It’s all about the competition.
Ledgestone Disc Golf is hosting this week’s 2024 PDGA Disc Golf World Championships for the second time. Tournament director Nate Heinold and his team have used their unparalleled experience in running high-profile disc golf events to make this Worlds the most memorable one yet.
In 2019, Ledgestone hosted the World Championships in Central Illinois at the sites of the annual Ledgestone Open. Now in 2024, Heinold and his staff have taken on the endeavor of running the highest-caliber event in the world away from home in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The staff includes 75 paid operations workers and over 150 volunteers. For comparison, the 2024 Ledgestone Open had 110 paid staff members to help coordinate the 15 total courses used for the event.
“The main difference in staffing between an event like Ledgestone and an event like Worlds is the elevated VIP experience,” Heinold said. “We have additional staff helping with parking, additional staff checking badges and additional staff doing VIP experience tasks.”
Worlds only uses two courses compared to the Ledgestone Open’s 15. That’s over a 400% increase in paid staffing to cover the World’s courses before factoring in any of the volunteers.
The reason for the increase in staff attention is because of the pure focus on quality performances at Worlds. Thousands of fans flock to watch the pinnacle of the disc golf season and the Ledgestone team wants to highlight the viewing spectacle.
“With Worlds versus the Discraft Great Lakes Open or Ledgestone, it's really comparing apples and oranges,” Heinold said. “Ledgestone and DGLO have great pro side events but also have the two largest amateur fields of the year. Those events have so many side activities that make it more of an experience. Worlds is all about the competition.”
Beyond the Ledgestone Open and DLGO, Ledgestone Disc Golf is also the organizer of the Champions Cup. Despite also being a major, Heinold said there’s a clear distinction between the execution of Champions Cup versus Worlds.
“Worlds versus Champions Cup is definitely a different animal,” he said. “Champions Cup is one course and Worlds is two courses. Worlds has the biggest spectator draw of the year. Everything is magnified at Worlds.”
Across the 2024 disc golf season, spectator attendance has been inconsistent, but the European Open served as a reminder that the fans have not lost interest. Heinold pulled inspiration for his Worlds organization efforts from the biggest annual event overseas.
“The European Open has always been an event that my team looks up to,” the Worlds TD said. “What did change between the European Open and Worlds is that we did see an uptick in VIP ticket sales so we did increase our spending on infrastructure significantly for the VIP experience.”
Fans will quickly notice and appreciate all of that additional spending.
Both Worlds venues have video boards, VIP areas, signage, bleachers, viewing areas, scoreboards and more. Ivy Hill will feature a club house, open patio, vending area, specialized Hole 1/18 experience and multiple raised viewing platforms built specifically for the event. There will also be food stations scattered throughout the course and spectator ropes on every hole to direct spectators.
“We learn something every time we run an event and we are constantly evolving,” Heinold said. “When we ran Worlds in 2019, it was one of the first times an event charged for spectating. Now that is a huge portion of the event budget. With that revenue comes a responsibility to significantly elevate the fan experience, between better food vendors, more seating, better viewing areas, multiple video boards, etc.”
The Worlds experience begins on Saturday, August 17 with the Mixed Worlds Doubles event at New London Tech. Ohn Scoggins and Joel Freeman will look to defend their title, though the pairing of 2024 Ledgestone Open Champion, Gannon Buhr, and multi-time Ledgestone Open Champion, Missy Gannon, will be hard to beat.
Other pre-Worlds spectacles include the Long Drive, Putting and Skills Contest at Ivy Hill on Sunday, August 18, plus the Worlds Dinner and Opening Ceremonies at the Academy in Lynchburg on Tuesday, August 20 before competition officially begins on Wednesday, August 21.
Saturday, August 24 will celebrate the penultimate day of competition with a flymart, players dinner, special-hour food trucks at Ivy Hill and fireworks. View the full schedule here.
This Worlds will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience you won’t want to miss. Spectating costs start as low as $25 with higher packages and perks available for VIP experiences across the entirety of Worlds Week. Tickets can be purchased here.
Blog by: Jacob Arvidson
