Earlier Sunset - Season Waxing

Thursday evening round starting at 6 PM. We were slowed by 4 guys with disc stroller things of dubious utility. End of the round at about 7:45 and the sun was quickly setting.

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The Play: With nice conditions we put together a well-controlled round. I threw an even 54 and Koons played a 59.

Highlight of Round: Had a nice drive on #6, but the real highlight was the forearm ace run on #7 that looked like chains from release. It wasn't though.

Lowlight of Round: Terrible drive on #18. Again. The long placement has my number right now.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCORESHEET

Sunday Night Rewind

Been a long time since we put in a Sunday evening round. Good to see the B-ball court in full swing - some quality action out there. A quick note, I averaged all available scores to rank the holes from hardest to easiest, check it out:

HARDEST

9

1

2

11

18

15

6

17

5

10

13

3

7

12

8

16

4

14

EASIEST

The Play: The temperature was tolerable and the wind was only a minor factor, so conditions were solid. I threw a well-controlled 56 and Koons threw a 62. Worth mentioning that Koons is adjusting to the classic power grip, so driver control is a problem.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCORESHEET

Highlight: A magnificent helix drive on #9 that ate all 400 feet and had an ace chance. I bent it around the main fairway trees and inside the mando, then it flexed out and dove threw the opening in the trees toward the basket. I'll probably never have that throw again.

Lowlight: Forearm throw was in bad form. On #8 I ripped one into the first tree. Took a penalty and boged.

CHECK THE SCORES

August 15, 2009 - Return of the Chief

I haven't posted for a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been playing. The chief was back on the course today!!! Posted.

Click here to check out all the most recent scores

The Play: It was a beautiful day, but there was definitely a sneaky wind. We also backed up behind an annoyingly slow group at the end of the round.

Highlight of Round: With a headwind, I still managed a par on 9. I didn't have many highlights today.

Lowlight of Round: I had three double boges today, so take your pick of those. The double on 2 and 11 were penalties. Lame.

Second Round of Weekend!

Here's the breakdown of the most recent round:

Click here for overall scores

Got in two rounds this weekend for the first time in a while. Actually, the heat was not too oppressive today. Overcast skies, created cooler temps, but early morning rains made for dreadful humidity.

The Play: I posted a 55 (+1) with 4 boges and 3 birds. Koons posted a 56 (+2) with 3 boges and 1 bird. Overall, we demonstrated great control on the course today.

Highlight of Round: I birdied #5 for the first time ever!!! I had a herculean drive that stood nearly parallel to basket but 15 feet to the right of the pin. Sunk the putt.

Lowlight of Round: Despite being a drive with excellent purpose, my drive on #4 stuck in the tree resulting in a penalty and a bogie.

Independence Day Ace Runs

Check today's scores on the scoresheet!

It's the 4th of July and really hot. At least the course is wide open so we should have been able to hit a rhythm. We didn't.

The Play: I posted a 59 (+5) with 5 boges and absolutely zero birds. Really hard to post a decent score with no birds in the bag. Koons threw a wildly inconsistent 61 (+7). He had two birds and then a handful of boges and double boges - indicative of lack of focus on the course.

Highlight of Round: On 13, with the Wraith, I crafted a beautiful hyzer shot that skipped perfectly and missed chains by the narrowest of margins. Tragic.

Lowlight of Round: On 5, with a relatively large gallery, I threw a pansy worm-burner off the tee, pansied the approach shot, and lacked any semblance of confidence on the putt. Bogie.

Summer Heat - Low Scores

Check the scoresheet for today's round here: Score Sheet

It's summer, so the days are wicked hot right now. We hit the course at about 11 AM, played the back 9 for warm-up, and scored #1-#18 for a total of 27 holes. There weren't many brave souls out there, so we played in a good rhythm which is reflected in the best posted scores of the season.

The play: I posted a 55 (+1) with 4 birds and 5 boges; while Koons posted an even round with 4 birds and 4 boges.

Highlight of round: Found a championship Wraith on the course which I used to make an aggressive ace run on #6. The throw dug into the mulch right next to the hole for an easy tap-in.

Lowlight of round: Lost the round to Koons.

Also, looks like Dallas could get some more disc golf courses!!! Check out this site for all the info: http://www.lsdga.com/dncct/

Friday Round - Angry DG gods?

Koons and I braved the ferocious winds for a Friday afternoon round. Seriously, are the DG gods punishing us with these winds? Check the updated scores here: Score Card 09

The play: I posted a worst-ever +11 with birds on 4 and 8, and host of singles and doubles - check the score card for full info. Koons posted the newbie score of +15, with no birdies and a one triple. To be fair, the wind was such a huge factor that we were basically the only ones playing.

Highlight of round: The herculean tosses on hole 6, both had 400+ feet of steam on them.

Lowlight of round: The wind causing me to double 3 times in a single round.

BB Owen Scorecard

I created a BB Owen score card to facilitate my own stat-tracking, but if anybody else wants to use it, here it is:

Weekday Round

Will be keeping scores and stats posted, check it here: Score Sheet 09

Koons and I took advantage of glorious weather to force in a weekday round at the course. Conditions were prime. The only significant limiting factor was talent. Unfortunately, we weren't the only DGers eager to rattle the chains, so play was relatively slow.

The Play: I posted a +2 with three birds, 2 boges, and a triple on 18. Koons posted +4 mostly caused by bad play on the front 9. He crossed the bridge to 9 with a +5.

Highlight of round: My drive on sixteen left me 25 feet short with a tree between disc and basket. I focused yogi style and split the "Y" of the tree to sink a sweet bird. The play was capped by the "Shooter McGavin" pistol gesture to seal the deal. Nice.

Lowlight of round: On 18, I power drove the star valkyrie down the fairway, but with too much anhyzer. It lodged in a tree causing a penalty. I three-putted from there for a 6 shot final hole.

2009 Score Sheet

Updated Course Distances

Thanks to ERicJ for posting a comment with a link to updated distances for the course.  I updated the course map to reflect the new info (see below).  ERicJ says he "laser measured" the distances.  I don't know what that means, but it sounds awesome.

Distances reflect the long placements!

Click here for all three course map images.

Course is getting green!

Very playable golfing environment today.  Perfect temperature out there and the wind was only a factor on a few throws.  The course is getting green, so the poison ivy is out, the fairways are shrunken, and the bamboo is looking serious.

The play: I threw a +2 with boges on 1, 5, 8, 11; birdies on 4 and 12.  Pretty satisfied with my drives today, and my putting is terrible as always.  Koons threw a +5 by boging three

 of the last four.  It was classic Koons - playing the Ehlo to his opponent's Jordan.  Early season head-to-head with Koons is 1-1.

Highlight of round:  Tap-in birdie shot on 12; threw a valkrie lazer down the pipe and pinballed it off the base of the oak just to the left of the pin.

Lowlight of round: Sidearm S-curve on 8 that was almost great, but in reality dug itself into the miniature vietnam off the fairway.  Bogie.

Course notes: Pin on alternate 17 is missing.  The spring green is becoming a factor again.  Hope you're not allergic to poison ivy!

Friday Round - Best of the Early Season!

Beautiful weather today.  Warm temps and wind was a minor factor, but not the dominant factor.  I got to the course early enough that I played without much delay.

The play: shot an even round (54) which is nice because even is a good mark for future 09 rounds.  It's not an anomaly, so I can beat it, but it's solid so I can use it as a measure.  I played solo which means the round only resulted in a victory of confidence.

Highlight of round: throwing 16 pars that included 12 in a row.  Call me consistent Cal

Lowlight of round: putting so unagressive that it resulted in 12 straight pars.

Course notes: Everything is long except for #9.  Spring green is starting to become a disc munching hazard.

Saturday Round (Wind = Enemy)

The above weather pic shows the wind at 11 mph, but that's not accurate.  There were very strong wind gusts out there.  I didn't have an anemometer or wind sock or anything, but it didn't require fancy tools to know the wind was enemy numero uno out there today.  I haven't played a wind free round in so long, I don't even know how I'd play in calm conditions.

The Play: I posted a 5-over (59) and Koons put up a 3-over (57).  Scores that leave room for improvement, but are indicative of the spring rust and spring winds.

Highlight of round: my wind-fueled ace run on 3.

Lowlight of round: my wind-fueled 5 shot collapse on 16 (included the requisite chain-slamming outburst).

Notes on Course: Everything is short except for 8 and 17.  The basket for alternate #17 is laying in a mess near the front parking lot.

Opening Weekend: Game on!!!

First round of the regular season!  Weather was beautiful, but wind was a definite bummer - gusts well over 35 mph.  Wind like that makes finesse really difficult.

So, I opened the season without an ace and with a 6 over score.  Not off to a hot start.  Highlight of the round was the total bomb that I threw off 6 that dug itself deep into the woods past the basket.  The shot didn't play too well, but it always feels good to grip and rip over 400 feet.  Lowlight of round is all the tools playing shirtless.

Course notes: All pin placements are short except for #8.  The BBall court was in full swing.  Seems like secret #17 is becoming less of a secret.

Spring Training: Control on schedule

Got in a round at The Rivery disc golf course in Georgetown, TX (click here for course info).  There were three major elements to today's training: (1) the course itself demands accuracy; (2) wind was a significant factor; (3) I was playing with borrowed discs.

The combination of the above elements really forced me to focus on a controlled disc pace and accuracy off the tee.  You can read the course description for more details, but the course is densely wooded with very narrow fairways.  If your disc clips a tree off the drive, then the best possible scenario is that your plastic is blocked straight down.  Worst (and seemingly more frequent) scenario is that your disc is richocheted off into maddening brush and your second shot is spent just getting reacquainted to the fairway.  I'm not just talking about one or two holes; I'd guess that 14 holes play with crowded, narrow fairways.

Add to that difficulty, the wind and borrowed discs and a catastrophic training round seemed nearly certain.  I borrowed the following (ordered from fastest to slowest): Teebird, Eagle, Coyote, Putt & Approach.  These particular discs were new to me, but I've had each of those in the bag at some point in my career, so it wasn't reinventing the wheel.  Conditions as they were, I played within my abilities and managed a 5 over score.  It's not a score to highlight the resume, but I'm perfectly happy with that.  Conor and Chris were more maligned by the conditions and final scores were flirting with double digits.  Luckily Wally was along to keep the mood light despite the tough scores.

Wally:

The Rivery - Georgetown, TX (Course Description)

(See below for map to course location and the course map.)

General description: The Rivery is most noted for its demand for control.  Players with limited power can succeed on this course, but players lacking finesse and skill will be frustrated.  The course is heavily wooded with oaks and cedars and the fairways are often narrow.  Even though the course plays along the northern branch of the San Gabriel river, there isn't much risk of losing discs to water hazards.

Logistics: Bathrooms, picnic tables are located next to the parking lot, but are not easily accessible during play.  There are only a few holes in which elevation change is a factor.  The course has dirt tees and is sometimes not easy to follow.  Playing in with someone familiar with the course or bringing a printed course map (see link below) is highly recommended.

 

Course Map: http://www.georgetown.org/pdfs/DiscGolfCourseMapinRiveryPark.24May07.pdf

Spring Training: D-golfers report

In preparation for the 09 season (beginning 03/20/09), players have begun to shake off the winter rust on familiar fairways.  The 08 season was significant in its lack of an ace.  Team "Ace Run" crafted innumerable usefully agressive chain runs, but came up empty for the season.  The lack of an 08 ace has left the team deflated with the Chief taking it hardest.  He's left his bag untouched for so long that his disks are actively being divvied amongst the remaining team members.  The more mentally durable members of the team are parlaying the emptiness of last season into motivation for the 09 season.

Team members Koons and Calvin got in a round at BB Owen on Saturday, February 28th.  Weather was a significant factor; temps were below 35, wind advisories in effect, and both players inadequately clothed.  In the face of powerful wind gusts, putting was understandably shaky and overall scores were poor.  On the upside, both players demonstrated excellent control off the tee; their past experience in West Texas winds on full display: low, strong, deliberate hyzers and safe mid-range shots with heavy plastic.

Considering the youth of the season and the antagonistic weather, the players performed well, but scores don't reflect it (and the players conveniently can't remember anyway).  Calvin lost track of his inflated score first, so the win is conceded to Koons, which seems accurate to both players.