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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.