Back in December when my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas I told them a little story how I was now a professional disc golfer and wanted some sort of sports massage of thearapy that would help me be more of a professional. That is when my dad's brain went to work and produced one of the best Christmas presents ever.
My dad is getting older, sad to say, and has had a few surgeries in his time. He has had knee, back and shoulder surgeries. With jsut about every surgery and often times to prevent surgery from needing to be done, he has had physical thearapy. So, my dad connected me with his physical thearapist, Mark Holmes and Cactus Sport and Spine, just down the way from my house. Mark has specialized in treating athletes in various different sports and was all too happy to attempt to help me with a sport that he had not yet worked with.
My dad basically gave me the gift witht he hope of preventing any serious injuries from happening. My hope was and still is that I can get in better shape and be able to throw the disc further than I ever have. I have had two sessions so far and I honestly believe that it is helping significantly. We will see if there are transferable results.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
The Flinging of Spring Yet Again
It is always nice when you have a one day tournmanet in Colorado with Ams and Pros separated. With the popularity of disc golf in Colorado showing significant growth, it has made for for the possibility of some great events with lots and lots of people. This year brought a substitute TD and a moment of silence for a former TD.
I have to mention Joe Haman who was the former TD of this event back right after I moved to Colorado. He was a great guy and we lost him last year in a tragic accident. He is missed by his real family and his disc golf family.
After a glitch in registration, Kyle H., this years TD, ended up with twice as many Ams as one course could hold and as such he ended up making two 18 hole courses on a property he would use the next day to make 22 hoels for the pros.
I volunteered on the Am day and helped with registration and directing traffic on teh course with a layout that was far from normal. There were lots of smiles and a great time had by all. My mom played in an age protected division for the first time and had a blast playing with the ladies in that division. My dad was sad that he did not make the tournment, having to be a a meeting in the morning. He thought both courses would have been enjoyable for him to play. Hats off to a good friend, Eric McGill who managed to win the Am day as well. Good shooting and I look forward to playing against you in the Open division now.
At last years event, you may remember some words I said about the weather for the Am day being crazy beautiful and the weather for the pro day being downright miserable. It was not far from that this year but nowhere near as bad as last year. This year it was perfect weather and perfect weather with wind.
The first round reminded me of what it means to play in the wind. I made a lot of mistakes to blame on the wind and to blame on myself. But I also knew that it would be a struggle for everyone. I had some great shots and some really poor shots. Making a par was the name of the round. I played with Big Mack and The Chad as well as a couple of other solid guys. It was a very enjoyable round despite the mistakes that I was making. The mistakes pretty much took me out of any hope I had of cashing, but the value of learning to play in the wind again will serve me well with other events coming up where wind is likely.
After a lunch with Big Mack and Mitch Sonderfan, the second round brought a renewed sense of enjoying the game. I played a much smarter game and had a much better idea of what my discs might do in the wind. Despite the course being even longer and the wind more inconsistent, I still managed to shoot eight strokes better the second round. How desperately bad did I want to make that last jump putt on the last hole, but alas it was not meant to be. And after taking myself out of contention, my solid second round put my only four throws out of the cash.
More practice is needed and the weather is not cooperating, but things are looking up.
I have to mention Joe Haman who was the former TD of this event back right after I moved to Colorado. He was a great guy and we lost him last year in a tragic accident. He is missed by his real family and his disc golf family.
After a glitch in registration, Kyle H., this years TD, ended up with twice as many Ams as one course could hold and as such he ended up making two 18 hole courses on a property he would use the next day to make 22 hoels for the pros.
I volunteered on the Am day and helped with registration and directing traffic on teh course with a layout that was far from normal. There were lots of smiles and a great time had by all. My mom played in an age protected division for the first time and had a blast playing with the ladies in that division. My dad was sad that he did not make the tournment, having to be a a meeting in the morning. He thought both courses would have been enjoyable for him to play. Hats off to a good friend, Eric McGill who managed to win the Am day as well. Good shooting and I look forward to playing against you in the Open division now.
At last years event, you may remember some words I said about the weather for the Am day being crazy beautiful and the weather for the pro day being downright miserable. It was not far from that this year but nowhere near as bad as last year. This year it was perfect weather and perfect weather with wind.
The first round reminded me of what it means to play in the wind. I made a lot of mistakes to blame on the wind and to blame on myself. But I also knew that it would be a struggle for everyone. I had some great shots and some really poor shots. Making a par was the name of the round. I played with Big Mack and The Chad as well as a couple of other solid guys. It was a very enjoyable round despite the mistakes that I was making. The mistakes pretty much took me out of any hope I had of cashing, but the value of learning to play in the wind again will serve me well with other events coming up where wind is likely.
After a lunch with Big Mack and Mitch Sonderfan, the second round brought a renewed sense of enjoying the game. I played a much smarter game and had a much better idea of what my discs might do in the wind. Despite the course being even longer and the wind more inconsistent, I still managed to shoot eight strokes better the second round. How desperately bad did I want to make that last jump putt on the last hole, but alas it was not meant to be. And after taking myself out of contention, my solid second round put my only four throws out of the cash.
More practice is needed and the weather is not cooperating, but things are looking up.
One Day Again
Kyle at Phenix Disc Sports is once again running his One Day Series. As is tradition, this year started at Badlands. From what I can tell, things feel a bit different this year, but I am not quite sure what it is about the event that feels different from last year. This series last year had some of my best and worst days on the very some course. It was really hard to tell what exactly this might bring for me this year. And of course I was still battling the poison oak from California for this first event of the series.
The first round was really the naightmare that no one wants to admit that they have had. Things look so good on many occasions and the putts were just not falling. I am pretty certain that on most holes I found a way to hit basket or chains but not see my disc go into the basket. Putts that normally are no brain putts were just not wanting to go in. Perfect tee shots somehow find their way into the middle of the thorn bush with no easy way out. I threw an ideal tee shot across the lake only to watch is slide down the wrong side of the building and leave me with no putt. Bad breaks and good putts that were just not going into the basket made for a very long round.
The second round was slightly better, but with nothing to loose there really wasn't much sense in playing things safe. Yeah, I watched my disc find out of bounds on more than one occasion because of that. Yeah, the round was not quite what I had hoped for. At least I made a few more putts and had fun in the process. I really just wish I would have not messed up the last hole of the tournament and taken a bogey that cost me a few places in the final standings.
I am looking forward to what the One Day Series might bring for me this year, but as it looks, I may not be able to make as many events this time around. There are too many other good events happening at the same time.
The first round was really the naightmare that no one wants to admit that they have had. Things look so good on many occasions and the putts were just not falling. I am pretty certain that on most holes I found a way to hit basket or chains but not see my disc go into the basket. Putts that normally are no brain putts were just not wanting to go in. Perfect tee shots somehow find their way into the middle of the thorn bush with no easy way out. I threw an ideal tee shot across the lake only to watch is slide down the wrong side of the building and leave me with no putt. Bad breaks and good putts that were just not going into the basket made for a very long round.
The second round was slightly better, but with nothing to loose there really wasn't much sense in playing things safe. Yeah, I watched my disc find out of bounds on more than one occasion because of that. Yeah, the round was not quite what I had hoped for. At least I made a few more putts and had fun in the process. I really just wish I would have not messed up the last hole of the tournament and taken a bogey that cost me a few places in the final standings.
I am looking forward to what the One Day Series might bring for me this year, but as it looks, I may not be able to make as many events this time around. There are too many other good events happening at the same time.
What To Do For St. Patrick's Day Disc Golf?
I am going to let out a small bit of frustration here, but only as much as is pertinent to the story I am about to tell about a wonderful disc golf tournament. Every year for the past several years I have played a tournament in Colorado called St. Patty's Meltdown. It has traditionally been the first tournament of the year in Colorado and has always been good. Well, this year the powers that be decided to only post information about registration on Facebook, which I am not on. And then only to do a waitlist on Facebook, which I am not on. I found out about registration 2 hours after the tournament filled up and had no hope of getting in. If you are a TD and reading this, just know that the world does not revolve around Facebook and I am not going to get on Facebook just because of your disc golf tournament.
So, I started to look for other tournemnts that I might be able to play instead of this one and found one near an old roommate from my time at Talbot School of Theology. My buddy Jaron has always been a solid guy and I honestly believe has the gift of hospitality along with his wife. We did a few skiing trips together which I filmed and then made movies of. I am sure there is a DVD somewhere that would embarass me now but is still histerical to those of us who were there. I was able to get in touch with him and made my way out to Sacramento, CA to play in the St. Patrick's Classic in Orangevale, CA at the lovely Shady Oaks Park.
After getting in late and finding that my car rental reservation was less than solid (ended up paying twice as much to find any car from a different company, blah) I made my way to Jaron's house. The highlight of this trip was not the disc golf but the time I got to spend with Jaron and his family. They are still valued friends. His kids, three girls, are all amazing. It was great to see his oldest again as I first met her in the hospital shortly after she was born. It brought back a lot of good memories and provided for some really good new memories. Perhaps the best was watching Big Hero 6 for the first time with the family and them trying to figure out which character I would like best. It is Hero, just in case you were wondering. It was also great to go rock climbing with Jaron again. Something we used to do when we were in school together back in the day. I am looking forward to seeing them all again.
As for the tournament, it was interesting going to the course early to walk a course and then play it blind in the first round of the tournament. The people there were very nice and helpful for the most part as I tried to figure out what exactly I was going to do. I ran in to Nikko and Jessica again, and perhaps they even remembered me from the Memorial. The first round went well for the most part. It was slow and not very exciting. I missed a putt here and made a putt there. Got a birdie on one of the tightest holes on the course because I hit a line and slid under a log and then made a putt. Also made a few bogies becuase I tried for a bit too much and ended up whacking my way through the numerous trees. Still, the round ended with a birdie and a score of even for the round.
The second round was nice though felt more difficult at times. I had a really solid stretch of holes, all while Jaron and two of his girls were watching me. But when they weren't watching me things go a little bit squirrly. I also put a disc up in a tree, caught in poison oak. The round once again ended with a birdie and a few good corrections, but a score of +2 for the round. I then of course decided that I could not leave my disc in the tree, so I went back and risked getting poison oak in order to retrive my disc. I was waiting as groups played the hole but would then spend short periods of time trying to get the disc back. Eventually it came down, after about three hours. And of course I would later pay the price for playing with poison oak. I was able to make it back in time to see most of Jaron's oldest daughters baseball game. That was also a very good memory from the trip.
The final round came and went and the struggle of not knowing the course came back to cause a less than delightful round. I missed a putt after a great drive on the first hole (did that the first round too). And struggled early in the round until I made a huge putt on hole 8. Still, most of my drives were keeping me just far enough away from the hole not to be able to make the putts that I needed or wanted. The best news was that I was able to birdie the last hole for the third dtraight round and walk away from the tournament with a great experience and the desire to come back again and play a fun course.
The experience at this tournament was good enough that I might not think about playing the Meltdown in Colorado again.
So, I started to look for other tournemnts that I might be able to play instead of this one and found one near an old roommate from my time at Talbot School of Theology. My buddy Jaron has always been a solid guy and I honestly believe has the gift of hospitality along with his wife. We did a few skiing trips together which I filmed and then made movies of. I am sure there is a DVD somewhere that would embarass me now but is still histerical to those of us who were there. I was able to get in touch with him and made my way out to Sacramento, CA to play in the St. Patrick's Classic in Orangevale, CA at the lovely Shady Oaks Park.
After getting in late and finding that my car rental reservation was less than solid (ended up paying twice as much to find any car from a different company, blah) I made my way to Jaron's house. The highlight of this trip was not the disc golf but the time I got to spend with Jaron and his family. They are still valued friends. His kids, three girls, are all amazing. It was great to see his oldest again as I first met her in the hospital shortly after she was born. It brought back a lot of good memories and provided for some really good new memories. Perhaps the best was watching Big Hero 6 for the first time with the family and them trying to figure out which character I would like best. It is Hero, just in case you were wondering. It was also great to go rock climbing with Jaron again. Something we used to do when we were in school together back in the day. I am looking forward to seeing them all again.
As for the tournament, it was interesting going to the course early to walk a course and then play it blind in the first round of the tournament. The people there were very nice and helpful for the most part as I tried to figure out what exactly I was going to do. I ran in to Nikko and Jessica again, and perhaps they even remembered me from the Memorial. The first round went well for the most part. It was slow and not very exciting. I missed a putt here and made a putt there. Got a birdie on one of the tightest holes on the course because I hit a line and slid under a log and then made a putt. Also made a few bogies becuase I tried for a bit too much and ended up whacking my way through the numerous trees. Still, the round ended with a birdie and a score of even for the round.
The second round was nice though felt more difficult at times. I had a really solid stretch of holes, all while Jaron and two of his girls were watching me. But when they weren't watching me things go a little bit squirrly. I also put a disc up in a tree, caught in poison oak. The round once again ended with a birdie and a few good corrections, but a score of +2 for the round. I then of course decided that I could not leave my disc in the tree, so I went back and risked getting poison oak in order to retrive my disc. I was waiting as groups played the hole but would then spend short periods of time trying to get the disc back. Eventually it came down, after about three hours. And of course I would later pay the price for playing with poison oak. I was able to make it back in time to see most of Jaron's oldest daughters baseball game. That was also a very good memory from the trip.
The final round came and went and the struggle of not knowing the course came back to cause a less than delightful round. I missed a putt after a great drive on the first hole (did that the first round too). And struggled early in the round until I made a huge putt on hole 8. Still, most of my drives were keeping me just far enough away from the hole not to be able to make the putts that I needed or wanted. The best news was that I was able to birdie the last hole for the third dtraight round and walk away from the tournament with a great experience and the desire to come back again and play a fun course.
The experience at this tournament was good enough that I might not think about playing the Meltdown in Colorado again.
Return To The Memorial
Ever since the end of last years Memorial, I have been looking forward to going back and playing better. My parents went down to Arizona early and were living the dream in the nice weather. I on the other hand played a tournament in a blizzard, barely made it home alive. Found out my flight had been canceled and needed to find another flight to get to Arizona. It was a crazy day or two simply trying to go back to the place that had been so much fun but started my rough year last year.
After flying standby to get on an earlier flight, I finally made it to Arizona in time to get one of the two practice rounds I had hoped to play in. Sure, I played the last few holes in near darkness, but I made it and did so without loosing a disc. Though lest be honest, if I had not thrown near perfect tee shots on the last two holes that probably would not have been the case.
The next few days brought more practice rounds including some windy conditions that I was not too excited about. Thankfully the there were still lessons to be learned from that round. I also had the chance to play a practice round on the new course to the tournament with the likes of Nikko Locastro, Max Nichols and Jessice Weese. It was entertaining to watch Nikko and Max go back and forth with each other and to see what practice really meant to them. Ultimately it was also an encouraging round as I realized that it was not out of the question that I could make the effort to find myself at a much higher level than I am now. That is really the best way to describe it.
The first round brought nearly an all Colorado card together. I felt bad for the one guy from Utah until I realized that I played with him last year at the Memorial. Other than that I was also with Jared Roan and Lance Trott. It was exactly what I needed and made for a relaxed round. I made a few mistakes and missed a few putts that I would very much like to have back, but largely I played well at Fountain and shot better than I had the previous year. It was not a great round for any of us, but it was fun.
The second round was an early morning at Vista. It started out well including a birdie on the first hole, but some poor putting once again led to some disappointment. I also tried a roller on the 15th hole that rolled straight into the water and the loss of my best roller disc. Even to this day as I am writing this much later than I had intended, I still miss that disc. I have tried to beat in other discs but with no success. The round was also followed by a nice lunch with one of the guys I played with and some other disc golfers that I knew and someone donating $50 toward our bill. Thank you very much to the person who decided to do that.
The third round for me was the biggest roller coaster ride for me of the tournament. There were some great holes. I threw one of the most amazing roller shots I have ever thrown early in the round. But I also had some of the worst tee shots I have ever had including one of the worst rollers I have ever had later in the round. There were bad rolls and shots that were just a tad to short or a tad too long. Putts were not wanting to fall and even a dead center putt on 18 to salvage a descent round would not stick in the chains. At least the course was right next to an IN-N-OUT.
As I did not make the cut, I also had the joy of caddying for Paige Bjerkaas, a dear friend of mine from Colorado as she played in the final round. I was not the caddy that I wanted to be for her and she did not paly as well as I know she is capable of playing. It was still a fun experience.
There were also a couple of other amazing things that happened on this trip. First was having dinner with JohnE McCray and his wife Jen. They are some really awesome people. I met JohnE and Jen last year at the Memorial. JohnE loves God and we even prayed together before his first round. It was probably one of the highlights of last season for me as I mentioned in a previous blog post. This year included praying before the tournament again and even having dinner with JohnE and Jen. I am blessed to be able to call them friends.
JohnE and Jen also introduced me to Dustin and Hanah Leatherman at this years Memorial and I am blessed to have made new friends whom also love Jesus. I hope there is more news to share in the near future concerning meeting Dustin.
It was quite sad to leave the nice warm weather in Arizona and go back to a place where the weather was still cold and snowy. But, Colorado is home. I do look forward to being back in Arizona again next year for the Memorial and doing even better.
After flying standby to get on an earlier flight, I finally made it to Arizona in time to get one of the two practice rounds I had hoped to play in. Sure, I played the last few holes in near darkness, but I made it and did so without loosing a disc. Though lest be honest, if I had not thrown near perfect tee shots on the last two holes that probably would not have been the case.
The next few days brought more practice rounds including some windy conditions that I was not too excited about. Thankfully the there were still lessons to be learned from that round. I also had the chance to play a practice round on the new course to the tournament with the likes of Nikko Locastro, Max Nichols and Jessice Weese. It was entertaining to watch Nikko and Max go back and forth with each other and to see what practice really meant to them. Ultimately it was also an encouraging round as I realized that it was not out of the question that I could make the effort to find myself at a much higher level than I am now. That is really the best way to describe it.
The first round brought nearly an all Colorado card together. I felt bad for the one guy from Utah until I realized that I played with him last year at the Memorial. Other than that I was also with Jared Roan and Lance Trott. It was exactly what I needed and made for a relaxed round. I made a few mistakes and missed a few putts that I would very much like to have back, but largely I played well at Fountain and shot better than I had the previous year. It was not a great round for any of us, but it was fun.
The second round was an early morning at Vista. It started out well including a birdie on the first hole, but some poor putting once again led to some disappointment. I also tried a roller on the 15th hole that rolled straight into the water and the loss of my best roller disc. Even to this day as I am writing this much later than I had intended, I still miss that disc. I have tried to beat in other discs but with no success. The round was also followed by a nice lunch with one of the guys I played with and some other disc golfers that I knew and someone donating $50 toward our bill. Thank you very much to the person who decided to do that.
The third round for me was the biggest roller coaster ride for me of the tournament. There were some great holes. I threw one of the most amazing roller shots I have ever thrown early in the round. But I also had some of the worst tee shots I have ever had including one of the worst rollers I have ever had later in the round. There were bad rolls and shots that were just a tad to short or a tad too long. Putts were not wanting to fall and even a dead center putt on 18 to salvage a descent round would not stick in the chains. At least the course was right next to an IN-N-OUT.
As I did not make the cut, I also had the joy of caddying for Paige Bjerkaas, a dear friend of mine from Colorado as she played in the final round. I was not the caddy that I wanted to be for her and she did not paly as well as I know she is capable of playing. It was still a fun experience.
There were also a couple of other amazing things that happened on this trip. First was having dinner with JohnE McCray and his wife Jen. They are some really awesome people. I met JohnE and Jen last year at the Memorial. JohnE loves God and we even prayed together before his first round. It was probably one of the highlights of last season for me as I mentioned in a previous blog post. This year included praying before the tournament again and even having dinner with JohnE and Jen. I am blessed to be able to call them friends.
JohnE and Jen also introduced me to Dustin and Hanah Leatherman at this years Memorial and I am blessed to have made new friends whom also love Jesus. I hope there is more news to share in the near future concerning meeting Dustin.
It was quite sad to leave the nice warm weather in Arizona and go back to a place where the weather was still cold and snowy. But, Colorado is home. I do look forward to being back in Arizona again next year for the Memorial and doing even better.
Out To Sterling and Back!
This year I was fortunate enough to have an early season tournament in Colorado to get the year started off right. A group of guys were hoping to draw a good crowd out to Sterling, Colorado to play some disc golf and raise some money for their course out there. Sterling is one of those courses that is a hidden gem in the state of Colorado and with cement tee pads and a few extra pin positions, it is a course that could be phenominal. There are not many courses in Colorado that are like this and often time you find them in the mountains, not the flat plains.
Leaving for this tournament I was a bit scared. The weather in Denver was bad and was only supposed to get worse. By the time I made it out of Denver the roads were dry and clear and my car was flying down the interstate. Sterling was beautiful in the morning, albeit a tad on the cold side. What else would you expect in Colorado in February?
The first round brought amazing weather, despite the impending storm. I was fortunate enough to play my first round with Rob Nichols and watched him simply shoot lights out. I, on the other hand found plenty of bad breaks and despite hitting my lines more consistently than normal, managed to score poorly enough to already kill one of my goals for the season. First round of the year and first round rated below 900. Lets hope this isn't a trend moving forward. Lets be hoenst, without the island hole with no drop zone that I took an 8 on, that round really wasn't that bad.
The second round brought a blizzard. I mean a blizzard. Not quite the most miserable tournament round of disc golf I have ever played, but the island hole was still there and that meant for a long round. I watched people simply walk off the course because of the blizzard island hole. My round was solid up until the island hole again. Despite wanting to do better, a stiff head wind prevented that from happening, not to mention the snow. Still, taking a 9 this time around felt like a victory of small proportions. And of course the round was rated much better as 9 was nowhere near the 21 I watched a card mate of mine take.
The end of the tournament was not the end of the adventure for this tournament. The drive home was one of the scarrier drives I have ever made in my life but I was simply hoping to make it home and then to the airport the next morning in hopes of going to Arizona and getting some practice in before the Memorial. I survived, at least I think I did. Slow and steady won the race that day.
Leaving for this tournament I was a bit scared. The weather in Denver was bad and was only supposed to get worse. By the time I made it out of Denver the roads were dry and clear and my car was flying down the interstate. Sterling was beautiful in the morning, albeit a tad on the cold side. What else would you expect in Colorado in February?
The first round brought amazing weather, despite the impending storm. I was fortunate enough to play my first round with Rob Nichols and watched him simply shoot lights out. I, on the other hand found plenty of bad breaks and despite hitting my lines more consistently than normal, managed to score poorly enough to already kill one of my goals for the season. First round of the year and first round rated below 900. Lets hope this isn't a trend moving forward. Lets be hoenst, without the island hole with no drop zone that I took an 8 on, that round really wasn't that bad.
The second round brought a blizzard. I mean a blizzard. Not quite the most miserable tournament round of disc golf I have ever played, but the island hole was still there and that meant for a long round. I watched people simply walk off the course because of the blizzard island hole. My round was solid up until the island hole again. Despite wanting to do better, a stiff head wind prevented that from happening, not to mention the snow. Still, taking a 9 this time around felt like a victory of small proportions. And of course the round was rated much better as 9 was nowhere near the 21 I watched a card mate of mine take.
The end of the tournament was not the end of the adventure for this tournament. The drive home was one of the scarrier drives I have ever made in my life but I was simply hoping to make it home and then to the airport the next morning in hopes of going to Arizona and getting some practice in before the Memorial. I survived, at least I think I did. Slow and steady won the race that day.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
The End Of Winter Warriors X
I know there is one more Saturday in January but we made it through 13 weeks of another Winter Warriors season.
This was one of the most frustrating seasons from a standpoint of score and scoring ability. I failed in so many ways in terms of that.
But I had a blast and feel like I am coming out of the season in a good place.
Yes, I failed to make the top 10 this year after finishing in a solid second place last year.
Yes, the quality of my partners was much lower on average this year as compared to last year.
Yes, I began to tweak my form on the middle of the season.
Yes, that process has yet to yeild the results that I desire.
No, I am not running with a bunch of confidence as I did last year (but look where that got me).
Most importantly, I played a lot more disc golf than I would have without Winter Warriors and yes, I had a lot more fun that I would have had just sitting around doing something else.
I think I am getting back to a place where I feel like I can compete at a high level this up coming season. I feel like I am in a place where my expectations can rightfully be very low and I can go out and just have fun and learn the game a bit better than I currently do. I think there are good things in store and I think I am ready to bust off this plateau.
Things may be different this time around and that may mean a more positive outlook for the season, but there is still much work to be done.
This was one of the most frustrating seasons from a standpoint of score and scoring ability. I failed in so many ways in terms of that.
But I had a blast and feel like I am coming out of the season in a good place.
Yes, I failed to make the top 10 this year after finishing in a solid second place last year.
Yes, the quality of my partners was much lower on average this year as compared to last year.
Yes, I began to tweak my form on the middle of the season.
Yes, that process has yet to yeild the results that I desire.
No, I am not running with a bunch of confidence as I did last year (but look where that got me).
Most importantly, I played a lot more disc golf than I would have without Winter Warriors and yes, I had a lot more fun that I would have had just sitting around doing something else.
I think I am getting back to a place where I feel like I can compete at a high level this up coming season. I feel like I am in a place where my expectations can rightfully be very low and I can go out and just have fun and learn the game a bit better than I currently do. I think there are good things in store and I think I am ready to bust off this plateau.
Things may be different this time around and that may mean a more positive outlook for the season, but there is still much work to be done.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Goals For 2015
Well, after a disappointing year this past year, it is probably time to set some more realistic goals for 2015. I know part of the problem last year was having my head in the clouds and simply not doing some of the necessary work to get there. Additionally I came to the realization that I could be more consistent with different discs and switched my bag half way through the year. I am sure that made some thigns interesting as I had to make adjustments. Additionally this led to changing theories in what discs I should actually carry in my bag. I am not entirely sure that this process is over for me.
One of the great things that I got for Christmas was time with my dad's physical therapist. I am really looking forward to this as I am hoping that he will be able to help me accomplish two things. First, is helping me get my body to be healthier to play the great sport of disc golf and two that I can add some strength that might help add some distance to my game. He apparently has worked with a lot of athlete's from other sports and may be able to help me figure some things out with my form as well.
I am also blessed to have one of those internet gurus on disc golf form living near me. My hope is to continue to work with him as well as we figure out how to come up with the perfect form.
I know there are some other things going on in my life that might bring big changes to my life so there is always that bit of mystery that may provide for some set backs. But if I look at the pattern of my disc golf career, I have one good year and one bad year followed by one good year and then a bad year. I know last year was a bad year and I am hopeful that this means that the coming year will be good. So, with that being said, here come the goals.
1. Spend More Time Practicing - I have a practice routine for putting and I generally played a lot of practice rounds. But as I continue to work out my bag I am hopeful to find more time this year to practice. I think this will help me work through form issues as well. And of course there are always new discs to test out.
2. Play More Tournaments - Sure, I played like 23 tournaments last year. I think I can play mroe this year. I just hope there aren't too many schedule conflicts.
3. Earn A Rating of at Least 960 - I know ths is a big jump considering that my rating dropped last year, but I am feeling that my game is at least at the 960 level right now, I just want my actual rating to reflect that. I have a lot of poor rounds to drop. Unfortunately they are scattered throughout the entire year.
4. Earn at Least $500 from Sanctioned Tournaments - This might be my most unrealistic goal for the year, but I think it is entirely possible. I finally took cash this last year and earned well over $100. I think with a full season and playing better than last year and playing in more tournaments should make this goal achievable.
5. Never Shoot a Tournament Round Rated Below 900 - I am pretty sure this was one of my epic fails from last year, but I am going to put it on the list again this year. I will be playing fewer courses that I do not already know this year and I know that I can play better on most of the courses that I do know this year so I have hope that I will be able to pull this one off.
There are lots of other things that I want to do that are disc golf related. But for the most part those are unrelated to my actual game and as such I felt like they are not quite right to put here. That and the goals I had last year that fell into that category failed epically.
Here's to a great year for everyone on the disc golf course!
One of the great things that I got for Christmas was time with my dad's physical therapist. I am really looking forward to this as I am hoping that he will be able to help me accomplish two things. First, is helping me get my body to be healthier to play the great sport of disc golf and two that I can add some strength that might help add some distance to my game. He apparently has worked with a lot of athlete's from other sports and may be able to help me figure some things out with my form as well.
I am also blessed to have one of those internet gurus on disc golf form living near me. My hope is to continue to work with him as well as we figure out how to come up with the perfect form.
I know there are some other things going on in my life that might bring big changes to my life so there is always that bit of mystery that may provide for some set backs. But if I look at the pattern of my disc golf career, I have one good year and one bad year followed by one good year and then a bad year. I know last year was a bad year and I am hopeful that this means that the coming year will be good. So, with that being said, here come the goals.
1. Spend More Time Practicing - I have a practice routine for putting and I generally played a lot of practice rounds. But as I continue to work out my bag I am hopeful to find more time this year to practice. I think this will help me work through form issues as well. And of course there are always new discs to test out.
2. Play More Tournaments - Sure, I played like 23 tournaments last year. I think I can play mroe this year. I just hope there aren't too many schedule conflicts.
3. Earn A Rating of at Least 960 - I know ths is a big jump considering that my rating dropped last year, but I am feeling that my game is at least at the 960 level right now, I just want my actual rating to reflect that. I have a lot of poor rounds to drop. Unfortunately they are scattered throughout the entire year.
4. Earn at Least $500 from Sanctioned Tournaments - This might be my most unrealistic goal for the year, but I think it is entirely possible. I finally took cash this last year and earned well over $100. I think with a full season and playing better than last year and playing in more tournaments should make this goal achievable.
5. Never Shoot a Tournament Round Rated Below 900 - I am pretty sure this was one of my epic fails from last year, but I am going to put it on the list again this year. I will be playing fewer courses that I do not already know this year and I know that I can play better on most of the courses that I do know this year so I have hope that I will be able to pull this one off.
There are lots of other things that I want to do that are disc golf related. But for the most part those are unrelated to my actual game and as such I felt like they are not quite right to put here. That and the goals I had last year that fell into that category failed epically.
Here's to a great year for everyone on the disc golf course!
Monday, December 29, 2014
2014 Reflections
I really should have thought more about my goals before I spent so much time typing them out at the beginning of last year.
2014 was a great year categorized by a few bright spots and lots of not meeting expectations. I am beginning to learn why expectations are very dangerous, even if it is in the world of sports where ultimately that expectation you have may not be met and in the long run it means very little. The question I learned to have in the midst of this year was, are you still having fun? Of course the answer to that was yes, probably more fun than I should be allowed to have. I had a great time traveling and playing in new places. I watched some friends do very well. I made new friends. I still love the game of disc golf.
Let's take a quick peak back at the goals that I had for myself.
1. To Be Myself - I played my game a lot this year. I know I don't have all the tools of the others I am playing with, but I know what I can do.
2. To Be A Learner At All Times - Ooo, I nailed this one. It really doesn't matter who you are, I still have something to learn from you. I found that there are some people in my circles that are really doing some amazing things, and I am not beyond asking for their help.
3. To Qualify For Pro Worlds in 2015 - Even with the mid season change in qualifications for next year pro worlds, and even without a couple of tournaments reporting points, I have more than qualified for a trip to Pittsburg. You better believe I am going to register just as soon as I get the chance to.
4. To Finish In The Top 25% at Am Nats and Am Worlds - Yeah, lets refer back to not meeting expectations and move on.
5. To Not Finish Last - Epic fail on this one. Oh well. Moved on still had fun.
6. To See My Rating Improve To At Least 960 - Even bigger epic fail. I actually lowered my rating this year. Lots of possible factors. 2015 is looking bright.
7. To Design A Course That Gets Played - Nope. Didn't get any help from my local parks department on that one.
8. To Make At Least One Disc Golf Video - Nope, not enough time to make this one happen. At least not to the quality that I would hold myself to.
In order to keep myself from typing too much, here is my top 10 list of things that happened in 2014. I promise I will not type too much, even if that leaves you wanting more.
10. Played in my first National Tour event.
9. Changed my entire bag up, got me some Swedish plastic.
8. Had my extended family come watch and cheer me on in Michigan. Gave my cousins kids their first discs.
7. Cashed for the first time and took it. I'm a pro now.
6. 100 courses played according to DGCR.
5. Was complemented on Facebook even though I don't have Facebook. Tears in my eyes.
4. Played a round in a tournament with Cale Leiviska and Garret Gurthie, made my mom famous. Woop Woop!
3. Got two aces in one year, what???
2. Taught kids to play disc golf, made parents cry.
1. Met and made a new friend in JohnE McCray. See you again this year friend!
Alright, that is it for now. I am already pondering the goals for next year. Maybe make a chipmunk smile will be on there.
2014 was a great year categorized by a few bright spots and lots of not meeting expectations. I am beginning to learn why expectations are very dangerous, even if it is in the world of sports where ultimately that expectation you have may not be met and in the long run it means very little. The question I learned to have in the midst of this year was, are you still having fun? Of course the answer to that was yes, probably more fun than I should be allowed to have. I had a great time traveling and playing in new places. I watched some friends do very well. I made new friends. I still love the game of disc golf.
Let's take a quick peak back at the goals that I had for myself.
1. To Be Myself - I played my game a lot this year. I know I don't have all the tools of the others I am playing with, but I know what I can do.
2. To Be A Learner At All Times - Ooo, I nailed this one. It really doesn't matter who you are, I still have something to learn from you. I found that there are some people in my circles that are really doing some amazing things, and I am not beyond asking for their help.
3. To Qualify For Pro Worlds in 2015 - Even with the mid season change in qualifications for next year pro worlds, and even without a couple of tournaments reporting points, I have more than qualified for a trip to Pittsburg. You better believe I am going to register just as soon as I get the chance to.
4. To Finish In The Top 25% at Am Nats and Am Worlds - Yeah, lets refer back to not meeting expectations and move on.
5. To Not Finish Last - Epic fail on this one. Oh well. Moved on still had fun.
6. To See My Rating Improve To At Least 960 - Even bigger epic fail. I actually lowered my rating this year. Lots of possible factors. 2015 is looking bright.
7. To Design A Course That Gets Played - Nope. Didn't get any help from my local parks department on that one.
8. To Make At Least One Disc Golf Video - Nope, not enough time to make this one happen. At least not to the quality that I would hold myself to.
In order to keep myself from typing too much, here is my top 10 list of things that happened in 2014. I promise I will not type too much, even if that leaves you wanting more.
10. Played in my first National Tour event.
9. Changed my entire bag up, got me some Swedish plastic.
8. Had my extended family come watch and cheer me on in Michigan. Gave my cousins kids their first discs.
7. Cashed for the first time and took it. I'm a pro now.
6. 100 courses played according to DGCR.
5. Was complemented on Facebook even though I don't have Facebook. Tears in my eyes.
4. Played a round in a tournament with Cale Leiviska and Garret Gurthie, made my mom famous. Woop Woop!
3. Got two aces in one year, what???
2. Taught kids to play disc golf, made parents cry.
1. Met and made a new friend in JohnE McCray. See you again this year friend!
Alright, that is it for now. I am already pondering the goals for next year. Maybe make a chipmunk smile will be on there.
Friday, November 7, 2014
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.
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.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
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.
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.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
100 Courses Played According to DGCR
Well, according to DGCR I have played 100 courses in my disc golf career. I am not sure this is too accurate. There are several variations of the same course that appear to count for each variation I have played. That knocks me down about four courses by my calculations. It does not include three very private courses that I have played. So maybe the reality is that I am only at 99 courses played by my calculations. That being said, I will be at 100 by the end of the year barring major sickness keeping me from my last tournament in New Mexico at Pendaries. I guess 101 becomes 100?
The Tournament Catch Up Post
Wow, time sure flies when you are having fun. I realize that I have missed blogging about several events over the past couple of months, so here comes the run down in a very concise format.
WYOpen - Expected to play well but did not. Had fun. Lost a disc that I did not want to loose because of the stinking wind.
Denver Classic - Played well. Not happy with the first round. Still I cashed and I took the stinking money for the first time in my life. That's right, I am officially a professional disc golfer!
Peak One Might High Classic - Stunk it up on a course that I played really well last year. Started out really hot in the first round and everything fizzled from there.
Colorado State Championships - What a fun time. Sunlight Mountain Resort DGC was much better than I expected. Got an ace in the second round with a thumber. Did not play as well as I had hoped.
Frontier Open - Road trip with Bjerkaas' and Colten. Had a lot of fun. Wish I would have played the courses in advance. Played well considering I didn't know what I was doing half the time.
PODS Finals @ CHU - Rocked it. Played ont he lead card in the second round after playing one of my best rounds ever at CHU. Lost it in the second round but battled back to a descent score. Cashed!
Lunacy - Interesting tournament. Played best on the course I had never played. Could not get things going at the other course. Failed epically on one tough hole in the thrid round. Blah.
I think that just about covers everything. One more tournament for this year I believe. I am looking forward to a trip down to New Mexico to play Pendaries.
WYOpen - Expected to play well but did not. Had fun. Lost a disc that I did not want to loose because of the stinking wind.
Denver Classic - Played well. Not happy with the first round. Still I cashed and I took the stinking money for the first time in my life. That's right, I am officially a professional disc golfer!
Peak One Might High Classic - Stunk it up on a course that I played really well last year. Started out really hot in the first round and everything fizzled from there.
Colorado State Championships - What a fun time. Sunlight Mountain Resort DGC was much better than I expected. Got an ace in the second round with a thumber. Did not play as well as I had hoped.
Frontier Open - Road trip with Bjerkaas' and Colten. Had a lot of fun. Wish I would have played the courses in advance. Played well considering I didn't know what I was doing half the time.
PODS Finals @ CHU - Rocked it. Played ont he lead card in the second round after playing one of my best rounds ever at CHU. Lost it in the second round but battled back to a descent score. Cashed!
Lunacy - Interesting tournament. Played best on the course I had never played. Could not get things going at the other course. Failed epically on one tough hole in the thrid round. Blah.
I think that just about covers everything. One more tournament for this year I believe. I am looking forward to a trip down to New Mexico to play Pendaries.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Back To Snow Mountain
Sometimes in the world of disc golf there are those tournaments that everyone just kind of gets the sense taht something special is going on here. There is a sense of community amongst most if not all of the people playing that says something more than this is a competition. There is a sense of uniqueness that says I am different but I am okay with that. It really isn't a sense of arrogance but a sense of being confident in who you are. Snow Mountain Challenge has been one of those tournaments for me in the past and thus remains one of my favorite tournaments to play. It is why I had something to look forward to after not meeting expectations at Am Worlds this year.
That being said, I played really well in two out of three rounds last year and was really hoping to make it three out of three rounds this year. Even further in the past, when the course at snow mountain was a little bit different I was able to play really well there while not playing so well at Winter Park. There was no reason that I could not come into this tournament and play really well.
Okay, so the reality was that after Am Worlds I went back to work. I work with kids. I work with young kids. I work with germ infested kids that have made me sick more in 2014 than I think I have ever been sick before. Of course, three days into working again I get sick with similar symptoms to what I had right around the time of while I like to call at this point my epic disc golf demise. I can pin point one tournament where things went so bad I knew it was time to make changes. Getting sick like this was the last thing anyone should have to deal with right before a tournament.
Like last year I shot a less than stellar round at Snow Mountain. I did have moments of greatness. I was able to birdie a hole that no one else on my card birdied. And of course I need to mention that I was on a card with Joe, the top rated player in the state. For one hole I was awesome. For one hole I was the best player. For many others I failed empically. I threw a few shots that made me feel like it was time to move down and play advanced again. Or even intermediate now that my rating has dropped back under the 935 mark. Most of my shots had the right idea, but they ended up short or long or just not where you wanted them to be. And even if they did end up in a good place, I was not on my putting game. And occasionally, well, at least for the first two holes. I played a good upshot after a mediocre drive, only to watch the disc roll away from the basket just far enough to force a barely good enough effort that ultimately resulted in two bogies.
I took some time at lunch to tell myself that was okay because I was going to play Winter Park better. Sure I was in last place and sure there was a lot of ground to make up, but I was capable and I was going to do it. Not so much. The first round at Winter Park, second round of the tournament, the same round where only a year ago I shot one of my best rounds, I failed epically. I tried to play smart and play my game and the pieces were just not fitting together. It was like trying to get to five with two balls in each hand. There were no real aha moments outside of one putt that somehow went in from at least 50 feet out. There were only two birdies and the rest of the round was just junk. The good news is that it was not as bad in the morning, but there were still at least five stupid errors that would have made the round what I was hoping for.
Alright, one more chance to make things better on Sunday morning. One more round at Winter Park where I know I am capable of shooting really well. It was tough to watch a good friend nearly ace a hole that is over 700 feet long while I managed to take a 5. It was tough to have more putts at two than I have had in the previous two rounds, only to fail to convert. On the bright side, I made another good long putt, one that I even thought was going to miss. Ultimately it landed me in dead last place in open with a score that should have been in intermediate where my dad was forced to paly.
After the tournmanet I really felt, even though I loved the community around me and recognized that special thing in the air, I felt like I was just not that good at disc golf. I learned that I can really beat myself up and that I can make mistakes even on the simplest of things. I learned that I have a lot of work left to do. As I talked about it tonight, Monday night, with my roommate, I think I learned what the mental block might be. We were talking about something going on in his life and he mentioned the concept of confidence and how it impacts performance. Even my friend Paige had to tell me recently that I was a better disc golfer than I was telling people I was. I think she is right, even if I only ended up beating her by two throws for the whole tournament. Confidence is huge and right now I have lost it. There is a confidence switch that is not yet turned on. It is like I did so well at Winter Warriors and relaxed too much and turned off the switch heading into this year. It is like I allowed myself to be intimidated by playing Open unlike when I did last year with the confidence of a win in advanced. I need to talk myself up and gain that confidence back. So, here is my attempt to get that process started.
"Hey Scott, you are a disc golfer. You love this game and by golly you are good at it. You can throw a disc really well. You can hit lines and make throws that only you, yes only you can do. You have a good game and when you play your game, there isn't anyone that you couldn't beat. That putt is going in the basket. That upshot will land in your confidence range. That tee shot will do exactly what you expect. You know how to play this game. You can focus really well when you take the time. You are good. You have more fun than anyone else. You are unique and that is okay. You are good at this game. You had better believe it!"
I don't have to wait long for the next chance. I get to go play where I won last year in advanced. There is nothing besides myself, not even Joe that could stop me from winning again, even in Open.
That being said, I played really well in two out of three rounds last year and was really hoping to make it three out of three rounds this year. Even further in the past, when the course at snow mountain was a little bit different I was able to play really well there while not playing so well at Winter Park. There was no reason that I could not come into this tournament and play really well.
Okay, so the reality was that after Am Worlds I went back to work. I work with kids. I work with young kids. I work with germ infested kids that have made me sick more in 2014 than I think I have ever been sick before. Of course, three days into working again I get sick with similar symptoms to what I had right around the time of while I like to call at this point my epic disc golf demise. I can pin point one tournament where things went so bad I knew it was time to make changes. Getting sick like this was the last thing anyone should have to deal with right before a tournament.
Like last year I shot a less than stellar round at Snow Mountain. I did have moments of greatness. I was able to birdie a hole that no one else on my card birdied. And of course I need to mention that I was on a card with Joe, the top rated player in the state. For one hole I was awesome. For one hole I was the best player. For many others I failed empically. I threw a few shots that made me feel like it was time to move down and play advanced again. Or even intermediate now that my rating has dropped back under the 935 mark. Most of my shots had the right idea, but they ended up short or long or just not where you wanted them to be. And even if they did end up in a good place, I was not on my putting game. And occasionally, well, at least for the first two holes. I played a good upshot after a mediocre drive, only to watch the disc roll away from the basket just far enough to force a barely good enough effort that ultimately resulted in two bogies.
I took some time at lunch to tell myself that was okay because I was going to play Winter Park better. Sure I was in last place and sure there was a lot of ground to make up, but I was capable and I was going to do it. Not so much. The first round at Winter Park, second round of the tournament, the same round where only a year ago I shot one of my best rounds, I failed epically. I tried to play smart and play my game and the pieces were just not fitting together. It was like trying to get to five with two balls in each hand. There were no real aha moments outside of one putt that somehow went in from at least 50 feet out. There were only two birdies and the rest of the round was just junk. The good news is that it was not as bad in the morning, but there were still at least five stupid errors that would have made the round what I was hoping for.
Alright, one more chance to make things better on Sunday morning. One more round at Winter Park where I know I am capable of shooting really well. It was tough to watch a good friend nearly ace a hole that is over 700 feet long while I managed to take a 5. It was tough to have more putts at two than I have had in the previous two rounds, only to fail to convert. On the bright side, I made another good long putt, one that I even thought was going to miss. Ultimately it landed me in dead last place in open with a score that should have been in intermediate where my dad was forced to paly.
After the tournmanet I really felt, even though I loved the community around me and recognized that special thing in the air, I felt like I was just not that good at disc golf. I learned that I can really beat myself up and that I can make mistakes even on the simplest of things. I learned that I have a lot of work left to do. As I talked about it tonight, Monday night, with my roommate, I think I learned what the mental block might be. We were talking about something going on in his life and he mentioned the concept of confidence and how it impacts performance. Even my friend Paige had to tell me recently that I was a better disc golfer than I was telling people I was. I think she is right, even if I only ended up beating her by two throws for the whole tournament. Confidence is huge and right now I have lost it. There is a confidence switch that is not yet turned on. It is like I did so well at Winter Warriors and relaxed too much and turned off the switch heading into this year. It is like I allowed myself to be intimidated by playing Open unlike when I did last year with the confidence of a win in advanced. I need to talk myself up and gain that confidence back. So, here is my attempt to get that process started.
"Hey Scott, you are a disc golfer. You love this game and by golly you are good at it. You can throw a disc really well. You can hit lines and make throws that only you, yes only you can do. You have a good game and when you play your game, there isn't anyone that you couldn't beat. That putt is going in the basket. That upshot will land in your confidence range. That tee shot will do exactly what you expect. You know how to play this game. You can focus really well when you take the time. You are good. You have more fun than anyone else. You are unique and that is okay. You are good at this game. You had better believe it!"
I don't have to wait long for the next chance. I get to go play where I won last year in advanced. There is nothing besides myself, not even Joe that could stop me from winning again, even in Open.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Coming Up Short
Here is the simple truth. I needed a solid round today, merely a -3, on one of the toughest courses I had to play at this years Am Worlds and I came up short. But I didn't just come up short by a little. I failed epically. I went down in flames. I went so far backwards I may as well have started over. And I actually had to mid round.
The funny thing was is that I was throwing some really good shots. Most of them were my thumbers that just seemed to fly through the air with ease. These were also the shots that I haven't had to slow down on recently. See, it seems that I was able to hit more lines when I slowed things down and really focused on jsut that. Oddly enough the slowing down process got going too slow and rather than throwing the disc, I simply just started trying to place my discs out there. Then when I started throwing things again, it was amazing. But then I started throwing too hard and too fast again and took things so far off line at the end that I bogied the last three holes of my round.
I need to learn how to simply find the middle ground. I think I was there earlier at worlds, specifically at the first round and the fourth round. So now it is all about figuring out what my mindset was when I was playing those specific rounds and keep that going.
After my bad round today I went to watch my Colorado Disc Golf family. I talked with my friend Paige about it and I told her that I was honestly glad that I did not do better. If I had been closer and failed to win or make the finals or the semi finals or whatever I would be more inclined to keep my amateur status and play Am Worlds one more time. But now I feel like it is time for me to move on. I have had a blast playing in the amateur divisions, but if my game keeps going the way that it is, I know I am ready for the pros as are much of the people that I have played against this week at Am Worlds.
Now I get to be a spectator, and I am once again looking forward to this experience.
The funny thing was is that I was throwing some really good shots. Most of them were my thumbers that just seemed to fly through the air with ease. These were also the shots that I haven't had to slow down on recently. See, it seems that I was able to hit more lines when I slowed things down and really focused on jsut that. Oddly enough the slowing down process got going too slow and rather than throwing the disc, I simply just started trying to place my discs out there. Then when I started throwing things again, it was amazing. But then I started throwing too hard and too fast again and took things so far off line at the end that I bogied the last three holes of my round.
I need to learn how to simply find the middle ground. I think I was there earlier at worlds, specifically at the first round and the fourth round. So now it is all about figuring out what my mindset was when I was playing those specific rounds and keep that going.
After my bad round today I went to watch my Colorado Disc Golf family. I talked with my friend Paige about it and I told her that I was honestly glad that I did not do better. If I had been closer and failed to win or make the finals or the semi finals or whatever I would be more inclined to keep my amateur status and play Am Worlds one more time. But now I feel like it is time for me to move on. I have had a blast playing in the amateur divisions, but if my game keeps going the way that it is, I know I am ready for the pros as are much of the people that I have played against this week at Am Worlds.
Now I get to be a spectator, and I am once again looking forward to this experience.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Apparently I Play Better In The Morning - Day Three At Am Worlds
Well, as frustrating as yesterday was, there were aspects fo today that were even more frustrating. This evening I feel more apt to actually talk about it which lends itself to mean that today was not as bad as yesterday, but I am not so sure that is the case.
The first round of the day was back at CP Adams for the second consecutive day. I played with a great group of guys. They were fun and enjoyable, even if I was laughing to myself about how oblivious the guy with headphones was to what was going on around him. I shot well. I shot really well. It was right up there with the first round of the tournament ratings wise but felt so much better than even that round. I had just a couple of misses and lots of good gets. I couldn't make a jump putt to save my life, but fortunately it only cost me about three strokes in the end, and realistically, I would have gotten maybe one of those if things were going well in that department. I also took my only 5 at CP Adams on my second to last hole, a hole that should be a relatively easy three. None the less, I shot -7 and was happy to be moving myself back into the position I wanted to be in.
The afternoon was met with every bad bounce imaginable in addition to being that much off my game. When I threw a bad shot, it really wasn't that bad. When I threw a good shot it felt like I got a bad kick. I struggled. I fought. I really felt like I played well. But in the end I was the low man on my card by more than it should have been and will probably have this round be the lowest rated round of the tournament for me. I am only speculating on the rating.
This brings me to a very interesting observation. The two rounds that I have been the most frustrated with at this years worlds have been my afternoon rounds. I will only have two of them in the preliminary rounds thankfully, but they were both just off. I am sure part of that is the fatigue of a morning round on top of other issues like weather, but it still seems weird to just not be playing that well in the afternoon.
One more round garunteed tomorrow and I need to make it a good one at what might be one of the toughest courses for me.
The first round of the day was back at CP Adams for the second consecutive day. I played with a great group of guys. They were fun and enjoyable, even if I was laughing to myself about how oblivious the guy with headphones was to what was going on around him. I shot well. I shot really well. It was right up there with the first round of the tournament ratings wise but felt so much better than even that round. I had just a couple of misses and lots of good gets. I couldn't make a jump putt to save my life, but fortunately it only cost me about three strokes in the end, and realistically, I would have gotten maybe one of those if things were going well in that department. I also took my only 5 at CP Adams on my second to last hole, a hole that should be a relatively easy three. None the less, I shot -7 and was happy to be moving myself back into the position I wanted to be in.
The afternoon was met with every bad bounce imaginable in addition to being that much off my game. When I threw a bad shot, it really wasn't that bad. When I threw a good shot it felt like I got a bad kick. I struggled. I fought. I really felt like I played well. But in the end I was the low man on my card by more than it should have been and will probably have this round be the lowest rated round of the tournament for me. I am only speculating on the rating.
This brings me to a very interesting observation. The two rounds that I have been the most frustrated with at this years worlds have been my afternoon rounds. I will only have two of them in the preliminary rounds thankfully, but they were both just off. I am sure part of that is the fatigue of a morning round on top of other issues like weather, but it still seems weird to just not be playing that well in the afternoon.
One more round garunteed tomorrow and I need to make it a good one at what might be one of the toughest courses for me.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Day 2 Let Down And Shuffle Disappointment
Well, despite the fact that things never really seemed to be off that much, things really took a turn for the worse today. There is good news and bad news to that. I shot two solid rounds, one more so than the other. Neither round was that great and both were a big disappointment in my eyes. Much of this post may not make too much sense as I feel extremely tired and could honestly care less about today other than to know where I am supposed to be tomorrow.
Round 2 at CP Adams was par after par after par. Not a whole lot to speak of. One true bogey and that was it. Only five birdies and a lot of blah.
Round 3 at Kaposia kicked my butt. Honestly it was really only the last four holes or so that even felt like I was playing my normal disc golf game.
Overall score sits at -6 with the cut between A and B pools falling in the middle of the crowd at -8.
I am currently tied for 87th place and would be in the secondary Semi final if my position does not change. But I will start on hole 7 or 8 most likely for the next round so there is a lot of room to improve in the next two days.
I am sure there are people enjoying themselves tonight at the Beet and Brats thing going on. I am too tired and need to take a shower and go to bed. I wish they had scores and new pools posted sooner so I could have gone to bed earlier.
Wow, reading over this makes me sound frustrated and tired. Lets hope that curing the tired aspect of that changes things around on the other side of that too.
Round 2 at CP Adams was par after par after par. Not a whole lot to speak of. One true bogey and that was it. Only five birdies and a lot of blah.
Round 3 at Kaposia kicked my butt. Honestly it was really only the last four holes or so that even felt like I was playing my normal disc golf game.
Overall score sits at -6 with the cut between A and B pools falling in the middle of the crowd at -8.
I am currently tied for 87th place and would be in the secondary Semi final if my position does not change. But I will start on hole 7 or 8 most likely for the next round so there is a lot of room to improve in the next two days.
I am sure there are people enjoying themselves tonight at the Beet and Brats thing going on. I am too tired and need to take a shower and go to bed. I wish they had scores and new pools posted sooner so I could have gone to bed earlier.
Wow, reading over this makes me sound frustrated and tired. Lets hope that curing the tired aspect of that changes things around on the other side of that too.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
The First Day of Competition
Finally, I got to throw some plastic and have it count for something real at Am Worlds this year. Being in the A Pool and playing one round with some of the best players out there at Kenwood was a good experience for me. I got up early, ate breakfast and then hopped in the car with another guy staying at our hotel who needed a ride to the course. I had plenty of time to warm up without over exerting myself and even though my putting had been off in practice, I was ready for the round to start.
Oddly enough I got to start on hole 1. I took a picture of that just so I could claim that I was on the lead card once in this tournament. I know it really isn't the lead card, but I am going to pretend that it was. My card for the first round was awesome. I played with John, who was a local Minnesota guy and Waren who now lives in Oregon. The fourth guy in our group never showed up. I think that is the first time I have had that happen in a World Championship. There were so many great things about this group. We were just talkative enough to make it interesting. We were all very respectful. And we all played a solid game. Good form and strong mentally. Sure we all made mistakes, but we all kept it together.
The hot round in my pool was 10 under par and I shot 4 under par. I am tied for 12th in my pool and quite pleased that this will help me reach the goals that I have set out for myself. The tough part about the game at this point is that I have to keep doing what I was doing today and not think about where I am at. I have done that in past years and it really gets you no where. Play smart, play consistent, do not make mistakes.
This evening was also the fly mart. Lots of stuff to buy. Not much that I actually want. I was able to find a full run down on the field events. I found out that I not only cashed in both the skill shot and putting competition, but I also finished in the top 10 in both. I finished 6th in the Skill Shot and 8th in the putting competition. So there, I made $76 dollars back from my entry fee. I technically have to spend it at a local shop, but that is a little more than half of what I paid for my entire entry to be here in Minnesota for this event. Add that to the players pack that I got and I am sure that I am ahead.
Tomorrow is another day. Keep it simple. Play smart. Play my game.
Oddly enough I got to start on hole 1. I took a picture of that just so I could claim that I was on the lead card once in this tournament. I know it really isn't the lead card, but I am going to pretend that it was. My card for the first round was awesome. I played with John, who was a local Minnesota guy and Waren who now lives in Oregon. The fourth guy in our group never showed up. I think that is the first time I have had that happen in a World Championship. There were so many great things about this group. We were just talkative enough to make it interesting. We were all very respectful. And we all played a solid game. Good form and strong mentally. Sure we all made mistakes, but we all kept it together.
The hot round in my pool was 10 under par and I shot 4 under par. I am tied for 12th in my pool and quite pleased that this will help me reach the goals that I have set out for myself. The tough part about the game at this point is that I have to keep doing what I was doing today and not think about where I am at. I have done that in past years and it really gets you no where. Play smart, play consistent, do not make mistakes.
This evening was also the fly mart. Lots of stuff to buy. Not much that I actually want. I was able to find a full run down on the field events. I found out that I not only cashed in both the skill shot and putting competition, but I also finished in the top 10 in both. I finished 6th in the Skill Shot and 8th in the putting competition. So there, I made $76 dollars back from my entry fee. I technically have to spend it at a local shop, but that is a little more than half of what I paid for my entire entry to be here in Minnesota for this event. Add that to the players pack that I got and I am sure that I am ahead.
Tomorrow is another day. Keep it simple. Play smart. Play my game.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Practice and Field Events
Well, I haven't posted much about worlds over the past few days since the most interesting things about practice is figuring out what exactly you are going to throw on any given hole. The funny thing is that for the most part, when I have met people in my own division, they have also been in the A pool. We know the top 25 rated players are in there, but if that is the case then I must be doing something right if I am continuously seeing them around. I think practice has been going well, and while I am not yet shooting the scores that I would like to be on any given course, I have a good feel for the courses and am ready to start playing now.
I did have fun on Saturday after getting an early morning practice round in at The Valley. I managed to finish my round right in the middle of the players meeting for the mixed doubles world championship. I knew that there would be some friends there from Colorado because the wife/mother was playing in that event. My parents and I ended up following her and her partner around with her husband and daughter and simply had fun hanging out and getting a good look at The Valley. I have walked the Valley more than any other course at this point, even if I have played more rounds on other courses.
Field events took place today at a local high school. There was very little protection from the wind and as such the two events that I was competing in became very interesting. I did the Skill Shot competition earlier and struggled more than I remember doing the previous time I competed in this competition. I still had a blast and made some really good shots. I then watched another friend from Colorado compete in the distance competition. Sadly he only got one good shot in bounds and fell just a few feet short of winning in his division. In the putting competition, things started out really slow for me as I adjusted to the wind. When I finally got around to more tail wind types of putts, I was making everything. I had one putt that still haunts me as I think about it. I still can't believe it fell out of the basket after hitting nearly perfect on the strong side and falling down just as one might expect before it landed on the rim looking like a teeter-totter before it tottered right out of the basket. I still think my performance in both the skill shot and putting should cash, but we shall see as they have only posted the top scores at this point.
Check in started today. I took care of that before heading over to the field events. The most unique part of the players pack was a really nice looking collard dri-fit shirt that was customized with name and PDGA number. Apart from that, this was the smallest players pack I have gotten at Worlds. This is my third worlds and honestly I was a bit disappointed. I guess since they are not running it like Dynamic did last year (as a "true amateur event") things were bound to not look quite as good. In the end, I still ended up with more stuff than I came to Minnesota with and the value of the stuff I did get was more than what I paid for the event. Another fun little note about the discs in the players pack specifically was the Prototype Buzzz OS that Discraft donated to the players packs. I know they are not approved yet, but this is an interesting move for Discraft.
One more fun thing that happened at the field events, but completely separate from the field events was the test drive, dribing range that Discraft set up. This was the second year they had done this, but the first time I actually had some fun with it. For the most part, they brought their new Zlite plastic discs to test out. This is the first time that I have seen bubble plastic from Discraft and it looks like they finally gave in and started producing these light weight discs that are easier to throw. The stability of these discs were surprisingly good as well. I won't throw them because I no longer throw Discraft, but it is a very interesting move. They also had this years Ace Race disc there as well as some of the Buzzz OS's.
That is the update for now. The players meeting is tomorrow night and I am looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow before things get started on Tuesday. I really can't wait for Tuesday.
I did have fun on Saturday after getting an early morning practice round in at The Valley. I managed to finish my round right in the middle of the players meeting for the mixed doubles world championship. I knew that there would be some friends there from Colorado because the wife/mother was playing in that event. My parents and I ended up following her and her partner around with her husband and daughter and simply had fun hanging out and getting a good look at The Valley. I have walked the Valley more than any other course at this point, even if I have played more rounds on other courses.
Field events took place today at a local high school. There was very little protection from the wind and as such the two events that I was competing in became very interesting. I did the Skill Shot competition earlier and struggled more than I remember doing the previous time I competed in this competition. I still had a blast and made some really good shots. I then watched another friend from Colorado compete in the distance competition. Sadly he only got one good shot in bounds and fell just a few feet short of winning in his division. In the putting competition, things started out really slow for me as I adjusted to the wind. When I finally got around to more tail wind types of putts, I was making everything. I had one putt that still haunts me as I think about it. I still can't believe it fell out of the basket after hitting nearly perfect on the strong side and falling down just as one might expect before it landed on the rim looking like a teeter-totter before it tottered right out of the basket. I still think my performance in both the skill shot and putting should cash, but we shall see as they have only posted the top scores at this point.
Check in started today. I took care of that before heading over to the field events. The most unique part of the players pack was a really nice looking collard dri-fit shirt that was customized with name and PDGA number. Apart from that, this was the smallest players pack I have gotten at Worlds. This is my third worlds and honestly I was a bit disappointed. I guess since they are not running it like Dynamic did last year (as a "true amateur event") things were bound to not look quite as good. In the end, I still ended up with more stuff than I came to Minnesota with and the value of the stuff I did get was more than what I paid for the event. Another fun little note about the discs in the players pack specifically was the Prototype Buzzz OS that Discraft donated to the players packs. I know they are not approved yet, but this is an interesting move for Discraft.
One more fun thing that happened at the field events, but completely separate from the field events was the test drive, dribing range that Discraft set up. This was the second year they had done this, but the first time I actually had some fun with it. For the most part, they brought their new Zlite plastic discs to test out. This is the first time that I have seen bubble plastic from Discraft and it looks like they finally gave in and started producing these light weight discs that are easier to throw. The stability of these discs were surprisingly good as well. I won't throw them because I no longer throw Discraft, but it is a very interesting move. They also had this years Ace Race disc there as well as some of the Buzzz OS's.
That is the update for now. The players meeting is tomorrow night and I am looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow before things get started on Tuesday. I really can't wait for Tuesday.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Settled In Minnesota
Well, it is official. I am in the state of Minnesota. Woke up this morning packed and ready to go. Had my parents pick me up and then off the the airport we went. No major problems getting our bags checked at the curb or getting through security. Thank goodness we could check bags at the curb as the line inside was probably going to be close to an hour or more. Southwest really needs to plan their flights better or find more space to have a line for check-in. I think this might be the first time ever that my bag full of discs did not have something pop up on the screen that security wanted to check out. In the past they have stopped my bag for reusable handwarmers and the inhailer I was using when I had bronchitis. Finding food on the concourse and getting to the gate was easy.
The flight itself was a little interesting. First of all, on Southwest, without assigned seats it becomes rather interesting, especially when there are lots of families that get on early no matter what their boarding position is. By the time I got on the plan and looked throughout the cabin, I had to walk back towards the front of the plane just to find a center seat despite being at the end of their middle section to board the plane. My parents and I ended up separated and all with middle seats. I am pretty sure I am the only person, besides one of the kids that would have had to sit away from their parents, who could have fit in the seat I was in. It wasn't perfect, but it did make for some good prayer and meditation time.
There was some fun turbulance on the flight but for the most part everything in flight was fine. At the airport I am pretty sure that my two checked bags were the last ones to come out. But at least they came out at the same time. Got a rental car that my dad kinda fits in, but this is a normal problem for him to have. Made it to the hotel we are staying at and got a wonderful room. Originally we had reserved a room at the Clarion because it was the host hotel for worlds. After staying there for the Majestic earlier this year, we decided as a family to find another place to say. I am so thankful that we did as I feel completely relaxed, not a feeling I had staying at the Clarion.
I even got out for a practice round today at Oakwood. It was nice not to have to play Oakwood in the rain like I did at the Majestic. But being my first round here in Minnesota for this trip, there was still some adjustment. I actually shot fairly well, but left a lot of strokes out there. I made a few mistakes and missed a few putts that I shouldn't have. It really did feel good to get out and throw a disc on a course that will be part of this worlds experience. Tomorrow is more practice.
The flight itself was a little interesting. First of all, on Southwest, without assigned seats it becomes rather interesting, especially when there are lots of families that get on early no matter what their boarding position is. By the time I got on the plan and looked throughout the cabin, I had to walk back towards the front of the plane just to find a center seat despite being at the end of their middle section to board the plane. My parents and I ended up separated and all with middle seats. I am pretty sure I am the only person, besides one of the kids that would have had to sit away from their parents, who could have fit in the seat I was in. It wasn't perfect, but it did make for some good prayer and meditation time.
There was some fun turbulance on the flight but for the most part everything in flight was fine. At the airport I am pretty sure that my two checked bags were the last ones to come out. But at least they came out at the same time. Got a rental car that my dad kinda fits in, but this is a normal problem for him to have. Made it to the hotel we are staying at and got a wonderful room. Originally we had reserved a room at the Clarion because it was the host hotel for worlds. After staying there for the Majestic earlier this year, we decided as a family to find another place to say. I am so thankful that we did as I feel completely relaxed, not a feeling I had staying at the Clarion.
I even got out for a practice round today at Oakwood. It was nice not to have to play Oakwood in the rain like I did at the Majestic. But being my first round here in Minnesota for this trip, there was still some adjustment. I actually shot fairly well, but left a lot of strokes out there. I made a few mistakes and missed a few putts that I shouldn't have. It really did feel good to get out and throw a disc on a course that will be part of this worlds experience. Tomorrow is more practice.
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