Disc golfers: Pay attention during players meetings

Ever heard of a “players meeting” before?

The stylization of the term drives me bonkers.

Grammar-wise, what’s it supposed to be, exactly?

• Players Meeting
• Player’s Meeting
• Players’ Meeting

Based on what I’ve read, that first one is what I’ll stick with from here on out. Still, not knowing what the disc golf gods intended for the “official” name is enough to make me grind my teeth.

If you’ve competed in a disc golf tournament before, you’ll likely know what a players meeting is. If you haven’t, simply put, a players meeting is a pre-tournament meeting. It only takes place once before the beginning of the first round, usually 30 minutes before the start of the day’s action. However, if multiple courses are being used for one event, it could happen again.

Fifteen to 20 minutes later, cards are distributed. From there, disc golfers make their way to their respective starting holes to stretch, warm up and practice putt until the two-minute warning is given. This assumes, of course, the tournament director (TD) has opted for a shotgun start.

Let it be known that this is NOT a mandatory meeting.

I can’t stress this enough, though …

You should go.

You should listen, too.

The reason?

The contents of a players meeting could very well make (or break) your next tournament – at least the first round of it when you don’t know what’s going on. During a players meeting, the nitty-gritty details of each hole are discussed. Questions are asked; answers are given.

It’s the live, in-person, version of the caddie book, really. Rules, OB lines, drop zones, mandatories, bodies of water and random bundles of barbed-wire – it’s all discussed in detail.

Now you might think you know enough about disc golf to sit this one out …

You don’t.

I know from personal experience.

Storytime.

Four or five years ago, I played in one of those “club-kickoff” tournaments held at the start of the season. If you’re at all familiar with the disc golf scene in Salt Lake City, this took place at Creekside Park. Given where I live in Utah, it’s a course I don’t frequent all that often.

If I remember correctly, along the back of the track, there’s a straight, 300-foot hole near a hill. To the left of the fairway is the top of the hill with its drop-off, so you don’t want to go that way.

To the right of the fairway, there are a few large trees, but there’s plenty of space between them. On paper, the smart error is to flirt with the trees on the right. There’s no out-of-bounds (OB) area. And even if you square-up a tree, it’s an easy, relatively unobstructed up from there.

Take your par.

Move on.

So, during the first round, that’s what I did.

The problem?

On one of the main, fairway-defining trees, hidden by a bushy, overgrown branch, was a bright-orange arrow indicator for a mandatory. It was high enough on the tree’s trunk that quickly clearing it would’ve been difficult. Because of this, it wasn’t visible to many.

Instead, it was discussed …

In the players meeting.

Which, in my defense, I DID attend. However, I was more concerned with keeping tabs on NBA hoops on CBS than I was listening to the information being presented. As a result of the single penalty stroke I took, I missed the chase card by one throw for the second (and last) round.

No, a spot on chase-card during the final round of a C-tier isn’t a big deal. But for a mental midget like me, the gap between chase card and third card might as well be the Grand Canyon.

Whether it’s your first or 50th tournament, attend players meetings. Even if you already “know” it all, don’t make the same mistake I made years back: Be alert, attentive and engaging.

But most importantly …

Be there.

Do it for yourself. Do it so your first-round cardmates don’t have to babysit you. Do it for the TD who’s voluntarily taken on a thankless job for the betterment of your local disc golf scene.

Players meetings: Don’t head to hole one without ‘em.

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