Has anyone else noticed that all of the area events are Southern National Qualifiers, but none of them are PDGA? How are any of us going to advance our standings and our state in the PDGA if there are no tournies here? These local tournies are raising money for an individual. No money ever goes to the PDGA for these events, so how are we going to be recognized for our success? We need to join in together and have tournaments here that are recognized and sponsored by the PDGA. We not only have good courses, but are between the areas that the supertours are held now. It only makes sense to utilize our courses and attract supertour players here. There would be (naturally) larger prizes and more point events, but that would take money out of local organizers hands. While I am happy these people can make their living by this means, we need it to benefit more than just their pockets!

By all means-- you should take the time to get PDGA certified as a tournament official-- organize and promote the event-- find the volunteers to help you-- fulfill all the man hours and logistics it takes to pull of any public event. Reserve some course with the Parks Department or State Park-- Be a public speaker and announce everything-- And deal with every problem that occurs. Pray someone doesn't get hurt. etc, ad naseum.

Volunteers are a rare breed. Thank goodness we have what we have.

I am all for more SN, PDGA, whatever type tourneys... period.

The Pro Men, Grand Master, Pro Master, Pro Women ... divisions all take percentages of the entry fees, plaques cost money, banners, man hours ... event preperation-- are all work. Much of the money taken in is distributed amongst the Pro players.

No one is buying islands with the money perhaps gained from running disc golf events-- i would imagine.


In SN events-- a coupla bucks per player per event goes toward that phat amount that Jim0 gives away at the SN Finals on Labor Day weekend.

And then there is always the argument that this is America and those with the initiative are able to prosper from the fruits of their labors.

Also-- I would estimate the reason most of the regional tourneys are not PDGA events-- is the TD's are not PDGA certified officials.

Although-- Mobile has a PDGA event (or more?) per year and Baton Rouge will soon offer a PDGA event... and I'm fairly new to DG-- there are likely to be others in this region.

For a double whammy event (SN & PDGA combined) extra money would be required per player to be sent to the pdga would make for a higher entry fee. Would be worth it, though-- imho...

Also-- most players would seem to give two squats about who sanctioned a Disc Golf event or worry about the points-- they are just playing for the fun of it-- and would say-- "what you talkin 'bout Willis."


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Jim Orum has a good thing going here. He has put in a lot of work to build the SN series up to what it is today and should enjoy the fruits of his labors. Unless you are a pro, SN is where it's at. Trust me. I played two PDGA tourneys in April. They were better than some of the small, one-day SNQ's, but couldn't hold a candle to some of the bigger SNQ's, like either of the Hattiesburg Tournaments or the Howler. Or any of Ronnie's tournaments in BR, for that matter. You can go play in all the PDGA events you want , and you may be impressed by the size of the field or some of the names who show up, but coming back and playing SNQ's is like going home and getting a home-cooked meal from Mom.
Also, at Birmingham I was near the bottom of the advanced players who "cashed" and got 1 disc, which is about what I deserved. However, everyone who finished 6-15 got 1 disc. The top advanced play got 3. At an SNQ that size, the top advanced would have gotten a basket. Just some more food for thought.

You assume that the PDGA is the be-all and end-all of disc golf organizations but it really hasn't done a whole lot in the way of heightening the profile of the sport to the level of national attention that it deserves. Sponsorship for the PDGA world championships has gone little beyond the disc manufacturers themselves and TV coverage is non-existant. Last summer, the world champion of our sport earned what would have amounted to about 154th place at the Masters. I think that Jim Orum has done a proportionally better job in this limited area than the PDGA has in the entire world and Southern Nationals players have reaped a higher percentage of what they put into the tour than have PDGA players. Finally, I think that someone who dedicates their life and most of their time to a sport deserves to profit from it. It's not a side job for this man. It's his whole life!!

thank you for asking ,i have nothning against pdga tournaments ,the last year we ran them in this area we collected $1600. and sent it in to them.we only had 12 players that year go to the pdga pro and am worlds.so many players can not take off for 8-10 days to attend these events .we thought maybe the players in the south would like one large tournament a year to play in.so we started the sn series ,which all the $2 that we collect would go back to the players in the south.last year over $5000. was added to the purse by these players .this makes more sense than sending it to the pdga and have only 12 players attend. i think players should be members of the pdga ,i and my two sons are members.the sn can do alot more good for us along the terms of sponsorship and players growth in our area.the large tournaments cost so much it takes the fun out of the sport for the players who just want to play in a few events a year. some cities host pdga and sn events at the same time ,so you can attend one event and be able to go to both large events.i hope everyone thinks the sn is there event not mine,we will grow if we stick together like we have done the past few years.
now for the lining of pockets, i would scare you if i told you how many times i thought about quiting this and going back to work at my lawn service. if most td and tournament people like myself would deduct all the cost of running these events sometimes the players would not get much. most td lose money out of their own pockets at each event they run.yes they are a few tournaments make money ,but most your lucky if you broke even.if it was not for the players i have meet i would not do this anymore.i have meet so many nice players and most have become a big part of my life and god bless them cause they keep me going. i hope you become part of this too.jim orum.

Bless you too, Jim. You da man!