New Tier Level Needed?

Disc golf has reached the point that it needs a new level of tournaments. New standards need to be drawn up. Maybe, PDGA Super Tour tier?

I know that your saying,"thats not new." Waite!
I, you, and most people could meet the requirements of running a A-tier event by driving to the bank. Think about it?

New PDGA Super Tour events would be ran with bigger cash in a real tour manner. What I mean by that is. Like the Worlds. Clubs would have to bid to the PDGA to receive Super Tour
status each year. This would allow the PDGA to have a real SUPER TOUR. By controling the dates of each cities event and the order in which the events were played.

Of course, I don't have all the details broken down. But, think about it. A tour that is easier on touring players, a tour with more $$$$$$$, a tour that links and promotes the Major disc golf cities, a tour that may attract all of the best players, and a tour that is ready to SELL.

This I think is one of the biggest lacking factors.
PDGA and the discgolf cities have yet to make a SELLABLE product out of disc golf.

What your take?

Good points, Roc! I can see what your talking about. If I would have wanted to do most of the SuperTour's last year I would have had to drive across the country 3x east and west and like 4x north and south. Three different trips to Fla. thats alot of driving!

This idea could put alot of stress on different local clubs with changing the dates of thier events, but eitherway they would have a year in between the dates to get ready be a month earlier or not!

More money, more players, and the dates and location of events closer together. How could we go wrong?

Change the titles next year:
<FONT COLOR="ff0000">A</FONT> = super tour events, majors
<FONT COLOR="ff0000">B</FONT> = our current A-tiers that aren't "super"
<FONT COLOR="ff0000">C</FONT> = current B's
<FONT COLOR="ff0000">D</FONT> = current C's
<FONT COLOR="ff0000">X</FONT> = ...

52 A tier slots. (Worlds occupies 2) That's all.

...and have the A-Tour follow the warm weather. Like Wisconsin in summer, Florida in winter.

anyone working on the H Tour?

<FONT COLOR="ff0000">H</FONT> = High School

ZoneDriven has done some basic ground work for something like this, but as with everything...$$$ is the issue. I don't know if the PDGA has thought about it. It make a lot of sense. Basically, it appears to be a "when" type of thing vs. "if". Need big $ sponser. 100k plus.

im going to propose it to my athletic director, i have a couple schools i know it could work in...

While I can see your point you should look at the average disc golfer. Most touring players don't make every supertour out there. It is not because of the dates but a lot is the distance one has to go and the time off work they will have to have. With Supertours on both sides of the Country going on even some on the same weekends that helps those that can't make the longer trips. Right now I think the PDGA does a pretty good job of makeing sure Supertours don't lose there weekends. A touring players can then make out there schedule for the upcoming year and make the tournaments that best fit there individual needs. (money and vacation)

I do understand that the average discgolfer has to work and then play golf in their extra time.
While other players do nothing, but play golf!

This description of a PDGA SUPER TOUR would not take anything away from the players that do a few dates here and there. It would help the people that would like to play 5 real back to back Super Tour events with out having to drive all over the country.

We have four A tier events here in Fla. this year,
But I would love to have a "tour" in the Southeast. Yeah, something like:
Miami, Melbourne, Daytona, Gainesville, and Augusta would be a very nice Southeast Tour. Back to back weekends sounds nice also!

Fla Triple Crow is proof that it could work!!!!!!!!
Look how many people come down for that!!!

We've had this tour thread before. The comment I remember most is that scheduling an efficient tour schedule can lower turnout from locals.

I think Texas was used as an example. Let's say that instead of evenly spacing 4 big tourneys throughout the year for the Texas locals, that the Tour schedule had all 4 big tourneys in November/December. Most pro locals then would have to save up an extra $1000 to donate to the tour pros who would usually whomp them and run away for the year. Then the donor locals get to wait 10-11 months before their next big tourney.

Keeping in mind that I've never toured, I think we're doing about as good a Tour schedule as could be had under the circumstances. An efficient Tour will have to wait for the days when sponsors will be the main source of Tour revenue; not local entry fees. -- kurt from Seattle.

I'm not touring either, but I would start doing a minitour if a "Real Tour" came by me. Most serious players that I know would happily save to jump aboard a tour for 3 or 4 dates. Players that don't think that they are "DONORS!"

So, your biggest tournaments are back to back.
If you lose back to back or once every two months. Does that make you feel better about loosing? This is what B-teir events are for!

Please, all of you out there. Think about it! Why would a National or Regional company want to sponcer a local event? Why would one of these companies want to sponcer a tour? Why do some companies pay people to drive cars around with advertising on them? How would ESPN have been able to market the X-GAMES if the only people that were skating were locals, Tony Hawk, and Bucky Lasik.?

What idea's do you have to make discgolf sellable product? Can you think of any other ways to try to pull the best players together more often? Can you think of a better sellable product than our best players in action week in and out?
I would love to hear them.

We need the Tour manager from the
Grateful Dead to do the PDGA tour schedule.

At least they had enough sense to understand that people liked traveling and would blow off all kinds of reponceablity to go do something fun.
So they looked at the weather patterens, location of venues, and planned a tour that worked well. Very well!!!!!!!

Discgolf could be no different. People Love It!!!

I have some great ideas that would make for a great Texas disc golf season, and I would post it here now, but *grins* as I was typing it up, it quickly became the longest post I have seen on here yet! So, if any of you Texas club/org directors are interested in seeing my plan, send me an e-mail at kennxions@hotmail.com or go to http://www.sanmarcosdiscgolf.org and e-mail me through there. I am the current president of this club. It will take an effort of all the clubs and organizations to even think about realizing such a plan, but it is very possible.

Does anyone know exactly WHO is in charge of setting up the schedule? Or who to send in proposals to as far as region design and so forth? I am not sure how fast other regions are growing, but Texas is definitely in, or about to be in, desperate need of districting. I am hoping that the LSDGA will be able to take control of the region, as a hand of the PDGA, and work on districting, and forming schedules that will facilitate getting new players into disc golf tournaments, and increase marketability to sponsors.

[rhett]

We have SoCal and NoCal state/regional directors.

[Pizza God]

Kenn, You try to get these TD's to move there events.

The hardest part is to get TD's to confirm there events. I have sent several emails to some of these guys and they have not sent me anything yet. I guess I need to call them.

The problem with scheduling tournaments, is when 2 TD's want to run there events on the same weekend. Or worst is when 2 events in the same area are back to back. Niether want to compete against each other.

I guess that is what you are wanting to do.

I would like to totally redo Texas. Take the top 12 events and have one held each month. then you take the next 12 larger events and make them 2 weeks after/before the larger events. Then you can fill in the small tournament in those off weeks.

We actually have a problem in Texas. We have so many events PDGA and non-PDGA, that we have almost every weekend full. We also will have a few weekends with 2 events. This hurts OK and LA because Texans don't need to travel much to get to good events.

Example is the Hillclimber Open in Duncan OK. This event was held against the Texas 10 finals. Texas 10 filled up with only Texans I believe. The Hillclimber had there best turnout still. But only a few Texans.

I have been working with the Hillclimber to help him find a better weekend to hold his event. Yet he still needs to contact the OK coordinator to make sure that weekend is ok with OK.

[Pizza God]

This is what I found in the last few minuets.

The Big Show Lewisville - 150 players
Big Show Jimmy Porter - 42 players
Big Show Fritz park - 31 players
The Big Show ZBoaz - 146
Vicotria Open (non) - 89
The Moffett Show - 55
The DiscGolfStore.com Worlds Invitational - 50
Pecan Park Open - 134
Red Rock Show - 90 (full field)
Hill Country Detour - 15
Paul Giles Memorial East Texas Open - 128 (over full)
Waco Charity Open Pro - 101
Capital of Texas Open - 105 (full)
Big Arms on the Brazos - 76
Texas States - 205 (total ams and pros)
Mr. Jim's Carrollton Open - 189 (plus 5 jr)
25th Waterloo - ?? filled up 3 weeks early
Texas 10 Finals - 180 (full)

With some looking, I could fill in some more.