Monday, April 29, 2013

Devens League is a Huge Success!


If you have not heard about the Devens league, let me catch you up!

We are 7 weeks into league and we have had 292 players come out for some fun! Out of those 292 we have had 72 individual players join us and many of those 72 have been to all of the league nights so far.

For those players considering coming out for the first time please see the bottom of this post for the league fundamentals.

With the droves of people that come out to play, it is a real challenge to get everyone out on the course to their assigned holes. It is an even greater challenge to get all of the results completed and tags redistributed within a small amount of time so I am trying a few new things to help with the flow of the league.

I created a board made out of an old folding door.  The left side of the board will have hole 72 hole assignment cards semi-randomized on the board. The right side of the board will have 75 hooks.

When you sign in, still check in with me and I'll handle the money and the spreadsheet then move over to the board. Grab the next available hole assignment card, memorize your assigned hole and then place the card into a bin that will be somewhere near the board. Then take your tag and hang it on the matching #'d hook.

The card assignment part will help me to always know where we stand without having to count money and players from the spreadsheet 10x and we can avoid the hand distribution of cards as well. I'll completely randomize the top 10 easiest starting holes (keeping in mind course flow) so the first 40 people to show up will be ensured not to start on hole 8, etc. The last 32 cards will be put out based on need, mostly 3somes until the need for 4somes arises.

The tag hooks will eliminate the need for someone to have to re-number them at the end of the night.

We only have 8 tags left! Come and get em! Looks like another beauty on Wednesday.

Regarding the course closure during league. We will evaluate for another week or two and if we continue to have problems. We will indeed shut it down on Wednesday nights going forward. Thanks to everyone for their input, for spreading the word about league and casual play during league..

PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT WE ONLY HAVE 8 TAGS LEFT FOR SALE AT THIS TIME.

League Fundamentals:
The Wednesday Weekly returns on March 13th. Come get your 2013 bag tag and be ready to go by 5:30 This was the most popular singles league in Massachusetts last year (nearly 1,000 golfers came out) and I am aiming to make it bigger and better this year so come join the fun. 

We use league as our primary fundraiser to help pay our yearly insurance bill. We make it fun for all, so don't worry that you have to be an all-star to have a good time. We group players into three groups based on skill, so you'll always be competing with someone about as good as you.

Basics
• Three player pools (A pool for players who average 58 and under, B pool for players who average between 59-68 and C pool for players who average 69 and above).
• A weekly cash payout, a cash CTP for each pool, an ace pot and a season long points event.
• Buying a tag saves you $2/week. Visiting non-taggers can still play and get in on the cash payout but can't compete for a tag.
• You must be a tag holder to collect the ace pot
• Wednesdays, starting March 13th
• Be ready to go at 4:15. Time will move according to sunset. 
• Initial cost: $20 for 2013 tag
• We will do a skills challenge at the end of the night as soon as daylight allows
• CASUAL PLAY IS DISCOURAGED DURING LEAGUE NIGHTS.

Weekly cost
• Tagholder: $5 - 
$2 payout, $1 course funds, $.50 CTP, $.50 ace pot, $1 season points event & payout (during PDGA league that fee will come from this pot) 

• Non-Tagholder: $7 -
$2 payout, $3 course funds, $.50 CTP, $.50 ace pot, $1 season points event & payout (during PDGA league that fee will come from this pot)

Details
• No handicaps. 
• One round of singles 
• If you leave before tags are redistributed, get someone to grab it for you or risk us losing it. 
• Tags are in play for casual rounds and tournaments. Higher tag can challenge a lower tag and under most circumstances, lower tag must accept. All non-league tag exchanges MUST be reported to me by email - devensdiscgolf@gmail.com
• Ace pot rolls over each week. If there are no aces for 2013, half goes to the course maintenance/insurance fund and half goes to the 2014 WW ace pot. 
• Two CTPs, one for A pool and one for B/C pool.
• There will be a year-end Bag Tag Bonanza to end the season. 


Points Series Rules
• I will track points for each player & post the up to date standings on this discussion thread
• A, B & C Pools will have separate standings
• 1st place in each pool gets 4 points
• 2nd place in each pool gets 3 points
• 3rd place in each pool gets 2 points
• Everyone else gets 1 point for playing
• If you move up a division at any point in the division 80% of your accumulated points will travel with you to the new pool. If you move down, full points are moved.
• Top 3 (or more) in points will win a cash prize at the end of the season. 
• Other ways to gain a point - hit an ace/win the nightly CTP/win the skills challenge

PDGA Round Ratings
At some point over the summer we will probably take advantage of a 12 week period where your league round will count towards your PDGA rating (if you are a current PDGA member). More info later on this.