Mach III Re-fit....

I was getting bored with the Mach III basket and decided it was time for a re-fit. It was time to finally get the basket truly portable. I ordered a portable pole and base from DGA. Instead of using nuts & bolts to put everything together I was going to update it so the basket could be taken down quickly & easily.

But first, I needed to get the new paint done. I decided to make the basket super visible. I painted everything with a base white. Then a heavy duty orange enamel layer topped off with a flourescent orange. To keep orange paint off any oncoming plastic I finished the paint with a satin clear coat.

The final touch was painting the Spotsy club logo on the number plate. I really like how it turned out...

Now I had to modify the basket, base & pole to fit the PNC post by drilling the holes a little bigger which was a non-factor. I added 12" fishing leader wires to attach the posts to the basket so they would not get lost during transport.

The PNC posts worked perfectly. They hold the basket together and will not work loose, bend or strip out like bolts & nuts. It makes taking apart & putting together the basket so much easier.

 With a little thought and planning I now have my Mach III ready for use anywhere. First stop will be the Hawk Hollow Open coming in October.

Red Oak Rumble

I went up to LaPlata, Md to play in the Red Oak Rumble. Jerry & Billy were hosting their first PDGA event at the new Turkey Hill disc golf course. Since they always come down for our tournaments I wanted to support their events.

The rub here is that the Open, Advanced & Intermediate divisions were going to play from the long blue tees. Ronnie and I drove up the previous Wednesday to get some practice in and there was no way I could play 2 rounds on that set up.

So I decided to drop down to the Rec division. I felt pretty much ashamed and a little dirty but I'm only an 850 rated player and probably never going to get much better no matter how much I practice.

I was feeling pretty good I had been practicing putts in the backyard for about an hour every day for the past 2 weeks...

Including me 5 Spotsy guys traveled up for the first PDGA sanctioned event at the new Turkey Hill Disc Golf Course. I really like this course if you ever get the chance play it. 

The Rec division was playing from the Red tees (Short Tees) both rounds the second round would play the long basket positions. The first round I did okay, not too many mistakes I couldn't recover from. My biggest problem this round was missing the drives on super short 11 & 12. I failed to hit the easy birdies on both holes. But I managed a 57 (+2) and was in third place behind two tied at even par.

The second card all four of us were within four strokes of each other. This round I completely fell apart on my putting. I missed four birdie putts, some as close as 10'. I missed several par saving putts from within 20'. It was a complete disaster within the circle. The only saving grace was that the other three on my card were not doing much better.

That round should have been 62. The lead card played so bad that the second guy on the chase card shot a 61 and ended up winning by one. But I was able to hang on for third.

Red Oak Rumble PDGA Scores

It wasn't a bad day after all. I finished 3rd in Red, Ronnie took 2nd in Intermediate & Cody won the Open division.

I'm pretty sure if I play any more tournaments I'm just going to play Rec. No matter how much I practice or play I will always be an 850 rated player. Maybe one day I'll win one...

Mike Sale: The Quest for 2,500

Starting on Friday, October 11 at noon Mike Sale began his attempt to regain his
world record of most disc golf holes played in 24 hours. In 2013 Mike
set the record at a course in California by playing 1,310 holes. But
that record was broken by Cody MIller in Richmond, Texas. He played
1,637 in May of 2014.

This attempt was also a way for Mike to raise awarness and funds for
students affected by the shooting at the University of California Santa
Barbera where he is a student. So far he has raised $1,500. 

Donate to Fighting School Violence

Mike was determined to regain the record and put it out of reach for any
challengers. The Tiki course at The Blockhouse would be perfect. With a
support team that included his parents and friends and a sponsorship
from Discraft. Mike played each hole with two assistants following him
making sure he always had a disc ready to go at every tee pad or basket.
One person was always with Mike at all times calling in the score of
each hole by pocket radio to a score keeper. 

Each hole on the TIki course was aced at a minimum of once during the
attempt. A brisk pace was the order of the day as he had reached 500 by
the third hour and he continued that pace reaching 1,000 by hour six. At
2:07 am Saturday morning he broke the current record and still had 14
hours to go. By sunrise he had passed 2,200 holes and was still going
strong. By 10am he was at 2,700 holes played. With about 30 minutes left
in the 24 hours Mike decided to stop on a specific number  and at 23
hours 57 minutes he stopped at 2,900 disc golf holes played.

The world record is unofficial until the details are submitted to Guiness World Record officals.

During his 24 hours on the Tiki course Mike walked 80.5 miles playing 161.11
rounds, completing 2,900 holes and hitting 114 aces. An average of 2
holes per minute.