Changes Made to Northwest University DGC

The small nine-hole course at Northwest University in Kirkland, WA had its layout modified recently.

Major changes came to holes eight and nine and minor changes were made to holes one, two, five and seven.

The original placements of eight and nine apparently caused some issues for faculty and students. The tee pad of eight was in close proximity of a building and both eight and nine's fairway were situated too close to parking lots.

I'm a little bummed out about the changes only because the original hole eight as I knew it was designated a par four – a short par four, which means I could, with a great drive, have a chance at an eagle. I never pulled it off though.

So here's the run down. Hole one plays pretty much the same, but the basket has been moved further to the right away from the volleyball court.

The basket used to stand closer to the tree on the left in the picture above. You can see the small divot left in the grass where the position was.

Tee two's pad has moved to the right a bit.

The sign tells you so.

The new tee position is kind of a fun position to throw from. I like trying to anhyzer shots around trees and this hole is perfect for that now.

Hole three was left untouched.

Even though this course isn't very difficult I love coming here with my wife and daughter because it's never crowded and I feel safe letting my daughter roam around and explore each fairway as we play them. That's her in the pink in the photo above.

Hole four remained the same as well.

Hole five has been reversed. Now the basket is right next to the old tee pad and the new tee pad is off of a sidewalk behind the old basket position. 

It had started raining on us at this point. I discovered that the sidewalk becomes extremely slippery. We chose to tee off from the grass.

Unfortunately hole six is the same. I say that because I've never felt comfortable using the tee area. The dirt is extremely uneven and the sign feels like it's in the way.

Tee seven was moved back just a little bit. The adjustment didn't change the hole too much. It's still a messed up tunnel shot straight into the ground. Each time I've played this course I've been wanting to throw a roller out through the gap, but I never remember to bag my roller though.

This time I remembered.

The decision panned out. I ended up pin high.

But I missed the putt.

Hole eight now plays behind seven. You can see the tee sign up near the sidewalk in the picture above.

The basket is tucked in the trees up and to the right.

Tee nine is another uncomfortable shot. I felt crowded and there's a small gap in the trees to hit. I got the bird though, so I can't complain too much.

So there you have it. Thanks for stopping by.

PDGA Rating Update

PDGA ratings. Some people like them, some people don't.

I don't mind them, because I believe they add another challenge to the sport. Ratings can add healthy pressure to a sanctioned event – motivating players to make solid decisions and to throw well. Although they may not accurately reflect a person's skill they are fun to try and raise.

The Treejectory Am Classic bumped my rating up a whole three points. You can't see it, but I'm raising my roof right now... or is it raising the roof? Anyways, my hands are in the air and I'm waving them like I just don't care. I think the lady looking at me from outside my dining room window does though.

Well, if she knew that I'm now an 889 rated player she would understand. 

So... this means absolutely nothing to you, but means I'm slowly moving back up toward the 900 mark to me.

Back in 2010 I started my membership with a 901 rating, but haven't been able to move beyond that yet.

I've been dropping and climbing in small increments like I'm stuck riding a kid's roller coaster. Good thing I have beer.

That tournament at Seatac DGC really punished me by dropping my rating 15 points. Now I'm slowly making the climb. Hopefully I can continue this trend for a while.

Disc Golf Days #1: The Crack at Juel

Dedicating posts to certain days out on the course is something I've wanted to try here for awhile, but I didn't want to bore people with Intermediate-level, throw-by-throw analysis crap. I didn't want to use the space to review courses either, because that has the potential to be its own interesting topic.

It wasn't until I heard a loud CRACK over my head that I realized what these posts should be about.

Disc Golf Days will focus on the strange and interesting things that happen while I'm out throwing plastic.

Working nights has its benefits. I'm able to sleep in for as long as my child will allow and I'm able to dedicate most of my day to fun activities like visiting parks, playing guitar, cooking food and of course throwing frisbees.

Once in a while I will leave for work early enough to allow some practice time out on the disc golf course at Juel Park in Redmond, WA. On Monday, May 13 I decided to throw because Mother Nature was whipping up something fierce. I love practicing in strong winds since I don't often get the chance to.

On the way to the park I was listening to the news on the radio. Apparently thunder was booming over Seattle and lighting strikes were putting on a show, but all I saw were large patches of dark clouds peppering the sunny blue sky.

A gentle breeze swept through the wide open park as I arrived. I was the only golfer there. As I stood on the tee pad of one and stretched I noticed the gentle breeze slowly transitioning, giving way to a more angry gust.

The sky darkened. I knew it was time to throw when my towel leaped from my bag.

Wind practice had begun.

On tee three I drove two discs. This hole would be a straight 300' shot if it wasn't for the trees lining the right side of the fairway at about 250'. Some of the looming branches reach out like giant hands blocking the straight path to the basket.

I usually try to hyzer flip something and have it fade to the right just beyond the green mess. My first shot was with a Discraft Stalker. It flipped up and headed in the direction I wanted. I thought I was going to card my first ace in Washington, but it dropped short and parked next to the pole.

My second shot was with a Lat. 64 Bolt that I've been wanting to try out. It's another under-stable disc and I figured I'd give it a rip before I moved on. That thing came out fast and flipped immediately. Instead of flipping over and going around the branches it headed straight for them. I watched it fight through and then ricochet off the thick trunk of a tree.

I tapped in my putt from the first throw and began the search for the Bolt. Deep in this wooded area grows a massive amount of greenery. Losing a disc in here is easy, especially when you lose sight of it in flight.

I was lifting the arms of a bright green fern when I heard a loud crack over my head. I dashed out of the woods hearing branches collapse under the weight of a heavy trunk. I thought for sure a mammoth tree was coming down on top of me.

When I hit the open field running I looked back to see if I could see the tree falling. I couldn't spot it.

So I stopped and searched the long line of trees. Only the tree tops where swaying in the wind. Everything seemed somewhat peaceful again. I have no idea where that tree fell, but I was glad it wasn't near me.

My heart slowed to a regular pace and I went back into the woods to find my disc. I was on the brink of giving up when I spotted it. As I bent down to grab it a loud explosion-type sound reverberated through the woods. I freaked out and ran for the open field again. This sound didn't come from the trees though. Something off in the distance blew up. I scanned the skyline for smoke. I couldn't see anything.

A few minutes went by and then I heard the faint wails of sirens from emergency vehicles. I decided I had enough wind practice and headed for the car. Things were getting too weird.

I searched the news later that evening in the hopes of finding an explanation to the sound I heard. I failed to find anything.

I guess it will remain a mystery.

Exploring the World of Disc Dyeing

Dyeing a disc is something I've been interested in trying for awhile. After reading a bunch of different dyeing threads on DGCR and watching a few videos I decided to finally do it.

I knew going in that RIT had changed its formula a while back and the new stuff wasn't supposed to work as well, but I found some liquid RIT at the closest store to my place so I just bought it to test it myself.

It didn't work.

After reading about this shaving cream dye technique I decided to try it, because it seemed so easy. After my first attempt failed I hopped online and ordered some iDye Poly, since that's the stuff everyone uses now.

I was extremely pleased with myself while washing off the shaving cream. My yellow Flex Avenger SS looks so cool now.

Dyeing is a lot of fun. I'll keep doing it and post the results.

If you've never tried this and are interested here's what I did:

1. I sprayed enough cheap shaving cream to fill a plate evenly into a big bowl.

2. I added a little water to make it creamy then mixed it by hand.

3. I filled the plate and smoothed out top to make it easy to put design on.

4. I mixed cold dye with a little bit of shaving cream in a small bowl.

5. I used an eye dropper to suck up dye mixture and then put lines of dye all over shaving cream bed.

6. I used an old art tool (you can use anything you want) to swirl the dye into a design I was happy with.

7. I placed disc carefully onto bed and didn't push down. I just gently set it on top and then put the plate somewhere nobody could mess with it.

8. After 24 hours I washed the disc and then stood amazed that it worked.

That's it. If you've never taken a stamp off of a disc just use some acetone. Not the nail polish stuff though.

AFT Update

The Treejectory AM Classic tournament was a damn good time and I'm glad I participated. I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a while, I got to meet new people, I got to throw a Seattle Rainmakers ultimate disc made by Innova and I got to play two tough rounds of golf in sporadic windy conditions.

I'm refusing to litter this post with excuses about my poor performance, so I won't go into detail about what could have, or should have, been. I just knew it was going to be business as usual when I watched my first drive of the day sail in a direction I haven't seen in a long time.

I thought to myself, "Here we go," while standing one over par on the second tee with muddy shoes. The fact is my first round was comical. I shot a 66 and sat in last place after the round.

While eating pizza during the break I thought about the comment left by Ryan in the last post. He gave me some great advice.

1. don't put too much pressure on yourself, disc golf is meant to be fun, keep that mindset...
2. don't look at those problem holes as problems, it will only bring in the negativity...look at those holes as a challenge to better your game, in a positive mindset...ahead of time, visualize your perfect drive...
3. whatever time you devote to practice putting, devote the same amount of time 'meditating' on putting...practice in your head making every, single 25-footer, watching in your mind's eye as they crash the chains every time...trust me, this works!
4. block out all the other players, if you can. play your game. don't let another player get in your head.

By the time the second round started I was in a positive mood and ready to have fun. I ended up shooting a 59. Even though it wasn't one of my better scores on that course I was extremely happy to shoot seven strokes better than my first round.

I still ended up near the bottom after all the scores came in, but I didn't care too much. If I would have played my normal division I would have tied for second place, which would have been fun because I could have participated in a playoff for the trophy. 

Going in to this I wanted to learn something. I found out that consistency is the only thing keeping me from competing in the Advanced division. I have the distance. I just hit more trees. I can scramble, but I can't sink as many putts. I'll be working on my putting a lot more in the coming months. I've been so obsessed with gaining distance I've weakened other shots in my bag.

So, next time I'll be back among the Intermediate folks, but I'll make sure it's not for too much longer.

In the last post I mentioned four problem areas I was worried about. Here they are:

1. The OB on fairway one.

2. The trees off the tee on three.

3. The low ceiling and narrow hallway tee shot on 11.

4. The possibility of a lost disc on fairway 18.

Here's what happened.

I kept my Surge SS in bounds on one during the first round, but hurled it OB during the second round. There was a slight tail wind and I didn't think about what the wind would do to my shot.

On the first round I smacked an early tree off of the tee on three. I made it through during the second round

I had low straight drives both rounds on 11, but I missed the putt to card a 4 in the first round.

I was relieved to hear there would be spotters on the fairway of 18. I threw a strong drive and landed close to the fairway during the first round, but sailed off into some trees during the second. Never lost a disc though.

Just in case you're interested here's a link to the scores:

Scores.

Another Freaking Tournament (AFT)

I registered into another freaking tournament.

The first Treejectory Classic tournament at the Terrace Creek disc golf course is slated for April 27. I'm excited and honestly a bit frightened, but I've been practicing as much as I can on the course and I feel the fear slowly subsiding.

Terrace Creek is technically my home course and I've played really well there in the past, so I decided to really torture myself and sign up in the Advanced division.

I've thrown among intermediates in all the tournaments I've played. I never learn anything. If I'm not going to place near the top of the pack then I better look for a way to get a lesson. Signing up as an advanced player should help with that.

I haven't posted about my distance progress lately, because I'm tired of guessing and Google mapping lengths of throws. I'm saving up for a laser range finder and when I acquire that I will post accurate distances.

I will say I know progress has been made.

Although with this progress a small issue with consistency and accuracy has plagued my regular play. I've discovered "timing" when driving off the tee and when my timing is off I can create advanced personal fairways if you know what I mean. Trees lose bark and squirrels scream for mommy.

This random inconsistency will have the back of my mind pulsing on every tee pad, but there are a few course features I will be worried about too. Here's a list:

1. The OB on fairway one.

2. The trees off the tee on three.

3. The low ceiling and narrow hallway tee shot on 11.

4. The possibility of a lost disc on fairway 18.

The tee shot off of tee one gives me nightmares. The distance to the basket is only 300 ft. or so, but it's slightly uphill the whole way. I've been told it plays more like 350' to 375'. That's not the problem though.

The problem is the busy road that hugs the left side of the fairway and the trees to the right near the basket. This situation creates a small gap to pierce in order to land in the circle.   

I'm a right hand/back hand thrower with a forearm only good for escaping tight spaces. I only have two options right now. I can either hyzer flip something without hitting the trees to the right, or fail to hyzer flip something and watch the disc hit a car.

Since starting this blog I've created a mental list of additional goals and one of them is to card a birdie on this dang hole.

Now tee three is like throwing a hail Mary. From the pad a disc golfer has to clear a ravine to reach the basket. It's not that far of a throw, but the trees in front of the tee pad mock you. They call you names. They stand only feet apart and dare you to clear the gap. If you fail you turn an easy bird into an exhausting bogey... or worse.

Throwing off of tee 11 hasn't been too much of a problem for me lately, but it's still a hole I think about. Your drive doesn't have a lot of room to play in the air.

Lastly, during casual rounds I've been in groups that took well over three minutes to search for a disc off the fairway of 18. Some of the time it's been my disc that we're looking for. This hole is a 500 ft. hallway shot with decent elevation. I've read roughly 70ft. Right handed throwers tend to fade out early and dive into a thicket of trees and blackberry bushes. If you turn one over to the right too much you lose site of the disc and end up in a jail of head-high reeds of some sort. Also, that area is flooded this time of year.

This tourney should be interesting. I have a few more days of practice coming up, so hopefully I can get myself ready for competitive play, or at the very least an enjoyable and informative couple of rounds of disc golf.

Wish me luck.

DGCR Achievements: Stat Addict

http://dgcoursereview.com

Disc Golf Course Review is an outstanding Web site for the flying plastic obsessed people of the world. The site has accumulated detailed information, including photos and reviews, of disc golf courses from all over the world. It also hosts a ridiculously packed forum full with topics that practically cover every aspect ever thought of regarding the sport – and then there are duplicate, triplicate and quadruplicate threads for many topics to lose yourself in. What comes after quadruplicate? Because there are those too.

There are thousands of people registered, there is a market place to buy related and non-related items, there are numbered bag (travel) tags and there is a feature that allows players to keep track of their scores. 

DGCR has pages of other features, but the one feature I wanted to highlight in this post is the achievement page.

To be more specific, the "stat addict" achievement.

These stats have multiple levels of achievement. The levels are bronze, silver, gold and diamond. When a player reaches each level they are awarded an icon on their DGCR profile page. 

When the bronze level of "Shutterbug" (100 photos uploaded) is reached then this icon will appear for profile visitors to see:

Here's silver for "Disc Collector" (150 discs in personal organizer):

Gold for "Aces" (10 aces):

Diamond for "Wordsmith" (250 written reviews):

I'm on a journey to 400 feet, but that doesn't mean I can't have smaller goals as well. I'm interested in collecting as many of these achievements as i can. In the nearly 5 years of disc golf play I have accumulated a silver in the Ace department, a bronze in Workout, a bronze in Disc Collector and a silver in Stat Addict.

After a few beers the other night I decided to play with math and figure out how long it would take me to reach the diamond level Stat Addict achievement. 

Here's what I came up with:

The goal: 50,000 holes

Current number of holes played: 6,125

Holes needed: 43,875

18 holes a round equals 2,437.5 rounds to reach goal

Realistic rounds in a week for me: 5

Rounds per year: 260 

9.375 years to accomplish goal

Nine years. Wow. That's a long time. My daughter will be 11. I will be 45. The year will be 2022.

I wonder if I can accomplish the achievement sooner. I wonder if I'll be throwing 400 ft. by then.

How long would it take you?