the latest on the Santa Cruz disc golf scene

I ordered the 2010 DDGC club shirts recently, and made sure the club logo, 'Epicenter of Disc Golf', was included on the front. Sometimes such things are empty slogans that bare little resemblance to reality. Not so with us.

We're literally like an active fault-line from which tremors small and large regularly emanate. Right now we've got so much going on, all at once . . . . it blows the mind! Or at least kinda boggles the mind.

It's a well know fact that two-time world champ and 2008 USDGC champ Nate Doss is a home grown DeLa local, as is top female pro Carrie 'Burl' Berlager. Now we've also got WonderTwins Avery and Valarie Jenkins living here too. They're not really twins.

This year, 2010, is the 25th anniversary of the Masters Cup. I've got plenty to say about this event's history and its future that I'll save it for another post, but for now a little teaser: The $2000 skins match hosted by Tom Schot's World Disc Sports that has preceded the Masters Cup for the past few years will this year include the past four World Champions. Nate, Avery, Feldberg, and The Champ (Ken Climo).

The cat is . . . rowwwwwrrr . . . out of the bag! A group of determined individuals from Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Jose is bidding to host the 2011 Professional Disc Golf World Championships. The plan is to use DeLaveaga, Pinto Lake, Ryan Ranch (Monterey), CSUMB Oaks (Monterey), and Hellyer/LaRaza (San Jose). We should know fairly soon if this news is more Walter Mitty or Walter Kronkite.

My favorite news of the day: tomorrow kicks off the inaugural season of the Santa Cruz County Interscholastic Disc Golf League. We've got 53 kids from five different schools signed up to play in team competition, with a big trophy cup going to the school that wins each year. We'll also award an individual points winner for the weeks that we use the stroke play format (the other half of the time we'll play match play). And there is no reason the number of schools can't grow from five (SLV, Scotts Valley, Harbor, Aptos, and Soquel) to include Santa Cruz High and schools from Watsonville to represent Pinto Lake.

I know high school sports are cash-starved right now, so maybe the affordable aspect of disc golf, which resonates so clearly these day, will shine a light on some of the other positive elements of the sport. One dynamic in particular that I'm interested to see unfold on the high school level is disc golf's egalitarianism. On the course and at tournaments, you just don't see the cliques and social strata that you see in other sports. Players genuinely want everyone else to enjoy the sport to the fullest, and it shows. As our players sign up to play in this high school league, we're noticing that many of them play other high school sports, like baseball, track, and soccer. In other words, they are they typical 'jocks' that enjoy and excel at all sports. But disc golf attracts a good number of kids (and adults) that never showed interest in organized sports. It'll be interesting to see these kids mix, but I'm confident the established disc golf paradigm will hold true and it'll be a great experience for all.

bridging the disc golf awareness gap

I sometimes wonder, in a what-if kind of way, how quickly disc golf's ponderous growth would accelerate if I could wave a magic wand and instantly communicate the following to the rest of the world:

• The game of golf, in both its iterations, is the greatest individual sport ever invented. Millions of people that would otherwise be receptive to this fact remain ignorant because of the many obstacles they rightly perceive as being prohibitive- cost and difficulty chief among them.
• There is a version of golf that retains nearly all of the facets that make it a great game, while removing these and other barriers.
• Disc golf, while easy to learn and enjoy, is much more complex than simply "throw, walk, repeat . . . throw, walk, repeat . . . " A skilled player has an almost infinite array of options when deciding how to execute a throw, and a learned eye recognizes art when he/she witnesses a shot that is thrown with just the right angle, spin, and power to turn this way to avoid one tree, then fade that way to miss another clump of bushes, then fall to the ground with just enough power to trickle toward the target, and finally stop just short of the cliff behind.

I think these facts, in combination, imparted to a sports and outdoor-inclined mind, will make disc golf irresistible.

New year, same slow, unstoppable growth

Two thousand ten began at midnight, with an incredibly bright full moon. Good omen, I hope.

Disc golf-wise, this is the biggest unknown I've experienced in . . . . since I started playing in the late 80's. At this point I'm guessing I won't play in the Masters Cup, for the first time in 18 years, just like I missed the Faultline. But on the other hand a couple non-playing ventures might show progress. That's a sign of aging, I guess, having ones accomplishments be 'off the course'.

Happy New Year. Make 2010 the year you squeeze the most out of your potential. The year of the sponge.

More on Aptos and the rest of the Santa Cruz DG scene

Didn't mention it in the last post, but big props and thanks to Jake and his minions for first getting a course approved at Aptos High School, then making it a reality, and finally for continuing to make improvements to the layout, design and amenities.

It doesn't seem that long ago that, during a round a DeLa, I said to someone "Just imagine: in about a year we'll have FOUR courses in Santa Cruz county!" At the time we had DeLa and Black Mouse, but the Mouse was in a state of disrepair with less than 18 holes, and no way for first-time visitors to figure out the layout. Now look at us.

DeLa- What can you say . . . it's DeLa!

Black Mouse- Although the original layout was better, at least the course is back to 18 holes. Plus, thanks to a great volunteer effort (sometimes it seems like elves come at night and refine paths from hole-to-hole), cement teepads are slowly beginning to increase and small signs help people find the next hole. This course is short, and carved into an extremely wooded and hilly 30 acres. A great contrast to the area's other courses.

Pinto Lake- The work to get that course installed (both politically and sweat-of-the-brow style) is a great testimony to why Tom Schot is a member of the Disc Golf Hall of Fame. After getting the first nine completely installed, with cement pads, DGA signs, Mach III baskets, and tons of OB markers, the 'back nine' is well on the way to being completed as well. Reviews of this course are mixed, but no one can deny that it's tough score-wise and endurance-wise, that it's a beautiful bird sanctuary, and that it has the potential to one day become DeLa's predecessor as a world-class disc golf challenge.

Aptos High School- This course is the perfect compliment to the other three. It's the best choice for beginners due to its moderate length and openness, but the elevation changes, design, and wind keep it interesting for more accomplished players. It already has cement pads on all 18 holes, and Jake just announced the planned addition of alternate pin positions. Considering the steady progress they've achieved there, expect those new positions soon!

First Tournament at Aptos High School DGC

I'm pleased to say that despite rain before, during, and after, the first tourney at Aptos was a success in all ways imaginable. The turnout was great, the whole thing ran smoothly, we started pretty close to on time, lunch was sausage on rolls from Corralitos Market, and the distribution of tags afterward was amazingly fast. Most of all, I was really happy to see how many people paid $40 to play in the rain, with no chance of 'winning' anything. It tells me that people understand that the money to pay for courses has to come from somewhere, and also that more and more people feel strongly enough about the benefits of disc golf to also believe that $40 or even $100 here and there is nothing if it means another glorious frisbee playground. To see pictures, click here.

• I played with a couple Aptos High students in my group, and the father of another student. None of them was particularly prepared for the weather (no umbrellas, for one thing), but not one of them complained even one time. It was the first tournament of any kind for all three of them, and we had a blast.
• Speaking of weather, my combination of Sealskinz waterproof socks and Solomon watershoes worked perfectly. Having a synthetic shammy and a couple regular towels allowed me to throw pretty dry discs, too.
• I started off with seven pars, then birdied seven of the last 11 holes to finish -7. It was good enough to get the #1 tag, so I guess I won the tournament, and that means that I've played in the inaugural tournaments of two courses (Black Mouse is the other) and won them both. What I remember most about the Black Mouse event, though, is the 20-minute walk with Steady Ed from the parking lot tournament central.
• One of the kids in my group told us that he owns three snakes (one a seven-foot Python!), and this same kid, right after we finish our last hole and start to head back, nearly steps on a large lizard. But this wasn't just any lizard- this thing had the longest tail I've ever seen!

Part 2 of 'Knockin' on the Wrong Door', and the latest on Me!

The main point of my last post, though I rambled away from it, is this: If the PDGA or John Duessler think that getting 7,000 people worldwide to sign up for a live webcast of disc golf's most prestigious event makes more than a tiny ripple in the sea of mainstream media and deep-pocket sponsors, they are mistaken. We're still several levels beneath dog shows and synchronized swimming in terms of public awareness. And this is really just a small example of the larger misconception. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If disc golf ever attains large sponsors and TV coverage, it'll happen from the ground up, not the other way around.

If we find creative ways to get more people playing the sport casually, and more casual players competing in leagues and tournaments, the rest will follow.

Last round (for a while) a good one?
Today, I see an orthopedic surgeon to finally address my shoulder injury. If he tells me to shut it down for awhile, I at least got one last round in. Yesterday was Gregory's b-day, and we met at DeLa for a mid-morning round. The weather was a bit brisk with no wind- perfect for disc golf at DeLaveaga.

Gregory hadn't played for more than a month, and the rust was evident early. No disasters- just drives slightly off and putts he normally drills sliding out the side or just missing high or low. An early highlight was an upshot throw from his back (no kidding) on hole 4 after hitting trees early left. He heated it in the second half, proving that it was indeed just rust and not diminished skills.

And speaking of diminished skills, I made a point of telling G not to expect the game he's used to seeing out of me, due to my shoulder problems. I then proceeded to nearly birdie hole 1, birdie 2 with a nice legal leaning putt (what others call a jump-putt), drive past the basket on 4 (missed the short but technical birdie attempt), and birdie 8 and 8a. After that, pars until bogeys on 12 and 13 followed by a birdie on 15. And the the fun began for BOTH of us.

After bogies on 16, neither of us bogeyed the rest of the way. We had four star frames (19, 21, 24 and 26a) and I finished at -7. Normally that'd be good for me but not great, but compared to how I've felt and performed the past four months, it was amazing! The birdies on 26a were especially delicious. Gregory essentially parked it - not an easy thing on that tricky hole - and I nailed my third legal lean-putt of the round. Maybe I should cancel the appointment today . . .

knockin on the wrong door

Being at ground zero, so to speak, it was obvious that PDGA communications director and others worked extremely hard to make the first live broadcast (webcast) of a disc golf event (the USDGC) a big success. And I must say, from a production standpoint, they hit it out of the park. I watched the the broadcast team live before and after (and a little bit during, waiting to tee on hole 3) my rounds. But on Thursday, after my round was over, I went back to my hotel room to change and eat, with the intention of heading right back to the course to catch more of the action live. But I never returned that day.

Once I pulled the live feed up on my laptop, I enjoyed it so much I just stayed in my room and watched it for three hours! After all, I can watch disc golf action anytime, right? I thought the course came across as a disc golf version of a manicured private ball golf course (some will say that's a good thing, some won't). The event appeared very professional, with the many spotters with their red and green flags adding greatly to the effect. Looking at the players collectively, the impression was that they appeared more recreational than professional, but I can't say why. I mean, what is a professional disc golfer supposed to look like, anyway? If our sport ever did reach that upper echelon with big corporate sponsors, million dollar purses, and television coverage, what would a professional disc golfer look like? (Warning: Digression Alert)

It's easy to picture a hybrid version of a PGA Tour ball-golfer and our current 'pro' look, with Salomon, Keen, or (New Balance or) Bite shoes, long shorts, dri-fit polo shirt and hat or visor? Or might it look more like Nikko Locastro (the guy in the picture)? He's got three things that give him a unique look: the big 'fro, the tube socks pulled up to the knees, and the fact that often those tube socks are often of different colors. And that unique look may be what gets disc golf the exposure it needs to get over the top.

In terms of awareness, a sport needs to do something noticeable just to get its foot in the door. It's much easier to keep or hold attention that to attain it in the first place. But I digress . . .

My point is that there is a school of thought among some of those involved with the National Tour that if we can just get the sport on TV, everything else will follow. And, led by John Duessler, they trumpeted the webcast as a seminar moment in the development of the sport before the fact. What's more, after the fact they glowed about the fact that 7,000 different people signed up to watch the webcast. I'll admit that the extra fact about those people being in 22 different countries was really cool, but only 7,000 people? I don't think potential 'big fish' advertisers and sponsors are impressed by that number.

I do think disc golf has a big future, but I think it'll likely happen a little differently than that other school of thought. Check back soon, and I'll finish the thought.