2013 USDGC - Round Three Today

This week the 2013 United States Disc Golf Championship (USDGC) is taking place in Rock Hill, SC.  Rock Hill is just a few miles south of Charlotte, NC off of I-77.  Our family used to live in Charlotte, and our oldest son still lives there, so the area is very familiar to us.  However, while we lived in Charlotte, we had not yet heard of the sport of disc golf. 

In the fall of 2011 our youngest son Danny qualified for the tournament by virtue of his performance in the Orlando Open Tournament.  It was the first year that the USDGC tried a performance based format.  He thoroughly enjoyed participating in that tournament, and it was what encouraged him to continue training in the sport.  It is also why he went to the 2012 PDGA Amateur World Disc Golf Championship, which led to his encouraging me to go in 2013, and why we will both be going in 2014.

The USDGC is one of the premiere annual tournaments for disc golf, and one of the hardest tournaments to qualify for.  It has been played on the campus of Winthrop University since 1999, and the course has several dastardly holes.  One of them is certainly hole 7 known as the Bamboo Wall.  

There is a triple mando (mandatory route) for players forcing them to execute the only legal throw, right throw the garage door-sized hole in a man-made bamboo wall.

It’s been amazing watching some of the video of the leaders playing, especially as they face the challenge of the difficult holes.  One of them is the 888.  At that distance, it’s not the longest hole at the USDGC, but because of the technical nature, and limited in bounds areas, it is certainly one of the most technical.  You can view that video on the website:  http://usdgc.com

During yesterday’s tournament the person leading the pack at the time, Barry Schultz, ran into some difficulty on Hole 13 – the hole dubbed 888 because of its distance from the tee to the basket.  Barry, a three time US Champion, started out having a fantastic round, until 888 came up and bit him – big time.  He ended up with an 11 – 6 over par – on that hole and dropped from first to eighth place. 

Barry isn’t the only one who struggled with the hole.  Many of the holes at Winthrop Gold can Trip up the very best of the players.  The course is laid out in a way that challenges the best of the best.

One day, I may be able to play a casual round on the course during one of our trips to North Carolina.  But, I will never be good enough to qualify in that tournament.  There is one woman playing in the Performance Flight this year, and she is doing well.  But there have only been a small handful that has ever competed in this prestigious, difficult tournament.

The thing that helps me is watching how even the very best athletes in this sport can have an off day, or get in unexpected trouble on this very difficult course.  Every hole requires mental focus, planning throws, planning disc placement, and then executing those plans.  The wind can always be a factor as well, causing unexpected lifts or down drafts on one’s disc.

Sometimes when I’m practicing or playing in a tournament, I take my place on the tee.  Plan my shot.  See it in my mind’s eye.  And finally, execute.  The problem is that execution does not really match what I intended to do in my mind. 

I suppose that is true of all sorts of athletes, in all sorts of sports.  But, it is certainly fun trying!  And when everything comes together at the same time, it’s magic, poetic and wonderful!  A good friend of mine once said, “When I make a perfect throw down the fairway, I remember why it is that I play this sport!”

Holes 10 & 18

The disc golf courses that I call my home courses are the two at Bill Frederick’s Park (BFP) at Turkey Lake in Orlando.  The park is just a couple of miles from my home, and sits on the shores of Turkey Lake.  One course is called the Original Course (T-1) and the other is called the Turkeynator (T-2). 

One course (T-1) is more wide open with several holes near the shores of Turkey Lake.  The other course (T-2) is a bit more technical as it winds through wooded areas, as well as near a different part of the shore, and eventually crosses over Turkey Lake.

Both courses loop around near the start so it is possible to do the front nine of one course and the back nine of the other all in one round.  Or you can play the front nine or back nine of both courses and there is a nice flow to all those routes. 

Sometimes it’s nice to play the back nine of T-2 and the back nine of T-1, especially during the blistering heat of the day as those courses hold a bit more shade. Conversely, the front nine of both courses have some big holes for those with a big drive. 

For several years now, I have played both of those courses and still do not have my first birdie.  So for me, they are plenty challenging.  Two of the most difficult holes for me are holes 10 and 18 on the original course.  They are not very long, in fact they are two of the shorter holes, but for a person like me without a strong arm, getting the first throw through all the hazards and landing just right is so important to save par.

Hole 10 has a bit of a gully in the fairway, with a large tree just to the left off the tee, and several trees and bushes to the right.  Just before the basket there is a large pine tree almost directly in front of the basket.  And, just for more fun, there are several trees just to the left of basket as well.   There are steps leading both down and up in the gully, with some brush, tall weeds, and just for fun a few bushes thrown in as well.

When my son plays hole 10, he either throws an arrow straight drive off the tee, nearly straight to the basket, or throws a huge hyzer shot, up, up, up, over and around the trees, that ends up in a huge dive right near the basket.  One of the very first times I played with him on that course, he threw the other, straight arrow shot and we heard the chains clang as his disc hit it.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but he had thrown an ace!  (A hole in one!)

Hole 18 also has a small gully running through it right off the tee.  The gullies on both 10 and 18 are connected, and are probably some sort of formation from a sinkhole long ago, since there is no water feature in that area.  Hole 18 has trees around the tee box, in the gully, and on the right side of the hill on the upward side. 

Beyond the crest of the gully on the other side are numerous trees, and the line of sight to the basket is just to the left beyond site on the tee.  This hole also has steps leading up to the top of the gully, with plenty of thorny bushes, weeds and some random cacti thrown in. 

When Danny plays hole 18, more often than not, he will also throw a large back hand hyzer to the right which, when done correctly, makes the disc fade directly down to the basket.  I’ve also seen him throw an ace on that hole.

None if this is very friendly for a novice player without a big arm and good control.  My discs have landed in every tree and bush along the way, and some of the inclines up to the top of the gully on the far side of 18 are so steep that to take a second shot from hill side is treacherous.   

My focus lately when playing these holes is to try to throw a straight drive from the tee.  I cannot cross the entire expanse of the gully on 10, but recently have finally had some success in getting my drive across 18.  Lots of practice is needed on both of those holes.  In both cases, if I throw that first shot well, my following approach shot is SO much easier to plan. 

All this is to say, that tonight, when I get to BFP, I’m going to focus on those two holes.  Get out those ROCS for 10, and add the lighter weight Mamba and Vulcan on 18.

First Attempt at Handicaps

My first introduction to disc golf was in 2010 when I accompanied Danny to Bill Frederich’s Park where he began what has become an ongoing process of teaching me the sport of disc golf.  He gave me a few discs from his bag and got me started. It didn’t take long to get me hooked.

The elements of the sport are perfectly suited for someone like me:

• Walking outside, in a park
• Close to home,
• Requires very little financial investment up front
• Does not require having a group to play 
• Play at your own pace
• Put as much time into as you have the desire to learn

Furthermore, they say that "as we age" it is good for us to walk on uneven ground as it improves one's equilibrium and helps ones mental focus.  I can definitely attest to that.  A couple of times I've tripped over the smallest piece of root on the ground.  Fortunately, ground here in Florida is mostly sandy soil, so the fall doesn't hurt so much as it would if our soil was mostly hard clay.

For my Birthday that year, my family got me my own disc golf bag, and some brand new discs, and a practice basket that we have in our yard.  I still use that bag, though it is definitely well-worn in by now, and probably should be replaced.  We also still have the basket, along with a second one that Danny won when he was the winner in a local Disc Golf Tournament.  I’m not sure if I have any of those discs any more or if they have all been lost in a lake somewhere, but I remember that Birthday very vividly.

After I had been playing for a while, Danny began nudging me toward participating in his Saturday morning handicap league.  I truly could not see doing that! 

Most of the guys (yes, most of them are men) who participated in the league had been playing for years, or were strong, young guys who could throw almost the entire length of the fairway.  At that time, my max drive distance was way less than 100 feet.

Eventually, after I had been playing on my own or with family members for a while, I stepped into the waters of real competition and began playing handicaps with Danny on Saturday morning.  That was so scary for me.  I was completely nervous as I began, and made LOTS of mistakes.

That was a reality check!  Those guys were good.  My handicap was over 40 but even with such a big handicap, I rarely won because I had so little control over the disc, and knew nothing about disc placement.

Danny was kind enough to ask the organizers to put me on his card each Saturday so that he could help me learn what shot to take, what disc to throw, and what to do when I got in a pickle by throwing my disc in to a bush.  

Everyone was quite kind to me.  I think they looked at me like I was their mother or grandmother, and probably more like tolerated me because they were glad to see a new player come out for handicaps.

I remember what it was like that first Saturday after shooting 18 holes of golf!  I was exhausted.  I think that afternoon I slept for three hours.  My feet were aching, and I was just so happy to be home, take a shower and drop into bed.

After that, I continued to play handicaps – not every week, to be sure – but I kept trying to get better.  The forced concentration of playing with a group, or in an actual league taught me to be thoughtful of where I threw the disc, focused on how to get the disc to go just the right way for each situation, and ultimately improved my game a lot.

The Power of Persuasion

Have you ever known someone who has the ability to persuade you to do things that you would never otherwise attempt?  All three of my children and my husband have the ability to make me want to become involved in the things that interest them.  Of course, maybe that is really the power of love.  My family is so important to me, and they can make me want to do things that I otherwise would not even consider.

Given to my own devices, I tend to prefer doing things that are more solitary, like reading, or sewing, playing solitaire, or working on a craft.  However, if a family member asks me to join them in something, it is a lot harder to fall back into that solitary life.

That’s how Danny got me started playing disc golf.  He first got interested in the sport when his cousin Marc visited us and took Danny to a park just a couple of miles from our house where they had two disc golf courses.  He introduced Danny to the sport, and that spark of interest eventually grew into a real passion for the game. 

Danny was a year round swimmer during his middle and high school years.  That was a full time activity, which left little time for anything else.  It served him well, because he learned to train his body to do things far beyond his natural ability.  It also provided him with the ability to focus on a goal and work weeks, months, and even years to attain it. 

He was able to turn his participation in that sport as a means to a college scholarship at a Division I school which he was able to use until he graduated.  After graduation, his interest in disc golf blossomed as there were several great disc golf courses near the city where his university was located.  He had a chance to play many of those courses and got some of his college buddies hooked on the sport as well. 

Later, when he came back home as he began his adult job search, he frequented the courses in the Orlando area, and joined a handicap league.  He also encouraged the members of his own family to take up the sport.  It’s a terrific sport for people of all ages and abilities.  That’s where my involvement in disc golf began.  As he got better, Danny began entering tournaments in the Central Florida area. 

That’s when he began putting more pressure on me to also start competing in tournaments.  “You can do this, mom!” he used to say.  “You should start going to tournaments!”  “At your age there aren’t a lot of competitors to contend with and you could WIN tournaments!”  To qualify for the PDGA World Championships at my age, all a woman has to do is to compete in one tournament during the year.  That secures an invitation to the World Championships for the following year.

So during most of 2012, he often said, “You really need to compete in the Orlando Open this year.”  It is a tournament that takes place at the park where I most often practice.  He knew that would make me comfortable being a familiar course.  "Trust me! You can do this!"  At some point, in my heart I relented and signed up.

The tournament was fun, and just a bit scary, being as it was my first.  There are a lot of rules to learn and when you play in tournaments you are expected to know and follow those rules.  As Danny had predicted, I was the oldest one in that tournament, and no one else even entered the division that was offered for my age group.  So, I WON!  There is a trophy on my mantle that was the reward for that effort.

That qualified me for the 2013 Amateur Worlds Disc Golf Championship….and from there I had even more interesting adventures.  But that’s a story for another day!

Practice, Practice, Practice

Way back in 1958, when I was in second grade, a new music teacher came to our school.  Her name was Mrs. DuPuis, and she met with each class and talked about music.  She offered to teach Private music lessons to anyone who wanted to learn how to play an instrument.  I don't remember at all what she said to the class, or why it hit such a nerve with me, but when I got home that afternoon I announced to my mother, "I want to learn how to play the piano!"

My grandma had an old player piano with those rolls that you could insert into it, turn on the switch and it would play itself.  The piano had some foot pedals underneath the keyboard that you had to pump with your feet to make the air flow throw the holes in the paper roll. My sister and I would sit side by side pumping furiously to keep the piano playing.

It always fascinated me to watch the keys go up and down as the piano roll turned around reading the holes in the paper. I remember lightly laying my hands on the keys and "feeling" what it was like to actually "play" a piano.  It was magic, and I so wanted to learn how to do that.

All the excitement that was bubbling up in me was almost immediately burst when my mother said, "Well, you can't because we don't have a piano!"  It was like a shot to the heart, but instead of being defeated, I replied to her, "Well, then, I'll learn violin!"  You see, my dad had a violin, and I loved to hear him play.  I figured I could use his violin and all my parents would have to pay for were the lessons.  

Seeing it from my perspective now as an adult, juggling the budget every month to balance our wants with our needs always with an eye on our income, I realize what a tall order doing even that was.  My family was not rich, but we always had money for the necessities.  My mom was very frugal, and that didn't allow for many extras.  But, she also loved music, and played the piano herself.  I think she understood my desire to learn how to do that.

So we went to the school along with my dad's violin, to sign me up for lessons.  Unfortunately, because I was so young, my dad's violin just didn't fit in my arms.  My parents had already agreed I could play, so they just had to put out the money for a 3/4 size violin.  I don't remember what it was like to actually hear me play in those early years.....to me it was wonderful!  My sister tells me now that when it was time for me to practice, she would go outside and run to her friend's home a block away so she didn't have to listen to the squeaking and squawking.

Learning to play an instrument generally takes a while -- learning to master it takes years.  Learning the finesse of the violin can take decades.  My learning curve was no exception to that rule.  I had to practice every day, and my mom never let me get away with skipping a day.  If they were paying for the lessons, I was going to practice!  As I got better my practice time went from 15 minutes to 30 minutes to eventually two hours at a time.  It didn't matter if I was sick, if we were on vacation, or if the Packers were playing football on Sunday -- Practice came FIRST.

Years later, I learned to love the violin even more when I learned to play by ear.  Following the rules of the notes on the page is one thing, playing by following the melody in your heart is a whole other gift.  As I got better, I began to perform in various venues:  at my church, in a community youth orchestra, in our annual music festival in school, in pit orchestras for local community productions of musicals.  Playing before an audience means a whole other set of skills that have to be learned, including dealing with the nerves that come with perform in front of others.

The lessons learned about playing violin stuck with me, and are suiting me well as I prepare for Worlds. There is something that can be done every day to hone the skills needed to succeed at this sport.  Some days everything seems to work like a finely tuned violin -- and the disc soars in the wind like a beautiful melody on those strings.  Other days, it is just scales and etudes -- something to learn with every throw.  Sometimes, it just seems you can't get the instrument in tune and things are just awful, such as the days when you seem to hit every tree on the course!

Playing in competition, whether it is handicaps on Saturday morning, or World Championships, is all about getting over nerves and uncertainties, just as it was auditioning for a higher seat in the orchestra. In some ways, it seems like I'm back in grade school learning again from all those weekly lessons, and I'm finding that the lessons are part of the fun. 

In the Books

Week one is in the books.  Untold discs have been thrown and steps have been walked in pursuit of the dream -- competing in the 2014 PDGA Amateur World Disc Golf Championship.  Today Danny and I got to the park early to play a round.

It's always so exciting watching my son throw his drive.  He has a knack for throwing a perfectly straight drive just to the exact right point when the disc fades to the right or left depending on which is appropriate for the hole.  He has such an innate understanding of what disc to throw and how to get the most yardage out of it.

Today the weather held just the hint of fall.  It was a little cooler, with a little breeze, and plenty of sunshine.  Once the extra humidity gets out of the air, we will be in some of the prettiest weather of the year.  I have four weeks to get in practice before the park closes two hours earlier as daylight saving time ends. After that I'll be limited to practicing only on the weekends.  But there will be plenty of things to do until the park hours get extended again in April, such as....

• Putting!  Throw for show, putt for dough!  That's what Danny says.  We have two disc baskets in our yard.  Even when it gets dark earlier, it will be light enough to get in plenty of putting practice.  Danny and his friend used to do it for hours in the backyard.  I think that's how he got so good.  He can easily sink a putt from 30 or 40 feet.  My putting circle is closer to 15 feet.  Clearly some practice in this area will be helpful.
  
• Walking!  Disc golf is all about being able to walk a long way.  Some courses, especially at Worlds, can be very long.  Sometimes ball golf courses are converted to disc golf courses during Worlds.  That's what happened last year in Emporia, KS.  So, it is helpful to be able to easily walk long distances.
  
• Weight training! I've begun working with weights to increase my strength.  Like everything else, it's a slow methodical process.  Thankfully, Danny has been doing weight training for over a decade now, beginning with all those years of year-round swimming.  He knows what needs to be done, and how to get the maximum benefit from lifting.  He also has a creative mind which helps figure out ways to lift that can be done at home, with minimal equipment.
  
• Flicking!  I'm also going to continue to practice my flick shot.  There is a middle school near my home with a nice large field that generally goes unused at the hours when I get home from work.  I see regular trips to this field during the winter months.

Some days it seems that all I think about is this training process while getting ready for Worlds.  We talk about our trip a lot in our family.  I think it is part of the fun to have something big to look forward to as we go about our normal daily routines.

One week down, 42 more to go.....

In the Field

Have I mentioned before that I enjoy my job?  I have a great job, with great people.  Even so, as each work day nears its end, I'm ready to leave and see what sort of fun I can have towards achieving my disc golf goals.

Yesterday, it was one of those rainy, Florida days.  It began with some dreary sprinkles, moved into some pretty heavy rain, and then later the sky cleared.  When 4:00 rolled around, I packed up my computer bag, and headed outside.  What a surprise!

The sky was a beautiful clear blue, with barely a cloud anywhere.  I did not anticipate this at all.  The morning forecast called for mostly rainy skies all day, clearing only later in the evening.  I jumped in my car and began driving towards my home, ready to quickly change into disc golf clothes and see what the afternoon would bring.

I generally have a plan before I get to the disc golf course.  The decision has already been made as to which course I'll play, or which half-course I'll spend time working.  Yesterday was different.  Since the weather was not good during the day, I figured I'd just go home and maybe do some putting or work the weights. When I saw the brilliantly blue skies, I knew that I had to go throw.

What fun it was to get to Bill Frederick Park and just throw my discs. It's called throwing in the field.  I gathered all the extra discs I had into a milk crate, took it to the field and began to throw.  No limits are placed on throws "in the field" because there aren't any trees to avoid, or bushes to shoot around.  Every shot can be an all out shot, with all the power that the thrower can muster.  As I approached the field, I decided that I'd spend the day working on the flick (or forehand) shot.

My go-to shot is a backhand.  It seems more natural and I can get a good bit of power in that throw.  But there are certain times when the preferred shot would be a flick--such as when the previous throw lands just to the right of a big tree, bush, or otherwise overgrown area on the course.  Those who can flick really well, use the flick shot off the tee for a fairway that curves to the right (for right-handed throwers) or to the left (for left-handers).

My flick, however, has mostly been non-existent, and anemic at best.  Many people have tried to teach me, "Throw it like a baseball!" or just, "Throw naturally."  Clearly, I am not naturally athletic.  I have played two tournaments now and one World Championship tournament without ever throwing a flick.  It's time to fix this.  I've been practicing in my front yard, and I'm glad to say that it's time to advance to "the field."  At home, several of my discs have come dangerously close to my neighbor's house, car, or the windows in my own home. This isn't to say that my throw has become that strong, rather my front yard is very limited in size.

I have 26 discs in my crate, and emptied the basket four times throwing them.  I hope no one was watching me because my attempts landed all over the place.  A few were acceptable, but mostly, they were just plain wimpy.  After I threw I went out in the field to throw them back to the starting point, but I'm so inaccurate at this shot that they landed everywhere!  Nevertheless, learning comes with practice.  As a novice disc golfer my backhand shot was not anywhere near accurate, long or strong either.  With practice, it has become much better.  I'm betting that my flick will too.

Still, the afternoon was great fun.  After emptying and refilling my crate four times, I decided to throw the discs in my bag for a while....backhand and all out!  There was a slight breeze that my discs caught just right which helped the discs sail just past my max throwing distance.

I have a new Starlite Mamba and Blizzard Champion Vulcan that I recently received as gifts.  They are lighter weight but still have the same speed and distance as heavier discs.  Watching them fly over the field going, going and still going, is what makes throwing those hunks of plastic so fun.  A friend of mine that I met at Worlds said, it's the kind of shot that keeps you coming back to play -- even if it was preceded by 10 bad throws.

The afternoon was wonderful.  Fresh air, sunshine, and discs flying in the field.  A perfect end to my day.