For those interested, I'll try and post and keep you all updated on my trip.
I fly out at 6am from BN Airport and eventually arrive in Charlotte a little after 11am. I'm hoping to be able to get a good practice round in as well as some putting. I'll probably mostly throw multiple drives and upshots. From watching DVD's and studying the caddy book, I have a good idea on how I'd like to attack most of the holes. We'll see how all that changes from actually getting to play the course! Bring on that yellow and red rope!
Real quick I'd like to send out a few thank you's-
-My Dad for support and for helping with $ on the trip
-Brett for doing the Illinois Open and giving me a chance to qualify
-Terry Miller/Lifetime Disc Sports (Helped me out big time)
-Scott Pitner/Paper or Plastic Sports (Just hooked it up with some SWEET shirts!)
-IOS Crew for running so many dang tournaments. It is where I learned to play tournament disc golf. Wouldn't be where I'm at without that Brakel/Discontinuum crew!
-Dave K for throwing me some much needed cash for the trip.
-Tom McManus for the birdie bag at Rockford.
-All the people who got in on the 50-50 CTP at Rockford. Helped knock the entry fee down.
-Thanks to everyone who has wished me luck!
I'm sure I forgot a bunch of people, but I could probably go on for a while thanking people.
It looks like hot round from the Monday Qualifying was a 61 from the little man Brad Hammock.
Thanks for reading, hopefully it will provide some insight on the whole USDGC experience.
Awesome! Always up for a good read.
Good luck and there'll be sum $ from the 50/50 ctp on Oct 4th @ springfield for u when u get back
Good luck Dana! You are the home team and Fox Valley Metro Disc Golf Club is pulling for you. Kick some major butt. But most of all enjoy yourself! That should be pretty easy considering the atmosphere. Have fun!
FVMDGC
Flying out of Bloomington is a breeze. Stayed at Jeremy Orr's apt last night- thanks, Jeremy. Glad my car didn't get towed!
Thanks Ziggy and Sr!
Shootem up Dana! Play safe, play smart, & keep it in the fairway. I wish I was going to experience that feeling you are going to get right before you tee off on hole #1.
Something that big always gives you some major butterflies. I definately remember it from my days in Track and Field. You will do just fine. Breathe and remember to have fun! Enjoy the company and learn as much as you can from those top pros you'll be shooting with.
Buena Suerte!
Have fun, Dana :) I'm glad the shirts turned out ok. If you saw the note in there - don't feel like you have to wear them - especially if they looked bad (I guess they didn't), or if they felt scratchy, hindered your game, anything like that. Sorry that I couldn't get something embroidered in time!
Have fun dude, tear it up!
O0
good luck, beat climo!!!
Quote from: CEValkyrie on September 30, 2008, 07:11:31 AM
Shootem up Dana! Play safe, play smart, & keep it in the fairway. I wish I was going to experience that feeling you are going to get right before you tee off on hole #1.
so true about hole 1 as i just played there this weekend in the Doubles and the courses there are awesome it was fun and very challenging keeping it in bounds at Winthrop i think we took 2 ob strokes so good luck to all the players from ILL and WIS and lost 2 in the lake 1 on hole 5 and 1 on hole 6 the one on 5 was real close to getting us there in 3 but ended up upside down floating 10 feet of shore and ended up floating all the way to 18s pin and got fished out and i got it back fyi hole 18s pin is like 1500 ft from 5 pins where it went in the lake lol
Play well and have fun!
Best of luck, Dana.
I remember reading something on the PDGA board of how someone would play the course. If you have time, take a look and read it (whenever the site is back up...hasn't been working for me). If you have a forehand it doesn't sound like too bad of a course to get a great score on. ;D
Look forward to reading your adventures.
Ok. Slept in a little bit today. I'm up and about to eat breakfast and head down to the course. Practiced the course yesterday when I got into town. Lost a few discs already! Whoops. Player banquet last night was awesome. Player packs are a huk hoodie, usdgc personalized tshirt, personalized caddy bib, a cooler, usdgc boss and maybe a few other things i cant remember.
Well, its time to get moving.
Hope you all have a nice Wed, I know I'm going to.
Hole 7 on get really hard. 888 sets up nice for my lefty hyzer. I can play two lefty shots and be set up to throw across the parking lot for the 4-5. The holes before that are freaking hard. 18 is tightened up BIG TIME. Way tighter than what it was previous years.
Dana's looking reasonably solid, one birdie (hole 4) and one double bogey (hole 5) through 6.
+2 through 12, not bad at all.....
pretty solid so far!
not when Nikko shot -8, but hang in there Dana, lots of golf still to come. You can get them back, stay focused.
middle of the pack.....
obviously not at good as an 8 under but those dudes are not human, I swear....
3 others came in with an 8 down too...
Quote from: pdga#7648 on October 01, 2008, 02:08:10 PM
not when Nikko shot -8, but hang in there Dana, lots of golf still to come. You can get them back, stay focused.
It matters not what Nikko shot. Dana's plus 6 is in the mix!
Plus he shot 10 points over his rating. That was a good round.
Quote from: Jon Brakel on October 01, 2008, 02:15:00 PM
Quote from: pdga#7648 on October 01, 2008, 02:08:10 PM
not when Nikko shot -8, but hang in there Dana, lots of golf still to come. You can get them back, stay focused.
It matters not what Nikko shot. Dana's plus 2 is solid too!
indeed.... ended up with +6 for the day, not bad. He shot above his rating.... nice job bro... keep it up!
Quote from: Jon Brakel on October 01, 2008, 02:15:00 PM
Quote from: pdga#7648 on October 01, 2008, 02:08:10 PM
not when Nikko shot -8, but hang in there Dana, lots of golf still to come. You can get them back, stay focused.
It matters not what Nikko shot. Dana's plus 6 is in the mix!
Burma Shave.
(and please don't set that to music.... 8) )
Well, round 1 in the books.
1 I missed a put from just outside the circle. Man, I was shaky.
2 Threw a great drive but it landed next to the one small bush/tree. A good flick had me up with a low percentage putt for 3. Dropped in my 4
3 I threw a putter off the tee and put a little too much juice into it and it turned late and dropped in the woods. Again, another low percentage putt and drop in for par.
4 threw a good drive, went a little deep to be able to spike or thumb over. I threw my putter across and left myself with a long putt which I nailed.
5. I crushed a lefty drive and then my 2nd shot found the water. I had to then take the long way and ended up with a 6.
6 I was just short of the sand and missed my bird putt. Jbird aced hole 6!
7 Parked with a spike hyzer for birdie
8 Threw a bad drive. They really tightened up this hole. I was in an ok spot for a flick upshot but I spaced and my hand nailed a leafy bush branch. Disc went like 50 ft. Then I flicked again and made my putt for par.
9 I got unlucky off the tee. my disc was ob by less than an inch. totally an unforced error. I then parked my next shot and dropped in for par.
So I played the front 9 even par. Pretty happy about that.
back 9
10 played a putter off the tee and then threw an xcalibur in the circle. putt was just a little left on the elevated basket and didnt drop.
11 I went lefty lefty. Got 1 of my big breaks off the tee. had a drop in for par.
12 bad drive. second shot that was meant to be safe was ob. next upshot with the putter ended up an inch ob.
13 decided to go up the gut and my first drive was good, but caught some leaves and barely dropped ob. next one was almost the same shot but just missed the trees. ended up with a bogey 6
14 took a boring 3
15 had an ok drive that ended just short. played a tough skip shot up that ended right. cut flick roller got me into the circle and i made a nice straddle put for par.
16 had a good drive up the gut, did not go out around anhyzer or lefty route. again, I had a 55 foot putt and put a good run but it just came up short for the par.
17 I went flick. first drive (yes first!) looked good hit the back side of the green and skipped and kinda rolled in. spotter initially held up green! ugh! next flick made the bail out area and I missed the 55 footer for par. (thanks bunCR)
18 like a fool, instead of sticking to the gameplan and going lefty off the tee, I tried going with a big flex shot. went ob (oldman and mom were spotting). i went ob in a bad spot. went flick anhyzer that felt great but ended up ob again. scary upshot rolled away and I then nailed a 25 uphill putt to finish 74
Tomorrow will be MUCH better. Hopefully 5+ strokes better!
How was the atmosphere?
Crowds?
Transitions from hole to hole.
The wait?
Anything noticable that gave u an idea to spruce up, say the peoria open or any other illinois tournaments that are within our abilities?
Keep playing those shots in your head and work your game.
Here's to the grounds keeping your discs inbound tmw!
Alot of golf left Dana. Just relax and have fun. Stay loose. Shooting over your rating is good. Stay positive!
way to keep it together. Hang in there and play your game, you will be just fine.
We are all pullin hard for ya, keep it up.
And heck yea, anything over his rating is fantastic.
A 986 rated round for Dana (+7). He is +13 after 2 Rnds.
Damn those Dots are cool as shiat. they show where the lead cards throws are at. Very cool stuff!
yeah the dots are really cool too.....
wicked stuff.
Looks like Nathan Doss tied the course record with a second round 55 (-13).
Played a poor front today and a much better back. Still went 7,6 on 12 and 13. Putting is not all that great and the front saw me making way too many errors. Good news is that I feel like I now know the course. Highlight of the day was taking a birdie 3 on 18. Went lefty off the tee and then went big sweeping righty hyzer over the ob area and then made my 15 footer!
You have few photos posted on the site:
http://www.usdgc.com/photos/album/72157607632536456/weds-round-1.html?page=3
I think there's a picture of your 55' putt on this page
http://www.usdgc.com/photos/album/72157607670185615/thurs-round-2.html
There's another one on here.
Quote from: danav on October 02, 2008, 06:28:08 PM
Played a poor front today and a much better back. Still went 7,6 on 12 and 13. Putting is not all that great and the front saw me making way too many errors. Good news is that I feel like I now know the course. Highlight of the day was taking a birdie 3 on 18. Went lefty off the tee and then went big sweeping righty hyzer over the ob area and then made my 15 footer!
Have fun, relax, and enjoy yourself. You are capable of making some big shots. A birdie 3 on 18 is sweet.
man, trying to watch the lead card and its keeps refreshing on me every 20 seconds.... >:D
Thanks for representing Dana! Hope you had fun. Fox Valley Metro is proud of you. Your a class act.
Well I checked out of my hotel on thurs and stayed at a buddies place so I wasnt near a computer. Sorry for not updating! I just got home now. Went and checked out the BN Open, congrats on the W, Rob! Brett and Scott put on a great event.
Tomororw I will post more on my trip. Im beat and need to relax.
What a week!
A week of disc golf and the USDGC sure beats working. Today is dragging by. The whole experience is just wild. They treat you real good down there in Rock Hill. The player banquet to start the week was awesome. Playing Winthrop Gold for three rounds was great. I'm pretty disapointed about missing the cut. I definately didn't expect that to happen.
(Round 3)
I played with 3 masters guys and it wasn't all that exciting. I think I was 20 years younger than everyone on my card.
1- I hit a tree early and had to lay up for the 3.
2- I had my 3rd great drive on that hole and for the second round in a row had bad luck on the 2nd shot. I somehow squeeked over the fence on the right for another OB stroke! My goal was to stay away from the left side ob and play into the fence. That backfired.
3- Instead of going safe putter (which netted me a 4 2nd round!) I went with a Roc and left it right and short. I hit the straddle put for the bird!
4- I had a bad drive and had to pitch a putter up to the prefered landing zone. I then threw my putter across and had a long look at a par save and ended up taking a bogey 5. I played that hole 3-4-5 over 3 rounds...Really not too bad.
5- I had my best drive of the 3 this round. Crushed on a pro wraith lefty and again I had a bad 2nd drive. I thought I could clear the water even with the bad drive. I wasnt about to go around like I had the previous rounds. I didnt make it over and so I moved up 70 ft and tried again, this time I made it and put it in the circle. Missed the 23 footer. Drop in 7.
6- I had a bad drive and was lucky to not go ob. Had a long JP and settled for the 3.
7- With the video cameras rolling, I went spike hyzer and nailed the top of the basket. It was awesome, until I hit the band on my 25 footer.
8- Great drive off the tee. I tried going big forehand for a birdie look and threw it into the ground. Whoops. Went forehand again and then made my 30 footer for the par save
9- Tried to play my roc to the landing zone and just didnt throw it and went ob. So throwing 3 I threw my putter. Throwing 4 I saw off my upshot and go ob. Next shot is a good one and leaves me with a 30ish putt on an elevated basket. I miss. Take an 8 to shoot +7 on the front.
10- I play putter off the tee to the landing zone and then go hyzer at the basket. Ended a little short and missed the big birdie putt for a par 4. I think I played this one 4-3-4. Not too bad.
11- Instead of going lefty off the tee I went bigger righty hyzer over the bushes on the right. Next shot, going for the green I rip a wraith a little low and end up in bounds. Toss my putter up to the basket for a par 4. I went 4-4-4 on this one. Definately need a roller for the 2nd shot on this one. Makes the hole WAY much easier to par or bird.
12- I came into this hole determined to not take another 7. Good drive, ok up shot and then a great putter shot to the basket had me 14 feet downhill of the basket putting for birdie! Again, I clank the band. Unreal. I did take a 5 though, so I was happy about that.
13 aka 888- I went lefty safe off the tee and hyzered it too much and just missed skipping off the path! Go lefty again and lefty with the upshot and then hyzer over the parking lot and have a look at a jump putt to save par. Miss it and end up with another 6. On 888 I went 6-6-6. Again, pretty respectable.
14- Decent drive leaves me with a jump put. I put a great run on it and end up with another par.
15- Short my drive so I have to play a big hyzer skip shot to get a look at the basket. I play it perfectly and it hits the mulch path and hardly skips. That really surprised me. End up with a par 4.
16 bad drive and lucky upshot leave me with another 3. I played it up the gut and not the anhyzer route.
17 Another good flick off the tee leaves me just outside the circle for an attempt at 2. Miss the put, again.
18 Play lefty off the tee and then safe putter up another 120 ft. I try to hyzer my putter into the basket and left it a little short. Decided against the low percentage downhill hyzer putt and tossed my putter upsidedown and it slid to the basket for the drop in bogey 5.
Played the back at +2 for the 2nd round in a row. Not too bad.
Taking a double circle 8 on hole 9 just killed me. Especially since we initially counted it as a 7 and then someone realized it was an 8. I felt even worse, I lost track and the card counted 7. I was pretty flustered at this point, realizing that I will probably be missing the cut.
Just like round 2, I played the back 9 pretty well. I just gave up a stupid amount of strokes on the front again. You really, really need to score on the front.
QuoteAnd heck yea, anything over his rating is fantastic.
With all due respect, my rating is at its lowest its been in over a year. Playing my rating or just over my rating is generally bad disc golf (for me). Especially now since it is back down in the 960s.
Quote from: dana on October 06, 2008, 01:59:33 PM
QuoteAnd heck yea, anything over his rating is fantastic.
With all due respect, my rating is at its lowest its been in over a year. Playing my rating or just over my rating is generally bad disc golf (for me). Especially now since it is back down in the 960s.
Also with all due respect... can't wait till the day I can type a similar message :) At least you had a good experience down there & got to take it all in. Congrats on making the event!