There's nothing like a good round of doubles. It's the ultimate combination of two of life's greatest things: hanging out with friends and playing disc golf. The truly obsessed disc golfing duos from around the country have gathered this week in Texas for the 25th running of the Amatuer World Doubles Championships, the thid PDGA Major Disc Golf Event of 2015. Hosted by Straight Line Discs on four mind-blowing Houck Design championship disc golf courses, this weekend promises a challenging and exciting environment for the 110+ teams of competitors.

Texas natives Jay "Yeti" Reading #15864 and Des Reading #15863 will be putting on pro clinics all weekend. At 12:30pm CDT and 6:00pm CDT on both Friday and Saturday, competitors and area disc golfers will have the opportunity to learn from some of the best disc golfers the sport has ever known. With their program E.D.G.E. (Educational Disc Golf Experience), Jay and Des have become experts at teaching the game to players of all ages and skill levels. Read more about the Educational Disc Golf Experience and their tournament charity program on the official EDGE website. 

Courses

There are a lot of great courses in the world, but the Amateurs competing this weekend have the opportunity to play one of the best. From the moment the course at Selah Ranch was installed, it’s been known by many as one of the top disc golf courses around. Designer John Houck #1688 created this tournament 25 years ago and now it takes place on four of his courses. Selah Ranch features two different championship courses; Selah Lakeside and Selah Creekside. The other courses being played,  Trey Deuce and Texas Twist. , were built on the grounds of Trey Texas Ranch, and they  certainly do not disappoint.

Both courses remain in good condition despite the highly unusual amount of rain that Texas has taken on in the past few weeks. 40 inches of rain has pummeled the area since the start of the year, meaning in five months they've hit what they normally receive in an entire year. The recent downpours, although unfavorable, inspired the Straight Line Discs team and other tournament staff members to make some changes to the schedule and courses to help prepare for what could be a another rainy weekend. Hundreds of hours of hard labor have been logged by the staff and despite the record-breaking precipitation, the courses look amazing. We're keeping our fingers crossed, and hoping for sunshine! 

Doubles Formats

Doubles Formats

The 2015 Amateur World Doubles Championships plays multiple formats of doubles: Best Shot, Best Disc, and Alternate Shot, and Worst Shot. During some of rounds, a combination of those formats will be played, e.g.  Holes 1-6: Best Shot, Holes 7-12: Best Disc, Holes13-18 Alternating Shot.

If you’ve ever played a round of Worst Shot, you know the pain of having a great throw and then watching in horror as your teammate’s disc ricochets deep into the woods, over an out-of-bounds line, and/or into the water. But have you actually played Worst Shot?

The term Worst Shot is very commonly misused. Often time when people refer to Worst Shot they are actually playing Tough Shot. Tough Shot. They both play by the same rules except with one very critical difference. In true Worst Shot format, BOTH teammates have to hole out. This holds true no matter what the situation may be. So don’t get too excited when your teammate tees off and gets a hole-in-one. In Worst Shot, it’s not getting marked on the scorecard as a 1 unless you follow it up with an ace of your own!

The rules below have been approved by the PDGA rules committee for doubles. More information can be found on the PDGA Doubles Rules and Formats page.

Best Shot

Best Shot is by far the most popular doubles format. Both players throw from each lie (starting with the tee shot), then the team chooses which of the resulting lies to continue play from, until the hole is completed.

• A team may take a reasonable amount of time to pick which lie they want before the 30-second play clock starts.
• A lie that is picked up without being marked is gone forever; the team must throw from the other lie. If the second lie is picked up, it must be replaced in accordance with PDGA rules. All lies must be marked according to PDGA rules.
• If the first player throws from the wrong lie, the second player may still throw from the correct lie.
• In case of injury or disqualification, one partner may play alone, throwing one shot at each lie (essentially playing singles).

Worst Shot

Worst Shot is the most brutal of the doubles formats, and can test the patience of even the best teams. In Worst Shot, both players throw from each lie (starting with the tee shot), then the competing teams in the group choose which of the subsequent lies will be used, with the aim of making the hole as difficult as possible. The hole is completed once both team members have holed out from the same lie.

• The 30-second play clock begins once the opposing teams have selected the lie.
• A lie that is picked up without being marked must be replaced in accordance with PDGA rules. All lies must be marked according to PDGA rules.
• Any warning or penalty incurred by a player may be chosen to apply to the team, at the opposing teams' discretion.
• A team found to be giving an opposing team a better lie will be disqualified for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Tough Shot is the same as Worst Shot, with one major score-lowering distinction; once a player on the team has holed out, the team has completed the hole.

Alternate Shot

In Alternate Shot, only one sequence of throws is made on each hole. The team selects a player to throw the tee shot at the beginning of the round. The other player then throws from the subsequent lie, and play alternates in that fashion until the round is completed. Alternate Shot is closer to a singles format, where one partner can't bail the other out. If you miss a short putt, chances are good that you'll be driving the next hole.

• If the wrong player on a team throws, another team must call it immediately, like a foot fault. The team receives a warning, and the correct player throws. Subsequent violations incur a one-throw penalty.
• For any violation that requires a rethrow (stance violation, provisional throw), the same player throws.

Best Disc (Best Score)

In Best Disc (also known as Best Score), each player plays the hole as they would while playing singles; there are no shared lies. The team score is the best score on the hole by one of its players.

• The player who is away will always throw first, with this exception: If both players are lying the same number of throws, the team may choose which player throws first.
• A player must pick up once it is impossible for him to better the team's score. 
• In case of injury or disqualification, one partner may play alone.

The tournament begins tomorrow morning, bright an early. Each team will play two rounds a day on Friday and Saturday, meaning all competitors will get to play all four championship courses at least once. After the rounds on Saturday, the top teams from each division will play a final nine holes on Sunday. Live scoring for the leading teams will begin on Saturday on pdgalive.com. Follow the PDGA on Facebook and Twitter for updates, pictures, and videos. 

The full schedule can be found on the official Amateur World Doubles website. Good luck everyone, and try to stay dry out there!