Police were called after Pierce was attempting to play a practice round at the Emporia Country Club on a day closed to disc golf.

August 24, 2022 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with comments

After a dramatic finish to the 2021 World Championships last summer, the 2022 event is kicking off with some drama of its own.

On Monday, August 22nd, Paige Pierce went to the Emporia Country Club to play a practice round to prepare for next week’s tournament. The front door to the facility was locked, so she and Nate Perkins, who is caddying for Pierce this week, went around back. A member of a group of golfers getting set to tee off recognized Pierce and came to say hi: she asked him about getting a cart in order to get out on the course. He said yes, went inside, and grabbed her a cart key.

However, ECC is closed to disc golfers on Mondays, which is clearly indicated on the venue’s website. As Pierce was throwing some initial tee shots for practice, “a younger man approached [them] and said, ‘Hey, I think the course is closed,’” according to Perkins. Mondays are reserved for members of the Country Club, they were told; Pierce, who did not know the course was closed on Monday, asked about the possibility of becoming a member in order to be able to play. She said that there must be some kind of misunderstanding since the World Championships were beginning the following week.

The facility, though, was not yet rented out for the tournament. A confirmation packet sent to players by the Worlds TD Doug Bjerkaas in late July read, “The Emporia Country Club and the Supreme-18 DGC at Jones Park are open for practice before Pro Worlds from dawn to dusk without charge, starting on Friday, August 26th, 2022. The Supreme 18 DGC at Jones Park is in a public park and can be practiced between dawn and dusk on days before August 26th unless another event is planned on site. The Emporia Country Club is a private facility and is pay-to-play. If players want to practice the course before August 26th, they need to check the disc golf course schedule and pay the greens fee to play. More info on the Country Club disc golf schedule can be found here.”

According to the PDGA Worlds bid documentation, full tournament layouts are only required to be in place and available for practice four days prior to the start of the opening tee time, which aligns with full practice round availability beginning on…