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.