Spa Hills 2024

Spa Hills is a two-day tournament that will be played on July 27th and 28th, 2024, in Toplice Sveti Martin, offering all participants the opportunity to combine competition on the course where the European Championship 2018 was played with an summer vacation within the Terme Sveti Martin resort.

This will be the 10th edition of the tournament since Spa Hills has been regularly played every year since the first tournament in 2015. At the last 9th edition of Spa Hills in 2023, 82 competitors participated, coming from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia.

The event partner is Vall Tours tourist agency and resort Toplice Sveti Martin, while sponsors are pero and Ilanga Eyeware.

The tournament will be played over two days, with the competition taking place in three rounds of 18 holes each.
Throughout the previous years, the tournament was played in only one course layout with many challenging fairways, causing players who throw shorter (FPO category and lower categories) to achieve scores typically well above par with very few birdie opportunities and long round durations.
For the year 2024, we have decided to offer long white course layout for the MPO and Red categories, and a new shorter blue course layout for the other categories.

Another new feature is the introduction of the Gold category, intended for all players, regardless of their gender or rating rating, who want to try their hand at playing on the course but also want more leisure time to relax by the pools. Accordingly, participants in the Gold category will play only the 1st round of the tournament (Saturday morning) and the 3rd round of the tournament (Sunday morning), with Saturday afternoon off.

Registrations

The competition will take place in the following categories and with the following participation conditions:

The number of participants is limited to 90, meaning the competition will be played in a maximum of 18 groups of 5 players each.

The registration fee for categories MPO, FPO, Red, Green, and Gold is €30. The fee includes a souvenir for players (tournament stamped disc or tournament T-shirt), organization of the tournament, fee for using the course, fee for the Croatian Flying Disc Federation, and prizes for the best players.
The registration fee for the Purple category is €15. The fee includes the organization of the tournament, fee for using the course, fee for the Croatian Flying Disc Federation, and prizes for the best players.
Registration fees for junior categories are not charged.
A souvenir for players is not included for Purple and junior categories, but participants can get it for an additional fee.

The participation fee must be paid to the bank account before the tournament: Lagoda j.d.o.o., Varaždin, HR6323400091110550349
Exceptionally, if the fee is not paid in advance, payment will be possible in cash at the tournament.

Competition results and live results will be published on the PDGA website.
Scoring will be done using PDGA live scorecard.

Program

Note: In case of high temperatures (above 30°C), there is a possibility of changing the schedule for Saturday so that after the 1st round there is a longer break (option to go and relax by the pools), and the 2nd round is played later in the afternoon, starting at 17:00.

Official Accommodation

The official tournament accommodation is at Hotel Terme, located right next to the disc golf course, and in the Apartment Village Regina. In the Apartment Village, standard and family apartments are available, located 250 meters from the disc golf course.
All guests of the official accommodation have free of charge unlimited use of the thermal mineral indoor pool "The Temple of Life" and the outdoor water park "Martilandia", unlimited use of the fitness center/gym, free WiFi and parking, and free late check-out - subject to availability.

Hotel rooms consist of one double bed and optional 1-person pull out sofa.
Standard apartments consist of a living room and one bedroom. The bedroom has a double bed, while the living room has a sofa bed where an additional person can sleep.
Family apartments consist of a living room, a bedroom with a double bed, and another bedroom with two separate beds. The living room has a 2-person sofa bed where an additional person/s can sleep.

All players who book accommodation through Lagoda Disc Golf (contact by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) are entitled to a reduced registration fee, i.e., a discount of €3 on the registration fee for their category.
Accommodation in the official hotel or apartments is not mandatory, so participants can also book other accommodation options themselves.

Check-in at the hotel and apartments is at the hotel reception, starting at 14:00. Check-out is usually by 11:00, but for participants who have booked accommodation through Lagoda, a free of charge late check-out after the conclusion of the tournament is provided, unless that is not possible because new guests are coming to the same apartment/room that day. You can check the confirmation of late check-out at the hotel reception.

Groups and play

The competition will take place in the following format:

Course

The 18-hole course is set up just for the tournament on a ball golf course and the surrounding forests, combining shorter, technical woodland paths with open fairways.
Disc Golf Park target baskets are used for the game. We plan to mark 3m and 10m circles around each basket (except in case of bad weather in the days before the tournament).

Artificial turf carpet will be used for tee pads on all holes.
There is a possibility that one hole (hole 2) will not be perfectly mowed because that part of the area is not owned by the resort (and that's how we have been playing for multiple years), but all other holes should be in excellent condition.

Throughout the past years, the tournament has been played in only one course layout, which was quite long, so players who throw shorter (FPO category and lower categories) achieved results above par with very few birdie opportunities and long round duration.
For the year 2024, we have planned an equally long course layout for the MPO and Red categories, and a new shorter blue course layout for the other categories.
The blue course layout will have multiple short tees or short basket positions.

The course layout will be available on this page before the start of the tournament. Currently, you can download the course layout from the tournament played in 2023.

The White (long) layout has been played at several tournaments so far, and the current records are for men 48 (-10) played by Stanislaus Amann (rating 1036) twice at the 2023 tournament, and for women 60 (+2) played by Andreja Bernjak (rating 919) at the 2023 tournament.

Additional Information

Communication with Participants
A WhatsApp group will be opened for communication with participants, which they can join via the link sent to them by email.
Joining the WhatsApp group is not mandatory, but during the tournament, all notifications (schedule changes, groups for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds, etc.) will be exclusively announced through that group.
Through this group, participants can report if they are late for the player meeting for any reason, complete the mandatory check-in on Sunday before the 3rd round (so they don't have to come personally to the Golf House), report the result of the CTP competition, if they have lost or found something on the course, etc.

Weather
You can follow the weather forecast for Toplice Sveti Martin on the Yr.no website. In case of bad weather, you can also monitor the lightning radar or the rainfall radar display.
Considering that part of the course is located in an old forest, in case of forecasted strong winds (exceeding 10 m/s), the competition may be postponed (or relocated to another venue) for the safety of the competitors.

Food
Tournament participants will be offered the option to pre-order lunch on Saturday or dinner on Saturday. The exact list of meals and prices will be available at a later date.

Parking
If you are arriving by car, you can park near the Golf House (Google Maps). Please note that there is a disc golf basket near hole 18, and there is a risk of players hitting vehicles parked right next to the stairs leading to the Golf House.
The recommended parking is at the hotel Terme, 250m away (Google Maps).
Parking on both locations is free of charge.

Restrooms
There are restrooms available at the Golf House. Additionally, restrooms at the hotel (side entrance from the forest / hole 1) can be used.

Photographs
All photographs taken during the tournament will be added to a Google Photos Album at the end of each day, and you can download and use them for social media.
When posting on Instagram, please use #spahills #discgolfsvetimartin #toplicesvetimartin #eventbylagoda @lagoda_disc_golf @visitmedimurje

Side events

Tournament Disc and Raffle
60 tournament-stamped discs have been made, which each registered player can purchase for 5 €, unitil available. During Saturday, each player can buy one disc, and if there are any remaining, on Sunday players can buy the remaining discs in any quantity they desire.
For each purchased disc, the player enters a raffle where they can win the grand prize - ZUCA cart, or one of a few other prizes.

  The discs that have been made are from Prodigy and include:
   - 30x M Model US in BaseGrip, 4/5/-1/1
   - 30x F Model S in DuraFlex, 10/5/-1/3

Ace Pool
All players who wish to can pay 1€ in cash, which is placed in a special box. This box is filled at all tournaments organized by Lagoda Disc Golf, so there is a possibility that on the day of the tournament there will already be a certain amount in it.
The player who hits an ace during the tournament becomes the winner of the entire Ace pool prize fund. If two or more players hit an ace at the same tournament, they share the ace pool. If no player hits an ace, the ace pool is carried over to the next Lagoda tournament, and so on until the ace pool is paid out at one tournament.
A player who wants to participate in the Ace pool must pay 1€ before the start of the first round. If a player hits an ace but has not paid into the ace pool before the start of the first round, they are not eligible for the prize.

CTP – Closest to the pin
The CTP competition is played through all three rounds of the tournament on two holes, and the best player is the one whose disc comes to rest closest to the basket.
Next to the basket pole, there will be a meter, and the player whose disc comes to rest near the basket can measure the distance from the pole to the disc.
For the result to be recognized, the distance must be less than 3m, and the player must report the result to the official WhatsApp group of the tournament.
In each round on two holes, the player with the best result will qualify for the CTP competition final. In this way, 6 players will advance to the final part of the competition.
In case a player wins CTP more than once, they enter the final part of the competition with as many discs/throws as they have won CTP.

The final part of the CTP game takes place on Sunday after the end of the 3rd round, with 6 players throwing one disc towards the basket - it will be thrown from the ground floor of the Golf house towards the course.
The top three results advance to the second round and throw again.
The best result earns the title of CTP competition winner.

Overachiever
The award is given to the player who has played the tournament with the highest average above their rating (according to current ratings on the PDGA website).
All tournament participants with a PDGA number and active membership who have at least 20 rounds included in their rating are eligible to participate in this competition.