Barnett Disc Golf Championships

Last month I competed in the Barnett Disc Golf Championships.  It was the first time I actually competed in a tournament at Barnett Park.  There is one hole that has terrified me for a long time – hole #18 on the North Side Course. 

It is an island hole, meaning that the basket is on an island in the middle of the small lake in the park.  People like my son, Danny, can throw from the long pad to the island without a great deal of problem.  I, on the other hand, can’t get there from the long pad or even the short pad.  I knew that I would have to throw from the drop zone, and even getting on the island from there can be risky.  That meant that I would risk losing some of my discs in the murky dirty water in that lake. 

About a month before the tournament I went there with Danny for some expert advice on how to approach the hole.  He told me to not even attempt the shot from the short pad, but to proceed directly to the drop zone.  That mean that I’d be immediately assessed a penalty of two shots.  Score, however, was not an issue for me.  Getting through the tournament was. 

During that practice session, my first attempt was not successful, as I threw two high which caused my disc to dive down directly into the water.  My second attempt just barely made the island.  I tried two other shots, and one did not make the island but was retrievable as it was very close to the dry land.  The fourth shot was successful, and that gave me the confidence to know that I could compete in this tournament.

The first day of competition I had another sort of obstacle to overcome.  Weather predictions called for all-day showers which is nasty when one is trying to compete in a disc golf tournament.  Thankfully I had a rain jacket which held tremendously to keep me dry.  Keeping the discs dry was another matter.  My husband caddied for me and his main job was to dry my discs and keep the ready for my next shot.  I was so thankful that he was there to help. 

My results in that tournament were not great, but I did shoot my highest ever rated round so I guess that’s something to celebrate.  It just didn’t seem successful at the time.

The best part was that I learned that I CAN compete in a rainy environment – which may help at Worlds.  Hopefully I won’t have too much rain to contend with, but we won’t know the answer to that until we are actually competing!

134 Days to Worlds!