The Results Are In...

...and I did horribly.

As many of you know, the past four days were spent in my first big-scale disc golf tournament.

I have competed in a doubles tourney once and as a rec player in the Bemidji Open, but this was my first time really competing. The first thing I have to say is how well the tournament was put together. Travis Hagen and his many helpers did a great job designing the course and making the entire weekend about comraderie! The layout was very challenging, but it was fair and fun. Having the forethought to provide golf carts to transport players from one side of the course to the other was a great example of how well thought out it was. The opening remarks by Hagen showed how incredibly passionate he is about the sport and about providing an avenue for the sport to grow. I'm really glad this was my first experience.

Now to how I played. Overall, I felt good about my tournament. Over four days I probably threw 125 holes or more including my practice holes. I played rather consistent. I've only been seriously playing for about a year and my progress has been great. I need to work on consistency in my release, my accuracy and learning when to play it safe. After two rounds I was 19th out if I think 35 advanced division players. I was playing well in the final round and likely looking at ending up top 15, but on hole 16 on the loop my drive was taken OB by the wind and instead of playing it safe, I decided to go for the green. I turned over a forehand and the unraveling began. I ended up shooting 26 strokes over four holes. I'm definitely disappointed in how I finished, but finishing approximately 23rd of 35 while playing in a division above my skill level isn't bad.

I had so much fun and I am definitely even more hooked on disc golf than I was before. I plan on spending the next couple months working strictly on technique and preparing for next season's tournaments. I can't say enough about the family feel the North Dakota disc golf community provides. All the people I played with were great company and everyone encouraged and cheered each other on. 

I'm not sure where or when it will be, but I am determined to play as a Pro in a large-scale tournament and be able to compete for lead card. I don't think I will ever be a top player, but just being able to play in the Pro division is my goal! 

The person I need to thank the most is my incredible wife. She is less than 10 weeks away from having our second child and she was basically a single mom this weekend so I could play in the tournament! She had to deal with our little monster all alone and she didn't complain at all! Hopefully in the future we can travel to some tournaments as a family and make them into small vacations!

I had a blast and look forward to next season! Now for a couple weeks off from disc golf and time to focus on my Masters thesis!