Lagoda Team Showdown presented by Crvena Luka Resort is a team disc golf tournament held on August 24th and 25th, 2024, in Varaždin. The concept of team competition was unusual for disc golf tournaments, which are typically played individually.
The tournament featured six teams of four players each that were formed by players from Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. A specific rule was that the average PDGA rating of all team members could not exceed 888, ensuring balanced competition. The game was similar to typical doubles play (but with 4 players instead of 2), with only one team member executing each throw (e.g., one throws from the tee, another continues, followed by the third, and the fourth putts). To ensure balanced participation, additional rules required that each player must make the tee throw on 3 holes, and no player could throw twice on the same hole until all players had taken a shot.
More information about the competition rules can be found in the separate article.
The tournament coincided with the Špancirfest festival, allowing participants to enjoy the evening festivities with many locals and other visitors to the city.
Thanks to sponsorship from Crvena Luka Resort, the winning team was awarded a two-day stay at their resort in Biograd na Moru worth over €1,000.
Competition and Results
For this competition, a special setup of the Drava Forester course was arranged, consisting of 12 holes, mostly par 4 or longer, with the aim that most team members need to participate in playing as many holes as possible. The par for the course was 45, and three rounds were played, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.
The weather was warm but suitable for play, with sunny conditions and a light breeze during the 3rd round.
Each round lasted about 2 hours.
The teams that participated were:
# | Team | Members | Average rating |
1 | TITA | Ira Molnar Goricki, Tomislav Goricki, Anđelko Zrinski, Tomislav Kačavenda | 887,2 |
2 | Four Body Problem | Aleksandar Aki Vuckovic, Mario Mesaric, Marko Marcec, Jelena Gecek | 882,5 |
3 | Birdogey Bros. | Adrian Liber, Andrej Kozic, Dino Harambasic, Antonio Grigić | 881,5 |
4 | Black Cats | Aleksandar Bato Sudžuković, Danica Pajtak, Nino Đurak, Vanja Brozović | 879,5 |
5 | Immanuel Kant Putt | Dinko Šimenc, Tina Šimenc, Miloš Gavrilović, Stefan Ignjatović | 858,7 |
6 | lapfix.hr | Danijel Skok, Nenad Šobak, Marko Skok, Toni Denona | 771,7 |
The competition was extremely tense and uncertain until the very end. After the first round, the teams Birdogey Bros and Black Cats were in the lead with a score of 47 (+2), followed by TITA and Four Body Problem trailing by 2 strokes. The team lapfix.hr, consisting of a trio who only started playing disc golf this year and one slightly more experienced player, held fifth place with +9, while Immanuel Kant Putt struggled the most with the course, finishing with a poor +14.
In the second round, Birdogey Bros. pulled ahead with an excellent 46 (+1), ending the first day of the competition in the lead with a 5-stroke advantage over Black Cats (+6) and a 6-stroke lead over Four Body Problem (+5) and TITA (+5). Immanuel Kant Putt also had a good performance after making tactical changes in the second round, moving up to 5th place with +1.
In the third round, despite a somewhat weaker performance and recording +5, Birdogey Bros. managed to maintain their lead and resist the pressure from the competition, becoming the first winners of the Lagoda Team Showdown with a total of 143 strokes and +8. Black Cats, with a solid +2, threatened the leaders during the round but ultimately finished in second place with 145 (+10). TITA completed the third round with 48 (+3), and Four Body Problem with 49 (+4), remaining in third and fourth places respectively. Immanuel Kant Putt could not replicate their excellent performance from the second round and with +7 and a total of +22, they finished fifth, while lapfix.hr recorded +13, concluding the competition in last place with +34.
You can find the full tournament results on the PDGA website.
The best round played in the tournament was +1, achieved by Birdogey Bros. and Immanuel Kant Putt in the second round.
The tournament prize pool consisted of a weekend for 4 people at the resort Crvena Luka in Biograd na Moru (valued at 1,000+ €), 4 disc golf backpacks Latitude 64 DG Luxury E4 (total value 800 €), and disc golf backpacks Latitude 64 Core (total value 320 €).
The winning team had the first choice of prizes, and they selected according to value, so Birdogey Bros. will be heading to Crvena Luka, while Black Cats and TITA won the disc golf backpacks.
The second edition of the Lagoda Team Showdown is planned for August 2025, and given the satisfaction of the participants, it is possible that several smaller one-day team game tournaments will be organized throughout the year.