This Friday WYFF-TV in Greenville will be sending a full crew to Rock Hill. They’ll do complete coverage of that day’s action and profile some of the best players.
Once it airs on WYFF, we’ll put the full video here.
Meantime, good luck to all the players, especially to our blog-friends Scott Rief and Avery Jenkins.
Also, early next week, we have some thoughts about the “Championship Level” course discussion that’s popped up in our comments lately.
Gateway Super Soft Wizard review
“So, it’s the moped joke,” eltreedr said.
This story does not begin well.
We were standing on the 16th tee at Timmons Park and I was trying to explain how I felt about the Gateway Super Soft Wizard.
“See, it’s like that girl in college that looks exceptionally plain, but…well, you know…” I ventured. He was right. It’s the moped joke.
I like having mail delivered to my house addressed only to “Otis,” and when the plain white package arrived at Mt. Otis, I knew immediately it was a disc from Disc Golf Station. For lack of something better to do, we recently accepted an offer from the sales web site to give us a free disc a month on the condition that we review and link to it here. We’re allowed to say whatever we want about the disc and give an unbiased review. The company gives us a free disc and gets a link. (There’s your full disclosure).
Disc Golf Station sent us all the Super Soft Wizard, a putt and approach disc that purports itself to be the second-softest of all Gateway Discs. Again, this doesn’t begin well.
The disc is ugly. There is no getting around that sad fact. It has an old-milk color to it and the wizard printed on the front looks like it was doodled during a long economics lecture. It could be the ugliest disc I’ve ever owned. And if this is the second-softest disc the company makes, I can only assume the more rigid discs are called The Viagra. This disc is not soft and has very little bend to it.
We are a Champion Aviar putter blog. For the past two years, we’ve thrown the Champion Aviar exclusively. We’ve both adopted different putting styles in that time, but we both had no desire to switch away from the Aviars. However with a new disc to review, we set out on Timmons and left the Aviars in our cars.
I’d take you through the whole round, but let’s just cut to the chase: I didn’t miss a putt through the entire round. It was as if the 173g piece of ugly was on tracks from my hand to the chains. When the disc hit the chains, it didn’t bounce, carom, or skate off the side. The Wizard hit the chains and dropped into the basket like a rock.
I am not a good disc golf player. I am better than a beginner and I’ve been playing for a while, but I’m not really very good. So, it may be that the unfamiliarity with the disc made me concentrate extra hard, a college kid with a new girl for the first time, or something like that. Nonetheless, if I threw the disc at the chains, it went straight in and fell. Eltreedr had never seen anything like it. If I putted like that every round, I might actually be competitive.
Meanwhile, eltreedr was slower on the uptake. Apart from a spectacular 40-ft uphill putt for birdie on #8, eltreedr wasn’t putting with his regular accuracy. More often than not, the Wizard was dropping short. It took 18 holes but together we agreed the following:
After that, our agreement ended. I’m keeping the Wizard in my bag for now. If I keep putting like I did with it this week, I’m going to shave two or three strokes off each round. Eltreedr, meanwhile, isn’t sold.
“I’ve already put my Aviar back in the bag and taken the Wizard out,” he said today. “I don’t think it glides in a way that works for my putting style.”
He’s right about that. Over time, I’ve adopted a fairly aggressive approach to putting.
“The Wizard is actually better suited for your style,” eltreedr said. “You really fire at the basket, while I have a finesse approach, and I don’t think the Wizard has the glide I need.”
Conclusion: For $9.99, the Super Soft Wizard might be a putter you want to check out. Players with aggressive putting styles might be more suited for the disc, if they don’t mind their friends seeing them play with it or ride home on a moped.
Reliable Flight
It doesn’t matter if a disc does what it’s SUPPOSED to do. It matters that it does the same predictable thing each time you throw it.
I remember saying that to Otis over at Century Park more than a year ago, and I was just reminded of that fact on the same course yesterday afternoon.
Like many regular players I own discs I rarely use. Again, like most, I have some disc in my bag I sometime throw just once a round. Sometimes not at all. But those discs do have a specific purpose and when the need arises it’s great to have them around.
Here’s an example :
I carry a 175g Champion Boss. I don’t normally have the arm strength or speed to make it fly in a useful way around here. It does come in handy at times on a longer and more open course like say, Trophy Lakes. (Note : My previous 175g boss is actually at the bottom of said lake)
Still, I have one in my bag for a specific shot that I needed on the 10th hole yesterday.
If I use that boss with a stiff, flat forehand I can count on it to hyzer HARD after about 100 feet and come to a stop about 45 feet to the left of my aim. (I’m a lefty)
So am I throwing the boss the right way? Probably not.
Will I keep throwing it the way I do? Definitely.
I wish I had a dollar for each time someone’s told me I’m doing it wrong.
I would have, you know, several dollars and such.
Anyway, the point is not that the disc is designed to fly a certain way but that I know what way it will fly.
I’ll be writing more about various kinds of discs and thought I’d get that off my chest.
My My My My Katana
I’m a pretty fickle dood.
For quite some time I was a pretty devoted lover of the Valkyrie for my long range drives. That’s when I was almost exclusively throwing a mediocre 200 foot forehand with a reliable slow speed fade.
That was back when I re-learned this game in about 2001.
Not long after, I actually developed a bit of a backhand and switched, based on the ever-present innova charts, a Roadrunner.
I've gone through several of these. I still always have one in the bag.
My game improved by great leaps when I brought that disc on board because I still lacked the serious arm speed necessary to handle more stable discs.
I could, by 2008, reliably throw a roadrunner 285-300 feet…and keep it straight.
In fact, the thing that made this disc less reliable, was an improvement in my technique.
Now, I keep the RR in the bag for solid anhyzer potential. I have trouble making it do anything else. But as an INTENTIONAL anhyzer, it’s a good disc to have.
That lead me, last year, to go out in search of the next reliable driver. I went through several.
The DISCRAFT SPECTRA is good. My friend and doubles partner, TeamScottSmith, swears by it. I bought one on his recommendation and it’s still in my bag.
Last time I used mine for anything, really, was in the doubles tournament I played with TeamScottSmith. It was his idea.
I also had a brief flirtation with the Innova SIDEWINDER and the Disc Mania Power Driver (which Otis and I refer to by it’s hot stamp…the FREAK)
Still love the FREAK. I own 2.
But I’m sold on something new these days. I’ve added a good, consistent, 40 feet to my drives with the KATANA.
Love This Disc.
I love my PRO Katana so much, I’ve already bought a STAR Katana as a backup. I’m preaching about it.
I think I’m in love.
You know, for now.
On the bright side, I’m not a total disc whore. I still won’t hit any course without a DART.
Greenville County Disc Golf Courses, A Ranking
Perhaps it’s just because I’m so FAMILIAR with the courses I play most often, and perhaps I take the best of them for granted, but I’m often most eager to play courses that take longer to find and longer to play. I do love a new and challenging frolf course.
But Greenville County is VERY lucky to have the courses it does and, since we haven’t done it here before, I thought we might be overdue for our own Upstate Frolfer Course Rankings.
By my count, there are 6 Greenville County Courses. 2 of them have a unique 18 holes. 3 more are simple 9-hole courses and the 6th, Simpsonville, offers 9 baskets with different front and back 9 tees.
For the purposes of these rankings I’m comparing all 6 as if they were similar entities. That is, the 18-hole courses are OBVIOUSLY superior if only for their additional variety. But in this ranking I’ll try to rank them based also on the QUALITY of holes and not just superior QUANTITY.
Got it?
So without further ado..
#6 GOWER PARK
Welcome to Gower. This is the best part.
Pros : The best thing about Gower? It’s always a surprise. I don’t mean that it’s a challenging course that always reveals itself in new ways…nothing that cool. Instead, I often forget the park exists altogether. Then, I’ll see a listing for it and say “Cool, a new course to try.”
Then we play it and realize what made it so forgettable. When reminded of the details, I really have nothing good to say about Gower.
Cons : The course designer obviously didn’t have much to work with. So, instead of realizing this was simply not much of a place for disc, he/she tried to cram it in to where it just doesn’t fit.
The first hole shows some promise and it winds through trees to the basket. The next 3 are wooded too, but they’re very short, simple and unchallenging.
The most interesting features on this course aren’t ever really the holes themselves, but the non-frolf things they encompass. There’s a WWII-era tank parked in the middle of the fairway on the 9th and final hole.
CHALLENGE : D
BEAUTY : C-
OVERALL APPEAL : D
#5 SIMPSONVILLE CITY PARK
It is, actually, a pretty nice park.
Pros : For folks living in the Southern part of the county this would easily be the most convenient course to play. This course does offer different tee positions for the 9 baskets so there is at least some variety in shots. The course is WIDE OPEN so there is a good chance for beginners to work on getting more distance from their drives.
Cons : The real shame about this course is that it used to be far better. It used to wind all around the park before some fairly realistic safety concerns (there were too many pedestrians in danger of a Dart to the head) confined the course to a single corner. Plus, the same WIDE OPEN features that make it fun for beginners make it awfully simple for more advanced players who will find little challenge here. If you’re in the Southern part of Greenville County then play here when you need a quick round. Folks from other parts of the county will see little reason to drive this far.
CHALLENGE : D
BEAUTY : C
OVERALL APPEAL : C-
#4 HOLMES PARK
This is the first tee right next to the parking lot. A tougher shot for lefties because of the trees.
Pros : I actually struggled with this ranking because, to be honest, I really like Holmes Park. The park is pretty and there is usually well-maintained. The course has some interesting variety with uphill…downhill…straight..open…wooded and whatnot holes. It’s just 9-holes long but I never regret running through it twice…or more…when I visit. Perhaps the most endearing thing about this course…which will appear again in the “cons”….is that you will post amazing scores here. Most people leave Holmes Park feeling very good about their games. Even beginners should play reasonably well on this fairly short and forgiving track.
Cons : As promised, I’ll mention this again : The course is easy. In fact, the one genuinely challenging hole (#4) is also it’s least appealing. It’s a straight uphill shot that’s blind to the basket. If you routinely get the par 3 on that, you’ll finish double-digits below par.
CHALLENGE : D
BEAUTY : B
OVERALL APPEAL : C
#3 FURMAN UNIVERSITY
First, the above picture is of Otis and his older boy at the second basket. It was taken while they did some “field research” for his review of the Furman University Disc Golf Course for this site. It’s worth a read. In fact, let me quote it here for both the pros and cons :
A few closing thoughts: Any new course is a welcome addition to this community and we should all thank Adam for his efforts. He took a fairly small amount of space and made a disc golf course out of it. Top players will probably find the course a little too easy, but for folks of my skill level up to good intermediates, it’s a great diversion from playing some of the other courses in this area. If we can all somehow find a great place to park and don’t whack a mom with a baby on the walking path, we’ve got another fun course to hit.
I’m probably biased because this is the newest course in the county so I’m not tired of it. But the natural beauty of the Furman lake makes this seem more appealing to me.
CHALLENGE : C
BEAUTY : A
OVERALL APPEAL : B
#2 CENTURY PARK
A player tees off on hole #3 which is, by far, the most challenging hole of the front 9.
Pros : I really do love this course. I know I’ve said that about a LOT of courses, but this is the one I now consider my “home” track. I play it almost every single day and am not tired of it. It has excellent variety of holes and many are very tough, especially on the back 9. There are several ways to play each hole and it does require a fair amount of actual strategy to play parts of this course well. Plus, I usually run into other players here who are always willing to play a quick round.
Cons : There are very few things about this course I don’t truly love. First among my limited critiques is there can be a crowd at this park and at times it can be difficult to park. Plus, when the lots are crowded shrieking little league moms will park their cars on the tees and fairways of holes 17 and 18. That’s because, you know, whatever they’re doing is more important that whatever anyone ELSE is doing. Also, like on many courses, the front 9 is FAR FAR easier than the back. This is likely by design as a way to encourage beginners, and I like the concept, however it does make it pretty easy to score low up front. I’m nitpicking here because I didn’t want a tie at the top of the rankings. In truth, this course is nearly perfect.
CHALLENGE : B+
BEAUTY : A
OVERALL APPEAL : A
#1 TIMMONS PARK
Hole # 6 at Timmons. It's not hard unless you're a lefty like me.
Pros : This is probably the crown jewel of Greenville County courses. I mean, most Greenville County players consider it THEIR home course. It’s the one I first started playing after re-learning the sport back in 2001. It’s the home of the Upstate Classic each fall. Every hole has elevation changes that provide the threat of the dink and roll. Most holes have OB water. There isn’t much distance by the holes are generally tight and technical. Even some of the better pros, capable of dominating this course most days, can have embarrassingly frustrating days…and weeks here. It’s deep in the woods, away from the rest of the park, so frolfers can roam without fear of hitting civilians. It’s absolutely beautiful, especially in the fall. This course isn’t super-hard, it isn’t super-long, but it is great.
Cons : Again, the course is short in most cases. Top pros will crush it more often than not. And, um, sometimes the leaves are thick enough to lose a disc. I’m reaching here…not much to criticize.
CHALLENGE : A-
BEAUTY : A
OVERALL APPEAL : A
That’s how I spin it. I’d love to hear other takes. Otis, for the record, ranks them this way :
1. Greer 2. Timmons 3. Furman 4. Gower 5. Holmes 6. Simpsonville
Football Returns, Vacation is Over and this is a Blog Post
Otis, Drohan, and I went downtown last night for a few drinks and a game of cards. I’m not actually drinking alcohol right now for a variety of reasons that all lead back to me not wanting to be a giant blubbery mess anymore.
That said, I still had a very good time. Good company makes almost any situation enjoyable.
It made clear for me the thing I most like about disc golf. I like spending that time with my friends, old and new.
I also like winning.
SOME OF THE TOP PLAYERS are already making plans for the US Disc Golf Championships in Rock Hill. It’s the same weekend as my birthday this year (October 7th. Discs make great gifts).
I’m still planning to sit out from actual PDGA sanctioned play until the Upstate Classic.
Lately I’ve had a breakthrough with more forehand drive and have struggled a bit with griplock on my backhand.
Lots to work on…
And finally, Scott says he’ll be happy to fill us in on that Africa trip (if you haven’t seen his video, click thru below) soon…can’t wait to hear more.
Starting Over
It’s been an odd month or 3 for the Upstate Frolfer crew.
Our West Coast blogger has spend much of that time in Las Vegas and on Phish tour.
Otis has been in Vegas too. Plus he’s been at the beach and in the weeds with whatever his day job is.
I’ve been trying to makeover my entire fitness profile and, honestly, I’ve been spending less time on the courses and more time in the gym as the weather has topped 90 degrees the past few weeks.
That took me to the start of September, which is not only the one year anniversary of this humble blog, but also the point at which our web domain was set to expire. I spent some good thinking time over the past week or so wondering whether I’d even bother to renew.
Today, I did.
So I’m firing this post off from work. I have mapped out another half dozen for the coming month and I hope we’ll have at least one reader when October rolls around.
And I want to tie up some loose ends from my previous posts.
First, Trophy Lakes IS a great course. I played it on a Monday when I stayed in Folly Beach earlier this month and then went back to play the next day. Each hole has both blue (pro) and red (am) tees and I played the blue both days.
I’m not sure if it was fatigue or hubris, but I played much better the first round than the second. That said, there WILL be a third round on that course.
Will You Join Me Here On October 16th.
Otis, Pauly and I will all be staying in Charleston on October 15th and 16th. The 16th is a Saturday and, before we head over to watch a second night of Phish, we’ll be playing this course.
Even onetime guest contributer “BadBlood” should be there.
If you’re around, drop us a line and maybe we can work out a random draw doubles kinda thing.
Should be fun.
Also, I’m really excited to be playing in Hawaii with Scott Rief in January. Scott is an old friend and was kind enough to do an interview on this blog in it’s very first month.
Now…look at what Scott’s done!
I’m going to shoot Scott a line and see if he’ll tell us more about what’s he’s up to. I think that video begs a few questions….don’t you.
Until next time…
Best Course In Charleston?
I’m off to Folly Beach for a few days and I’ll be taking my discs for the ride. My guess is I’ll have a few hours to play on Tuesday and I’d like to come back with pictures and stories from the best course in the Charleston area.
So which one would that be?
I’ve done a little homework on the subject and I’m GUESSING this one :
Trophy Lakes Hole #1
Trophy Lakes looks great although it does look like a pay-to-play course as well.
I’ll be there Tuesday afternoon unless someone here or there convinces me to try a different course instead.
See you at the end of the week and I hope to have an awesome disc golf round or two to tell you about when I return!
Upstate Frolfer Contributor Publishes New Book
I’m a little late on this announcement, especially since I’ve already half-finished my copy, but I need to make you all aware of Dr. Paul McGuire’s latest achievement.
Pauly has worked in and around Las Vegas for years and, I can personally attest, has had a profoundly unique experience. He’s a gifted writer and a his life makes one hell of a story.
Two Disc Golf Courses At Armco Park In Ashland, Kentucky
Really the only danger was from the garbage.
You know what’s nice? You know what makes me so happy I dance like Otis at an open bar? I’ve got two really nice frolf courses right near my parents house in Kentucky. One is really really hard. The other is pretty simple. Both have two teepads per hole. Both are at Armco Park.
I played them both on Saturday and thought I’d give ‘em the old write up here.
FIRST THIS OVERVIEW
Armco Park is big and beautiful with STEEP hills and plentiful, and gigantic, Oak trees. It’s physically draining to play this park.
I played on a Saturday and nearly every one of the parks picnic shelters was in use. I did think most of the people I met were unusually friendly and most seemed interested in learning more about disc golf.
There is an unfortunate amount of garbage on the ground. Much of the trash was heaped around the trash cans and strewn around the shelters. I wish the people of Ashland would take more pride in what should be a real destination attraction.
BLUE COURSE
Hole #6 on the Blue Course from the "Long" Tee.
As I said, there are both “long” and “short” tees on each hole. For the Blue Course, I played from the long tees and it was easily the most challenging course I’ve ever played. In fact, I played really really well for the most part…and shot a 69.
I looked on the course review website and found this course rated as a par 70! Usually I play all of every course as a Par 3 if only to keep the scoring simple. This is NOT a par 54 and should not be treated as such.
For one thing, there are several holes longer than 700 feet. Some of the shorter ones (still at least 400 feet) play more like 600 because of the sharp changes in elevation. There are also very different approaches from the two sets of tees as they are not just different in distance but in location.
Hole #4 from the short tee
That picture is the 4th hole from the short tee. Note the pin is placed behind an OB fence leaving a lefty like myself with the option of a long hyzer or a forehand through the forest to the right. The hyzer is risky here because, from the long tee at least, the hole is 800 feet away. I chose that route anyway and saved a 4 here.
When the Ashland Disc Golf Club hosts the annual tournament here (I played last year and will likely do so again this month) the REC division doesn’t play the blue course and instead plays two rounds on the White. There is good reason.
REC-level players can expect to spend two hours on this one. In tournament time, that’s a week and a half.
WHITE COURSE
Hole #1 on the White Course from the short tee.
The ol’ course review website has this one at a Par 58.
It isn’t. It’s a 54 and not a particularly challenging one at that. I birdied 6 holes and was playing this one exhausted after half-jogging the Blue course first.
Most holes are nearly dead straight. There are still some very steep hills and plenty of trees but you can keep your drivers in your bag. I think a guy could EASILY play this with just a midrange and a putter.
I played nearly every hole by teeing off with my dart and had little trouble. If I was comparing this to an Upstate course I’d say it’s most like Timmons. It’s relatively tight and technical but even Timmons offers more of a distance challenge.
This is #13 on the White Course. Doesn't it seem...Timmons-y?
Essentially the idea here is not unlike the concept behind the front…and back 9s at Century Park in Greer.
Just as the front 9 at Greer is easy and open to beginning players, the White course is a great introduction for those just learning the game.
The Blue course, while FAR more difficult than Greer’s back 9, does offer the same idea. If you’re a more experience player and looking for a challenge, I HIGHLY recommend this course.
eltreedr
Otis
Dr. Pauly
