Massachusetts, USAIn case the link expires for whatever reason, you can try this link:
I created a Discord server for Mario Golf Advance Tour. This server will be dedicated to everything Mario Golf Advance Tour, from speedruns to general discussion. I created some threads for the speedrun categories, so any discussion about it can all go in the respective threads. Here is the link to the discord server:
Custom clubs and their legality is something that also should be discussed. With access to clubs like POW, Super POW, and Risky, I feel that most Speed Golf runs would just result in driving the green on most holes in one, then one-putting, resulting in a run that is somewhat un-entertaining, as you won't see a lot of really creative strategies to play each hole as fast as possible. Yes, a CC Speed Golf IL would be much faster than a non-CC Speed Golf IL, as you would ideally save multiple strokes and thus save more time, but it wouldn't be as interesting to watch, in my opinion. If custom clubs are allowed, then they should be in a separate category from non-CC runs.
For Go-Go Gates runs, I think it should be a full game category (one that completes all of the holes in Quick Game, rather than just the ones for a specific course), similar to how Toadstool Tour has Ring Attack speedruns, but my opinion on that really only comes from watching Ring Attack runs and how fast and optimized they are, so it isn't the most well-founded opinion. The thought of Go-Go Gates as IL's based on the course is quite interesting though if it is easily differentiated from Speed Golf (navigating the speedrun.com page into the Level Leaderboard to find both Speed Golf and Go-Go Gates shouldn't be so complicated if this ends up being another IL category, and all Go-Go Gates runs would have to use an RTA timing program like Livesplit to time the run, as the in-game timer is exclusive to Speed Golf).
Something that also needs to be discussed is Star Course Speed Golf. In MGAT's Story Mode, you can only unlock all of the odd-numbered star holes (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17) for the star courses (those being Marion, Palms, Dunes, and Links; there is no Star Mushroom despite the fact that you can play Star Mushroom Singles Tourney and Star Mushroom Doubles Cup). The even-numbered holes are unlocked by first linking an Advance Tour save file to a Toadstool Tour save file, completing certain objectives in Toadstool Tour, then linking back to Advance Tour. It should be a requirement that all Star Course Speed Golf runs have all of the star holes unlocked, as otherwise you would only be able to play half of a Star Course at best (which defeats the purpose of even doing a Star Course Speed Golf run if only 50% of the course one plays isn't a Star Course). Because of this, Wii U VC should not be allowed for Star Course IL's, as it is impossible to obtain the other half of the star holes since it can't connect to Toadstool Tour (Wii U VC would be allowed for Normal Course IL's).
As IronInfidel47 pointed out, the IL leaderboards are messed up. If a mod can change the main tabs for Marion, Palms, Dunes, and Links to "[Course Name] Course Speed Golf" and "Star [Course Name] Speed Golf" that would be great. Also, subtabs should be placed under each course type (Non-Star & Star) called "Front Tees" and "Back Tees".
For example: When you click on "Level Leaderboard" and click a course (in this case, Marion), it will bring you to the leaderboards for that course, divided into the main tabs (in this case, Marion Course Speed Golf and Star Marion Course Speed Golf), with Front Tees and Back Tees as subtabs under each main tab. This would be done for Palms, Dunes, and Links as well. Mushroom, on the other hand, would only have one main tab simply called Mushroom Course Speed Golf and two subtabs called Front Tees and Back Tees.
If a moderator can apply these changes and consider the rules for Star Course Speed Golf IL's, that would be great.
