State Championships Players,
On behalf of the sponsors, event organizers, and staff of the event we would like to thank you for registering for the 2024 Discraft Michigan Amateur Disc Golf State Championships Presented by Great Lakes Disc! Thank you to Discraft for their many years of support for Michigan Disc Golf and especiallyu to the MDGO. Without Discraft, this event would not be what it is today.
First and foremost, if you have not downloaded the tournament app, we ask that you do so. It has all of the information required for the event and we will be using that as our main way to communicate with you all. Updates on tee times, CTP winners, etc will all be published on the app. You can download the app here:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/michigan-am-state-championship/id6618116471
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=doctor.disc.michiganAmateurChampionships
FRIDAY Weather Update - As you are probably aware the weather forecast is not looking favorable. We do take your safety very seriously as well as our own. We have talked with PDGA Event Support as well as reviewed the PDGA Weather Policy. We will be using on site lightning detectors as well as lighting apps, all prepped and ready for use if we end up needing them. We will be using PDGA Live Scoring App and the MDGO App to communicate with all of the players. If you have not yet downloaded the app, please do so!
If we do need to suspend play, which is lightning detected with 15 miles of the course. Play will be suspended; play will remain suspended until it has been 30 minutes without any lightning within 15 miles. There will then be a posted restart time with a 2-minute warning horn to re-start.
We will have the Friday Tee Times posted no later than 5pm on Thursday. We will post a link to the tee times on the app when they are available. You can also directly view your tee times within the app.
Event Check In: “At A-Tier events using a staggered start with scheduled tee times, players must also check in with the starter no less than 5 minutes prior to their tee time each day and be present at the starting hole for the 5 minutes preceding their tee time each day. Players who do not check in with the starter by this time or who are not present at the starting hole for the 5 minutes preceding their tee time receive two penalty throws added to their starting hole.” So, it is recommended that you check in to your course more than 5 minutes in advance so that you can be present at your tee pad 5 minutes before tee time. Groups will be responsible for adding this penalty like any other penalty. Strokes should be added to the first hole of play if any were to occur.
If you ordered an optional tournament shirt those will be waiting for you to pick up at Mason County Friday through Sunday. We did purchase extra shirts will be available at the Fly Mart and they will be first come, first served.
Player Package: You will be picking up your player package FOLLOWING Round 1 at your course. After completing the round, please go to your Course HQ location to pick up your player package.
There is Flex Start Warm Up Event Scheduled on Thursday at Beauty. See DiscGolfScene or the app for more details.
Thursday Mason County 9:00am –3:00pm
Social Activities: We have 2 nights of social activities planned.
Thursday night we are joining the City of Ludington at their Bonfire at the Beach from 8-10pm. They will have a bonfire, a live band, and we will have a bunch of Glow Ultra Stars for you to toss around. We hope that you can come and relax the night before the competition. The location of the bonfire is Sterns Beach in downtown Ludington.
Friday night from 6-9pm we are bringing back our Street Party Fly Mart to downtown Ludington at the corners of Melendy & James Streets. No cost to attend. The event will have any extra player packages for sale (whole or parts), the Z UV Buzzz, Ti Swirl Wasp, MDGO Custom Stamps, and a limited supply of extra tournament shirts.
Friday Play: There will be multiple merchandise CTPs (free to everyone) & the Ace Pool tie breaker (extra buy in and used only if there are no aces in your pool). The merchandise CTPs and Ace Pool Tie Breakers winners will be announced on the app on Friday and be at the Saturday course of play to be picked up by the winners following your round. Ace Pool and 50/50 will be paid 48 hours after the completion of the event via PayPal.
Saturday Night: We will be announcing the winners of the 50/50 & and the Bag/6 Disc CTP on the app. Both of these are extra buy ins.
We will be using PDGA Live Scoring where possible, where it is not possible, we will be using hard scorecards. The event staff will enter your scores into the PDGA website. The scoring password will be available at check in. Plese remember, every player in the group must keep a scorecard.
Bruce’s Bad Ass BBQ. There is a coupon in your player package for a free sandwich and a chip. This can be redeemed Friday – Sunday at Mason County Park.
Champions Celebration - Some people want to wait around for an awards ceremony and some people do not. In efforts to satisfy both sets of people, we are planning on doing both of these things. We will have a smaller awards ceremony at your final course of play on Sunday. If you would like to get your trophy and leave the event, you are most welcome to do so. However, if you would like to be a part of the Champions Ceremony which will be held at Mason County Park following the completion of all the divisions play on Sunday, we would love for you to be a part of it! However, if you choose to not take part in this Champions Awards Ceremony, you will still be recognized as one of the new 2023 State Disc Golf Champions. Your Course Directors will remind you about this and ask if you plan to attend.
Link to Player Guide. The link will be posted online on Monday. I would STRONGLY recommend downloading this to your device due to its size.
Course Names. Some courses do not have a consistent naming throughout all the listings on the internet. Here are some of the alternatives you may find:
Beauty/Beast <---> Mason County
West Shore Community College <---> Labyrinth
Whiskey Creek <---> Whiskey Hills
Lake Michigan Camp <---> Fairway to Heaven
Payouts for all divisions will be posted on Friday. A HUGE thanks again to Discraft as the payouts are still massive even with the very large player package due to their partnership with this event.
Mason County Courses will be open for practice rounds on Thursday during the Flex Start. West Shore Community College is open for practice rounds during the Last Chance Qualifier.
Lake Michigan Camp Course has 4-5 holes that are not at all cart friendly. I would personally suggest not using a cart on this course. If possible, I would recommend switching to a carry bag.
Whiskey Creek has some aggressive terrain that could make using a cart difficult.
We will have water at all the courses. This should not be your only source of drinking water while you are competing. You should bring plenty of water to keep yourself properly hydrated.
Michigan is home to many “poisonous” plant species. You should become aware of them.
There may or may not be mosquitos at your courses of play. Plan accordingly.
Please report any course issues (bees/fallen trees/hole) to your Course HQ as soon as possible. We want to address them as soon as possible and have staff available to do so.
Speed of Play. Please be mindful of the speed of play per PDGA Rules. This will be enforced by tournament directors if necessary.
DiscGolfScene comments and the Facebook Page Comments will be disabled during the event. The only communication from the event will be either through the app or through PDGA Live Scoring (where available). This is so all information posted is in a singular location to minimize any mistakes or errors on our part. You may still use the “Contact Tournament Staff” link on DiscGolfScene or reply to this email if you need tournament staff and we will reply as soon as possible.
Whiskey Creek and Lake Michigan Camp are pay to play facilities. We are paying your fee for your tournament round. If you plan to play a practice round you will need to pay!
Information Conflict. If there are any conflicts in any information provided, the Caddy Book in the MDGO App will hold precedence as the correct version.
I cannot wait to award all the 2024 State Champions!
Straight Drives,
Mark Stephens
Lead Tournament Director
Michigan Amateur Disc Golf Championships
