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.