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!”