Culpeper Memorial Open powered by Prodigy Disc

Good morning Players, Welcome to the Culpeper Memorial Open. Thank you all for registering to play in this tournament. There have been a couple of withdrawals overnight, requiring some changes in h ... show more ›

Good morning Players,

Welcome to the Culpeper Memorial Open. Thank you all for registering to play in this tournament. There have been a couple of withdrawals overnight, requiring some changes in hole assignments. Please make sure you check the PDGA Event page to make sure you are at your correct hole.
I would also ask for your patience this morning as we get ready to start. There are several cards with only 3 players assigned. If one player on any of those cards decides to not show up, we will have to make a last minute adjustment to ensure we abide by PDGA regulations. In that event, we will try to get a message out to the players effected.
Good luck, and have a great tournament.

Jason Hierwarter

Culpeper Memorial Open Players Meeting Hello Players! First and most importantly, thank you each and every one of you for registering to play in the Open. I am looking forward to seeing all of y ... show more ›

Culpeper Memorial Open Players Meeting

Hello Players!

First and most importantly, thank you each and every one of you for registering to play in the Open. I am looking forward to seeing all of you compete here in Culpeper. There are a few important things I would like to go over with all players for the tournament. There will NOT be an in-person players’ meeting at the tournament. This will serve as the players’ meeting, so please be sure to read this in its entirety.

I will get this out of the way early, so I can be sure to end on a more positive note. Both Rockwater Park and Spilman Park are municipal parks. It is illegal to drink alcohol or smoke marijuana at either of the parks. It is also against PDGA Competition Manual 3.03(C)4, and as such does not require a warning before being disqualified if you are caught with either on the course. I will let you know that I will not hesitate to enforce this rule. Both Parks and Recs departments have informed me that they will not allow future tournaments if there is any alcohol or marijuana use by any players.

Now let’s move to lighter subjects. I want to recognize the Tournament and Ace Level Sponsors for the Culpeper Memorial Open.
The Culpeper Memorial Open is powered by Prodigy Discs, and they have done a great job with the tournament discs as well as donating a BP1v3 backpack for a raffle prize, and mounds of stickers which have been included in your player packs.
The Ace Level Sponsors are:
Your CBD Store of Fredericksburg and Warrenton. They will be set up at Tournament Central on Saturday with a representative there to answer all of your CBD questions.
David Hendrickson will be providing an as yet to be announced sponsor.
Elevate Co-Work and Community of Culpeper. More about them later.

There are two courses for this tournament. The first course is Spilman Park DGC in Jeffersonton, VA. The address for that course is 3542 Colvin Rd. Jeffersonton, VA 22724. We will be playing 2 rounds at this course. The second course is Rockwater Park DGC in Culpeper, VA. The address for that course is 421 Madison Rd., Culpeper, VA 22701. We will be playing one round at this course.

The Schedule for the weekend will be as follows. Starting Saturday, May 28th, Pool A will play their first round at Rockwater Park DGC in the morning, and then Spilman Park DGC in the afternoon. Pool B will play the opposite courses. Round 1 will start at 9am. Round 2 will tentatively start at 1:30pm. I say tentatively, because I want to give all of the players ample time to get a good lunch between the rounds and make it to the second course in plenty of time. It is roughly a 20 minute drive between courses, with amenities only near Rockwater Park in the town of Culpeper. Therefore, I am planning on 90 minutes between the end of round 1 and the start of round 2. You will be given the exact start time of round 2 after the last card finishes round 1. Both rounds on Saturday will be a shotgun start. Check in for the first round will begin at 8am at your respective course. Round 2 check in will be 30 minutes prior to the designated start time. Round 3 will take place at Spilman Park DGC on Sunday, May 29th. It will be a staggered start, and tee times will be posted Saturday evening after the completion of Round 2. Trophy presentations will take place at Tournament Central at Spilman as soon as practical after the final card for each particular division finishes. You are encouraged to stick around after you have completed your round, to spectate for the other competitors, and the trophy presentations.

Spilman Park has recently had its parking lot expanded so there will be less issues with parking. However, I would ask that you carpool if at all possible, and be courteous when you park, keeping in mind that we need to try to make enough room for everyone to be able to park in the parking lot, and not on the main road. There are 2 porta-potties and no running water. I will have some bottles of water, but each player is strongly encouraged to bring enough water and snacks to sustain them through the round. This course is in UDisc and we will be playing the standard configuration. There will be some OB, and they are notated in the Live Scoring app.

Rockwater Park DGC presents a little more of a challenge. The Town of Culpeper does not want us to use the main lot for the park, despite the park use fee I paid and the reservation confirmation. If you are playing at Rockwater you are asked to not park in the main lot. If you do, I will glare menacingly at you and huff under my breath, and mutter “I told them…” and then I will turn around and go back to my business. Alternate parking locations are the painfully small back lot for the park, off of Orange Rd, which is right next to the 5th tee box. We have also received permission from the property owners of the Southgate Shopping Center, which is about 100-200 yards north of the park, where the Safeway grocery store is located. I have assured the owners that all of the disc golfers that park in the shopping center, will park so as not to interfere with the businesses in that shopping center. This is extremely important, as I will need to ask for this permission again for the September Amateur tournament. I know this is a bit of a headache, but the Town is very reluctant to make operating a tournament at Rockwater easy and disc golf friendly. So we have to make do. Thank you for your cooperation in making this happen. We will not be playing the standard configuration for Rockwater Park due to safety concerns. Instead there will be a temporary basket set up for Hole 9 (Hole 8 during the tournament) and a temporary tee pad set up for Hole 18. There will also be an adjustment to the course flow. You can find this configuration on UDisc under the “2022 Tournament Layout” The temporary basket and temporary tee pad will be put in place sometime Thursday evening to allow for players to see the tournament configuration before the tournament rounds begin. Please refer to the yard signs by the front of each tee pad for hole information at the tournament rather than the permanent tee signs. Another shout-out to Prodigy Disc for providing the T3 basket for the temporary hole.

We will be having a raffle at the tournament. Raffle tickets will be sold during the first and second rounds at Rockwater Park, with the drawing taking place right before check-in for round 3. Tickets will be $5 each or 5 for $20.

As always, weather is unpredictable. We will play the tournament rain-or-shine, with the only exception being for lightning. Should we have to suspend play for lightning, we will notify all players to seek shelter, until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike. Should it become necessary, we will make modifications to the schedule in accordance with PDGA regulations and Guidelines.

We want to make sure everyone enjoys themselves at the tournament, so it is everyone’s responsibility to watch out for safety issues. If you are not throwing, make sure you are spotting. There are a couple of fairways at Rockwater in particular that run very close together, which can present a hazard. Also, both courses have walkers and walking paths. As always, park-users have the right of way. If you see something unsafe, speak up and make sure everyone waits until that issue has resolved itself. If you see a permanent unsafe condition, please let the tournament staff know immediately. It is getting warm in Virginia, so we have to be wary of snakes and ticks. Copperheads are very common at both parks but are not aggressive. If you see one, leave it alone, and it won’t bother you. If your lie is within striking distance of a copperhead, you may take casual relief, with the card’s confirmation. Last thing on copperheads. They camouflage VERY well. So make sure you are familiar with the smell of cucumbers. If you can smell cucumbers, you are likely within striking distance of a copperhead and that snake is annoyed by it. If you or someone on your card gets bitten, call 911 first, then call the tournament Director and let us know where you are on the course, so we can coordinate with fire/rescue. Make sure you are using tick spray. They are getting worse and the nasty diseases you can contract from a tick bite are also getting worse.

We will be using the PDGA Live Scoring app for the scoring, and I am STRONGLY encouraging each card to use the Live Scoring app for the back up score card as well. This makes my job exceptionally easier at the end of each round. There will be paper score cards reluctantly handed out at each course should all of the players on any particular card not be technologically inclined. For those who haven’t committed it to memory yet, the Live scoring app can be found at PDGA.com/score and the access code is “Memorial”.

While each course will have a centralized location for check in, Tournament Central will be located at Spilman Park next to the cemetery behind the first tee pad. If you are playing Rockwater Park in the morning, you will receive your player pack as you check in for round 2 at Spilman Park.

There will be assistant TD’s assigned specifically to each pool since I have yet to be able to figure out how to clone myself. This way, there is a tournament official at the course you will be playing at to make decisions, should the need arise. With the exception of the Asst. TD’s, all tournament staff will have Culpeper Disc Golf shirts on, and should be readily identifiable. The Asst. TD’s will be at their course’s check in location during round check in so that players can match a name with a face. If you have any questions, or any issues arise, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of the tournament staff members listed below. I have included phone numbers so you can call if you are unable to contact one of us in person.
Now let me introduce you to the tournament staff:

Tournament Director
Jason Hierwarter (Me)
(540) 881-0611

Asst. TD for Pool A
Drew Hierwarter
(423) 782-8238

Asst. TD for Pool B
Jared McCrory
(301) 471-4114

Tournament Manager
Kelly Hierwarter
(251) 508-3900

Tournament Assistant
Paige Hierwarter

Please keep in mind that only designated tournament officials are allowed to make rulings on tournament play. The tournament manager and assistant are available to help with any logistical challenges, or to assist players in reaching one of the tournament officials.

In addition to being a tournament sponsor, Elevate Co-Work and Community of Culpeper have provided the prize for a CTP challenge. The Elevate Co-Work and Community CTP Challenge, presented by DiscDot USA will be held during the final round of the Culpeper Memorial Open. It will be at Hole 17 at Spilman Park. The prize for the CTP will be $100. All registered players are eligible to compete for the CTP prize with no additional buy-in. Should the closest throw be an ace, the pot will go to the first ace and will not be divided amongst multiple ace winners.

Should any division finish the tournament with a tie for 1st place, there will be approximately a 10-minute break and then a playoff. The playoff holes will be Holes 1, 2, and 13, and will continue until a winner is determined.

The Am player packs for this year will have some great items in it. Those items include a tournament stamped disc, DiscDot putting aide, a Culpeper Disc Golf pin by Disc Golf Pins, and more. For the pros, the Tournament stamped discs as well as most of the other items will be available for purchase.

Payouts for the Pro divisions will happen through PayPal and will use the accounts that those players used to register for the event. I will try to have the payouts delivered within 2 business days after the end of the tournament, per PDGA guidelines. The projected payout list will be published the day before the tournament begins.

If you have family or friends that would like to assist with the tournament, we have spotter positions available. Click on the following link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4EA5AB2BA7FAC43-culpeper Volunteers will be given select player pack items as a thank you for helping.

I know there is a lot of information that was covered, and I am quite certain I missed something. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at [email redacted], send me a text at (540) 881-0611 or leave a comment on Disc Golf Scene. See everyone at the tournament!

We are less than a month away from the tournament. Thank you everyone who is registered to play. I hope you all are as excited about this tournament as I am. I will be sending out the virtual player� ... show more ›

We are less than a month away from the tournament. Thank you everyone who is registered to play. I hope you all are as excited about this tournament as I am. I will be sending out the virtual player’s meeting email in a couple weeks. It is long, I will apologize up front for that. Please make sure you read the entire thing. There is a lot on important information included in it. We will not have any players meeting at the tournament. Just show up, check in, get your swag, and play. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please send me a message. Because of the format, I will not be able to accommodate most “cardmate” requests.

As a reminder, If you have been promoted from the waiting list into the tournament, you need to submit payment to complete your registration. You will not be allowed to compete if you haven’t paid y ... show more ›

As a reminder, If you have been promoted from the waiting list into the tournament, you need to submit payment to complete your registration. You will not be allowed to compete if you haven’t paid your registration fee. Once you get the email that you have been promoted from the registration, just click the link in the email to submit the payment. If you are no longer interested in participating in the tournament, please let me know so I can remove you and allow another player to take your spot. Thanks.

Elevate Co-Work and Community, LLC, in Downtown Culpeper has come onboard to sponsor a CTP challenge. All players registered for the event will be eligible to participate. The CTP will be held during ... show more ›

Elevate Co-Work and Community, LLC, in Downtown Culpeper has come onboard to sponsor a CTP challenge. All players registered for the event will be eligible to participate. The CTP will be held during the final round at Spilman Park. The CTP prize will be $100. Thank you to Elevate Co-Work and Community for supporting the tournament. Visit their website at elevateculpeper.com

!!!FORMAT CHANGE!!! Due to unforeseen circumstances, and issues outside of my control, I have decided to make a slight modification to the format for the 2022 Culpeper Memorial Open powered by Prod ... show more ›

!!!FORMAT CHANGE!!!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, and issues outside of my control, I have decided to make a slight modification to the format for the 2022 Culpeper Memorial Open powered by Prodigy Disc.This is a change which I believe adds some value to you as the player. We will be adding a 3rd round to the tournament without adding a day. This will require a reduction in the field size to 144 players, from the 240 initially advertised. The field will be divided into 2 pools. Pool A will play at Rockwater Park in the morning and Spilman Park in the afternoon on Saturday. Pool B will play the opposite courses. Round 3 will be on Sunday at Spilman Park with a staggered start.
I understand this may not be a change that some of you will be happy with, and I am sorry. If you wish to drop out of the tournament because of this change, I will refund your entry fee. I will also include your PayPal service fee in your refund as long as you withdraw before 11:59pm April 17th. Any withdrawals after that will only receive their entry fee refunded, until the drop deadline. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to email them to me at [email redacted].