This week I attempted MCC. I had avoided this course twice because of the throwing over the water. Hole #8 at MCC is 20 feet of sloping green, 180 feet of water and 40 feet of upward sloping green. This is unlike Hole #1 at Parma where there is 80 feet of fairway to make the easy second shot over the 60 foot pond.
So rather expectedly I lost my yellow TL, which I wasn't too bothered about, since it wasn't responding to my forehand or backhand throws. For my second shot I threw a Discraft Stalker forehand and that just about made it over. I was more bothered about the next hole which has the water to the right. I wanted to turnover the Champion Valkyrie, and instead threw a perfect anhyzer to the right directly into the water. Beautiful throw, wrong hole. It splashed down and floated upside down. The weight (150 grams) kept it afloat. There are disc scavengers that take a swim there for discs, so it is very likely it will be recovered but very unlikely that I will get it back into my hands...
MCC has more wooded holes than Parma, and hole distance is shorter. I think it is more technical course than Basil Marella, as the lanes are tighter and there are water boundaries on more holes. I was just as anxious for my other card players as their discs sailed over the edge of the water, then hyzered back to the green. Whew!
I
ended with a 72 (4 par , 10
(4's), 4 (5's) with 2 OB). I tried more and more to try hyzer throws for the shorter shots but I still do not have the form to throw the discs far or straighter. My approaches were mediocre, and I cannot remember making a good putt, thus the +1 throw on 10 holes.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Rochester : Wed Singles League: Week #19 Marella
Next to Ellison, this is my best course, as I usually end in the low 70's. But this week I was more nervous than usual. Would I repeat the last singles week at Parma with lost discs and 5 OBs? We started on hole #18, and I started with a forehand sidearm and with some bad approaches, I ended with a 6. What a way to start a round!
I decided then not to throw the same sidearm shot for every throw like Parma last week. I decided to try hyzers (where the disc curves to the left for a right handed backhand throw) for the baskets where the distances were less than 320 ft and had a suitable "lane" (or path or line) to throw a hyzer. {A throwing "lane" is the unobstructed path that throwers should take to get the basket; a straight line throw to the basket may have trees blocking the throw, so different throwing "lanes" for different holes force the player to develop short and long hyzer and anhyzer throws, and even a longer turnover throw, where the disc starts to curve in one direction then reaches a high point and then curves in the other direction. Throwing the correct disc with the correct throwing technique in the correct "lane" is really what this game is all about.
Well after the 6 for the first throw, I recovered very well as the first 2 baskets at Basil are possible pars.
I ended with a 65, my best score ever this year for any course! (9 par , 8 (4's), 1 (6); with my handicap of 18, (65-18 = 47!) I brought home some cash (I think I came in third)
What is ironic is that I can't remember being exceptionally well in my driving or approaches or putts. I remember having a lot of off-target approaches that forced the fourth throw. I didn't sink any spectacular putts or recover gracefully from bad drives with nice "up" approaches. I do remember being more confident off the tee with some longer backhand drives.
I decided then not to throw the same sidearm shot for every throw like Parma last week. I decided to try hyzers (where the disc curves to the left for a right handed backhand throw) for the baskets where the distances were less than 320 ft and had a suitable "lane" (or path or line) to throw a hyzer. {A throwing "lane" is the unobstructed path that throwers should take to get the basket; a straight line throw to the basket may have trees blocking the throw, so different throwing "lanes" for different holes force the player to develop short and long hyzer and anhyzer throws, and even a longer turnover throw, where the disc starts to curve in one direction then reaches a high point and then curves in the other direction. Throwing the correct disc with the correct throwing technique in the correct "lane" is really what this game is all about.
Well after the 6 for the first throw, I recovered very well as the first 2 baskets at Basil are possible pars.
I ended with a 65, my best score ever this year for any course! (9 par , 8 (4's), 1 (6); with my handicap of 18, (65-18 = 47!) I brought home some cash (I think I came in third)
What is ironic is that I can't remember being exceptionally well in my driving or approaches or putts. I remember having a lot of off-target approaches that forced the fourth throw. I didn't sink any spectacular putts or recover gracefully from bad drives with nice "up" approaches. I do remember being more confident off the tee with some longer backhand drives.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Rochester : Wed Singles League: Week #18 Parma
This week at Parma I was excited to play so I could repeat the drives, approachs and putts from Tuesday night. With a handicap of 24, I was "guaranteed" to be in the money again.
I pretty much played like the amateur I am. I was OB 5 times, my personal highest on any course at any time, and I lost 2 discs, and I even lost my disc marker (temporarily).
The first basket was #9 (which yesterday threw it about 20ft from the basket) was poor drive, then the approach was OB in ditch, then another poor approach which resulted in a score of 5. Starting a round with a 5 is not too bad but it seems that I stayed mediocre. My drives were in trees or were OB, my approaches hit tree branches or never made it to the basket, forcing another throw.
Basket 18 was a complete disaster; first I hooked the Xcaliber into the right trees, then crossed the course into a ravine deep in the forest to the left and kept on hitting trees trying to approach with a hyzer with my Star TL. Then I completely splashed the throw at basket 1, losing my used Xcaliber, which was this basket's "money" disc last night.
I ended with a 82; 4 par , 5 (4's) ,5 (5's) ,3 (6's), 1 (7)
I realized that I throw the same throw 99% of the time, a forehand sidearm, and tonight I was paying for lack of variety in throwing, and understanding disc flight. This course demands different throws and different discs. So afterwards, in the dusk, I started to practice with my brand new TieDyed Discraft Nuke by hole #1A, and threw it into the brush, and with the evening shade coming down, lost the light to find it properly. Nice disc, thrown only three times but never in a game, lost to the disc finders of the Parma
I do not have any positive thoughts about the night.
I pretty much played like the amateur I am. I was OB 5 times, my personal highest on any course at any time, and I lost 2 discs, and I even lost my disc marker (temporarily).
The first basket was #9 (which yesterday threw it about 20ft from the basket) was poor drive, then the approach was OB in ditch, then another poor approach which resulted in a score of 5. Starting a round with a 5 is not too bad but it seems that I stayed mediocre. My drives were in trees or were OB, my approaches hit tree branches or never made it to the basket, forcing another throw.
Basket 18 was a complete disaster; first I hooked the Xcaliber into the right trees, then crossed the course into a ravine deep in the forest to the left and kept on hitting trees trying to approach with a hyzer with my Star TL. Then I completely splashed the throw at basket 1, losing my used Xcaliber, which was this basket's "money" disc last night.
I ended with a 82; 4 par , 5 (4's) ,5 (5's) ,3 (6's), 1 (7)
I realized that I throw the same throw 99% of the time, a forehand sidearm, and tonight I was paying for lack of variety in throwing, and understanding disc flight. This course demands different throws and different discs. So afterwards, in the dusk, I started to practice with my brand new TieDyed Discraft Nuke by hole #1A, and threw it into the brush, and with the evening shade coming down, lost the light to find it properly. Nice disc, thrown only three times but never in a game, lost to the disc finders of the Parma
I do not have any positive thoughts about the night.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Rochester : Tues Doubles: Week @ Parma
After winning the first prize payoff last Wednesday, I decided to use the money to enter a Doubles competition held on Tuesday evenings. The fee is $10 and there are the standard ways to win money (Best score, CTP, Ace) but some money goes toward the year end Doubles tournament, as well as the league for course improvement expenses. I found out recently that the league maintains the baskets and tee pads with both labor and finances. Just this past weekend, volunteer members poured the cement for the tee pads for the MCC course.
The Parma course is truly both challenging and beautiful. It has a nice balance of long field shots, as well as technical woodsy holes with changes in elevation and water hazards.
Even though I was satisfying one of my objectives of playing in a doubles night, I was still very scared that I would be useless to my partner. The rules of Doubles is Best Shot, or two teammates throw a disc, and the best lie is chosen, and again the two teammates throw and choose, until a basket is made.
Well, my partner, N., has over 15 years experience, "on and off", but that's a lot more to my 12 weeks of solid play. I was hoping that I would not embarrass myself too badly.
The first two holes were shaky (I clanged a 20ft putt) and again it wasn't until the third hole that I was playing well. N. could drive the disc well over 300 ft with a backhand throw, but I helped with some very good approaches to secure a par score. I also had some long forehand drives with my Xcaliber (which mostly flies straight then fades to the right) which were chosen as placement for our second throw.
My personal highlights: include a personal birdie on Hole 9 (a small note here: though your teammate is the first to start the next throw, {alternate throws}, N. allowed me to sink the putt since the drive was <10 ft out out of courtesy that the player with such a good drive should finish the putt. I also sank a 35 ft putt for par 3 on hole 18, and most importantly I drove a disc over 240 ft forehand to avoid a pond (hole #1A, which was recently returned to its original placements with the water hazard). The disc landed about 20 feet left of the basket, scooted to the right some more feet and ended 12 ft in front of the hole, which set us up for our 2nd birdie of the night. My throw even beat the CTP "pro" flag by a few feet...
We ended at 58, (thanks to the late birdie on #1A) which was +4 only par, and we tied with the other team on the card; we won a slight bit of money but we decided to donate the small amount back for the year-end Doubles event. It was also amazing to hear that the 1st place Professional score was 9 under (45) which implies 9 birdies and 9 par holes. Wow.
PS I also lost my orange SideWinder on Hole 6 in the creek. This was the same place I had temporarily lost my
TeeBird. I never learned to throw
the SideWinder well as it would veer to the
left, and that's what happened tonight : a veering to the left, a crashing in trees, a weird landing, some rolling and a muddy splash.
Here is a picture of basket #6; according to the course rules, "all of the area left of the creek is OB. I was more disappointed that both N. and I had OB drives costing us a 4 on a "easy" par basket.
N. told me something about his disc collection: "I don't have any of my original discs anymore, I currently only have what I haven't lost yet..."
Also we scored a 19 for the night. Each team (and player) gets a point for each player they beat (2 for each team they beat) plus 2 for each player. The highest team received 34 points, so we beat more than half the field, not bad.
The Parma course is truly both challenging and beautiful. It has a nice balance of long field shots, as well as technical woodsy holes with changes in elevation and water hazards.
Even though I was satisfying one of my objectives of playing in a doubles night, I was still very scared that I would be useless to my partner. The rules of Doubles is Best Shot, or two teammates throw a disc, and the best lie is chosen, and again the two teammates throw and choose, until a basket is made.
Well, my partner, N., has over 15 years experience, "on and off", but that's a lot more to my 12 weeks of solid play. I was hoping that I would not embarrass myself too badly.
The first two holes were shaky (I clanged a 20ft putt) and again it wasn't until the third hole that I was playing well. N. could drive the disc well over 300 ft with a backhand throw, but I helped with some very good approaches to secure a par score. I also had some long forehand drives with my Xcaliber (which mostly flies straight then fades to the right) which were chosen as placement for our second throw.
My personal highlights: include a personal birdie on Hole 9 (a small note here: though your teammate is the first to start the next throw, {alternate throws}, N. allowed me to sink the putt since the drive was <10 ft out out of courtesy that the player with such a good drive should finish the putt. I also sank a 35 ft putt for par 3 on hole 18, and most importantly I drove a disc over 240 ft forehand to avoid a pond (hole #1A, which was recently returned to its original placements with the water hazard). The disc landed about 20 feet left of the basket, scooted to the right some more feet and ended 12 ft in front of the hole, which set us up for our 2nd birdie of the night. My throw even beat the CTP "pro" flag by a few feet...
We ended at 58, (thanks to the late birdie on #1A) which was +4 only par, and we tied with the other team on the card; we won a slight bit of money but we decided to donate the small amount back for the year-end Doubles event. It was also amazing to hear that the 1st place Professional score was 9 under (45) which implies 9 birdies and 9 par holes. Wow.
Here is a picture of basket #6; according to the course rules, "all of the area left of the creek is OB. I was more disappointed that both N. and I had OB drives costing us a 4 on a "easy" par basket.
N. told me something about his disc collection: "I don't have any of my original discs anymore, I currently only have what I haven't lost yet..."
Also we scored a 19 for the night. Each team (and player) gets a point for each player they beat (2 for each team they beat) plus 2 for each player. The highest team received 34 points, so we beat more than half the field, not bad.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Rochester : Wed Singles League: Week #17 Chili
Today my Z Plastic Discraft Tie Dyed Nuke came in the mail. I really want to try to throw this disc (166 grams) backhand for more distance. I will report on the results in future posts.
Tonight was Widener Park at Chili. My handicap was 25. We started at hole #3 and it wasn't until hole #6 that I really started to drive the XCaliber over 240ft.
I mostly had 4's and 3's with no out of bounds or lost discs! Two baskets on the back nine are par 4; again I scored a 7 on Hole #11 (over 900 ft!), my first throw was just under a tree which shortened my 2nd throw distance, and the putt of 25ft topped the basket. Hole #18 is long and shaped like a clock face time of 10 minutes to 6, with the basket on a 4 ft mound. I went the long way around and hammer-threw over trees to get me to the mound for a salvaged 5.
New best score here: 72: 6@(3's), 8 (4's), 3 (5's), 1 (7) : With my handicap of 25 plus my personal best of 72, my submitted score was 47, which meant first place and a cash prize (!).
Tonight was Widener Park at Chili. My handicap was 25. We started at hole #3 and it wasn't until hole #6 that I really started to drive the XCaliber over 240ft.
I mostly had 4's and 3's with no out of bounds or lost discs! Two baskets on the back nine are par 4; again I scored a 7 on Hole #11 (over 900 ft!), my first throw was just under a tree which shortened my 2nd throw distance, and the putt of 25ft topped the basket. Hole #18 is long and shaped like a clock face time of 10 minutes to 6, with the basket on a 4 ft mound. I went the long way around and hammer-threw over trees to get me to the mound for a salvaged 5.
New best score here: 72: 6@(3's), 8 (4's), 3 (5's), 1 (7) : With my handicap of 25 plus my personal best of 72, my submitted score was 47, which meant first place and a cash prize (!).
Monday, August 20, 2012
Monday AM Practice at Ellison
This Monday morning I decided to play a full round in a doubles/best shot manner.I would throw two drives, choose that best lie, then throw two approaches, again choose the best lie, then hole out with one toss. I wanted to see if I could par the course with so many double chances. I found out that it is much more difficult than I thought, and unfortunately I stopped keeping score after each of the first 6 or 7 holes.
I used the SideWinder for drives (which now veers to the left) and the XCaliber which wobbles to the right. The Star starts off straight then hyzers too much to the right. There is a balance here between working the hyzer and throwing it straight and hard.
I also lost my light Purple Star -- I think it was hole 13.
I used the SideWinder for drives (which now veers to the left) and the XCaliber which wobbles to the right. The Star starts off straight then hyzers too much to the right. There is a balance here between working the hyzer and throwing it straight and hard.
I also lost my light Purple Star -- I think it was hole 13.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Rochester Wed Singles League: Week #16 / MCC
I still do not have the courage to play MCC...
Do you see basket #8?
Do you see the beautiful water?
Do I think I can throw a plastic disc over 230 ft without hearing a splash?
No I don't.
Next week I return to Chili, and since I really had terrible scores, I'll see how high my handicap will be.
Do you see basket #8?
Do you see the beautiful water?
Do I think I can throw a plastic disc over 230 ft without hearing a splash?
No I don't.
Next week I return to Chili, and since I really had terrible scores, I'll see how high my handicap will be.
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