In Good Hands

6 Mar

Nebdisc began as a means to promote disc golf in in Nebraska back in 2000 by Dustin Champlin. Andrew Chisholm joined the team in 2002 and Dustin had other interests a few years later. We provided timely news articles and blogs about events, held contests, and managed a message forum with over five million posts. There was also the nebdisc map to courses and course reviews, online event registration and a calendar of events. Some events had live video feeds during rounds using Periscope and later live updates using Twitter. These communication tools have become available by several other companies. As a result the need for nebdisc as a communication tool has waned. We will continue to look for a good home for the Nebraska Disc Golf Hall of Fame pages.

Recommendations for disc golf information in and around Nebraska currently include:

  • UDisc.com for events and course locations. The UDisc app is free and available for smart phones.
  • DiscGolfScene.com for tournaments and events
  • DiscGolfCourseReview.com for course information
  • PDGA.com for sanctioned events and course locations
  • Facebook for communication with local disc golfers
  • The nebdisc calendar, which is a shared Google calendar you can subscribe too, will remain to be updated with information as it is received.

There have been several Nebraska startup companies over the decades and timing is everything for success. These are currently doing well and have a bright future:

As a promoter, it has been awesome to witness the growth of disc golf over the past 25 years. Thanks to all the players, tournament directors, state coordinators and course designers that have helped to lend helpful advice during the crusade. The sport has an amazing ability to adapt.

Tierra Park is near my home and will remain to have a weekly league, so come on over and let’s throw!

Best,

Andrew Chisholm, #19311

Taking a Look at the 2022 Frisbee Season: Union Disc (Trevor Wilkerson)

8 Mar

As we head into March, many of us are excited for the season to be in full swing again. Some players will find their joy in a morning round at Tierra, and for others, it is the tournament grind on the weekends. No matter who you are, we are all itching to get back on the course and showcase our new and improved putting game from the Winter.

Many companies around the state are doing amazing work to support Nebraska disc golf in their own way, and one company that has found its  place in hosting tournaments is Union Disc. It was founded two years ago and is owned by Trevor Wilkerson and Zach Nickolite. Trevor has been running tournaments over the last 3 years and partnered with Zach in 2020. Together, over the last two years, they have worked to make Union Disc a staple in the Nebraska community for many players, but specifically for those seeking a competitive outlet. Union Disc exists to provide an enjoyable tournament experience for all while simultaneously raising the level of professional disc golf in Nebraska.

Throughout the 2022 season, Union Disc will be running 5 events, 4 B tiers and 1 C tier, throughout the state. They hope that by focusing on competitive course layouts and running events at the B tier status, they will be able to attract a competitive demographic and contribute to raising ratings in Nebraska. 2021 proved to be a successful year for the company and they will continue to work on finding a balance between competition and community engagement that will please all divisions. Aside from tournaments being vital to the growth of competitive disc golf, they also provide an opportunity to support local courses and help make a push for course improvements.

On March 19th, Union Disc will be heading to Columbus, NE to run the 2022 Pawnee Park Classic. This B tier will be hosted at Pawnee Park and will include a combination of temporary and permanent basket locations. With over $1,000 added between Professional and Amateur divisions, this event would surely be a great way to kick off your 2022 season. At this time, Union Disc is hoping to have all baskets set up by the evening of March 18 to allow for competitors to practice before the event.

Registration is currently open for:

2021 Highlights Review

23 Dec

  • Zen Llama opens in Lincoln near 48th & Calvert St
  • Nebraska Disc Golf Company opens in Omaha at 72nd & Harrison St
  • Cash Minx became the seventh PDGA State Coordinator for Nebraska since 1999
  • The Star City Shoot-out had 185 participants
  • Take the Lake in Hastings paid $842 for first place
  • Beal Slough course opens in Lincoln and has 18 holes with two tees each
  • Fifty-four PDGA sanctioned tournaments in Nebraska with 3,441 in attendance
  • Glow golf becomes popular at Tierra Park in Lincoln
  • Indoor winter putting league activity in Omaha, Lincoln and Kearney
  • Chadron State Park selected as the best course in Nebraska on UDisc

Nebraska Disc Golf Podcast

29 Dec

Nebdisc welcomes the new Nebraska Disc Golf Podcast and invites you to subscribe and listen. The podcast quality is excellent and is hosted by a Nebraska disc golf veteran, James Fleege.

We are not going away. Nebdisc remains in touch with tournament directors across the state and you can count on us to continue promoting events using the nebdisc calendar. If you haven’t already, go ahead and subscribe to the calendar. More information is on the tournaments page.

Imagining A New Normal

18 May

May 22, 2020

Changes announced today from the Professional Disc Golf Association for Nebraska. Here is an update from Scott Hoffman, the Nebraska State representative for the PDGA. “PDGA sanctioned events are back on in Nebraska starting June 18th. If they will have more than 25 players in attendance – 1 round events must be flex start or tee times – 2 round events will have to have tee times for each round.”

There are further restrictions in some areas. For example Lincoln has a restriction of gatherings to be 10 or less until June 30.

 


May 18, 2020

With South Dakota and Minnesota now allowing PDGA sanctioned disc golf tournaments, how does Nebraska stand and what might the new normal could like?

Things change often, it’s a fluid landscape with the pandemic. In doing some research to back a claim made by a few that “no organized sporting events are allowed” the closest thing I could find is “Individual sports such as golf and tennis (including doubles tennis) are not prohibited under any Directed Health Measures, however, participants must still practice social distancing.” The quote is from a KOLN new story on May 11 titled Gov. Ricketts provides updates on youth sports guidelines. So what’s holding us back? Gatherings of 25 or more.

What might disc golf tournaments look like in the near future? With a tournament of 72 players the standard of a shot-gun start would be a problem. Too many people gathered at once for a player meeting and to pass out player cards. Another option is timed starts.

Consider the Glass Blown Open, the largest disc golf event in the world with over 1,600 competitors. My experience with pre-assigned tee times has been to start with an 8:00am-ish start. Almost nobody but our card around the check-in table, up to 3 people putting at a practice basket, and plenty of open space for mid and drive practice. At ten minutes prior the tee time the card of 4 gathers at headquarters. We meet with the tournament director and he reviews the out of bounds or other problem areas. There are five people total at tee one, easy to implement social distancing.

How might assigned tee times look for a tournament in Nebraska? Imagine pre-registering for a C tier and being assigned a tee time at least two days in advance. Show up at the course around 45 minutes prior to your assigned tee time, get in some putting, midrange and driver warmup shots. Arrive at headquarters five minutes before your assigned tee time, listen to a course out-of-bounds review by the TD and then go play the round.

Turn in your card, check the final scores posted. Pro payouts could be done using PayPal or Vemo, or mailing a check. And for amateur payouts retailers could honor a credit voucher similar to what Disc Gauntlet is doing with DZ Discs.

Here is a hypothetical tee time schedule for a disc golf tournament of 72 players doing two rounds on a course that is normally completed in three hours or fewer. The last card would be done by 7:00pm, which is about when the sun sets in early October.

 

card 1st round total players
1 8:00 AM 4
2 8:12 AM 8
3 8:24 AM 12
4 8:36 AM 16
5 8:48 AM 20
6 9:00 AM 24
7 9:12 AM 28
8 9:24 AM 32
9 9:36 AM 36
10 9:48 AM 40
11 10:00 AM 44
12 10:12 AM 48
13 10:24 AM 52
14 10:36 AM 56
15 10:48 AM 60
16 11:00 AM 64
17 11:12 AM 68
18 11:24 AM 72
2nd round
1 12:30 PM
2 12:42 PM
3 12:54 PM
4 1:06 PM
5 1:18 PM
6 1:30 PM
7 1:42 PM
8 1:54 PM
9 2:06 PM
10 2:18 PM
11 2:30 PM
12 2:42 PM
13 2:54 PM
14 3:06 PM
15 3:18 PM
16 3:30 PM
17 3:42 PM
18 3:54 PM

Sooner or later we will be back to enjoying disc golf competition. Until then tournament directors could plan and share their strategies for a smooth startup when the time comes.

 

Additional Resources