Four rounds at Eureka Temp.
Wind, water and weather will have their way with the MPO field this year at one point or another. The other variable impacting the players will be course changes.
There aren’t many, but they’re noteworthy enough to change the way players look at the holes and how spectators witness the action.
Ledgestone Open tournament director, Nate Heinold, is creating alternate pin placements on three of the holes to be featured during the Friday and Saturday rounds. A few out-of-bounds tweaks have also been made. This will help keep things fresh over the course of the four days of disc golf.
“The alternate pins were added to mix it up for variety because of the four rounds on one course,” he said.
Players and spectators will see the first tweak on Hole 7. This is the 275-foot shot that Andrew Marwede aced from the lead card during the final round of the 2023 Ledgestone Open
The creek on the left has always been OB, but with a two-meter relief off the creek to keep players safe from the slick bank, the next throws were always on the flat fairway or green anyway. Because of this, the OB line has been moved to the crest of the bank. The only added difficulty it will present will be psychological as OB shots this year would have more-than-likely been penalized in past years as well.
Hole 9 is the infamous bridge hole with an OB carry before players reach the roped-off, L-shaped, island green. The historic location for this pin has been on the back side of the “L”, straight in line with the bridge at 354 feet. This location will stay the same for Thursday and Sunday, but on Friday and Saturday, the basket will move exactly 66 feet to the left to the corner of the L-shaped island.
Hole 9’s island green parameters will also get an adjustment. Heinold and his team have moved the OB ropes in by a few feet.
“Hole 9 played much easier than I wanted it to last year,” Heinold said. “They shredded that hole so we brought in the OB lines on the green just a little bit. I don’t think anyone will notice it.”
Hole 13 and 16 will both see related changes. In past years, the two holes shared an OB rope (both on the left side of their respective parallel fairways). This made navigating large galleries through the back side of the course very difficult. To combat this, the OB ropes have been moved in on both holes by a few feet, creating two separate OB lines with a walkable space in between to allow for foot traffic and free-flowing spectator movement.
Hole 13 will also be the second hole to feature an alternate pin on Friday and Saturday. It will add 115 feet to the hole and be tucked up and left of the standard A position.
“The alternate pin was used back in 2018 and it was really, really hard to birdie,” Heinold said. “I did it to provide some variety. It also makes the hole a little more palatable for a left-hander. That hole is historically a righty hyzer, then a righty hyzer, then a righty hyzer. This location opens up the left gap at the end. It changes the perspective of the hole.”
The final change will be on the famous Hole 17 island.
Spectators have long enjoyed watching shots sail in over the lake and nestle into the high-stakes island green. Many rounds are saved or destroyed on this penultimate hole. The historic location of this green has been between the dock and the big tree, creating an 85-foot by 30-foot landing zone from the hill 335 feet away.
This year the standard green will have hay bales similar to the United States Disc Golf Championship on the front side of the green along the water for the first time in tournament history to force a higher shot from players.
In addition, fans and players will get to experience a brand-new Hole 17 green on Friday and Saturday.
The alternate green and ensuing pin placement will be directly to the left of the big tree. The size is about 65 feet in length, but is much smaller in width, only measuring about 33 feet at its widest and shrinking to as skinny as 12 feet on the left side. The distance of the B pin position is identical to the A position at 335 feet.
“I had looked at that a couple of years ago, and thought the green was too small on the left to mess with it,” the Ledgestone TD said. “It’s good to have some variety and it will be an exciting change. The green on the left is 35% smaller, maybe even more, but there’s a backstop. There is a pretty decent-sized step up with a concrete barrier.”
Each version of Hole 17 will have its own signature drop zone with a 60-foot death putt directly toward the lake.
Blog by: Jacob Arvidson 
