MVP Open at Maple Hill 2023

An AF Tournament Profile

Thursday Sept. 14th through
Championship Sunday Sept. 17th

DGPT Elite Series -Playoffs- Event

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Event Organizer: Steven Dodge
Supporting Team:
The Greatest Staff in the World, the MVP Open Staff

Title Sponsors:
MVP Discs
OTB Discs

Course in play for 2023 event:
Maple Hill
Golds & Diamonds
Course Designers:
Tom Southwick, Steve Dodge, Gage Benson,
Dave Jackson, Jason Southwick
Course established in 2003

Located in Leicester, MA
This is the 6th annual MVP Open
and 20th annual pro event at Maple Hill

72 holes in play
during the 4 day event

Concrete pavers as tees
MVP Black Hole Portal baskets

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Changes to Maple Hill Course in 2023

• Hole 1 = shortening pin position by 40 feet on the Diamonds layout. Golds layout for hole 1 remains similar to 2022, except for R3 (moving day), see below.
• Hole 7 = lengthening hole by about 40 feet, for the Diamonds layout
• Hole 9 = new fairway in play for the Golds layout
• Hole 17 = tightening the OB long leading into the woods, both layouts
• Hole 18 = tightening OB along left side of the fairway, plus extending that OB 80 feet further, both layouts
• Round 3 aka Moving Day will have shorter pin positions on holes 1 through 3 for Golds, while holes 2 & 3 will have shorter pin position for Diamonds.

Hole Lengths FPO – Diamonds Layout

• 12 par 3’s = 246 to 472 feet
• 6 par 4’s = 400 to 695 feet

Hole Lengths MPO – Golds Layout

• 12 par 3’s = 246 to 476 feet
• 6 par 4’s = 636 to 853 feet

Maple Hill plays as a par 60 for both divisions
Diamonds layout is a total of 7005 feet
Golds layout is a total of 8834 feet
Hole 1 is the longest hole of the 18 for both divisions (853′ G, 694′ D)
Hole 4 is the shortest hole at 246 feet for both divisions

Tradition. Beauty. Disc Golf.

What the Maple Hill website summarizes in 4 words (above), AF is compelled to use many more…

Nestled in the heart of Massachusetts, stands a true masterpiece among the tapestry of disc golf courses. Maple Hill Disc Golf wears the crown of iconic excellence with grace and distinction.

The course’s history is etched with the footprints of legends. Marshall Street Champion: Des Reading (2004), or Vibram Open winners: Valerie Jenkins (2008), Barry Schultz (2009), Cale Leiviska (2012); this is a disc golf venue that hosts renowned tournaments for the game’s best. With each hole thoughtfully crafted, it offers a symphony of unique challenges. Maple Hill weaves a narrative of strategy that resonates with players of every caliber.

For many disc golf fans, Maple Hill shines brightly on the pro tour, adorned with some very memorable holes, which affirm its impeccable design. Let this profile be yet another voice, which enthusiastically joins the chorus of praises.

Iconic Excellence

A great many courses, and their management teams on the pro tour, achieve excellence in their ability to host the elite events and offer notable challenges to today’s top pros. Some of the tour’s best venues include LVC, Ledgestone, European Open, Champions Cup, Preserve, DDO, USDGC, Waco, and the list goes on. Each course has its own charm, and nuances which make it stand out. Many holes on the pro tour are memorable for the elite moments they’ve captured and/or for how the holes are designed.

With Maple Hill, it’s all of that and more. Iconic is hype, though that term best matches fan appreciation for the vast majority of holes at Maple Hill. For this fan, going into this profile, the iconic factor was a given. How to convey that, and be objective, without gushing too much, was the challenge.

Nature focussed, rich history, family vibe

Course designer and groundskeeper, Gabe Benson on describing Maple Hill

Thinking about signature holes on any course is fun. Coming up with a list of holes among many courses, in your own region or worldwide, leads to dream 18’s and instilling particular holes as iconic. With a venue such as Maple Hill, the amount of iconic holes is staggering.

Hole 1 of Maple Hill (Farms) is the signature hole, as it is the longest and carries a large pond, plus makes use of elevation and unique terrain (growing Christmas trees that dot the fairway).

Wait, hold up, hole 8 is the signature hole as it carries pond to inclined island green, surrounded by the most enthusiastic fans on the pro tour.

Pardon AF, for forgetting just how much of a signature design hole 18 is on the course, with the elevation change off the tee, into deceptively tight fairway that funnels to a island, stone guarded green, as cheering fans congregate along the peninsula’s perimeter.

AF could play this rhetorical loop for another 7 paragraphs, as the signature hole appears to be subjective or evolving. Other iconic holes rival as signature hole at Maple Hill. Hole 14 carries an elite driving distance pond to green on the left side bank, resulting in a scary, albeit very scenic, death putt. Hole 3 rises from flat tee to heavily wooded green on a very large hill, and has captured one of the sport’s most iconic aces, by Dave Feldberg at the 2015 Maple Open. The rest of the 18 are from AF’s perspective all memorable, some more so than others. With that said, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13 and 16 are such holes. Vividly unique designs that add layers of strategy for those seeking to win events at the venue. Maple Hill truly plays like 18 mini-tournaments.

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The Greatest Staff in the World

Crafting a course that plays like 18 mini-tournaments throughout, requires vision, devotion and collaboration. Course preparation for an event that plays at Elite tier of DGPT takes extensive hard work from a dedicated team. It entails multiple days of coordinating efforts over many months, while harnessing skills and experience.

The MVP Open Staff benefits from its emphasis on collaboration and community approach. Like most tournament directors, or in this case Event Organizer, Steve Dodge knows how vital of a role that volunteers play in well run event. Building the team and bringing the parts together is how “the greatest staff in the world” manages for the MVP Open. In an ongoing way.

Steve is mindful of the collaborative factor that makes for iconic excellence. Page 2 of this profile lists the 5 primary course designers for Maple Hill. That is editorialized, as the actual response EO-Steve provided, also conveyed, “and many others, including dozens of touring pros who gave their time and wisdom to make Maple Hill so much better.”

Two key parts of the Maple Hill experience are the visible upkeep throughout the course, and the ever developing nature of each hole.

We constantly evolve the course, basically taking the worst holes on the course and improving them.

Steve Dodge

AF was curious enough to ask for specific history of developing holes at Maple Hill, and what goes into such decisions. Steve chose hole 1 as perhaps the most interesting.

Originally hole 1 was from the shorter tee to the basket just beyond the pond. In 2004, this was a huge shot. Our next iteration, we pushed the pin back to the wall at the far end of the field. After going with that for a few years, we then pushed the tee back to its current location, making the pond clear very difficult again. Once the approach to the basket became too easy, the next stage of development was to open a hole in the wall and push the pin into a peninsula. A few years later, we pushed it back an additional 40 feet to its current iteration. Basically every four years or so, the hole needed a few extra teeth and we found ways to add them.

TD-Steve

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Photo credits

All images in this profile credit to Nika Ink
Tournament logo courtesy of Steve Dodge

Hit the Links

• MVP Open tournament website
• PDGA Event page
• UDisc – Live event page
• Highlight Reels for 2023
  • FPO – Round 1 – Front 9 (Jomez Pro)
  • MPO – Round 1 – Highlights (DGPT)
  • MPO – Round 2 – Back 9 (Gatekeeper)
  • FPO – Round 2 – Highlights (DGPT)
  • MPO – Round 3 – Front 9 (Gatekeeper)
  • FPO – Round 3 – Back 9 (Jomez Pro)
  • FPO – Final Round – Front 9 (Jomez Pro)
  • MPO – Final Round – Back 9 (Gatekeeper)

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Nearby Attractions

AF always asks TD’s what are the really good places to eat, and here’s what Steve suggests when in and around Leicester, MA.

• Eller’s Restaurant – sit down, family friendly restaurant, a decades long partner to Maple Hill
• Hot Dog Annies – mouth watering BBQ hot dogs, burgers, root beer, cream soda
• Deadhorse Hill – feasting eatery, regional and eclectic dishes
• Milk Room Brewing Co. – farm raised bison, outdoor brewery

As for places to visit when in the area, the Red Sox minor league affiliate the WooSox are a regionally popular destination. As is the 400 acres of nature trails in Moore State Park. The park boasts waterfalls and stunning array of flowers that are undeniably beautiful during blooming season. For a more quiet day of natural beauty, the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill is worth the visit.

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How MVP Open at Maple Hill fits within the 2023 Pro Tour

• 30th Prominent event of the 2023 season
• 15th DGPT Elite event of the season
  • Semi-playoffs event for DGPT Elite tour
  • after Discmania Open (Silver)
  • before USWDGC (Major – FPO only)
• Third of 6 tournaments during the east coast swing at end of the season
• MVP Open does play in standard fantasy leagues
  • this is final event of fantasy disc golf in 2023

How Many Pros Play

• In 2022, the event had 82 MPO players
  • 70 were rated 1000+ (85%)
• For MPO in 2023, of the 68 registered
  • 68 are rated 1000+ (100%)
  • 50 of the 68 are rated 1025+ (74%)
• The FPO field in 2022 event had 44 players
  • 40 were rated 900+ (91%)
• For FPO in 2023, of the 35 registered
  • 35 are rated 900+ (100%)
  • 29 are rated 940+ (83%)
• 2023 Maple Hill combined field was 108 pros
  • Tied for 24th largest combined field out of 33 events tracked in 2023
  • 29th largest MPO field
  • 21st largest field of 2023 for FPO
  • Reminder: this event played as a Playoff tournament (smaller field)

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FPO Best Average Finish
in Past 5 Years

* Updated with results from 2023 event

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MPO Best Average Finish
in Past 5 Years

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2023 Results – Top Finishes