Golfer's Karma
I'm just getting back to work after a fantastic weekend and wow is it impossible for me to focus. I keep thinking of the many disc golf games we played...
Saturday was perfect. Low to moderate winds, temp peaked in high 70's, so it was a bright and comfortably warm day just suited for discin'. Marc took Kirk and I to try out a few new courses (new to us) in the Woodlands. First 18 hole course I've ever played. Its very creatively interspersed with the other sport fields in a recreational park - starting between soccer fields and football fields, then wrapping around the whole complex. What made this course very interesting is its extreme use of heavily wooded areas to provide narrow fairways and creative traps to plan around. Lots of thick brush that created horrible traps to fall into as well. Despite how radically different and difficult this course is from our usual spots, the three of us did amazingly well scoring right at our respective averages - mark 3 over par for a 9 hole course, me 3 to 4 over, and Kirk 4.
On the third hole, we had a small puddle to hop. Small I say, and yet I managed to sink my mid range right into the middle of it. My Cobra, sigh, returned to its watery home. The pond was too murky to see into and there were no handy branches long enough to dig around where we saw it dip under, so we had to let it lie. We gave it a fair eulogy, spoke a few words of its passing as it served me well in its short time in my company, then moved on to the next hole. About 3 holes later, just after we had enough privacy to talk to Doug, another golfer asked for help finding a disc he chucked deep into the trees and couldn't find. I spotted it, returned it to him, and he gave me a gift disc in gratitude! Lose one and gain another! Life is good! A fantastic time was had by all at that beautiful 18 hole course.
After a short snack break, we drove to a nearby 9 hole course in order to experience all the courses in that part of the world - gotta take opportunities when you can! Terramont Park was definitely worth the visit. The center piece of this park is a large sprawling hill that the dis golf course incoporates for an alternating high/low elevation challenge. Challenge for me, in any case, as I've only played on Texas flatlands till now. The first hole started atop the hill, throwing off the hill to the basket far below. Second hole turned us around to shoot back to the top. The course roughly kept this alternating pattern so in addition to the gorgeous aesthetics, it kept pushing me to think of the game very differently having to throw a good way up- or down-hill.
On my very first toss for this park I decided to try out my newly gifted driver. The Orc, its called, and it behaves just as well as the name suggests - unruly. I throw, and it tries to escape me by lodging itself in a tree about 20 ft up. Fifteen minutes of throwing water bottles later, we've succeeded it loosening it, and Kirk kicks the tree hard enough to shake it free. Reunited, I put it back in the bag for safer shots ;) Mark had earlier told me how he lost a disc out at another course, wanted to try out a Leopard as a replacement, and halfway through our game stopped atop of a lost disc. Picks it up, asks if either of us lost a leopard, looks on the bottom to discover there's no name or number written on it, and scores himself the very replacement he was seeking! Fate I tell you, they were meant to be. Kirk and I had walked over the very same spot and didn't see it. That leopard sought Marc out. On the 8th hole I had an amazing back hand shot that was beautiful to watch as it gently turned, stretched out long, then faded at the end. Just wish I'd ended up parring the hole instead of bogeying, heh. It was a great day on the courses!
Sunday morning, Jamie was too sick to get out of bed for long, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and do a little follow-up game to round off the weekend. Marc met me out at our home course, and we proceeded to compete more with the wind than ourselves. Steady 20 mph winds makes for a very, interesting, disc golf game. Besides Marc putting a disc in the street and numerous other bizarre shots where the discs should NOT have gone where they did, I had to contend with the Orc trying to escape me once again. On hole 7, we faced southbound into the wind, with the White Oak Bayou off far to our right. Ample room on this hole, never a problem with it before, but this time the Orc decided to veer off right, slam to the ground on its edge and roll forever with the furious frenzy of freedom. Bounce, roll, bounce, roll, skip over the bike path, roll, bounce in the air, and disappear into the bayou. wow. Luckily I didn't have to go swimming, as the disc got stuck in a crack between pavement sections right near the water edge at the bottom. Yoink! I think I'm gonna let him cool off for a few days in the dark of the disc bag where he likes before I bring him out again. Looks like I need to show him who's master so he stops trying to run off!
Saturday was perfect. Low to moderate winds, temp peaked in high 70's, so it was a bright and comfortably warm day just suited for discin'. Marc took Kirk and I to try out a few new courses (new to us) in the Woodlands. First 18 hole course I've ever played. Its very creatively interspersed with the other sport fields in a recreational park - starting between soccer fields and football fields, then wrapping around the whole complex. What made this course very interesting is its extreme use of heavily wooded areas to provide narrow fairways and creative traps to plan around. Lots of thick brush that created horrible traps to fall into as well. Despite how radically different and difficult this course is from our usual spots, the three of us did amazingly well scoring right at our respective averages - mark 3 over par for a 9 hole course, me 3 to 4 over, and Kirk 4.
On the third hole, we had a small puddle to hop. Small I say, and yet I managed to sink my mid range right into the middle of it. My Cobra, sigh, returned to its watery home. The pond was too murky to see into and there were no handy branches long enough to dig around where we saw it dip under, so we had to let it lie. We gave it a fair eulogy, spoke a few words of its passing as it served me well in its short time in my company, then moved on to the next hole. About 3 holes later, just after we had enough privacy to talk to Doug, another golfer asked for help finding a disc he chucked deep into the trees and couldn't find. I spotted it, returned it to him, and he gave me a gift disc in gratitude! Lose one and gain another! Life is good! A fantastic time was had by all at that beautiful 18 hole course.
After a short snack break, we drove to a nearby 9 hole course in order to experience all the courses in that part of the world - gotta take opportunities when you can! Terramont Park was definitely worth the visit. The center piece of this park is a large sprawling hill that the dis golf course incoporates for an alternating high/low elevation challenge. Challenge for me, in any case, as I've only played on Texas flatlands till now. The first hole started atop the hill, throwing off the hill to the basket far below. Second hole turned us around to shoot back to the top. The course roughly kept this alternating pattern so in addition to the gorgeous aesthetics, it kept pushing me to think of the game very differently having to throw a good way up- or down-hill.
On my very first toss for this park I decided to try out my newly gifted driver. The Orc, its called, and it behaves just as well as the name suggests - unruly. I throw, and it tries to escape me by lodging itself in a tree about 20 ft up. Fifteen minutes of throwing water bottles later, we've succeeded it loosening it, and Kirk kicks the tree hard enough to shake it free. Reunited, I put it back in the bag for safer shots ;) Mark had earlier told me how he lost a disc out at another course, wanted to try out a Leopard as a replacement, and halfway through our game stopped atop of a lost disc. Picks it up, asks if either of us lost a leopard, looks on the bottom to discover there's no name or number written on it, and scores himself the very replacement he was seeking! Fate I tell you, they were meant to be. Kirk and I had walked over the very same spot and didn't see it. That leopard sought Marc out. On the 8th hole I had an amazing back hand shot that was beautiful to watch as it gently turned, stretched out long, then faded at the end. Just wish I'd ended up parring the hole instead of bogeying, heh. It was a great day on the courses!
Sunday morning, Jamie was too sick to get out of bed for long, so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and do a little follow-up game to round off the weekend. Marc met me out at our home course, and we proceeded to compete more with the wind than ourselves. Steady 20 mph winds makes for a very, interesting, disc golf game. Besides Marc putting a disc in the street and numerous other bizarre shots where the discs should NOT have gone where they did, I had to contend with the Orc trying to escape me once again. On hole 7, we faced southbound into the wind, with the White Oak Bayou off far to our right. Ample room on this hole, never a problem with it before, but this time the Orc decided to veer off right, slam to the ground on its edge and roll forever with the furious frenzy of freedom. Bounce, roll, bounce, roll, skip over the bike path, roll, bounce in the air, and disappear into the bayou. wow. Luckily I didn't have to go swimming, as the disc got stuck in a crack between pavement sections right near the water edge at the bottom. Yoink! I think I'm gonna let him cool off for a few days in the dark of the disc bag where he likes before I bring him out again. Looks like I need to show him who's master so he stops trying to run off!