I think I am just a little over 24 hours out from the tournament and writting a blog post. I think this is by far the best I have done so far this season. I have a little bit more excitement than the past couple of tournamnets, but no where near as much as the Memorial post. There really is just nothing like competing at the top level in the best tournaments. Additionally, the speed of this post has just a little bit to do with my actual performance. Perhaps I am just killing time while I am waiting for my laundry in the dryer.
This past Saturday was the first Outback Open. The Outback DGC in Greeley, CO is really a spectacular course that has a great combination of tight and open holes. There are some really challenging holes and there are frankly some holes that are just too easy. But even those easy holes become a little bit less easy in a tournament. There is also a good variety in length with some very short hoels and some long holes and some in between. They local club worked hard to add a few new pin locations, all of which proved to be exceptionally difficult. But with good weather it was hard to complain about a fun day of disc golf.
In the first round, despite being in the open division I was asked to play on an Advanced card. Generally this is not something that most disc golfers would like simply because you generally want to know what at least some of the competition is doing so as to have a better idea of when to push and when to hold back. I did not have a big issue with this since I tend to play against myself and the course rather than the players around me. I cannot control them, only what I am doing. I had a very solid first round going with no bogies until the third to last hole where I ended up taking a double bogey. I had to get one more birdie after that to pull back to even for the round. Just a whole lot of not much to speak of in that round other than consistently getting my threes. Sure there were a few low putts and one or two high putts, but in general there was nothing to complain about. The one 5 that I did take was a tough hole that saw poor execution from me from start to finish. Oh well.
In the second round I was back playing with other open players and rather enjoying myself with this group as well. The round started off horribly with a 5 and included three fours before I was finally able to get my first birdie of the round. Then I went back to plus 5 before I took the last six holes to get three birdies to drop me back to just plus 2. Considering some recent meltdowns in the final holes of a tournament, this finish felt really good. Was it the best, by no means, but it did provide for a lot of fun and the chance to meet a few new faces. The new faces are becoming more rare as time goes on. Still it is a good reminder of just how big the local crowd of players is and how we really do work as a family to make things happen.
The one complaint from the tournament seemed to be a lack of speed in getting cards done between rounds and after the tournament was over. Checking numbers was sloww and ultimately there were not enough of or the right people there to make something happen. Kyle and the guys at Phenix did a great job of picking up what felt like slack. It is certainly not easy to be a TD, but if you do decide to take this task on, be sure taht you are ready with the information you need to complete this.
I learned taht I can battle back. I learned that taking some risk is more important then not making an effort at all. And I learned that disc selection is super important, especially when it is looking like the out of bounds will play a factor. Gettign back to the mental game and working towards success in that will be huge moving forward. Ultimately I expect that this tournaments ratings will be the bet by far. I think I need to focus more on playing the right shot with the right disc.
Next week is the Deer Mountain Invitational. Not a sanctioned event but one that I have been looking forward to.
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