Rochester : Wed Singles League: Week #20 MCC

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.

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.