The 2023 Blue Ridge Championship was held this past weekend in Marion, North Carolina. It’s one of Innova’s events. The title sponsor was hardly the main draw, though. It wasn’t the breathtaking scenery, either. Even the dramatic rainfall wasn’t the top selling point …
It was the length of the course.
The MPO field played a par-61 layout that came in just shy of 9,000 feet. Numbers mean different things to different people, but by MPO standards, that’s a WAY short track. To put things in perspective, home of the Preserve Championship, Clearwater’s Airborn Disc Golf Preserve is 10,896 feet in length – that’s over two miles of frisbee throws in a single round.
And still, in spite of the relative “pitch-and-putt” nature of North Cove, Gannon Buhr’s chase-card victory went down to the wire. There’s more here, though – check this out …
Courtesy of the smart guys at StatMando:
“For the first time in the PDGA Live era, an FPO winner [-22] has a better final score (to par) than the MPO winner [-18] at a Major, Elite or Silver event with an equal number of holes played.”
In spite of its widespread reachability for the entire MPO field, it played tough …
REALLY tough.
In case you missed it, Brian Earhart noted Jordan Davidson carded a 19 (not a typo) on the 18th hole at North Cove earlier today …
— Green Splatter (@GreenSplatter) April 16, 2023
Unreal.
The course only featured two sub-300-foot holes, but the footage mentioned in this post’s headline is largely irrelevant: Short is what you make it. For most amateurs, that’s 200-ish feet. For the MPO field, that’s anything under 400 feet. Regardless of the distance required to get your heart racing on a teepad, what shorter holes do for the Pro Tour is unquestionably positive …
They provide an instant change – short isn’t standard. Hole after hole, a pro’s head (and arm) might be used to the rhythm of crushing hyzer after hyzer with a Halo Destroyer, but when a 250-foot, tightly wooded hole gets thrown into the mix, it’s time for a change in strategy.
Shorter holes require different skill sets. Finesse over power means the eventual winner will either 1) be a master of touch with a frisbee, or 2) the luckiest disc golfer on the Pro Tour.
Heads-Up: It’s never the second one.
As a fan, I love shorter holes, too. If you’re anything like me, after seeing the drone’s flyover of a hole on coverage, I think about what I’d do to attack the pin – what I’d pull from my bag. In Emporia, I struggle to insert myself into the moment; this is easy to do at North Cove.
Short holes are few and far between on the Pro Tour. Clearly, however, they don’t compromise competition. With enough trees, a few water hazards and even some artificial OB, they work.
The score separation is there …
No birdie-or-bust golf required.
More of this, please.
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The statmando quote is misleading: “For the first time in the PDGA Live era, an FPO winner [-22] has a better final score (to par) than the MPO winner [-18] at a Major, Elite or Silver event with an equal number of holes played.” Since they played different courses
That’s true …
Same track, but a shorter layout.
I am guessing that you have never read the article about WACO? The real winner at WACO? This article is a Blue Ridge Championship version of that😞
Hahaha …
You’re right.
I’ll shoot Taylor an email – good eye, Benji.
(and kudos for somehow reading everything we write – you’re the best)