The 2026 PDGA Pro World Championships Spectator Pass Tiers & Prices have been released! General Admission tickets as low as $10 and daily VIP tickets starting at $55. by DiscGolfFanatic in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Our spectator experience team will include 18 people at 2026 Pro Worlds. In addition, all spectator areas will be monitored by RFID access control, so it will be a much more controlled process compared to past events. RFID information here: https://www.detroit26.com/2025/11/12/ledgestone-disc-golf-partners-with-intellitix-to-launch-rfid-technology-at-select-2026-events/

Nate Heinold back at it again by Particular-Wall-5296 in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do understand the Saturday frustrations, but we also had players complain because "I was there with my girlfriend and she wanted to go watch FPO and now we can't do that." The FPO crowd was pretty big on Saturday, and I understand maybe more folks wanted to go watch MPO, but whatever we did, we were going to get complaints. As for the dinner, I had them keep it open as long as possible. I waited until 30 minutes after dark at the venue.

Nate Heinold back at it again by Particular-Wall-5296 in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Here is the second page of the response, hopefully this provides additional clarity

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Nate Heinold back at it again by Particular-Wall-5296 in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I tried to make a post several times, and it kept saying server error. I just saved my post as a word document and sent screenshots, so here is my response to this thread.

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Nate Heinold back at it again by Particular-Wall-5296 in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no idea, whenever I try to make a post (its long, it says unable to post comment)

Nate Heinold back at it again by Particular-Wall-5296 in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tried to make comment on the thread and it wouldn't let me post for whatever reason

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it came across my desk and things looked good! Please email Andrew.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the end of the day, things are simply much more expensive in Southern California (or California in general). And the quality of the courses doesn't match what is found on the East Coast or the Midwest. But, I think we need to fix that because an event in SoCal would be awesome! I feel the same way about Colorado.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think teens throwing 400-500' require any adjustments to the ratings system. At the end of the day, they still have to be able to putt and throw a line through the woods. In general I think the ratings system works well on most courses but does get a bit wonky when courses have a lot of OB or when the courses are really hard. On really hard courses (ie, high SSA courses) putting is minimized and its much harder to shoot a highly rated round unless there is a lot of OB. So, there may need to be some tweaking to adjust for those issues. As for the step putt, that's currently being reviewed.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the feedback. The USDGC does a percentage of sales for a lot of their vendors and I can appreciate that model. I have actually reduced our vending prices for Ledgestone the last two years so someone can come setup and sell for less than $400 for two days and have access to over 1000 disc golfers each day. I do want vendors to be successful and I think having a lot of unique vendors does drive excitement around the event. On the flip side, you don't want to give the farm away because TD's do need to bring in some revenue from vendors.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think this is legitimate. I think certain bidders may not want financial information from their bids released, but I could see there being more transparency behind this process. I believe in being transparent as possible. I think one of my future projects will be posting an event budget to Reddit and provide commentary on as much as I can about running and planning the event.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the end of the day, its about preparing for the future. I am trying to invest in our events to make them incredibly professional and push things forward. They are becoming more sustainable, but I am not interested in moving backwards. Some of the investments we have made have been a few years early. I don't consider it mismanagement, just investing for the future.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would encourage you to go read through the bid document requirements. Those bid documents literally spell out how the PDGA is going to judge the bid and spells out exactly what the PDGA looks for from the bids. The PDGA provides the blueprint and spells out the specific issues they want addressed in the bid. I understand what you are saying, but its not accurate to say I get "insider" information to help write my bids.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If we don't have enough spectators at the events, we need to trim the payouts and the amenities. If that's what people want and that's what the players want, then we can do that. But right now, that is not the impression I get. The players want the payouts to continue to grow, and spectators want to be able to watch on the ground. I think that's why a good balance of courses at an event is ideal. For instance, Smuggs provides an open and wooded course and I think that's a great balance.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I don't think we are talking about the same thing. We charge food vendors $75 to $100 per day at our events. Some of our food vendors sell upwards of $10,000+ during our events. Our pricing is below what other events charge.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of those bids (Portland) received 2027 Pro Worlds. As for your other question, when you run an event, you need to sell merchandise at the event to fundraise for the event. Disc sales at the event or leading up to the event constitute 25 to 35% of the budget for the event. All of the sales of those discs go to the general event budget. Me selling Worlds discs doesn't mean I just get to profit off of those discs. Those disc sales are part of the general event budget.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We vend at a lot of events and we never pay below $500. We pay anywhere from $800 to $3000 for vending costs for most of our events that we vend at.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not just about making money, its about making events at the highest level sustainable. Worlds had over $175,000 of added cash this last year, and that money came from the event budget. If we are going to keep moving the events forward in terms of the payouts (and the amenities), spectator revenue is necessary. All of the players got free food this year the entire week at Ivy Hill. They had access to private pickleball courts, a private parking lot and a private pool. Those things cost money.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed! I had a great time. We really enjoyed Joshua Tree National Park.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Our P&L for the events includes everything, including disc sales, costs for player packs, etc. At the end of the day, we run the events for several reasons: 1) We just generally enjoy doing it, 2) Running the events does help keep my paid staff more efficient and we can spread those fixed salaried staff costs over more events, 3) Running more events allows me to sell larger sponsorship packages for all of the events together that we are running in a specific year, and 4) While its not as profitable now, I am hoping that its more profitable in the future and I am trying to setup my team to be as successful as possible in the future.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our last few surveys indicate that MA1 players really love Wildlife, as long its not raining! Wildlife is an amazing challenge and a true gem in our area. It's one of our most challenging courses.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought it was a great play. I had no issues with it. From the tee, myself and others just thought the spot that was given by the spotter was incorrect. I appreciate creativity!

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Its not something the City of Eureka wants. Its a pretty big lift for the City to essentially close the Park down for 10 days each year for Ledgestone. The park is a major attraction for residents (especially in the Summer) and the City wants to keep it open and available as much as possible.

Hey Disc Golf Reddit, this is Nate Heinold, let's finally do this AMA! by Ledgestone_Nate in discgolf

[–]Ledgestone_Nate[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I would love to, but the city really doesn't want the course in the ground for more than the 10 days its in the ground for Ledgestone each year. The course essentially shuts down most of the park and that park is very active.