That was the first time I did...

8-The amount of people that played on this glorious day. 7-The number of strokes I shot under my handicap. 6-The number that "Joda the Diah" shot under her handicap. 5-The number of times I wanted to see Don Quixote and Sancho Panza come over that fictitious high hill. 4-The hole I should have won the CTP if we would of remembered to mark it. 3-The number of people who won things (other then fun and frustration) on this Sunday (Nate Dizzle took home some fine looking produce donated by Parksasome). 2-The number of strokes I was away from tying the record holder, Erin Hemmings (AKA Mr. 15 under). 1-The number that I felt on this day ("You're number 1, kid").

It was heard throughout the course on this Sunday, "That was the first time I did...". I (if you couldn't tell already) shot 13 under. Derrick tied his high score shooting 5 under. Brian Brody shot his high score of 4 or 5 under. Joda the Diah tied her high score (and the women's high score) shooting 2 over.

Hope to see y'all on Thursday at the Fort Breezy doubles round.

DaveytothemotherfuckinD

XXXVI How Don Quixote and Sancho Panza happened upon a gypsy band and other adventures

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza had been riding through the high hills of La Mancha for days; in search of adventure and opportunities to right the wrongs of society. Upon reaching the crest of one hill Don Quixote paused. Sancho rode past, unable to deter his normally faithful burro from the cool rewards of the stream a few meters up the path. As Sancho's ass drank plentifully from the stream, Sancho puzzled over the look of question on the face of the knight-of-the-sad-countenance. Don Quixote saw something down in the valley that Sancho could not recognize. There was a distinct round of cheers or jeers that would rise up from the valley floor every five to ten minutes or so. Often these very human sounds would be accompanied by the sound of steel chains shaken.

The sound recalled an image in Don Quixote's mind of men beaten brutally with chains, by their captors who hold them for no greater charge than crossing paths with such ferocious animals.

With the tip of his helmet and the unsheathing of his sword, Don Quixote spurred the aged Rocinante towards the valley and the cries bellow. Sancho looked on as he had been doing for the previous few minutes. Still unable to decipher the look on the face of his friend, he made sure his proud steed was fully hydrated, and slowly followed the dust trail left by the hasty departure of the great Don Quixote.

As Don Quixote emerged through the passage he had found in the vast blackberry bramble, he discovered a scene unlike the one he had envisioned atop the hill. Before him were three men and one woman. Throwing what Don Quixote could only guess to be long distance weaponry at steel mannequins with chains in place of the human rib cage. Our hero knew better, after many unnecessary injuries to himself and his dutiful squire, than to ride directly into the line of fire in this shooting range. Instead he chose to watch on and examine the purpose of this training. He saw right away that the discs being thrown were made with blunt rounded edges and would probably be outfitted with blades to fulfill the sinister desires of its thrower. After all four assassins had buried their weapons into the midsection of their target, they congratulated one another and set out to commit the same foul deed on another unsuspecting herdsman (who else would be standing alone on a hillside in the high mountains). Don Quixote saw his window in the wall of thrown weapons and prepared to attack. Having lowered his face protection and adjusted the grip on his sword, Don Quixote was now prepared to rid the Earth of this evil training facility and all of its inhabitants. Like all knights errant, Don Quixote took an oath to right any wrong he observed without regard to his own health and safety.

It was Sancho Panza who disliked this part of the oath most. If only his role as squire to the Knight-of-the-sand-countenance was to persuade him to keep free of bodily harm, than Sancho would have been much more readily available to perform his duties; instead of meandering down the path in search of a safe place to assess his master's injuries. It was at this moment of thought that Sancho realized what Don Quixote was about to do. He is going to slay this gypsy band and Sancho would rightfully inherit any gold or jewels left as bounty (Don Quixote must never benefit financially from any of his deeds or he would be in direct defience of his oath sworn before the squire Sancho Panza). At this realization, Sancho had the most confidence in the great knight, and decided to rest in the meadow just above the gypsy camp.

From this perspective, Sancho could see Don Quixote's mistake clearly before Don Quixote could possibly have realized it. Amongst the assassins there were three dogs. All of which could encircle and take down a horse the size and health of Rocinante. Upon reaching the dogs, Don Quixote pulled on the reigns hard to make Rocinante lift his front hooves and use a stomping motion to keep the dogs at bay. The dogs barked a prodigious amount and Rocinante could not handle the racket. Don Quixote retreated the attack long before he reached his targets.

At the site of this, Sancho felt great shame for wishing the deaths of the gypsies and decided to congratulate Don Quixote on his decision to keep safe his steed and only mode of transportation and allow the gypsies, who have already begun to leave after seeing the drawn sword and battle pose of the knight before being discovered by the dogs, to go free. Don Quixote saw no shame in surviving his horse and thanked Sancho for his reassurance, reminding him that if the dogs had not attacked Rocinante, those gypsy assassins would not live a moment longer to plan attacks on lonely herdsmen.

So it was agreed to take a high path through the mountains and seek adventure and righteousness elsewhere.

Isn't winning enough? :)

It was a perfect day for disc golf. The sun was shining , the wind was blowing just enough, and there were 7 of us ready to take it by storm! As it turns out the second group to drive did just that, pulling in both of the CTPs and the victory. The first group, however, (Brodys and Nate) only won the award for the most curse words yelled and the most fart sounding shots :) This day belonged to the second group; Jake, who beat his first weeks score, the Stein, who took home a second place victory and the CTP for 15 (a champion wraith Nate found while rooting through the evil that dwells below the bleachers), and I'm not sure how Jim did, but judging by the rest of his group I'd say he probably had a good day. Way to go guys! But the one who really shook the shingles was Derrick, the big winner of the day, raking in his coveted R-pro hydra for the CTP on 18, because he's never satisfied with just a victory, and shooting his best score ever with a -5 before and after handi. It seems when Derrick wins he has to win almost everything!! Hope to see you all Thursday at the college.

Like taking candy from a baby...

Hello Frolfland-

It was a beautiful day for Frolf yesterday, the air was warm, a light breeze blew across the headlands, and 9 shiny, happy people played in our weekly.

There are many side plots to yesterday- Dave and Parky returned after a few weeks and both resumed where they left off: Dave throwing 10 down and Matthew throwing it all away on the back nine.  The return of some players from the past: boon-varro and Jonah.  But the real story was: The Brodys.

I guess we all should have known.  If you read this blog with any regularity, you might have noticed that when they are not appearing in the local newspapers posing if front of disc baskets or printing up stickers for our club, Bryan and Jody travel around the Pacific Northwest playing disc golf, playing disc golf tourneys, checking out disc golf courses and blogging about disc golf. Basically living the dream.

The dream quickly became a nightmare for anyone not named Brody who was hoping to win something yesterday.  Between Jody and Bryan, the Brodys won tourney, the CTP ($10 from parks) , the longest put of the day prize ($5 elderberry) set a new official  Chick Flick record (2 up, Jody) and the unofficial "I wish that those two people weren't so nice and friendly because it makes it very hard to hate them and do something vengeful like put sugar in there gas tank or something because they just beat the living sh_t out of me and took all my hard earned money" award.

Congrats Jody on winning tourney, and Bryan for CTP and best shot.  It was a fun day in the sun.  I guess I should go start practicing now....

SP3   (Starky Parkweather the Third)

DUBS in FB

The high school was crawling with out-of-towners kicking the ole' black'n'white around (my personal thoughts on soccer = seriously... soccer? who cares?). The annual Skunk Classic compelled the few frolfers who showed to turn tail and head north to our brand new back-up course, CR. Again, a round of thanks in order to all who made the possibility of a back-up course a reality.

Those who showed were Hem-haw, Hem-haw II (Devan), Magee, Brun, (Nate) Dog & Linz. All were in favor of a non-handi doubles round. The teams: - Linz/Erin - Dog/Magee - Brun/Devan. It was unanimously pre-determined that the ace pot was out of play because Jim was absent.

Brun generously donated beverages to the thirsty group and we began our round. I personally shanked every single drive I threw, but I was able to close out a good many of Erin's great drives. Brun and Devan played a great game of strategy, despite several instances of rogue laser interference and kung-fu samurai. Team Dog/Magee was on with great approach putts. I don't know if it was the CR baskets, but Magee and I both had a lot of really-long-putts that hit chains & bounced-out.

It was a great afternoon, and gave a few players a chance to play CR for the first time ever. Erin and I took the cake home (or rather, to Piaci's) and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were encouraged by Brun to spend our hard-earned $$ at Subway, or perhaps even splurge and hit up Asian Buffet. Magee/Dog turned in a -3, and Devan/Brun a 0.

See ya'll next week.

Sunday August Second

It was a 6-person tourney, a goodly crew, including Linz, Roy, Vince, Derrick, Erin and myself. We played an augmented version of one-group "ready frolf", in which we all played when ready, with the exception of the tee-box, where honors remained. It was a good compromise, allowing for good pace of play and a proper hard-earned teebox line-up as well. After about 11 holes, with Linz playing great and most of us playing well, Erin judged himself out of it, and started to just go for aces. But he also seemed to make most of the challenging birdie putts he left himself. I found a way to bogie 15, which, when you think about it, is pretty hard to do. On 17, Linz left herself a very makable par putt, which would have allowed her to layup on 18 and still win. But her uphill effort missed high, and her comebacker missed and rolled all the way to the bottom, dooming her chances for a tourney win. A brutal turn of events after 16 excellent holes, but Linz took it with her usual nonchalant grace...and maybe a few extra words thrown in. This opened up the tourney to others, and we figured out Erin, Derrick and I were all tied for the lead going into 18. All three of us birdied (clutch!) to set up a three-way playoff at the top of the world! Derrick's effort sailed wide left, my effort missed wide right by a foot (!), and Erin's also missed right. All three of us bogied, and moved to the second playoff hole--a longer throw to 6--which only Erin birdied for the win! Derrick and I did a CTP to the 11th basket from the track, and Derrick edged me by a few feet for the second place money. But before you feel sorry for me, you should know that I drowned my sorrows in the delicious macaroons I won from Vince in a CTP on hole 3!

Jody' first Chick Flick.

Hey fellas and gal. Hope everything on the beautiful Mendo coast is flying along wonderfully for you all. Jody and I just returned from a amazing weekend of Chick Flickin' and Cock Flockin'.

The event its self was amazingly organized and fun for woman of all skill levels. Jody got to attend some roller and flick clinics as well as some trick shot clinic. And now for the big news Jody took 4th in the intermediate division beating 12 other girls. She was on the leader card and made a good run for it. She also won a lot of great prizes including something that you will only see at a Chick Flick, it is called a P-Style. It is made for girls to be able to pee like boys. It really works and it really freaks me out. Any way....

There was a night glow random mixed dubs for the Cock Flock (All the guys who caddied for the gals) Strange enough I was the odd man out and the guy from Cali had to play Cali. I took 5th place and took 6 dollars. I shot a 5 down and the winners shot 15 down. However I did not have to share my winnings with a partner! Woo Hoo.

Oregon has some wonderful disc golf folks and a really passion for the sport. If any of you ever get a chance come up and check out one of there amazing events. Here is a link to a video for some of Jody's high lights. Hope you enjoy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e33mjkSbhiQ

The Return of Stein!

Well, another Sunday Frolf in the books as Cal Ripken Jr. continues to sweat. First off let me say a gracious THANK YOU to Erin for that AWESOME picture of Kid Rock, Em, and Davey Motherfuckin' D. I can't believe that picture actually leaked on the internet...I told Kid Rock to burn that dam picture. I love it! I can't get over it. I keep going back to the web site and looking at it and chuckling.

Anyways, on to the frolf...we actually all (Linz, Nate Dog, Vincenze, Devan Hemmings, Jimmy E, HemHaw, and myself) played together and decided to play a "Ready Frolf" round (which is the name of Erin's last post) meaning when your ready---FROLF. It actually speeded things up and there was less of people staring at each other pulling out their internally measuring tapes deciding who is furthest from the basket. There were many winners on this day (not including The Park Knight who couldn't make tourney because his daughter decided to make a doody all over his house) including: The Linzanator who broke the Women's record...she shot a +3, James Birdy Eldridge won a CTP prize of a chocolate bare genorously donated by Vince, Erin won a CTP prize of some fancy chocolaty bready sconey thing donated by Linz, and yours truly (dentist) who won the tournament. I have noticed that the last 3 weeks the winner has shot 6 under their handicap (good to remember for future events). Erin HemHaw was actually sitting 13 under after 16 holes but unfortuantely 5ed hole 17 and 3ed 18 but Doctor Detroit was ready to pick up the scraps and swoop in for the win (we both shot 11 under but my handicap is -5 and Erin's is -6). But why I ask? Why don't we pay more attention to second place? Afterall it is the second best you can do (OK, now I am just stating the obvious). But really, why? Anyways, Erin took second and for those who care Nate Dog and Linz tied for 3rd.

P.S. Who did Joe Nameth and the New York Jets Jets Jets beat in the famous Super Bowl where they were big underdogs and Nameth predicted the win?
The Baltimore Colts?

P.S.S. The Fort Bragg course is having their weekly random doubles at 6pm on Thursday. $5 entrance and $1 for ace pot (there are several aceable holes).

daveydentiststein

Our Ready Frolf Round
-Erin

CR weekly

Hey yalls,

AJ is calling for random doubles, Thurs. @6.

Fort Braggarts represent.

Norte es mas fuerte.

Arvin Julius

Well, let me start off by saying that Erin, you have outdone yourself with this picture on the blog. Is that Pete the Magic Dragon, Caesar, or a disc chucking AJ (Arvin Julius) riding an Innova breathing dragon all the way from Humboldt County down to San Diego and back up to Mendo to take all of our money and CTP prizes. Thats right...AJ's silly (might I say riduculous) handicap of 2 over finally paid off (pun intended) for him. We all knew it was just a matter of time and that time was Sunday July 19, 2009. AJ came out all buisness and was rifling (as usual) his putter at any basket in sight. AJ, like Jody last week, shot 6 under his handicap and won the thing easily. Nate Dizzle Dog Anderson, Erin HemHaw Hemmings, and yours truly tied for second shooting 2 under our handicap. We played a closest to the pin on the money shot (for those who don't know the money shot it is from the tee box on hole 8 to the basket for hole 10...short but sweet) and I took it by a couple of feet. HemHaw had the best overall round with a -8. Might I add that the gracious winner, Arvin, took who ever wanted to wet their whistle to Patty's for sweet succulent beverages made up of malted barley and hops. Thanks Arvin and nice win!

David

Jody does it!

So I am hear to gladly boast Jody taking the win this windy Sunday. She is the first female to win one of our MFC tourneys. She also broke the woman's tourney record and her personal best game ever. My sweetie. I am so proud.

It was a relaxed start to the game. We got started promptly at 4:15 or so. If I can remember correctly it was Jody, Linz, Nate, D- Roc. Davey the Oral Hygienist, and myself Bryan "to good for a single so I will take a double and a triple bogey"Brody. We also had a special guest for the first 10 hole, the Dean from the College came down and joined us. He is the one responsible for the new course and a MFC recruit. We also had a "special" guest for the back 9 as well. This was a less friendly guest, I believe his name was Marco and he decided who lives and dies. But never mind Marco this is about Jody.

Jody rocked the front nine shooting even and putting the preasure on. She held on to the lead even with Davey checking the card and nipping at her heels. One of Jodys highlights was blasting a drive on 10 that went as far as the end of the bleachers and wrapping up a easy 3. The big show was saved for the end where she almost aced 18, but parked it for the bird instead. All in all she just kicked some ass. Derrick and Davey tied for second and played CTP on 12 for the 5 bucks at stake. D took some tree love and walked away with his 5 bones.

We are leaving for a few weeks. Hope all the tourneys are wonderful and exciting. On another note Derrick put up a new record at the College of a -5. Good luck taking that one down guys.

The Fabulous Brodys

Our friends made the cover of the weekly sports section of the Mendocino Beacon. Click the image to view in greater detail.

Apparently, the writer of the article is not familiar with the High School Disc Golf Course, citing that disc golf enthusiasts must travel to one of the many overly-hot inland courses to enjoy some Frolf. Not so!

Thanks, Brodys ~ You are a wonderful spokes-couple for our favorite sport!

post-independence day tourney

9 Frolfers showed up today to recognize the birth of our fine nation with a smashingly well-played tourney, and better-than-average results all around. Although this year's "Tourney de Independence" took place on the 5th of July rather than the 4th, the full effect of yesterday's celebration/debauchery was felt by many throughout today's round.

The flip divided the people, and away went Bryan, Erin, Tom & Ryan, pulling ahead of the rest at a breakneck pace. Jody, Linz, David & Nate cooled our collective heels, waiting for Jim "practically always late to Tourney-weather" Eldridge. We had a fine first few holes, with pars and birdies abounding. Special update: Jody's drives were super-stellar today. I put in my daily requisite bogies on 3, 4 and 5 (what what?) & noticed that Jody's round was going to wipe me out if I didn't get my ducks in a row, & quick! With a bird on 3, she had me beat after nine, coming in at only +1! She rocked the back nine until 17, where the infamous cypress ate up her blue disc (it should be duly noted that Jody pared 17 yesterday). She played a very determined and impressive round. I kicked the chick record down a notch to +5, with narry a bird nor double-boge. Nate Dog also finished up with pars and birdies far outnumbering his bogies, bringing him in at +3. Very little swearing was heard.

Meanwhile, Flames "2 is the new 3" Helldridge drew a big fat -13 in the end, sinking crazy putts from crazy distances, as though he were putting for a living and selling real estate for fun. He took the cake and ate it too. Tried as he might to catch his arch-nemesis Jim, David pulled in at -4, having just woken from blissful hungover dreams of taking the pre-D-roc ace pot and high-tailing it to Reno. He was sporting the same clothes as yesterday.

The more efficient group seemed to play an equally fun and impressive round. I believe Ryan "please do not kick my beer" Magee played one shot off his tourney best (?). He sank his teeth into more than a few putts and tallied up his row: -5. Bryan Brody, who I like to call Jon, had some high highs and some low lows, apparently succumbing to 17 like his dearly devoted partner Jody. Tom toted a folding tri-pod stool along with him for the round ... smart man. A steady -1 in good form.

It is now 10 PM and Erin "hem dinger" Haw continues to bitterly complain that his -12 was still three shots away from a handicap win. Excuse me while I give him a leftover Vicodin and put him down for a little nap. I hear that he left no drive more than 25ft from the basket, and accounted for his obligatory bounce-out putts on several holes (it's still a good score, kiddo).

Great fun, this tourney. I am grateful to all who attended, and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Ok well this is my first real Mcgeal Blog I ever did.  Hmmm.... not a gripping Introductory sentence huh?

Lets try again...

"People who love sausage and people who believe in justice should never watch either of them being made"  

-Otto Bismark

Well I love sausage, and I love Justice.  What is this my friends? Are you confused why in my first post ever to any blog especially to the blog with embodies my dream of having a local disc golf club so that I could play in a weekly tournament and regularly fork over 5 hard earned American dollars to other people would begin with a picture of a volcano, a quote about sausage and justice, and a run-on sentence? My dear hurlers of polymer platters, let me ease your befuddlement.

I may have been shooting for the moon but in my never ending quest for justice, I simply wanted the replace the photo of Tim Linsicom,  I mean Jim Eldridge, with Ryan "Rye-Bird" "J.D. Slinginger" "Catcher in the Rye" "Hawaii 5-0" Magee.  Gentle readers and those Internet junkies who may have stumbled across our little blog due to my careless and, I daresay, negligent inclusion of over Seventy Three different subjects in a (so far) two paragraph blog (and a second run on sentence), please do not continue reading.  For I found that I had not one, not two, nor could I find even thrice a picture of my hero and your true MFC champion, one Mr. Ryan "Mama pull out the Rye-Bread and the Mustard 'cause that was a grand salami" Magee.

But I DID find this nice picture of Volcan Arenal that I took in Costa Rica.

Luckily, I did not have enough Blogging Power Points to replace the picture of Jim "how come we can never think of a clever nick name for this guy except for lame s##t like Jimerson" Eldridge with a random vacation picture.

And I did learn how to put a picture in the Blog.

Ok well fellow club members, I guess that will take care of tying up the smattering of Volcanoes, Justice, and run on sentences I left all over our beautiful Blog.  Oh... and the sausage?  Like Justice and sausage, feel lucky you did not watch this blog being made.

Quick Post

I find it necessary (even though I didn't win) to publish the winner and runner up for Sunday's (June 28th) tournament. Rye Bread took first place with an impressive -4 (-5 after handicap) with Nate Dizzle Dog Anderson right on his heals with a +1 or +2 (-4 after handicap). I also find it necessary to report that we had a fairly impressive turnout of 11 people (even with out Erin, Jimmy, and D Money) including Frank from Lake County and the return of Tommy Boy Snyder. The best overall score went to yours truly..."pulling teeth Stein" shooting a quiet -6. Congratulations goes out to Rye Bread but will he attempt his feet of trying to win 3 straight or will he chicken out and go to Usal Beach?? I don't have answers just more questions.

David

Click on the image to read the fine print

FORT BRAGG COURSE!

I dont know if you have heard, but they are putting a 9 hole in at the College of the Redwoods!
There was a flier on the map at the High School. They are gonna work on it tomorrow from 9 am till it is complete. They could use some help. Call Drew for more info. 707-499-6781

Wind +Ace+Fathers Day= Fun!!!

Lindsey outdriving us on 17

Erin wins the overall with a -5

Bryan wins the loudest "snap" while driving award.

Matthew's stylin drive

Jim wins the tourney with a -1 handicap round

Jody getting some nice shoulder turn and great distance!

Maia and Yoda "playing"

Lindsey Aces hole 7!!!!!
She ripped an Avenger SS in a sharp
turnover through the trees and into the basket
Super awesome first ever hole in one.
$23 pot was icing on the cake.

Friday AT 5:00!

Anyone wanting to play Friday the 19th at 5pm we would love the company. Come on out and get warmed up for Sunday. I know this is not what the blog is for, but we have not been added to the email list. So if anyone would like to add us to that list it is kinfolkfan@yahoo.com. Thanks and hope to see some of you today.
The Brodys

In a Nutshell..

new course record

I watched Mendo Disc Golf history being made this evening. After losing my first 5 spot to AJ last week, I've decided I need to start actually practicing. So Erin, Maia and I made our way to the high school after work. Normally our rounds involve a fair amount of practice shots and messing around but, determined to start taking the competition aspect of disc golf seriously, I decided we'd play a legit game. No extra throws, no mulligans. Just straight-up tourney-style play.

As I was busy double-bogieing my way through the front nine, Erin was quietly coming up with birdies on all but the 9th. An errant sidearm landed his coveted red Firebird squarely between the boards of the outer tennis court. A push through the trees brought him under the basket for a gimmie. 10 went off without a hitch, and we climbed the stairs to 11. After hitting the trees and falling just right of the scoreboard, he lauched an 80 foot putt and missed by a hair. Another par. (Meanwhile, our hero is trying to help me rescue my suck-ass round, and I'm getting pissed. This doesn't phase him, apparently).

We rounded the northwest corner and by this time I began to take notice of his unprecedented number of bounce-outs: ZERO. Seriously - this guy never has a round without a bounce out. I kept quiet, knowing his anticipation was mounting. I drive a comet bullet straight at the basket on 15 and make my second birdie of the game (am I finally getting the hang of that disc?). We approach 17 knowing that the heat is on. A bogie here could potentially blow the whole thing. I hold my breath through the run-up ... his fingers snap and the Boss flies across the field in a high turnover arc. It hits the road and rolls down the hill. Damn. Shot number two hits the trees and falls unceremoniously to the dirt. Then he drains a 40 footer for par numero 3 - huzzah! We both clear the uprights on 18, which is pretty rad for me but fairly normal for him. I putt out and clear my disc. Erin takes his time, and his focus deepens.

Ching!

Super cool. 15 down. Way to go baby!

want more email?

I just found a feature that enables automatic emailing anytime anyone leaves a comment on the blog. Any post, old or new. That way you can keep up on comments without having to always check back to see if old posts have new comments.... If you'd like your email added to the list, say

"aye".

KOA Jam (Parental Advisory)

There is a bit of language in some of the music so if you have tender ears in the room turn down the volume. But here it is the KOA Jam...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGnyw4-j4z8

KOA Pro/Am Jam Extravaganza

I've got a few minutes this morning, with the tourney still fresh on the sizzling brain, so I'll kick in with the first post here, even though I don't have the full picture of the weekend, given my late arrival on Saturday morning.  I hope all the kooks will kick in their rants, and a full picture shall emerge!

It was quite a weekend, to say the least, full of full-throated frivolity and antics aplenty, and similar to last year, the disc golf was the least of the fun for me.  Part of that was due to a chest cold I brought with me this year.  I threw myself into a four-man ball-golf tournament earlier in the week, during which I had no less than a stomach flu, the beginnings of the cold, and allergies (we ended up qualifying for the next round, woo!).  By the time the tourney came around, the flu was largely gone, but the cold was full throttle.  My wife couldn't understand why I was going to the thing, but hey, the KOA comes but once a year!  I held up pretty well on the first day, finishing with a 3-down which, but for a few bad breaks and chain-outs, could have been 6 shots better.  My putting was really grooved, and things looked good.  But after the frivolity of Sat. night, and an inability to sleep, my tank was empty about halfway through the Sunday morning round.  I gave serious thought to bagging the final round and either going home or following the lead Open group around to learn a thing or two, and cheering on the other MFCers, but I didn't think that would be good form, so I finished up.  I was something like 5 down through the first round and a half (including a birdie on the crazy-hard-to-birdie new 17th pin position), and 10 over through the last round and a half, and finished the tourney at 5 over.  I stumbled home and slept from 9pm to 9am, and am looking forward to a slowwww recharging week this week.

Ok, so, the highlights of the weekend for me:

~The MFC turnout!  Although we were all sad that Erin couldn't get in under the wire, otherwise the turnout was supreme, with 6 (!!!) of us competing, and 5 others there to party and lend support!!!  We had Davey and me in the AM1s, Matthew, Rye, and D-Money in the AM2s, and Nate-dog in the REC division, and ABrun, with quiet but wry and fun friend Mean Gene, the Brodys, Travelin' Matt, and D's main squeeze Franny all along for chicanery of their own.  It was a high-flyin' group, and made for hours of fine entertainment, not only for ourselves but for the camp at large.

~D-Money's birthday!  Sly quiet one that he is, he didn't let on, but Franny finally told us that Saturday was his birthday.  He celebrated by not only playing some kick-ass disc throughout the day, but cooking some astonishing kababs for all of us at night, and sharing the extraordinary blueberry cheesecake that baker-extraordinaire Franny had brought for him.  Matthew said it best: "I feel guilty eating this delicious food.  Aren't we supposed to be cooking for HIM?"  But that's D-Money for you--kind and generous and, now, one year older.  How many is that now, D?

~The dice games!  We had a big circle of chairs around site 59's campfire, and it wasn't long after the last round on saturday that the dice kicked in to gear.  Over a period of maybe four hours, I think we managed to play four games of dice, and we became the comedy club of the campground, with many furners from other sites coming by and sitting in to watch the absurdity.  I doubt I've ever laughed as hard or as consistently as I did during those games, each character playing their parts to a T, as if the thing was being filmed for a sit-com or something. As Davey pointed out on numerous occasions during the weekend, we should write a damned screenplay about these absurd disc golf tournaments, a la "Best in Show".  If we wrote up this tournament, the dice games would have been the high point of the movie for me.  Later in the night, a couple of neighbors taught everybody some Humboldt game involving holding items in your hand and guessing the number of items in everyone's hand, the loser "ramming" or shotgunning a beer. Needless to say I was only a spectator of this game, but Nate-Dog ended up at the business end of the shotgun at one point, and in a spectacular show of support, when Nate lost the next game, Matthew valiantly stepped up to ram the penalty beer on his behalf.

~The volume of new pin placements!  The course on Sunday was unrecognizable from what it had ever been before, and it was a blast to try and figure things out!  There were completely new pins placements on 5, 6, 7a, 10, 11, 13, and 17, and with only one exception (10), the holes were harder to much harder as a result.  Applause to the KOA, and/or whoever went out and did it, because the course is a whole new world now.  Brutal in places, but certainly new!

~The way we all supported each other!  The broken-up nature of the tourney allowed the A-group to watch the Bs, and the B group to watch the As, and also the non-playing crew was out in force!  So it was really great to look over while playing and draw strength from friends, and to support those playing from the sidelines.  VERY cool.  I think that support single-handedly kept me going the last day!

~The solid play of the MFCers (myself excluded)!  I didn't stay around to get the final tallys, but when I left, it looked as if Nate had taken 4th in the REC, D-Money was going to place high in the AM2s, Rye played rock solid all weekend, Matthew placed second on the Friday doubles round, and Davey played well enough to wait around and see if he might get some winning from the payouts.  Nice job guys!

All-in-all, we represented the MFC with spirit, talent, perseverance, support for each other, and hilarity.  It was a fantastic time, and one which made me proud to be an MFCer!  WoooHoooo!!

Divide & Conquer

I report on our small mendo tournament without knowing the results from the koa weekend. All of us townies who stayed home want to hear all about Willits 2009!

Here at Mendo High we continued the streak of Sunday frolf, which is something close to 104/104. When was the first official Sunday Tourney? Anyone?

Anyway, we had a damn fine tournament. By 'we' I mean Vince, AJ, myself, and Lindsey in her first official tournament showing. It was teeshirt warm. NW winds 7-10 mph.
Here is the scorecard:


Everyone played well, with AJ taking the game by one stroke. With the way this guy putts he won't have a +3 hc for long. We gave Lindsey a 7 handi which seemed about right. She had fun and will hopefully be playing more Sunday's in future. Oh and Lindsey's +6 is a women's tournament record!

And Another Thing

It just occurred to me that we think we have an unblemished record of having a tourney every Sunday since we started.  So things brings up two questions:  Is this true?  Specifically: did we hold a tourney last year while the KOA tourney was going on?  Anyone remember?  And if we did, doesn't this mean that Erin and the other non-tourney-goers MUST hold a tourney to keep our record intact?  Just askin'....   

Controversial Post!

Alright, I'm going to chime in here with some controversy, because that's just WHAT I DO!  Alright, maybe not, but anyway, here's an opinion to chew on:

I think the ace-pot winner from last tourney, our very own D-money, for whom I only have the very very very very highest respect, should only win half of the ace pot money.

Here is my thinking:  we have, to my knowledge, never brought the ace-pot to an away tournament.  And if I had had a vote as to whether to bring the ace pot to Willits, I would have voted no, even if I played in it, because of the ease of hole 8.  Dave can vouch for the following: when he told me that an ace had been made, the first thing I said, just before "The ace pot was in play?", was "Oh no, it wasn't on 8 was it?"  It's such a short and open hole that I personally believe that if Willits was our home course, the ace pot would never get above 40 or 50 bucks.  And since we never made a club decision, in my view, about bringing the ace pot to other courses, it seems pretty tough to put all that accumulated ace cash into an away tournament.  I understand that a vote of the people who showed up was taken, but isn't that a little like letting the foxes vote about whether to enter the henhouse?  ;-)

None of that is to discredit what I heard was a supreme thumber which apparently "looked in the whole way"!  AWESOME shot, of which I am hardly capable.  But I believe half the pot to brother D seems fairer to me than the whole pot, given the above.  My two and a half cents.  Now everyone feel free to jump on me!

Derrick took the Gold!

Wow, what a round! The 31st day of May of the year 2009 saw 6 determined Frolfers set there sites out on the gold medal in Willits for sort of a warm up round for the big KOA Pro/Am Jam. Before I get onto the round I hate to tell y'all who have been putting single dollar bills into the ace pot that this lump sum of money no longer exists for the taking because Derrick "You will never see me without this sweatshirt" D-Money had a beautiful thumber ace on hole 8 (the short up shot) in Willits. There was never a doubt that this rifle wouldn't be heard throughout Willits and the greater Mendocino County. Congratulations to Derrick who claimed $102 and his second ace in tournament play. Well, onto the round that saw the return of both Brody's and maybe one of Roy's last tournaments becuase of work committments. Other notable players included this writer and Erin "HemHaw" Hemmings. After 15 holes there were 4 players in contention but after Derrick birdied 17 it was pretty much in the bag. Erin and/or I (dentist) had to birdy hole 18 to tie Derrick. I had about a 100 foot putt/upshot that I gave everything I had but it hit the basket and didn't go in. Erin had a 60 foot putt that went too high...Derrick takes the gold. I took home second with shooting the best overall round of the day (you know I have to toot my own horn when I can) with a -4. Thats all folks until Willits.

daveydentiststein

Anyone seen this yet?

Gents (& Ladies?) !

To justify this post, I've tried to think of a situation where you all might be discouraged from showing up at Tourney. I devised several possibilities - nighttime, a severe storm, snow!, busy at work, sick - but I'm pretty sure you've played through all those situations. For those days when you seriously, truly, absolutely, positively cannot make it to the high school...

Who has a Wii?

http://vimeo.com/4261777

Joey Memorial

So I guess nobody's gonna post the match.  I didn't know you were supposed to report on your own wins.  Aaron and I won.  Dave and Jim were overall champs and scored the lowest overall score.  Erin played with "Uncle Traveling" Matt in his first disc golf game on real baskets.  Sun was shining and that's that.

Aloha, pau.

Action from a Casual Round

Gentle friends,

Too often we only hear about the tournament action, but of course we enjoy our glorious home course in a thousand ways, most of them taking place on the other six days of the week. Perhaps the blog-followers would appreciate a few action shots and vids from a recent casual outing, involving a typically shady collection of local ne'er-do-wells.  Enjoy!

CAUTION: The following contains mature language.  Viewer discretion advised.

Tooting of the horn of which I am the owner

For those of you who had obligations on the sunny Mother's Day tournament last sunday, you missed a lesson in strategy and a few beautiful shots. 

Nate Dogg had a front nine that may be a personal best.  There was no confirmation of this, but -4 after nine is no small feat, considering that all-star David "the dentist" Stein and Matthew "walk in the park" Starkweather were at -5 and having good rounds.  Myself, having shot -3, and knowing the back nine is where I make my move, felt pretty comfortable looking at the score card.  

Nate shot 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 & 9 with picture perfect drives.  Anyone who is a student of Nate's game may have seen a few shots taken by the wind, driven into the ground, or even just jumped out of the grip.  Not on these shots.  If there is a perfect lefty flick for each of those holes, nate found it.  Really something to behold.  

David held a steady game.  Many birdies, very few bogies, and solid play led to an overall -7 (best score of the day).  Matthew, who was  a dark horse pick for the annual "hey, let's ditch mom and play frolf" tournament, could not string together enough birdies to stop the inevitable.  In fact, a missed tee shot on 18 proved to be the crucial shot in a build up to destiny.

I played with fervor.  I played with style.  I played with two of Aaron Brun's discs and used them to my advantage.  After I bogied 17, and found myself judging from the bottom of the hill, and realized Nate Dogg had the score card, I found solace in my fortunate position.  With Matthew and I tied for first with a handicapped -7, I could make my decision for a shot after seeing where he ended up.  A short, hard turning shot past the score board and nowhere near the uprights allowed my to lay-up and shoot for par and the win.  I have layed up a few times now and never had it work, but even though my shot landed at the base of the basket and rolled ten feet away, I buried the putt and took the whopping $15 awarded for such a small tournament.  I guess I will have to go on a tear and win my tournament and then two more to leave no doubt as to the consecutive-win record.  

Aloha, pau

Special Tourny

Aloha all you frolfers out in cyberspace.  I would like to announce the terms and conditions of this month's special tournament.  

First off the tourny will be held at my house on what has been dubbed the "Joey Memorial Course".  It is a par 2 putter course that will be slightly modified down to 18 holes.   As it is a short par 2 course, we will play 3 rounds starting at 1:00 on Sunday May 17th.  There is no rules for discs other than PDGA approved plastic (I don't know if we ever set that for our regular sunday, so if it flies on the mendo course, it flies here).  This will be a doubles tournament where players come with partners.  If someone does not have a partner we will try to make last minute teams on the day of.  If there is an odd number, the single will play "California rules", which means they can choose one shot to take twice.  This means they do not get to shoot every shot on the course twice.  Please try to find a partner as this would be a last resort scenario.  Handicaps will apply.  Each team will average their handis and apply the .8 equalizer to try and create the most fair leveler.  The team with the lowest score after 3 rounds will be crowned special tourny champions.  Those two players will then play sudden-death from hole one to see who gets to keep the official trophy.  

Buy in will be the standard $5 per player but as we do not add our ace pot to the special tourney, there will be an optional $5 ace pool that will be reimbursed if there are no aces.  There are some short aceable holes, so instead of CTP prizes, if you would like to bring a prize we will have ace prizes.  The person who donates the prize can set the rules for winning; so if anyone has fun ideas for ways to hand them out (i.e. worst shot, most chained out ace runs, longest putt... )post them in the comments and we can organize it on the sunday.  

If you have a basket, post it on the comments so I can tally exactly how many we have.  As the course is set up now, we will need 10 plus the 2 I have here.  Maybe we could meet earlier to set up the course and allow folks to learn the layout and warm-up.  I will have a cooler with ice, so bring beverages and I thought we could bring food to get us through the day.  I will have some charcoal if we want to BBQ.  

Directions to my house.  North on Hwy 1 past cleone.  When you pass the sign for Inglenook, then the Grange on your left you are almost there.  After the big red barn house on your right, I am on the next block, Rosa Ln.  The road is on the right but the sign is on the left.  Make a right on Rosa and bear right at the fork.  I am the first house on the right, 26701 the blue house and you'll see my white toyota out front.  Try and carpool as there is not a huge amount of space to park cars.  

This is my home so lets all try and be respectful.  There will be trash and recycling cans on the course.  Please put butts in the trash cans.  I am glad to have you all come out and visit.  If you want to contact me, 964-2566 and I'll see you here on the 17th.

-Ryan

A little Birdy told me so

Attention Mendocino Coast Disc Golfers: this just in...a little birdy came to me as I was putting on hole 5 and told me that they saw Erin Hemmings (HemHaw) back from Baja ready to throw a mile, putt flick style, and birdy hole 17. I can't truly confirm this forsure but as that little birdy flew away (and belive me I tried to run after it and then throw my Destroyer at it to slow it down) it told me I better watch out on Sunday. I yelled, I screamed, "but little birdy, what Sunday should I prepare my best game". The little birdy laughed and laughed and laughed but it wouldn't tell me what Sunday I should prepare my so called "A game". I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Fine you little fucking birdy I will just prepare and bring my "A game" everytime out until I see the one, Erin Hemmings. The birdy continued to laugh...
Will we see Erin tomorrow? I don't have the answer just that little birdy does.
I also wanted to report on last week's game. The frolfers including: Me (Davey the dentist), Rye Bread (JD Salinger), Jim "back from Italy" Eldridge, AJ (Arvin Julius) in the first group. The second group which held the winner on this day was: Derrick "playing out of his mind with that fucking sweatshirt" D Money, Brian "snowboarding" Brody, the ever so spicy Roy, and Vince the Vincenzo. This day was weird in my group...even calling for a "pump me up huddle up" before throwing hole 11 becuase weird stuff was happening during the round. It should be mentioned that Jim refused the huddle up and I birdied hole 11...Jim what did you get on hole 11? Anyways, the winner on this day was Derrick with this writer coming in second place by a stroke. I was left, once again, scratching my head wondering why I can't break Rye Bread's record of 3 in a row...well getting a 5 on hole 3 doesn't help. Back to the drawing board.

DaveythedentistStein

What could of been and what was.

Well, I find it necessary to report on the last Sunday Mendo tournament. "Conditions were perfect"-Flight of the Conchords. Anyways, this day saw 8 excited people go out for a beautiful round. The first Frolers including: Myself (David), Parksalot, Rusty, and B-Run. The second group was: Jimmerson, Roy, Nate Dog, and Vincenzo. Well lets start with my round and what was: Birdies--hole 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18. Pars--hole 2, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, 17. Boges--None. Chain outs--hole 2 and 13. Well, I can't complain I shot an 11 down (8 under my handicap). Now lets consider what could of been if I would of chained IN on holes 2 and 13...I would of been 13 under...F*^*%! Well, I guess thats why we keep playing...right boys? I am forgetting the rest of the scores but I remember that B-Run came in second place and Rusty came in third. Well, I hate to bring it up (not really) but Rye Bread...I am knocking on the door again. I hope to see everyone tomorrow.

David

Warm ups for the KOA Jam

"They say that no one is perfect. Then they say practice makes perfect. I wish they would make up their minds." Word up Winston C.! There is no perfect, but you can get really close with practice. Just like you guys can hit under at the high school, with practice you can hit those scores at the KOA course.
So we went and practiced on Friday. Jim, Davey the Dentist, D-money, Roy, Rusty, and myself B of the Brody arrived at the KOA on a cool windy afternoon. We decided we should play a skins round. So as you probably know skins is a little different than your regular over all low score wins. This is a game of big birds, not the kind from Sesame St. These shots were for all or nothing. We started out with a round of big 2's that stole my "headbanger" on one. Over on hole two Derrick made us start working and no one was ready for the job. He took the first two skins with ease. We made the climb up to the long hole 3 where Jim showed us how to drive for a bird or ace with his Roadrunner. Even with the great drive the putt was a little long and left Jim and others with a still happy 3. We went on taking the skin out from each other. Made it past six with six dry disc, and the skin total adding up. On and on the holes went adding a skin with each. What a good skins round! So we come to hole 15 "The Saddle" if you will. Get on top and get ready to go for a ride. I was excited for this hole unlike some by the sounds of it. I was first up and this is for 13 skins. I fall short, but in the fair way and know I have a sealed 3. D-money steps up and out throws me. Derrick had the only real bird look. With Davey in the woods and Roy and Jim past me, I think to myself "Self, D has an easy 3 there goes my bucket of skins." At the same time Derrick is not only ready for his shot but he has handed me his camera so he could relive this moment over and over. Listen to the howl. Scary.

Oh I forgot Rusty landed his up shot dead in the can. The trash can. He is waiting to putt in the video.
That was that all of our money given to the one we nicknamed D-MONEY! Of course the round was not over and it really doesn't matter. But here it is anyway. Davey went on to take the next 2 skins with a nice bird on 17. Davey and I were tied for overall going into the 18th and I took the victory only because Davey really wanted that last skin. I also won the last skin in a CTP round with my rare flick. It was a wonderful round with ups and downs. Good times and bad times. Old people asking lots of questions and Yoda farting on the ride home. I will leave you with this: “Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”
-Mary Ann Radmacher
With this creed or quote and some more trips to Willits the MFC will be unstoppable at the Pro-Am Jam. Thanks guys!

The Return Of The Jim?

Well Fellow Frolfers, Easter Sunday saw the return of Italy's/Mendocino's own James B. Eldridge (and you better believe that B stands for Birdie) . James showed up on the scene: wind blown, weather beaten, and jet lagged but that didn't stop him nor did it stop this author and 4 other eager disc golfers from skipping out on the traditional egg hunts and silly bunny games. The round had 2 CTP prizes, one for hole 9 and one for hole 12 which got pushed to hole 13 due to Parkweather's (he donated this prize) park job. The disc golfers on this day included this author (David), Jimmy, Park N' Pay, Nate Dizzle, Vincenzo, and B-Runoffski. Vincenzo took home the first CTP prize (I forget the prize...Jim, can you help me?) and Jimmy, beating me out by several micro-inches, took home $10 generously donated by Parks. We all played together rapping and carrying on until the last several holes where things began to tighten up and the players started to metaphorically position themeselves in for the win. Standing on hole 18, I was in the lead at 5 under my handicap and Nate DizDiz and B-Run were on my tail (Easter Pun) at 4 under their handis. The 3 of us missed the uprights and I pulled out the win by one stroke over Nate Dog. Jimmy and Parksalot both made the uprights and pulled out birdies. The scores were as follows:

DaveyD: -7 (4 under handi)
Nate Dog: +4 (3 under handi)
Vincenze: even (1 under his handi)...I think
Parks: even (1 under handi)
Jimmy: -5 (even with handi)...not to shabby Jim for not playing for 1-2 months.
B-Run: I forget...someone help me.

see ya.

"may your drives skip where you want them to and your putts stay down"

We all need some help from time to time.  When I was moving from my house in Mendocino, where I could play disc everyday, to my home up here in Inglenook, my pal, and MFC president, Matthew "State Parks" Starkweather was there to offer his truck, trailer and brawn for the transport of my things, on the day after Christmas.  When I was drunk out of my mind on Absinthe and getting roughed up by two trigger-happy New Zealanders down at the Woodlands, who was the dark hero to come to my rescue, even though I was about to get the best of them?  That's right, our very own Nathan "Nate-Dog" Anderson of Anderson Alternatives in Mendocino, that's who.  When "Detroit or Bust" David Stein needed companionship for the last game of the regular season for his beloved Lions, it was Matthew "All park and no bite" Starkweather and yours truly who endured the loss with him.  This is the support of a community.  It's strength lies in the bonds it creates.  No matter how strong that bond may be, it is up to a higher power whether or not your putt will stay down and if that skip and roll will be towards the basket.  Some people believe that if you yell at your disc loud enough, and with enough conviction, then it will respond accordingly and save your shot.   Others say that "body english" or leaning in the direction you want the disc to go will correct its flight path.  A small but dedicated group of people are convinced that saying "luck of the Irish" at just the moment before impact with a tree will kick the disc out into the fairway and out of trouble.  Have we as disc golfers been reduced to the superstition ridden level of the ball golfer?  Luck plays a part in our games but good old fashioned confidence is more powerful than all the shots that bounce around in the tree on #9 and end up next to the hoop.  There was a fair bit of talk at the sunday round of "scores that could have been".  I know I was so frustrated with my "luck" that I picked up an innocent plastic chair and hurled it into the lacrosse field.  The human brain tries to find patterns in life and make judgments based on these patterns.  It is easy to have a few shots chain out and roll down the hill, farther away from the basket than the original shot.  Sometimes shots that hit directly into the center of the basket will ricochet off the pole and onto the ground.  These things happen.  When you think that they are because of some hex on your game, then they will continue to happen.  You loose the confidence to make the shots that count.  Aaron Brun did not have that problem.  When you are playing with the confidence that Aaron has been bringing to the course, your putts don't fall out because you don't let them.  You don't shoot too hard, or too soft.  You don't miss just barely right and chain out, only to blame it on the basket or bad luck.  When you play with the confidence of "The Brun" your shots are calculated and without risk.  That is how you score a handicapped -11.  In second and third respectively were A. "to the M- F'n" J. and D- ricculous with both scores of -4.  That is a record for best handicapped score for Aaron "the gravedigger" Brun.  Time will tell if Brun can keep up the intensity of this score. 

"nobody gives you any respect, anyway they already expect you to write out your check to tax deductible charity organizations" -Bob Dylan

It always (usually) comes down to one or two shots!

Good People of the Mendocino Frolfer Association,

Well another tournament in the books to keep our record, of consecutive tournaments played, going. Somebody get Cal Ripken Jr. on the phone. For those of you who aren't baseball fans, Cal Ripken Jr., broke a 56 year old record of consecutive games played. This record was held by legendary New York Yankees first baseman, Lou Gehreg. Ripken played in his 2,131st game on September 6, 1995. On that day Ripken Jr. hit a homerun which is exactly what none other than Ft. Bragg's Tom Snyder did on this windy Sunday afternoon (shooting a -5). Ripken Jr. went on to play in many more games and his record now stands at 2,632 consecutive games played. So, with that said I have questions for all those out there in Frolf Blog Land. Does anyone know how many consecutive tourneys we have played? Will Tom Snyder break Rye Bread/J.D. Salinger's record of 3 consecutive tournament wins? Only time will tell. I (Davey D/the dentist) came in second place (shooting a -3) and all I could think about last night was the title of my post: "It always (usually) comes down to one or two shots". As I contemplated laying up a fairly short putt on 17 for bogey I couldn't do it despite the wind and the repercussions of a long miss. I let this wobbley putt fly and it hit the chains and fell out. "Fuck", screams Stein. Luckily the putt didn't roll too far down the hill and I ended with a 4 (which might I add was a respectful score on this day) anyways. I continued to search for an answer, ANY ANSWER, to explain why I wasn't having a playoff with Tommy. There were and are other answers but that will be left for next week gentlemen (and ladies). I am not sure of all the scores but here is what I remember:

Tom: -5 (2 under his hc)
Davey: -3 (1 under my hc)
Rye: +4 (2 over his hc)
Erin: -2 (3 over his hc)
Nate: +18 (12 over his hc)

I forget the rest of the scores. Can somebody (Parksalot or whoever remembers) post the rest of the scores. I will see you soon at a frolf course nearbye.

David

On a day like this anything could happen!

~ The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. ~
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

That being said the other best thing one can do is to play disc golf! And play disc golf a few of us did. I came for one more tournament of my vacation. To join Derrick or D-Money as the magazines may read some day, Erin, George "Rustyfari", Good Ole Roy, and A.J., Nate came and he was not having it! Can I blame him? Maybe. Any how conveniently most of the core members were busy this very wet afternoon.


So we tee off in one happy moist group and it kinda got ugly. I know I was very happy to end with a par and Derrick actually had to write down a 4 after hole one. Erin did not birdie if that says anything for the day. Any how we went on about our business of frolfing. I can say for myself that rubber boots and rain coat suck for disc golf. I also can state that they have no effect on D-Money! He rocked the course after that 4. He went on to shoot a -1 on the front 9 to tie the sometimes seemingly nonhuman Erin Hemmings. Good job on that D.
~ The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. ~
-Dolly Parton

The second half of the round is a little blurry, my glasses were covered in rain. George just played without the aid of his optical items. I do however remember Erin hitting the goal post on 12 and the disc still had enough behind it to over shoot the basket. Crazy! Roy lost a disc on 14 so keep your eyes out guys. We have made it to 18 and AJ has one stroke on Derrick. Everyone misses the uprights on this crazy day. But wait did one of us miss on purpose? Did one of us know that 18 can be a easy 3 or a tear jerker 5? After a week of talking about it. Derrick did what many of us should do. He laid up on 18 and walked with a easy par. He actually almost nailed the long through the uprights bird.
Any how we have a tie! AJ and Derrick. Erin Hemmings took a unhappy third. Recording his worst highschool round in its 7 years of existance. A sad day for him.
" I love walking in the rain, no one knows when I am crying."
-unknown
So what do we do for the tie? We do what is going to get us in our cars and on our way home the fastest. We decide CTP to hole 6. Derrick steps up and blazes a low drive right over the top of the hill and just then the south wind steps in and does its job lifting it ever so slightly over the top of those pesky soccer goals and lets the low speed fade park the disc within arms reach of the basket. "Its over AJ" "You can try" we shouted. The only way he was taking the money home today was if he took out that magic cobra and aced it. That did not happen. So with a great round and a wonderfull play off Derrick is this weeks winner! Good job buddy! You stood up to the weather and AJ's laser beam putts and took home the loot!

This is a fond farewell for now! Thank you all so much for a great time in Willits! Thank you Jim for throwing down a great tourny! Thanks for teaching me liars dice. I hope to take some of your money someday! Yeah you Davey"liars dice" Stien. Cant wait to get back down this spring.
Peace.
"We will never be an advanced civilization as long as rain showers can delay the launching of a space rocket."

-George Carlin

Laying Up

Laying up has been the foundation of the traditional Scottish herdsman's pastime.  For centuries, men carried sticks through their pastures, hitting stones towards a common target.  Amidst many of these forays through the hillsides, men who reached the goal in the least amount of shots had done so with strategy.  Looking at the distance between the tee area and the target, the player would then look at all the potential places his stone may lie after a given shot.  He would string these researched locations together and formulate the fairest way of reaching the goal.  Over time the players began to out shoot one another and began reaching farther fair lies.  The risk/ reward system started playing a part in the strategies of leading players called "laying up".  This remained the quintessential strategy until a cooperative of herders, determined to lower their scores, grazed the entire length of each shot in their pasture.  They grazed and then reseeded the ground with the grasses they preferred from other areas of the pasture.  This resulted in the first "as the crow flies" fair ways.  The only skill the players needed was to shoot straight, as far as they could.  At local gatherings the herdsmen boasted of their latest scores and drew scorn from their friends.  Scores these low had never been spoken out loud before.  Following the men back to their course, the fellow herdsmen learned why the scores were so low.  They didn't have to strategize their shots as much and as a result scored lower.  This began a trend of grazing the fair ways of their holes and reseeding with the grasses more preferred by the players.  Within a decade the game of herdsmen was transformed.  Since the grasses used in the building of the fair ways was inedible by their livestock, the men slaughtered the animals and vowed to dedicate their lives to the cultivation of this game.  Years went by and one player who scored best before the "change" occurred, altered his course with bends.  They occurred at just the right distance as to challenge players to risk danger of the rough lie for the reward of a closer shot or play to a safe location with a fair lie and try to reach the target from a farther distance.  This man's name was Shamus Donnegan.  A bastardization of his surname led to the term "Dog Leg" in the modern version of the sport.  Due to the trend of shooting as far and straight as you can, players tried to pass over the rough on these "dog legs" and more often than not suffered higher scores because of it.  It was because of this that ol' Shamus the Shameless began dismantling the best and longest of players of the time and thus rebirthed the strategy of Laying Up.  

This has been "A Brief History Break: Out of Ryan's Ass" thanks for reading.

A putt and a throw

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Run-up?! I don't need no stinking run-up..

Man, Derrick's drives are smooooth.

Last shot of the day on 18? Think again
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