I know that our intent and expansive readership is eagerly awaiting a recap from last Thursday's tournament, but unfortunately, I am out of town sans the internet on a work-related trip. Thus, instead of rushing out a post, I thought I'd hold off and throw one up later. Though from three days before the tourney, let me tell you it was a great time!
As it is, I wouldn't mind floating an idea by ya'll. As it is, we have a few members of the Cold Lampin' family. We've been playing together for years. We enjoy each others company, rare though it is these days. As I figure it, we are a fully legit club. Would anyone be up for looking into club swag? I got the idea after throwing together a custom disc for my wedding party. I know MRK has done the same thing for his. Why don't we have a custom disc of our own? And if not a disc, a shirt or a towel or some other business. You know... to remember the homies. I don't know about pricing or anything, but if we're interested, I'm sure we can work something out that is affordable for all. And if not this year, we can look into the future for options. But the short and skinny of it is that I have always appreciated you folk. When I think of disc golf, I often think of ya'll. And I would like to have a memento as our hokey pokey cuz that's what its all a-bout.
~Diggs
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tourney Week: Double the Fun
If you hadn't caught the pattern here, our tournament season is punctuated by events about every month or so. We started at Doane and continued at Acorn. The next couple events will be change ups to our regularly scheduled programming. MRK and yours truly will be joining forces for the Minnesota Majestic's Amateur Doubles tourney this week before the 2nd Annual Cold Lampin' Disc Weekend in July. Unfortunately, neither MRK or myself will be able to play the actual Majestic individual tournament. Employment requirements preclude such joys for me. It would have been nice to get in another A-Tier event on the calendar. No matter, we roll doubles!
In complete honesty, this is probably the tourney that precipitated the beginning of our tourney careers. I find a certain comfort and confidence in playing with the King. I've known this kid's game since he rolled with ultimate discs on the course; I was there when he found his first disc the Panther (no joke, his first disc was a find); and we have continued to develop our games throughout the years. I have a firm idea of his tendencies, his capacities and his mental game.
More after the jump...
In complete honesty, this is probably the tourney that precipitated the beginning of our tourney careers. I find a certain comfort and confidence in playing with the King. I've known this kid's game since he rolled with ultimate discs on the course; I was there when he found his first disc the Panther (no joke, his first disc was a find); and we have continued to develop our games throughout the years. I have a firm idea of his tendencies, his capacities and his mental game.
More after the jump...
Friday, June 15, 2012
I'm Still Here...
It has been a long time since I have posted and it’s not
without an excuse. That is while bunking in with the inlaws they have decided
that having internet access is more of a desire as opposed to a necessity in
this day in age. I have been without the beloved internet for going on three
plus weeks now. I get buy but my
inbox these days is constantly overflowing. Disc golf on the other hand sadly
has almost taken a back seat to Amateur Baseball at the moment.( I hit a solo
homerun last week by the way. It was my first homerun since 12 year old
baseball. So after a 14 year drought…I was due you could say.) With a course
being at least a 45 minute drive each way I really have to plan my trips wisely.
The plan was to meet up with
URBWes at SMSU and play a round but the blessed Southern Minnesota Wind gods
thought snapping trees sounded more fun.
I am looking forward to next week with the Minnesota
Majestic coming to the Twin Cities. Diggs and I will be making our debut in the
amateur doubles tournament that takes place on the Thursday before the
tournament starts. Playing in a
doubles tournament is something that we have wanted to do for quite some time
and now are finally making it happen.
The doubles tournament will take place at Hyland Hills Ski and Snowboard
Area. It’s a wonderful course nestled in Bloomington, MN. Diggs be ready for
lots of elevation changes. It’s a course that can be a bear cat if you let it.
I think this course will fit well to our playing styles with
Diggs monster drives and my mid range game we will complement each other well.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Throwin' in Mormon Country
The last week of May, the wife and I had the opportunity to go on vacation with her family. Destination: Utah. We flew into SLC before taking off for Moab, a touristy town to the southwest toward the Colorado boarder. The area is renowned for the outdoor opportunities and beautiful vistas. You can see the Moab area in movies such as Rio Grande, Forest Gump, and even Galaxy Quest. We spent the week biking, hiking and rafting. I even finagled a round of disc out of the trip.
The party consisted of my father-in-law, sister-in-law, and BroLo El Cunado who joined us for the disc weekend last year. Packing limitations precluded bringing the full bag. Knowing the folks I'd be playing with I stuck with putters and midrange discs. To my chagrin, I neglected to pack even a fairway driver. To double the chagrin, I realized that the fear of losing a vital disc from the arsenal caused me to pack discs that are not familiar in the slightest. The only one I had thrown more than twice in the past year was an Aviar I have used for putt practice! At least El Cunado remembered to bring some drivers.
And I was apprehensive about losing a disc. Having scouted out the course ahead of time, I noticed remarkable differences between Old City DGC and those courses with which I have experience. I have played courses in the midwest, northeast and the dirty south, and all of them had a remarkable similarity between them. Grass in the open, deciduous and pine trees in closed places. The occasional bush or prairie grass patch for good measure to keep you honest.
This course was in the desert. Not having been in many deserts before, the vegetation was completely foreign to me. Instead of grass, the ground was primarily sandy with tufts of brush to help conceal your landing zone. Trees, while sparse, still helped frame your lines. But the biggest difference was in the bushes. Most clumps were thorny and impassible. This exaggerated the punishment for inaccurate shots.
All told, though, the course was very manageable. With the KC Pro Roc I had just picked up at the Acorn Open, I was nearly par for the course (though I do admit that I lost El Cunado's Glo Nuke... sorry man, I'll make it up to you). While perhaps not the most challenging of courses, I would be hard-pressed to think of many better landscapes in which to play. The course was fairly well maintained, and the mountains in the background framed a wonderful afternoon of disc.
And now we can add another state to the list of those traversed by the Cold Lampin' Collective.
~Diggs
The party consisted of my father-in-law, sister-in-law, and BroLo El Cunado who joined us for the disc weekend last year. Packing limitations precluded bringing the full bag. Knowing the folks I'd be playing with I stuck with putters and midrange discs. To my chagrin, I neglected to pack even a fairway driver. To double the chagrin, I realized that the fear of losing a vital disc from the arsenal caused me to pack discs that are not familiar in the slightest. The only one I had thrown more than twice in the past year was an Aviar I have used for putt practice! At least El Cunado remembered to bring some drivers.
And I was apprehensive about losing a disc. Having scouted out the course ahead of time, I noticed remarkable differences between Old City DGC and those courses with which I have experience. I have played courses in the midwest, northeast and the dirty south, and all of them had a remarkable similarity between them. Grass in the open, deciduous and pine trees in closed places. The occasional bush or prairie grass patch for good measure to keep you honest.
This course was in the desert. Not having been in many deserts before, the vegetation was completely foreign to me. Instead of grass, the ground was primarily sandy with tufts of brush to help conceal your landing zone. Trees, while sparse, still helped frame your lines. But the biggest difference was in the bushes. Most clumps were thorny and impassible. This exaggerated the punishment for inaccurate shots.
All told, though, the course was very manageable. With the KC Pro Roc I had just picked up at the Acorn Open, I was nearly par for the course (though I do admit that I lost El Cunado's Glo Nuke... sorry man, I'll make it up to you). While perhaps not the most challenging of courses, I would be hard-pressed to think of many better landscapes in which to play. The course was fairly well maintained, and the mountains in the background framed a wonderful afternoon of disc.
And now we can add another state to the list of those traversed by the Cold Lampin' Collective.
~Diggs
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Mixing It Up @ the KCWO
This year was the 30th annual Kansas City Wide Open. Please note that this tournament has been a tradition since before either of us reached the developmental stage of zygote. That is a long time.
The beauty of being a fan of the game these days is the commitment of those who support the sport. Aside from the rare appearance on Conan or ESPN's former show Cold Pizza, the mainstream availability just isn't there. In spite of this, options for viewing the sport at its elite levels is readily accessible on the internet (thank you discgolfplanet.tv!). Meaning I get to see what the talented among us can really do.
I was doing exactly that, taking advantage of a replay of the Final 9 round of the Kansas City Wide Open. The way these broadcasts typically role is a heavy focus on the lead card in the men's open division with occasional splashes of coverage from other notable male players and the women. As expected, amateurs don't get any love during the broadcast. The KCWO mixed it up in what I consider a very positive way.
Instead of focusing on the final men, the opened things up to include the women. By that I don't mean that the coverage bounced between the two groups; I mean that the two lead open groups, men and women, played together. We had the opportunity to watch Valerie Jenkins throw alongside David Feldberg, to see Paige Pierce putt next to Will Schusterick.
This seems to resonate with the recent focus to expand the scope of the sport to include more women (Women's Global Event, anyone?). I appreciated this expanded look at our sport and the possibilities that lay within it.
There was also something strangely satisfying to watch Paul Ulibarri carry Catrina Allen's bag or Nate Doss carry Val Jenkins.
I was half hoping she'd turn to Nate after a bad throw and scream, "Damn it, Bobby!"
~Diggs
The beauty of being a fan of the game these days is the commitment of those who support the sport. Aside from the rare appearance on Conan or ESPN's former show Cold Pizza, the mainstream availability just isn't there. In spite of this, options for viewing the sport at its elite levels is readily accessible on the internet (thank you discgolfplanet.tv!). Meaning I get to see what the talented among us can really do.
I was doing exactly that, taking advantage of a replay of the Final 9 round of the Kansas City Wide Open. The way these broadcasts typically role is a heavy focus on the lead card in the men's open division with occasional splashes of coverage from other notable male players and the women. As expected, amateurs don't get any love during the broadcast. The KCWO mixed it up in what I consider a very positive way.
Instead of focusing on the final men, the opened things up to include the women. By that I don't mean that the coverage bounced between the two groups; I mean that the two lead open groups, men and women, played together. We had the opportunity to watch Valerie Jenkins throw alongside David Feldberg, to see Paige Pierce putt next to Will Schusterick.
This seems to resonate with the recent focus to expand the scope of the sport to include more women (Women's Global Event, anyone?). I appreciated this expanded look at our sport and the possibilities that lay within it.
There was also something strangely satisfying to watch Paul Ulibarri carry Catrina Allen's bag or Nate Doss carry Val Jenkins.
I was half hoping she'd turn to Nate after a bad throw and scream, "Damn it, Bobby!"
~Diggs
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