People and Plastic...a Trilogy story

The Labor Day weekend was exceptional. I got to spend time with family and friends, relax, play a little a disc golf. Absolutely perfect. And just like any great hole on a course you've ever played, it was the proper mix of planning and taking the opportunities provided that made it so enjoyable, and memorable.  Enough of the writery stuff...for now.

Trilogy Challenge

Disc golf provides so many outlets to be involved with the game and the community. From casual rounds at local parks, clubs, local monthly events, all the way up to competitive tournaments for players of all skill levels, you can be as committed to your game as you feel comfortable. One of the unique melds of these, is the Trilogy Challenge, courtesy of Dynamic Discs.

A Trilogy Challenge is a one-round, 3-disc event with different divisions, depending upon the Tournament Director and the course to be played. While it is a one-round winner competition, it's beginner-friendly, plus, you're getting immediate value back with the retail value of the new plastic and accessories. But wait...there's more! Trilogy Challenges introduce new molds that haven't yet been put into full production.

This year's setup is the Latitude 64 SPZ3 driver (9, 6, -1, 2), the Dynamic Discs Bounty ( 4, 5, -1.5, 0.5), and the Westside BT Hybrid Crown (3, 4, 0, 1) - with that last one actually being an existing disc in a plastic that has not been available as of yet. I came for the Bounty, but was still curious about the others. So, the Crown was obviously in the Hybrid plastic and I selected the SPZ3 in may fave Gold Line. 

I was figuring on getting the Bounty in Fuzion, which turned out to be from the personal stash of TD Hannable McGarity (Fly Guy Disc Golf and DD Ambassador Team,) who, in the face of potentially not having discs ready in time for the event due to this craziness of 2020, stepped up to take care of all the players at the event. Even the SPZ3s only arrived the night before. I will say that although the Disc Golf Experience Bounty from AT&T Stadium is amazing, it is also bittersweet...Cowboys venue...Eagles fan...but I'll get over it.

Double Blinds

While Glenburnie Park in New Bern, NC, almost 2 hours North of home, wasn't my first choice, it is a beautiful course. A steady breeze coming off the Neuse River kept our group cool as we wound through the trees and valleys from the white tee pads, measuring a shade over 4900 feet in total. I was thankful for a friendly, fun group of young men, as I played this unfamiliar course...with unfamiliar discs.

The breeze also gave me some trouble figuring out the SPZ3. I heard murmurs that this disc would fit somewhere between a Getaway and an Escape. On hole 1, 297, open field, downhill to a basket loosely guarded by some trees, I went with a forehand with a little hyzer. I tried to throw straight out, so that it would ultimately be a nose-up angle (with respect to the ground as it was falling away) and fade out toward the basket. That thing flipped up and drifted left without any trouble. Thanks to poor execution, it was a tad more nose up than expected and it sat short, ultimately ending with a par.

Hole 2 is a straight, open, roughly 200-foot hole. I yanked my Crown right but was basket high and missed short...another par. Hole 3 was a travesty along the water , then 4 and 5 had me trying to unlock the secret of the SPZ3. I was doing respectably before hole 8 took my lunch money and told me it'd be back tomorrow...scrambled for bogey on 9.

The downhill 241-foot par 3 10th, gently turning right beckoned for the Bounty. This type of control turnover approach is a shot that has been missing from my game since I lost my glow flat top Roc awhile back. I did want to put this on a little anhyzer and keep the nose down, but despite not getting that precise and leaving it a shade high again, the Bounty had the type of flight that I think most people are expecting from this disc. I was was ecstatic. I think that people who fell for the DD Patrol a few years ago will get over the early retirement and fall in love all over again for this disc. You can achieve the same flight with a softer landing and it seems that it can be very workable, with good glide and hardly any effort needed to get quality shots. I can also see players bagging the Gatekeeper as an overstable compliment with a similar feel.

 

I tried to make the Bounty work again on 14 and 16, but it was a little forced and it didn't quite work out. In the end, I had an SPZ3-Crown finish for birdie on 18 and came in 6th. Scored a match pair of Judges to complete the take for day.

Overall, I got really comfortable with the Crown. Putters are all about how they feel in your hand because, honestly, you can putt with just about anything if it feels good and you want it to work out. Don't believe it? Watch Tristan Tanner hit this edge of Circle 1 putt with a Dog Bowl in his Goodwill $5 Budget Challenge. (It's around the 18:30 mark.) Still not going to be bagging it, but I do like it in the Hybrid so you get the firmness of the BT Hard and the gripiness of the BT Medium.

I like the SPZ3, but it wasn't what I expected. Maybe it was the Gold Line, maybe it was a little wind, but I think an Escape is more overstable. I might need to get my hands on the Opto plastic and try that first. I would recommend this one for someone trying to throw a Saint, but it's still too stable.

I loved the Bounty so much that it is in my bag right now. Sorry, Tursas...and the Fuses that never worked out. I even traded a disc out of my car (I always have more) to snag a Lucid Bounty from one of my cardmates who didn't click with it. Lefties. I'll have to do a review of these discs soon on my YouTube channel, especially since it has been a difficult year for people to get out and have as many experiences as they would have liked.

On to round 2...

Keepin' it casual

I wasn't looking forward to hopping back into the car to make an almost 2-hour drive home after one round. Hannable had a longer trek back to the homestead. We talked a bit, off and on, as he was finalizing scorecards, orchestrating payouts and carrying on one quick conversation after another in between. I admire his focus and juggling skills. I found out from HP that his son, Mitchell had never played this course. They were going to play a quick round afterwards. I was curious how I would fare with my regular bag.

I'm used to seeing the "Fly Guy" with his usual stable of sponsored players at events, jumping in to setup and pack up the tents, tables and trailer of sell-able goodies. Today, just him and Mitchell. After talking myself into perusing his stock to spend my voucher (6th place...eh) instead of maybe using it online later, I figured I could stay and help them pack up and grab that casual round before hitting the open road again.

It wasn't that long before things wound down and we got loaded up, heading toward hole 1. We decided to play the Blues, with others waiting at the White tees for one of their players to join, and we were underway.

The first hole is still pretty open from the longs, a shade longer than the white, with the same guardian trees. It was easier with my Felon, but I still left it short and 3 putts later, I was just looking forward to having fun...which I did by throwing my Lucid-X Oakley 2020 Tour Series on a sweet forehand to hook up and leave myself about 20-25 feet, and a putt I made with unforeseen ease.

There were a couple of good shots from me along the way. I managed to figure out how to make or salvage pars along the way after I struggled through the first eight holes. Despite my glowing about the tee shot on 2, the most rewarding thing about the round wasn't the slinging around of plastic. but the people I was playing with.

Disc Golf is more about people than any other activity I have ever enjoyed. There's so many good people. Hannable and Mitchell are good people. The best, in my opinion. Mitchell is light-hearted and easy going. But Hannable is a rare breed...and a bit hard to describe, which is why I have taken so long to write this. There will be more time to share the stories of why I like this guy so much, but I just wanted to share some tidbits from this day, and why I had suh a great time.

I first played with Hannable at King's Cup in January 2019, and have had him on my card for several events. He would always start casually for the first round, with this way of groaning about his struggles in a self-deprecating way with a joke or a punchline at the end. He would then proceed to catch and pass me, along the way to finish the event. Well, except that one time at Copperhead, as he reminded me during the round. 

 

But anything misfortune that befalls him, it never comes out as complaining. It's hard to explain. Imagine you're playing a hole, go OB twice before hitting top of the cage, then rolling back down the hill to 70-feet...then throw it in...Hannable wouldn't be that guy crying over spilled milk...or how that OB is unfair...or even how amazing that last putt was...it's just a great story. It happened and he moves on. He just takes things in stride.

He also the guy that encourages card mates. He'll pick at you with a joke about your decision-making, or push you to get that confidence back. He'll tell stories. I'm sure he'd discuss the meaning of life with you if you want. He's ready for anything...even a cat nap under the shade of a tree during a back up at a teepad.

I watched him snicker at his drive he pulled to the right on hole 5. Then he proceeded to talk about the perfect line that he imagined some frustrated disc golfer had created with some extra-curricular "course maintenance," pausing only briefly to laser a quick upshot for a tap-in par. He had a beautiful hyzer drive on 8, telling us that the Sapphire he threw was made for that shot. He helped me located my tee shot on 9, that I threw so exactly how I wanted and better than I had ever done, that I wasn't quite sure where it ended up...and he gave me a simple, "That was nice drive."

I starting making some pars after that. HP took an second tee shot on 12, trying a different disc to see what it would do be, like you'd do in a practice round, before we discussed how to play this hole as we walked up to take our second shots and pick up his second drive which had a better result. I think the quintessential HP happened on the 16th tee.

I will set this up by saying that when most players throw an errant drive, griplock, whatever, there are some normal responses. There's the player that immediately upon release knows it's going the wrong way, draws their arms up and brings the shoulders in, yelling "get skinny!" or "miss it!" as it barrels headlong toward a tree. Sometimes there is that delayed, "oh my god!" and the hands on the hips at the combination of disappointment and frustration. But that's not HP. He lets it fly, follows through and simply takes in the beauty of the flight...which was pulled a little left. Well, maybe just a bit more than a little, but not a total griplock. I think I yelled, "get skinny!" as it slipped just right of a tree and some branches from some others in the tightest of gaps that nobody is trying to hit, and ultimately ended up being a nice drive. He just turns and gives me that "I'm such a lucky S.O.B." smile and we grab our bags and move on, laughing at how amazing that worked out.

Hole 17 is a long downhill drive which he proceed to throw directly toward the basket, asking both Mitchell and I why we took the long way around as we followed what appeared to be the designed fairway route. We laugh off my terrible flex forehand on 18 that comes out too low, becomes a "throwler," cuts off the road and rolls up the hill with a chance for a soft run and tap in par...I was glad I had stayed.

If I thought about the top 5 of rounds that I have ever played, there would be four behind this one. And it wasn't about the course, or the score, or any particular shot, it was just a great day with a very pleasant and fun bonus round. Just a couple of Fly Guys and Flippin Discs.