Flying Eye Team Challenge
Or at least that's what
Ryan would have you believe
Negative reinforcement probably should be a better title for this, but you wouldn't want to read it. Hell, you probably don't want to read this, but somehow I keep you enthralled, so stay my pets. Doug called me up one day and told me that he was going to run a team tournament at Sandy Creek park in Athens, Ga., and wanted some suggestions. Since I was at work, I could only talk for like 3 hours, so we discussed some ideas and formats. The only one I really cared about was the ice cream for sale, and of course no ice cream was to be found. Monkeyturd.
So
we have to make a team of four people in the same division to compete
with other four member teams in a battle royal if you would. Rand calls
me up and said "team challenge, Ryan, Steve, Scott, Rand, over."
I thought that no one else would sign up after seeing that team, but said
that it was one hell of a team, and I'd be proud to be a part of it. We
had about 4 different names, but one stuck, the Cobra Kai. For those of
you who don't know, think about The Karate Kid, the dojo that the bullies
came from was the Cobra Kai. Defeat does not exist in this dojo does it?
No sensi!
On Saturday, the format was two rounds of nine holes, best shot doubles, then a round of nine of best score doubles. We lost like everything that day and were in last place going into the last round. Scott and I had our asses handed to us by Jay and Zach who normally play in the advanced division. The third round Rand and I played against Local Ogle who played as odd dog because his partner Whapow was suffering from heat exhaustion. Rand and I won, as well as Scott and Steve in their match. We had like 6 points for the day, and that was good for a solid last place half way through the tournament.
So
we decided to go to downtown Athens on a Saturday night, or if you would,
across the street from the hotel. Steve, Scott, Courtney, Kimberly, The
Fred Funk Experience (I can't remember all of their names), and I went
to a restaurant for a bite to eat and a couple of drinks. Okay, so I had
a couple of drinks before the restaurant too. I forgot to mention that
I was sporting a freshly shaven mohawk which gave me special powers, but
I chose not to use them because it would be unfair to everyone else. I
had a pretty tasty burger which I almost forgot to eat, thanks for reminding
me Kimberly. Rand was more in the resting mode and chose to stay in, meaning
he slept, and I don't blame him, read on for the course review.
Sunday
morning and a few less golfers showed up, some may have died, I'm still
waiting on official reports. Sunday was singles, nine holes of stroke
play, nine holes of match play, and then 19 holes of single overall action.
We won just about everything including the incredible 3 hour + battle
in match play between Steve and Wes M. Yeah, they were the last card in,
and they were done a good hour and twenty minutes after the second to
last card. Whew! Scott and I both got our vengeance out on Zach for what
he and his partner did to us on Saturday, Scott got him for stroke play,
and I got him for match. All he could say was " I love playing with
you guys, not against!" Zach is a good guy, I can't wait until he
steps up in the pro division, he'll do quite well. In the end, Robbie
N. won the singles with a 65, and the rest of us were scattered near the
70 mark. We were able to score enough points in the final round to tie
with the Workers Team Play (Mike J., Robbie N., Al G., and Mike G.). It
was too late for us to play off, so we actually had a tie. So about a
third of the field won the event. Out of the eight that won, for 5 it
was their first PDGA win! Congratulations Steve, Rand, Robbie, Speedy,
and Nabber!
Okay,
the course: It is long! Luckily we had Todd Breiner of Lynx DGS bringing
ice and water to every third hole. It was freekin hot all weekend, but
at no time was there a cooler that wasn't full of ice cold water. Thanks
Todd, you could very well have saved at least one persons life. I have
always love the Gold course at Winthrop university, and I still do, but
I'm not sure that it is my favorite anymore. I have had a few days to
think more about it, and I know for a fact that Sandy Creek is far more
demanding, both physically, and mentally. There isn't a whole lot of O.B.
in Athens, but what little there is, is real. Some of the areas that you
end up in are in bounds, but you wish that it wasn't.
This is no little par 54 course, it was a par 71, for nineteen holes, and it was grueling. You could go out there and bomb 500' drives on some of the long holes, but it would sometimes be more beneficial to drive shorter to set up an easier second or third shot. I found myself having to think of a few shots ahead of what I was currently doing. If you make a mistake, you have to scramble to make a new game plan. Risk and reward was the name of the game here, and it was much more evident than at Winthrop. There are a couple of holes that still need a little work, but mostly it is just a little trimming here and there, nothing too major. I can't wait until this becomes permanent, it is a keeper. Don't get me wrong, Winthrop is still an unbelievable course, miles ahead of traditional rec. courses, but I think that Doug has just taken another step forward. I played in a tournament in which we played some holes that were designed by disc golfers, and they were fine, I guess, but it reinforced my belief that disc golfers should not design courses, they should stick to disc golfing. After playing Doug's course, it reinforced my belief that he shouldn't be playing disc golf, and he should stick to designing courses. Score one for Doug, we have ourselves a gem here.
Thanks for stopping by, I'll see you all in Elberton.
