Gettin' Ready....

The 4th annual DGCR Hawk Hollow meet is next weekend. Three days of camping & Disc Golf on one of the best private courses on the east coast.

Today I started getting all my stuff together. I set up my new tent to make sure everything fit the way it's supposed to. I bought a CampRight Truck Bed Tent after the problems I had with my tent last year.

It went up pretty easy. There is plenty of room and seems like it will be perfect for me. My camping cot fit in to the back with ample room. Instead of the air mattress that went flat halfway through the night and totally sucked I bought a Gander Mountain Mojo Cot and it sleeps great.

All I have to do is get the grill ready, scrub out the coolers and pack everything up Friday morning.

Fall is coming...

My Shendoah Shag performance sucked beyond bad. It pretty much killed my wanting to play disc golf for a while.

This weekend the temps dropped dramatically and I decided to drive to the mountains today.

Plug the headphones in. Crank up some of my favorite music and head out for an all day ride.

Getting up on Skyline and the warm day turned a nice cool. Not a lot of traffic, you can ride for miles before seeing another vehicle.

It takes a lot of the disc golf misery away when you can ride for the day and have fun.

Skyline Drive or Last Place?

Today was the River City Open. I could drive down and play a morning round from the Dorey long tees and the afternoon round at The Village. Scoring a cornucopia of bogeys, double bogeys & triple bogeys.

Or....

I could take a ride up to Skyline drive on perfect day for a road trip.

I chose the latter and I'm pretty sure I made the right choice.

I didn't leave The 'Burg til 11am and took off toward Waugh's in Orange to take a break and check out the latest stuff.

Then it was off to Skyline. It had been almost a year since my last ride up there. The skies were clear and blue the air was warm but not hot and the Sporty was running great. As I head west on 33 and getting closer to the mountains a dark rain cloud was parked directly in front of me. But I kept on going.

When I got up to the entrance the temp had dropped at least 10 degrees and was actually pretty cold. I had to put on my jacket after buying my season pass. I headed north on Skyline in spite of possible rain.

By the time I got a few miles the skies began to clear and the light traffic made the drive sweet. The park was still very green from all the rain this summer. The wildlife was out and about too. Many deer and their fawns and even a black bear with her cub ran across the road in front of me.

The only bummer of the day was that The Stable is now the Family Restaurant and wasn't open. So I had to settle for an Italian BMT from subway.

A Full Day Saturday

Had a great day today....

I met up with Jeff & Austin for a morning round at Loriella. Before we started there were some dark clouds on the horizon so I check my iPhone radar app and there was a good patch of rain off to the East. It was either going to miss us or get us really good. We decided to go ahead and start.

 I started off pretty good but #3 gave me a few problems. I did end up getting a few birdies.

I was holding up pretty good until 9 and the wheels fell off a little but I was able to hit a good tunnel shot and birdie 13. On 13 a drop of rain was falling every now & then and by the time we reached 14 tee it was coming down pretty good. It was a refreshing cold rain too so we decided to keep on playing. By looking at the scorecard the rain didn't do much to improve our scores. It was the first time in a long time I had played in that heavy a rain before. I now have a new appreciation of being able to actually see where I'm throwing a disc. I'll have to keep some Rain-X in my truck for m glasses.

Jeff, me & Austin (kind of) on 15 tee pad...

Four birdies and I still end up 9 over. But it was a fun round. Austin and I were comparing complaint/gripe count. Austin was at about 10 for the round and I was at about 10 per hole.

Went home and fixed me some lunch and the skies cleared. So I decided to take the Sporty out for a test ride. 

The ride went great. I ended up riding to a place to get it inspected and now I'm ready to get some riding done before Summer is over. Hit Skyline this Fall for a colors ride.

Two weeks ago I found the damaged rear pulley. Since then a new chrome rear fork & pulley adjusters, replacement rear wheel, replaced the rear belt pulley & new front 30t front pulley, new drive belt, new chrome belt shields, new tires, new brake pads, cleaned out the brake lines with new fluids, fresh Bel-Ray 10w fork oil, fresh oil and filter and fresh primary oil. I also had to repair the primary drain plug threads.

Almost There...

I just about got the Sporty back together. Today I got the 30t front belt pulley installed.

This will lower my high end cruising RPM's which will get me to 60 MPG and will be less wear & tear on the motor.

The rear fork swingarm, wheel and belt guards are on. Everything is fitting exactly as it should.

All that's left to do is put the exhaust pipes back on, fill the primary and put the new oil filter on and fill the oil tank.

Getting it Back Together...

While I was waiting on the last few parts to come in I went ahead and put new brake pads on the front with fresh fluid and changed the front fork oil. I went down from 15w to some Bel-Ray 10w. I'll see how much that softens up the front end. At least it wasn't as fouled as much as the last time I changed it.

 

I picked up the last parts this morning. The rear fork from the local machine shop. What was supposed to be a simple bearing & races pressed in to the swingarm the retaining clip didn't fit and had to me machined which ended up doubling the cost. On top of that the outer bearing covers were not on leaving the bearings exposed. I know for a fact they were there when I dropped it all off. (I checked the replacement kit to make sure he had everything)

All I got was... "They weren't in the bag with the other part"

Oh well, what can you do. Just pay the bill and get out of there. Luckily I had the covers from the original swingarm to replace them and they fit fine.

So begins the process of putting this all back together....

I get the swingarm mounted after having to take some sand paper to the inside of spacer bushing so it would slide better. It mounts on fine and seems to fit just like it's supposed too.

I get the rear wheel on and the new axle nut adjusters to align the rear wheel are too tight for the axle. I have to take them out to the shed. Clamp them in a vise and burr it out so it will fit. With that little detail done the rear wheel goes on.

Next step  will be putting the new front drive pulley on....

Some days are Just Better...

Sunday was a beautiful day for some disc golf. I pick up Austin and met up with Bob & Jeff for a fun round at Loriella. Jeff is still recovering from knee replacement but he managed to get through all 18.

It had been months since Bob and I had a chance to play again and I really impressed him with my improved play. All the exercising, losing weight, putting and open field practice is paying off.

I had one of my best round in a long time. Even though I missed a few birdies and had some bogeys. Nome of my bad shots were that bad.

I was able to par #4 with a great tee shot & open field drive that left me pin high for a short putt. Usually I'm 40' short of the basket and that's twice in the week I was able to make a short putt for par.

On 18 Jeff & I were tied and he throws this straight up the hill drive and end up getting par to my bogey and beats me by one stroke. The weather is starting to cool down for some perfect DG weather.

Feelin' Lucky? Punk!....

The Virginia Lottery has a $1 Frisbee Sctatcher game going on this summer and any ticket that doesn't pay off there is a second chance drawing.

If you second chance ticket is selected you win a Frisbee brand disc golf target & $100 Visa gift card. So far there have been 4 second chance drawings and I have won in two of them.

The first one showed up on my front porch the other day and the second one today...

They are comparable to the In-step brand portable target. Not as heavy duty as the Innova Discatcher sport but not bad for backyard practice.

I bought some red plastic chain to hang down as inner chain to help the targets catch the discs better. The targets also came with Frisbee brand PDGA approved discs.

Two mid-range approach discs and 4 putters in each box. They are perfect DX plastic discs for beginners to learn on. I'll keep a few for my collection and give the rest away to new players.

This gives me a total of 4 practice baskets now. Now all I have to do is get all motivated and stuff to go out and practice more.

Sporty Surprise...

This was the weekend I finally got off my ass and started getting the Sporty ready to ride. I took her outside to start her up after sitting for months...

The surprise came when I was cleaning the months of dust of the Sporty and came across this....

Some how two bolts that keep the drive belt pulley seem to have come loose and were ripped out on a ride.

After taking the wheel off I find even more disturbing things...

Two pulley bolts were already missing. When I take the pulley off the wheel two more bolts are broken leaving just one bolt holding the pulley in place. The pulley is damaged, the rear wheel is damaged and the swing arm in damaged.

I was lucky and found a complete replacement wheel, pulley, rotor & axle/bearing ready to mount on eBay for $150. Since I'm replacing the swing arm I'll be replacing all the parts with chrome ones.

My Friend is a World Champ

This week my good friend and disc golf buddy Austin Pfaff traveled to Emporia, Kansas to the 2013 PDGA Amateur & Junior World Disc Golf Championships and came home the 19 & under Junior champ.

From the opening round until the final putt Austin was in control of his own destiny. He played exceptional golf the entire week never letting anyone challenge him for the win.

On the first day of competition he threw a 1026 rated 49 (-6) opening round at the par 55 Jones West DGC. He was tied for the lead with Omar Williams.

On day 2 of competition the morning round was at the par 55 Peter Pan course. Austin threw a 1014 rated round of 48 (-7). He took the lead at -12. That gave him a 5 stroke lead going in to the afternoon round. He then shot a 1000 rated 57 (-4) at the par 61 Emporia Country Club blue course. Austin finished day two increasing his lead by one at -16.

On day 3 Austin threw his fourth consecutive 1000+ rated round at the par 55 Peter Pan course. His 1032 rated 45 (-10) caught the attention of the PDGA calling the round "Stunning". His total of -27 increased his lead to 15 strokes.

Austin may have had a bad Egg McMuffin to begin day 4. His opening round at Jones East was his first under 1000. He shot a (-4) 56 rated at 991. Colten Montgomery made a run shooting 53 (-7) and went from 4th to 2nd. Going in to the afternoon round Austin was still leading at -31 and Colten -17 was still 14 strokes behind.

In the afternoon Jones East round he cam back to form shooting the low round of 53 (-7). The 1024 rated round moved him even farther out of reach with a 23 stroke lead at -38.

In the semi-final round he threw 1012 rated round scoring 48 (-7) taking him to -45 for the finals. 

The players for the final 9 were Austin Pfaff (-45), Colton Montgomery (-23), Jake Laubner (-16) and Jacob Files (-16). The final round was played at the Emporia Country Club and it was just a formality until Austin putted out the last hole to win the championship.

He fininshed up the great run of disc golf rounds with a 943 rated 29 to end with a total 385 (-45). Colten Montgomery finished 2nd at 406 (-24), Followed by Jake Lauber at 414 (-16) and Jacob Files at 416 (-14).

Austin scored a rating of 1000+ on five of the six full rounds with his highest rated round at 1032.

 Austin on the Champions podium

 Celebrating the win!

 Photos courtesy of Jenn DeVries

State of the Sporty

Summer is not going to last much longer and I have yet to get the Sporty up and running....

Many factors have contributed to this problem. Laziness, procrastination, (could be considered the same thing, but they are not) the monsoon summer we are having this year and the multiple weekends I have played a disc golf tournament.

Luckily there are no DG events the entire month of July. The plan is to get her on the lift this weekend and get the primary & engine oil changed, put the new tires on and all polished up so I can get her inspected.

There is still plenty of great riding days left including a fall ride up to Skyline.

Bayville Bash IX

Last weekend was the Bayville Bash and this year I played in the Advanced Grandmasters division. The first day went pretty good. Because of the large number of players 4 extra holes were added to the course making it a 24 hole round.


The opening round of blue tees to the short baskets I was able to hang with the card. Four birdies and only 2 bogeys and no doubles was one of the best tournament rounds I have ever played.

The second round of the day was short tees to the long baskets. Not as many birdies. Only two and one double bogey. By the end of the round I was getting pretty tired. I missed two 10' birdie putts. Those 2 misses ended up putting me in 5th place with the longest round yet to go.

I was feeling pretty good in the morning. I was only  few strokes behind 4th and had a few strokes on all the players on the card. If I could keep it together and made up those strokes I would make it to the final top card round. But that was not the case. I let my glucose level get too low and blew up on the back side and took a 7 when I just gave up and threw a disc at the basket a few times. I wanted to quit. But I threw an angry hyzer bomb on the next hole and got my only birdie. I finished the round but it was dissapointing.

If I could have just kept it together that last round the 4th place guy posted an 88. I could have easily made it in to the finals card if I hadn't given up.

The good part of the weekend was Austin Pfaff winning the Open division against a good number of experienced Pros. He came from 6 strokes behind during the 3rd round to take a one stroke lead in to the finals. He was able to throw a great round to beat Schwebby by 2 strokes.

Ron Mattingly beat up on the Advanced Division and Cody Bradshaw took 3rd. Laura Clinton took 4th in Advanced women. I finished tied for 6th. But I wasn't last and even though it was a longer course with 16 more holes my scores were better than last year.

Bayville Bash Final Round Slideshow

 

See all the Bayville Bash IX Scores 

2nd Annual LoCo Open

Spotsy team members take home six trophies including four 1st place titles.

Austin Pfaff sets 2 course records on his way to winning the Open title with a total of 100 (-23) 

The first round playing white tees to yellow baskets (short to short) he throws a 1046 rated round of 44 to take the lead. The afternoon round playing blue tees to purpled baskets (long to long) he backed that up with a 1050 rated round of 56 to win the open division by 4 strokes. Stephen Miller takes 2nd with a 104 (-19).

Spotsy players bringin' home the hardware (L-R) Chris Hysell, Austin Pfaff, Laura Clinton, Ron Mattingly, Stephen Miller, Cody Bradshaw and Jimmy Stanley.

In Advanced Ron Mattingly shoots a 116 (-7) to edge out Cody Bradshaw 117 (-8) for the win.

Chris Hysell wins the GrandMasters with 115 (-8) and Jimmy Stanley taks 3rd with 127 (+4).

Laura Clinton won the Women's Rec division with a score of 136 (+23)

In Intermediate Ryan Northcutt finished 5th with a score of 123 (+4). Seth McCurdy was right behind him at 124 (+5). 

I improved from my last year's scores of 71/79 -150 (+27). This year I finished 13th with a 61/71 - 132 (+13). A savings of 14 strokes.

For all the scores - 2nd Annual LoCo Open

Lost Another One...

Last week I was doing open field practice and I lost my Eddie "Killers" dye. This is the second one I have lost and this time in an open field. It wouldn't be so bad except they take about 12 hours to cut out.

But they look so sweet when they are done well...

Maybe I can hold on to this one a little longer.

I also did an easier dye on my newest addition to my bag. A Discraft Zombee with a Walter Heisenberg dye. With a little play on words...

I aslo did the last of my disc golf girl dyes for a women's club out in Washington state. It will be the 1st place prize for their league this year.

This makes an even 10 of these dyes done and that will be the last one.

It's Been a Weird Sportster Year

It's the middle of June and I just renewed my tags for the Sporty. I still haven't had it on the road this Summer.

I am making progress. I renewed the tags online and will have the ramp to get it out repaired this weekend. Hope fully this Saturday I'll get motivated and get the seat ready and the bike on the lift so I can get the oil, primary and brake fluids changed.

She has about 5 pounds of dust on her from sitting around. It will probably take me 3 hours just to get the front wheel polished.

I guess I have been too busy playing Disc Golf tournaments on the weekend. Also the weather this Summer has been fairly wet with severe micro storms hitting every now and then.

I do want to have her ready by 4th of July week.

2013 Battlefield Open

The Battlefield Open was held at the new private course in Richmond, The Village. It's a tough long wooded course.

I'm not going to do much of a play by play except that I started off on 9  hitting pars and before you know it you are 10, 15, 20 over par.

Ended up 10 behind the next guy in MG1 guaranteeing me last place. I could have just taken a nap for the second round and not done any worse. To top it all off (Which is not a big deal to me) my score was wrong and took a 2 stroke penalty. My scorecard was 78 just like the above card, But the TD said it should have been 77 so I ended up at 79. I still don't understand. If both cards had the same score where was the mistake?

But when you are 10 strokes back, what's 2 more piled on...

The second round went better. It was all the MG1 players and we play together a lot and we were having fun and joking around. But like before a start off ok and before you know it exploded scorecard.

The Battlefield Open Advanced Grand Masters (L-R) Larry Merril, Billy Seavey, Me and Jim Street.

Billy won his first MG1 event, Larry took 2nd, Jim finished 3rd and I took last, again.

To celebrate Billy's win he putted his birdie putt on the last hole blindfolded...

For all the scores...

2013 Battlefield Open

Doin' a dye, dye, dye & dye...

I did a a Disc Golf Girl dye for a friend a few months ago and I posted a pic of it and a friend down Newport News way wanted me to do a dye like it for her. It seemed to be a super popular design with the ladies.

So I put forth the proposition on a women's disc golf FB page:

If you send me a champion disc and a self addressed postage paid envelope for the return I would do 5 dyes for the first five that asked.

Needles to say the response was quick.

All together I ended up doing seven dyes.

Here's the interesting part of my story...

I met these women randomly on a women's disc golf Facebook page. I finished the dyes going to the girls that live in Orlando, Florida. I grew up in Orlando, worked at Disney for about 15 years and moved to Virginia in 2000. I looked at the address on the return postage mailer she sent me with the discs and she lives about 200 yards down the same street I grew up in. Seeing that address kinda freaked me out a little. Next time I visit there I'll have to look them up to play a round.

Facebook is Making my World a Little Smaller...

I fished this disc out of the canals at Gordon Bennett Park when I lived in Orlando around '91-'92 (maybe). And since there was no number I could never find the owner. I kept in in my car for years hoping to run in to Sandy. Kept it with me all through college and retired it a few yeas ago when I started playing again. (I didn't want to crack it)

I met Sandy the other night here on the DiscGolf4Women Facebook page and told her I had the disc and she told me to keep it.

It's Been A While...

I haven't dyed anything for a while and I just bought me a 137 Champion Blizzard Vulcan. Everyone that dyes a Vulcan always puts Spock on it. I wasn't going that direction.

Since I'm a Pastafarian I decided it was time to dedicate a disc to the Noodly One Himself.

R'amen

Winchester IFO

Headed up to Jim Barnett Park today for the Winchester IFO (Identified Flying Objects) in Winchester, Virginia.

The morning round didn't go too bad. I only had one bad decision on #9. Shanked a shot in to the woods and instead of playing a safe out and trying to save the bogey I tried to be the hero and unlike John McLean I did die hard. I ended up playing the next shot out to the fairway and two putted for the double par.

But I recovered and held on for a 61. My goal was to stay under 60 so I just missed out on that. I was 3 shots behind the MG1 leader and tied with the other player in the division.

MG1 division - Ed Steele, Bruce Tobias and me...

My goal for the second round was to not do anything too stupid. My upshots during this round was my saving grace. I missed at least 3 birdie putts but didn't 3 putt any holes this round. We all stayed pretty close but Ed hurt his back early and it started to show. He just couldn't throw off the tee well. Most of the round Bruce and I were within one stroke and on hole 7 he took a 5 and that gave me a 2 stroke cushion.

Then came #15. I was 3 stokes ahead with 2 holes to play. All I have to do is safe down the middle. What do I do? Grip lock a shot to the right. Bruce cooly throws a laser shot down the pipe and almost hits an ace and is parked for an easy birdie. My upshot wan't the best but I had a chance for par. But I gacked the putt and took a bogey and now the lead is 1.

On the last hole Bruce pulls a wide drive that goes OB so all I have to do is throw a safe shot and go for the par. I was able to trow my Mamba where I wanted it to go to about 50' short for an easy lay up for par. Bruce took a 5 which gave me the win.

With my 61/58=119 I was able to shave 11 strokes off from last years scores of 65/65=130.  

(L-R) Bob Cannon won Masters, Stephen Miller won Open, I won Advanced Grandmasters and Tom Coffin won Grandmasters. Austin tied for 4th in open division. I had to use an IFO sticker for my trophy. Since the other MG1's were walk ups Brandon didn't make a trophy. So I held up my "better late than Never" Sherando Spartan trophy from a few weeks ago. Brandon is sending me the IFO trophy when he get the chance to make it.

Spotsy had a good day today.