTP's tonight, the Roc for Hole 2 from the normal tee on round 1 AND Won his choice from the league prize box (he took the SSSS Wizard (yeah, that's 4 S's)) on Hole 7 from the very challenging alternate tee during the Safari in round 2. Nice shooting Wendell!

No aces were hit.

Thanks to everyone for a great round.

[Stubborn Puppet]

For tonight, I'm going to mix things up a bit again - let's try a new format. Once we see how many people we have, I think we'll either go "Random-Draw Doubles" or "Cali" rules. I'll explain both at the park before we get started (for those who don't already know).

I'm not feeling incredibly creative with CTP ideas right now (and the supply of prizes is still a little limited), so I'm gonna say we'll have a players choice CTP on hole 9 that will apply to both rounds. Not two separate winners, but two separate attempts to win the CTP.

If you don't have a marker yet, make sure you let me know... we have plenty and I'd like to see players starting to get into the habit of using them.

As a final word, please remember to use the restroom at the shelter before you get started or as you move from hole 9 back to 1.

I hope to see some returning faces, as well as some new ones, out there tonight. I've still got some pro and veteran players out there who say they'll be showing up "soon", but that they will be there. Maybe tonight will be the first...

[Stubborn Puppet]

Tonight we played "Cali" rules.

We had a new player to the league, Luke Dillon. Nice to meet you and thanks for coming out.

We put a CTP up on hole 9 and left it in play for both rounds so that each player had two chances (well, 4 if you count "calis"). The prize was a players choice pick from the prize box.


Here's the breakdown:

6 Players
The league balance was $52.22 going in
Fees paid of $30
$18 towards payouts
$6 goes towards prizes and expenses
$6 towards end of league party
New league balance: Prizes and Expenses = $28.22 / Party = $36 Total = $64.22

Previous Ace Pool was $26
all 6 players entered the pool
New ace pool is $32 (plus the shirt)

After the match the field broke down into 2 divisions: Advanced Beginners and New Beginners... but let's be realistic, we would all have ended up in "moderate" or "new" without the free mulligan on each hole.

Advanced
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Luke Dillon, 49, 1st, $15
Mark Munter, 50, 2nd
Wendell Ferger, 51, 3rd
Eric Holloway, 53, 4th
Daniel Doss, 55, 5th

New
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Tom Coleman, 69, 1st $3 (it ain't nothin')


Our latest member, Luke, walked away with the CTP tonight when nobody could beat his 4' from the pin parking on 9. Nice work on the win and the CTP.

No aces were hit.

Thanks to everyone for a great round.
See you next week with payouts.

[Stubborn Puppet]

Game 6

Tonight was simple singles rules and there was a CTP in play on both rounds of 9 holes on hole 1. The prize is a players choice pick from the league prize box.

This is the first week we didn't see a new player. Spread the word folks.

Here's the breakdown:

5 players
The league balance was $64.22 going in
Fees paid of $25
$15 towards payouts
$5 towards prizes and expenses
$5 towards the party
New league balance: Prizes and Expenses = $33.22 / Party = $41. Total = $74.22

Previous Ace Pool was $32
All 5 players entered the pool
New Ace Pool is $37 (plus the shirt)

After the scores were totalled, the field breaks down into two divisions: Advanced Beginners and New Beginners.

Advanced
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Mark Munter, 55, 1st, $12
Luke Dillon, 58, 2nd
Wendell Ferger, 58, 2nd
John Renteria, 61, 3rd

New
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Karl Schutte, 68, 1st $3

No Aces were hit tonight

Mark took the CTP on hole 1. I'll have the prize box there for you next week to get your goods.

Sorry I couldn't stay to actually play the round with you folks tonight, but I hope you had a good time (like there is any other kind of time to have when playing disc golf).

See you next week!

[Stubborn Puppet]

Game 7

Tonight was singles and there was a CTP in play on both rounds of 9 on hole 6. The prize was a players choice pick from the league prize box.

This week we had Sean Beaury join us for league. Welcome.

Here's the breakdown:

9 players
The league balance was $64.22 going in
Fees paid of $45
$27 towards payouts
$9 towards prizes and expenses
$9 towards the party
New league balance: Prizes and Expenses = $42.22 / Party = $50 Total = $92.22

Previous Ace Pool was $37
7 players entered the pool
New Ace Pool is $44 (plus the shirt)

After the scores were totaled, the field breaks down into three divisions: Advanced Beginners, Moderate Beginners and New Beginners.

Advanced
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Mark Munter, 53, 1st, $12
Wendell Ferger, 54, 2nd
Eric Holloway, 58, 3rd
Daniel Doss, 58, 3rd

Moderate
Name, Score, Place, Payout
Sean Beaury, 64, Tie for 1st, Tie-breaker for $12
Don Rush, 64, Tie for 1st, Tie-breaker for $12
Cassidy Thomas, 66, 2nd
Karl Schutte, 67, 3rd

New
Name, Score, Place, Payout
David Gipson, 71, 1st $3

There will be a Tie-Breaker round between Don Rush and Sean Beaury, from the alternate tee for hole 1 at the beginning of Game 8 next week to see who gets the $12 payout for the tie in the Moderate division. If only one of the players shows next week, they get the pay.

No Aces were actually hit tonight... but the guys on the card with Daniel thought he'd sunk one without hitting chain on hole 5. Once we got close enough we could see that it just looked like it was sitting in the basket... but it was just a perspective illusion and was actually on the ground behind it. Grrr!

Sean took the CTP on hole 6 with a really clean shot through a giant mess of trees. He snagged himself a sweet turqouise Soft VooDoo from the box.

Thanks for a good round tonight, hope to see you again next week.

[Stubborn Puppet]

I have recently received several emails and heard from some of the players who've been in the league from the beginning. There are concerns, especially with the nature of (for beginners) and the length of this league (from March to November), about having some rules about who is eligible for the ace pool and CTP's. I agree with the concerns that have been raised.

Here's the new deal that has been agreed upon:
Only beginner level players (those in their first or second year of playing the game - with an exception for those who have played very,very little in the past and are just now starting to play more frequently) who have paid/played at least 4 nights of this league will be eligible for CTP's or the Ace Pool. Players are not required to pay into the ace pool for the first 4 games, but must pay in on game 5 and after to be eligible to win it. CTP eligibility becomes automatic at the end of round 4.

All players are still eligible for the weekly payouts, which are assigned by creating tiers around score variances. I don't think there is a member of the league who hasn't been paid at some point.

We will have to rely on the honor system and word of mouth as far as players who are actually too advanced to qualify as "beginners". We still would be happy to accept "non-beginner" players to play in the league with us. We just ask that you identify yourselves up front (as you all have - and we greatly thank you and appreciate your saying so). You can still get a payout in your own tier, just won't be able to claim prizes or the pool.

I feel that I need to say, "This is NOT directed at any specific person or persons. All of the non-beginner players who have played this league have been fair, honest and a welcome part of the experience." I am just responding to the concerns of the long term players that this league was designed for. I myself will become ineligible for this league next year, but I still plan on running it and playing, but without payout or prize.

We are still waiting on those local pro and long term players that have said they would be happy to stop in to play along and provide pointers

Thanks everyone.

[hoogiegirl]

Dan,
Thanks for putting this together! I had a lot of fun, and I'm glad everyone was patient with me as I hit every tree in the place I love that Watson Trails is mostly in the shade!
Dawn