Catalpa Open

What can I say about the Catalpa Open? 1.) Dave runs his tournaments efficiently -- and the Catalpa Open 2019 was no different. 5 stars for the TD and all of the tournament staff that helped make th ... show more ›

What can I say about the Catalpa Open?
1.) Dave runs his tournaments efficiently -- and the Catalpa Open 2019 was no different. 5 stars for the TD and all of the tournament staff that helped make this a reality. (The player's meeting tended to be a little long-winded though.)
2.) Parking -- so Hole #1 runs right along a the edge of the parking lot. Someone parked there ALL DAY Long. I heard many participants complaining about the vehicle being parked there (as it took away from a commonly used play line), and even some participants putting an adhoc bounty on hitting the car. I think in future years, this should become a no parking area just for the day, only to limit any liability that either Sand Ridge, or the parks department may have for damage to vehicles.
3.) The Course - while it's not the most technical course in the area, LTP is a great course for all skill levels. Due to the large amounts of rain this spring, hole 9 is pretty much unplayable, but luckily it was dry enough for the Catalpa. A few of the tee-pads, particularly 15-17 can get quite slippery as the are not exposed to the sun and tend to stay moist. The Turf pads are great, but when wet/muddy, they can be very slippery. I saw slides happen a few times on hole 16.
4.) The trophies - I may be biased, but those trophies were cool! Unfortunately there was not enough trophies to go around, and some of the Pro division peeps were a little agitated about that. The TD did discuss the limited amount of trophies at the players meeting, but obviously a few folks didn't pay attention.
5.) Lunch - well, lunch was a little "meh" this year. There was pizza. Nothing special. However, Fire and Ice (St. Joe, Michigan) came out and served Ice Cream ($5 per dish). Fire and Ice's ice cream is great, but who eats ice cream in between rounds of a disc golf tournament? Dairy + physical activities can lead to a bad stomach aches for some folks.... and how are you supposed to poop when you have a 30-second time limit to throw?
6.) Maybe next time, the TD and staff can utilize social media or DGscene a little more. In 2019, hole assignments could be sent via email/sms, and there wouldn't be such a large group of people all trying to figure out their hole assignments. There has to be a better way.

All in all, a great tournament that was well run from Start to finish. Kudos to the entire Sand Ridge disc golf club for putting on a great tournament.