Topics

16

General Banter / Dec 8th, Superstorm Party.

« on: November 15, 2012, 04:06:53 PM »

Sadly, this is the same night of the club party but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle if you were planning on attending the club party.

I'm turning forty and graduating from KU, and I am being published in Discgolfer all in the same weekend. So this is the only time I am ever going to have a party for anything. I want the party to be classy and to say something about the seriousness of the issues at hand so I have chosen to host the party at Powerplay in Shawnee.

Dec 8th. 730 PM. No gifts. Just stop by and say hi. Then have a drink, drive a go kart, play TRON or skee ball, then go to the club party.

17

General Banter / 90 Days of Disc Golf: It's all designed to blow our minds.

« on: October 22, 2012, 10:20:42 AM »

There was a picture in Disc Golfer magazine (or maybe it was Disc Golf World) a few years back of Nikko Locastro kicking his disc golf bag on the ground. The caption said something to the effect of, "Bad sportsmanship" or something like that. In a nut shell, the photo summed up the growing frustration within the disc golf community regarding what many saw as inappropriate behavior by young hot-headed competitors. Nikko kicking his bag was only one example of his notoriously bad temper. He was always seen a sensitive and sort of childish. His heated comments with Barry Schultz and Dave Feldberg were excellent punchlines for a lot of jokes. There were other examples of his behavior, but I won't go into them here and now. I will say this. Nikko Locastro isn't the same player today as he was last year. This past weekend at the Player's Cup, if you ran into Nikko you would have thought he was running for office or vying for a "Mr. Congeniality" award. I kid you not. At one point during his match, Nikko Locastro happily jumped over a ten foot fence to retrieve a competitor's disc which had gone OB. He was all smiles. He was friendly. He spent the entire three days running around the Twin Parks Compound making sure everyone there was having a great time. Nikko had changed and long gone were the "bag kicking" days.

I mention Nikko now because I'm sure there are a fair amount of you who already know what I'm going to write about and it's important that you keep Nikko's story in mind.

Cooper and I left town on Wednesday afternoon. Cooper said he would drive and we would split costs. Cooper's new ride is a hybrid and with no real idea of how we would fare over the weekend, mileage was at a premium. That's the fancy way of saying, Driving really, really slow (55 mph).

On the way down, Cooper told me what he knew of the course, we talked strategy, and about his intentions. We talked about my chances in the first round, and what we would do if we had to play our friend Hemmi. And we talked about how disappointing it was that Cooper had to play McCabe in the first round, someone we both liked and wanted to do well. But everything we knew and everything we thought we knew meant nothing as we pulled into the Twin Parks Compound, located just outisde Dripping Springs, Texas just south of Austin. The locals call it, "Drippin'."

It's a former big game animal sanctuary and there is a herd of Elk which roam the ten acre compound. The compound itself is a tale of two topographies and two courses. The front five acres are flat, with mostly tall prairie grass and large oak trees scattered about. The back five acres is a rocky desert landscape with randomly scattered live oaks (which look like a tree out of Tim Burton's imagination) tiny orange scorpions, bashful snakes, and not one blade of grass anywhere. It's ugly. The surface is cactus and rock and dirt and more cactus. Twin Parks offers two 18 hole courses, one for each landscape, and one hybrid 18 hole course which is laid out over the other two which is what we would be playing on for the Player's Cup - The front nine would be on the gentle savannah and the back nine on the pock marked land in the Devil's foyer.

It was 85 degrees. Not a breathe of wind. We had driven back into summer.

The compound portion of the Twin Parks is a club house slash pro shop slash place to go to the bathroom. It is staffed by non-disc golfers who, for the most part, did not seem like they wanted the tournament there. I can't fully put into words what the staff were like, but let's just leave it at they didn't seem to concerned with how the comment cards would read at the end of the weekend.

Cooper and I arrive in the early afternoon on Thursday and the place was packed with competitors. The first indication that things were sketchy was when were charged FIVE BUCKS a piece to play a practice round on the course (strike one). No worries, pay up and move on. And for those of you who care to hear about this sort of thing - the player's pack was a neon orange dry fit, and a keychain. That's it. We were also given a 50 voucher for food, drinks and "items" which we could only redeem at the Twin Parks club house. I will get back to that later.

THE COURSE.

Cooper and I did some number crunching and this is what we came up with.

11 of the 18 drives off the tee require a massive crush. And by crush I mean far far far away. Those are holes 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18. You could go smaller, but it would only increase the distance on your second shot. And when you're playing match play against people who can easily drive 550, it doesn't pay to play weenie arm golf. Of the remaining 7 holes only two are small drives. Those are holes 9 and 12. 9 is a downhill island shot and 12 is an uphill tunnel shot that must carry a cliff side or you will be putting from below the basket from a deep ravine. The rest of the holes are both a full drive but they are also technical "must hit a gap or you're doomed" shots, so you have to crush it AND you have to hit a gap. Those are holes 2, 4, 8, 15, and 17. There is OB on holes 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 16. With water on holes 8 and 14. So all-in-all, it's a mean course. It's not the hardest, but it's mean. You need talent and a cool head to play it. Especially in match play where the object isn't "you against the course", but "you against another man." You have to play the man.

During the practice round Cooper was killing the course. He ate up the front nine fairly easily. The landscape suited his game and he killed it. I did not kill it. My game was much more colorful and less sexy. The back nine things swung my direction more. The ground is rougher, the elevation is more severe and the trees are meaner. Cooper did fine, but not as well as he did on the front. It's a tale of two types of courses. Something I noted during the practice round. If I wanted to do well, it was going to be on the back nine and not the front.

My arm was killing me and that night I iced it for over an hour. When your bicep hurts, you're not throwing the disc correctly. The massive drives were too much and I knew I didn't have much of a chance in my first round. I didn't sleep much that first night.

DAY ONE.
As I am sure you have heard by now, I came into the tournament as a 15 seed and was up against a 2 seed. His name is Brad Williams and he's a.... ummm... let's just say he's a unique personality. He wouldn't kick a bag, he would set it on fire and throw it at his mother. He's that guy. There is video footage on YouTube of him playing a skins match. If you find it, you can see what sort of guy he is. I don't know how to embed that sort of thing here.

A little history: Brad wore a dress in the Pro World Championships in 2011 to - and I quote, "prove the unethical nature of the sport that would allow a man to wear a skirt in competition. It's embarrassing that they would let me do that." Yes, he did something to TRY to get in trouble to prove a point. And when he didn't get in trouble, he got mad about it. That's Mr. Williams. He has a few nicknames floating around the tour, none of which I am going to repeat here. I will let Tank post them in a follow up if he wants. I decided I wanted to try and like him.

When I play golf I am routing for everyone. I love watching good golf shots and I love watching someone do well. Even if that person is playing against me. I love disc golf and I just don't have the ability to hate anyone - except Palmer. He has tiny hands.. Icky, icky.

I thought about using Brad's temper against him but ultimately decided that it just wasn't in me to be that kind of player. The course was too big for me and Brad was picked to win it all by a lot of people. He is a really good player. So instead, I introduced myself, and I was nice. Pleasant. I was even complimentary (all of these claims I am making are proven by the THREE different camera angles taken of the events which transpired here). I was a gentleman the entire round.

I thought I was going to be done in 10 holes so I didn't think about winning once. However, we started on hole 8 which meant the hardest holes for me were last. The easiest holes for me, were our first 10 holes. And when he screwed up the first three holes and gave me windows to take an easy lead, I was pretty happy. My putting, which I forgot in Kansas, didn't let me take the early lead so we pushed each hole. To me, that was awesome. MORE GOLF FOR ME! Then I won the next hole.(Nooooo way!) He won the next. Even through five. That's almost a full round of golf. I win the next two holes and then Mr. William - A Sith lord in training - lived up to the pre-game hype. He's became every bit the man he was painted to be. Again, I won't share what was said between us, only know he wasn't very happy and didn't think much of me, Twin Parks, disc golf, or... anything. His caddie was really happy for me and kept giving me thumbs up signals behind Brad's back. The other two players on our card were just as stunned as I was.

After hole 18, I had a three point lead. As we came into the clubhouse, the first round players had all heard that Mr. Williams was losing and a crowd gathered. We also picked up three cameras who thought this might be a good story to follow. I was three up but blew up the next three holes and we were all square going into four. It looked liked I might let it slip away. (I would like to take this moment to say that I TIN CUPPED hole 1. It's match play so who cares? He won the hole, but I was going to make it on the green! It took me six shots to reach the green. You do the math, he won the hole) Brad was now throwing and walking away just as soon as the disc left his hand. He didn't even stop to see where it was going. He just left. Then I got to tee off. Yes, it was like that.

Hole four I won on a prayer. I threw up a sky anny that disappeared over the trees and fell down right at the basket. A ridiculous shot that gave me one up. I think I won the next hole too. The crowd was pretty big and the cameras were all staked out around us. I would like to take a moment and apologize for my habit of cussing after I throw. Just know if you see the footage that I didn't mean to say "FFFF" on every shot, I was just nervous.

Hole 6 is 1066 feet. All trees. It's a tough, tough hole. To win, all I had to do was bang a 25 foot putt, but I didn't bring that putt with me. So we went dormi into our last hole. I missed my putt opening a door for him to win the hole and push into a play off. He missed the 15 footer and all hell broke loose. I still had to hit a huge comeback putt to push and win the match, but he ran up quickly, picked up his putter and ran off. Nothing. Nada. He was done. Word spread quickly.

Brad had just been upset in the first round. Everyone was pumped, except Brad.

Cooper went two and two for the weekend, Hemmi went three and one. I went one and three. None of us kicked our disc golf bag. None of us cried over the defeats. The guys who beat me deserved it. I had to drop out of my last match when the bicep decided it was done for the year, but I still shook his hand and said, "Good Job." And to be honest, he would have probably still beat me anyway.

This is not a tournament for everyone. You need a big arm to play it. You definitely need a flick - well, on this course you do. And you also need patience. It's easy to get pissed off at yourself for missing shots or putts, but as Cooper said, "you can't let that carry over to the next shot." And he's right. I didn't beat Brad. Brad beat himself. I just happened to benefit from his mistakes. He quit. He quit before the last putt and so now he has to live with the title, "the only man who lost to Loomis at the player's cup."

Nikko, a friend of Brad's, was the first person to come up and tell me congratulations and shake my hand.

Cooper and I drove home all day Sunday and I must say that if anyone is planning on doing any major events next year, go with Cooper. But, when he's not looking, step on the gas pedal.

18

General Banter / i need your help

« on: October 14, 2012, 10:30:29 AM »

I will be at Swope this afternoon and I'm looking for someone to come out and help me with my game. Any and all advice you have for me would be greatly appreciated.

19

General Banter / octocopter.

« on: October 04, 2012, 10:42:47 AM »

All disc golf should be broadcast from these delicious gems. It's saving this tournament for me.

20

General Banter / One Div... uuuhhh... Two divisions!!! One cham... huh?, two champions??

« on: October 01, 2012, 06:00:05 PM »

Prepare to witness the continuing debacle and destruction of another holy disc golf institution. All for the sake of... um... why exactly do they do it this way again? I'm so confused. Was there not enough dull golf in the former structure that they felt they should add some? Does this "two divisions-two champions" logo sound better on a tee shirt?

Do the performance dots go off earlier than the competition dots? How much of a back up is this going to cause? Jack, Timko, Tank, Dick, Tracey, someone, please explain all of this to me.

21

Found and Lost / Minna lost a disc

« on: September 21, 2012, 12:08:36 PM »

On the lake hole in Olathe. It almost made it across coming up just short of the shore by ten feet. It's a Red Crystal Buzzz with the St. Louis Open stamp on it. She doesnt have a name or number on it, but if someone is out there looking, would you keep an eye out for it? Thanks.

22

Barter Town / More sds destroyers

« on: August 27, 2012, 09:10:18 AM »

On disc golf values. Brand new. 20 bucks.

23

General Banter / 90 days of disc golf: Running

« on: August 25, 2012, 12:38:22 AM »

HOME.

The inertia of summer has finally met with the immovable object of reality, and after all the fun and excitement, the road has brought us back home. To Rosedale and Swope and Cliff Drive and two dozen other familiar destinations which we are eager to play as soon as we can find the strength to do so. Our fondness for them has grown during our travels and we want to see them as eagerly as we want to see our old friends.

Everywhere we walk the ground crunches under our feet as if we're walking on a bowl of dry shredded wheat. The summer wasn't as kind to the courses as it was to us. With every course we visit, the overwhelming devastation shocks us into silence. But we play.

We wanted to wrap up things answering some of the questions and to give our "best of" list. We have talked this over a lot and we could never really settle on THE best, we could only come up with contenders for the top spot.

* We have now traveled over 30,000 miles playing disc golf.

* This year we have added over 60 courses for a total of 272 courses in 48 states, 3 provinces (SK, MN, ON), and 3 countries (US, Canada, Finland) Minna has 3 countries, I have 2, but if a country can't win a gold medal in the summer Olympics then it's really just a territory in my opinion.

* Southern Texas and Southern Florida are the only two areas of the country we have not toured that we wanted to.

* I have aces in 5 states. (Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Illinois, Michigan)

* The MOST ATTRACTIVE COURSES in our opinion: Pickard (Des Moines) Pier Park (Portland) Blue Ribbon Pines (Minnesota) Idlewild (Kentucky) Parma (Rochester)

* The MOST COMPETITIVE COURSES in our opinion: Maple Hill (Massachusetts) Idlewild (Kentucky) Renny Gold (Charlotte) Fly Boy (Georgia) Morraine State Park (Pittsburgh) Delaveaga (Santa Cruz)

* The HARDEST COURSE you want to play but shouldn't: Diamond X (Billings). This course is just silly. It's elevated and the obstacles are intense. Example: Missing a ten foot putt can mean losing it in the rocks below the basket... Forever. This course had the most "LETHAL" obstacles of any of the courses we've played. Death and serious injury are very possible during a round.

* The best course you want to play but shouldn't: Toronto Island. For all of the challenges the course offers, it's too much of a pain in the ass to get to.

* The most overrated course: Flip City. It's a fine course, but it's not number one. It's not even top twenty. It's also a pain in the ass to get to, but compared to Toronto Island, this is in your backyard. As you play the course, you keep waiting for it to earn the number one status and there are a few holes which do kick ass but there are just not enough of them to make this course numero uno.

* The most underrated course: Highbridge (Spokane) Nestled under a bridge in a forgotten park, this course has all the challenges disc golf can offer; elevation, water, lots of trees, blind shots, death putts toward OB, and hippies who smell of pee who wander the course. It's a great course.

* Longest drive: Loomis - 950 feet, Minna - 700 feet. Hole 18, Black Course (West Virginia)

* The BEST DISC GOLF EXPERIENCE everyone should have - Fly Boy (Georgia)

* The BEST COURSE everyone should play - Maple Hill (Massachusetts)

* The BEST TOURNAMENT - Amateur National Championship. Every AM should play this at least once before they turn PRO.

* Favorite moment of the trip: The beach in Florida at midnight.

* Worst moment of the trip: Our stinky shoes left in the hot car.

I think that's about it. If you have any further questions, we can probably answer them face-to-face. We want to post a map of the trip and the location of all the courses but we lack the know-how. If someone knows how to post a map on here, please let us know.

Here's the list of courses (MINUS A FEW LOCAL AND TEMP COURSES)

United States
Alabama
George Ward Park    Birmingham, AL       
University of South Alabama    Mobile, AL       
Arizona
Fountain Hills Park    Phoenix (Fountain Hills), AZ       
Vista Del Camino Park    Phoenix (Scottsdale), AZ       
Arkansas
Alma Flying Disc Course    Alma, AR       
Bell Park DGC    Greenwood, AR       
Ben Geren Park - North    Fort Smith, AR       
Ben Geren Park - South    Fort Smith, AR       
Burns Park - Blue Course    North Little Rock, AR       
Burns Park - Red Course    North Little Rock, AR       
Lake Bella Vista    Bentonville, AR       
Old Post DGC    Russellville, AR       
Pleasant View DGC    Russellville, AR       
California
Black Mouse DGC    Felton, CA       
College of the Redwoods Eureka    Eureka, CA       
CSUMB Oaks Course    Seaside, CA       
DeLaveaga Park    Santa Cruz, CA       
Golden Gate Park DGC    San Francisco, CA       
Huntington Beach Central Park    Huntington Beach, CA       
La Mirada Regional Park - Front 18    La Mirada, CA       
Oak Grove (Hahamongna Park)    Pasadena, CA       
Pinto Lake DGC    Watsonville, CA       
Ryan Ranch DGC    Monterey, CA       
U.C. Santa Cruz    Santa Cruz, CA       
Colorado
Beaver Ranch/Conifer Park    Conifer, CO       
Johnny Roberts DGC    Arvada, CO       
Phantom Falls    Pine, CO       
Connecticut
Cranbury Park    Norwalk, CT       
Wickham Park    Manchester, CT       
Delaware
Brandywine Creek State Park    Wilmington, DE       
Florida
Sunset DGC    Gulf Breeze, FL       
Georgia
Central Park DGC    Cumming, GA       
Flyboy Aviation     Whitesburg, GA       
Jim Warner Memorial    Appling, GA       
Sandy Creek Park    Athens, GA       
Steady Ed Headrick Memorial    Appling, GA    
WR Jackson Memorial DGC    Appling, GA       
Idaho
College of Southern Idaho    Twin Falls, ID       
Corbin Park DGC    Post Falls, ID       
Farragut SP - A.W.O.L. DGC    Athol, ID       
Panhandle Kiwanis DGC @ Cherry Hill    Coeur d'Alene, ID       
Illinois
Anna Page Park - East    Rockford, IL       
Anna Page Park - West    Rockford, IL       
Bradley Park    Peoria, IL       
Illinois Central College DGC    East Peoria, IL       
Lincoln Park - North    Springfield, IL       
Lincoln Park - South    Springfield, IL       
McNaughton Park    Pekin, IL       
Moorman Park    Quincy, IL       
Northwood Park    Morton, IL       
Rock Spring Park    Alton, IL       
The Oaks    Mokena, IL       
Indiana
Lemon Lake County Park - Blue    Crown Point, IN       
Lemon Lake County Park - Red    Crown Point, IN       
Lemon Lake County Park - Silver    Crown Point, IN       
Lemon Lake County Park - White Crown Point, IN       
Mesker Park    Evansville, IN       
Rogers Lakewood Park    Valparaiso, IN       
Seviren Lang DGC    Georgetown, IN       
Iowa
Big Creek State Park    Polk City (Des Moines), IA       
Ewing Park    Des Moines, IA       
Graceland University    Lamoni, IA       
Grandview Park    Des Moines, IA    
J&B Rolling Hills    Lamoni, IA       
Legion Park    Cedar Rapids (Marion), IA       
Pickard Park    Indianola, IA       
Shaver Park    Cedar Rapids, IA       
Treasure Cove DGC    Council Bluffs, IA       
Walnut Ridge    Johnston (Des Moines), IA       
West Lake Park    Davenport, IA       
Kansas
Blue Valley of Kansas    Overland Park, KS       
California Trail    Olathe, KS    
Camp Hawk    Newton, KS       
Carey Park    Hutchinson, KS       
Centennial Park    Lawrence, KS       
Crestview Park    Topeka, KS       
Eisenhower State Park    Osage City, KS       
Frontier Park    Hays, KS       
Gunn Park    Fort Scott, KS       
Herman Hill Park    Wichita, KS       
Jackson Park - 18    Atchison, KS       
Jackson Park - 9    Atchison, KS       
Jones Park - East    Emporia, KS       
Lake Shawnee    Topeka, KS       
Lakewood Park - North 9    Salina, KS       
Lakewood Park - South 9    Salina, KS       
Mighty Shunga - Topeka, KS
Oak Park    Wichita, KS       
Peter Pan Park - Optimist DGC    Emporia, KS       
Pittsburg Lincoln Park    Pittsburg, KS       
Pomona Lake - Wolf Creek    Vassar, KS       
Prairie Center Park    Olathe, KS       
Riverfront DGC    Lawrence, KS             
Rosedale Park - Top    Kansas City, KS       
Shawnee Mission Park DGC    Shawnee, KS    
Ted's Dread - Kansas City, KS   
Thomas Park    Salina, KS       
Thornfield - Spring Hill, KS
Wyandotte County Park    Bonner Springs, KS       
Kentucky
Basil Griffin Park    Bowling Green, KY       
Bowling Green Technical College DGC    Bowling Green, KY       
Chalybeate Springs Sports Complex    Brownsville (Smiths Grove), KY       
Charlie Vettiner Park    Louisville, KY       
Ephram White Park    Bowling Green, KY       
Hobson Grove Park    Bowling Green, KY       
Holler In The Hills    Brownsville, KY       
Idlewild    Burlington, KY       
Kereiakes Park    Bowling Green, KY    
Lincoln Ridge Park    Independence, KY    
Lover's Lane Park    Bowling Green, KY       
Paducah DGC    Paducah, KY       
Phil Moore Park    Bowling Green, KY    
Louisiana
Clyde Fant DGC (Veterans Park)    Shreveport, LA       
Ford Park    Shreveport, LA       
Lafreniere Park    Metairie, LA       
Maine
Woodland Valley - Black Bear    Limerick, ME       
Woodland Valley - The Grizzly    Limerick, ME       
Maryland
Seneca Creek State Park    Gaithersburg, MD    
Massachusetts
Maple Hill DGC    Leicester, MA       
Michigan
Burchfield Park - Original    Holt, MI       

Burchfield Park - Rivers Edge    Holt, MI       
Cass Benton Hills DGC    Northville, MI       
Cold Brook Park    Climax, MI       
Hudson Mills Metropark - Monster    Dexter, MI       
Hudson Mills Metropark - Original    Dexter, MI       
Kensington Black Locust DGC    Milford, MI       
Kimball Pines    Battle Creek, MI       
Oshtemo Township Park    Kalamazoo, MI       
Victory Park    Albion, MI       
Minnesota
Acorn Park    St. Paul (Roseville), MN       
Blue Ribbon Pines DGC    East Bethel, MN       
Bryant Lake Park    Minneapolis (Eden Prairie), MN       
Hyland Ski & Snowboard Area    Bloomington, MN       
Kaposia Park    St. Paul (South St. Paul), MN       
The Willows    Winona, MN       
Mississippi
Ross Barnett Reservoir - The Rez DGC    Brandon, MS       
Veteran's Park DGC    Tupelo, MS       
Wall Doxey SP - The Jungle    Holly Springs, MS    
Missouri
Albert Oakland Park - Back Course    Columbia, MO       
Albert Oakland Park - Front Course    Columbia, MO       
Blue Valley Park    Kansas City, MO       
Blue Valley Park - Short Course    Kansas City, MO       
Clover Dell Park    Sedalia, MO       
Creve Coeur Lake Park    St. Louis (Maryland Heights), MO       
Crystal City Underground DGC - North    Crystal City, MO       
Endicott Park    St. Louis (St. John), MO       
English Landing Park    Parkville, MO       
Indian Foothills Park - North    Marshall, MO       
Indian Foothills Park - South    Marshall, MO       
Indian Hills DGC    Columbia, MO       
Jefferson Barracks    St. Louis, MO       
Jesse James DGC    Kearney, MO       
Joseph C. Miller DGC    Jefferson City, MO       
Kessler Park (Cliff Drive)    Kansas City, MO       
Lake Shore DGC    Pleasant Hill, MO    
Legacy Park    Lee's Summit, MO       
McClelland Park    Joplin, MO       
Old Pike Country Club    Gladstone, MO       
Paradise Pointe - Beaver Creek    Smithville, MO       
Paradise Pointe - Blackthorn    Smithville, MO       
Paradise Pointe - Woodhenge    Smithville, MO       
Quail Ridge    Wentzville, MO       
Rothwell Park East - The Lakes    Moberly, MO       
Rothwell Park West - The Woods    Moberly, MO       
Sioux Passage    St. Louis (Florissant), MO       
Swope Park    Kansas City, MO       
Water Works Park    Kansas City, MO       
Wilbur Young Park DGC    Blue Springs, MO       
William Yates Sprint DGC    Independence, MO       
Montana
Diamond X    Billings, MT       
Makoshika State Park    Glendive, MT       
Pattee Canyon    Missoula, MT       
Nebraska
Cottonmill DGC    Kearney, NE       
Seymour Smith Park    Omaha, NE       
Nevada
Peccole Ranch    Las Vegas, NV       
Sunset Park    Las Vegas, NV       
New Hampshire
Pinnacle    Newport, NH       
New Jersey
South Vineland Park    Vineland, NJ       
New Mexico
Arroyo Chamisos DGC    Santa Fe, NM       
New York
Black Diamond DGC @ Emery Park    South Wales, NY       
Brakewell Steel / Warwick Town Park    Warwick, NY       
Chili DGC @ Widener Park    Chili, NY       
Monroe Community College DGC    Henrietta, NY       
Parma DGC    Parma, NY       
North Carolina
Eastway Park    Charlotte, NC       
Elon Park - Angry Beaver    Charlotte, NC    
Elon Park - Eager Beaver    Charlotte, NC       
Hornets Nest Park    Charlotte, NC       
Kilborne TPC    Charlotte, NC       
Nevin Park DGC    Charlotte, NC       
Plantation Ruins at Winget    Charlotte, NC       
Renaissance Park    Charlotte, NC       
Sugaw Creek Park    Charlotte, NC       
North Dakota
Lincoln Drive Park - Regular    Grand Forks, ND       
Lincoln Drive Park - The Loop    Grand Forks, ND       
Patterson Lake DGC    Dickinson, ND       
Sunset Park DGC    Mandan, ND       
Ohio
Brent Hambrick Memorial DGC    Columbus, OH       
Oklahoma
Blackhawk    Tulsa, OK       
Boomer Lake Park    Stillwater, OK       
Centennial Park    Owasso, OK       
Chandler Park - Original    Tulsa, OK       
Course Dovillio    Tulsa, OK       
Haikey Creek Park    Tulsa (Broken Arrow), OK       
Hunter Park    Tulsa, OK       
McClure Park    Tulsa, OK       
The Lodge - Island Course    Pawhuska, OK       
The Lodge - Moccasin Creek    Pawhuska, OK       
Oregon
Dexter Park DGC    Dexter, OR       
Horning's Hideout - Highland Course    North Plains, OR       
Horning's Hideout - Meadow Ridge    North Plains, OR       
Milo McIver State Park (Riverbend DGC)    Estacada, OR       
Pier Park    Portland, OR       
Pennsylvania
Deer Lakes Park    Tarentum, PA       
Knob Hill Park    Warrendale, PA       
Moraine State Park    Portersville, PA       
Sedgley Woods    Philadelphia, PA       
Tyler State Park    Newtown, PA       
Rhode Island
Willow Valley   Richmond, RI       
South Carolina
Hippodrome Complex - Headrick Hills    North Augusta, SC       
Hippodrome Complex - Hogback    North Augusta, SC       
Hippodrome Complex - Moody Woods    North Augusta, SC       
Hippodrome Complex - Old Glory    North Augusta, SC       
Trophy Lakes    Charleston (John's Island), SC       
Winthrop University Lakefront    Rock Hill, SC       
South Dakota
Jackson Park    Rapid City, SD       
Tuthill Park    Sioux Falls, SD       
Tennessee
Morningside Park    Knoxville, TN       
Seven Oaks Park    Nashville, TN       
Shelby Farms    Memphis, TN       
Texas
Lake Lewisville Park    Lewisville, TX       
Leonard L. Woods Park    Lewisville, TX       
Utah
Creekside Park    Salt Lake City, UT       
Riverpark DGC    Riverdale, UT       
Vermont
White River DGC    Randolph, VT       
Virginia
The Blockhouse - Darkside    Spotsylvania, VA       
The Blockhouse - Sunnyside    Spotsylvania, VA       
Washington
Downriver DGC    Spokane, WA       
Fort Steilacoom Park    Lakewood, WA       
High Bridge Park DGC    Spokane, WA       
Lake Fenwick    Kent, WA       
Lakewood King County Park    Seattle, WA       
Seatac DGC    Seatac, WA       
Terrace Creek    Mountlake Terrace, WA       
Two Rivers Park DGC    Kennewick/Finley, WA       
White River    Auburn, WA       
West Virginia
The Black Course    Moundsville, WV       
Wisconsin
Brown Deer DGC    Milwaukee, WI       
Dretzka Park    Milwaukee, WI       
Highbridge Hills - Blueberry Hill    Highbridge, WI       
Highbridge Hills - Granite Ridge    Highbridge, WI       
Pettibone Park    La Crosse, WI       
Sandy Point Resort DG Ranch    Lac Du Flambeau, WI       
Standing Rocks    Stevens Point, WI       
Vallarta-Ast DGC    Deforest, WI       
Wyoming
Deer Field @ Washington Park    Rawlins, WY       
Energy Rotary Club DGC    Gillette, WY       
Rock Springs DGC    Rock Springs, WY       
Canada
Manitoba
Happyland Park DGC    Winnipeg, MB       
Ontario
Toronto Island    Toronto, ON       
Saskatchewan
Diefenbaker Park DGC    Saskatoon, SK       

And one course in Finland I don't the name of.

24

General Banter / 90 days of disc golf: Raw Bacon

« on: August 16, 2012, 09:07:28 PM »

The record heat which has plagued the Midwest for six full weeks is gone, and just in time for our return. We walked in the door of our tiny shack in Mission around 6-ish wearing our hoodies and ready for a hot shower. Road fatigue from two solid days of driving has made our perceptions of the world around us a bit tinged, but we're both pretty sure it's chilly outside. We could be insane. Maybe those aren't goose-bumps, maybe I have a million mosquito bites.

When last we spoke the Honey Badger express was trekking hard across upstate New York on its way to Maple Hill. We did stop in Rochester to play their courses and I would list Rochester as one of the top five best cities for disc golf in the U.S.. They have a wonderful collection and the club there is "on point" as Avery likes to say. Arriving a few days before a major tournament also helps with that "on point" impression, but not every town goes the extra mile to make their courses look so damn sexy. Their courses were beautiful and I am kicking myself for not playing the tournament. I'm sure I would have finished just outside the cash line (if trends tell us anything) but it would have been worth it just to enjoy the courses again. Minna and I also enjoyed the lake shore there. She collected sand from every beach we visited this year and this stop was very peaceful. She relates things to Finland a lot. "This is what the lakes look like in Finland" or "This is what fish tastes like in Finland" etc. Fish is fish.

The weather was perfect for almost the whole trip and New England was every bit the majestic beauty we were told it would be. We missed playing only one course the whole trip and that was Calais in Northern Vermont. It's a private course which is well-spoken of as a bad-ass track, but, sadly it just wasn't meant to be. The rains were pretty fierce that evening so our special invite to play the course had to be turned down. However, this meant more time to spend with Spencer, the lost Jawhawk.

Spencer (AKA neckbeard) graciously offered to put us up at his place during our trip and his generosity was a perfect accent to an otherwise flawless tour of New England. If I can somehow convince twenty other people to move to strategic locales around the country and be half as generous as Spencer, we might be able to start up a disc golf tour business. I hope the four winds bring him back to Kansas City some day, but I know that if he has to stay in New England, he won't suffer any.

Leaving Spencer's place we choose to head north to Maine via Mt. Washington. If you have never heard of Mt. Washington I encourage you to look it up. Then never ever go there. It's an 8 mile drive meant for people with a death wish. Minna's fear of heights; the vehicles horrible low-end torque and shoddy brakes; and my complete lack of faith made us turn back before the summit. If there is a video clip of the drive, go watch it and then come back. It was not a good idea and shattered our image of New England.

Maine was nice, Steven King lives there... Larry Kirk was there. It was good to see him, but it took a few hours to shake off the terror of Mt. Washington. We played a course in Maine which was pretty nice, but tense muscles made it hard to focus. However, the pro shop there produced some GEMS!

Maple Hill is everything you have come to believe about it and then some. If you are going to go, give yourself a few days. You will want to play this one a few times. We camped at a resort a few miles down the road and were lucky enough to have the run of the place. It was eerie to be there alone, sort of like camping at Camp Crystal Lake from Friday the 13th movies, all by yourself. There wasn't even any staff on site. We just arrived, slept in two empty beds and left before we saw anyone. This is where most of the Vibram players will stay during the tournament and they will love it, I'm sure. They even have a course at the resort to warm up with before their Vibram round. Not that any amount of warming up can prepare you for Maple Hill, but anything helps.

It's a brutal course from the Golds. Not much easier from the Whites or Blues and really sort of too "special" from the Reds. As you watch the tournament online you will see the players play from the Golds. We were told that the course was modified to make it harder and that we should probably play from the Whites or Blues if we didn't want to lose any discs. We played from the Gold.

I haven't lost a disc in a long, long time. I lost three. By the end of the round my bag started to look like a REC players starter bag. The course is tough in that it punishes both aggressive play and conservative play. If you go for it - you'll find trees and water, or ROPE!! If you don't and try to play conservative, you won't give yourself a second shot. There are two drives over water which require 390 just to make it to safety, but you still have to hit a gap after 390 otherwise the disc will kick into the water. The trees crowd you and they bury all errant shots. The elevation changes work against you and it's hard to lay up without rolling away. It's just a mean course. It's just a few degrees harder than Idlewild or Renny Gold.

After Maple Hill we played another private course in Rhode Island which is new and rough, but when finished is going to be a favorite of a lot of players. We finished off our tour of 48 in Hartford, CT at Wickham Park, which was 24 holes of pretty damn coolness. I know this is asking a lot, but almost every course in New England has stone walls on them. I don't know why I dig them so much, but we need a few in KC. It's a work day from hell, but it's a great aesthetic.

Our tour was done. We laughed and giggled and played another course in Newport before we headed into New York City for a few days of rest. Because after 90 days of disc golf touring, two solid days of 12 hour walks is just what the doctor ordered. We LIMPED into Warwick, New York for what would be the final course of the trip...

Nockamixon was to be our final stop but our tanks were empty after Warwick. The cash was gone, the will to live was gone, the desire to clean the car was totally gone. It was just time to come home.

This is our last great road trip of this size. I will have the numbers tallied in the next few days but I believe we are over 250 courses in 48 states, 3 provinces and 3 countries. We have played all of the disc golf course review top ten and most of the courses rated 4.5 or higher. The stories are too numerous to recount here, but someday we will share them all.

Again, we hope that this inspires you to get out and see disc golf in America.

25

General Banter / 90 days of disc golf: captain's log supplemental

« on: August 12, 2012, 09:11:10 AM »

Today Minna and I finished the final state on our quest. Wickham park in Hartford, CT. 48 states and over 250 courses. More ticklish tales to come...

26

General Banter / 90 days of disc golf: bacchanalia

« on: August 07, 2012, 07:52:43 PM »

Toronto island is the best disc golf course you should never ever play. The design is beautiful and the challenge is top notch, but absolutely everything about this course says stay away. First off, you have to travel to Toronto, one of the busiests cities in the world. Then you have to find a place to park under twenty dollars that is under a mile from the ferry launch you must take to get to the island. It will then cost you 7 bucks to ride the ferry over. It leaves twice an hour. After a fifteen minute boat ride it's a half mile hike to the course. It's not super well marked but you can make due - if you've made it this far, you've played a course or two in your life where you had to do some blind orienteering to navigate the course. The most unpleasant surprise was to discover a YMCA day camp using two offbeat holes for their own needs. They explained to me that they always use the space during the summer, so if you want to play he whole course you will have to wait for winter in Canada to do so. If all of this seems worth it, then I encourage all of you enthusiasts to go, but I strongly urge you to reconsider...

Everything in Pittsburgh should have told me not to pick up a disc and to just rest the arm for a week or two. Of course, we dont have a week or two out here and each day provides new adventures for us. But more importantly, we needed all the famous cash found at the Brent hambrick tournament to get us home. Well, had we cashed, which we didnt, the famous cash was no where to be found. The tour was livid. Huge entry fee, tiny players pack which was underwhelming - the disc was a poorly hot stamped discraft disc without any ink. Most of the stamps were only half stamped. There were over twenty sponsors and "added cash" yet first place in the por womens division paid 400 bucks. NOw there is going to be a lot of huffin' and puffin' about pay out to number of entrants, blah blah blah, but this only showcases one of the major faults to the old way of presenting tournaments - the prize should be established before the tournament and advertised as such. I bring this up because there was a lot of burn out in Columbus. A lot of it. I thought it might just be me.

Superstars are bored. The old guard is swimming in hubris. The new wave of talent wants everything given to them and they don't want to know how all that work gets done. Speaking of which, everything Pittsburgh did wrong, hambrick did right. The courses were beautiful and well-marked. However the courses I had envisioned at that dam were not what I found. It was smaller, easier and oddly not the super course one would e pect of such a prestigious tournament. And if the money is this low, there is no reason to ever go back. I think Des Moines and the Majestic are much better values. And if things continue like this other top pros are going to regionalize too. And all you have to do is say, "the Pittsburgh $5000 challenge" and people are going to come. Otherwise expect to see attendance to drop off.

The open road is a wonderful place for us to hide from all that ails us. And with every ache and even pain, comes the sight of a new course and it all goes away for a while. We played Charlie vettiner in louisville along with Severin. Both interesting courses. We played the mountwood monster in west Virginia famous for it's 1000 foot down hill finishing hole. Minna drove it over 700 feet with an archon. Sadly the course is under fire from "zip line developers" who have built huge towers everywhere and eventually the course is going to lose to the thrill of zip lining over west Virginia forest. Side note - the town of mountwood is the town from Silences of The Lambs where the first victim lives.

But the big highlight of our week was idlewild. Northern Kentucky is home to some serious disc golf and this course is one of the top five rated courses in America. It's gnarly. Long, diverse, technical with lots of water and elevation. This course is a great place to come visit, but I would drive if I were you. The park is located near the airport and there is a plaque in the park for the "3" commercial airline crashes which have occured there. Airplane debris is casual relief, right?

I wanted to mention his last time but I wanted to say it before I forget this again, he storms have beat up some of America's best courses. Everywhere we go there are courses with massive tree loss. So get out and see these gems before every course looks like Shawnee Mission.

We have this last week to play Maple hill and finish off the last five states of the lower 48. IRS our hope to be home for the lions den and see everyone again. I think I will hold off the last update until we are home and I can decompress and actually write one of these things on a computer and not an iPhone.

We finished playing chili in Rochester and loved it. It occured to me that I can't group all courses together for a top ten. So many courses are great in their own unique way. One cannot compare Augusta National with St Andrews. They are both great and challenging, but in two vastly different ways. Such is true of what we've seen out here on the road. Chili is a great course and is one of my all-time favorites, but it's not a better course than Tyler park. So how do you compare the two?

See you all soon.

27

General Banter / 90 days of disc golf: cranberry mars

« on: July 29, 2012, 10:54:35 PM »

A good course is one you want to play over and over again; a great course is one which kicks your ass so much you never want to play it again. Well, you want to play it again, but you wont play it as carefree as you did the first time. Its that cautiousness which haunts me all to often in tournament play. Of course, this won't prevent you from trying to get others to play that same course. Trauma loves company. It's the reason we reach out for someone's hand, or look for a hug or a shoulder to lean on in our worst moments. It's just nice to have someone else there. There's a part in Huckleberry Finn where two con artists pose as actors and fool a town into watching them perform. Their show is horrible but the people who came to see the show can't tell the rest of the town that they were duped into watching the performance so they are left with no choice than to give the performance a good review. Im sure you see where this is going. Often when Minna and I play a course which comes highly recommended we feel like the town folk from the second performance - A little bitter. Not at the con artists but the people who recommended we go see the show.

It all starts in Deleware...

Brandywine is a course which was supposed to be our salvation after two full weeks of tight technical courses. It was supposed to be a quick in and out round which would leave us enough time for other business - we were wrong. It's a huge prairie course set on a high sloping hill with a farm at the bottom of it. It was a windy day and the course took a huge toll on us physically. Huge drives up and down that hill just sent out bodies into panic mode. It was such and odd feeling to use a driver after so long, but that actually irritated my elbow. It is like blue valley with stone wall fences in the fairways.

We regrouped and headed to New Jersey for what we were told is the second worst state for disc golf after Wyoming. Vineland was anything but easy with lots of familiar technical challenges from the week before. So the miscalculation of difficulty came as a shock and we played it with a little chip on our shoulders. Believe it or not, Jersey had just survived a major hurricane and most of the course difficulty came from downed trees laying across the fairways. And correct me if I'm wrong, you can't move obstacles in front of you. Sideways trees are murder on rollers.

I think I should mention Larry. Larry Kirk is a 50 year old man from California who is traveling around America promoting disc golf by... Traveling around America playing disc golf. I'm not sure of the whole gambit there but he is quite a character. He has the personality of a mouseketeer on red bull, and the youthful energy of a 10 year old.  We ran into Larry at the blockhouse in virginia and he has shown up at every course we have played since (well, not Brandywine). He's a talker and he putts with a graboid. I dont know why I mention that other than I find it odd. He is playing four courses a day and he is on his second tour of all 50 states. Anyway, he played Vineland with us.

After another trip to the ocean and a quick tour of Philadelphia, we played Sedgley Woods, America's second oldest course and it shows. In its present state it's 27 holes of under 300 foot shots. Not too bad of a course really, but a putter and another putter just for show was all it took to clean up this course. Still, Steady Ed designed it and that's pretty cool in my book.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Tyler park. 27 holes of disc golf ass-kickery.  Larry was there for what would be the fourth course in four different states in four days he would play with us. I wish had a more fluid vocabulary to make everyone understand how challenging this course is. Everything fly boy is, this course is, but public. Instead of removing the limbs and trunks of trees from the course they neatly stack them as obstacles. Imagine down under from hole 1 to basket 18 all in one hole. It's that sort of long and thats just the beginning of this never ending punishment. I loved it. But there's no way I could play that course everyday.

We took a day off due to severe weather and so we could figure out the riduculous streets of Pennsylvania. And so we could pay close to 30 bucks in tolls in the process. It was aggravating. I will never again complain about the very simple roads of the Midwest after this. It can take 3 miles to go around the block and require a toll of 3 bucks or take thirty minutes. Or both.

Pittsburgh is famous for its collection of tough courses. Deer lakes is on the top ten at dgcoursereview. We found Moraine and Knob hill to be harder and more enjoyable courses but they both lose points for their flypad tee boxes. The courses kicked our butts bad. A lot was working against me but ultimately I just didn't play the courses that well. Minna won by showing up. They let her play with the open ladies and she did just fine. It proved she could hold her own on courses which beat up a lot of people.

In front of us is Brent hambrick and Idlewild and Vettiner and other great courses. After re-injuring my elbow, I think we are going to let Minna bring home the bacon for a while. I will be glad to play at a diminished pace but still, better to play half as well on a great course than lights out on a dull one. Or, at least, that is how I'm going to tell you I did.

28

General Banter / 90 days of disc golf: whirling dervish

« on: July 24, 2012, 07:07:12 AM »

The dust hasn't settled from Worlds and Facebook is quickly filling with constant reminders of the outcome. "Thanks for the support. Sorry I didn't win." posted 1140 people. "Hey, guess what? I did win!" posted a lucky few. As more photos are posted, I have yet to to find the one which really tells the tale of these worlds. That one pic which could give the casual observer some idea of what went down. So far, nada.

It was hot, but not like back home hot. Each day the iPhone told us of how much our friends and family were suffering in the record heat back in KC. Knowing that made it harder to complain about the heat we had while "playing" all week. But it was hot, and very humid. And we knew it would be coming in. Surprisingly, it wasn't intolerable just annoying. It had to be dealt with but at least you could deal with it. For those of us who are human showers when it comes to sweating in the hot weather, each round made for some incredible laundry. In fact, three of the shirts I wore during the week,and most of the socks, had to be thrown away. It was that disgusting.

There was also a constant threat of rain, which appeared, like clockwork, at 4 PM everyday. It would pour biblically for thirty minutes or longer, creating small rivers everywhere. This produced a wonderful mud which was red-orange in color and the consistentency of toothpaste. Once it touched you, it was there to stay.

The number of complaints I have about the tournament are numerous but it doesn't really matter. The only two worth mentioning are the lack of information (I didn't know if I made the semifinals or what time I tee'd off until 1130 pm. Tee off was at and the OB was poorly marked. Imagine playing down under with OB on every hole which is marked with only tiny orange flags every 20 feet. It was a problem. Other than those issues for me, this tournament comes in as a semi-decent "B" tier overall. People complained about other things but I don't have opinions about that. I think people b%tch about those things for every tournament.

Minna did well, regardless of what some people think. The courses in Charlotte are tough, mostly long Down Under courses with lots of thick vegetation and hidden creeks along the fairways. As I mentioned it was wet and the mud made for some interesting footings. She wanted to play with people her age and that factor made all the difference in her enjoyment of the events. She finished third and took home a painting by Cam Todd for her efforts. I had a different worlds. I played two of the toughest courses and one of the courses which I kept playing like a child. It was just one of those tough weeks for me. My elbow finally came back to me somewhere near the end of the week and I was able to turn it on to finish in the money. Money we like to call, "a hotel room instead of camping."

My favorite pat of the week was seeing someone I knew from KC. I saw Pete Englemann, Marc Wisbey, and Jack Lowe quite a bit and that helped. I also played with Ron Convers and George Smith, both of whom are semi-local. Seeing them kept the experience in check for me. It wasn't just me seeing and doing all of this, there was someone else who could relate to. I knew they were acclimating the same way I was and it was interesting to see how they handled it. Wisbey sweats like a sprinkler.

The courses did not live up to the hype. And though the people of Charlotte could not have been nicer and more accommodating, I think the combined worlds in KC was a hundred times better. We just offered more and did more. Sure, we included Shawnee mission, but we had no choice.

Were back on the road and it's morning in Delaware. We played the Blockhouse complex and Seneca creek on our way here and Tyler state park is looking us in the eye. Pittsburgh is a few days away and there's no rest in sight for this tour.

I walk away from this week with a trophy of my own, a lovely swath of poison-something on my calfs.

Thanks for the support everyone. Sorry I couldn't beat Ken Climo for the title but he is rated higher than me.

29

General Banter / 90 days of disc golf: Otis Redding.

« on: July 16, 2012, 05:01:58 PM »

Air conditioning is a gift. Being able to artificially change our surroundings is one of the great things about being human. We're some pretty lazy pigs wallowing in a cool mud right now. Outside it's Charlotte and The World Championships. There are disc golfers everywhere and everyone is racing around trying to practice their assigned courses. It's also 90 plus degrees and the air is almost pure water. The courses Minna plays are mostly down under style with one open longer course which she only gets to play in the short settings. In her bag is a buzz, a putter, two drivers and four bottles of water. My courses are all long and hard. But beyond that, I get to play the deepest and strongest field of any of the divisions here. Finishing top 50 in masters will be nothing leas than miraculous. Especially with tennis elbow drastically changing the way i play my game at the moment.

Of all the tales which can be told of how people got to Charlotte are's is sure to be one of the most colorful. Are story begins in a cave...

Festus, Missouri located on the banks of the Mississippi, is home to the only subterranean disc course in the world. It's actually two courses and if it isn't enough that it's underground, mostly sand, a disc killer and permanent midnight in there, its also half covered in water. Its the middle of one of the hottest summers I can remember, so entering the cave and feeling the temperature drop 60 degrees in under three steps is quite a shock. I brought one hoodie and it is barely enough.

The cave is a must-see stop on any disc golf journey and if the fine ladies and gentlemen of KC can put together the cash we should make a road trip over there. Especially now with the weather hovering around 2000 degrees in KC. They serve beer.

Minna had to see Graceland, because she's European and they think a lot of him over there. After several hours looking at the dead man's shoes, we were back at it. We traveled through rural Mississippi soaking in the landscape. The south is ideal for disc golf and it's surprising that there aren't courses everywhere. We did find a descent course in Jackson called Ross Barnett. For all of the beauty that is Mississippi this course really failed to use any of it. It did have a gator. A %$#@ing gator. After bears, snakes, cougars and super models, a gator was asking too much. Thankfully this one wasn't big enough to do much more than inspire a mess in our pants but still... A gator!?!?!

We kept up our frantic pace and found our way to Mobile and the course at the University of Southern Alabama. At least this course had the decency to put up signs saying, "beware of snakes and alligators." Beyond the absolute fear of being chewed on, the course was bad ass. Extremely rough. The best part about it - it's an hour from the ocean.

Pensacola has some tiny courses and none of them really ask a lot of you, but watching a sun going down there is enough reason to visit. While we were playing the course there, the Blue Angels, who are stationed there, were practicing overhead. Every two minutes they would fly over and it was impossible not to stare at them. Sort of a major distraction while you're putting, that and the whole gator thing again.

It was hard to leave the ocean but we had a reservation at Fly Boy and this was one of the major destinations for us on this trip. Fly boy used to be the number one rated course in America on the dgcoursereview before the owner pulled it off the site. It's privately owned and operated and no longer open to the general public without an invitation (we just called him). The course was built around a private airstrip slash private really extremely pricey gated community. As you would expect any housing area to be when it has its own air strip. That and the amazing course is just a super big wow factor which you just cant hide. It's 27 holes of disc golf super awesome. We were invited to stay in the owner's house and were given the red carpet treatment. It was really way too much but we ate it up. It even comes with a playstation 3 equiped with a cordless game version of disc golf. They feed you two meals a day from a private garden and you're only asked for a donation for the accommodations. The place is perfect but it begs the question, "How is this place going to stay open?" the ask for donations to play the course but it's not open to the general public to play. So it could only get a few bucks a day gross. Eventually the home owners around the course are going to tire of the disc golfers wandering around their private airport. And the owner has a full life outside of the fly boy course and he can't maintain it alone forever. It's a sad thought. This course is really perfect and is presently the number one course on my list. We felt cheap leaving our donation but our budget didn't allow for a big donation.

We met Ed Gonzales at the IDGC in Appling for a round on the Jim Warner course and then we headed down to savannah hoping to see the ocean again. Sadly the powerful aroma of wet shoes and socks which have been festering in the hot sun for five days in the back of our car could no longer be avoided. The ocean was put on hold until after an emergency laundry mat visit. Sadly we didn't have the time to see the ocean as we needed to be in Charlotte that night.

We stopped at the Trophy lakes disc golf compound just outside of charleston, sc before we finally found the ocean again. Its a great course and if you find water on one of the 15 holes which have water, you can swim out to get it without being eaten. A real plus for this part of the world.

And again the ocean...

The water was over 70 degrees and we spent a few hours just body surfing and washing off the road. It was weird to be in water without worrying about gators, however the thought of sharks is always strong in the minds of timid Kansasians unsure of this whole ocean thing.

It was a short drive to Charlotte and we stayed with Ed for the night. It worked out well for us, not so much for Ed who I fear won't be asking us to stay in his room again. I snore.

We checked in at tournament central and spent the next two days playing the courses on Minna's schedule. They are really unimpressive in my opinion but that's because you play them in the shadow of hornets nest, rennie and nevin. I could be just expecting more out of worlds.

We have played 12 courses. Visited 9 states. Traveled over 2100 miles and eaten BBQ twice. And it's only been a week since we left home. We take on worlds and head north from here.

P.S. gas has only been 2.99 a gallon for most of our trip. Ba... Zing!

30

Barter Town / 90 days of disc golf: sale

« on: July 04, 2012, 11:06:01 AM »

We have amassed a healthy collection of plastic which we need to sell for our trip. So everything must go. Help us out and buy something. Every little bit helps. We will be available until Saturday night. We're gone on Sunday for the next trip. Cheers!