Back in the saddle...so to speak

I'm a writer. It's in my nature to write about things, and disc golf has provided me with all sorts of things to write about, with my own special slant of course. I can't write from the perspective of someone that's been in the game a long time, because I haven't. I can't write about being a great player, because, well, I'm nowhere close to that. But I can share my experiences, my insights, and hopefully help you to enjoy or improve your game...at the very least, I can give you comfort by being able to laugh at mine. Time to get back at it....

Third time's a charm

This past weekend was my second event back since the shutdown of life as we knew it, and my 5th overall event this year. I was boosted with a ratings jump to 851 after my early events from 2019 fell away. (Thank goodness. although I am clearly over-rated.) As you can tell from the heading, there was much left to be desired from my finish at the Copperhead V, held at Middle Creek DGC in Apex, North Carolina. Better luck next time.

Higher hopes were the result of a 3rd place finish at the ECO Richlands, 5th at King's Cup 15, and T3 at a BYOP Doubles event in Jacksonville, NC in 2020. My game seemed to be moving in the right direction. I had been working hard to set my bag, get some consistency for my shots off the tee, and continue putting well.

I have always been sneaky good. Never the raw talent with perfect form, strength, agility, athleticism, but a student of whatever game I was playing, kept me in the hunt, playing over my head at times. We'll talk another time about being over my head, but for now, I am an MA3 (Rec Division) player with aspirations of stepping up my game as I learn more about my own abilities in the world of disc golf and competitions. That means more analysis. I'm going to do this a little differently than the play-by-play as I have done before and break this down by Strengths and Opportunities (which is what you say instead of saying, "you suck at this.")

Strengths

I've been working on putting in rhythm, getting comfortable with my Pures and Judges. My style is a staggered stance "spush" putt, that I've been practicing to be a relaxed hyzer, moving from a high, flat, almost anny release. My average in the Copperhead was about 80% C1x after being at 69% (King's Cup) and 66% (ECO Castle Hayne) in previous events. In case you're not aware, C1x means that anything inside 11 feet doesn't count toward that average. Tap-ins. Those should be automatic. They mostly were, but we'll get to that later. Staying positive here.

There were three more discs that clicked for me this past Saturday: Dynamic Discs Lucid-X Felon 2020 Team Series (Thank you Eric Oakley,) Latitude 64 Gold Line Maul, Innova Star Wraith (beat, bought used, thank you Ryan Bowie, I think.) Hole 3 was a 270-foot hookup to the right and my RHFH Felon brought home 2 birdies. I was the only MA3 player to do that. I was also the only MA3 player to birdie hole 18, a 300-foot hole with a basket on top a challenging hill, with my beat Star Wraith. The Maul was my flip-up turnover for 270-290 range shots. I threw it perfectly on 12...the second round, for a birdie.

 

I was prepared to play 3 courses in Fayetteville, NC, but a switch 3 days before the event brought me here. I had played 3 casual rounds at Middle Creek and my bag was almost totally different than my last time, over a year ago, when I shot my personal best, 11-over. Two rounds of competition saw me earn a 9- and 8-over, which wasn't bad, all things considered. But I was playing a guessing game off many tees, trying to gauge what my comfort level was with which disc for each shot.

Opportunities

One of my favorite sports saying (although it has played out in many venues) is one from former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football John McKay. McKay was asked by a reporter, after a particularly dreadful loss, what he thought about his team's execution, to which he supposedly replied, "I'm in favor of it." That was my touch game off the tee.

We'll start with midranges. There were 4 holes that called for me to throw midranges off the tee. Three of them required either an understable disc with either an uphill shot or a long, sweeping turnover in the 250-260 area to get to the basket. The Maul is my go-to in the 270-290 range. I have a used/beat Origio Warship that I've only had a little while and an Origio Tursas, neither of which I had good control of this day. I was 4-over on these 6 holes, 3 pars, 2 bogeys and a double. On one, I missed a 25-foot straddle out from a tree to save par. Next up...putter off the tee.

Hole 11 was aced by 2 players in round one. I had the opportunity to play with one of them on my card in the second round. I, however, ran my putter almost directly over the basket in round one, almost going OB, and then missing the comebacker from 20-25. The second round griplock made par the only option, but this needed to be 2 birdies. Hole 15 was a simple flat Judge, fading left to the basket. Went long first time, noodle-armed short into the smallest OB possible and overshot the approach, leaving me with a 5. Again, birdies both times would have been nice, at least one would have been preferable. There is a tree to the left side of 7 near the teepad...it shouldn't have been in my head...but it was. Par, bogey. Ugh.

Most of my disc selection was pretty solid even if the execution wasn't. RHFH XCaliber into oncoming traffic on 17 wasn't the best option, going OB early and leading to a 5. RHFH Felon, hanging out over the OB and landing about 35-feet left, basket high at 290' was more acceptable. Again, the four shot swing on hole 12 was execution, as I used the same disc off the tee. Well, 2 out of 3 times anyway.

 

Hole 1 in the second round. I hardly want to talk about it. The first round was pretty good here, but this time, early release...like, really early...into a tree to the left and I refused to let my 80-foot drive which kicked left, hamper my enthusiasm. My usual play from such a position is a high, panning forehand flex from a standstill with an Innova Star Xcaliber. Very overstable for me, but a lot of glide, and if I have the room to work it, I love the shot. So I pull it off, that high anhyzer, fighting out and panning down, basket high at the posted 359-foot mark. Normally I would consider 4 a good score here, but I was looking at a long par save from about 40 feet...and I went long left. But it doesn't end there. Nope. Now I'm tap-in range and just looking to leisurely toss it in, trying not to be tight and yank it right. But I hit high chains, reach down to pick up my mini and when I look up, there's my putter...laying on the ground right next to the basket. I look at each of my two card mates, who quickly avoid eye-contact and proceed to hole 2. So if you make a tap-in, it doesn't count, but if you miss it, that counts...and really sucks.

More numbers

The more I looked at my rounds, the less disappointed I became. Certainly, there is a premium placed on each shot on a par-54 course. Tee shots are critical and I didn't execute properly. I played about average. To that point, I looked at the course stats from MA3 for each round.

The round average, meaning the average score for each hole played out, was 30.72 for the front, 31.72 for the back, for a score of 62.44 overall. I went 29-34-63. Kinda average. The second round was roughly the same, 30.33-31.72-62.05. Well, I'll be...I was 31-31-62, the model of consistency, so to speak. I still finished 12th of 18, although I was one shot back from what could have been a 4-way tie at 9th, so, squarely in the middle of the pack there too, I guess.

I was also disheartened by another number. 52. It hardly ever plays out this way. Normally my bad holes are bad throughout, and I get a couple of holes that I may catch fire on in a round, or 2 in a 3-round event. It doesn't take much for the pendulum to swing one way or the other with all these par-3s. If I were to take a best-ball approach, my score would have been 52. Four birdies, two bogeys and a bunch of pars. That's all good on paper, but disc golf isn't played on paper, it's played on YouTube. I take small consolation that McBeth's 18-under at Toboggan was only near perfect, one par swapped for an eagle to make the one-under per hole round score complete.

I did shoot 67-59 at the Pine Cone Open last year, which was the 3rd worst and 3rd best round in my division. Even then, my best possible was 56, taking all of my best scores into account.  So at least there was some consistency.

What's next

Unfortunately my next event, the Azalea Am, has been postponed for the second time this year, first due to Covid and this second as an aftermath of yet another hurricane. I was obviously not ready as my game is in a state of flux, but it has brought some interesting considerations to light as I have struggled with where I fit in this year. More about that next time.

After that it's a busy September with two sanctioned events, a Trilogy Challenge, and a fun triples tournament with my son and my brother forming our team. I have a few videos to produce and plan to shoot some starter set reviews soon as well.

Disc Golf has really taken some jumps the last few years and the pandemic has increased it's popularity greatly. What better way to enjoy your time with family and close friends by walking in a park, social distancing on a beautiful day outside...and throwin' those Flippin' Discs!