September is here!

That means that I should be getting better right? Well I had the shot and the arm is not hurting all the time. Problem is that the physical therapy is taking forever. Still no major improvement, and in fact just putting in the yard inflames the tendons right away. I have a very nice PT in Waltham and she is helping me strengthen the arm but damn this feels like it is going to take forever. So no disc golf for me and since the season is winding down I may just keep working at it to try to start up again in the spring.
  On the brighter side the added stretching I have done for my knee has help alot and I am running again. So at least I can do something I enjoy and hopefully take off some of the pounds I have gain.
As an added incentive I am planning a winter backpacking trip for the first time in 5 years so I have this to get in shape for too. Always a great adventure you can see past trips at http://edhovey.com/winter/

Injuries Update

  Well as injury filled seasons go this has been a whopper. The tendinitis in my elbow has had a cortisone shot and is now in its resting stage before Physical Therapy starts on the 14th. So no throwing. The aggravated tendon at the back of my knee was diagnosed a couple weeks ago and I am on a stretching regiment with a six week layoff time. So no running either! Hopefully I should start doing easy activities about Sept 10th or so. Maybe I will still be able to get a disc golf road trip in in October.

The Vineyard Social 8 3/17/12

The Vineyard Open 8 - Oh the pain! This could very easily turn into my new complaint column with all the body issues I have going on. When I decided to play this tournament I was feeling only fair. I have struggled the last month or so with some minor injuries. A sore foot from running which becomes more painful with use, it is aggravated by the planting I do playing discgolf. I have for a couple years now really struggled with elbow pain and really should see a doctor about it because it is getting worse. The final thing is a knee, the lead leg I pulled or aggravated an outer tendon in February and thought it was healing but pulled it again, in the first round on the Vineyard. So as you can tell I am a bit of a mess right now. Add to that on the Wednesday before the tournament I was sitting at a red light on my way to work when some guy just plows right into my car. BANG! pushed me have way into the intersection before he took off making it a hit and run. Totaled my car and left we feeling like I had been beat up. Yeah what was I thinking going to that tournament?
Still in the ridiculously under powered Chevy Cruze I rented from Avis I headed down because the weather was nice, my wife was away for the weekend and because I wanted to play discgolf. The day started overcast with no wind at all, which is rare on the Island. Catching the 7am Ferry by being at the Palmer St parking lot by 6:30 was easy as can be. My new house is only minutes from Rte 495 making it a pretty straight shot. Anyone who thinks it is too much hassle to attend this event should reconsider. The system that is set up is excellent, bus to the boat, ferry to the island and taxi to the course. It really is not difficult at all, sure it is a long day but not totally unreasonable. Alone the Taxi is $15 but 11 of us hopped in the waiting van making the ride much cheaper, $15 for the first two and $3 a head after that. Take the cabbie's card and call him for the return trip.
As far as play went I was in much more pain than I was expecting, throwing backhand with control was just agony. It was this thrumming inner elbow pain that lingered minutes after each throw. Still I hung in on the first round. Playing with a group of relaxed Island Advanced Masters the round was casual and friendly. If not for the pain a very enjoyable round Playing the blue course in that overcast cool first round is a challenge and the pleasant approach of the group helped with the challenge of the hard course. Shooting a 67 was not really what I hooped for but it left me a few throws out of first and still in the running.
I got a pleasant surprise when the people catering lunch had some Houmus and Cheese sandwiches as part of the meal. Sort of thought I was going to be hungry but instead had a very good lunch.
The second round on the red course started as the skies began to clear allowing in some welcomed sunlight and warmer temperatures. It made for another really enjoyable round. Again note that throwing hurt like hell but at least it was great outside. I hung in on the round pretty well but only lost ground on the leader. The rest of the group took turns messing up holes, whether it was the course or the free use of alcohol and other enhancements it seemed each guy took a turn having a horrible turn. So when all was done I think I was in second place for the day 6-7 behind the leader who ended up with a very nice birthday present. I really enjoyed myself although I left really quickly to catch the 6:16 ferry instead of waiting for the 7:30pm boat.
Now I will have to get to the doctors because unless I start throwing only forhands I will be hard pressed to play much more this year.

The 2012 Season is here!!!!!

It's that time of year to brush off the old discgolf bag and get out for some fine NEFA tournaments. Not to say that I have not been playing, the exceptionally warm New England weather here in Massachusetts has allowed me to play off and on all winter long. I normally stop once there is snow on the ground but this year, that did not happen until last week. It was melting today and the 65 degree day we are going to have tomorrow has got me thinking about discgolf.

Spent some time tonight updating the website I keep with statistics on my play. Surprisingly I did add a few personal best rounds during last year and last month rocked a 54 at Devens for a personal best. I only won one tournament last year, the Lincoln Peak Open as a Pro Master but honestly I only had to get lucky against one other player so I don't look at it as a great accomplishment. That said my first Pro win is great to have and I got a beautiful glass trophy out of the deal. Last year was really about the PDGA Am Worlds, getting ready and then traveling to Rochester NY to play. You can read all about my game meltdown in the older entries to this blog. Check out my site The Discgolf Haven

Today with the great 58 degree day we had I slipped out of work a bit early and beat the traffic on rte 128 to Borderland State Park. Played two round, a short, white to white and shot a +1 55, Then I played a long Blue to Blue and shot a +4 72. The elbow hurts like a son a bitch but I can play with it. Still think I played well enough. The course was damp and muddy in 4-5 holes but overall was in pretty good shape. So many people are now playing at that course that you are constantly waiting or rushing to play through. It is hard to really take your time and enjoy it. I guess this is the price for the growing popularity of the sport. Tomorrow is supposed to hit the mid sixties so I think I will head out to Devens after work.

Planning for the future I have my eye on the following:
3/17/12 The Vineyard Social 8 - Just waiting to see the extended forcast tomorrow before sending the entry money.
3/30/12 Borderlands Buzzards Bay State Open - Just saw this show up on the list. I hope it comes together, I love that course.
3/31/12 Fool on the Hill @ Devens, Already Registered and looking forward to choking as I do at every tournament there.

Need for effort

Have played this winter which is rare but I will get this blog going again, just a bit more time.

Final two rounds!!

Wow worlds is over and boy that was a strange end. In the morning the round at Basil was so rainy it was impossible to play. Pouring rain with only slight breaks and a extremely wooded this course was brutal. I shot a 70 in the morning and the last three holes ate me up. Discs slipped out of my hand so many times I was totally frustrated. At the end of the round I had only 10 guys below me.
The amazing thing was that just after we finished the round the weather started to clear to the point it was pretty dry by the time we started the second round. I was determined to be focused since it was my last chance to have a decent round. As much as I was done with the game of discgolf I did not want to finish as poorly as I played all week. So I did not talk as much tried to make sure every disc I threw was dry and ended up shooting a 59 in the second round. Here are my rounds and ratings, I ended up playing a bit below my rating of 912.
56th Ed Hovestadt 29976

62

891

70

855

68

885

61

914

70

849

59

943

+50

390

Yes 56th of 74 guys in my division which is about where I thought I would end up. I have to say the courses in the Rochester area are really nice. I played met and hung out with some great guys and look forward to the next time I can give this another go.

I decided on the spur of the moment to head home a day early and am now glad I did. Today was a beautiful day and I had ton of laundry to do. I think I will take a bit of time off the discgolf and then get back to practicing.

While others play for something...

Genessee Vally Park and the rain held off for the entire round, at least that's something good. I did not play poorly today but also not very well. Two retarded out of bounds and I was still looking at a chance at a sub 60 round. Leave it to me though to fuck that up. Blew my upshot on nine, geeze I have been doing that a lot this week. It left me at 37 feet and I went off the lip so took a four there. Took a four on ten after missing my first inside the circle put of the round, then on 11 threw and landed behind the only tree in the field and had to waste a shot on a roller to get from under its branches. Crap on those three final holes my possible good round went to a very average 61. Looking at other cards I see that I continue to work my way to the bottom of the "Just for Fun" pool. At this point there are only about 11 guys with more throws than me and I seem to be collecting bad round with just two rounds left at the incredibly tight and wooded Basil course tomorrow. Even with my depressing report I have to say I have played with some great and encouraging guys. Discgolf still is a great sport and I will have better days.

Shufflingsuckatash!

I have done been shuffled out of the E group and into the F group. The change means in a couple of hours I will be playing at Genessee Valley Park and having the rest of the day off. Then tomorrow I will have 2 rounds at the Bastard Treella Park. How do I feel about this development you ask? Well you are what you throw and there are a whole lot of guys who have thrown less shots than me. I like that even though after round I could be pissy about my play I have to say I think during the rounds I played fairly at ease. Only a couple times did the bad play make me tighten up inside, catch a squirrel and twist its neck to death. In the F group I will continue trying to be as zen as ever and hopefully put three rounds together that I can feel good about before the end.

One Round at Parma...

The good thing about today is that I only had to play one round of discgolf. The bad thing about today is there will be a shuffle at the end of the day and I fear I will be in the lower group. So after today our group the Am Masters which has about 65 player in it will be reshuffled, the winner, the ones who played the best will play two round tomorrow in the extremely wooded Basil Morella (Bastard Treella). The rest of the players, the bottom third or so of the division will play Genessee Valley one round and finish on Friday at Basil. I say finish because if you are not in that top group you really have no chance at meking the 22 or so players who will be in the semi finals. With the goal of not coming in last I have been doing alright. There are at least a dozen guys I think who have been worse than my horrendous play. Still with the shuffle coming I fear the worst and a date in the bottom pack.
Today I played the very difficult Parma course and if I had not embarrassed myself on two holes I would have had a decent round, but instead I again had one of the worst scores on the course and shot a 68 which actually tied my best on this course. That said there are so many better golfers here that it was still poor when looking at the group. I was lucky for the third round in a row to play with a couple really great guys, so a shout out to Hooper and Russell, we all struggled together and tried to keep each other in the game when it was ever so close to feeling hopeless. I actually feel okay after today, sure it was not what i wanted but it was a beautiful day in the 80s with just a light breeze. It could not have been a better day or a more lovely course to play.

Chili in the wind...

With winds 25-35 mph this afternoons round was a challenge for all. How cn I put what happen during my round? Let me think... Okay some people managed the wind and got low 60's round, hell there may have been some in the 50s. I was not in this group. Some people made some mistakes and were mid sixties to high sixties and were glad when it was over. I was not in this group either. I was in the group where we were giving Suck a blowjob, I sucked suck! Oh I am so glad that painful 70 is in the books, I can rant about it here and then move onto Parma tomorrow for round three. There was nothing about my play that was acceptable, I threw into the ground, into other fairways into the middle of the only clump of trees on a hole with a 80' wide fairway. Damn I hit the American flagpole and shot away for a six on hole 18. You know it really sucks to play so badly after the last couple weeks of just excellent play I have had. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!
Okay now that that is out I can relax and have a nice dinner with some very nice guy I met during play today. I did meet some nice guys today too. So I will end this and head up for a shower to wash it all away and tomorrow I hope to be writing about the best round of the tournament.

Day 1: Ellison this Morning...

Day one of the PDGA 2011 AM Worlds and I played at Ellison Park. The morning was warm but not unbareable, with just the gentlest of breezes floating across the slope the course is primarily on. I was a bit nervous this being my first bigger sized tournament and it showed in my play. I missed a couple early lines on my drives and was immediately playing from behind, trying to make up a shot here or there. Unfortunately my ability to judge distance in the open really screwed with me on this day. After starting 4-5 on the easy 16th and more difficult 17th I never really put anything together. In fact I left myself outside the putting circle after two shots, 12 times. I putted lights out when in the circle but damned if my upshots just fluttered away time and again. I think the adjustment is to really go after the pole and not try to just lay it close. The great parts were the guys I played with Mike and Steve, both guys were relaxed and easy about the game. Great company when not playing particulaly well. So round one is in the books at a 62. It was like the seventh worst score on the course this morning. I play again this afternoon 3pm at Chili. I have so far had a lot of trouble with that course in practice and will have to be on my game. I found a nice Middleastern place for a veggie lunch so now I feel a bit better. More later...

Rochester NY, Pre-tournament weekend

Arriving on the Friday before the big tournament, The 2011 Am World Championships was a smart move. It gives you the chance to spend some time at each course you are going to play and allows a foreknowledge of how to get around to the places you will need to be. So arriving on Friday i headed straight to Ellison Park to catch up with Mike Siamond Paul Rashaw and the Dunnes, (Bill and Billy) for a preview of that park. It is a grassy sloping park that is mostly open with a smattering of shading mature trees on the first twelve or so holes. Wind can play a factor as you play this course with some elevated shot down and up long hills. Some shorter and more wooded holes on the back nine make for a pretty interesting course. I did not find it particularly challenging but it was hot and muggy with barely a breeze. It would probably play very differently on as more changeable day. The play was enjoyable and I threw a 54 before heading off the the Radisson Riverside to check in.
The hotel is nice enough right downtown and next to the Genessee River it is a 15 story place with lots of meeting rooms and wedding facilities. It is the central location for the disc golf event I am here for so it was easiest for me to stay at. My room on the 15th floor has a nice view of downtown the double queens were more than I needed for myself but the room size was nice. The crappy and I mean crappy television, I think a Philips 720p wide screen combined with a cable feed of 12 non digital channels was a real low point in the stay. Furthering the pain was a spotty Internet connection on the 15th floor. Coming down to the lobby to use my ipod for the Internet was the solution but since I was already in the lobby I could use the Internet room as I am right now writing this blog.
Meeting near the others guys hotel some 13 minutes out of town we met at a chain called The Distillery, a pub restaurant that had a very decent selection of beers on tap and in bottle. The Cage Alpha Monkey IPA by Custom Brewcrafters was a hit in the group. The vegetarian fare left something to be desired with a potato skins that lacked a flavorful cheese and a mushy veggie burger that failed to hold together becoming a challenging plate of mashed goo. No one else complained though so it must have been me. Of course they (the guys) could have been distracted by our lovely waitress Christina who had the same shaped lips as Actress Jessica Beal. Heading out to Basil Morella Park for a round in the very wooded Basil course was a nice way to settle the not that great meal. It is longer than I remembered from my trip out here in June but still with the tightly wooded fairways you get the feeling you are taking the same shot over and over. If you have confidence in both your forehand and backhand you could find the course manageable
I was soon returning to the hotel and the Pub Legends before heading up to my room for the night. Meeting Randy the Editor of Discgolfer Magazine was a treat and learning that while the rest of the country has been up to its ears in heat and humidity this summer Seattle has been cool and wet and they only recently got their first nice days.
On Saturday we all met in the morning to play the course in Genessee Park, this temporary course was installed just for this event and there was some sinister thinking employed in creating it. Several of the holes are not more than 26 feet wide at the widest point with some nasty out of bounds including all paths and roads. The way to the course was closed in the morning because of a couple of road races. So we had to walk in across the river and cross a foot bridge to access the course. Play there in the morning heat was enjoyable. Even at 8am it was already in the mid eighties and above ninety before were were finished. Open and long the course had a nice mix of shots but could be a bit righty friendly. Hole 18 will probably not be nice to anyone with a long thin driving fairway snuffed at the end with OB and then a tree protected island green with was a bit quick.
Young Billy and I headed to taco John's for tex mex but because we were there before noon we headed back to drop him off and ended up back at the Distillery. Damn and trying the decent Mozzarella sticks and boring Nachos this time I was again disappointed. They do have some pretty bartenders and wait staff and barkeep Cassie was friendly and attentive.
Back to the hotel for a nap and then out for a solo trip to Chili at Widener Park. This is a deceptively difficult course with significant out of bounds and length. Adding to the difficulty is the man made obstacles that force certain shots. Two holes in particular had me in trouble, the 900' 11th and almost as long winding 18th. I skipped in playing 10-18 first to avoid the massed crowd at tee #1 and then played the first nine, with Advance Women player Nicole Carzares and her caddy father. This very good 15 year old was telling me she really was hoping to do well at this years event. She was good too, driving as well as I but needing some work on her mid game and putting. Best of luck to you Nicole!
On the way back to the hotel I stopped and got a pretty good pizza at Pontillo's Pizza, the service was a bit gruff but the pie was very good.
Sunday Paul and I went out to the Parma course and while Paul played the holes I putted each basket, and made a few throws that I had trouble with in June. This is a gem of a course, well designed and challenging it is the one to play if you are in the area. When here in June I shot a 68 and 70 at the tournament on this course and don't expect too much improvement in this coming week. This is the course, with Chili that will separate the players from pretenders and I sure hope I have it figured out enough to me in the good half of the group. One good thing about Sunday morning was the relief from the heat. Although still muggy the temps had fallen into the high 70's making play nice.
After our round we all met back at the Central location for the tournament which is the Radisson I am staying at. We checked in to the tourney and got our players packs. We had some food at the surprisingly good Legend's Sports Pub. The veggie quesodillas were very tasty and the ranch style sauce that came with the potato skins was zesty. Drinks and food are always a good idea before heading out into the now clear and warming Rochester Day for a walk to the High Falls, in the historic district a tourist attraction in the city. When I get home I will add some images to this blog. We were there right next to the Genessee Beer and Ale plant although we did not go see if the beer factory had tours we did get a nice walk in on the day.
Later that day I headed out solo to Ellison park to putt on the thinner, poorer catching baskets when who drives up but John Borelli, the Killer B in town for a week of blogging for the PDGA. We walked the course, he playing me putting before we headed back to legends for a very nice dinner. The veggie pasta was wonderfully flavorful with artichoke hearts and dried tomatoes. Another quiet restful night and Monday dawned cloudy and wet.
Now I already missed the Party at the German House on Sunday night and today Monday I have skipped the field events instead, just resting up for the Players meeting tonight at 7pm. Since the rain was in effect I did not feel bad about missing today's events. Instead I went and saw Captain America: The First Avenger which at some point you can read about it on my movie blog Soresportmovies

Sugarbush Resort Weekend!

Well last weekend was a great four day vacation at Sugarbush Resort that culminated with the Lincoln Peak Open on Sunday. Lee and Ken were up not only to play in the Open but also to get married. It was last year's event Lee and I were heading to when we stopped on the way to meet Ken for the first time. The two of them had been talking through a dating site and the breakfast we shared was the first date. Why I was there was just because we were on our way, not really because I wanted to be at their first date. So all the discgolf talk at breakfast meant I had to give Ken a few discs before we parted. Little did I know the two of them would fall in love and we would be at Sugarbush for a wedding the very next year. These young kids today, so impulsive. I drove up on Thursday looking forward to the wedding on Friday.
Arriving on Thursday afternoon to meet Lee and Ken we were ready to get up the ski lift to play the peak course, the shorter White Tees. It is such a curious course playing down the side of a ski mountain, and since the cost of the $15 (all day) lift ticket is a bit prohibited it is not a course any of us play more than once or twice a year. The course was okay, the tees are a bit out of shape but the novelty level was worth the trip. I did not play particularly well but I was able to figure out a lot of the shots I would need to make later on. The weather was great, temps in the low 80s and sunny. We worked our way down and crisscrossing the mountain. The top part of the course is not particularly long (2450') but still challenging, then you really get a test with the longer and harder bottom nine (4270'). This is a listed par for the course is 60 but really not for me, instead this is a agonizing 69, with so many poorly thrown throws. Ken played better with a 65 and Lee had a lot to brag about with a 75. It is a fine start to the weekend.
Next day with the normal(?) tension of a wedding day I dragged Ken out to the base course to play the Blues and keep his mind off the upcoming ceremony. We played the Blue Tees since like the day before this is the course we will play on tournament day. It was again a feeling out process with each hole needing to be learned. There are some tough uphill holes that you have to play and on this day Ken threw a 61 and I a 65. At this point I was not feeling particularly good about my play but knew that some more practice was going to happen.
The ceremony was beautiful my wife Elisa and daughter Joy came up for the day. Lee's best friend Eileen and her man Jake, Lee's daughter Jill and her girlfriend Rachel all arrived for the event. The ceremony is at the top of the mountain was such a highlight. A lovey high 70's temps and the nice breeze made everything perfect. At the end we all played the ceremonial first hole and headed down for a wedding day lunch.
Later that day Lee and Ken and I saw everyone off and headed out for a round on the Blue base course. Ken and I were hoping for real improvement now that it was the second time through for us. I know I usually can pick up a few strokes with familiarity. Scores were better, Lee struggles but that course does not play to her strengths.
Eddie - 57
Ken - 61
Lee - 77
On Saturday I played the Peak course a second time with Ken, we cruised a bit better this second time through.
Ken - 61
Eddie - 63
Then the three of us played on the base Blue Tees again.
Ken - 60
Eddie - 57
Lee - 80
Tournament day and I was convinced by James Beaulieu that I should move up a division to Pro Masters, he was the only guy in the division and I would be the competition. Since we were playing the same courses as I had practiced I was comfortable with the switch. Still I do not remember many times where I beat him but since I had practice rounds I figured I could hang in. The peak course was a blast with an all time personal best 56, James also threw a 56 so we were tied. On the base course he had me by one throw going into hole 13, then James ran into some stupid trouble. The 13th is an uphill slightly right to left 165 foot hole. Being a lefty he needed to anhyzer a backhand but caught tree early. An easier shot for a right I was set up for the easy two. James though ended up taking a tree filled five and so I was up by two throws with eight holes to go. Problem for James is that a bunch of those holes are short easier holes so he would have trouble making up shots. All I had to do was get a two or three and all the pressure would be on him. He got a bad roll away on his up shot on seventeen and I went up three, then a two on 18 put me up four with three holes to go. At the end I got the win with a 5 throw margin. Very nice! I am pretty sure without the practice round this would have not been possible. It was a great day of golf with some good people and my first Pro Win, even though it was only a two person field. The glass trophy is beautiful. On top of it Ken won the Advanced Masters division in my absence and Lee won the Intermediate Women division. A real nice cap to a great weekend.
Division Place First Last Round 1 Round 2 Total Payout
MPO 1 Chris Young 67 56 123 $237.00
MPO 2 Jeremy Becker 69 56 125 $140.00
MPO 2 Emmett Cosgrove 69 56 125 $96.00
MPO 4 David Frothingham 67 61 128 $77.00
MPO 5 Mike Habets 64 65 129
MPO 6 Todd Holmes 67 63 130
MPO 7 brock pitzer 73 60 133
MPO 7 Chris Mayone 69 64 133
MPO 9 Peter Hess 75 59 134
MPO 10 Dan Doyle 76 65 141

MPM 1 Ed Hovesadt 56 57 113 $80.00
MPM 2 James Beaulieu 56 62 118

MA1 1 Derek Brazauskas 62 55 117 $62.00
MA1 2 Dave Richardson 58 61 119 $52.00
MA1 2 Troy Thayer 64 55 119 $52.00
MA1 4 Christian Keidel 65 56 121 $42.00
MA1 5 aaron moore 58 64 122 $36.00
MA1 5 Seth McQuade 59 63 122 $36.00
MA1 7 Jon Moorer 57 66 123 $12.00
MA1 7 Anne Lewis 62 61 123 $12.00
MA1 7 Justin K 59 64 123 $12.00
MA1 7 spencer weatherholt 59 64 123 $12.00
MA1 11 Josh Rappeport 61 63 124
MA1 12 Matt Cohen 63 62 125
MA1 13 Joe Chapman 65 62 127
MA1 14 Joshua wedel 64 67 131
MA1 14 James sweat 62 69 131
MA1 14 Oliver Redding 62 69 131
MA1 17 Taylor johnson 69 69 138

MM1 1 Ken Marshall 59 59 118 $68.00
MM1 2 Chris Sherwin 60 63 123 $51.00
MM1 3 John Rodenhizer 66 60 126 $35.00
MM1 4 Al Rosa 64 65 129 $21.00
MM1 5 Mike Clark 67 67 134
MM1 6 John Sudarsky 68 67 135
MM1 7 Mike Miller 71 66 137
MM1 8 Todd Sternbach 71 72 143
MM1 9 Skip SantaMaria 76 72 148

MA2 1 Andy Powell 60 61 121 $48.00
MA2 2 Kevin Mize 58 64 122 $41.00
MA2 2 Tyler Teed 57 65 122 $41.00
MA2 4 Ira Divoll 63 64 127 $32.00
MA2 5 Matt Duquette 65 63 128 $22.00
MA2 5 matthew zabawa 67 61 128 $22.00
MA2 5 Brandon Fenner 60 68 128 $22.00
MA2 8 Edwin Bedel 64 66 130
MA2 9 Justin DeVico 66 65 131
MA2 10 Scott Moulton 61 71 132
MA2 11 Justin Foster 67 67 134
MA2 12 Jon McCartan 70 69 139
MA2 13 Tristan Whitehouse 74 66 140
MA2 14 Jake boyer 69 74 143
MA2 15 Mark Foster 78 66 144
MA2 16 Murray Junod 999

FW2 1 Lee Marshall 81 69 150 $22.00
FW2 2 Stephanie Brownell 82 73 155 $14.00
FW2 3 Margeret Schlachter 96 83 179
FW2 4 Sara Davie 95 85 180

MA3 1 Jayce Slesar 87 71 158 $18.00
MA3 2 Kristoff Sauter 88 75 163

Weekend of Playing Pro

Its been awhile but since I ran into Gags and Arty at Tully this weekend and they mentioned they have read this blog I thought I would make an effort to add to it. In preparation for AmWorlds just two weeks from now I have been busy on the practice field. Most non raining days I have spent an hour or two putting and approaching in the field by my house. On the weekends I have tried to play rounds and this weekend played two tournaments as a Pro player. In both cases the events were neither PDGA or NEFA sanctioned but both were a lot of fun.
On Saturday was the North East Masters & Legends tournament at Tully Lake in Royalston MA. Playing in the Pro Masters division I was not horrible. Yes I came in 8th of eight players in the division but even so I feel I played well. I had not played the Tully course since 2008 and it has improved considerably since then so head up and play it if you are reading this. A mix of fields and woods withelevation changes & strong breezes coming off the lake at time it is both challenging and fun. I shot a 63 in the first round and definately made some mistakes but even so it was the third best tourney score I have posted on the course. the second round 58 was my personal best. So like I said even though I was not competition for my fellow Pro Masters I did play well.

Results for the 1st Annual Masters and Legends of Disc Golf Event
44 Total Players

Adv Masters 13
1.Mark Goldstein 117
2.John Britton 118
3.John Rodenhizer 121
4.Isaac Boomberg 122
5.Guy Lyman 124
5..GAGS 124
6..Keith Clark 125
7..Arty 125
8.Mark Brenn 127
9.Mike Clark 138
10.Chris "O" 139
11.Bob Brown 143
12.Mark Chapalonis DNF Emergency


Pro Masters 8
1.Tim Jiardini 50,52 102
2.Marcus 54,55 109
3.Greg Wintrob 56,54 110
4. Mikey D 53,58 111
5.Johnny MAC 112
6.James Pinnacle 116
7.George Economos 120
8.ED HOV 121

Adv Grand Masters 9
1.Karl Molitoris 111
2.Jullien Birch 125
3.Ken Dawson 126
4.Mike Siamond 128
4.Johnny Holston 128
5.Terry Chapalonis 134
6.Kevin McCormick 135
7.Bob Penney 141
8.Alan Thresher 144

Pro Grand Masters 6
1.Kurtz 113
2.Ken Gary 122
3.Kevin Rounds 123
4.Rick Williams 68,61 129
5.Steve Hartwell 66,65 131
6.Stephen Vardin 171

Senior Grand Masters 4
1.Phil Kennedy 139
2. Jimmy K 144
3.Denny Barrows 154
4.Steve Walker 156

Adv Lady Masters 2
1.Jeannie Helseth 138
2.Sunni Lyman

Pro Lady Masters 1
1.Rachael Economos 179

Pro Lady Grand Masters 1
1. Joy Hartwell 148


Part of playing the tournament was that it was a course that I had not seen in a while. Since the Am Worlds is going to be a similar experience I thought the lead in tourneies show be on courses that I play rarely. I am hoping this will prepare me for making shots instead of playing familiar course. Last weekend with Sister Lee and her fiancee Ken I played at Maple Hill aand had a similar eaxperience of knowing something of the course but not playing there since last year. I shot a 64 on the now stretched out white and a 55 on the shortened red tees. Good experience on a challenging course.
Back to this weekend on Sunday I played pro open on the hill at Devens. This is my home course and they were running a fun event called the Two Disc Dilemma, you can only have two discs in each of the two rounds. So much fun just deciding which two discs to bring. Initially I though a Roc,or buzz with a putter but then changed that too a Sidewinder and Roc, but right before we started I changed again and played with a sidewinder and my everyday putter. Good event and I played well, I average about 61 on this course so my first round 56 was my second best round ever on the course. I kept the same discs and shot a second round 58, really blowing hole 12, a hole I consistently par, grrrrrrrrr...... At the end of play I was lucky enough to win the Ace pot throw off with my putter four feet from the pin so a smooth $57 was added to my wallet. I finish 4th of 5 Pro Open players, but damn there were a lot of really good scores in the other divisions. I don't understand why more players didn't play Open? With Daniel Marcus and Billy Dunne playing in the division it was intimidating if you were looking to take the division and there scores of 101 and 104 respectively outpaced everyone else, but the first and second place guys in AM1 would have finished 3rd and 4th if they had played in open and six of the Am1 players would have finished ahead of my score. Well to each their own, it is such a tough call which division to play in certainly the guys in Am1 had a lot of tightly bunched competition so got a great golf tournament out of it. In all it was a beautiful weather day for golf and I enjoyed the day.
Coming up, trying to keep the practice up this short week, on Thursday I head up to VT to Sugarbush, On Friday My sister Lee and Ken Marshall get married on the top of the mountain, then we play down to the base. On Sunday the Sugarbush Open my last tune up tourney before the AmWorlds. Then another short week and then on the 23rd I head out to Rochester NY. I will make more of an effort to keep up the blog through the Worlds using my ipod to add little updates.

Season Number Six

Happy St. Patrick's Day not that I celebrate in anyway. So the new season begins and I went out for my first round last Saturday. There was still way to much snow on the hill at Devens for my liking. Since I played a total of one round since October I was just awful. No worries though! I was so sore for about four days from that round of 70 that I have not picked up a disc this week. That will change today though and I will do something at lunch or after work, even if it is just throwing in a field.
Last season was all about getting enough points to qualify for the Am World Championship in Rochester NY and I am nmore than happy to report my invitation has arrived.
I am already planning the trip and hope I can actually play so many days in a row. I never play more than three times a week and will certainly have to do some training just to be able to play everyday for a week. Still it was a nice accomplishment to reach and I really did focus all of last season on getting there.
So with the 2011 Am Worlds in mind and the $1500 dollars I will end up spending by the end of it, I am going to have to limit some of my local tournament play. My schedule as I look ahead will have to cut some really great tournaments that I love. Last year I played I think 17 tournaments and this year not so much. What I am thinking right now is ...

4/23/11 - Sherwood Island Open
5/14/11 - Eastern Mass Championships
6/11-12/11 - Borderland Spring Fling (maybe...my anniversary is the 11th)
6/18/11 - Pokerpalooza Reloaded
7/23-31/11 - At the 2011 Am Worlds
9/24/11 - NH States Hunts Mean 18
10/1-2/11 - Cranbury Classic
10/22/11 - NEFA Finals

So there you have it... I will really miss playing the Dragan Championship, it is one of my favorite events and the courses are great. I just need to conserve money and the trip is hotel for two night and just is not in the budget.

Wow! season is so done for me...

I really ran out of steam at the end of the year. As the finals approached I was down on my game and just going through the motions. The big goal of earning enough points to qualify to play in the Worlds next year accomplished I was just done with competitive play. I still showed up but just was not very happy, I wasn't really having much fun. So much so that I decided to skip the finals. I had the excuse of some pressing work things but probably could have fit it in. I just did not want to make one more trip to another course I don't play well on to come in 6th or so. I have not thrown a disc since that decision and although recently I have thought about playing a round I have not gotten out or missed it.

I started some weight training to try to counter the elbow issues I had this year and will continue to stay in shape. Next season right now the plan is to practice more and do less tournaments. I really have to think about which 5 or six I want to play. I want them to be special and enjoyable. I will also play the worlds for the experience.

Good year though. There are a lot of great guys playing in the Adv. Masters and I really enjoyed the hanging out and competing. That's all for this year. --Eddie

Cranbury Classic 8/21-22

The annual pilgrimage to Norwalk CT took place this last week as I attended the Cranbury Classic for the third time. I can not report dear readers that my play was good. In contrast to how I have played this year it was quite bad. The course wooded and somewhat like Borderlands with slightly larger elevation changes it plays a lot harder than it looks. At least for this player it is a pain in the game.
Why do I keep going back? It is the friends, I stay with the Dunnes' and we have a really good time. This year there were extra guests, Greg Wintrob, Heather Eng, Jeremy Koling and Mike Siamond which made it very enjoyable. The down time was a lot of fun.
The Rounds:
In practice the 62 I shot was the high point of my play for the weekend. They expanded a few holes that I think added a couple throws to a round. So my high scores will probably stay the same for years if my game does not improve. http://soresport.com/discgolf/ When the nicely run tournament finally started my luck certainly changed and all the fairways I hit in practice was a distant memory. Round one 65, then later that afternoon an even worse 66. I was ready to go home at this point but a night of pizza and relaxing kept me around. Day two was one round and I shot a 63 to recoup some of my self respect, still not great but at least I didn't get three consecutive worse rounds.
I really want to forget the golf part of this weekend and then spend the next couple weeks practicing my drives in a field. The social aspect I will take every time and look forward when I can hang out with people again.

Results for Cranbury Classic

How did they guests do:
Greg won Pro masters
Heather got 2nd in Adv. Women
Bill came in 6th in Advanced
Mike came in 6th in Adv Masters
Jeremy came in 3rd in Pro Open
I finished 4th in Adv. Masters

Greater Hartford Disc Golf Open

7/25/10 - Played in the GHDGO and have to say I really enjoyed myself, this park Wickam, in Manchester CT is a great place to play and the tournament was really well run. I did not play great but still all and all 9th of 19 was not a bad showing in Am1.

Besides this I have not played at all. I had a hiking trip this last weekend and plan to get out onto the course this week.

Run for the Border 7/10-11/2010

I love northern Vermont and really planned to enjoy my visit to not one but two courses in Montgomery VT. Up on Friday for a practice round, I ran into Maureen McErlean and Scott Howard at the store well supplying for camping. We went up to Cherry Hill for a walk through and practice. I shot a 65 in that and felt good about it. The front nine is a beautiful mix of grassy and wooded holes of all shapes and sizes. New to the course you can not really take a practice round as an indicator of how you will play it. For me, usually I play 4-5 throws worse during a tournament just because I am a bit more tight and nervous. The back nine is new up on a hilly mountainside with narrow long wooded throws and more open uphill ones, but still all wooded. Throwing straight and in the direction you intended is key to playing these nine holes.
On Saturday we started on Cherry Hill and playing Am1 started on hole eight, a big hyzer elbow over 600' long. If there is one thing I can say about this course it is long for most players. I figured 70 would be a good round but hoped for more. It is hilly and challenging all the way through with many OB lines on the front nine. What I did not count on was how tiring the course would be. I played decent enough in the morning in the plus 80 degree muggy heat. I shot a 69 and felt good being only a few throws off the lead.I played the back well shooting a 33 but blew the later front hole. I figured if I could fix my mistakes on the front I would be golden going into day two. Then the horror began, just too hot and tired I performed poorly the second round and again the front nine where there are quite a few birdie chances messed me up and I finished the second round with a 73. Even though I was tired I needed to take a Roc and go over to the Black Falls course and walk through it maybe throw a shot or many to feel like I knew a bit about the course. I would be on the last card in my division on the second day and was pretty discouraged after the first day.
I came into the second day stiff but ready to give it a good go. I played okay with a 58 in the first round which moved me up the board into 6th of 12, there were some really high scores in the leaders pack and things shuffled quite a bit going into the second round. Again though the heat and tiredness made me lose some steam in the second round. I threw a 62 and finished in 7th of 12 I believe. Overall I felt Cherry Hill was too hard for my skill level, but see that it can be played well because Steve Brinster came in and shot a 51 and 54 on it. WOW!!!!! I think he shot a 50 and 47 on the Black Falls course which is also amazing to me although those second scores seem more possible to me. Cherry hill though really needs a lot of work, being brand new it makes sense that it is still a bit thick out there. Still a bit of thinning would not hurt it in attracting more less skilled players. I know although it was a well run tournament I would not make the trip again soon. At least until the memory of my frustration faded enough for me to feel like the challenge instead of dreading the thought of it. It is a strange thing for me, I really did not feel good in playing to a 69 and 73 so I would not seek that out again soon. It is not really a reflection on the course but on my own head set. I play to enjoy myself and it did not feel enjoyable, it felt too hard with lucky bounces making a good or bad hole. Maybe if I could execute like Steve Brinster ( The guy is amazing to me) I would feel different. So like many of the more challenging courses I will probably only go every few years waiting until the memory of the frustration fades. I have done this with the course in North Calais, great course, well developed but just too hard for my skill level. I could see myself playing Black Falls again though, really nice course and the way the light comes into the woods in the afternoon was beautiful. I could enjoy a few games alone in those woods just enjoying the flight of the disc and the quiet punctuated with the ching of chains.
Sitting so far north is the other factor in getting to play these courses, five hours is a long trip and it is a camping weekend when they happen. There are only so many days I am willing to do that in a year. Blah blah complain old man, blah blah.
The event itself was well run by Johnny Betts the owner and creator of Black Falls. His family and friends helped and really put on a well organized event with lots of added cash for the pros. There was free beer on tap for all and free camping right at the courses. A party atmosphere prevailed all weekend and I saw my share of stoned and drunk discgolfers. Since I abstain I stayed about 45 minutes away from the courses in Irasburg at a very nice if not too well lit family campground Tree Corners I do not tolerate the party attitude in anything but small bursts and know to stay away. If you are into it you would have a great time at this event.

Wed. Devens League

I was going good with Josh S playing with me we had a nice flow through most of the round in the weekly Devens league. Then freaking hole 18 got me with a six and really put me in a sour mood. Since I had to finish on hole 4 I had plenty of time to turn a +1 at hole 18 into a +6 round. Very disappointing.