Winter Warriors X

So, last Saturday was the start of Winter Warriors X. The yearly event runs for 13 weeks in an effort to raise as much money for the Food Bank of the Rockies as possible. Last year we were just short of $10,000 raised and the bar has been set even higher this year.

For me personally, this has become a great opportunity to have fun and keep the game moving forward through the cold winter when I am less motivated to get out and play. Sure this off season I am planning (yes, still in the planning stages) of staying in shape and working to improve my game, but this will help me get out and play. I may have rather high expectations as well. See, last year I finished second overall in the standings with only Rob Nichols, the multiple time champion of the event, ahead of me.

With one week down, I am not where I want to be in the overall standings, but I played poorly in the first week and made some bad decisions in the mental game. Get back to having fun and working on the game. That is what I have to tell myself moving forward. Additionally, it isn't like doing well helped so much last year with a rather down year as far as tournaments are concerned. But then again, that is just a poor excuse and rationalization as to why the the score at the end really doesn't matter.

I am certainly looking forward to week two and beyond. There are some good courses on the schedule and I know I will have the chance to improve my game. The big picture is becoming a better player and using the opportunity to raise money for a great cause to do just that. It is not just about me.

Oh The Places You Will Go

When you are young and you learn about traveling one's eyes tend to light up with the big names. Paris, France, Las Vegas, Nevada and New York, New York, just to name a few. Most people tend to stick to those as they grow older, but there are a unique few people in this world that will choose new destinations to go to.

I was reminded of just how odd I am as a disc golfer in comparison to the travel plans of the rest of the world as about a week ago I traveled down to a resort near Rociada, NM to play in the Pendaries Fall Classic. It really was a good thing that most of the driving down there happened when it was dark out. I probably would have questioned myself many times if I was headed in the right direction. Even with the lack of light I was still not confident in Google maps to get me there. I dare not say rest assured as I got in a little after 11 pm and quickly settled in for a rather short nap before waking up to play disc golf.

Some days in disc golf are rather wild. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It is like the day needs to see a psychiatrist. In the morning as I was seeing the disc golf course at Pendaries Village for the first time. What a humbling experience. It really is an amazing course, but it was kicking my butt and I nearly soured my opinion of the course based on how poorly I was playing. Then the second round came. Being in last place, I played with the old guys and had a realy fun round that ended up being really good. I improved my score from the morning by 13 throws! Sunday followed suit and was rated even better than my second round on Saturday. If I had one more round near my second two rounds, I would have easily been in the cash. Oh well.

Elite Brothers Disc Golf did a great job running this tournament and I look forward to being at more of their events in the future. They are another one of those companies that seem to be doing things right and they have strong local support for all that they are doing. They are certainly going to be big in New Mexico if not beyond.