There is no better place to be than the greater Augusta area this time of year if you’re a fan of golf, especially if you’re a fan of both traditional and disc golf. As spring begins to set in, Augusta hosts what is generally considered the most renowned PGA Major of the year, The Masters, and one of the most unique PDGA Majors of the year, the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships (NCDGC).

43 schools from around the United States are represented this year, many of which have sent multiple teams of players that will be competing for both individual and team titles all week long. The Hippodrome Disc Golf Complex in North Augusta serves as the venue, with six courses being used across the massive property.

The Most Complex Event in Disc Golf

If you’ve ever held the often-underappreciated role of Tournament Director at a PDGA event, you already know that running one is exhausting both physically and mentally. Whether you’ve had the pleasure of being a TD or not, appreciating how much time and effort it takes to run the NCDGC should be a no-brainer. To refer to the event itself as complex is an enormous understatement. In a four-day period, nearly 300 competitors that make up 43 teams will compete for both team and individual championships split between multiple divisions using six different courses for a mind-boggling total of nine different events all happening at the same time. Does that make your head hurt? Well, just wait, there’s more. On top of everything else, the format for the team championships uses a complicated doubles format and even more complicated scoring system which, by the way, includes provisions for teammate substitutions.

NCDGC Courses

The Hippodrome Disc Golf Complex is home to several courses, all of which were designed by the disc golf legend that is 5x World Champion Pete May #12700, with assistance from former NCDGC Tournament Director Alan Kane. There are six total permanent courses, two of which are the only ones open to the public: Old Glory and Hogback. The other four courses are permanently in the ground but are only open to the public one week a year, AKA this week. The courses and brief descriptions are listed below. For more information, see the Courses page on the Hippodrome's website.

NCDGC Formats

Singles Play

The lowest 3 singles scores per round per team count towards cumulative team score. Each hole should have no more than two teammates competing to prevent conflicts when making rules calls.

Format - Team Doubles Play

Doubles is played with two sets of teammates, one ODD, one EVEN. The ODD set will tee off on every odd-numbered hole, while the EVEN set tees off on every even-numbered holes. After the tee shots, the team chooses which of the two lies to play. From there, the set that did not tee throws their two shots. Again, the whole team decides which lie to play from and the set that teed off would throw. That alternating process continues until the hole is complete.

On the next hole, the corresponding set of teammates according to the hole number, ODD or EVEN, would tee off no matter which set putted out on the previous hole. This format allows for each player to tee off the same amount of times and for teams to play as whole. Each hole has two teams playing together as an eight-some. 

Substitution Rule

• At the National Championships, we allow teams to substitute players between rounds if they wish.
• Teams are limited to using a maximum of 6 players.  
• Those 6 players may be substituted as many times as the team desires. 
• Any player who participates in the Championship Division will no longer be eligible to play in the First Flight Championships.  
• All substitutions must be made at least 20 minutes before round tee off at Tournament Central.  
• There shall be no substitutions during any round of play.  
• Once a player is substituted out of individual play, by default, that player will not be eligible for any individual awards. 

For detailed information on how the scores are calculated, see the “NCDGC Scoring System Explained” article.

*Note: One key difference this year is that the Championship Flight and First Flight will use ALL FOUR scores from the singles rounds for each team, instead of just the best three rounds.

NCDGC Flights

The NCDGC uses a "Flights" system, allowing each school to create up to four total teams that can compete for a title in both the team competition and the individual competition: Championship Flight, First Flight, Second Flight, and Women's Flight. The Championship flight would be the team's top players, and the Women's Flight...well, that one is pretty self-explanatory.

First Flight

• The First Flight Championships is a high-caliber event focused on adding to the great experience of the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships. The First Flight Championship provides an opportunity for many schools to compete against teams of the same level for the title of First Flight Champion. In addition to teams that may not qualify for the Championship, the NCDGC also invites schools with more than one team to compete. 
• The First Flight Championship will crown a champion as well as trophy for the 1st runner-up. The First Flight Champion's school will also receive a 1st Round seed in the Championship Flight at the following year's National Championships.

Second Flight

Due to the high demand for schools to bring additional teams, the Second Flight Championships was created.

• The Second Flight Championships is a division within the National Championships for schools with large disc golf clubs and bring multiple teams. Schools will only be allowed to have two teams in the First Flight, but can also have two more in the Second Flight.
• The Second Flight Championship will crown a champion and award a trophy for the 1st runner-up. The Second Flight Champion's school will also receive a 1st Round seed in the following year's National Championships.

Schedule

Embedded below are the event and course schedules, respectively. Click on the preview image to view a full-size version.

2017 NCDGC Event Schedule

2017 NCDGC Course Schedule

Quick Links

Our hats off to the NCDGC staff and volunteers, as we can only imagine the blood, sweat, and tears involved over the 12 months. Keep up with all the latest NCDGC updates and information using the links below and find more information on the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships website.

Results

For quick access to all NCDGC results, use www.pdga.com/ncdgc.

• National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships - Individual »
• National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships - NIT Team
• National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships - Team »
• NCDGC First Flight - Individual »
• NCDGC First Flight - Team »
• NCDGC Second Flight - Individual »
• NCDGC Second Flight - Team »
• NCDGC Women - Individual »
• NCDGC Women - Team »

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