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Another Challenge at Goat Hill Park is in the books!

I feel like the event was a smashing success! We had a tremendous field of players who performed like the professionals they are. They gave a great show for the large crowds of spectators to watch (I think we had around 500 on Sunday?). Managing crowds like that while implementing COVID protocols was tricky, but we did our best. Goat Hill Park was in beautiful condition and looked great on the Central Coast Disc Golf, GKPro and Disc Golf Network video coverage (please view on YouTube, like and subscribe to all three!). And our tremendous volunteer staff went above and beyond to make the event pleasurable for all involved.

Congrats to our 2021 Champions! Ricky Wysocki (MPO), Lisa Fajkus (FPO), Chris Shotwell (MP40), David Devine (MP50) and Mike Reeves (MP60) – you showed tremendous skills and I was proud to hand you your goat trophies!

I have so many people to thank! Maxine “Fairy Golf Mother” Duncan was our volunteer coordinator and made so many phone calls, so many decisions and taught me how precious and important our volunteers are. Shaun Watkins was my right hand – anything I needed doing, Shaun was there to do it. Tremendous! Mark Verrochi handled the UDiscLive and PDGA Live scoring, training new scorekeepers and fixing hiccups along the way, like the professional that he is. Chris Cauchon organized the Player/Goat disc auctions – something I had no clue how to do – helping us to raise funds for the event and the players. Glenn Duncan exhibited so many of his stellar skills: adding the final artistic touches to the big metal goat trophies, fixing my mistakes on the baby goat trophies, and creating solutions as problems popped up – he must be the best “whack-a-mole” player on Earth! A.J. Risley helped ensure that my vision for the course design was implemented in the field, stepped in front of the camera to put our best face forward and listed to so many of my crazy ideas and angry rants and brought me back to reality – I love you my son. Kevin Best stepped forward and took ownership of final course setup details, and then went out to the Goat to take down the Goat-a-Mids and donate the straw bales to a local tack store in need. Bill Maury-Holmes and Michael Sorich were the voices of the event at Tee 1 – A task that I used to handle but have now handed off to people who entertain and introduce with flair. Jackie Chamberlain was the glue that kept Tournament Central together – she handled question, problems, and jerks with grace and skill – Thank You! And so many more people who wore the blinding yellow volunteer t-shirts and helped in so many important ways.

Many thanks to John Ashworth and Eli Ivey of Goat Hill Park and all of the staff at the course. They allow disc golf to take over the course every year and we are very grateful for that. The staff are so helpful and so pleasant to work with. I feel like Goat Hill Park is truly our partner in this event and I look forward to working with them to take The Challenge up to the next level of disc golf competition and entertainment!

It was a pleasure and a learning experience to work with Jeff Spring, Seth Fendley and all of the staff of the Disc Golf Pro Tour. I learned so much from them through this experience and I hope the tournament was as successful in their eyes as it was in mine. Ian Anderson’s Central Coast Disc Golf crew and Luke Sampson and the GKPro guys were great to work with and made the event look spectacular on video (like and subscribe!). And the UDisc and PDGA staff helped us share the event with so many people who couldn’t watch live in person – this is a valuable service to our fans.

Innova Disc Golf – I don’t have enough words to describe how much I value our partnership. You guys help me in so many ways, teach me so much and make me look like I know what the hell I’m doing. I’m so proud to be an Innova Ambassador and to be able to show off the brand I have thrown since 1983. Mark, Sam, Joe, Jeff, Levi, Mike, Thomas, Suzette, Jonathan and Dave – thank you so much for everything.
I will thank our other event sponsors in a follow-up post, but I hope you all know how much I value your support and I hope you stay with us for the long haul. Bigger and better in the future!

A special final thank you to my son and daughter, AJ and Katie. You put up with so much of my craziness and rambling and messiness as tournament time rolls around. You own the success of my events as much as I do. And you own the smiles on the faces of the players, fans and sponsors as well.

As I told the crowds gathered on the first tee each day to watch the lead MPO card – I have played disc golf for over 45 years, and we’ve always said that “one day our sport will make it big.”

Well…TODAY is that one day!

The caddie book for the 2021 edition of The Challenge at Goat Hill Park has been uploaded to this website and can be accessed via this link: 2021 Caddie Book – The Challenge at Goat Hill Park

The caddie book contains all official course notes for the tournament as well as hole maps and sponsor artwork. If you download or view the caddie book, please make sure to check out the list of sponsors and supporters found on the last (back) page. These folks have made The Challenge possible!

Displayed below are the current tee time blocks for Friday and Saturday/Sunday. Tee time assignments for individual players will be available on Wednesday, 5/5/2021 by 5pm.

DGPT Silver Series event registration on PDGA.com: https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/48283

DGPT Silver Series event scoring on UDiscLive.com: https://udisclive.com/live/goathill2021

PDGA B-tier event registration on PDGA.com: https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/48284

We’ve been working with DGPT, Goat Hill Park, City of Oceanside and Innova on details for spectating at The Challenge at Goat Hill Park. Spectator passes will go on sale Saturday, April 24, 2020 at 5pm:

• Spectator passes will be sold through the Disc Golf Pro Tour website, using Eventbrite. The link to keep an eye on is: https://www.dgpt.com/schedule/spectators/
• Sign up on our Spectator Interest List – we are working with DGPT to give you early access to purchase passes if you’re on that list.
• Passes are for 1 day only! If you want to spectate multiple days you will need to purchase a pass for each day. You will receive a wristband at check-in color-coded for that day.
• We are a Disc Golf Pro Tour event running under “Phase 2” guidelines. Phase 2 requires us all to wear masks and maintain 6 feet of social distancing.
• Friday, May 7 will be a “Spectator-Lite” day, as we do not have exclusive use of the Goat Hill Park Property. A limited number of “VIP” spectator passes will be available for $20 each. VIP pass spectators will be assigned to a “Spectator Host” to follow a specific foursome for the entire round. A limit of 25 spectators allowed per Spectator Host. VIP pass holders can sign up for a particular foursome/tee time at check-in on Friday.
• Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9: “General Admission” spectator passes will be available for $20 per person, per day. General Admission passes will give you access to the Tournament Central/Vendor area, viewing space for the warm-up area, and the following holes on the course: 1,2,3,6,9,10,11,12,13,14, 16,17,18 (See map below). Spectators must stay close to the cart paths, out of the field of play and at least 50 feet from players, caddies and media.
• Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9: A limited number of VIP passes will be available for $30 to follow top-ranking foursomes through the entire course, escorted by Spectator Hosts. A limit of 25 spectators allowed per Spectator Host, multiple “pods” of spectators will be allowed to follow a card (maintaining reasonable distance). VIP pass holders can sign up for a particular foursome/tee time when they check in.
• All spectator parking will be off Goat Hill Park property. Spectators will be making use of parking on adjoining city streets. We strongly encourage carpooling! General Admission passes will be sold as either North Gate or South Gate entry. See the map below for the gate locations.
• Food and beverage services will be available on-site.
• A variety of disc golf-related vendors will be on-site. We are also making space available for players who wish to vend or autograph discs.
• Make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes, use sunscreen, wear a hat, bring a camp stool to sit on. Walking 18 holes of disc golf at Goat Hill Park racks up 15,000 steps and 40 floors climbed on a Fitbit – be ready for The Challenge!

Good news! Based on the current conditions in Oceanside, San Diego County, California, it looks like we will be able to have spectators for The Challenge at Goat Hill Park, Presented by Innova. There will be limits on the number of people allowed, and spectators will be required to wear masks and social distance from others. But this is a much better situation than last year’s event and many of the events that have occurred so far in the 2021 disc golf season.

Tournament staff is currently working with the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Goat Hill Park and Innova Disc Golf to create a spectating plan that maintains the health and safety of the players and tournament staff, protects the integrity of the competition, provides an entertaining and exciting experience for fans and is economically sustainable. Here are the major points we can share so far:

• Most spectator access will come by way of daily pass purchases. There will be a limited number of full-event passes available, but much of the feedback we have received to date has been that many people only expect to be able to spectate for one weekend day (it’s Mother’s Day weekend…). Also, since Goat Hill Park is open for (ball) golf play on Friday after disc golf, we cannot sell General Admission passes.
• Vending for spectator passes will be handled by the Disc Golf Pro Tour, on their website (www.DGPT.com). We will share the exact URL in advance of sales, and everyone who fills out the Spectator Interest Form on this website will receive advance access to purchase passes.
• There will be different levels of spectator access (with corresponding price points). In discussion currently is a plan with 1) a general admission plan that gives spectators access to the pro shop and vendor booth areas, along with the holes close to the pro shop/tournament central area; 2) a second level that gives spectators access to view several holes on the course, staying on or close to cart paths while viewing; and 3) a “VIP” level that allows spectators to follow a specific card of players around the entire course escorted by a tournament staff member, which may also include a tournament-logo disc.

We are very excited about this upcoming event and we know there is a lot of excitement out in our local disc golf community! It looks like disc golf has turned a corner in terms of the number of people who are playing (just evidence your local course) and the numbers who are watching events on their screens. And the field of players coming to play The Challenge is arguably the best field of disc golfers ever to be assembled for a singles tournament in San Diego County. Along with that, Goat Hill Park provides a great location to watch top-level disc golf, with a long, tough course, great sight lines for spectating, a refreshing ocean breeze and no picnic blankets in the fairways!

Click on this link to get on the Spectator Interest List, and we’ll see you at the Goat!

As we get closer to The Challenge it can be interesting to see how the players who are registered for our tournament are doing out on tour. Here’s some info from the MPO field at this weekend’s Texas State Championships (FPO will get it’s own post):

MPO:
Calvin Heimburg – t5th
Garrett Gurthie – t5th
Nathan Queen – t11th
Alden Harris – t11th
Nikko Locastro – t16th
Emerson Keith – t16th
Austin Hoop – t16th
Kyle Klein – t20th
Colten Montgomery – t20th
Nate Perkins – t24th
Brodie Smith – t24th
Chris Clemons – t31st
Luke Humphries – t35th
Thomas Gilbert – t42nd
Tanner Girouard – t49th
Eric Oakley – t52nd
John Willis II – t52nd
Connor O’Reilly – t59th
Ian Burchett – t64th
Garrett Tapken – t66th
Luke Samson – t66th
Ezra Aderhold – t76th
Gavin Rathbun – t76th
Alexander Lyon – t92nd

And there are two other MPO players who finished in the top 5 at Texas States who are in the process of registering…

You can check out our registration page on PDGA.com – best field ever in San Diego County!

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/48283

Featured image courtesy of JomezPro. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/udibX3G4Nto

We talked to some touring disc golf pros back at the Las Vegas Challenge and asked them what we could do to make their trip to play The Challenge a better experience.

A few mentioned OBs, or raised baskets (fewer) or more payout. But many mentioned making it easier for them to find a place to stay. So….

Can you host a player or players during tournament week (May 3-9, 2021)? Or do you have an RV parking space or space for a Sprinter-style van? Or do you have an AirBnB rental? If any of these fit you, please fill out our “Host a Player?” for on the tournament website: https://challengeatgoathillpark.com/host-a-player/

We have already had one offer of camping space from someone who has a parcel of land about 15 minutes from Goat Hill Park, which is great…but we need more!

Ron Krippner (ronkrippner@gmail.com) is heading up our attempt to match players with places to stay. Add yourself to the host list through the link above and Ron will get in touch with you. We’re sending an email out to registered MPO/FPO players soon. They’ll be contacting Ron as well!

Thanks!!!

Disc golf is heating up…2021 is going to be great! While much of the nation is feeling crazy cold weather, disc golfers can be warmed inside with the knowledge that the pro disc golf season is about to start. Next week is the first stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour – the Las Vegas Challenge! And this weekend there’s some kind of doubles/singles thing happening at a stretched out version of Fountain Hills in Arizona. If you haven’t already subscribed to the Disc Golf Network, now is the time to do so because the live coverage cranks up on Saturday, February 20th.

But what’s going on here in Goat-land? Plenty. Registration for The Challenge at Goat Hill Park, Presented by Innova is filling up! Well, the MPO division IS filled up. 107 MPO players have registered (DGPT reserves 5 “Sponsor Spots” which will fill later) and that fills the MPO field. You can still get on the waiting list at DiscGolfScene.com. There are currently 37 MPO players rated 1000 or better, so we are looking forward to some amazing competition.

And our FPO field is phenomenal! Currently 19 players deep, there are eleven FPO World Championships represented in these players! We have tripled the size of the FPO field, and we’re going to do whatever we can to ensure they all want to come back in 2022. One thing that’s happening is a full review of the Goat Hill Park layout that FPO will play. As currently planned, there will be 10 holes with “Front” tees for FPO to use, making those holes more interesting for the FPO field. Those holes are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 15, 16 and 18. Nine of these holes will be receiving new permanent turf tee pads (same as the current pads) and will be a regular fixture at the course (FPO will tee from the existing turf pad on Hole 3).

And while we’re talking about changes to the course, here’s a few nuggets about that:

• The 2020 version of Hole 6 was a smashing success, so it will remain a tough uphill par 4 with tight OB lines approaching the basket. FPO will get a new turf tee along the right side of the fairway, uphill a bit from the standard tee.
• There was some significant tree trimming on Hole 7, which has made the basket far too unprotected for our liking. So expect some sort of obstacles to be added near the green to require players to be precise with their tee shot if they want a birdie.
• All of the “Front” FPO tees will be in locations that not only make the hole shorter, but also increase the precision required of players. Last year most of these tees were out in the open fairway – not in 2021. Oh, and those tees will be used in October for the Am event!
• Hole 10 gets a new basket position. GHP decided to increase the size and distance of the golf tee on Hole 11, so we lost our basket position behind the green. But the new position, on a high point at the right front of the golf green, will require approach shots to land softly, lest they get on an edge and roll away. And there’s 100+ feet of roll possible, down into the storm water drainage basin (no penalty).
• Hole 13…has had many faces. In 2021 we will simplify the design of Hole 13. You’ll be throwing from the standard tee to the standard basket, but that basket will be on a very long island. The island will be a distance from the tee reachable by all of the MPO & FPO fields, but players will need to be able to stop their discs on the slippery hillside around the basket. To the left, past the dirt cart path will be OB. OB on the tee shot? Head to a drop zone and a likely bogey (or more).
• The remaining course changes that we have planned are OB-related. There are several holes that we’re looking at to require players to land on the golf fairways. Off the manicured grass? OB. 1, 4, 8, 14, 16, 16 and 18 are possibles in this category. And to be honest with you, the number of holes that get the pink string treatment will be closely correlated to the number of volunteers we have for course set-up.
• All of this will be easier to see when we roll out the online map of the tournament layout, early in May.

What about the B-tier…the old guys? Registration for the parallel 2-day B-tier (May 8-9) is scheduled to open on Monday, February 22 at 6pm. Registration will be on DGU. The B-tier field will be rather small since the main focus of the event is the Silver Series A-tier, but we look forward to having our experienced players tackle the Goat!

Will spectators be allowed? It’s too soon to tell. The final decision on spectators will be made in cooperation with the DGPT and will be based on the COVID guidelines in place by the San Diego County Health Department. Believe us – we hope spectators can happen! But if spectators aren’t allowed, the best way to watch the action up close will be as a UDiscLive scorekeeper or as a spotter out on the course. We have a volunteer signup form on the website now, so visit that page and add your name to the list. All volunteers will be fed and we’ll have some special “volunteer only” items for everyone who helps.

Do you have room for a touring player at your home or space to park and RV or trailer for tournament week? We will be posting a registration form for our “Goat Host” team. Tell us how many you can host and what kind of vehicle you have space for and we’ll match you up with touring pros. That’s definitely a good way to get a disc signed!

Fundraising! Holding a large disc golf tournament like The Challenge costs a few bucks – between the player prize money, course rental, volunteer hospitality and the licensing fee to DGPT, there are lots of bills to be paid. Player entry fees are a drop in the bucket. Over the next few months we will have lots of discs, shirts, pins hats, etc. featuring our new mascot – “Challenge” the Goat. If you haven’t checked out the Shop page on the tournament website, check it out ASAP! We expect to get at least a small number of Halo discs in the future and we have some very special full-color fundraisers in the works. And watch for our upcoming announcement on tee sign sponsorship sales. We’ll get you or your business seen out on the course and you’ll receive your high quality full-color sign once The Challenge is over. Also, we will be selling advertising spots in our upgraded caddy book. The sponsorship menu will be available in early March.

Thanks for reading this far….and get ready for The Challenge!

Did you win a raffle prize from our fundraising CTP/Raffle Contest for The Challenge, Part 2? We gave away a large number of raffle prizes on Sunday of tournament weekend and posted names of winners on a whiteboard at Tournament Central. But some players had left the Goat and some of you who bought tickets did not come to the Goat on Sunday, so we’re listing all of the winners here. We’ll also be sending out emails to everyone who bought tickets online, since we have your email addresses. The photos below contain the list of raffle prize winners. Many participants picked up their prizes at the event and unfortunately, we did not record who won each individual raffle prize. But for those who won a prize and have not yet received it, the typed list below the photos identifies the prize they won (emails will be sent to these winners). So check out the list below:

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• 1 – Jeff Singh (Central Coast Disc Golf Hat & CCDG-stamp Innova Nova)
• 2 – Mark Loeffler (Received Prize)
• 3 – Mark Verrochi (Received Prize)
• 4 – Michael Holmes (Received Prize)
• 5 – Stephen Rodgers (Flag Foil Proto-stamp STar Invictus)
• 6 – Tom Juhl (Received Prize)
• 7 – Jeff Jacquart (Received Prize)
• 8 – Brandon Peeler (2020 Ice Bowl Commemorative Full Color Buzzz)
• 9 – Stephen Rodgers (Max Nichols 2019 Tour Funduraiser Z-Mantis)
• 10 – Justin Koester (Innova Glow Beast)
• 11 – Mike Despars (Received Prize)
• 12 – John Dominguez (Received Prize)
• 13 – Santos Miranda (Received Prize)
• 14 – Santos Miranda (Received Prize)
• 15 – Stephen Rodgers (2019 USDGC “Grateful Roc”, with Volunteer Signatures, Athlete Credential and Parking Passes)
• 16 – Michael Holmes (Received Prize)
• 17 – Jacob Yousef (2019 USDGC Innova “Grateful Roc”)
• 18 – Steve Taylor (Received Prize)
• 19 – Nathan Heron (Limited-Edition Stamp Innova Champion Aviar3)
• 20 – Brentt Deleck (Received Prize)
• 21 – Cyndi Hurzeler (Received Prize)
• 22 – A.K.S (Clint Calvin Tour Support Claymore)
• 23 – J.J. (Rainbow Proto Star-stamp Innova GStar TL3)
• 24 – Manny Nettles (Proto Star-stamp Innova GStar TL)
• 25 – Ron Suttora (Team Guru Snapback Hat)
• 26 – Evan Brockwell (Rainbow Proto Star-stamp Innova GStar Vulcan)
• 27 – A.K.S. (Grassroots California Snapback Hat)
• 28 – Andrew Sharp (Received Prize)
• 29 – Unknown?
• 30 – Anthony Duran (Mountain Pride DGC Full Color Stamp Innova RocX3)
• 31 – Cyndi Hurzeler (Received Prize)
• 32 – Rachel Trager (USDGC “Postcard” Full Color Stamp Roc3)
• 33 – Drick (Received Prize)
• 34 – Manny Nettles (2018 McGlow Roc3 – Signed by Paul McBeth)
• 35 – Jeff Jacquart (Received Prize)
• 36 – Josh Doebel (2020 LVC-Stamp Star Invictus – Signed by LVC Final Round MPO Lead Card)
• 37 – Jeff Poindexter (Tie Dye Golf Shirt – Dyed by Randy Wylot)
• 38 – Keith Lindsey (2020 Clubhouse Clash Pro Leopard)
• 39 – A.K.S. (Calvin Heimburg-signed Full Color Roc – LVC Stamp)
• 40 – Jacob Yousef (Central Coast Disc Golf Hat)

And are you wondering who won the Grand Prize from the raffle and the CTP Contest? MA1 champion Joe Behny also won the raffle Grand Prize – a Zuca Cart (donated by Joe Rotan), DD Ranger Bag (donated by AJ Risley) and Tour Support discs from AJ, Philo, Clint Calvin and Jay “Yeti” Reading! Steven Dickman had won the CTP Contest with a 180-ft throw-in just minutes before, taking home the schweet Nate Sexton LVC-Edition Firebird.

The 2021 Challenge at Goat Hill Park, Driven by Innova will be back on the Disc Golf Pro Tour’s Silver Series and will be held May 7-9, 2021 at Goat Hill Park in Oceanside, CA. See you there!