http://www.pdgasignup.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=1246938543

The 15th Mid-Atlantic AM Championship is sanctioned by the PDGA as a B-tier event and will be held July 25 - 26, 2009 at Seneca Creek State Park DGC in Gaithersburg, MD. Last year was the first time this event was held the last weekend in July and it really helped increase attendance. This year the Worlds are being held in July instead of August. :shock: Oh well. If you can't do the Worlds, we hope to offer the next best thing.

In case you haven't heard, Seneca now has 55 concrete tee pads! Many thanks to all that helped build tees over the past 2 years. There are also a couple of FUN new pin placements that have been added since last year. Seneca has been looking GREAT lately with the Park staff really doing an awesome job mowing the course.

The Format is the same tried-and-true format we've used every year. Two 18-hole rounds per day. Advanced and Masters will play Short Tees to A-pins, Long Tees to A-pins on Saturday. Long Tees to B-pins, Short Tees to C-pins on Sunday. Intermediate divisions play all 4 rounds from the Short Tees.

Once again, we're going to attempt to pull this off with the same entry fees we've had since the 90s. :shock: This year we'll be prayin extra hard for recession year sponsorship to keep the entry fees low. Advanced & Masters: $40. Intermediate and Ladies: $25. Non-PDGA (or non-current) members must add $10. Here is a link to the tournament flier

The PDGA allows a 969 rated player who has accepted cash to play in this event. :shock: :shock: Thankfully, 970 and above are ineligible. I don't wanna debate the word amateur. If you're 969 or lower and have accepted cash, you are welcome to play in this event! But you can't compete for the basket/prizes (it's just not fair). You pay a very low entry fee of $10 to cover the PDGA fees and the lunch I hope to provide both days. It's mandatory Trophy Only, without the trophy. :D(This is sanctioned by PDGA)

Sponsorship is only $25 and all proceeds will go directly toward FEEDING the field, i.e. lunch, sodas, ice, etc. The goal is to get two grills and cook out like we did last year. It''s a recession and I'm bound to lose some sponsors from previous years. Brother, if you could spare a hole sponsorship, please do! Also, if you could sponsor a grill, that would be AWESOME.

INNOVA pro portable basket to the winner of the men's Advanced Division! Fat prize payout for everyone else.

FFI, please contact John Merhi at jmerhi [at]comcast.net or 301-869-0007
or Rich Myers 301-318-7991

Online registration will close after this weekend,probably monday night. make sure to sign up now to reserve your spot!

http://www.pdgasignup.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=1246938543

Course is ready. Field is filling up. Are you ready for the challenge of Seneca? If so, sign up now. Link is in the previous post.

Online registration will close after this weekend,probably monday night. make sure to sign up now to reserve your spot!

http://www.pdgasignup.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=1246938543

Last day to register online. If you miss that, just show up and there should be a spot or email me(rich at md-discgolf.com) and i will hold you a spot.

Many thanks to Rich Myers for stepping up and running pre-registration. Many thanks to all of those who used online registration. I very much appreciate it!

The Park cut the grass today and the course looks AWESOME. We're really in great shape in terms of course condition. I've got people lined up to bring grills so the cookout portion is shaping up.

Remember this event traditionally does not fill. There will NEVER be a late fee for registering on the day of the event. So... if you haven't made up your mind yet, take your time. You can easily register on Saturday, right up to 10:00 a.m. (or to the point where it just isn't worth it to take that many 7s. ) And you'll never pay a late fee.

For the out-of-towners, the closest motel to the Course is the Motel 6 on Quince Orchard Blvd. This course is no more than 2 miles from the Park entrance. Rooms run about $65 - 80 per night. It might be a little cheaper on the weekends. This motel is located 1 block from Clopper Road, and the Park is on Clopper Rd. It's only a block from 270 so once your off the highway, you're right there. It's very conveniently located next to a dozen restaurants, a few bars, and a grocery store. Here are the details for the Motel 6:

497 Quince Orchard Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(301) 977-3311

Course looks awesome, upcoming weather looks great, and the grills and cookout are coming together.

It's gonna be a great weekend and I'm psyched!

Remember, registration never closes (if you're late, it's up to you how many 7s you're willing to take).

Also, there's NEVER a late fee for day-of registrations.

I have about 50 spots left so it's safe to say we won't fill. SO JUST SHOW UP TOMORROW MORNING!

Park opens at 8:00, first round starts at 10:00.

Format:

1st Round - 1 thru 18; Short Tees to A-pins
2nd Round - 10 thru 27; Long Tees to A-pins (AM2 and Ladies play short tees)

3rd Round - 1-9, 19-27: Long Tees to B-pins (AM2 and Ladies play short tees)
4th Round - The field votes on playing either 1-18 /OR/ 10-27; Short Tees to C-pins (everyone plays short tees).

See you tomorrow!

This year was awesome. I haven't checked, but I'm thinking 2nd or 3rd best turnout in the 15-year history. I get all the thanks and kudos, and that's just silly. This event is run by 5-8 people and even more support it financially. To start, I gotta thank JG who year in and year out has my back. From picking up and dropping off a grill to cooking, spotting, cleaning locks, and moving baskets, JG does it all. I also gotta thank Rich Myers for taking care of online pre-registration and updating the online scores both Saturday night and last night. Way to be Rich! For those following along online... that was all Rich, not me. One less thing I had to worry about.

The biggest challenge is lunch. From paying for it to preparing it, lunch has become 51% of this event. And I love seeing everyone eat hot food that we were able to prepare. Steve Simpson had my back every morning, going to Magruders to get all the stuff I couldn't get at Costco. My cooks were also a key to the success.... because who the hell wants to stand in direct sunlight, in front of a grill, on a hot July day? No one! So special thanks to Andy Johnson, Erik Grolton, and the Ramer brothers. Thanks to JG who did post-round cooking on Sunday. Thanks to Keith Palmer for sponsoring a grill and to SeanB for delivering KP's grill to and from the course. Without the guys who schlep the grills, we go hungry.

Many thanks to the sponsors of this event who paid for lunch, including.... The Cedar Farm Golf Club, Mark Stiles, Sean Burkett, Brad Beeson, Clark Carrington, Greg Service, Steve Simpson, Teddy G, Brady Smith, Andrew Moss, Glenn Debonis, and everyone who hit the Lunch Donation jar. Every year on the Monday after the event, I'm so sore I can barely move. Not this year... special thanks to all who moved baskets for me, especially Terry Mahan and Russ Smith on Saturday evening. Thanks to SeanB for moving baskets last week into the A-pins. Thank you to my wife for allowing me all the time it takes to run this event. And thanks to God and the weather professionals at the Sterling VA NWS Forecast Office for the rain free rounds of golf and the rain free clean-up time. We also had quite a bit of fun holding the tent down during Saturday night�s thunderstorm. Rain quoits was fun too.

The event went well. There were a few things here and there that were missed (we didn't play to the second practice basket on 18 during the final round). I also missed that someone had put Hole 25 into old 10s C-pin. Um, that's not where it was supposed to go, but WAY COOL. That's the first time that pin position has been used since the course was flipped in February 2007.Now I'm thinking about playing it every year. I hope you all enjoyed it because that position is WAY to close to Hole 6 and has already been moved back to the A-pin. Wish I could have played it. Special thanks to SeanB for resolving the Hole 22 long tee controversy before it even started. SeanB is always thinking and he is my oversight committee. I am blessed that he remembers the things I forget. If he did not, this tournament would be a mess.

Having a three-way tie for the basket means that the competition was good. We also had a tie in the Masters division! It�s nice to see that even after 4 rounds, the competition was strong. Congrats to SeanB, Steve Burton, Rhonda Ritter, Dan Thessen, Chris Beach, and Chadd O�Brien on excellent golf.

Lastly, I want to thank the mandatory Trophy Only pros for playing in this event. Thank you for playing and thank you for being such good sports. Trophy Only guys won Advanced and Masters, and NO ONE can call them baggers. I am thrilled you played, happy that you did well, and elated that you did not want to take prizes away from AMs who haven�t cashed yet. I hope you got your $10 worth, and I hope you�ll play (and win) again next year.

First place in Advanced was a Trophy Only Seneca homie (SeanB). I had to give him a basket (http://www.sharkysshots.com/displayimage.php?pid=8215&fullsize=1) too. How could I not?

I just wanted to publically thank John and Seneca Disc Golf for one outstanding event. First off, the course is amazing. From my understanding it was done in the last few years and has become a 27 hole disc golfers paradise with each of the three 9 hole loops coming to the parking area. JG and crew, you are to be thanked endlessely. Also what a clean park. No trash cans anywhere and no trash on the course because the people there "get it" . What you bring in to the park, you take out. That speaks volumes about your club and sets a great example. $40 entry fee and a LARGE payout including a hot lunch both days ready and waiting.......are you serious....that is almost unheard of. Finally, as usuall with disc golfers, great people. From the moment I got to the course locals were kind enough to show me around and even help me look for a lost disc. I was a little bumed about not getting to go to am worlds this year and it was just such a great experience to get to come to Seneca as a consolation event for me. I will come back to play this course, it was worth the trip. I look forward to seeing the new firends I made and will look to accept their offers for a place to stay. Be assured, I am glad to return the favor. Thanks once again for a well run championship weekend. Take good care!