Bad News....

It is with my saddest concerns that I have to say this. After thinking through all the options and possible alturnatives. I have to let my fellow disc golf commrades that I will not be able to partake of the first ever "mecca" to Hybridge, WI in a few weeks. Prior to saying yes to this amazing trip with my best friends I had already made a commitment to be a counslor at my church camp the following week. The conflit would come in to play of when we would return home from the trip. I'd would end up being late for the start of camp and that would not please the new camp director. I want to respect her authority and eliminate some possible conflicts because of my absense.

Honestly, Guys it is really bothering me that I am not going to be able to make it. Us 4 have been through so much in our lives and this would be an amzing trip to make together.

I will be thinking of you during that weekend.

God's Blessings
The Mid Range King

Improvement

Well, as several recent posts have mentioned, I have considerably improved my game. I am throwing farther and not every shot is a rainbow anymore. However, there are times when you play for a while and see no noticable improvement. How do you know what state your game is in? We need to remember to take pride in the little changes.

I see Diggs playing consistently on a higher level than myself; and with good reason taking into account his considerable amount of game play and higher level of physical fitness (have you seen my arms?). At that level (and of course higher levels) it becomes hard to remain positive because improvement is a slow process. I remember playing with Diggs throughout the semester and can trace back the progression of makable putting distances. At first her made any straight shot on the wood chips, next he made shots just outside of the chips, finally he began expecting shots with obstructions or bad angles. My point is his chage didn't happen immediatley but there are little things to notice from round to round. Personally, I played a round today and found that the back tees on hole 9 no longer hold a mental block for me. I even landed just short of the rock (I'll catch your guys at ten feet past eventually). Now, I played a pretty horrible overall round today and my accuracy needs a lot of work. But my day can be seen as a sucess because of that one throw on a single hole.

Stay Positive,
Urbwes

Sertoma the Neutered

Before I begin, let me say that I am super-pumped about the new additions to Acorn. The city takes amazing care of their parks, especially those that are disc golf friendly.

As you may have read in the King's previous post, yesterday we played what was promised to be a "swell" round out at Sertoma. What the King neglected to mention was that the aforementioned swelling was actually a malignant tumor located at the base of my cerebellum.

First of all, Harcum was not able to make it. Not a big deal except for that I didn't find out til I was already out at Sertoma (which, by the way, is all the way across town). And since he had no knowledge of Pappy's inclusion, Harcum, effectively left me out to dry. Let this digital lashing be the junk shot to him that he so justly deserves.

And now I'm over that...

The round still sucked without Harc-dog. I hadn't played since the Sioux Falls course a couple weeks prior (which is a must-post round in its own right). In short, I was rusty at best. But the difficulty was not so much in my playing. Rusty though it was, the main reason the round was so cancerous was the horrible state of the course. Piss! Don't they know how to mow? Its obvious the course is poorly maintained and garners little attention from the city that owns it nor the Mayor's Youth Commission that (is charged with) maintaining it. My once home course is in a sad state of affairs. So much so that I have difficulty calling it my home course. Sertoma, a once beautiful name, is now referred to with a disdainful, yet barely visible cringe and illicits an all but inaudible swear word under my breath.

R.I.P Sertoma of old.

I am the walrus,
~Diggs

Renovations to Acorn bring positive results

I'm not sure if all of you know but last week I spent my week in lovely St. Paul at Bethel University. I was in residence there on business. I was working a sound gig for the Minnesota Girls State 2006 Session. My week was filled with lots of high school girls and lots of hours worked.

Luckily, at the end of the week there was a little time to make the trip worth while. I and my good friend Urbwes made our way to the local disc course Acorn.

I havent played since the last time i played about 2 weeks ago. So my game was a little rusty. I was happy with the way my good friend Wes is playing. My brother, He has gotten 100x better then the last time I saw him play. His newly aquired game did indeed force me to step up my game and make the shots I should be making on a consistant basis. My eventual score wasnt what I thought it should be but the technicques were being perfected. I have to say a few of my favorite shots was my birdie put from 25ft out through 2 trees on 14. I just threw it up on a whim and the beautiful S-curve came in.

More importantly for my main reason for this post is the renovations that have taken place. One new addition to the course is the new signs as shown above. They are very nice and help make the course a little more professional. Only a couple of them have been vandelized already. Which saddens me.


The next renovation is the addition of a terraced staircase on hole six. If you remember before it was a "take your life in your own hands" decline if you aren't careful.










The thrid addition to Acorn park is this foot bridge at the bottom of the hill on hole six. It is a nice addition especially because much of the year the bottom of the hill is filled with water and as a result is really muddy. This is a nice way to avoid some of the issues with mud. I'm wondering how it will react when it gets some of Minnesota's famous rain storms.


The final addition to the park is between holes 9 and 10. The decline downhill was getting really steep and eroaded away. The city added some long poles in the ground to help stop the errosion that was taking place every time it rained.

The final final addition I neglected to take a picture of was the addition of some sod at the base of hole 10 where the mud pit used to be. There is freshly laid sodd that should help to create a better environment.




Well today is going to be sweet. I'm totally looking forward to playing today with my buddies Harcum and Diggs. I feel its going to be a swell time.

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 :)

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

... 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.

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).

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

...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