A Jumble of Disc Golf Rounds

So in the last few weeks i went disc golfing several times, and a few had some moments definately worth mentioning...

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For one, i took my dad to play. He's in his early fifties and has diabetes, so the exercise is good for him but he can't handle anything too strenuous. Disc Golf was juuuuust riiiiiight. A walk in the woods i tell him, it'll be nice. The fact is i'm selfish and i wanted to take advantage of the weather, regardless of what he wanted to do. Luckily my dad was into it, so we both had a great time...We took pictures and fished discs out of creeks and gullies.

That's my dad, Andrew.

Dad was actually pretty good at it, he catches on quick for an old guy (wink wink). He did enjoy throwing the Cheetah near water though, and it was pretty muddy from the rain the previous day. But i guess that's okay, i only had to scramble out of the creekbed once, the other times i let him go get it. Love ya dad!

He also got some candid pics of me, which i suppose is alright...I got a good one of him poised on a log bending into a creek to get his disc out of the water, but he hasn't sent me a copy of it yet.

As you can see, i was playing with the Sidewinder, the blue putter, and of course, Mike. I didn't bother keeping score, chatting with my dad was much too distracting for that. (But secretly i did have a really good game).

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Tay in the Wee-yund...Water and Trees, what's up with the lack of love??? I also went with Kevino, my roomie, on a pretty afternoon to kick off my THREE DAY WEEKEND OFF WORK (wahoooooooo!!). This was a terribly exciting game, complete with a клизма who played through without asking, a water hazard that almost cost me a disc, and a greedy tree who tried to emulate said water hazard.

Hole 4, with the great big lake on the left, definately had me in a panic. For the first time to date, i had to reach my hand in cold muddy water and retrieve a submerged disc. Luckily, it was right by the shoreline, but it was in water nonetheless. I hung my head. Then as a follow up two holes later, Kevin tried to make me feel better by branching the Cheetah. We were teeing off from the stout, which means a straight then hard left to the basket. I do well on that hole. Well, roomie thought it'd be worth a try to chuck the yellow cheetah through the fall foliage straight down to the goal. This did not work. The disc went up and stayed there, and for a good ten minutes we pitched rocks, threw tigs, tried shaking an immovable trunk, and got dirty. Said Douche played on through without even stopping to offer help or ask if it was okay with us that he march on by (which it wasn't, the situation was becoming perilous). Using that tried and true teamwork method, we hoisted up a huge fallen branch and attempted to reach the unreachable disc. It was all the harder that we kept losing sight of the disc due to its and the leaves' similar colors. Luckily the Cheetah came back to us, dislodged by our efforts and likely tired of the game it was playing watching us suffer and beg.

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Another two guys accompanied me on yet a different trip, this time Robert and his son Dustin, 6. I was glad to have the weather on our side, and funnier still was the muddy duddy trails we had to plod through. Most of you know my opinion of children, but a few are fun to hang out with. Dustin falls into this category, he's a trooper.

Despite having a crusty green nose (what kid his age doesn't have one of those?), he enthusiastically tossed his disc up to six feet in distance. I'll give it to children, they have energy like it's nobody's business. He ran after it, picked it up, and kept throwing til it hit the chains. He didn't get pouty or try to quit until Hole 7, at which point Daddy reinforced the "we don't quit" lesson i apparently missed out on as a kid. Robert was having a decent game, and i got off a few good throws myself. It was really nice to have the course mostly to ourselves, but definately different than normal. We only played 9 holes, i mean, we weren't expecting miracles with the kid or anything...and we had to "let him win" (grrrrr), but i ate a slice of cheesecake at Burger King so that made it all okay.

Oh, and one other plus to having the kid on this round...When Robert's Valkyrie loped to the right and embedded itself into the creek, he was able to lower Dustin by the ankles over the bank to pull it out. We had tried to discourage Dustin from tossing it into the water by telling him that snakes were in the water, and at this point we regretted doing that. Playing on his planned Halloween costume of Superman, we talked him into letting us dip him down like that by going on about "saving the day". I wish i had thought to pull the camera out for that, but hey, i can't have everything i want.

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Then i made the choice?/mistake? of asking Kevin to go with me again. This time we spent at least twenty minutes searching for the blue Leopard on Hole 15. It was half covered with leaves, and i was amazed with the persistance Kevin displayed in literally raking the entire wooded area to the left of the fairway to find it. Now keep in mind i made him play with the blue one, thinking it would be easier to find if it got overthrown. Ha! silly me. He was impressively throwing straight, unfortunately it was straight into the woods. I was ready to pack it in, but Kevin refused to admit defeat or shell out the $8.99 plus 20% discount to buy a replacement if it went unrecovered. Kevin, you're cheap, but you persevered, so i respect that. Now stop trying to lose my discs!

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Now yesterday Robert and i went to play again, this time sans six year old. Disc Golfing to the crickets. We got there about 4:30ish, and we were losing light fast. Robert almost got a hole in one, no lie, it landed about a foot from the basket...Hole 12 i think it was. I've got the right curve with the Sidewinder down, and used the Pink Panther for the rest of play. (I'm giving Mike a well deserved vacation, he's looking the worse for wear.) The course was a full house though, constantly playing through and being played through. Some jogging women even cut across our path, and i'll just say two things: good for them and ladies please wear pants, not shorts.

I'm still breaking in the Pink Panther disc, so stay tuned for more on that front. And no, i didn't keep score, i just had fun. Thanks Reedy Creek!

Disc Golf: Round Nine

MUD. Today's word for the day is: MUD. Dreck. Matsch.

MUD. No, those aren't my feet, but that's about the size of it, playing on a wooded, red clay endowed course at Reedy Creek after two days of rain. Sloopy hang on, we're in for a slip-n-slide good time...

Joviality being the second word of the day, i was inspired to jog/run/sprint/huffnpuff after my discs were thrown each time. On the one hand, i never lost sight of them. On the other, i was scootchin' and surfing down mountains of mud the whole time. Wahoo i would say, but a safety poncho to protect the Saturn upon re-entry was not to be had, so i'll have to stick with just wah. Crazy i know, but crazy's my middle name...

Okay, you got me, it's Anja, but whatever. Mike took a beating, twice getting sent straight into a tree that had not the presence of mind nor the sensibility to move out of the darn way, much to his chagrin. Were i in the possession of a digital camera, i'd post a pic of him, all battered and bruised, but alas, the muddy Shark must remain out of the spotlight. All joking and hoity-toity 'alas'es aside, i am becoming a wee bit worried that he's getting bent out of shape. With as much as i practice with that particular disc, i've actually begun to launch it with some force for distance. Like everything else in my life isn't warped enough, et tu, Mike?

Today was the day large groups were out and about as well. Starting off in front of me was a band of four, behind me, of five. By Hole 4 they let me play through, and at Hole 11 i was again caught up with another group...this time of three guys and three girls. The girls were impressed by my tee-off, but i think they'd never played before...but hey, i'll take it were i can get it. Saying thank you i jogged after my disc, almost busting a** in the mud getting to it, then finishing +1 on the hole. Audiences make me nervous.

Total Over Par: +13

The other disc i used today was that Sidewinder again, mainly because slowly but surely my underhand wrist snap throw technique is improving with every outing. Eventually i'll get more distance with it, and right now i'm satisfied that i have a disc and a throw that curve to the right. Once in a while my release is too tilted, and it only goes a few yards before grounding and rolling on its edge. This sometimes sucks, but like today, the rolling can get distance too, and curve in my favor.

Here i'll take the opportunity to share something personal with you. When i was in junior high and high school i played sports...basketball and volleyball. Heck, i was even a mighty might cheerleader waaaaaay back in the day. When it comes to sports, as an adult, i am just not competitive. Not the way others are. Defensive about my 'teams' (NFL: Packers and Panthers, Soccer: Arsenal and Bremen, Basketball: DUKE etc) yes, but not really so much in the sports i participate in now. i want to play, to practice so as to improve my game, and not really into following rules or keeping score. Beware of this if i ever go putt-putt with you. Disc golf is slightly different, since i don't really play against anyone. Most of the time i play alone, or tag on with strangers, who are out of my scoring league anyway. But i do try to keep up with my score, and it is nice to see improvement. So i'll be honest here: i called a re-do on two tee offs that went straight into the closest tree.

The weather was nice and cool, and the sludgey muddiness made it an adventure. This doesn't quite make up for the Packers losing yesterday, nor does it atone for the horrible injustice of the Lame-O World Series pre-empting all my television shows for a MONTH, but it's a start. Yoga choga is only one night away, and who knows what's next after that?

Be the disc.

Disc Golf: Round Eight

Okey Chokey Doing the Hokey Pokey getting dizzy falling down shaking it all about...you know how it goes...right? Disc golf in good weather; you have to shoot yourself for not going to the park.

Luckily, i get to continue living sans self-induced bullet injuries, for i, yes i, went and played today. Game of games, aside from yoga, throwing a disc into a tree is my favorite thing to do. i enjoy the fresh air, i appreciate nature, and although no dogs ran across my path this round, a couple of guys nice enough to invite me to join their game did. Now this has happened before (read earlier posts), and as always, they were waaaaay better than i. This seems to be the case with everyone i play with, so i'm used to it now, merrily able to continue smacking the flora as if i had no audience.

i actually practiced putting for a few minutes before beginning, seeing as how badly i've been doing lately with the close shots...it didn't help much. i joined Adam and Brett at Hole 3, so pretty much the whole game was spent with company. Adam recognized me from a short stint a while back when i attempted to play with the UNCC PingPong Club, an extracurricular he apparently dropped not long after i. Both guys are still students, and as much as i'd love to get nostalgic about school, i just can't...i'm glad i graduated, even if grad school is looming just beyond the horizon. Adam left at the 11th Hole, having some class to run to, and likely wanting to make a quick break after witnessing the demise of my score (Hole 11 was this round's ugh! Hole...i think i was 3 over par on it).

Here i'd like to point out what a difference a few months make...obviously i don't post every time i play, though i'm trying to get back in the habit...if you notice the early posts, 3 over par isn't bad, just usual. Now i'm horrified by such a score. Self competition can be motivating i suppose, and perhaps one day i'll be good enough to compete with guys who really can play (Brett finished like +4 for the entire course, and i won't mention the other under-par-for-the-course person i know). One day boys...one day...

I even had the pleasure on Hole 4 of almost, almost, losing a disc to the water gods. And for the first time in a while, i had to spend time hunting for Mike in the woods on several holes. Frisky shark wanted to play hide and seek...bastard.

Oh, and at the convenient store on the way back i was buying apple juice and ran into Jake Brown, cherry on the sundae. New friends, old friends, and a little blue sky....next time i'm bringing my picnic basket.

Total Over Par: +19

Be the disc.