Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The longest streak of my life

Well, recently I have been on what you might call a streak of disc golfing; from the second half of the last week of school through finals week 'til Monday this week I played every day (even a little driving range action a night). Through this marathon of discing, I have really imporved my game and have begun to truly enjoy playing. As my streak was drawing near a close, however, I was hit with an enemy I had never faced before: Humidity (I had to write this one Diggs).

Though our most prevalent poster chooses to igneore its power, I have found a new respect for the level of moisture in the air; it really saps your enegry. I was playing the best disc of my life and imporving every time until that summer humidity hit. Suddenly, my distance, accuracy, and overall enjoyment went down. Wherre I was begining to feel only invigorated after 18, I was again dead at the end of a round at Acorn. I'm certain, however, that, with a few weeks of getting used to the added air density, I will again be on the road to improvement.

and Diggs, its decent not descent :)

Saturday, May 27, 2006

The Mark of Kaposia


Well, finals week has come and gone, leaving little time to enjoy the Cities for the bountiful selection in courses before the semester came to a close. Unfortunately, this means that the King and I will become relegated to the comparitively barren discing experience that is western Iowa. URB will stick around here, hopefully keeping us abreast of the situation 'round the Cities. His recent post (along with his much improved long game) has given me renewed hope for his continued participation in the blog.

However, before going silently into that good night, the King and I took the trip to Kaposia to whet our appetite until we can hit up another descent course (and no, the LeMars municipal park course does not qualify as a descent course... that is putting practice). Kaposia is widely regarded as the premiere course of Minnesota and for good reason. Though the short tees detracted from my masochistic enjoyment of the course, the round was in the end a very positive experience.

The round was a descent representation, each of us performing solidly. But the round was boosted to the next level of nirvana by the addition of a random stranger who was going the round solo. The stranger, Mark, was a recent graduate of the U and was just enjoying the deliciousness that is DG. Mark is just one of those guys that, though not incredibly memorable for any one thing, stands out as a person you just get a good vibe from.

Fortunately for us, Mark often frequents the Acorn, increasing the likelihood of another chance encounter.

The moral of the story: I like hippies

Slap-fives all around,
~Diggs

Monday, May 22, 2006

... For Our Homie Gone Up the River...


In recent developments, a mutual friend of ours has become half of a new life created this weekend through the bond of marriage. It was quite a festive event, suffering only one casualty. The grandmother of the bride biffed it down the stairs, fracturing her wrist. And though this occured seconds from the beginning of the processional, the recovery was a fluid adjustment from the previously scheduled program and the rest went off without a hitch.

Honestly, I think I was more nervous than the groom was. Not that my nervousness was due to any concern, but by virtue of the fact that it was a wedding of a very dear friend with myself serving in a formal capacity on his behalf, I had a few butterflies running around.

The only other thing I will mention in connection with the actual ceremony is that 80's porn music makes a great soundtrack to driving off with your new wife.

And so, in honor of this momentous occasion, I dedicate my next round to you, Wade.

May your new life be filled with blessings in abundance.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

After Doug's constant nagging

Well here it is.... I have decided to post again.

Today, the saturday before finals week, I decided to play a round of disc golf with my neighbor and good friend Jon. We went to acorn park and played the 18 holes in one and a half hours this morning. I am decently happy with my imporvement and have begun to really love my sidewinder. Some on my shots of note include:
1. my best drive ever on hole 4
2. my disc actually turned over on several holes but most noticeably on hole 12 where I shot over the around the trees Doug always hits due to a beautiful turn :)
3. another great turnover on 17

Jon had also shown noticeable imporovement and is already driving consistently near my shots (not that I am great at the drive)

Later today we went across the street to the baseball field and practiced driving for over a hour. Also, Jon recently bought his first dsic (horray!). He bought an Archangel which I thought might be a bad choice due to past friends' difficulties but he has really played well with it. He is already contemplating buying his next few discs and has spent some time on innova.com. Its exciting to see him really enjoy this sport and I hope he continues to be excited about it (Playing today was his idea).

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Drop the Bomb


...So yesterday, Wes gives me a jingle and we head out.

Unfortunately, my beautiful blue beast was MIA, and I have no idea where she went. I'm so upset, I refer to it in aliterations. So I poured one out for my missing homie and moved on.

We ended up shotgunning it to hole 2 to avoid a massive group. It seems that because its disc golf, some people feel its acceptable to play in 8-somes. Come on, guys! Just suck it up and split into two groups. After a brief chat with P. Berg, we continued to play. We proceeded to play through a group of roving cold lampers. I think their rule of play included consuming a beer every hole. They were annoying, but at least they marveled at my throws, and I am egotistical enough to tolerate them for their oogling.

But let me say, yesterday was the day to oogle my throws. I don't know what exactly I changed, but I have adopted a bit of a looser approach, resulting in a significant increase in power. I was extremely pleased. The only downside is the marked reduction in accuracy, but that will come as soon as I become accustomed to the throw. Ah! Its always nice to explore new territory on the fairway!

Dance by yourself and think of me when you do

~Diggs

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

...With a Head Lowered in Shame...


I have been preparing myself for what I have considered the culmination of my disc golf experiences. And like Nicholas Cage in The Weatherman, have just received a Big Gulp to the face.

I, along with the irreprovable Mid Range King himself, have long planned on participating in disc golf tournaments. And while we have not participated in a tourney every week, as the wet dream I had this fall prophesied, the one event I could bank on was the Acorn Open, one of the more prominent tourneys in the area.

That tournament is slated to take place on May 12th, rain or shine. And where will I be on this day of days but four hours away. As an RA, my staff takes a retreat once a semester. This semester, we did not get on the ball with the whole planning thing, neglecting our retreat 'til Midterms. By that time, the only weekend that could work for all of us is none other than the weekend of May 12th. The other weekends were taken up by events mandatory to myself or my fellow staff members. And since the Open is not of the necessary variety, I conceded like Al Gore in 2000... bitter that on the verge of victory, the electoral college reigns supreme.

Alas, my heart cries out! I feel like Kelly Kapowski on the Prom episode of Saved by the Bell. Though of course, there is no one to be my Zach Morris to take me to the pseudo-prom (if you don't know what I'm talking about, get in the know and watch some more Bell!).

Unfortunately, Pappy will not be able to represent the SC Boys either. Duty calls to all. Perhaps I can believe in Kantian ethics for the weekend and feel I'm doing something moral.

Oh well. More tourneys will be and I will be there.

Dance by yourself and think of me when you do,
~Diggs

Monday, May 08, 2006

Let's face it, Kyle. You suck at disc golf

Pappy and I went on Sunday. As expected from a gorgeous day, the park was packed with the ever-expanding contingency of disc golfers. Illegal parking was at an all-time high as far as my experience with the place goes, though I found a great spot in an actual parking spot (not something so easily come by for others).

The waters are finally receding to normal levels from the massive influx it receives from the Spring melt. This is a good thing. The pond on hole 1 has lost approximately 1/5 of its prior surface area. A comparable amount has been lifted from the hazard on 8 & 9. And one can actually traverse hole 10 without scolding yourself for forgetting the goloshes again. The result is a much more enjoyable (= dryer) game. This is not to say that the receding waters is an indication of a lack of watery depths in which to lose your disc. If you have a bad throw, you're still going to be fishing.

Which brings me to Kyle...

We had the dubious honor of golfing behind some high school upper classmen. A couple of them had some potential and could develop a fairly solid game with some work... and then there was Kyle. I feared Kyle would go through discs faster than pre-Jenny Craig John Popper through a T-bone steak. I saw him ditch "uh... the yellow one" into the bain of Wesley's existence (pond off hole 9). This in and of itself is not necessarily a horrible thing, but when that was the best shot I saw Kyle make all day.

Kyle had a marked disconnect between the concepts of disc golfing and the appropriate use of horizontal and vertical. Most people when they start off will generally have a similar problem. They try to throw a golf disc as they would an ultimate disc, resulting in what I like to refer to as the "rainbow effect". This rainbow effect is something a vast majority of people need to work through and is not abnormal.

... and then there was Kyle. I think Kyle's stratagy on throwing his disc was to launch his unwilling disc into the stratosphere and hope that the upper atmosphere currents would drag the disc to an area somewhere around where the basket was located. Seriously, I've seen hammer throws fly lower than Kyle's backhand toss. Doing a physics calculation, I was able to determine that his throws traveled around three times as far in a vertical vector as they did in a horizontal vector. Its not that Kyle was incapable of having good throws. I just think he liked throwing the disc as high as he possibly could.

And its not like these were Kyle's serious throws. If they were his serious throws, I'd be less critical and more supportive. You know, like a tee-ball coach. But he was just screwing about. He'd just grip it and rip it... into the clouds.

I bring Kyle up for a reason... and its not just to make fun of him. While Kyle was busy trying to make his discs satalites of earth, he was also unconscious of the fact that a number of times, he almost shanked his random throws into the skulls of his compatriots. This is unsafe. As both Beilby and Tim VW can testify, getting hit with even a slow, approach shot can ruin a day. I have no doubt that a concussion (or something more serious) could result from his goofing around.


Pony up, Cupcake

~Diggs

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Wes "the Ironman" Myers


I'd just like to chime in here and remark on something that is actually remarkable. As some of you may know, last week was a time of misfortune for nice weather lovers (of which I consider myself a strong proponent). It rained for approximately a week straight up here. For me, this could not have happened at more of an inopportune time as I had just had a solid series of rounds that rival anything I have done on the disc golf course.

This is of little consequence, however. The only result is that my game suffers and posts on the website dwindle to a standstill for a time. The consequential bit came on Sunday when I received a call from Wes (aka URBWes from the popular website scdga.blogspot.com). Wes, in general does not play many rounds during weekdays as his intense focus on the musical side of life prevents him from having the opportunity to do so. Therefore, he usually plays a couple rounds on the weekends with various parties.

Anyways, I get this call from Wes in which he wants to go discing. I said, "Wes, its raining." He said he didn't care. So, in the middle of this depressing rain spell, we had a brief glimmer of joy. And all this thanks to Wes. Wes, whom I usually have to call if I'm ever going to go with him. This is the remarkable something to which I refered earlier. I'm happy to see that Wes is initiating a round or even going with other people, and I think its paid off. He has developed much beyond what he was at the beginning of the season. I'm proud of you, Pobey!


On a sidenote, during the rain round, we both ditched our first drives into the pond on #1. I saved my Champ Val, however we were unable to save Wes's Cheetah nor our pride for shanking our stinking drives into the water! Curses!