Who's going?
Who has been there before?
What are the courses like?
Got any info?
Where to stay and where not to stay?
Any advice?
How many days prior should I go?

A good start would be to read all the posts from the 2003 Pro Worlds in Flagstaff (http://www.pdga.com/msgboard/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=75496&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1) thread.

The courses in general are wooded like northeasterners are used to. It seemed like golfers from other area of the country found the courses too tight - I didn't think so.

I stayed with a friend of mine who was a grad student at NAU, so I can't really comment on accommodations other than recommending the host hotel for the social aspect.

I would get there by Saturday to practice the courses. I didn't have a chance to practice them and played them all blind and picked up several strokes the second time through.

Oh wait, I just found the article on my computer that I wrote about Pro Worlds 2003. Here it is:


Here are my thoughts on Pro Worlds 2003.

In a nutshell, it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. From the sublime red hues of Sedona to the exhilarating altitudes and awe-inspiring views at Arizona Snowbowl, it was truly an unforgettable experience. Everyone who helped out and made this truly inspiring event happen should receive automatic entries into the disc golf hall of fame. As Dave Devine posted, all of you who chose to miss this years' Worlds made a HUGE mistake.

The four courses were outstanding in my opinion. Tight fairways forced pinpoint accuracy at the NAU and Hotel courses, which was frustrating for many, but enjoyable for a Pennsylvania woods player like myself. Early foilage off the tee was usually very costly, and incredible upshots and heroic par-saving putts were needed in those situations. The NAU course had slightly more deuce opportunities, but it still had its share of bogey opportunities if you went errant. Since the hotel course was a temporary course and fairly new, it had many more trouble areas when you strayed off the fairway. My worst scores of the tournament were two double bogey 5s, and I got them both at the Hotel course, one of which was when a drive got caught up in a tree. Most of the holes had perfect pin placements, where only an excellent drive would get you to the edge of the green and leave you a longish 40-50 foot putt for deuce. Very few holes had pin positions that could be easily driven to. Isn’t that what a worlds course should be about – only a great drive followed by a long putt gets you a deuce?

Thorpe Park was set up with almost every basket in the long position, and was the toughest, imo. While there weren’t many true pro par 4 holes, there were a lot of par 3.5s. Again, early wood was difficult to recover from. The added temp holes were usually over severe elevation change, with some playing uphill a long way. While I found this to be the most challenging course, I also found it to be the most boring since you were just playing for a 3 on nearly every hole. The birdie opportunities at Thorpe were much fewer and a lot harder: the deuceable holes at the other courses were in the 150-280 foot range, while at Thorpe it usually meant banging in a 2 on a 350-400 foot hole. If you ask me, the –8 (64) shot by Feldberg and Larry Leonard at this course was the tournament’s best performances.

Snow Bowl was probably the most fun I’ve had playing disc golf in my life. Since I’ve never played Kiss the Sky at Aspen or Sipapu in NM, this was my first alpine golf experience. At nearly 10,000 feet elevation, it was surreal to watch discs easily fly 500 feet or more. Amazingly, despite the awesome length of some of the downhill holes and dealing with the lack of oxygen when climbing the uphill holes, this was the easiest course at Worlds. There were many ~285 foot deuce runs that could be reached with a putter or soft mid-range throw, and unlike the other courses, these fairways were almost completely wide open. At over 850 feet downhill, hole#18 was all it was cracked up to be and more. I threw a CE Classic Roc and played the turnover but it never came out of it – heading for OB and certain disaster on the right-hand side, at perhaps 60 feet in the air it hit a tree on the edge of the fairway and fell straight shown and safely inbounds. Eating lunch at the base lodge and watching others go PAST this polehole on the drive was something I’ll not soon forget.

Perhaps the most appealing part of this Worlds more than any other year was the Arizona setting itself. We saw the Grand Canyon, the Meteor Crater, Sunset Volcano Crater, Wapatki Indian Ruins, and Sedona, AZ which is possibly the most beautiful place on Earth. Anybody who didn’t take a whole day or even an afternoon to get out and experience this outdoor lover’s paradise really missed out.

On a personal level, I finished a respectable 87th out of 151, missing the semi-final cut by 5 strokes. Since my girlfriend was along and we were on vacation, I played every course blind. Dealing with the elevation was interesting - I had to throw my roller to get any anhyzer! Controlling your distance also proved tricky, and I was easily throwing my Rocs 350+ feet. It was so nice that I had brought along with me the severely beat-up DX Rocs from my dear departed friend Scott Wolfe; flippier than pancakes at home, at elevation they flew perfectly straight for me, and I was chuckling all week about how all of Scott's monkey paw gacks into trees provided many deuces for me. Scott, your spirit is still everywhere....

On a negative note, I was appalled at the amount of whining and complaining over this year’s event. What a bunch of crybabies we have in this sport! I thought the aborted Snowbowl round issue was handled extremely professionally, and in accordance with the rules. Did someone drop out over that matter? If so, what kind of pud spends thousands of dollars to go to Worlds and then withdraw because they have to play two more rounds in the C pool?

An even bigger joke was all those who complained over the failed final nine webcast. The PDGA and the web company tried their best and it didn’t work that well…get over it. I’m sorry that your Saturday got ruined because of it, but [*****] happens.

Thanks so much Jeff. Exactly the kind of info I am looking for. The largest tournament I have been to was the Stockholm Open, and that is still all a blurr to me. I definately want to go to the places you mentioned and was wondering if this was really going to be possible. Do you really have time to take off and go to these places?
I have been told by a few people to definately stay at the host hotel. It is where all the fun is. I have a friend who has a luxury vacation condo in Sedona. She offered it to me to stay in, but I don't know if this would be inconvenient and I definatley want to be where the fun is!
Another thing I was wondering is if I should get a rental car for the entire time or just the days I want to go out and see the sites?

Okay, I just went to the old thread and started reading. I am sure there is a lot of good stuff on there somewhere, but 10 minutes into it and I gave up. (For now)

So....who's going?? Any Masters Women??

Main Am Worlds 2005 Thread (http://www.pdga.com/msgboard/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=225415&page=4&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1) :eek:

Jeannie, a luxury Condo in Sedona sounds great, but given the canyon traffic potential and the distance, it's not an option that I would choose. You'd basically be isolating yourself from all the great folks hanging out at the host hotel which, if it is the same one, is a good one.

Thanks Terry. I agree. I just talked to someone who told me about the traffic, so it sounds like the host hotel it is! :D

Link to Am Worlds Website (http://calendar.disqman.com/2005/amworlds2005/index.html)

Jeannie, we made our reservations at the host hotel a year out, mostly because they had a limited number of rooms with a Jacuzzi :)

Hmm... well it looks like I better hop to it then, cause I want me one of those. :D

I have been told by a few people to definately stay at the host hotel. It is where all the fun is. I have a friend who has a luxury vacation condo in Sedona. She offered it to me to stay in, but I don't know if this would be inconvenient and I definatley want to be where the fun is!



Sedona is a bit out of the way, so not only would you be missing the fun of hanging out with the other players, you'd have a big commute every day.


Another thing I was wondering is if I should get a rental car for the entire time or just the days I want to go out and see the sites?



I don't think I'd want to be without a car. Of course if you're going with friends, one car between 3-4 people is probably fine.

Thanks jimg. I just reserved my room at the hotel and it looks like a car for the week is cheap enough too.
For anyone wondering...
The discounted rates for the DG'rs are 92.00 double occupancy, 10.00 each additional up to 4. Two types of rooms available. Queen suite with two queen beds, King suite 1 bed no pullouts, no roll aways. No breakfast included

Oh...and no jacuzzi's in the room :(

There were some sauna rooms and some 2 bedroom "apartment suites", but those are all long gone.

Strange that won't take wait-list for the apartment suites either. I figure in case of cancellation, but I guess they don't think anyone will cancel.

Yea I know. I tried the same thing for those rooms :mad: