Emery Park: Black Diamond DGC: What to expect?

[WillACarpenter]

I just saw this post about the Black Diamond Classic at Emery Park and not only signed up myself, but got DiscJon and some of his friends to sign up as well.

This course is brutal I've heard and is unlike anything I've ever really played. There is a MAJOR amount of elevation on this course, and a lot of LONG downhill holes. I'm guess it's pretty damn windy as well.

This is sure to defeat my current 150 class drivers strategy, so I need to develop some new skills practically overnight.

So what should I focus on? Any suggestions for discs/types of discs?

Any help would be appreciated.

BTW this is also my first tournament, so I'm not really expecting to win or anything, I'd just like to be able to have fun instead of watching my drives be blown off course into the sunset.

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[SirRaph]

Looks like the front 9 are heavily wooded. So wind shouldn't be an issue then. After that...heavy and stable.

 

[ghova]

Yea the front nine are long and tight so staying in the fairway is important. i find myself throwing midranges and fairway drivers because if you leave the fairway you can get into some real trouble. the back nine is long and more open with less elevation, so you can start to throw what ever you can get the most distance with. Im sure it can get windy on the back nine, but nothing too crazy, so you might be able to get away with your lighter drivers for a hole or two.

i wish i could play in this but i have my graduation the first day of it :-/ its a fun challenging course to say the least

 

[shirfan]

Emery is my home course, so here are some ideas that might help:

On the front 9, and hole 1 especially, going deep into the woods can become a disaster quickly. When you end up in a less than ideal lie, it's usually better to play a short recovery shot rather than ripping away, deflecting, and being truly screwed.

There are several baskets where missed putts might easily add 2-3 strokes via big rollaways, brush, or OB. Layups can help your score unless you KNOW you're going to make it.

If you can play the course even once before the tourney, you'll have better idea of not only what lines you'll want to hit, but where you want the disc to land to set up your additional drives. There is a lot of poor footing and hilly terrain, and many places that just plain suck to play out of.

The back 9 are long and much more open, but the park in general is still heavily wooded, so it's not really any windier back there than any given day might be in WNY. Could be dead calm, could be 50MPH+.

Also, blackflies are in full swing so bring some good bug spray.

 

[dreadlock86]

the one time i played here wind was not a significant factor, but shirfan says it could go either way so...

like ghova said, mids and putters are a good policy on the front 9. the elevation plus the heavy woods means that you really want to hit your landing zone. i threw my putter on over half my shots on the front 9. if you can at least walk the course before hand you can get a better idea of how to approach each hole.

have fun bro! it's an epic course and should make for a very interesting first tourney experience.

 

[WillACarpenter]

I've got a lot of in the woods skills from Basil. I just need to make sure I'm warm for round 1, because when I'm cold I can't play woods for CRAP. But I'll be getting there wicked early so I'll probably walk around a bit and maybe bring a putter and run through the first few holes.

I'm really excited for this whole thing to happen, and in preparation I played around with some heavier and more overstable discs and found what I can do with them now that I've been playing longer...it's neat to see what the right amount of snap can do to get something like Pred or Surge doing! Wowzas!

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[prerube]

take your dad, you will want a spotter in the woods for your first time playing hole 1. It is more open than it looks, but it is still a woody mess that makes finding your disc difficult without a spotter.
BRING WATER. If you think Ellison is a work out, you had better start training.

 

[WillACarpenter]

I plan on carrying 2 liters at all times with a ton more in the car. And my dad has to work.

I'll drag DiscJon out for a few practice holes

Ellison doesn't drag me down, especially not at "tourney pace" But I did buy a chair because I'll be carrying the big bag and I don't want to be standing around with it like a jerk all damn day.

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[justin]

Some buddies and I just played Black Diamond on Saturday. It's tough but I wouldn't make it out to be a course you're going to risk dying on. We got through the first nine and met Chad along the way. It's steep in parts but we weren't huffing or puffing by the end of those 9. I still had some of my 32oz of water remaining. Sadly, we were running behind our on roadtrip schedule and ditched the back nine so we would have enough daylight to still hit Chestnut Ridge and Beaver Island. Black Diamond is a seriously great course though and we all hope to get back out there and finish it eventually.

 

[prerube]

Black Diamond is not as physically demanding as Brandywine, Iron Hill and some of the longer east coast courses, but I know where WillACarpenter has played and his late night work schedule, so Emery may be tougher than he is used to, the wait in the heat will be worse than the walking.

 

[justin]

That's cool. I certainly wasn't trying to comment on Will's fitness or anything like that but he sounded like he was psyching himself out before he even gets there.

I will say the obvious which is to wear proper footwear. I made sure to wear my newer hiking shoes and was properly prepared. Chad's done some great work but holes like 3 could be quite embarrassing if you can't even walk up the slope to the basket. I'm so upset we didn't play that back 9.

 

[prerube]

I'll coment on his fitness The big guy is WillACarpenter, not really a large guy through disc golf standards, but he won't be competing in the NYC Marathon this year

 

[WillACarpenter]

Agreed. I'm fitter than your average fat guy, but I'm still a fat guy.

I'll be wearing a sweat wicking shirt, shorts, light hiking shoes, and a Buff under my sweat wicking hat.

And I'll be carrying a crap ton of water.

And it's not so much psyching myself out as knowing where my game is weakest and looking for the holes I haven't filled yet so I can quick stop the gaps before the tourney.

I've only been playing for (looks at his post info) 0.8 of a year, I'm not going to win this tournament...but I can play some good golf, and not spend time on Hole X going "Crap, if I only had a predator..." Or an extra towel, or bug spray, or more water...

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[WillACarpenter]

Looks like crappy weather ALL WEEKEND. Need some extra towels I guess.

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[justin]

Sounds like your first tournament. I hope it goes well. Tournaments are very different than casual play and they are SOOOOOOO slow. Don't load up on new discs you're not familiar with but make sure to have back-ups. I'd hate to see your card start on hole 8 and you loose your best driver in the ravine. Loading up on towels, rain gear, etc is a great plan. That's why my first real bag was the Revolution Dual-Pack. Lots of discs? Sure, but I want to carry lots of "stuff" too!

I applaud your clothing choices. I know I've spent far more at REI on clothing for DG (not discs) than I have a Marshall Street or Disc Golf Center.

 

[discjon]

Yeah man, you'll be fine. Agree with everyone else here, the front nine is all about accurate shot placement.

Definitely wear proper footwear, and get ready for the slowest round you've ever played. =)
Well worth it, though. Black Diamond is a fantastic course.

 

[Wally]

Emery Park is a great course. It is by far the best course in WNY. I am hoping to try and make the tournament this weekend.

 

[prerube]

Emery Park is a great course. It is by far the best course in WNY. I am hoping to try and make the tournament this weekend.

maybe you should reserve judgement until you've played more than a quarter of them. You have 18 more courses to play in Western NY.

 

[WillACarpenter]

maybe you should reserve judgement until you've played more than a quarter of them. You have 18 more courses to play in Western NY.

Also PreRube you should take Parma off your list...as it's just gotten a facelift!

It'll be getting better all summer long too.

Here's hoping the changes made will make up for the loss of hole 2 *RIP* and YAY CEMENT!!!!!!!!

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[prerube]

Also PreRube you should take Parma off your list...as it's just gotten a facelift!

It'll be getting better all summer long too.

Here's hoping the changes made will make up for the loss of hole 2 *RIP* and YAY CEMENT!!!!!!!!

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Why should I take it off my list?

the only water hazard is gone?