The Hunter

The man stands at the vantage point and gazes at his target a fair distance away. Almost unconsciously, he makes adjustments to his clothing to ward off the cutting wind.

He fingers the weapons at his side, carefully selecting the right one for the job at hand. He chooses the heaviest one, a chakram to slice through the air and into his foe. He sets the others aside and checks the chosen weapon. It has the marks of use: rough edges and dings from previous ... victims. Appropriately, it is red, the color of blood and fire, the better to strike fear into his opponents. 

Today, his foe shows no such fear, standing resolutely and unflinchingly in the wintry wasteland. Perhaps it hopes to blend into its surroundings, clad in pure white against the snowy backdrop. 

The hunter is not deterred. He has a goal to strike and claim his prize. He shifts his stance on the frozen ground to avoid a fall, draws back his arm and throws the chakram at full strength towards the target.

Sadly, it falls short.

   

Slushy

Decided to hit the course again today, this time with discs in hand. Weather was pretty miserable, though, a light sprinkle of rain was falling on and off. The snow on the ground had that crunchy, slushy feeling, so you have to watch where you step. My tennis shoes, which I love walking in, were not working too well in the wet snow, so I only ended up playing half of the course. Here's what the ground looked like on the same field where I nearly lost my disc yesterday.

Despite keeping an eye out, though, still a little bit dangerous in some parts, as you can see here.

One problem I had was that the snow would stick to the underside of the disc. I could bang them together and dislodge most of it, but it would cling to the rim and slide out of the way when I attempted to extricate it, like those round cat toys that have a ball inside a tube. The other problem is that a school bus let out a group of elemental school kids, right in front of my fairway. And then, they just muddle around, completely oblivious of me waiting for them to clear out so I can take my shot. One girl walked across the fairway, then walked back. I was about ready to start shaping some snowballs myself. It's kind of a remote area, all things considered - there's a gated community there, but I've seen a bus drop kids off at 3 distinct times in the afternoon.

Disc Golf Course without the Discs or Golf

Uninspired by yesterday's outing, I decided to try something different. I walked around the course on the walkway, twice. No discs, no throwing, just me walking and practicing Russian. There's a sign near where I parked that says that a complete trip around (the RED path) is half a mile, so I guess I walked a mile. I had been thinking that it was a mile around the park. I noticed that it takes me as long to play a round as it does to walk around twice, so that suggests that I'm spending a lot of time throwing (?) or somehow my path of zig-zagging across to follow my throws just takes longer. Of course, walking back and forth across a field of snow looking for a lost disc is a factor to be considered, too. I don't know. It felt more like I was out exercising than having fun (and getting some exercise, too.) Some of the snow has melted, so maybe by tomorrow afternoon it will be playable again and less hazardous. Instead of glow in the dark discs, I need some glow in the light ones. Maybe a GPS tracker, or an electronic beep, or an extendable little pole that pops out. Hey, that'd be handy for getting out of trees and water hazards, I bet.

O Disc Where Art Thou?

Today was my first day being able to go without it snowing heavily on me. Wasn't much snowfall today, but there was a lot accumulated on the ground. Here, take a look.

This is the view from the 7th post (that's its shadow next to me) showing the course with I'd guess about 3 inches of thick snow blanketing it. It wasn't too cold, and I thought I could be done before that big gray cloud came and ruined any fun I might be having.

I'll admit it, I felt sort of ridiculous trudging through the snow to play, but hey, it's good exercise, right? And then I threw my drive from post 7.5 and saw about where it landed and headed over to it. Except, I couldn't actually see it. Now, this is my RED Archangel disc. It should be really easy to spot in the snow, but it was not. To make matters more difficult, the sun was blocked by a cloud for a while and made it less bright. I walked back and forth across the area that it could have been in for 15 minutes. It's really a miracle that I spotted it at all. It slid along for about 3 feet and then carved under the snow. I had to be standing directly over it in order to see a bit of red. I played 2 more holes after that, watching more carefully to see where it landed, but gave up at that point. It's pretty sad to be able to lose a disc in ... nothing.

Here's a pic from post #8 looking back at the field that now has my footprints in the snow from trying to find my disc.

I may have to curtail my golfing until the snow melts and find something else to do for exercise. The walkway around the park didn't have a lot of snow on it. I guess I could just take a lap around the park while doing my Russian lesson. It seems more like work then. =(

Global Warming?

If this is the effect of global warming, bring it on! 51 degrees in the middle of January in Utah? Hotdiggety!

Kind of a wet park, but had it all to myself today, some beautiful drives. Skipped hole 2. (FOREVER!) Had my best drive ever on hole 8, and here's why:

I somehow managed to throw through the tree, in between the branches, without touching it. Easy couple of throws for par.

Speaking of which... I did some research on the course. Turns out there used to be a sign with rules for disc golfing in the park. The sign, wherever it was, was the tee off spot for hole (post) #1. Then, it had this odd wording of, you start with your foot against the post, and can then take up to three steps away when throwing. I just throw from somewhere behind the post. And, it said all holes are par 3. I still think hole #3 over the marsh should be a par 4, but there are 2 holes that I think should be par 2, so maybe I should just go with it?

By the new par rules, I shot a -1. Yay!

Wild Waters

It didn't look like it was going to be a good day for golfing. Dark and overcast, everything wet, cold. Turned out surprisingly well, though. It got up to 48 degrees, didn't rain on me, no one on the course. Sweet!

Everything went fairly well (only shot 1 over par) except for one hole. I always tell myself not to do hole #2, the one that runs alongside this major hazard:

Yes, that's the Provo River, swallower of discs. (RIP, Sidewinder & Skeeter)  There's some scrub tree cover between the river and the course, but it doesn't help much. I threw low, but it curved left right towards the hazard I wanted to avoid. Fortunately, it was still on the land side, easily recoverable, once I found it. I need to stop doing this hole, once and for all, or maybe, create an alternate version of the hole where you HAVE to go around the tennis court. (Par 8 or something?) I wonder where the discs lost in the river end up.

I still did ok on this hole and all of them right up to the last one. I threw the Stingray and it floated perfectly toward the post... I took off my earphones in anticipation of the resounding thunk ... and it sailed right past and into the parking lot. =( Worse, it skidded quite a ways off, so that I missed the longer putt for par. Oh well.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

See that fog rolling in? It's actually snow. I got done today none too soon, but only managed to have a couple of flakes fall on me. I'm still recovering today (nasty cough) so I didn't push myself too hard. I did alright up to the last 3 holes at which point I started stinking up the place like a stadium's rest room. (Translated: I threw poorly.) Ended up with a +3, all from those last 3. One of them might have hit the post, but I didn't hear it, so I didn't count it.

I wonder if there's an official par listing on my favorite review site.

BC and Arts Park

(From Saturday, been sick)

I started out by going to Bicentennial Park in Provo. This is the first disc golf course I can remember going to in Utah County. It used to have a full 18 holes, but construction (or whatever) closed off the northern half. Now it's down to 6 holes (or maybe less) It's pretty confusing. You can see one basket from the first tee (hey, look, it's an actual concrete pad!) but there's a 2nd one a little farther. Then you go to the 2nd tee pad, and it looks like 2 different baskets you can shoot for. Who cares? For me, it's all about tee #3. The above shot is taken from that one. It's hard to tell, but it's a higher elevation shot. The ground goes down into a valley and then back up where the basket is. I mean, was. Turns out they removed it so people could sled down the hill. To make matters worse, there was a group of 6 guys on the course "improvising" as they went.

Normally, I'm all for improvising in the face of certain confusion. Before we knew there were official courses, my buddies would design bizarro courses - under the park bench, off the light pole, through the basketball hoop, land on the table, done! But these guys were just randomly wandering around, getting in my flightpath. After discovering that the basket for hole #3 was gone, I gave up.

I've been avoiding going to Arts Park in Springville since the summer ended because the high school is just south of it. Since I didn't get my fill from BC Park, though, it's only a couple of miles away. This course has posts with a little faded sign showing where the basket is. (Useful in a couple of places) and a Par listed. Now, either I am getting REALLY good, or I judge par on the Riverview course a lot harder than it should be. One of these was listed as a Par 5, and I got it in 3. My end result for the course was a -5. I didn't get to do hole #1, though, because the flightpath is directly over the playground, with lots of kids (and parents) present. Too bad, because it does have a little elevation. I had a picture from a previous outing, but it's not letting me upload it. Maybe next time.

The basket behind the court

Yes, that Mrs. Butterworth's shape is my shadow. I'm standing a little behind one of the baskets at the Wasatch Mental Health course. (I'm sure it has a better name than that.) This is my favorite hole there. You throw from behind that basket to get to one directly on the other side of the court. You can choose to throw around the court, or, better, over the court. I always choose over the court - never seen anyone on the court, and it's plastic floor covering so it doesn't bang up the disc.

Here's where I landed:

Didn't quite make it into the basket, but that's close enough for me!

It's a really nice open course (other than this hole) and I've seen herds of deer there a couple of times. Takes about 10 minutes to get there from work, but I like to get out there for a change of scenery. Last time I was there, I made it around all 9 holes twice!

My husband wants beer

Pictured above: Hole #1. Where's Tee #1? Don't know! I saw a group of about 6 guys shoot from a space directly back from it along the walking path today. Previously, I've seen people drive from the far corner of the parking lot, over the picnic area. I rarely start at 1, so I'm usually coming from hole 9. Even then, I typically skip hole 1 and go straight to 2 because of the hazards. Discs tend to turn to the left and hole 2 (from 1) has a pretty narrow corridor. On the right, it's open, except for a fenced tennis court. On the left, you have about 20 feet worth of trees and then the Provo River. (Fast, frigid, foe to discs. I've lost 2 good ones in there.)

For some reason, I feel more tired at the end of course if I start at hole 1 than when I start at hole 7. Yes, ha ha, I go from 7 back around to 7. Maybe it's because there are a couple of short holes leading up to 7. I ended up shooting a +1 thanks to a couple of longer putts (not much wind)

Today I learned a lot of Russian vocabulary words: water, milk, husband, wife. Also, a new verb conjugation - instead of you want, I want, now it's "my husband wants beer" (Well, of course he does!)  It was a bit much, though, I may have to repeat this lesson.

I went to Little Caesar's for lunch today and noticed a disturbing trend. The menu is all showcasing - either the most popular products or the ones they want to promote. I go up and want to get an order of Crazy Bread. It's not on the menu anywhere. There's a little thing attached the register where it advertises Bread and Sauce for $3.19, but I can't see a price anywhere for just the Bread. Papa Murphy's has just done this, too. Refreshing to go to In n Out, where you can see everything all at once - of course, they only serve 5 items, so it's pretty easy. (Except for the SECRET MENU )

You're In It

Gorgeous day today out on the course! Can you believe it's the middle of January? Well, at 38 degrees and a brisk wind, yeah, maybe I can. The wind was just enough to make a few shots hairy, but not so bad as to make it miserable.

The picture above is of the restrooms behind hole 7. But they are closed for the season! I've only used them on extreme need. The urinal reminds me of bad dreams I have when I have to go. You know, where you end up in a locker room, and there are all of these toilets with no stalls, and half of them are clogged and disgusting? The one in real life is stainless steel, kind of triangular - very clinical looking, really. They've been clean both times, except that there's no soap by the sink.(Maybe I should get a picture of the urinal when they open up again. Maybe that'd be too creepy.)

I wore my knit hat today (thanks, Mom!) to keep my head and ears warm. Couldn't figure out how to do that and wear my earphones too, so no Russian today. Eta harasho. Maybe next time. Ended up with a +3 today. The wind really picked up a couple of shots and forced down a couple others. I had one drive on 4 that ended up doing a sort of S-curve - it tilted to the right and slowly flipped back to the left. I was glad it came back because I would have been WAY off course if it hadn't.

Also, Happy Birthday, Dad! =)

Four legged friends

(Sorry, no picture today)

Today, I got to interact with 3 different dogs. I really like dogs but I don't really want to meet them while I'm disc golfing, because they are invariably going to want to go catch them and bring them back and this is not good for my score, nor for my discs.

One dog was on a leash by a fellow who talked about disc golfing in California. This dog was super-hyper, even after a walk around the whole place. A little too friendly. Later, on the tail end of the course, I had 2 dogs approach me that I've met there previously. I know one is named (Bowdy? Bodhi?) and when I used his name, he responded. The owner was kind, though, and called the dogs back so I could finish out the course.

I had a couple of really good drives and a couple of really crappy ones. I'm experimenting with the angle of my throw. The natural thing to do is go for about a 45 degree angle, but I can see what the results of that are. It starts losing speed, and drops and curves to the left and a little bit backwards. If can get it lower, like 30 degrees, I should get both better distance and accuracy. One of the crappy drives had too low of an angle and hit the ground prematurely.

Finished up the course with a +2.

My Russian lesson today had me learning phrases that will be very helpful should I try to converse with someone, like, "you're speaking too fast" or "I don't understand, repeat it please." Less useful phrases include "The wine is too expensive" or "You owe 45,000 rubles"

Snow Day

On my drive over to the Riverview Park course today (Saturday), I could see from the intense cloud that stretched from Mt. Timpanogos down to about as far south as I could see, I was driving into a snow storm. Sure enough, I had big fat flakes of snow hitting my windshield before I passed State St. The song on my MP3 player was Maniac. (Side note: "And she dances like she's never danced before." This doesn't sound like a compliment, does it?) No, apparently, I was the maniac for doggedly going to play disc golf in such lousy weather. Well, this is what I do.

When I got to the park, I thought, "Well, at least I'll have the park to myself." But no, there were 3 younger people standing on top of the hill. I'm not sure what they were doing, but at one point, there was a sound that made me think of a toy Tommy Gun. I wore appropriate head gear for the cold and set out.

I did reasonably well until the end of the course. I'd like to blame it on it getting colder and my discs getting slippery with the snow. Holes 5 and 6 just blew my par score up to that point, so that I ended up at +2.

So Close...

I had a decent day of playing. It started out earlier than usual because I had a meeting at 2. A nice 51 degrees, not much wind. I was concerned at first because of the many cars in the small parking lot, but they were playing soccer in the middle of the park and not in any of my flight paths.

I was trying something new today. I got a bag to replace my pouch for carrying my cell phone, iPod and other stuff. (What are men supposed to do?) It wasn't working out for my normal stuff, but it was the perfect size for holding discs. Unfortunately, I discovered that trying to throw while wearing it threw my balance off. One drive went way right into a tree. I retrieved it and started again, this time, managing to hit a parked car. (Sorry!) I ended up just carrying it by the strap.

Landed the nice shot below on Hole 9 across the dry creek.

Had a little more trouble near the tennis court, managed to run into the fence (twice!) on my way to the next hole. No other serious problems after that, though. Finished up at a +2.

Imprisoned

This is where my newest disc ended up on Hole 2 of Riverview Park. Usually, I start at Pole 7 from the west parking lot, play to "7.5" and at 9, I play across the field to 2. This is because of the Provo River that has swallowed up 2 discs. Today, though, I had to walk from 8 to 1 because there were a bunch of people playing football around post 9. I prefer an empty park; which I usually have around 2PM, particularly when it's cold. Today was balmy, though, so I had to deal with people at the park.

So, I was throwing the normal hole 1 to 2 and I overshot the pole and landed here behind the grate. Poor Archangel, he flew too far. Thank goodness there wasn't water flowing through it like there is in the summer, or else it'd be gone. (Eventually to be swallowed by the Provo River.) Today, it was easy enough to rescue.

I did pretty well today. I have sort of created my own par system for these holes, and by my reckoning, I shot a 2 under par. That new driver really has some wings - it's easily beaten my Boss disc.These days, I'm throwing the Archangel for driving and a 2nd shot if it's a long hole. Then the Stingray for approach and a Dart for putting. The Stingray is from a batch I got years ago, but has outperformed all of my other discs (until now) It's easily the straightest flyer I have, although not as good of distance.

Intro to Blog

Howdy!

This is mainly going to be a blog to journal my hobby of playing disc golf. I have been keeping a paper journal and I might still keep some information in it, but I'd rather just type it and get in the habit of writing a little each day. I have aspirations to write a novel one day (no disc golf involved at the moment) but I hear from my writing friends that the first rule of thumb is to WRITE. So here I am.

I'll include pictures of the courses and pseudo-reviews, but mostly it's just going to be a journal of the game and maybe my comments on learning Russian. I don't expect anyone to really get into this, unless you happen to like throwing Frisbees or really hate disc-eating-marshes.

The title of the blog is a play on "Discs of Tron" which was this truly advanced arcade game from the 80's. I know it was in the Wilkinson Center bowling alley for a while.

Discs of Tron info