Well you see, one of my favorite people here in the local disc golf scene is The Chad. Why is he so awesome, beyond the obvious hours of work that he puts in for the club? Well, he finds a way to make playing in tournaments more about enjoying time with people than actually trying to play well. He is always having a good time and desires to help other people figure out how in the world they can have a good time playing disc golf.
So as I was in the middle of my slump at the 303 Open, I figured what better way to get out of this funk than playing in The Chad's non sanctioned event know for its craziness and ability to make anyone have a good time. At the end of the day it isn't about how you played but about all the silly stories you can tell because not everyone besides Vinnie can get an ace with a rubber chicken. How many people do you know that have shot their disc out of a giant sling shot? Rodnoc is absolutely about the silliness and the people than it is about playing disc golf.
I will be honest, I have always been hesitant in the past to play silly events like this as they are obviously non sanctioned. I have always been a miser and figured if I were spending my money I would rather do it on a real tournament. But I learned something amazing about the silliness, it tends to make you calm down and just have fun. And when I was able to get into that mindset the second round, miracles happened.
In the first round there was a lot of just getting used to the silliness. I was playing with a great group of people which included Big Mack, Jay and his wife, Courtney and The Hungerford. These are all standard people in the local scene around here, and even though I was youngest in the group, I still felt like part of the family and had a grand time. I purposely tried to play with Big Mack since getting to know him over the Winter Warriors season. I am so glad that it worked out that way. I had a solid round minus one hole where you get two chances to knock down as many bowling pins as possible from about 25 feet out. I threw two shots that fell short and ended up taking a 10 on the hole. Ug. Near the back of the Apples (or top division including pros and advanced ams) I figured it was really time to embrace the silliness.
In the second round I was way more relaxed than I have ever been playing disc golf and outside of one or two putts and a couple of drives I played really well. So well in fact that my score for this round would be the hot round for the entire day at the tournament. Then I went on to win one of the Ring of Fire rounds and life was good. No I did not get one of the awesome trophies but my confidence is back and I know that having fun is way more important than how I shoot. I literally proved that to myself and yet I need to figure out how to make sure I am in that mindset when I am playing in my next tournament.
Coming up is my big trip to Michigan and Minnesota for two A-tier events sandwhiched around Am Nats. If I can keep my focus and enjoy the moment, there is no telling what I might be able to do.
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