The Frosty Hills tournament was played on Saturday, January 20th 2024 in Toplice Sveti Martin, in a format of two 14-hole rounds, with the participation of 36 players who arrived from Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. Winter tournaments in Toplice Sveti Martin named Frosty Hills have been played since 2017, and this was the seventh edition of the tournament.
The competition took place in pleasant winter weather with temperatures around zero, but the players were warmed by the sun, so even the 3 to 5 cm deep snow did not bother them.
After the Players meeting, which started at 9:45, the competition started with the first round at 10:15. Given that the discs "liked" to be buried in the snow and sometimes had to be searched for, the duration of the round was up to 2:45, so the last group finished the first round around 13:00. After the lunch break, the second round followed, the start of which was at 14:15, and it ended just before dusk, around 16:45. The Winners ceremony started around 17:10.
The competition took place in two "elite" categories - open MPO and open women's FPO and in three lower categories for players of both genders who were classified according to their own PDGA rating.
In the lowest Purple division (for players rated up to 800) we had had a field of seven competitors. Julian Fink (Austria) took the win playing +30 to the course par. In this division, as many as six competitors battled for victory until the very end, and in the end, first and sixth place were separated by only four throws.
In the middle Green division (for players rated up to 850), we had had a field of 9 competitors. Antonio Grigić (Disc golf klub Lagoda) took the win playing +9 to the course par.
In the highest Red division (for players rated up to 900), we had had a field of 4 competitors. Anđelko Zrinski (Disc golf klub Stubaki) took the win playing +5 to the course par. In this category as well, the question of the winner was resolved only at the end of the competition, because Tomislav Kačavenda (DGK Stubaki) kept a minimum gap behind Zrinski the whole time, but in the end he was unable to catch up.
In the open women's FPO division, among three competitors, the victory was won by Tina Šimenc (DGK Lagoda) with +20 to the par. Although she was in the lead for almost the entire competition, Danica Pajtak (DGK Vraždin) tied Tina at the end of the second round, and they finished with the same result and entered the sudden death playoffs. The playoff was played on hole 5 (hazard), and here Tina was more successful and thus took the victory. Second place went to Danica, and third went to Ira Molnar Goricki (FDK Zagreb) with 9 throws deficit.
In the open MPO division, 13 competitors participated, and the winner was Niklas Schaffer (Austria) with -7 and one throw ahead of Blaž Petrovič (Slovenia). Another Austrian Thomas Hirsch took third place with -5.
The best men's round achieved at the tournament was 42 (-4), played in the first round by Blaž Perovič (rated 991) and in the second round by Niklas Schaffer (rated 988). The score of 42 throws is also a new course record because the previous record was 43 (-3, rating 993) played by Tomislav Goricki at the 2023 tournament.
The best women's round achieved at the tournament was 55 (+9), and it was played in the first round by Tina Šimenc (rated 834) and in the second round by Danica Pajtak (rated 830). The course record for female players is 53 (+7, rating 876 and 877), which was played twice by Ana Goricki at the 2023 tournament.
Full results can be found at the PDGA page.
Side events at the tournament were Ace Pool, Closest to the Pin and Overachiever.
Ace pool in the amount of €1 was paid by 27 players, and there was already €58 in the piggy bank from earlier tournaments, so the total fund was €85. As an ace was not scored in the tournament, the prize pool is transferred to the next tournament organized by Lagoda - Chasing Sparrows, which will be played on February 17th in Varaždin.
Closest to the Pin game took place on hole 5 (hazard in front of the basket). The best result of approximately 50 cm was achieved by Aki Vucković and he took home the prize (disc).
The Overachiever award is given to the competitor who played the tournament the most on average above his rating (according to the current ratings on the PDGA website). All tournament participants who have a PDGA number and an active membership and who have at least 20 rounds played in their rating participate in this competition.
The third place with 38 rating points above his personal rating was won by Nino Đurak, while the second place with 39 above his rating was Dinko Šimenc. The victory in this game was won by the winner of the Green category, Antonio Grigić, who finished the tournament with 45 rating points above his personal rating.
The tournament concluded with a raffle where the drawn players could choose some of the offered prizes - two disc golf backpacks, one pair of Alpina Breeze sneakers, a small disc rack, etc. with a total value of over €150. The prizes were won by Marijan Krištofić, Primož Belčič, Philipp Friedl, Tomislav Kačavenda and Eric Osterwinter.
All photos from the tournament (photo by Nada Colić, Lagoda Disc Golf) are in the Google Photos Album and tournament participants can download them and use them for social networks.
