For the most part my disc golf career to this point has consisted of playing as many local events as possible. I started to do some traveling a few years back, but that primarily started as a way to continue to hang out with the local crowd as they traveled to other places. Last year I went to play in Am Worlds in Charlotte, NC and that really opened up my eyes to a whole new experience. So, after easily qualifying to play in Am Worlds again this year, making the decision to go to Emporia, Kansas to play in this years Am Worlds was almost a no brainer. I was one of the first to register if not the first.
This blog post could probably go on and on about this years experience. There was something so different this year and so amazing. Hats off to Dynamic Discs and the PDGA for putting on one incredible event.
One of the more unexpected joys I had at this event was attending some clinics put on by some of the best pros around. Jay and Des Reading are perhaps the best teacher of the game I have ever met and was so blessed to be able to go to two different clinics they put on during Am Worlds. It really reminded me of what I really want to be doing in this world, besides playing disc golf. That is of course teaching kids to play disc golf. It was also a great experience for my parents who I have been teaching. At the putting clinic, prior to the start of anything big happening at Worlds, my mom somehow made three putts in a row to win a ring of fire. So in reality, my mom can say she won at worlds, which is much better than anything I can say. I was also briefly able to talk to Jay about teaching kids and what it might look like and I look forward to communicating with him in the future. I sure hope that with what he and Des are doing, I might be able to join them in the mission of teaching more kids to play this great game.
Also, I would be remiss if I did not take time to mention how awesome the town of Emporia, KS is. Honestly, it was kind of like being a celebrity for the week. Signs were all over town welcoming the disc golfers to town. In just about every place we ate we talked with locals who were curious about disc golf and were actually aware of the events going on. The hospitality was just incredible. It honestly felt like the entire town was glad that we were there and they seemed like they would genuinely desire to have us back. It really makes the decision easy to travel there for other events that go on in Emporia and it makes me wish for the day when Emporia will host the World Championships again.
This event was also unique in that it is the first Am Worlds to move towards being a true amateur event where there would be no payout, and only trophies given to the top finishers in each division. Now this did mean that everyone participating would receive an incredible players pack which ended up consisting of a brand new backpack style bag from Dynamic Discs, a dry fit polo shirt and discs from eight different manufacturers including prototypes and newly released discs. In addition to this every round of the tournament had a sponsor that would give a disc to the person that won their card. The event felt like it was supported by just about every organization involved in the sport of disc golf.
Speaking of support, I had a grand time reading local forums from home and feeling like the whole community was behind us. Thank you Mile High Disc Golf!
I feel like I have mentioned about half the things that I wanted to say so far. I am really sorry that this blog post is going to be so long. As I think about it though, an event where my experience was as good as it was deserves this much attention.
Prior to the start of the tournament I took a lot of time to practice all of the courses that I would be playing for the tournament. I set goals of what I wanted to shoot at each course and had my caddy daddy take notes on how I should best attack each hole. This preparation was long and tiresome. But it was good to go into such a big tournament with a plan of action. This is an aspect of preparation that I once thought could not be overdone. Perhaps it can be to a certain extent when it wear you out. I am not sure if it was merely the practice rounds but I cannot remember being more exhausted after a tournament than I was after this Am Worlds.
Of course the field events were mixed right in there with all the practice. After finishing dead last last year in the distance competition, I decided not to compete in that but to instead compete in both the Skill Shot competition and the Putting competition. The Skill Shot competition was more fun than I expected it to be. Throwing so many different kids of shots and then measuring how far away you were from the basket or target to earn points was a great reminder of how a good short game, even outside of putting, is really important for this game. I ended up earning points in all but one throw and finished in 5th place in the Advanced Men's category. In the putting competition I was really just hoping to do better than I had in Charlotte. I did well in Charlotte earning 8 points and finishing in a tie for last cash. Well, this year I started out strong and earned a total of 13 points to finish tied for 11th and well ahead of last cash. All told at the field events I earned back $49 after cashing in both of the events I participated in.
The tournament itself was an absolute blast. I was put in the A pool even though I probably did not belong there. I had an early morning tee time at the Municipal Golf Course DGC for round one. This was also a huge blessing as it meant only having one round the first day, which also happened to be one of the hottest days of the tournament. After shooting a 76 at this course during the Glass Blown Open and a 66 in my practice round, I was really just hoping to be in the 60's. Well, something came over me and for some reason the discs were leaving my hand and doing good things that I cannot remember seeing before. I ended up shooting a 61 which not only won my card, it also put me in the top 20 players in the A pool, where I certainly did not belong. I was so happy to win this round in particular because it was the round sponsored by Vibram. Vibram, in my opinion, makes the best discs and goes through the best process prior to releasing new discs, well above and beyonf any other manufacturer out there. The group of guys I played with was good too, and I will probably say that about every group. I am saying it about every group, right here right now. Will, Tim, Teegen, James, Ben, Calvin, Greg, Armando, Matt, Paul, Kirk, James, Chris, Jack, Zach, Vince, Josh, and Dominic, it was a pleasure to play with you all. I am pretty sure I got all the names right.
I also met my goals in four other rounds, but some of those goals got adjusted after playing so well at Municipal. When I came back to Municipal I shot another great round for me, even better than my first round. If you just look at those two rounds I probably look like I should have finished much higher than I did. Municipal was also the toughest course for me at Glass Blown Open, so you have to figure that the improvement at the other courses will be there as well. It was just not the case. I shot even at Jones West and over par at Jones East, Country Club and Peter Pan. If only the entire tournament had been played at Municipal.
I also had a great experience on the final day of the competition, even though I missed the cut. I was able to watch most of the finals including carrying the scoreboard for the Advanced Masters Women's group, which included Noemi from Colorado. I also followed the top card for the Advanced Men. I was way far behind the top for guys but I learned that I am not all that far behind them in reality. They played a lot of the same shots that I did on the same holes. They were just a tad bit more consistent in hitting their line with precision and then making putts after hitting those lines. They could throw the disc a tad bit further than me as well.
I learned that I am a very good disc golfer. I learned that easy and smooth is better than trying to throw as far as you can. I learned that the more I am having fun, the better I play. I learned that even during a good round I can find at least four throws that could have saved me a stroke. I learned that singing worship songs to God keeps me from thinking too much about myself and the round of disc golf I am currently playing. I learned that when I think about God while playing I have more fun. I learned that making friends is not about first impressions or about where someone is from, it is about being their fan from the start and cheering them at every step along the way. I learned that a true friend does the same in return.
While I played very well. I was still sad to miss the semi finals after knowing how well I was playing and how capable I was of scoring even better. In the end though I can be sad and still have had a great time. Now it is back to resting up and recovering. I am amazed at how my body hurts after playing so much disc golf. I should have expected it as well as the crash as soon as the adrenaline left my body. What a great experience.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
High Plains Challenge
This is perhaps one of the least creative titles I have come up with since I started being creative with titles. This one just went back to the name of the tournament sadly. But to a certain extent it seems to mirror the creativity I had in the tournament. After having such a solid stretch of tournament rounds prior to the 303 Open, it seems that my performance at The High Plains Challenge mirrored my bummer of a performance at the 303 Open. Only this time I was playing with the Ams again.
The High Plains Challenge is one of two A tier events we have had in Colorado for the past several seasons. Clearly this means that it is an opportunity to qualify for Am Nats, which of course is one of my goals for this season. My previous attempts this season to accomplish this goal took place at the Glass Blown Open and 303 Am Championships, but those would have qualified me for this year rather than next. The High Plains Challenge is of course my first opportunity to qualify for next year. Well simply put, I will be looking for another opportunity to qualify.
The first round took place at the Pessimist temporary course. This is the one course that I played well last year at the same event and the Colorado State Championships. So I came into this round thinking, I can make this happen. I can post a good round and then see what happens from there. The round started out alright though I was making more bogies than I should have been. Even after loosing a disc and taking a double I was still in it. Then came the two par 4 lake holes and bad bounce after bad bounce. To be fair, we had to wait for the two groups ahead of us to play the hole before we got the opportunity and the entire course is made of highly unpredictable natural tee pads. But taking a 7 and then a 5 on back to back holes, missing birdie putts on the next two holes before slightly missing my line and going OB only to then have the upshot catch an edge and roll OB again. Yeah, it was a bad end to the round. I should and could have been +2 and ended up +11. That is a big difference and in a big event will certainly put you out of serious contention.
As much as the natural tee pads have not affected my game in the past, they seemed to make a big difference for this tournament. My tee shots were coming out at lots of random angles and it felt like I had little to no control over my drives. Seriously off on some angles causing lots of good saves and very few birdie opportunities. Sure I made a couple of birdies on the round, but my angles were just off. Even though I was off on some forehand shots, it seemed like I was better off throwing forehand simply because the angle of error was much smaller than my backhand. I couldn't even predict the misses and attempt to be sure that I would error where I wanted to error. For as much as I have never complained about the fact that an A tier event was being played on natural tees prior to this tournament, I am now a firm believer that there should be some standard for top tier events when it comes to tee pads.
The second round got a little bit better but was still tough as I had a rough start to the round. And then of course the weather hit near the end of the round, where I simply could not predict the wind on every shot. Some shots yes, but not every shot.
It was in the final round where I felt like I was finally starting to figure some things out about the game and shot a good round. The best news of the weekend came as I finished in a large tie for the last cash position. Three spots were divided amongst six people. I always seem to find myself into epic ties but I think this one was the largest of those ties.
Here is what I learned. When in doubt with the wind, play the shot so the wind knocks down the disc. This is way more predictable than allowing the wind to catch the disc and take to to wherever it wants. When you get into a back up, keep the arm warm and stretched as much as possible. No matter what the conditions give you, play your game and you can still shoot well (I was the only person in my group to birdie a par 4 right after the wind picked up in that second round). Smaller steps on my run up will produce more predictable results. It is okay to sacrifice distance to be sure you know the angle that your disc is going to fly on. Now I just have to remember these things and well as remain mentally strong in the middle of the round. A bad mental game will produce bad bounces. I am not really sure how that happens but it is absolutely true.
The next stop is Am Worlds. I guess we will see what happens.
The High Plains Challenge is one of two A tier events we have had in Colorado for the past several seasons. Clearly this means that it is an opportunity to qualify for Am Nats, which of course is one of my goals for this season. My previous attempts this season to accomplish this goal took place at the Glass Blown Open and 303 Am Championships, but those would have qualified me for this year rather than next. The High Plains Challenge is of course my first opportunity to qualify for next year. Well simply put, I will be looking for another opportunity to qualify.
The first round took place at the Pessimist temporary course. This is the one course that I played well last year at the same event and the Colorado State Championships. So I came into this round thinking, I can make this happen. I can post a good round and then see what happens from there. The round started out alright though I was making more bogies than I should have been. Even after loosing a disc and taking a double I was still in it. Then came the two par 4 lake holes and bad bounce after bad bounce. To be fair, we had to wait for the two groups ahead of us to play the hole before we got the opportunity and the entire course is made of highly unpredictable natural tee pads. But taking a 7 and then a 5 on back to back holes, missing birdie putts on the next two holes before slightly missing my line and going OB only to then have the upshot catch an edge and roll OB again. Yeah, it was a bad end to the round. I should and could have been +2 and ended up +11. That is a big difference and in a big event will certainly put you out of serious contention.
As much as the natural tee pads have not affected my game in the past, they seemed to make a big difference for this tournament. My tee shots were coming out at lots of random angles and it felt like I had little to no control over my drives. Seriously off on some angles causing lots of good saves and very few birdie opportunities. Sure I made a couple of birdies on the round, but my angles were just off. Even though I was off on some forehand shots, it seemed like I was better off throwing forehand simply because the angle of error was much smaller than my backhand. I couldn't even predict the misses and attempt to be sure that I would error where I wanted to error. For as much as I have never complained about the fact that an A tier event was being played on natural tees prior to this tournament, I am now a firm believer that there should be some standard for top tier events when it comes to tee pads.
The second round got a little bit better but was still tough as I had a rough start to the round. And then of course the weather hit near the end of the round, where I simply could not predict the wind on every shot. Some shots yes, but not every shot.
It was in the final round where I felt like I was finally starting to figure some things out about the game and shot a good round. The best news of the weekend came as I finished in a large tie for the last cash position. Three spots were divided amongst six people. I always seem to find myself into epic ties but I think this one was the largest of those ties.
Here is what I learned. When in doubt with the wind, play the shot so the wind knocks down the disc. This is way more predictable than allowing the wind to catch the disc and take to to wherever it wants. When you get into a back up, keep the arm warm and stretched as much as possible. No matter what the conditions give you, play your game and you can still shoot well (I was the only person in my group to birdie a par 4 right after the wind picked up in that second round). Smaller steps on my run up will produce more predictable results. It is okay to sacrifice distance to be sure you know the angle that your disc is going to fly on. Now I just have to remember these things and well as remain mentally strong in the middle of the round. A bad mental game will produce bad bounces. I am not really sure how that happens but it is absolutely true.
The next stop is Am Worlds. I guess we will see what happens.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Playing With The Big Boys
It was almost a week ago now that I played in the 303 Open. This was my second tournament of the year playing in the Open field since this was a Pro only event. I figured it was worth playing from the standpoint that I would be playing with better competition and might get a better feel for what it is going to take to get better at this game. I really came in with no expectations as to how I would fair, but after finishing just below the middle in my last event playing Open, I was hoping to fair well.
Most of my dreams were crushed in the first round with the second round not offering much more. In one day I am pretty sure I had my single worst day of tournament disc golf since last year. I could blame it on the wind, but clearly that was not the real reason. I could blame it on some bad bounces but that only had a minor contribution to the overall circumstances. In reality, it was not being prepared to play the course on that day. When Sunday came around and we played a course that I frequent, I played a much smarter game and ended up shooting a 960 rated round. Go figure.
The best part of the tournament was getting a chance to play with Pat Blazek. I believe he is currently the second highest rated player int eh state of Colorado and is someone I respect and have had plenty of opportunity to talk with in the past, but never play with. It was fun to watch him and see the little frustrations that he had on the course. It was fun to see how he kept his mental game strong despite the errors and how in the moment it was one shot at a time. It was fun to watch how he made decisions as to what shot to throw next. I know that I am rather far behind him in skill but I feel like playing with him was a really good learning experience as to simply how to play the game.
Moving forward, I feel that my pre tournamnet prep needs to be done better. While I can play a course and know what the hole looks like, weather conditions could significantly affect what shot I end up throwing during a tournament round. Wind is still something that tends to baffle me from the decision making process. Even when I knew something was going to happen during the second round in the wind, I still made the choice to throw the shot I intended to throw and sure enough the wind did what I expected and made the shot land out of bounds. Not good. Having multiple shots on every hole allows one to play the wind conditions better. Sometimes it is making the choice to throw a different disc, and sometimes it is being confident to throw a completely different shot. I need to learn this decision making process and how to be smart about which shot I throw and when.
Another step forward and another lesson learned. Now it is time to put it all together as the next two tournaments I play could be the biggest of my young disc golf career.
Most of my dreams were crushed in the first round with the second round not offering much more. In one day I am pretty sure I had my single worst day of tournament disc golf since last year. I could blame it on the wind, but clearly that was not the real reason. I could blame it on some bad bounces but that only had a minor contribution to the overall circumstances. In reality, it was not being prepared to play the course on that day. When Sunday came around and we played a course that I frequent, I played a much smarter game and ended up shooting a 960 rated round. Go figure.
The best part of the tournament was getting a chance to play with Pat Blazek. I believe he is currently the second highest rated player int eh state of Colorado and is someone I respect and have had plenty of opportunity to talk with in the past, but never play with. It was fun to watch him and see the little frustrations that he had on the course. It was fun to see how he kept his mental game strong despite the errors and how in the moment it was one shot at a time. It was fun to watch how he made decisions as to what shot to throw next. I know that I am rather far behind him in skill but I feel like playing with him was a really good learning experience as to simply how to play the game.
Moving forward, I feel that my pre tournamnet prep needs to be done better. While I can play a course and know what the hole looks like, weather conditions could significantly affect what shot I end up throwing during a tournament round. Wind is still something that tends to baffle me from the decision making process. Even when I knew something was going to happen during the second round in the wind, I still made the choice to throw the shot I intended to throw and sure enough the wind did what I expected and made the shot land out of bounds. Not good. Having multiple shots on every hole allows one to play the wind conditions better. Sometimes it is making the choice to throw a different disc, and sometimes it is being confident to throw a completely different shot. I need to learn this decision making process and how to be smart about which shot I throw and when.
Another step forward and another lesson learned. Now it is time to put it all together as the next two tournaments I play could be the biggest of my young disc golf career.
Monday, June 3, 2013
It Means No Worries For the Rest Of Your Days
So this past weekend was the 6th annual Sakuna Matata Disc Golf Tournament hosted by Disc Diva at the incredible and extremely private Sakuna Pines disc golf course. Since I started playing this tournament four years ago, it has always been one of my favorites for a number of reasons.
First, lets be sure we understand this course well. This is probably the tightest course in the state of Colorado. It is not tight as in if you get off the fairway you have no hope, it is tight in that most paths to the hole are only a matter of feet wide. Many pros have said that the course is more luck than skill at times and I can see their point, but if you hit a tree then it wasn't a good shot was it? The real challenge of this course is keeping a straight head on your shoulders and making sure you play the mental game right.
This tournamnet might be classified as my best tournament to date. After the first round I was in second place. After the second round I was tied for second place and after the final round I somehow ended up in third place. The tentative round ratings are 970's, 950's and 930's. Now that might change, but it was really good for me having three rounds over my rating. Perhaps it only equals what I did at the Colorado Open on average but it still felt better.
Really those first two rounds felt really good. There was something in the air that day or the way I was playing, or perhaps it was the lucky shirt that I wore, but I was hitting lines really well and making shots. I was playing smart and finding myself in good positions most of the time. My only complaint was that for the most part, the baskets hated me. I cannot begin to count the number of putts I had that hit chains and didn't go in. Sure, most of those were side hits, but at least two of them hit dead center and did not end up in the bottom of the basket. One was so bad I was alrady reaching down for my mini and I was left in a stooper. I still can't believe it. Basically I count 8 strokes that I should have had in those first two rounds, which ultimately would have won the tournament for me, even if we leave my one less good round from Sunday as is.
Sunday was the real learning experience for me. I think I tried to push too much as I was sitting tied for second place only two throws behind the leader. The leader blew up and finished in a tie for 4th but both of the guys I was tied with shot better than I did. I wanted it so bad that I knew I would have to try a bit harder. I ended up hitting more trees and finding myself in much tougher spots on the course. Finding yourself in tougher spots will ultiamtely make the round harder. Playing smart is really the most important thing. When you know where the tourble is on the course, make sure you stay away from it. Know which shots will get you into more trouble and work hard at just playng smart. When you are in the tournamnet play your game, pushing is the one thing that will ultimately cause you to start thinking over your head. That leads to trouble. Trouble is bad. Just sayin'.
On another note, I had some set goals for what I wanted to shoot coming into the tournament and for the most part on Saturday, playing within my own game I was able to accomplish this. The first round was almost easy in accomplishing this. The second round forced me to push a little, but when I pushed within myself, it was no real issue at all. On Sunday when I pushed in relation to the competition, that is when I finally strated to watch it fall apart and when I did not meet the goal. With that in mind, the line is now, "Play within yourself!"
The next challenge that awats is a pro only event, my second pro event of the year and one that will ultimately test this theory of play within yourself.
First, lets be sure we understand this course well. This is probably the tightest course in the state of Colorado. It is not tight as in if you get off the fairway you have no hope, it is tight in that most paths to the hole are only a matter of feet wide. Many pros have said that the course is more luck than skill at times and I can see their point, but if you hit a tree then it wasn't a good shot was it? The real challenge of this course is keeping a straight head on your shoulders and making sure you play the mental game right.
This tournamnet might be classified as my best tournament to date. After the first round I was in second place. After the second round I was tied for second place and after the final round I somehow ended up in third place. The tentative round ratings are 970's, 950's and 930's. Now that might change, but it was really good for me having three rounds over my rating. Perhaps it only equals what I did at the Colorado Open on average but it still felt better.
Really those first two rounds felt really good. There was something in the air that day or the way I was playing, or perhaps it was the lucky shirt that I wore, but I was hitting lines really well and making shots. I was playing smart and finding myself in good positions most of the time. My only complaint was that for the most part, the baskets hated me. I cannot begin to count the number of putts I had that hit chains and didn't go in. Sure, most of those were side hits, but at least two of them hit dead center and did not end up in the bottom of the basket. One was so bad I was alrady reaching down for my mini and I was left in a stooper. I still can't believe it. Basically I count 8 strokes that I should have had in those first two rounds, which ultimately would have won the tournament for me, even if we leave my one less good round from Sunday as is.
Sunday was the real learning experience for me. I think I tried to push too much as I was sitting tied for second place only two throws behind the leader. The leader blew up and finished in a tie for 4th but both of the guys I was tied with shot better than I did. I wanted it so bad that I knew I would have to try a bit harder. I ended up hitting more trees and finding myself in much tougher spots on the course. Finding yourself in tougher spots will ultiamtely make the round harder. Playing smart is really the most important thing. When you know where the tourble is on the course, make sure you stay away from it. Know which shots will get you into more trouble and work hard at just playng smart. When you are in the tournamnet play your game, pushing is the one thing that will ultimately cause you to start thinking over your head. That leads to trouble. Trouble is bad. Just sayin'.
On another note, I had some set goals for what I wanted to shoot coming into the tournament and for the most part on Saturday, playing within my own game I was able to accomplish this. The first round was almost easy in accomplishing this. The second round forced me to push a little, but when I pushed within myself, it was no real issue at all. On Sunday when I pushed in relation to the competition, that is when I finally strated to watch it fall apart and when I did not meet the goal. With that in mind, the line is now, "Play within yourself!"
The next challenge that awats is a pro only event, my second pro event of the year and one that will ultimately test this theory of play within yourself.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
To Glenwood and Back
One of my favorite tournaments over the past several years has been the Colorado Open held in Glenwood Springs at the course on the Colorado Mountain College campus near Glenwood. For some reason I play this course very well and have started to fine tune my game to this course for this tournament. I know what the options are based on the wind conditions and I have learned where you do not want to be. Needless to say, I made the trek back to Glenwood this year for another go at the Colorado Open.
For some reason I was really hoping that I would have a shot at the win in Advanced. With such high expectations I really set myself up to fail, but like I mentioned, this is a course I tend to play well. The difficult part is that it is not a course that I get to play all that often and there is a large local crowd that does get to play it more often than I do and just about all of them decided to show up to this tournament. I am sure there is a lesson to be learned here. I would venture to say that part of that lesson relates to how well one can play a course when they get the chance to play it often. There is a serious advantage to that. At the same time I also see a lot of top pros do well at National Tour events where they may come back year after year but generally do not play the courses outside of these events.
I had a solid first round and shot three down. I left a lot out there and was honestly frustrated with the result. I suppose part of the reason I felt this way was because there was one of those local guys on my card that shot ten down. At that point you kinf of throw your hands up in the air and say oh well, lets just get back to having fun. Unfortunately circumstances in my second round did not allow this to happen. I was playing with my boss from work who I admire and appreciate, but we got put with another guy who was smoking and drinking during the round, two things that were prohibited by campus rules as well as by the TD in an effort to ensure that we would still have this incredibly fun course to play in the future. My boss quit after 4 holes because he didn't like the tention between him and this guy and did not want to deal with it for another eighteen holes. I honestly don't blame him. I worked hard to keep my focus but I was constantly worried that this guy would be beligerant with me. And lets be honest, his conversation for the rest of the round was literally the most disrespectful conversation I think I have ever heard. I shot plus one the second round and pulled out a 4 down in the final round to finish tied for 6th, beating the guy that shot ten down the first round I might add, but that really isn't the important part of this tournament.
The future of this sport, if it wants to earn the respect I believe it deserves, lies in the pay to play model that ball golf has taken and run with. Although this guy that I played with was disqualified prior to the third round, he is the black mark that will keep disc golf from becoming big. I am more than happy to keep a few free courses for him to play, but I would much prefer to pay a few dollars to go to a course that he is not likely to go to so that I can enjoy my experience. I applaud the PDGA for creating standards where tournaments must abide by the local laws. I also appreciate the work taht the PDGA is doing to improve the image of the sport. I look forward to doing my part to make this the best and most popular sport in the world. Once again I also want to thank all the TD's out there who work hard and are often put in uncomfortable situations where they must make decisions that are likely to make people dislike them.
Next steps for me:
1. Work on the mental game, don't let even the worst situations affect the game you play.
2. Give back to the sport more and create that positive environment that makes this game so much more fun.
For some reason I was really hoping that I would have a shot at the win in Advanced. With such high expectations I really set myself up to fail, but like I mentioned, this is a course I tend to play well. The difficult part is that it is not a course that I get to play all that often and there is a large local crowd that does get to play it more often than I do and just about all of them decided to show up to this tournament. I am sure there is a lesson to be learned here. I would venture to say that part of that lesson relates to how well one can play a course when they get the chance to play it often. There is a serious advantage to that. At the same time I also see a lot of top pros do well at National Tour events where they may come back year after year but generally do not play the courses outside of these events.
I had a solid first round and shot three down. I left a lot out there and was honestly frustrated with the result. I suppose part of the reason I felt this way was because there was one of those local guys on my card that shot ten down. At that point you kinf of throw your hands up in the air and say oh well, lets just get back to having fun. Unfortunately circumstances in my second round did not allow this to happen. I was playing with my boss from work who I admire and appreciate, but we got put with another guy who was smoking and drinking during the round, two things that were prohibited by campus rules as well as by the TD in an effort to ensure that we would still have this incredibly fun course to play in the future. My boss quit after 4 holes because he didn't like the tention between him and this guy and did not want to deal with it for another eighteen holes. I honestly don't blame him. I worked hard to keep my focus but I was constantly worried that this guy would be beligerant with me. And lets be honest, his conversation for the rest of the round was literally the most disrespectful conversation I think I have ever heard. I shot plus one the second round and pulled out a 4 down in the final round to finish tied for 6th, beating the guy that shot ten down the first round I might add, but that really isn't the important part of this tournament.
The future of this sport, if it wants to earn the respect I believe it deserves, lies in the pay to play model that ball golf has taken and run with. Although this guy that I played with was disqualified prior to the third round, he is the black mark that will keep disc golf from becoming big. I am more than happy to keep a few free courses for him to play, but I would much prefer to pay a few dollars to go to a course that he is not likely to go to so that I can enjoy my experience. I applaud the PDGA for creating standards where tournaments must abide by the local laws. I also appreciate the work taht the PDGA is doing to improve the image of the sport. I look forward to doing my part to make this the best and most popular sport in the world. Once again I also want to thank all the TD's out there who work hard and are often put in uncomfortable situations where they must make decisions that are likely to make people dislike them.
Next steps for me:
1. Work on the mental game, don't let even the worst situations affect the game you play.
2. Give back to the sport more and create that positive environment that makes this game so much more fun.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Greatful
This past weekend was the long running Greatful Disc. One of the legends in Colorado Disc Golf, Bill Wright, owner of Wright Life, has run this event for some time. This was like the 35th installment of this event. Just contemplating this makes it feel so much bigger. This is also a tournament that is notorious for the worst weather. This is so much the case that a couple of years ago, Mr. Wright moved the tournamnet a month closer to summer. That did not help this year as we played the first two rounds at Sundance Trail in the snow.
On the whole I was not playing my best disc golf this weekend. But I am beginign to realize a few things about what causes that to happen. I am begining to realize what my little triggers are that cause my game to go on a roller coaster ride. Prior to the first round I was warming up and on my last warm up hole I threw one of the most beautiful drives I have ever thrown with my go to driver. But somehow the disc decides to hide in the snow. It is right in the middle of the fairway but I cannot see it and despite the fact that many others are playing the hole, no one else sees it. I even had my parents skip the players meeting to search for the disc to no avail. This of course put me in a horrible mood to start. I was able to purchase a replacement from Mitch (our local Vibram Sponsored Pro as the disc was a Medium X-Link Lace) as he was headed out to his starting hole. I was very thankful for that. I play my first three holes, which included this hole that I lost my disc on and then the group behind us had someone step on my disc and it was found. I was then able to use that disc on the next hole to make a birdie. This is not a hole that produces many birdies. What a roller coaster ride. I need to keep my focus and fidn a way to get to a happy calm no matter what is going on.
The first round actually ended up being a solid round until the last five holes where I went five over par. Shooting even on those holes would have put me in first place. Instead I was tied for 6th. The second round was not my friend. I made a lot of mistakes early and was just not able to reach a good place until very late in the round. I know Sundance trail is a tough course but it really has a way of beating you up if you do not take a deep breath and simply play smart. It is not about trying to make up for mistakes because that ultimately leads to more mistakes. Late in the round I was able to birdie two of the last three holes in the round to finish three strokes worse than my first round. Of course both rounds could have been much better.
On Sunday, the third round was at one of my current least favorite courses, Aggie Greens or Hughes Stadium. There is length and some elevation change and a bunch of teeny tiny little trees. Not much else there. I do applaud Mr. Bright for helping get the curse put in and also for putting in the work to make the cours much tough by roping OB and using Ultimate goals to create two clowns mouth mandos. I came into the round knowing that maintaining my position would be just fine in the long run and set out to play a very smart round. I made some mistakes early and was loosing ground to the guys on my card and the field as a whole, but I remember stepping back and saying, play your game, play smart and you will catch back up, no worries. Well, that is exactly what happened and I ended up shooting the thrid best round in Advanced in the third round.
I know that I can let my anger get the best of me at times and when around other people I have a tendancy to really internalize that frustration. In the moments I was able to let it go, good things began to happen. This is a fun game and we all strive to improve our game. Our mind tells us we can do it, and ultimately it is our mind that pushes us too far to the point of crashing. I have seen the players that crash and then cannot recover mentally. I have been that player at times myself. I personally see that player in my putting practice more often than during rounds but it is the same principle. I cannot let my anger get to me. One shot at a time, play smart, put it in, get out. I really do love the mental aspects of this game, and I am continually suprised at how big that aspect of the game can be.
On the whole I was not playing my best disc golf this weekend. But I am beginign to realize a few things about what causes that to happen. I am begining to realize what my little triggers are that cause my game to go on a roller coaster ride. Prior to the first round I was warming up and on my last warm up hole I threw one of the most beautiful drives I have ever thrown with my go to driver. But somehow the disc decides to hide in the snow. It is right in the middle of the fairway but I cannot see it and despite the fact that many others are playing the hole, no one else sees it. I even had my parents skip the players meeting to search for the disc to no avail. This of course put me in a horrible mood to start. I was able to purchase a replacement from Mitch (our local Vibram Sponsored Pro as the disc was a Medium X-Link Lace) as he was headed out to his starting hole. I was very thankful for that. I play my first three holes, which included this hole that I lost my disc on and then the group behind us had someone step on my disc and it was found. I was then able to use that disc on the next hole to make a birdie. This is not a hole that produces many birdies. What a roller coaster ride. I need to keep my focus and fidn a way to get to a happy calm no matter what is going on.
The first round actually ended up being a solid round until the last five holes where I went five over par. Shooting even on those holes would have put me in first place. Instead I was tied for 6th. The second round was not my friend. I made a lot of mistakes early and was just not able to reach a good place until very late in the round. I know Sundance trail is a tough course but it really has a way of beating you up if you do not take a deep breath and simply play smart. It is not about trying to make up for mistakes because that ultimately leads to more mistakes. Late in the round I was able to birdie two of the last three holes in the round to finish three strokes worse than my first round. Of course both rounds could have been much better.
On Sunday, the third round was at one of my current least favorite courses, Aggie Greens or Hughes Stadium. There is length and some elevation change and a bunch of teeny tiny little trees. Not much else there. I do applaud Mr. Bright for helping get the curse put in and also for putting in the work to make the cours much tough by roping OB and using Ultimate goals to create two clowns mouth mandos. I came into the round knowing that maintaining my position would be just fine in the long run and set out to play a very smart round. I made some mistakes early and was loosing ground to the guys on my card and the field as a whole, but I remember stepping back and saying, play your game, play smart and you will catch back up, no worries. Well, that is exactly what happened and I ended up shooting the thrid best round in Advanced in the third round.
I know that I can let my anger get the best of me at times and when around other people I have a tendancy to really internalize that frustration. In the moments I was able to let it go, good things began to happen. This is a fun game and we all strive to improve our game. Our mind tells us we can do it, and ultimately it is our mind that pushes us too far to the point of crashing. I have seen the players that crash and then cannot recover mentally. I have been that player at times myself. I personally see that player in my putting practice more often than during rounds but it is the same principle. I cannot let my anger get to me. One shot at a time, play smart, put it in, get out. I really do love the mental aspects of this game, and I am continually suprised at how big that aspect of the game can be.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Team Neo Grudge Match or Match Play Messing With My Mind
This past weekend was perhaps one of the most enjoyable fundraiser events you will ever see. Four guys from the local disc golf community raise money for two events later on in the year by hosting a team match play event that consists of four teams of 12 players each. While there are prizes like advanced entry into one of those tournaments, it really is more about the fun of playing disc golf and enjoying the company of those playing. That is not to say that it is not competative. Lets be honest, the trash talk has been happening ever since the team draft went down.
We played at a nice little course in Broomfield called East Interlocken Park. They added three holes to the course and honestly, the extra holes were some of my favorites. I was not playing my best disc golf for this event, but I think I may have found a reason for that. I shot under par two out of three rounds and even the third. The problem is that the course really requires you to shoot well under par to do well. In match play, you are really only playing against one person so that shouldn't matter too much. But, it ended up causing me to loose two out of my three matches. And of course that meant my team ended up finishing last. I really let me team down, especially since I could have won the two matches that I lost.
Match play requires a completely different style than stroke golf. In match play you really do have to play your opponent. There will be times that you lay up because your opponent is in so much trouble. There will also be times when you go for something that normally you would have laid up on because hey, you might catch them but if not, the worst you can do is loose one hole. I think that this style of play does not always suit me best. When I was allowed to play smart I played well. This is the whole reason I won my first match. When I was forced to push, that is when things started to go poorly for me. Ultimately the lesson learned is that I need to stick with my smart style of play when the next tournament comes around. I just hope I can mentally get myself back to that before the next tournament.
We played at a nice little course in Broomfield called East Interlocken Park. They added three holes to the course and honestly, the extra holes were some of my favorites. I was not playing my best disc golf for this event, but I think I may have found a reason for that. I shot under par two out of three rounds and even the third. The problem is that the course really requires you to shoot well under par to do well. In match play, you are really only playing against one person so that shouldn't matter too much. But, it ended up causing me to loose two out of my three matches. And of course that meant my team ended up finishing last. I really let me team down, especially since I could have won the two matches that I lost.
Match play requires a completely different style than stroke golf. In match play you really do have to play your opponent. There will be times that you lay up because your opponent is in so much trouble. There will also be times when you go for something that normally you would have laid up on because hey, you might catch them but if not, the worst you can do is loose one hole. I think that this style of play does not always suit me best. When I was allowed to play smart I played well. This is the whole reason I won my first match. When I was forced to push, that is when things started to go poorly for me. Ultimately the lesson learned is that I need to stick with my smart style of play when the next tournament comes around. I just hope I can mentally get myself back to that before the next tournament.
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