Hopefully I got the spelling close.

I just wanted to thank Scott for running the Schenley leagues for the last 4 years. Word is that he is passing the league along to Mark Prestopnik and Brian Grace. Thanks for all of your hard work Scott. The webpage was awesome. You always ran a great event and were very efficient in getting players there handicaps, stats, payouts.

It is greatly appreciated. Thanks. 1 more event, then you can relax a bit.

For those who don't know, this Saturday at 9:00 Am is the Schenley League finals.

I would also like to publicly thank Scott, and all the time he has put in to showing me how to run the website, allowing me a domain to run the website through, and above all, the time he's spent thus far in transferring all of these materials over to me.

The new website is now ready to go - http://web.me.com/mprestop/SchenleyLeague/Home.html

(I'd appreciate if there are any links out there if they could be shifted over to the new url)

I hope everyone can make it out for the first Wednesday night league on March 31st - 6pm!

Thanks,

mark

Good looking web site. I do have a question on the following paragraph detailing the ace pot:

"A $4 entry fee goes to golf disc prizes for the top third of players the evening of play. Players also have the option to enter a $1 ace pot. The ace pot goes to anyone who throws a hole in one. The ace pot is capped at a $100 payout until $200 is in the pot. Money from $101 to $200 will go to a second ace pot for the next ace. Any money added once $200 is in the pot will go back into the current ace pot. This way we will not be starting from scratch after someone hits an ace. If multiple aces are hit on one night, the entire ace pot will be split evenly for each."


Why pay out the entire ace pot if more than one ace is hit on the same night? This contradicts the previous sentence: "This way we will not be starting from scratch after someone hits an ace". A cap is a cap. If the ace pot is capped at $100, then players with aces should split the capped $100, not the capped pot plus whatever is in reserve. Isn't the whole idea of building a reserve is to have an ace pool the following week?

Jerry - Thanks for the comment and suggestion - I'll have to think on that.

-mark

The reason the ace pool was capped in the first place was because there were a couple times when someone won a large pot and a week or two later someone won $40. Basically we wanted to avoid the second guy losing out due to bad timing. If we give two people $50 because they hit on the same week when they could have each had $100 if they had hit on consecutive weeks they both lose out due to bad timing. I think that defeats the purpose of the cap all together.

I see your points. However what if two people hit on the same night. One guy gets the $100 pot and the other gets the overflow, or would it be an even split? Either way the guy that hits the following week still loses out due to bad timing. The cap is a great idea, but the best way to keep a tempting pot is to only offer one ace pot per night. That way there is always a tempting Ace Pot unless someone hits every week. Thats how we have been handling it at Knob. Currently there are two Ace pots totaling about $300 each. You should run it the way you want to though.

if two people aced on the same night it was a total chop not an ace and then the overflow...i see both sides of the argument and i'm not sure what makes the most sense...the reserve pot though is technically for the 2nd ace, not the 2nd night, so I'm thinking the way it stands now makes the most sense...

During 1992, the Arlington Disc Golf Association (Veterans Park) held weekly tournaments and nobody recorded an ace during those rounds. The ace pot kept building and building and the number of players attending the event kept growing and growing. Finally, Brian Mace was the winner with an ace on hole 2 which resulted in a $1,667.00 pay day! Unfortunately, the next week very few people showed up because the ace pool started at $0. It was after that event that our club decided to build "reserve pots" so we didn't have to start from scratch the week after someone scored a hole-in-one. The club now builds two reserve pots before going back and letting the first pot ride until someone hits. All aces split the pot that is being shot at that evening and the reserve pots are left untouched.

Other clubs have done the following in regard to their ace pool policies:

* Build pots capped at $200. League players only shoot at $200 per night. At one time, the Irving Disc Sports Association had five or six $200 ace pots, but they would only shoot one at a time and all aces split the same pot.

* 80%/20%.......Z-Boaz in Fort Worth, TX pays out 80% of their ace pot so there is always 20% in the pot the following week. If more than one ace occurs the same night, those players split the 80% portion. With the 80/20 split, the pot will never be empty. Interesting concept which I've never seen practiced anywhere else.

* First Ace. This was common practice with many clubs in North Carolina and I think it extremely unfair. Some players start their round on short holes whereas other players start their round on long holes. It's like a group starting on hole 2 at Schenely vs a group starting on hole 4 in the A-pin. Ridiculous....

* Longest Ace. This also was practiced with a few North Carolina clubs. More fair than "first ace", but still unfair in my opinion. An ace is an ace and all aces should split the pool.

* Knob Hill Doubles......The first pot is capped at $300 while a second is built in reserve. Once the second pot reaches $300, ace pool entries add back onto the first pot and it builds until someone aces during the round. All aces split the same pot, thus, the next week there is an ace pot to shoot at.

* Schenley Wednesday Night League..... The ace pot is capped at a $100 payout until $200 is in the pot. Money from $101 to $200 will go to a second ace pot for the next ace. Any money added once $200 is in the pot will go back into the current ace pot. This way we will not be starting from scratch after someone hits an ace. If multiple aces are hit on one night, the entire ace pot will be split evenly for each, thus, we will be starting from scratch the following week."


I modified the Schenley ace pot verbiage for clarification and humorous effect. :D

Seriously, what happens if the Schenley league builds the entire pot to $200, then the original ace pot grows to $800 and two people get aces the same night? Those two players will split $900, correct? And the ace pot will be $0 the following week, correct?

In Clearwater they had a reserve pot for aces. If 2 people hit an ace on the same day, they only split the first pot. Even if there were 10 aces the same day, everyone split the first pot. The reserve pot could only be hit on a different day. I like this format.

Also, in doubles down there, if you hit an ace, you have to split 50/50 with your partner.

Also, all aces buy a case of beer for the next week!! If it was doubles, the partner who did not hit the ace wouuld be responsible for the case.

So....

I think the reserve should be a true reserve that can not be hit the same day as the original pot.

While it makes sense to have a reserve pot, the fundamental draw of a big ace pot is a boon for the league. As Jerry pointed out, tons of people showed up for league night when there was $1500 in the ace pool. The same thing happens at Schenley when we get over $300. If we keep capping at $200 we lose the draw of an ever-growing ace pot. While 2 aces on the same night did happen last year, the chance that it would happen again is quite low. I think the current system works well and I would rather see the whole pot get paid out for 2 aces being hit on the same week.

Dave K

So Dave....if there's $900 in the pot total ($800 in the current pot & $100 in reserve), you would like to see the entire $900 paid out to the two players who recorded an ace during the same round? You wouldn't want to split $800 between those two players and save the remaining $100 in reserve for next week's pot?

Here's another scenario to consider.....what if the one player hits two aces during the same round? Based on the way Schenley is set up now, that one player would get both pots and the ace pool would start from scratch the following week.

Everyone.....please don't get me wrong.....I'm not criticizing the Schenley ace pot structure.....I'm simply trying to understand the logic behind it.

I don't care what we do....but ACE BUYS THE CASE!!!

Also in most places in the country when someone hits an ace it is customary for all players in the group to pay $5 to the person who hit the ace. Also people pay $1 for any metal hit. Pole does not count.

This is something that we need to start doing around here as well.

And Kurt your are right, the ace pot draws more players to the event. That's what motivated me to come and hit a $300+ ace.

But.... if you have a reserve, there is always the backup fund to draw the people the following week after an ace is hit.

Another thing that clubs do, is only pay out a percentage of the ace pot if you are not a club member or if you have not played in more than 1 league event.

There are many ways to do this, but I do believe that the reserve should be a reserve that is not to be used on the same day that more than 1 ace is hit. We may never have more than 1 ace on any given night again, but if we do, it would be nice to have a backup pot.

For example in Florida. There was a $500 ace pot with a $200 reserve. On hole 2 someone hit the ace for $500. John E McCray was not happy about someone taking his $500, so he procedes to ace hole 5 to split the $500 ace pot. They both walk away with $250, and the $200 backup ace pot is still there for the following week, which helps attract more players the following week because there is still $200 in the ace fund.

Another thing that clubs do, is only pay out a percentage of the ace pot if you are not a club member or if you have not played in more than 1 league event.



Actually, that's not a bad idea! Maybe something like 70% payout if you are not a current member?

My old club, the ADGA, only allows current club members to shoot at their ace pot. If someone wanted to get in on a chance to win the ace pot, they had to join the club. That's probably one reason they have over 150+ members! :)

yeah Jerry!! My buddy Billy in Clearwater was getting ready to play a league round. He wanted to know how much the ace pot was. They said $100, but it was only available to club members. He went to his car, got out a $20, paid to be in the club. A few holes into the round, he hits an ace!!!

I really believe that all of our ace funds should only be available to current club members. I think it would encourage more people to sign up.

Or if we do allow non-club members to shoot for the ace, I believe 50% would be a more-than-fair payout.

And Kurt your are right, the ace pot draws more players to the event. That's what motivated me to come and hit a $300+ ace.

You mean Dave...

why yes I do.

Jerry - Last night, I took out the line that you had a problem with from the ace pot information. I can see how you might feel that the wording was contradictory. Now there should be no confusion, the second ace pot is for the 2nd ace, and has nothing to do with another night. Thus it is clear what the intention of the cap is, and also is clear on why we are willing to pay out the full amount if a 2nd ace is hit on the same night.

-mark

"The ace pot is capped at a $100 payout until $200 is in the pot. Money from $101 to $200 will go to a second ace pot for the next ace. Any money added once $200 is in the pot will go back into the current ace pot. If multiple aces are hit on one night, the entire ace pot will be split evenly for each."