Volunteer is a four letter word

Us disc golfers are in a very awesome place in the growth of the sport. We are getting more media attention, more sponsors are taking notice, and tournaments are popping up more and more. With growth comes even more scrutiny with how we are perceived. 20 years ago, we were know primarily as a bunch of hippies throwing frisbees and now we are proving that this can be a truly professional game. With the increased visibility, we need to remain responsible with how we handle ourselves. My biggest complaint is lack of volunteers to help with the small stuff. Most of our courses are still in public parks, funded by tax payers and course maintenance still tends to land on the laps of the clubs that call these courses home. If we do not take care of them, we always run the risk of losing these courses. If people are littering the courses with trash, vandalizing signs, benches, baskets, etc. what would stop the county or city from pulling out those baskets and replacing all of that land, (which is generally a lot of it.) with other park amenities that wouldn't cause such issues? The first step we need to take is self policing. Follow the posted rules of the parks. Respect the property. And leave nothing but foot prints. Obviously this is the best case scenario. The next step we need to take would be assisting with fixing these problems. If we all want to enjoy these courses, we need to volunteer some of our time to help the cause. There is nothing more frustrating than knowing there are fellow golfers that simply shrug off this responsibility but are always the first ones to complain about the problems. When you are being called upon by your fellow DG'ers and ignore the call, I lose a lot of respect for you. I know I cannot be there every weekend helping. I am lucky to get out once a week to enjoy a round. I do however take it upon myself to bring along a trash picker and bucket, a broom to sweep pads, and pair of trimmers to do some course maintenance during my casual rounds. If I am pulling out more then one bucket of trash during an 18 hole round, I get ticked. I am pulling 3 and 4 buckets worth out of some of these courses each time I visit. It makes us look bad if that is how we treat the course. For a while I felt empowered and proud because I really thought it would catch on with others. Me and a friend were keeping it quiet and just went out there doing it without broadcasting our efforts. Feedback was always good, but no one is catching the bug. Today I played a course for the 2nd time in about a week and I pulled out 2 buckets today compared to just a half a bucket the week earlier. It is starting to feel like a wasted effort and I am contemplating just throwing in the towel, but as I write this, it reminded me of what the greater picture really is. It makes me feel better knowing that I could give back to the sport that has given me so much. Now if I could only get through to everyone else.

On a side note, today has been one year since my first post here and I think it has made me grow as a person by seeing how my reflections on the game have been. I will continue to be a better person and hopefully a better disc golfer in time.

Unsolicited Advice. Is it just me?

This has always been a pet peeve of mine in more things than just disc golf. Has anyone else experienced this? You're out playing, for fun as it always is, and you come around a guy that seems to become your coach telling you everything you're doing is wrong and tries to correct what you do? "You shouldn't throw that." "You should grip it this way." "You would be better if you did this...." You know what I am saying? Do I think they are trying to be rude? No. Do I feel they really think they are helping?  Yes. Do I think they should keep their "advice" to themselves? Yes.
I have had this debate before and maybe I am off base, but if I didn't ask for your advice, then anything you have to say to "fix" what I am doing is just going to mess with my head. I played a few weeks back with a guy that thought he would give me his 2 cents after every throw and I slowly found myself second guessing what I was doing becauae of his opinions. Very frustrating I must say.
So, let me explain myself a little bit. I do like to play with people that I consider better then myself, and when I do, I ask them questions to pick their brain. They can give me feedback that I can choose to incorporate into my game or decide of it won't work for me. That is totally fine because I asked. You will never, I repeat, never catch me trying to give advice to anyone, man, woman, child, novice, or pro unless they have asked me my opinion on it. I have no beef with someone that is learning the game at their own pace. If I shoot a 48 and they shoot a 75 and they don't ask for advice, I see it as them learning the hard way and that is their choice. So be it. But if that person asks me 50 questions on how I do something, rest assured, I will try to explain it to the best of my ability for their benefit. I just feel like that is the ultimate sign of respect. Don't give unsolicited advice. If you have a different opinion, or if you agree, please leave me a comment. (I am soliciting your feedback)

PDGA finially backed me into a corner

Don't get the title twisted.  I mean no negativity towards our governing body. I am just speaking of how after 26 years of playing, I actually caved in and joined the PDGA. I am number 76148. If I joined after I started, I would probably be number 6000 something and would have some cool bragging rights but it is what it is. When I started at 5, it was just something fun to do inbetween school, baseball, and basketball.  I never thought I would still be playing at 31 years old. Not being a memeber has never prevented me from enjoying the game until now. There is a tournament scheduled in September that I have been preparing for for a month already. Now, tournaments have never been a high priority for me. I have only participated in 3 in my life. But this one happens to be an A tier event and the PDGA rules state that all NT and A tier events can only be attended by current PDGA members. Hence the problem. But I did it. I pulled the proverbial trigger and took the leap and I feel great about it. I am hoping it lights a fire under me and makes me want to play more tournaments. Plus seeing what my rating is would be nice to gauge my skill level verses others. Now that one hurdle has been passed, I can focus on my future with the game. My wish is that it will make me take this a little more serious and get my head into it more. Wish me luck!

Master Your Discs, One At A Time?

Like most chuckers, your typical bag or cart is loaded up with an over abundant supply of plastic to tackle any shot on the course. Maybe even shots you won't see in that round. If I think of it in terms of math, my bag holds 18 discs and par for most courses is 54. If you shoot par, chances are you used your putter perhaps 24 times. That leaves you 30 more shots divided up between the remaining 17. If you are like me, you most likely use around 5-6 drivers per round, and maybe 1-2 mid-ranges to make up the last 30 shots. That leaves me about half of my bag feeling neglected.
This leaves me with a conundrum. Do I tighten my belt to carry just 10 discs, or do I try to diversify my disc selection to get each one into the round? I can't bring myself to do either, sort of. After viewing several videos of tour pros talking about what they carry into battle, I have noticed a common trend. Though they may carry in upwards of 25 discs, several of their selections are duplicates. They will have 8 to 10 drivers in their bags but they are only 3 different molds. Same goes for mid-range discs. 6 discs in 2 different molds. Putters are usually 3 of the same mold, and always one or two recovery discs to get them out of sticky situations.
It makes a lot of sense to narrow down your differant molds to a select few. I have found certain models that fit my style and I'm working on mastering them. That way they can be more interchangeable when they need to be replaced.
Another interesting "tip" I heard from a pro who really likes driving with his putters was, play an entire round with just a putter. It was an off the cuff joke and I laughed it off at first, but realized there is some validity to it. I want to now go out and play an entire round just to see how well I can shoot with just a putter. After that, I think I will try the same thing with one driver and so forth. When you reduce yourself to have one option, you find a way to adapt and figure out how versital that one disc can really be. I think it could help.

The Important Things In Life

Today I am in such a great mood. On a personal level, my daughter had her 6th surgery in 6 months and we are heading in a great direction for her health and peace of mind for Mom and Dad including our family and close friends. I haven't been able to get out to throw some plastic in about 10 days. Is it tough? Yes. But is it worth it? Without a doubt. I would give up my life for my daughter without question.
I miss having my disc golf buddy.  She goes on my disc journeys with a red wagon in tow, screaming for her Pink Disc to carry around for the round (my pink Star Wraith). I miss being able to throw it on our outings and even when she is absent, I make sure not to throw it when there is a possibility of losing it because I couldn't bear seeing her sad in seeing it was missing when we arrive at the first tee.
It took having a child to realize what is truly important in life. I spend my days working to ensure she is happy at all costs. Now when days off come, it turns into Daddy - Daughter adventures. I always try to remember my training. Remember my grip, make sure I am using a fluid motion, and follow through. But in the back of my mind, she always reigns as a first priority.
She is only two and can have the attention span of, well, a two year old. There has been moments of driving 30 minutes to a course and before we get to the 1st tee, having to retreat back to the car and go back home because she isn't in the mood. Then, there will be days where she will spend 20 minutes romping around in the woods helping me look for a ill-thrown drive. She runs the household and I wouldn't have it any other way.
For as long as I have been playing this great game, I always strive to be the best I can be. Always think about strategy and try to have as much fun as I can have. Now when my partner is in tow, I spend more time making sure she is having fun, or in the shade, and enjoying herself. I can honestly say I sacrifice 1-3 strokes a round, just by being preoccupied. I have had to take a break in several rounds because the lure of a playground in sight pulls her away. So be it. Her smile is worth it. So the next time you see someone with young ones in tow, give em a thumbs up or a positive word because they may not be at the most competitive level with them, but they are introducing the next generation to the sport, and they have their priorities in check. They may have the next Val Jenkins, Paige Pierce, Paul McBeth, or Ken Climo. Here is to all the parents that put their children above their own priorities.

Baggers vs. Carts

With the progression of our sport comes the ingenuity of players to identify a problem and find a solution, usually before a money making company figures it out. Years ago I thought we were so far ahead of the game when someone converted a golf ball retriever pole to a disc grabbing pole. The days of finding a long enough tree limb and ripping it down for one time use was out the window. Just like carrying your bulky bag on your shoulder turned into larger bags that were ergonomically correct to reduce fatigue. Now carrying a bag on your back for the common weekend warrior is as outdated as having your messenger bag filled with your DX plasitic arsenal along with your hackysac. You have all seen them, players pushing around their souped up baby strollers with every amenity you could think of to use during a 2 hour round. 20+ discs at your disposal, cooler with "drink" of choice, speakers attached to jam out to their tunes, bag of throwers chalk, plenty of towels, disc retrieval poles in tow, seat for down time, and even a GoPro camera attached to review and post their "wicked" round on YouTube later that day. I can't help but feel like that is just an albatross to have toting around in the woods for that long. As much as I can appreciate having every need at an arms length away, we are that much closer to requiring golf carts for a standard casual round. Even when I play ball golf I do not require some of the extensive gear these guys are carrying. But, knowing how the evolution of disc golf is, I am hip enough to see the area of opportunity. Even ball golfers got to a point where they realized they needed a caddy to tote around everything they need to play a round.
Sooooooo......will we see a higher influx of "baggers" converting to a "pimped out" stroller? Yes. Will there be a disc manufacturing company capitalizing on making a disc golf cart? Yes. Will I still be stubborn and carry my stuff on my back? For the time being yes, but because the pace of play has moved to a snails pace, eventually my back will require me to re-think it. It saddens me to say all this, but I ask you to disprove me. I am not blind to it.

Courses...They Are A Changin'

Par 54. Pretty standard in our sport.  The majority of existing courses are all par 3 and can be fairly interchangeable. It is hard to deny the joy I get from playing a new course but there can be a lack of variety.
If you have been following the pro tour of today, Open players combined with the technological advances in discs have made scores in the -15 range per round pretty average. These guys can drive it within the putting circle, slam the chains with their putt and make these holes look like childs play.  As in ball golf, the concept of "Tiger-proofing" disc golf courses are becoming natural. I am all for this.
I am lucky enough to live near Cypress Point Park in Tampa.  It is a par 66 course designed by "The Champ" Ken Climo. We have had this course for about a year now and slowly the additions have been making it a must play for anyone that come close to the area. All new signs have been installed, nice concrete tee pads, and paths that are finially getting "beat in" make it very easy for anyone to play it solo without getting lost. It is a great change of pace showing up and you have 8 par 3's, 8 par 4's, and 2 par 5's. If you just looked at the scorecard it could be a bit intimidating, but once you play it, you realize it isn't too difficult for even novice players to play it. There is only one water hole to play. It is a true test for your skill and your arsenal of plastic. You actually have to throw mid-range discs for up shots.
I truly hope this is the direction we will see with new courses being installed. With most courses being installed in public parks that share land with other park amenities along with many politicians uneducated in the sport, we have to take what little land we can get and just smile. What it will take is enough DGer's taking care of their courses and contributing to keep them clean and safe, along with growing the popularity of the sport. If there is enough of a demand from the tax payers for them, they will have enough pressure to install them. So, when your out playing, take time to pick up some trash. When the bewildered park users see us playing, take the time to promote the game and explain what we are doing. These are the steps we can take to get better opportunities for better courses.