Birdie three in a row to celebrate.

That’s how Bobby Hill gets it done!

Really.

It’s a nice little town and the course there at Sertoma Park is great.

If it didn’t take more than an hour in travel time I think I’d play that course a lot.  It’s VERY hilly.  Actually, picture a single giant hill in the center of the course with all the holes around, up, down, and over that one big mound.

It does make for some creative downhill shots and at least one, hole #3, 400 foot downhill shot that most players will have fun reaching.

The Chainsaw classic was my first ever round on the course and I think it went O.K.-ish.

I did step down to the Recreation division which, according to my rating, is where I’m supposed to be anyway.    I finished 3rd, despite a complete meltdown late in my first round.

So, here are my recap notes :

• First, here are the actual results on the PDGA website.
• I also want to congratulate a friend who was in my group both rounds, Bennett Thompson, for both winning and for firing an outstanding round one 48!
• The Open Pro winner, Luke Reiser, shot the best single round of the event with a first round 41!  Yeah, that beat me by 17 strokes!
• There was a separate ace pool for each round.  There were two aces in the first round.  One of the guys who hit an ace didn’t enter to pool.  Shame.
• Kudos to Adam “sadjo” for running a really well-managed event.  I know he would have liked to play, but by focusing on his TD role he really kept it going well.
• We couldn’t have hoped for better weather that Saturday.  Absolutely Perfect.

That’s what I got.  Enjoyed it as always.  The next tournament I play will be the Big Island Open in Hawaii!

For the first review, check out Otis’ write-up of the Gateway Supersoft Wizard.

For those new to the site, we’re (Otis, Pauly, and I) given a disc each month to test out and review here in exchange for a link back to the discgolfstation site.  They’ve been very generous with us and I hope any reader here who sees a disc they’re interested in will check out the prices and stock there before they buy.

That’s said, here are my thoughts on the Discraft Elite-Z Avenger :

The Discraft Elite-Z Avenger

Otis and Pauly are in Los Angeles this week covering some esoteric poker-related phenomenon, so I’m here frolfing by myself.

I’ve tried the Avenger several times now and used it at both Timmons and at Century Park in Greer.  I’d sum it up like this, I LOVE IT and will keep it in my bag.  I suspect Otis will find special situations in which this disc is quite useful but he’ll use it pretty rarely.

New players or those without much arm speed and snap will have some difficulty controlling this very overstable disc.

So far I’ve had the best luck with my Avenger as a forehand disc.  That isn’t a surprise.  In fact, here’s how it’s described on the discgolfstation.com site :

“The Avenger, when thrown hard and released flat, will follow a straight line; when thrown with anhyzer, will slowly “come back” and finish with hyzer. The Elite-Z plastic is very durable and will keep your disc in great condition round after round!”

Normally, I expect my forehand to have a good S-curve.  I snap, left-handed, and let it go to the right before it’s stability pulls it back to the left.  This one is as predictable as an Otis triple bogey.

On the other hand, I do think I throw pretty “hard” and release pretty “flat”, but have had some difficulty controlling the hyzer with this disc.   The Z plastic version of the Avenger IS more stable than the others (a 1.8 turn rating from Discraft) and this one needs a VERY strong toss to get the maximum distance.

I also tried the Avenger as a forehand and backhand roller.  That may actually be what this disc does best.   I’ve had great success so far with rollers and have found them reliable at the least.

Here’s what I tell people about a new disc :  What the disc is designed to do is really less important than what it does when YOU throw it.  If it does the same thing each time you toss it a particular way, and if you can count on it to perform in that fashion, it is useful.

So my conclustion, more advanced players will find this disc, or one like it, essential.  Think of it as being somewhat similar to the INNOVA BOSS.  Great distance if you have the arm and a reliable fade at the end.  Newer players may also find some use in have a disc in their bag that can reliably come back this much.  Think of a good spike hyzer or a hyzer flip.

Unlike the Wizard, this one will stay in my bag for now.

What better fun than a tournament to “honor” that insanity?

The GOLDEN CORNER CHAINSAW CLASSIC is a week from tomorrow on November the 20th and this humble blogger has already registered.

I had to give it a go and was able to get frolf permission from the wife because of my dismal showing in the Upstate Classic last weekend.

I feel a little better about my game now and I’ve never played the Walhalla course.

Here are the Classic Results by the way.

And Upstate Folfer’s Coverage of

Upstate Classic Day One

Upstate Classic Day Two

Disc Golf Classic 2010, Timmons Park, Greenville, SC

Congratulations to the brave and weather-tested competitors in this year’s Upstate Classic.   It was 31 degrees when we first teed off on Saturday.  It was a solid, and I suppose mentally reassuring, one degree warmer at first tee Sunday.

I can’t claim to have witnessed all the action since I was so deeply immersed in my own failings, but I hope you’ve checked out some of the more than 200 pictures Tim Whims took on the first day.

I’d suggest looking at how well shot they all are, but honestly, just look and find a picture of yourself.  I did.  I admit it.

As for my play?  Lousy.  Really, really, consistently lousy.  But unlike last year when I melted down and had a generally lousy time, I actually had a blast this year.  Surprising given my near-last-place finish.

First, for historical comparison :

In 2008 I was remarkably reliable in my awful scores :

Round 1 : 60 (+6)

Round 2 : 60 (+6)

Round 3 : 59 (+5)

Round 4 : 61 (+7)

Total Tournament Score : 240 (+24)

I like to point out that this was my first-ever PDGA event as an excuse.

In 2009, I actually tried to put a little run together and was on the second card in the last round, then…MELTDOWN!

Round 1 : 53 (-1)

Round 2 : 54 (E)

Round 3 : 52 (-2)

Round 4 : 63 (+9)

Final Tournament Score : 222 (+6)

I think I enjoyed that last round last year about the least of any round I’ve ever played.

So now to this year, and it got ugly early.  I like to think I used each round as a throwback to one of the prior years :

Round 1 : 60 (+6)

Round 2 : 53 (-1)

Round 3 : 59 (+5)

Round 4 : 52 (-2)

Now I’m going to point out here that it was, again, very cold for the morning rounds and I played much better in the sunny afternoon rounds.  Also, I did endure some God-Awful luck in that first (+6) round.

For example, a pretty excellent drive on hole 5 managed to clip a tree deep on the left side of the fairway and take that dreaded 90 degree turn to the creek.   But really, I never had a good groove running.

OTHER NOTES :

• The Upstate continues to have one of the best-natured and likable groups of players around.  I was with several different people, some I knew some I didn’t, in my various foursomes.  I liked talking to them all and the quality of the comraderie remains one of the best features of the Upstate Classic.
• Congratulations to “The Other Bill” for his personal best ever score in round two. I think it was a 47?  Great round by him and I was happy to see him play well.
• A bummer this year, Sarah Stanhope was unable to play while she recovers from being a little under the weather.
• This year’s event wasn’t full.  That’s unusual as it usually fills up well in advance.  I’m not sure what led to the decline in interest but I know some regular players like Brandon Barker and Christine Savvakis had other obligations this weekend and couldn’t make it.
• There were a surprising number of people, and I don’t know the exact number, who registered, paid, played the first day, and then didn’t show up for day 2.  Sometimes that’s just unavoidable.  But it can make things difficult for the tournament organizers who need to know how to arrange their grouping cards for each round.  It was handled well, but I still found it strange.

Congratulations to the winners this year!  I’ll play again next year….even if I am getting worse.

Upstate Disc Golf Classic 2010 Slide Show | Photography by Tim Whims

It’s been slow on Ye Olde Blog lately and I’m sorry for that.  It’s not for a lack of actual frolfing.  In fact, I’ve been playing more.  My game’s gone to crap, but I’m still playing.

This is a post to wish everyone good luck in the tournament at Timmons Park this morning.  I’ll be there and I’ll be stinking it up as always.

Here soon I’m hoping for a great Pauly post about our round last month at Trophy Lakes.  And we’ve got another great disc review coming this month.

Plus, for what it’s worth, I’ll recap each day of the Classic here too.

See you soon…and this time I mean it.

I’ve played terribly for the past couple of years but, who knows, maybe this is my year.

Registration forms are available here.

THIS EVENT WILL BE FULL AND THERE ARE NO REGISTRATIONS ON THE DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT!

Good luck.  We’ll see you there!

Keep in mind this is LAST YEAR’S FORM so the dates are, obviously, wrong.  Still, it will work as a registration.

The REAL dates are Sat and Sun November 6th and 7th!

I struggled with my response.

After all, the Greer course, “Century Park” is pretty tough on the back 9 but a cupcake on the front.  Timmons is great, my favorite in the area, but it is awfully short.

I told Scott that Boiling Springs or Easley would be the biggest challenge.

That wasn’t long before I saw the following two comments posted here :

Greenville county is in DIRE need of a championship course. To draw more A and B tiers that pros will come to we need a course that challenges them. All the courses in Greenville county are cookie cutter with no challenge on distance or hitting a line, besides without a putter. No disrespect but pros won’t travel to Greenville from far distances to play a course that’s a two for them every hole.

Here’s the response :

Discer, I hear the argument for how X place needs a championship course all the time. A course like Greer comes along, and the people responsible for it catch grief for mandatory doglegs that exist in reasonable, to be expected places. I have seen top players in the upstate come out to Greer in particular and talk about removing the mandatory on 12, and cutting some trees back. If some of the top players want a course tailored for them, then a championship course isn’t needed. A skill level improvement on their part is, however.

Additionally, hole 12 used to have a mandatory alot closer to the tee box which forced players to take the tunnel. It is still tricky to take the outside low route, but it can still be done. All in all the only justification players have been able to come up with for removal of the mandatory has been so they can bomb one out and take a 2. That is not a good enough reason, to say the least.

My point in this rant is that a championship course depends on the design, and not distances. I at times struggle at Gower to shoot par being a lefty, if that says anything.

So, what does this humble blogger think?

First, I’ll agree that the MANDOs on the Century Park course have made it harder.  Plus, as I alluded to earlier, I do think the back 9 is a real challenge for most players.  16 and 17 are pretty easy holes, but 11 and 12 are a bear.  14 requires a really decent tee shot.  18….

I hate 18.

But it IS a challenging hole to try and birdie.

But I will admit I was pretty cautious about telling a top player that ANY Greenville County course is particularly “Hard”.

Plus, as you may have seen linked below, I was lucky enough to go to Rock Hill on Friday and see the course at Winthrop during the US Disc Golf Championships.  Now THAT is a challenging course  (Made more so by the stroke and distance rule that requires a player who throws a disc out-of-bounds to take the penalty and re-throw from the original spot).

So what’s the solution?

I’m of two minds on this.

ONE THE ONE HAND much of Timmons and Century Park are darn near ideal for our sport at this still-developing stage.  Both are welcoming to new players while still providing a challenge to more experienced locals.  I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered either course.  Greer is especially tough because it so obviously favors a right-handed player.

ON ONE HAND THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER HAND THAT WAS JUST DISCUSSED, neither course is enough of a challenge for a real top-tier player.  In the Upstate Classic, you’ll see the best open players for 14…15…and 16 under par in each round!  One year a player shot -17 and missed a putt by inches to avoid a birdie on every single hole.  If players are playing that well, the course is too easy.

Even a poor hack like myself expects to shoot under par on 100% of my rounds at Timmons.

Greer is more difficult, again especially for a lefty, but the front 9 has 8 birdie holes and there are several more on the back.

I’ll put it like this, I love both of these courses.  I will always defend them against almost any critics.  In fact, Otis and I will be playing Timmons later today.

So what is the hardest course in my area?  I think we have good ones.  I think we have beautiful, fun, and unique ones.  But none of them are especially hard.

So here’s a link.