Photo: 2015 Open division champion, Simon Lizotte #8332.

The 2016 Ledgestone Insurance Open presented by Discraft (LIO), although still six months away, is already on pace to blow up the disc golf world. The event is expected to feature the largest field in disc golf history with room for 1236 players with an equally impressive and record-breaking purse. Assuming it sells out, the purse for the professional divisions alone will be nearly $150,000, That’s a significant increase over 2015’s purse of $118,000, which still holds the pro purse record to this day.

On Monday, February 15th, tiered registration opened up on The Disc Golf Scene to the top-rated professionals, followed shortly after by members of Team Discraft and clients of Ledgestone Insurance Group. On Thursday, February 18th at 6:00pm CST, the flood gates will open for all players in all divisions. “We expect February 18th to be a chaotic day. Set your calendars!” said Nate Heinold #49340, returning Tournament Director.

Trianna Stark, Sports Events Manager of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, says that the tournament is very important to the Central Illinois area. “The entire Peoria Area was thrilled to host the 2015 Ledgestone Insurance Open presented by Discraft. Being the first PDGA National Tour event in Illinois, the 2015 tournament was truly remarkable, and certainly put our area on the map in terms of quality disc golf,” said Stark.

Despite not being part of the pro purse, amateur players definitely will not be disappointed. The tournament will boast a massive Amateur payout, with nearly $60,000 paid out in prizes. The tournament will also offer one of the best player packs in the country. “The player’s pack in 2015 featured 9 discs and a bunch of other goodies. The player’s pack for the 2016 event will be even better,” said Heinold.

Like many other disc golf events, the 2016 LIO presented by Discraft will have plenty of things to offer to participants outside of the tournament rounds. Week festivities include two XC-Tiers, two glow events, a long drive competition, a putting competition, player clinics, an ice cream social, a buffet dinner, two flymarts, a chapel service, and more.

The 2016 LIO is also part of the Disc Golf Pro Tour and will feature a massive festival that will be fun for all ages. The festival will include live music, games, an inflatable maze, great food and many other activities.

2016 Adjustments and Improvements

No tournament is without flaws, and the tournament staff acknowledged that mistakes were made with the 2015 event. “We evaluate our tournament every year after the fact and we have made some very positive changes for 2016,” said Heinold.

Amateurs will be happy to learn that they will be able to use their payout money after the tournament has ended online through Plastic Addicts. Also, the course schedule has been adjusted so that Amateur players will be playing higher quality courses.

The courses at Illinois Central College and Washington Park were eliminated from the schedule, along with the temporary course at Kennel Lake. A new championship course at Wildlife State Prairie Park was added to the Amateur schedule as well. “Amateur players will be able to play courses like Wildlife, Sunset Hills, Westwood and even McNaughton, which should be a welcome addition,” continued Heinold.

The professional side will see several changes as well. The temporary course at Lake Eureka underwent some adjustments, as did the Northwood course, one example being that Throw and Distance OB has been eliminated entirely from the Northwood design. Throw and Distance will remain in the Lake Eureka design, but it has been modified to further reward players who take more risk.

Last but not least, there will no longer be a Final 9. Open and Open Women players will play one round per day over four days, while all other divisions will play one round per day over three days.

Growth and Charity

The tournament continues to grow because of the dedication of Tournament Director Nate Heinold and his staff. Nate volunteers his time outside of his day job as the Vice President of Ledgestone Insurance to run the event. In 2015 he spent nearly 1500 hours on the tournament and has hired more staff for the 2016 event to help spread out the workload.

Heinold went on to explain that Discraft is the engine that helps keep him going. “Honestly, this tournament wouldn’t be where it is without the support of Discraft. They have taken this tournament from a regional A-Tier to one of the best events in the country,” said Heinold.

Discraft will be releasing limited edition fundraiser discs once again to help support the event. These molds were announced last night (Tuesday, February 16th) on SmashBoxxxTV’s live weekly disc golf podcast. Watch Nate’s interview with the SmashBoxxTV crew for more details.

Bob Julio #36331, Discraft Team Manager, has been the driving force behind Discraft’s involvement in the tournament. “Discraft is thrilled to be involved in such a great event that not only is charitable through St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, but also showcases the sport of disc golf in a truly professional manner,” said Julio.

This year’s tournament has set of goal of donating $30,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The 2015 event was able to donate $20,000 but Heinold has stepped up his fundraising goal. “At this point in time I would say it’s fair to say we can definitely commit to the $30,000 goal. Hopefully we can take it the next level and hit $40,000.” Heinold gets most of the money from St Jude through his regular fundraising efforts along with proceeds from a large raffle that takes place during the event.

Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this historical event! Bookmark the registration page on The Disc Golf Scene, and find more information about the 2016 Ledgestone Insurance Open presented by Discraft on their official website and Facebook page.