The “Pin of Death” is Calling…

Are you ready for the SVO?  What’s the SVO you ask?  Well, it’s only one of the best disc golf tournaments run each year in San Diego County, possibly all of SoCal, and it’s gained that reputation in just a few short years.  Sun Valley Open Tournament Director David Parnell has built a reputation for delivering a tournament that does many things right: strong Pro and Amateur fields, a challenging 18-hole layout, generous payouts, efficient scheduling and a fun, friendly atmosphere. 

David, along with past co-TD Richard Hockaday, developed a wonderful relationship with the management of the 9-hole Sun Valley ball golf course, securing an open weekend each year where disc golf could take over the executive-length ball golf course.  The usual wide-open Sun Valley layout grows some teeth, however, for the SVO, as Parnell and Company carve 18 holes out of the property.  The tournament course mixes long boomers with some tight, technical shots, making ample use of Sun Valley’s hills and valleys.  The course has more than its share of tight pin positions, from the steep drop-off behind hole #18 to the notorious “Pin of Death” on hole #6, where unlucky drives can easily roll downhill into a golf bunker, and a penalty stroke (or three…).

Unique to the SVO and returning this year is $1,000 Final 5 Safari Skins, sponsored by Pyramid Brewing.  This exciting end to the weekend pairs the players with the four hottest rounds of the weekend with four raffle winners to play a five hole skins game in front of a raging, maniacal gallery.  If the two previous incarnations of this contest are any indication, it’s something you don’t want to miss.

The Sun Valley Open will be held on the weekend of August 28-29, 2010 at the Sun Valley Golf Course in La Mesa, CA.  It is a PDGA-sanctioned B-Tier tournament, with a wide range of Pro and Amateur divisions and a field of 144 players.  On-line signups are available at http://www.pdga.com/event?TournID=10612 or visit Tournament Central on the web at http://www.discgolfersr.us/events/2010-sun-valley-open.  You can also find the SVO on Facebook, if that’s your thing.  Questions?  Call TD David Parnell at (619) 675-6477 or Co-TD Carl Renda at (619) 861-2945.

Or…download the entry form here.