So, how did you play today? Part II

[ru4por]

Originally Posted by ChrisWoj

More than just one day, but I'm ecstatic about a successful return week. I shut my entire disc golf game down in mid-March due to a sacroiliac issue, and it escalated into some level of pull in the piriformis (which still has me dealing with some numbness in my leg due to its impact on the sciatic). I opted to not see a doctor because it felt *so similar* to an injury I had in 2017 that sat me down for six months. My personal willingness to recognize my injury early and treat it with the sort of rehabilitation I did with a physical therapist last time appears to have paid off - I'm fully back after only 3 months.

Here's the week of play...

Friday - 13 holes from the long tees at Ottawa Park. I chose to go with discs that would force me to throw hard (FD3, MD3, and Nomad, along with my putter - a Deputy), with knowledge I might have to quit after a hole or two if there was pain. But I wanted to test boundaries. No pain.

Monday - Full round from the short tees at Ottawa Park. Continued great feels. Shot well as well.

Tuesday - Monday's positivity encouraged me to play a sanctioned singles league at Vienna Park. I jumped into and won a 10 person Open Division with a 973. There was a choke job late with a missed short putt (overall 92% C1X round) and an airball from 36 feet on the last two holes. But in the playoff I canned a perfect 90+ foot safety putt with a steep slope to OB 12 ft behind the basket, faded perfectly into the chains. Resulted in the W after my opponent missed his 45 footer (we both definitely flubbed the drive, the same hole I'd closed my round out by missing a 36 footer).

Wednesday - I played 9 holes of Ottawa Park Long after work to try to figure out what was wrong with my putt late in the round the day before. It took me a few holes to realize that I had slowly shifted to settling on my front leg. I really wasn't sitting on that back foot, which is huge for generating easy power. My putt feels very uncertain when I'm not settled into my stance.

Thursday - Not disc golf, but I managed to run two stretches of almost half a mile! I hadn't tried in over a week. Prior - I hadn't run more than about 100 yards due to the pain when I extended my leg and the weakness in the muscles from the sciatica. The upside was finally getting myself moving at a good pace, the downside was that I was only able to run one of those stretches like I'd prefer - with a toe-strike stride. The second stretch was heel-toe, which I try to avoid.

Friday - Played a full league round from Ottawa Park long tees. I drew a good partner who can make some reliable putts and has enough distance for the course and we pretty much ran it. It took me about 8 holes to find my game though. I was focusing way too late into the throw on my target. I usually imagine a sequence of checkpoints, imagined kinda as "tape" as I visualize the shot (I throw through a piece of green masking tape on my net at home). I was too fixated on that too late into my throws. However at the 9th hole I finally let myself simply relax and throw through my shots and it all came together. Got hot, birdied all of the reasonable birdies the rest of the way through the course - 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19 (19 hole layout).

Still no pain right now. I am even more pain free today than I was last week when I was still experiencing some stabbing in my hamstring due to the sciatic. I'm pretty excited. Plus my boss, due to the stress we're under at work right now, is giving our team a week off after the 4th of July to unwind so I know I'm going to be heading out of town to play something big! Toboggan? Bald Mountain? I dunno! One of them!

Bald Mountain is always open and only 13 holes. Just sayin'

[ChrisWoj]

Originally Posted by ru4por

Bald Mountain is always open and only 13 holes. Just sayin'

I've been to Bald Mountain three times, and loved my time there every time. 3 loops around Bald Mountain is just as fun as 2 loops around a traditional 18 any day of the week. Frankly I think 3 loops around Bald is just as fun as 2 loops on Toboggan. Though I also hear good things about the changes the last two years to Toboggan, I last played on Day 1 of course opening in 2020.

As of right now it looks like my friends and I will be checking out Toboggan.

But yeah, seriously, I love Bald Mountain and I can't wait for the year that they finally have a full 18 completed. It is an incredible challenge, and is the closest I've found to golf at the IDGC on WR Jackson (my favorite course) in our region.

[ru4por]

Originally Posted by ChrisWoj

I've been to Bald Mountain three times, and loved my time there every time. 3 loops around Bald Mountain is just as fun as 2 loops around a traditional 18 any day of the week. Frankly I think 3 loops around Bald is just as fun as 2 loops on Toboggan. Though I also hear good things about the changes the last two years to Toboggan, I last played on Day 1 of course opening in 2020.

As of right now it looks like my friends and I will be checking out Toboggan.

But yeah, seriously, I love Bald Mountain and I can't wait for the year that they finally have a full 18 completed. It is an incredible challenge, and is the closest I've found to golf at the IDGC on WR Jackson (my favorite course) in our region.

My post was certainly not a slight to Bald Mountain....I agree with you.

The completion of Bald Mountain looks very much in doubt, at this point. The park official, that was the driving force and proponent of disc golf there, is gone. It sounds as if the new representative does not seem to share in his enthusiasm for funding and permission.

[ChrisWoj]

Originally Posted by ru4por

My post was certainly not a slight to Bald Mountain....I agree with you.

The completion of Bald Mountain looks very much in doubt, at this point. The park official, that was the driving force and proponent of disc golf there, is gone. It sounds as if the new representative does not seem to share in his enthusiasm for funding and permission.

In January a friend did message the parks and they did indicate a desire to get 18 holes in the ground this year. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[itsRudy]

After five years, starting to outthrow most holes on my home 18er (was a 9er last year) that I never did before. On a distance run recently, both in personal max distance and overall consistent distance. Yesterday was my best day yet.

Used forehand for the first time in a round and not just practice or on a lark.

Hit quite a few deuces on this par3 course. Would have hit more if my 30ft putting were up to snuff but putting now farther than ever. Have a peek at making 90 feet away although it does not happen at least it gets there.

[lee76007]

Overall good. The last couple of months on the practice field I've worked on the 2-step or x-step and used low speed fairways on the course for the first time today along with putter and mid's for more than a month, more distance than the 1-step and good control. Some very good throws on target, and a few early releases.

Also, at about the same time a few months ago bought my first MVP and love them! Now have in my bag more MVP's than any other brand pushing aside the Innova. Used a Signal for the first time today a few times and felt good. Much better control with MVP.

2nd round at Munden Point long to long had an audience on number 10 that let me play thru and hit chains from about 240 feet out on approach with a 2-step Underworld, it was a beauty thru the tree line and created excitement when chains were hit, but it splashed out.

[dwalk77]

Played in a Trilogy Challenge today and tied for 10th out of 61 players in rec division. Left a few strokes out there (as I always do), including an atrocious drive and an atrocious approach, but also glad to grab 4 birdies. Shot 5 over par. This was only my 3rd tournament, but had a good time and enjoy the casual/friendly environment, as well as trying out some new plastic. I think the Saint is making the bag

[ChrisWoj]

Rare, for me, I'm coming back in good shape after an injury layoff. Usually there's a lot of rust.

Right now the rust seems entirely mentally tied to handling competition when things are going well, "sealing the deal."

I've been playing for just a few weeks now. I've played 4 local leagues. 2 scrambles, 2 sanctioned singles.

In sanctioned singles play I have a 973 and a 964 rated round, with one playoff win and one playoff loss. In both cases - I missed putts within the last few holes after hot putting through the first 14-16 holes. I didn't know the standings in either case, but I was still applying some pressure to myself wanting to come in hot.

In random draw doubles I have one clear win, where it took some time to get going and then I caught fire for 9 holes to finish. Last night was the most recent. My partner and I played good partners golf, and had I played solo I feel like I would have been in a similar 960-979 level of round. I also missed a late putt here - my only short miss being an 18 footer on hole 2 of the playoff. Luckily, my partner picked me up and I got us a big one the next hole to win.

It feels like all the work I put in on my form and footwork in the first two months of the year before I got hurt stuck. I'm finding my release point, and getting the disc out accurately with power. Last night I reached 410 feet on a 20+ foot high shot that never got fully "straight"/"level" twice, birdied the hole twice including to win that playoff (only hole over 340 on the course).

My biggest issue right now is height control. The lower rated singles round had more slope, and when I need to adjust the angle vertically I get the wing angle right for the shot correct, but I'm not quite there. The 410 foot shot described - both times I was 35-40 left of the pin because I elevated it too high. I seem to really catch a rhythm faster and roll through the rounds on the courses where there's no elevation, and I can get used to one level of height on my shots. Gotta work on that.

[smoothplayer]

Had one of my best rounds ever non rated. Easy short pitch and putt course as most holes are 200-300. Shot a nice little 36, 18 under par. I pretty much parked every hole, I think my longest putt was around 28 feet and that was on the toughest 375 foot turnover hole. I can usually shoot 14-15 under all day on this easy course but getting the 18 under is kinda cool. It's just hard to not hit one tree here or there at some point on some of the holes.

[Moose33]

I played very solid in league today for a hot round of -11 at Deerfield. If I could have avoided two bogeys it would have been amazing, but still by first 1000+ rated round!