Not ECO-friendly (for me anyway)

I know I promised another post in this space, but it was imperative that I do this one first and back track. I have a message to everyone playing disc golf, especially those with sincere intent on actively practicing to improve their game. One of the quickest and easiest ways to review your form is by going through your pull, slowly, in front of a mirror and watch your mechanics. However, this would not be advisable right before you get into bed on the night before a tournament.

Ticket please...

Sometimes the beginning of the story isn't actually the beginning. It can start much earlier and you can take it as far back as you want...if you want. We can start all the way back at Copperhead V, that saw a change in venue and me, get poison ivy for the first time (that I can remember) in almost 40 years. The steroids to help my body recover have wound me up, messed up my already poor sleeping habits and throw my appetite into a frenzy. I was pacing the house, trying to wind down the night before the ECO Jacksonville, and I found myself in front of that confounded mirror.

I'm not at the point yet where I should be releasing with much of a hyzer angle and after reviewing videos of me in practice, I had found that I was trying to gain power by reaching back too far, and too low, causing nose up angle issues with increased fade and less distance. Now, watching myself in the mirror, I realized that I had over-corrected. I was taking my hand back too high, above my elbow, not following it, and that was causing me to have weak, inaccurate, off-axis-torque shots because if the mis-alignment. I had already bought that ticket for the roller-coaster ride tomorrow.

The 2020 ECO Tour presented by Dynamic Discs (Jacksonville)

Previously scheduled for the first weekend in April, tour stop #4 fell to the 7th pick of the 2020 draft. Although I was somewhat familiar with the disc golf course at Northeast Creek Park, I realized too late that I hadn't played here since December of 2018, less than 6 months into the game.

I checked in through the PDGA site via my phone and hustled to hole 9 to get loose, delivering some brief greetings to familiar players along the way. The goal was just get warmed up with a couple of 200-foot holes with putters off the tee, one with trees and one wide open. Three smooth shots into circle 1 on 9, then 2 out of 3 on 13, with one being a touch right and just short. I putted all of them out and I seemed to be settling the excitement of the event that was about to begin.

This was to be a 20-hole layout with one temp basket and an extra hole at 12, so an A and B tee and basket that line up very similar shots for the RHBH (more about that later.) I began by heading to the incorrect hole, doing math instead of processing that hole 15 was indeed, hole 15, with the additions of 2B and 12B/12W being marked as such, not changing the numbered system in anyway. I had played with Jordan previously and knew John and Sho from their scores in events, so by reputation only. I expected them all to be top 5 players. Nick, rounded out card, being new to competitive events. All nice guys. It was time to get my ticket punched.

Hole 15 played as the hardest hole during the first round at a 3.86 average score (3rd hardest in the second.) Listed at 371-feet, usually into some sort of headwind, I was trying to play a forehand left to come back somewhere out in the open. I got into the open. The out part, was lacking, as I threw my drive about 120 feet, straight into the ground. My approach was an overcompensation, nose up and falling short and right. Bad upshot and 2 putts later, I carded a fiver. For your safety, please keep hands, arms, feet inside the vehicle at all times...

Hole 16 was a RHBH griplock on what was supposed to be a safe hyzer to at least settle the nerves and take a 4 at worst...pitch out, bad layup to a tester...and another 5. Poor forehand on 17 and 18 led to a 4 and 5, respectively. At 195-feet, I finally managed to get back on track with a par. I assured my card-mates that it was, in fact, a correct score.

Playing as the second toughest hole in round one (3.81) and hardest in round two (4), hole 2 is a 5,000-foot downhill open field shot. Well, it's long, like over 400 feet or something anyway. I got my release flat and the nose down this time...with my beat Star Wraith, which turned and dove, skidding to a halt in the grass, maybe 230 from the basket. But my approach was beautiful. Stand-still RHBH with my orange 2020 Tyyni Lucid Emac Truth, letting it hook up perfectly as I saw it pass chain high on the elevated basket, just behind the chains actually, and an edge of circle 1 putt that I missed.

I birdied 2A. Not nearly as colorful as the rest of the round, but I was getting tired, now you're getting tired and the whole thing is pretty anti-climactic in the grand scheme of things. Threw a nice tee shot on 4 with a BioFuzion Emac and left myself a long birdie look, which I gave a nice bid. Then I sailed an attempted layup from 70-feet or so left on 4 and 2-putted from there. I managed to dink and dunk some pars along the way. Had another birdie look at 8 which I caged. Never really got myself into good positions, just a couple of long birdie looks. There was a surprise forehand throwler on 11 that actually rolled uphill, across the street, in between a woman and the baby stroller she was pushing. Everybody got lucky there. I almost saved par from about 35-feet from where we estimated the disc went OB.

By now, as I came to find out, one of my co-workers, following the live scoring, had already given up watching my epic fail. The last 4 holes holes I just par out with a string of 3s that kept me from losing my mind. Initial tally...11-over 72. 19th out of 21 and 77 points below my rating. The lone bright spot was that as I looked at the scores, I was about to be on a card with the flyest guy in disc golf, Hannable McGarity. (You may have read something about him somewhere.)

Second Chances

After my usual PB&J for lunch and some extra time to relax and reconfigure my bag with a couple of more over-stable options to account for the wind, I was ready for redemption. There was nowhere to go but up as I headed to hole 18 to begin again. The benefit of being the last card in the lowest division...a short walk.

Hannable had his own challenges as well, but I'll him tell you in his own words. I knew we were in for a fun round, and HP always has a way of lightening the load. I mean, it's just disc golf, tournament or not, right?

I greeted my card-mates, Stephen, who was new to me, and Jeff, whom I played with at the DUO in Cary, NC last December. Both nice guys. And then HP delivered his inspirational address.

Honestly, I don't remember the exact words (I'm old, sue me) but to paraphrase his wisdom it went something like, 'If you die in a car crash on the way home from here, this is the last round that people will remember you for.' Ok. It wasn't exactly Bagger Vance. I guess it was more like Shane Falco in "The Replacements." Either way, it did the trick and I started to relax as we all had a good chuckle.

I still threw my drive too low, but I got to the top of the hill, then had a lousy upshot. Elevated basket - death putt tester...tossed to the pole and took my 4. Still one shot better than the first time. I guided my Gold Line Pure nicely on 1 and left myself a short putt for birdie, which I converted. Two holes into the second and I was even par, 2 strokes ahead of my previous round...and then we wait. Backup behind the Open Lead Card. That's what happens when you play like you know what you're doing and not looking like a dumpster fire. Those guys are playing for money and I'm playing for what little pride I have at the moment.

 

So, hole 2 ends up averaging at a 4 for MA3 and I plod my way along to that score. I baby my tee shot on 2a and drop to a par on this one. I card the same score from round 1 on 3 and 4, in unceremonious fashion, then pick up a stroke on 5 with a 4 instead of a 5. Holes 6 and 7, I par, just like in the first.

The tee shot on hole 8 is darn near identical as the last time, maybe 3 feet further back, only this time, I make the birdie putt. I take a 3-4 on 9-10, same as before, although my tee shot on the latter was much improved with the Mustache Lucid Enforcer over the Star XCaliber, since I switched that in the bag during lunch. I saved another stroke on 11 by not going OB (barely) and making par.

 

Holes 12B and 12W are both about 280-ish and offer about the same shot, although the first is downhill and the second is slightly up. A RHBH player can choose the same shot shape on both. My proud moment of the day was om the former.

Now 12B is an easy hyzer. Hang it out over the road that runs along the right side, maybe get a short skip off the road or get it all the way there, but if you miss the road coming in too steep it dies in the grass. As I get into my X-step, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a Gold SUV coming around the bend, in our direction, on that road. Directly along my line. If I don't get it there in time, I'm catching grill instead of green, but I keep going, maintain focus and pull off a nice smooth shot. It skips at the edge of the pavement, veering from it's "chicken run" at the approaching vehicle, and hops right into circle 1, about 20 feet from the basket. Birdie. Count it. No really, I made it. Count it.

I manage to par the next 3 and now we're back on 15 again. I over-correct and get the nose up, as I had feared the first time. I go OB right, but I'm considerably further down the fairway. Touch forehand with the 100% Beef Justice into the wind and I make the putt for a circle 4; another stroke gained.

 I opt for the roller on 16, as I had seen Jordan throw earlier. Better than last time, although still not a great shot. I get a nice approach and grab a par for yet another two-stroke advantage on my first score.

We get to 17 and we exchange the usual pleasantries among the group as the round has come to its inevitable conclusion. I had already moved up from 19th to a tie for 14th. I couldn't move up any more than that, looked like a 3-shot gap to the next spot. I still wanted to finish strong so I was going to give this tee shot everything I had left. The hyzer line or flip-up was still the safe play. Maybe even a mid-range, anything between 250-270 leaves me a somewhat easy up and down. I was concerned about a grip lock and not getting out of the chute. I was eyeing this perfect shot I had in my head, that big forehand flex.

I grabbed that Mustache Lucid Enforcer and let 'er rip. Then I watched...we all watched. I gave it more air, but not enough. I also gave it more angle, maybe too much...because as it barely got out of the narrowish gap off the teepad, it dove...hard. Yay! Another throwler. It was heading directly for the largest tree on the right of the fairway. Which I was ok with. You see, in the air, a disc is somewhat predictable. Rolling on the ground...not so much. You want an unintended roller to hit something and die. There's no telling where one of those will end up. Well, it narrowly missed that tree, scooting just far enough to the right, and disappeared through some brush. That's when I stopped watching. My card-mates did not. Apparently it keep on going. HP said something like, 'it popped out there at the end. you might be alright.'

As our card walked up the fairway to our discs, I keep an eye out for mine. Hannable assured me it was up further as I continued to look around. I was both relieved and astonished when I got to my disc. It was about 70 feet from the basket, giving me a nice spot for a soft run and an almost sure par, given how I was playing at this point.

"That's better than it deserved to be," Hannable stated. I smiled, not because I was proud of the shot, but because I knew he was right.

 

I converted the par to complete my round. A 2-over 63 to bring me to 14th out of 21 and an 850-rated round, 9 points over my rating. I'm still glad I made it home alright. Not sure if that's the round I want to be remembered for. I'm starting to think that line from Keanu Reeves might not be that bad. "Pain heals. Chick dig scars. Glory, lasts forever." Whatever works, when you're throwing those Flippin Discs.