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 . . .