30th Kansas City Wide Open

[gleauzinier]

What happened to Swope Gold setup for the final round?

Hole 3 was the same

Hole 4 played to the second shortest pin instead of hole 5's pin

Hole 7 was the same

Hole 8 was the same

Hole 10 was the same

Hole 14 was changed to the pin by 15's pad

Hole 16 was the same

Hole 17 was the same

Hole 18 was the same

Right... I was just wondering why they made us amateurs suffer through it and then didn't have the pros do it.  Cutting hole 14 in half makes it considerably easier.  Not playing 13 (hardest hole on the course in my opinion) and then 14 was shortened (again making it dramatically easier).  They gave them mostly easy holes. 

I thought the whole purpose of Swope Gold was to challenge the pros.  I would have much rather played Wilbur Young like it was originally planned.  Just didn't understand the choice.  Wonderful tournament though! Done it three years in a row now!

could it be because all but 7 of the pros had just played the gold course and the final 9 was set up to be spectator friendly? that's what they've done in the past.

[danhillaker]

I just wasn't aware they were going to "water it down" for the final 9, instead of escalating it.  Oh well.

[gtr]

Hey All!

Wanted to say "Team Towser" had a GREAT time at the KC Wide Open!! Great to see so many friends there - and of course to get to throw discs to my four-legged best friends was a bonus! Thanks for having us out!!

Stop by and "like" Towser on fb - you can follow his exploits and competitions - - and because as you can see he is not loved nearly enough.    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Towser/227010517387554

[sirbronco]

What happened to Swope Gold setup for the final round?

Hole 3 was the same

Hole 4 played to the second shortest pin instead of hole 5's pin

Hole 7 was the same

Hole 8 was the same

Hole 10 was the same

Hole 14 was changed to the pin by 15's pad

Hole 16 was the same

Hole 17 was the same

Hole 18 was the same

Right... I was just wondering why they made us amateurs suffer through it and then didn't have the pros do it.  Cutting hole 14 in half makes it considerably easier.  Not playing 13 (hardest hole on the course in my opinion) and then 14 was shortened (again making it dramatically easier).  They gave them mostly easy holes. 

I thought the whole purpose of Swope Gold was to challenge the pros.  I would have much rather played Wilbur Young like it was originally planned.  Just didn't understand the choice.  Wonderful tournament though! Done it three years in a row now!

The Pros did play those holes the same as everyone else...those two were only shortened for the final nine...which had to fit into a specified 90 minutes...

[danhillaker]

What happened to Swope Gold setup for the final round?

Hole 3 was the same

Hole 4 played to the second shortest pin instead of hole 5's pin

Hole 7 was the same

Hole 8 was the same

Hole 10 was the same

Hole 14 was changed to the pin by 15's pad

Hole 16 was the same

Hole 17 was the same

Hole 18 was the same

Right... I was just wondering why they made us amateurs suffer through it and then didn't have the pros do it.  Cutting hole 14 in half makes it considerably easier.  Not playing 13 (hardest hole on the course in my opinion) and then 14 was shortened (again making it dramatically easier).  They gave them mostly easy holes. 

I thought the whole purpose of Swope Gold was to challenge the pros.  I would have much rather played Wilbur Young like it was originally planned.  Just didn't understand the choice.  Wonderful tournament though! Done it three years in a row now!

The Pros did play those holes the same as everyone else...those two were only shortened for the final nine...which had to fit into a specified 90 minutes...

I meant the final 9 pros.  I also wasn't aware there was a 90 minute time slot for it.  It was just different from what I remember happening last year that is all.

[LKillian]

I agree, it would have been awesome to have a couple hundred people crowded on the cliffs around 13's green.

After playing 5 rounds in 3 days there is also nothing i would have enjoyed more than walking from one side of swope over to the zoo entrance and then back to gregory.

[Timko]

I just wasn't aware they were going to "water it down" for the final 9, instead of escalating it.  Oh well.

To expound on what Van said above, a strict 90 minute time limit was put on the Final 9 due to the other events of the afternoon.  I was responsible for planning the final 9, and wanted to play both of the shortened holes in the original gold configuration.  However, I imagine that would have added another 30 to 45 minutes to the round.  I agree that a final 9 containing a collection of par 3's, 4's, and 5's is a better test of golf (and could have seen a larger scoring swing), but due to the time limit, we had to shorten a couple of holes.

Last year we had no final 9; Swope was a course for the pros hosted on tee times.  As a result, the final round for the top card was 18 holes on the full Gold Course.  I'm making my way through the Disc Golf Planet archived videos right now, and plan to watch how the lead card played at Swope this past year.

[LKillian]

Last year the crowd was spread between 3-4 cards including the men's and women's leaders.

I thought the scene was much better this year with the entire gallery concentrated on the one group.

I think this idea should be considered again for finals in the future. When they were playing the modified hole 16, i saw quite a few people drive by very slowly with looks on their faces wondering what the hell was going on. 

[danhillaker]

I agree, it would have been awesome to have a couple hundred people crowded on the cliffs around 13's green.

After playing 5 rounds in 3 days there is also nothing i would have enjoyed more than walking from one side of swope over to the zoo entrance and then back to gregory.

Sarcasm noted. Of course 13 is not ideal for viewing.  Doesn't change the fact that I still would have loved to have seen it. 

That archived video is a great idea Timko! Thanks!

[LKillian]

You wouldn't have seen jack because i would have made sure I stood in front of you.

[danhillaker]

No you would have been sitting since you were too tired to walk from Gregory to the Zoo entrance. 

[robm]

Last year the crowd was spread between 3-4 cards including the men's and women's leaders.

I thought the scene was much better this year with the entire gallery concentrated on the one group.

I think this idea should be considered again for finals in the future. When they were playing the modified hole 16, i saw quite a few people drive by very slowly with looks on their faces wondering what the hell was going on.

I totally agree with having the top 7 men & women play together.  I thought it was very cool.  The large gallery was great.  Having the ladies play with the men showed other people how good they really are. 

[otter]

So...next year is the 31st KCWO......& the countdown to the 50th begins! 

[jack]

So...next year is the 31st KCWO......& the countdown to the 50th begins! 

[/s]
How can I delete this post?
 

[discglover]

Hey All!

Wanted to say "Team Towser" had a GREAT time at the KC Wide Open!! Great to see so many friends there - and of course to get to throw discs to my four-legged best friends was a bonus! Thanks for having us out!!

Stop by and "like" Towser on fb - you can follow his exploits and competitions - - and because as you can see he is not loved nearly enough.    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Towser/227010517387554

I really enjoyed the disc dogs. Jackie got a great pic!