Vision Quest

...This is 20-20

While this is a new year, I still have some cleanup from the old one. I got lost somewhere in the summer, got back into the groove (briefly) in the fall, and the wheels completely came off during the holidays as far as communicating my journey on this "Vision Quest," of sorts.

I learned a great deal during my first full year in disc golf. I also have lots to catch up with those of you taking time to enjoy what I have to share, my takeaways, my events, my struggles and my immense enjoyment of this great game. So let's do a little recapping, shall we...

It's good to be the King

Unless you play like the Court Jester. A mere 4 months into the sport, I was guided by a new friend to get into competitions, with the first being King's Cup 14 in Kinston, North Carolina in late January. I was asked later by several other competitors why I chose what they perceived to be a difficult course to "break in" on. I was excited to jump into the fray. With so many wooded disc golf courses in Eastern North Carolina, there aren't a ton of options to which are "easy" courses to navigate. It was the first one remotely close to home. I had practiced the course twice. And, oh yeah...why not?

You can track back to my recap of the tournament and the great people I began to meet at events. All of the them were very encouraging (while at the same time, kicking my tail) on the course and helpful with advice, disc selection, critiques and tips. I finished 8th (out of 10) and +42 for the 4-round event. I was just happy to be there. Which is good, since I came out with a 789 rating. Ugh.

Closer to home

Wilmington is known for its Azalea Festival held in the Spring each year, book-ended by the Azalea Am and Azalea Pro disc golf tournaments. Some well known names have taken the title at the later, I was certainly going to have my hands full in the former.

I'd see some of the same faces that put me in my place last time. I thought having played this course several times and being as close to a home course as I have, would help me perform better during the tournament. Despite 3 practice rounds specifically geared toward being prepared, I again struggled in competition, as I recounted in this post. The next rating update moved me to 798. Not even 800 yet. Terrible.

Once bitten

I was still searching for a tournament where I would be comfortable with my performance. The Cumberland County Copperhead was the 3rd event for me and another decent drive to Fayetteville, NC. I was able to sneak in a practice round about week prior to the event on the "easier" Pines course at Mazerick Park, walking the back nine at the Lakes and throwing a few shots with the time I had available.

I felt disappointed about the Pines, a 6-over mediocre round, with shots that fit my eye and my comfort level which I simply didn't execute. Oddly, I shot just 3-over on the "tougher" course, the Lakes, to finish tied for 4th and my first "cash" in a PDGA-sanctioned tournament. My 912-rated 2nd round was my best to date and gave me a nice ratings bump. You can read more about that Sunday in May here.

Late that same month I got to play with Nate Sexton (one hole anyway) at the Sexton Shootout at Castle Hayne DGC. Ironically, with just the discs selected at the event and my trusty putter, I shot one of my best rounds. That was the same course as the Azalea Am.

One Flippin' Summer

I needed to work on my form, my game, my bag...well, everything. But, I was excited about the sport. I was eager to share the bits of knowledge that I had been given by the knowledgeable, talented players in the area that I was getting to meet. Teaching is in my blood, so naturally, I started posting some videos on YouTube. Certainly, they're pretty basic, and I plan to do some follow-ups to show my progress.

One of those videos was a putter only 9-hole round at my local course. You should check it out. I've been told that the background music which I selected was hilarious. That got me into another challenge by a friend of mine...putters only at Arrowhead Disc Golf Course in Wilmington. My brother offered to do video and we set about to get a practice round in, for him as well, to set up his shots. On hole 6, he set up perfectly, I missed my line by like 15 feet to the left...and I got my first ace. On video! That was in June.

In July, we went back to the course where I first played disc golf. My brother, son and I returned to South Mountain in Bethlehem, PA to try our skills again. Took my cousin along for his first round to make it a foursome. I shot 17 shots better than almost exactly a year before, my brother shot 4 better, and my son was 7 shots better this time. And it happened again...another ace...on video. This time I threw the same disc, exactly how I wanted to. I just didn't think I even had a shot at an ace. But there it was.

We played 4 more courses around the 4th of July trip, 3 in PA and one in Fredericksburg, Virginia. My brother and I took in 2 more courses in the Raleigh, NC area earlier in the week to give us 7 different courses in 7 days. It was a very active month, with the brothers trying to qualify for the USDGC Doubles during an event later that month...we didn't. But we had a great time slinging some plastic.

Off the Rails

 The late Summer and early Fall, things started to get a little crazy and I didn't document the trials and tribulations of my events very well. There was the Leland Open and Pine Cone Open, with the latter getting the bulk of my attention.

In October it was the Down East Players Cup in Greenville, NC. In November, my buddy James and I took 3rd in Am Doubles at the Downtown Urban Open in Cary, NC on Saturday, before I nabbed a solo 3rd place in MA3 (courtesy of a 944-rated 2nd round) at the DUO on Sunday...breathe...

There is still a lot of disc golf in my future. I'm well underway this year with 2 events under my belt already and some more decent finishes while I continue to learn my discs and improve my form.

Getting back on Track

We'll have time to catch up of the last part of 2019 in the lull between now and late March, when I hope to be playing in the Azalea Am (for some redemption.) I have been consistent on social media, although not terribly committed to going live as I had hoped. It can distracting to myself and others on the card during play. You can follow me through flippindiscsgolf.com to get links to Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and these blog posts any time.

I also plan to do some more videos. I have a few on there now from when I started. I'm eager to share the tips that I've picked up early into the game. This year I am going to do one re-take on the Understable discs video. I still have the putter challenge from last August to produce, as well as some other ideas, maybe even some disc reviews for beginners.

I began last year with that first rating of 789. I didn't set any goals except to improve and try to shoot every round above my rating. It happened a few more times than not , finishing the year strong and getting a solid bump to 844 at the end of 2019.

I look forward to meeting more great people in the coming year. 2019 was a blast and I'm ready to keep it going. I'll see ya soon. Until then, you know what to do...keep on throwin' those Flippin' Discs!