* Winnings in a pro division may include cash and prizes. In amatuer divisions, only prizes are received by players. Prizes given out for extra events (CTP, etc.) may be included in this total.
We are approaching the Memphis Disc Golf Club’s 2009 Dogwood Classic Spring Tournament. Here are the particulars:
OVERVIEW
Name of event: 2009 Memphis Dogwood Classic Disc Golf Tournament
Dates of competition: Saturday May 2nd, and Sunday May 3rd, 2009
Anticipated Attendance: 230
Course Locations: Meeman Shelby Forest State Park (Shelby County, Tennessee), Edmund Orgill Park (Millington, Tennessee) and Bud Hill (North Memphis, Tennessee).
Tournament Director: Gary Wagoner, 1558 W. Churchill Downs, Germantown, TN 38138. Phone: (901) 756-0690 (evenings) (901) 488-3121 (cell)
Pro Shop: Pro Shop (at the sole discretion of Barbara and Danny Daniels) may be open at the Bud Hill Club House with a variety of Bud Hill logo apparel and discs. Also on sale will be SNDG bag tags and Memphis Disc Golf Club Membership / Bag Tags. There may also be a limited number of custom stamped tournament discs available depending upon whether there are any left over from the Am player packs.
Disclaimer: Masculine pronouns used in this write-up such as “him”, “he” or “his” are interchangeable with corresponding feminine pronouns such as “her”, “she” or “hers” unless used in association with a gender specific topic.
Qualifiers: Southern National Pro, Amateur & Doubles Championships.
First Place Payout Guarantees: Pro Open - $1,000 plus dinner for 2 and a two nights at Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall valued at $250. Women Pro Open - $250.
Bud Hill animal policy: No pets of any kind are allowed at Bud Hill. There will be no exceptions….don’t ask.
Mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers: Bud Hill and Meeman Shelby Forest are primitive areas near Mississippi river bottoms and the mosquitoes are ferocious. Everyone should bring mosquito repellant and apply it liberally to all exposed skin areas, belt lines and shoes. You’ll be glad you did. Watch out for local nuisances such as copper heads, water moccasins and black widow spiders.
Park Regulations: Meeman Shelby Forest is a Tennessee State Park. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is strictly prohibited. Violators are subject to immediate disqualification by the TD and arrest and/or fines by park rangers. The same rules apply at Edmund Orgill Municipal Park.
Friday Doubles: There is a tradition of a flip-up doubles tournament at Bud Hill Friday afternoon. This event is not sanctioned nor a part of the formal tournament. Tee time and entry fee is dependant upon the whims of the assembled throng.
DIVISIONS, REGISTRATION FEES AND FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Divisions and Entry Fees:
Pro Open: $70
Pro Women Open: $70
Pro Master (age 40* & older): $50
Pro Grandmaster (age 50* & older): $50
Pro Women Master (age 40* & older): $50
Amateur Advanced: $45
Amateur Advanced Master (age 40* & older): $40
Amateur Advanced Grandmaster (age 50* & older): $40
Amateur Master (age 40* & older): $40
Amateur: $35
Amateur Women: $35
*If you reach the threshold age prior to 12/31/2009 you are eligible to play in the age protected division.
If three or more players wish to create a division, this will be allowed with fees determined by the TD and the deductions as stipulated below. However, there will be no trophies awarded to any ad hoc divisions.
Please note that the Women’s fees are the same as the Men’s fees for a corresponding division. There have been concerns by some women that men’s payout is markedly greater and those women that have responded to the TD’s inquiries have indicated that they would like their fees to be the same as those of the men. So be it. If the Pro Women were to come to the tournament with a $1,000 sponsorship to be put in their division, their payouts would rival those of the men. The TD would love to see that happen.
Payout Deductions: The following expenses will be deducted from the entry fees:
• Per player deductions
o $1 for Meeman Shelby Forest (Required for exclusive use of the course)
o $1 for Bud Hill
o $2 for SNDG
o Printing (fliers, scorecards, leader board cards, etc.)
o Misc. expenses (golf pencils, sharpie markers, baggies, etc.)
o Porta potties
• Plaques / Trophies (deducted from each division)
• Players Packages (deducted from Amateur field)
The rest of the entry fees will go to the purses/prizes of the respective divisions less deductions as specified above. No entry fees collected in any given division will be used to supplement the payout in any other division.
Sponsorship money will first be allocated to the Safari Six Skins round, then to the purses of the Pro Divisions allocated per player in proportion to the entry fee of the division in which the player competes. The basic concept is that players paying a larger entry fee will get a larger proportion of the sponsorship money. However, a sponsor may stipulate the division in which his money is to be placed.
Sponsorships: To sponsor a hole is $25. Sponsorship money is generally encouraged and gratefully accepted and should be sent to Gary Wagoner payable to Memphis Disc Golf Club. The objectives of this tournament are to have fun and determine the best players for the various divisions rather than trying to achieve record payouts. The TD has already secured a $350 sponsor and has enough on his plate without being expected to solicit more sponsorships. If the pro players want money added to their payout, then they are going to have to get off their butts and get the sponsorships themselves. If everyone followed the TD’s example a secured a $350 sponsorship, the tournament payout would be around $80,000.
Pre-registration: Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Send Check or Money Order payable to the Memphis Disc Golf Club to Gary Wagoner at above address. Please print legibly and include the following information with your registration:
• Your Name
• Your Division
• Your Entry Fee
If you wait until a few days before the tournament to mail in your entry fee, be prepared to pay for it again with cash when you check in with the TD. If Gary Wagoner has not received your check by noon Wednesday April 29th, you are not pre-registered. When the TD gets back home and finds your check laying on the counter after the tournament is over, he will shred it and notify the sender that he has done so.
Note: even if you have pre-registered, you must check in with the TD Friday evening or Saturday morning to fill out your leader board card, sign the Waiver of Liability form and, if you wish, enter the ace pots. Please register with the name you are going to check in with which will also be the name reported to the SNDG. If you register as William Smith and check in as Long-arm Bill there is a high probability of something getting screwed up. The name you register with will be the one turned in to the SNDG. If you change your mind on what your name is or how you spell it the TD doesn’t want to hear about it. You can work it out with John Kittrell later.
Registration: Friday May 1st from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Bud Hill Club House. No personal checks, debit cards, credit cards, food stamps or WIC vouchers accepted. Do not be offended or argue if the TD asks you to spell your name; after registering the first hundred or so people, he would be doing good to spell his own name correctly. Consider this: if there are 225 people to register and each one takes just 2 minutes it would require 7 1/2 hours working non stop to get everyone signed up. So when you are registering, please do so as quickly and efficiently as possible without joking around, shooting the bull or asking the TD a bunch of foolish questions.
To save time the TD will now answer the “humorous” question most often asked by men at the registration table:
Q. “Can I sign up in the Women’s Division?”
A. “No.”
The Leaderboard cards will be laid out on the table in front of the TD. Select the card in the division in which you will play and hand it to the TD. The amount of the entry fee will be indicated on the Leaderboard card. One person at the time, please. Do not write your name on the card, the TD will do that. This procedure will make it impossible for the TD to put someone in the wrong division and insure that the names on the Leaderboard cards are legible. Experience has shown that if players write their own names at least 5% of the cards will be indecipherable.
Mental Health Advisory: Proud parents can avoid the devastating loss of self esteem, crushing of ego and diminishment of self worth by not attempting to enter their toddler in this event. The Memphis Dogwood Classic has consistently been one of the 10 largest tournaments in the country and the TD will not allow it to train wreck because someone, regardless of age or gender, can not score better than triple digits in a round. Its not fair to those in the pool and certainly not to those on the card. Adults can understand and deal with this, small children can not.
Late Registration: Saturday May 2nd from 7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. at the course pavilion at Meeman Shelby Forest. Due to the crush of people on Saturday morning please make an effort to register early or Friday evening at the latest. Please register with cash Friday and Saturday. If you have not registered with the TD, Gary Wagoner, by 8:45 a.m. you will not play. The TD will not delay the start of the player’s meeting and subsequent tee times because someone overslept, gotten lost, hung over, stopped for breakfast or ran out of gas.
Players Package: Only the first 100 Amateur competitors registered will receive a Players Package which will consist of, at a minimum, a custom artwork Discraft Buzzz or Surge and a golf towel. Additional items may be added at the sole discretion of the TD. If you are an Am and want to be guaranteed a Players Package then you had best be signed up on or before Friday.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Lodging: There will be primitive camping at Bud Hill. Sites are first come, first claimed. Porta Potties will be provided, but that’s about it. Don’t even think about bringing your dog, cat, bird or domesticated livestock.
The following room rates were given to the TD over the phone (the rates are not guaranteed):
Quality Inn (901) 873-2222.
7726 Hwy 51 N.
Millington, TN 38053
Group rate $72
Magnolia Inn (901) 873-4400.
8193 Hwy 51 N.
Millington, TN 38053
Group rate $50
Millington Days Inn (901) 872-3335.
7763 Hwy 51 N.
Millington, TN 38053
$79 double room
$69 single room
The Shelby Forest Cabins may already be reserved. They have 44 Tent/RV spots that are first come, first serve. There are also some reserved spots that may be available. All of these spots have electricity and water. The phone number for reservations and inquiries is 901-876-5215
Meals: Danny Daniels will be cooking at Bud Hill Friday and Saturday nights. Danny will also be cooking lunch at Bud Hill on Saturday & Sunday. The customary donation is $5. If you are too cheap to spring for five bucks then don’t get a plate. The Shelby Forest General Store will be taking orders for lunch on Saturday morning before and after the Players meeting. Otherwise, you’re on your own.
Park Access Fee: The State of Tennessee has eliminated the access fee. Parking is free at Meeman Shelby Forest. While parking on the main road will be tolerated during the Players Meeting, any automobiles remaining on the main road after the start of play may be ticketed and/or towed by the Park Rangers.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
End of Registration: Registration will end at exactly 8:45 Saturday Morning. No further registrations will be accepted after the stated closing time. The next 15 minutes will be used to audit the Leaderboard Cards against the computer log and stock the Leaderboards.
Special Presentation: Prior to the Player’s Meeting there will be a presentation by Bob Thurmond and Connie Whitman dedicating a bronze plaque to Connie’s late brother, Darrell Lynn, PDGA Hall of Fame member who helped design and install the original course at Shelby Forest and started the Dogwood Classic tournament series. The horn will sound at exactly 8:50 p.m. to summon all players to the pavilion. The Lynn family has requested that all those who contributed to the funding of this plaque wear a tie-dyed shirt to the Players Meeting.
Player’s Meeting: The Player’s Meeting will begin at the course pavilion at Shelby Forest at exactly 9:00 a.m. Saturday. Attendance is mandatory. All the specifics of the divisional pools, courses to play, tee times, alternate tee box locations, mandos, O.B.’s and other pertinent information will be specified at that time. While the breakdown of the pools has been previously stated, the TD reserves the right to make divisional pool changes to avoid overloading a given venue. The number of players will be near saturation point so some “tweaking” should be expected. All such changes will be announced at the Player’s Meeting and if you weren’t there the TD won’t care.
Tee Times: Saturday Tee off at Shelby Forest will be at exactly 10:00 a.m. Tee off at Bid Hill and Edmund Orgill park will be 10:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively, to give those groups time to get to their venues. Tee time Saturday afternoon will be exactly 2:30 p.m. for all courses. A horn will sound twice two minutes before Tee time and once indicating the start of play.
Tee off Sunday will be exactly 9:00 a.m. for all courses. There will be no Player’s Meeting on Sunday. We will be playing the East & West courses at the Forest, and the 18 hole course at Bud Hill. No baskets will be moved between rounds. This tournament is not PDGA sanctioned but all PDGA rules will apply. There will be no 2 meter rule for discs caught in foliage.
Tentative Order of Play:
a) All Pro Divisions
i) 1st – Shelby Forest East
ii) 2nd – Edmund Orgill
iii) Sunday – Bud Hill
b) All Amateur Advanced Divisions
i) 1st – Edmund Orgill
ii) 2nd – Bud Hill
iii) Sunday – Shelby Forest East
c) Women Amateur, Men Am Masters and Men Amateurs
i) 1st – Bud Hill
ii) 2nd – Shelby Forest East
iii) Sunday – Shelby Forest West
d) Men’s Final Six Skins minimum $50 per skin
i) Sunday at Bud Hill
ii) Lowest scores of Pro Open division only
iii) Score will not count for the Tournament order of finish
Alternate (short) Tees will be only at Bud Hill and only for Amateur Women. The regular Tee pads will be marked to show that the alternate Tee positions are up ahead. The affected holes will be identified at the Player’s meeting.
Score Cards: Turn in your score cards at the course you have just completed playing. Do not attempt to return them to the Shelby Forest Pavilion if you have just finished at Bud Hill or Edmund Orgill. Do yourself and the TD a favor by writing the scores legibly and double-check your scores. In all the tournaments this TD has run, there has never been an event where at least one player was not stroked for miscalculating his score. It is the responsibility of the first person on the scorecard to turn it in and the responsibility of everyone else on the card to make sure he does so.
Ace Pots: There will be one $3 dollar ace pot for each of the 3 pools ($3 total to enter). The pot will be divided evenly among the number of aces in a particular pool. If there is only one ace for the whole pool, then that ace gets the whole pot regardless of the round in which it occurs. If there are no aces in a given pot there will be a throw-off at Bud Hill after the awards ceremony.
MDGC Special Ace Pot: The Memphis Disc Golf Club has an ongoing roll-over ace pot that will be $312 prior to any money being added for this tournament. Only MDCG members in good standing are eligible to enter and win this ace pot. The MDGC 2009 bag tag will have to be presented as proof of membership when claiming the prize. Multiple aces by qualified MDGC members will split this special ace pot. Bottom line: if you want to join the Memphis Disc Golf Club for $20 to have a shot at an ace pot that will be worth at least 20 times that amount, see one of the MDGC officers prior to signing up. No new memberships will be accepted between the start of the first round and the close of the Awards Ceremony. If no one wins this special ace pot the money stays with the club and the pot increased until it tops out at $500.
Cash / Prizes: Pros will receive plaques and cash; Ams will receive players packs, plaques and Bud Bucks which they will redeem for merchandise in or about the Bud Hill Club House. The only exception to this is the ace pots which are cash and wholly dependant upon the amounts voluntarily contributed by the players. If a “cashing” Amateur player has to leave early and wants to cash in his Bud Bucks the redemption will be made by a member of the tournament staff without input from the player. The TD reserves the right to change his mind and issue pre-packaged prizes to the amateur divisions.
$1,000 Guarantee: The first place finisher in the Men’s Pro Open Division is guaranteed a minimum payout of $1,000 cash money. If the normally calculated first place payout for the Men Pro Open fails to reach $1,000, the Memphis Disc Golf Club will make up the difference. In the spirit of fairness the Memphis Disc Golf Club will increase the Women’s Pro Open first place payout by the same cash increment divided by the number of Men Pro Open players and multiplied by the number of Women Pro Open Players to a minimum of $250.
Additionally, the Pro Open winner will receive a non-transferable certificate from Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall in Tunica, MS for two nights in their hotel and dinner for two: a fair market value of $250.
Payout Calculations: The payouts will be computed algebraically based on a set percentage of any finishing place to its predecessor. Second place will be a lesser percentage of first, but all other percentages of subsequent places will remain constant. In the Pro Divisions it is the intent that second place be 60% of first place and subsequent places be 75% of their predecessor. The exact percentages used in the computation may vary 5% either way and will be at the discretion of the TD to achieve a fair and equitable payout . The value of plaques will not be considered in the computation of the individual payouts, but will be deducted prior to establishing the money available to a given division payout and added to the value of the payout when reporting the results. The payout percentages in the Am divisions will be similar, but are more difficult to forecast because of the large number of players that “cash”. The am percentages will likely be 60% / 95%.
The probable exceptions to this payout procedure are the first place finishers in the Pro Open and Pro Women Open Divisions. The payout will be calculated as described above. If the calculated payout for first place does not meet or exceed guaranteed $1,000 or $250, respectively, the Memphis Disc Golf Club will make up the difference. This means that there may be a larger disparity between first and second place than would be the case in other divisions.
Payout for all pro divisions will be 33% of the field
Payout for all amateur advanced divisions will be 40% of the field
Payout for all amateur divisions will be 50% of the field
When calculating the number of places to pay the fractions will be rounded down. This means that in a field of 8 pro players only 2 will be paid. If there are only 5 pro players in a division the winner takes all the money. A division may request, however, that an extra place be paid if there is 100% agreement in that division. For example, if there were 8 Pro Grand Masters in that division and all 8 of them came en mass to the TD and asked that 3 places be paid, the TD would agree to do so, otherwise only 2 will cash.
Ties: In the event of a tie for 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any division the players will turn in their card, return to Hole #1 of the course they have just finished and begin “Sudden Life” playoff. In this format the player with the highest score on a given hole is eliminated. In case of multiple player ties, play will continue until the winner is decided. The winner will inform the person in charge of the Leaderboard who will write “trophy winner” on the Leaderboard card. This playoff will be to determine who gets the trophy; the money/prizes will be divided equally among them unless a basket is to be given away; in that case the winner of the tie breaker will get the basket. This will also hold true if an award is indivisible, such as the hotel stay and dinner for two donated by Sam’s Town.
If the Am payouts are at least equivalent to the retail value of a basket, it is the intent of the TD to award baskets to the first place winners in Am Advanced and Am divisions. If not, they will receive Bud Bucks for merchandise like any other Am division.
CTP Prizes: At the sole discretion of the TD to be announced at the Player’s Meeting.
Safari Six Skins: Immediately after the last Leaderboard arrives at Bud Hill the Safari Six Skins event will commence. The six hole ad hoc course layout will be at the sole discretion of the person running this event. It will be a skins format at a minimum of $50/skin or a minimum of $300 total. The field will be the six players who have the six lowest scores and restricted to the Pro Open division. If, for example, there is a 7 way tie for the 6th place, the TD reserves the right to eliminate the 6th place in the skins to preserve a reasonable duration for this event. However, if a Pro Women Open player(s) posts a score lower than any one of the top six men, she will be eligible for one of the six places in the this event. If a hole is not won outright, the skin rolls over to the next hole. At the conclusion of the last hole any skins which have not been previously won will be divided equally among the participants.
Awards Ceremony: The Awards Ceremony will be held at Bud Hill immediately after the Safari Six Skins event. Plaques will be awarded 3 deep in each division.
Doug Amonds, Owner of the General Store, will make his customary presentation of cash and prizes. This could change if he finds a buyer for the place.
Other Potential Activities: Details to be announced at the Player’s Meeting. Said events will take place immediately after the awards ceremony.
1. Ring of Fire
2. Longest Drive
Gary Wagoner
Tournament Director
Memphis Disc Golf Club