Category: Disc Golf

Disc Golf Stories, No. 12

  

It was 1998 and I was living in Scottsdale, Arizona, when a disc golfing friend – Ron Klein – informed me that he was driving to California to retrieve items from storage, and wondered if I wanted to take a disc golf road trip to the west coast?

We played several courses while visiting The Golden State, the most memorable of which was DeLaveaga, in Santa Cruz.

Upon arrival, we learned that a local monthly disc golf tournament was just about to begin, and so we both paid a nominal entry fee to enter the event.

It was a small field and there were only two divisions – Ron signed up for Pro, and I signed up for Amateur – scheduled to play one round of 27-holes.

I’d played here once before, and hoped that my performance during this particular event would be competitive. When finished, all of the scorecards were submitted and official results tallied.

Although several of the top players from the Santa Cruz area were absent – playing instead at a PDGA tournament held in San Diego – it was nevertheless very cool to hear the Tournament Director announce that the winners of both divisions were from Arizona!

In addition to receiving my payout for winning, I also sold a dozen t-shirts to the local club following the event – contributing to a fun disc golf road trip!

Disc Golf Stories, No. 11

  

In February of 1999, I traveled to Firefighters Park in Troy, Michigan, with friends John Mick, Steve Hultquist and Dan Dehaan, to compete in the Ice Age Open disc golf tournament. I played well, tying for 1st-place in the Am-1 division, though lost the playoff and finished in 2nd-place.

Between rounds temperatures dropped and the wind increased, sustaining at 30 mph throughout the entire second round. Also, the Tournament Director added a closest to the pin (CTP) prize – 2 discs to be awarded to whomever landed their drive closest to a specified basket.

When our group arrived to tee-off on that particular hole, I crushed my drive high & wide to the right, playing the wind for maximum carry. It’s often as much luck as it is skill when throwing during such extreme conditions, and so I was very pleased when my shot landed only 4-feet from the basket!

I later received my prize, which, fortunately, wasn’t contingent upon on making the putt – which I missed…D’Oh!

Disc Golf Stories, No. 10

  

In June of 1998, myself and three friends – Mike Milne, Jon Poole and Jeff Knudsen – traveled from Scottsdale, Arizona, to Sylmar, California, to compete in a weekend disc golf tournament called the “3rd Summertime Open”.

For some reason which I cannot recall, a makeshift course had been established at the Veterans Memorial Park. The event consisted of two 18-hole rounds on Saturday, and a final 24-hole round to be played on Sunday.

During the third round while playing on one of the added baskets, I birdied using my midrange Comet disc as a putter – a slightly downhill anhyzer putt around a tree, flattening to finish left. A somewhat unorthodox shot, though I did record the only birdie and took honors on the tee pad.

The next fairway was up the side of a hill, with the basket visible on the top and front edge. Also visible was a road (OB, penalty stroke) running across the fairway – situated at a distance, which, as we each discussed, may be within reach of a long drive?

I decided to put everything I had into my drive, believing that I could throw far enough to land safely beyond the road. I crushed it, with 4-feet to spare! However, my disc grabbed the hillside turf and spit backwards, finishing to rest barely in-bounds and teetering on the top edge of the curb. Seeing this, the following three competitors, as I would have, all played it safe with shorter drives.

I was last to play my second shot and first needed to spot my mark to the side, in order so that I was able to throw from within the fairway boundary. With approx. 150-feet remaining, I launched my Magnet putter uphill and into the chains for the only birdie in our group!

I played well in two of three rounds during the tournament. Not enough to win, but I nevertheless fondly recall my uphill deuce.

Disc Golf Stories, No. 9

  

I was competing in a PDGA sanctioned disc golf tournament on a warm day with mild winds during the summer of 1999. The event was held at Cold Brook Park, located in Climax, Michigan, between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

At that time, organizers commonly added six alternate baskets to the 18-hole layout, in order to accommodate a larger field of players. The first new basket in this expanded 24-hole format followed the 16th hole, and was a short birdie opportunity along the edge of Portage Lake.

Everything seemed fine as our group approached the tee pad. The wind was calm and there weren’t any trees as obstacles, only a water hazard to avoid along the right edge of the fairway.

And then, it happened.

From out of nowhere, a small gaggle of geese flew closely overhead at a high rate of speed! They couldn’t have been more than 10-feet above the ground, riding the leading edge of a weather system. We all ducked, rising again only to be immediately greeted by headwinds of approx. 30 miles per hour, sustained for the remainder of the tournament.

So much for an easy shot – now, the water loomed large.