Friday, March 15, 2013

Snow, Ice, More Snow, More Ice, and DGTR

Well it's March now and I don't know about you but the weather her in Minnesota has never really bothered me. I for the most part have enjoyed the cold, snow, ice school cancellations  ect. for many years. That was until this year. It is this year that I now have a 35-40 minute commute to work one way (on rural county roads mind you).  So now that old man winter has been rearing his big bald head for the past four months, I am starting to become a cynical old man in my old 27 years of age. I can's stand driving in snowy hazardous conditions. I mean who really does anyway....but this winter has been notorious for blizzard warnings...freezing rain...old fashioned snow storms.

Back to my commute, I have lots to time to prepare for or decompress from school while making the trip. I usually tend to listen to a variety of podcasts and not the radio.  The podcasts range from Paul Allen and Dan  Barreiro's shows on Twin Cities Radio 100.3 KFAN, MLB Networks show Intentional Talk, to Gleeman and the Geek where two crazy guys drink beer and talk about the Minnesota Twins very entertaining by the way.  But the reason I am writing this post is to share with everyone one podcast that has seemed to help curb my desire to disc golf while the snow flies her in Minnesota.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

2012 Tournament Season in Review: Bueno

Whew!  With all that tourney negativity out of the way, let us turn to all those things that made the 2012 tournament season a wonderful set of experiences.  Here are the "Bueno-s"

10.  PDGA Membership - #52116.  Along with the custom mini and PDGA issue Stalker, the sweetest part about joining the PDGA is being able to support the efforts of disc golf as a sport.  Not only does it allow for tournaments, but for all the innovative ways in which disc golf is being developed and promoted.  Glad to contribute.
9.    More complete understanding of competitive disc golf - While I had the opportunity to play one other tournament before, the tourney was also the first of the rest of those participating.  Playing in sanctioned events forces you to take every shot seriously.  No longer is it a given that you'll be one of the better players on the course.  The level of competition goes up, and so does the level of your play.
8.    Some of the better rounds I've ever played - Definitely some notable exceptions.  The doubles tourney was certainly a low point in my career, and the first round of the Acorn Open was less than steller, but for one stretch of the second round in the Acorn Open, I hit 6 birdies in 8 holes.  Rock star.
7.    Mini competitions - CTP, ace pools, distance competitions, rings of fire.  Stupid little things to pass the time, but interesting nonetheless.
6.    Meeting some big-time discers...
5.    Ratings - Along with the PDGA membership, every sanctioned tournament round becomes a rated round.  Think of 1000 being a standard for the sport (something akin to par).  Ratings allow you to gauge where you are in relation to other players.  I like the idea.  Now I know for certain how horrible I am
4.    Tournament Flymarts - Sweet Moses, that was a lot of plastic.  Promoters and companies bring a nice little collection of the latest and greatest around to sell to us hapless consumers.  This is on the list because of #2
3.    Duh... winning!  Even though I won exactly zero tourneys this year, for the most part, I was competitive, landing me in the winnings.  This leads me to...
2.    Free plastic! - Placing in these things as an amateur will often net winnings in the form of a voucher at the flymart.  And all those discs you never had the chance to buy suddenly become a lot more affordable

And the numero uno "Bueno" for the 2012 tourney season is...

Friday, March 08, 2013

2012 Disc Golf Season Personal Reflection Part 2

After spending most of last Saturday afternoon watching the conclusion of The Memorial Championship on the internet, I was motivated to complete a post that was meant to drop last Friday. For the second part of my reflection of 2012 I want to focus on the courses I was able to play this year.

 Last I checked I totaled out playing 13 courses. Compare that with previous years 2009 - 9, 2010 - 6, and 2011 - 12. Thirteen courses when I look back at it now seems crazy considering I now have lived in an area where to go to a decent course with at least 18 baskets I have to travel over an hour one way. Now of those 13 courses I played last year 8 of them were courses I have never played before. Details after the jump.

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Site Changes

I was still finalizing my list of "bueno's" for the tourney season by the time Tuesday came around.  Sorry you won't be able to check out that awesomeness just yet, but I thought I'd take this week to apprize ya'll of some alterations around here.

First, we have slightly updated our course page.  It now includes a state-by-state listing of the courses we have played, their city, and who has played it.  At last count, we have 60 courses across 13 states listed.  I know my hope is to personally add at least five states to the list over the course of the next year and a half.  We'll see how that goes.

We will also be unveiling player pages.  This will include a short DG bio, as well as some disc and course preferences of those who's eloquent and erudite words you read around these parts.

Be on the lookout for this one coming down the pipe, and if you still have some work to do on your page, get at it!

Until we meet again,

~Diggs