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