Frisbeegolf News

After going over many different ideas, I have made a final decision on where the 2012 and 2013 Team Keen fundraising money will be donated. The $1,000 raised from the 2012 Team Keen discs will be going to help support 2 local collages in my new hometown of Bend, OR. Central Oregon Community College (COCC) and Oregon State University Cascades (OSU Cascades) are the two colleges here in Bend and over the past few years have been putting together Collegiate Disc Golf teams, and last year COCC competed at the National Championship. Putting together the teams is just the first step and equipment is still limited as the teams are forced to share their practice time with locals on our busy courses.

The 2012 Team Keen donation will go towards purchasing personalized practice baskets for each team. With the help of my friends at DGA, the baskets will be powder-coated in each of the school’s colors with their team logo on the number plate. These baskets will help the team run practice on campus at the athletic field, plus give them a sense of team pride. Not only will the current teams be able to enjoy these new baskets, but teams for years will be able to hone their skills. I think the the growth of collegiate Disc Golf is very important to the success of the sport. The team aspect, to me, is the most important factor. Learning to support your fellow disc golfer is such an amazing character builder I think the collegiate level is a perfect place to engrain this. With the residual funds after the purchase of the baskets, team shirts will be made to be worn proudly at Collegiate Nationals next spring in Augusta, GA.

2012 Team Keen Discs, Click Here!

Now the 2013 Team Keen donation hits back at home with me in Santa Cruz, California. These funds will be going towards a great cause and a perfect example of young people working hard to give back to a friend. A young man, Gavin Jack, an athlete from my alma mater Soquel High School, and member of the Soquel High Disc Golf Club was recently diagnosed with a serious heart issue that required an immediate heart transplant. While the transplant was a success, the medical bills are lingering with the family. Friends and family have joined in to donate through numerous fundraisers and even the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) has stepped up to help to cover these immense costs. 

They need roughly $75,000 to cover the medical costs and to date $43,378 has been raised towards that goal. With the sites within reach, Gavin’s peers in the Soquel High Disc Golf Club want to be sure he reaches that goal so they have decided to run a fundraising Disc Golf tournament. With the help of COTA and the DeLaveaga Disc Golf Club, the students will be running a event on January 25, 2014 at the Pinto Lake Disc Golf Course, in Watsonville, CA. They hope to raise $5,000 through event and they have already started this week in their fundraising efforts.

Needless to say when I heard this story, I was so proud to once again hear that the Disc Golf Club of Soquel was working for such a noble cause. Three years ago, these young people worked so hard with the local community to get a course installed on the campus. Through trials and tribulations, they continued to stand up for this great sport regardless of what the community threw back at them. Because these kids continue to work so hard in all they are passionate about, I will be donating the $1000 from the Team Keen discs to the Soquel High Disc Golf Club in their fundraising efforts to support, their courageous friend and Disc Golfer, Gavin Jack.

I think that both donations will make a huge impact within these two great causes. If you would like to help me reach my goal, the 2013 or 2013 Team Keen discs are available for a $20 donation through www.NateDoss.com. 100% of the proceeds will go to the causes explained above. Thank you for your time and always for your support!

Thanks,

After going over many different ideas, I have made a final decision on where the 2012 and 2013 Team Keen fundraising money will be donated. The $1,000 raised from the 2012 Team Keen discs will be going to help support 2 local collages in my new hometown of Bend, OR. Central Oregon Community College (COCC) and Oregon State University Cascades (OSU Cascades) are the two colleges here in Bend and over the past few years have been putting together Collegiate Disc Golf teams, and last year COCC competed at the National Championship. Putting together the teams is just the first step and equipment is still limited as the teams are forced to share their practice time with locals on our busy courses.

The 2012 Team Keen donation will go towards purchasing personalized practice baskets for each team. With the help of my friends at DGA, the baskets will be powder-coated in each of the school’s colors with their team logo on the number plate. These baskets will help the team run practice on campus at the athletic field, plus give them a sense of team pride. Not only will the current teams be able to enjoy these new baskets, but teams for years will be able to hone their skills. I think the the growth of collegiate Disc Golf is very important to the success of the sport. The team aspect, to me, is the most important factor. Learning to support your fellow disc golfer is such an amazing character builder I think the collegiate level is a perfect place to engrain this. With the residual funds after the purchase of the baskets, team shirts will be made to be worn proudly at Collegiate Nationals next spring in Augusta, GA.

2012 Team Keen Discs, Click Here!

Now the 2013 Team Keen donation hits back at home with me in Santa Cruz, California. These funds will be going towards a great cause and a perfect example of young people working hard to give back to a friend. A young man, Gavin Jack, an athlete from my alma mater Soquel High School, and member of the Soquel High Disc Golf Club was recently diagnosed with a serious heart issue that required an immediate heart transplant. While the transplant was a success, the medical bills are lingering with the family. Friends and family have joined in to donate through numerous fundraisers and even the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) has stepped up to help to cover these immense costs. 

They need roughly $75,000 to cover the medical costs and to date $43,378 has been raised towards that goal. With the sites within reach, Gavin’s peers in the Soquel High Disc Golf Club want to be sure he reaches that goal so they have decided to run a fundraising Disc Golf tournament. With the help of COTA and the DeLaveaga Disc Golf Club, the students will be running a event on January 25, 2014 at the Pinto Lake Disc Golf Course, in Watsonville, CA. They hope to raise $5,000 through event and they have already started this week in their fundraising efforts.

Needless to say when I heard this story, I was so proud to once again hear that the Disc Golf Club of Soquel was working for such a noble cause. Three years ago, these young people worked so hard with the local community to get a course installed on the campus. Through trials and tribulations, they continued to stand up for this great sport regardless of what the community threw back at them. Because these kids continue to work so hard in all they are passionate about, I will be donating the $1000 from the Team Keen discs to the Soquel High Disc Golf Club in their fundraising efforts to support, their courageous friend and Disc Golfer, Gavin Jack.

I think that both donations will make a huge impact within these two great causes. If you would like to help me reach my goal, the 2013 or 2013 Team Keen discs are available for a $20 donation through www.NateDoss.com. 100% of the proceeds will go to the causes explained above. Thank you for your time and always for your support!

2013 Team Keen Discs, Click Here!

Thanks,

Over the last seven years I have been traveling to the European sub-continent of Scandinavia. It is always interesting visiting another country that shares the love for Disc Golf and see how they develop. The growth that I have seen since I first visited has been simply amazing, and next to none around the world.

This year’s European Major was held in beautiful Stockholm at Järva Disc Golf Park. Järva has been one of my favorite courses to play over the years. It’s large fairways and challenging greens live up to the tournament’s motto “Easy to Love, Hard to Win.” There is a certain style to European design, with difficult angles, that always have been challenging for me, despite the fact that I like the holes. This year was no different, as the course was set up very difficult with most of the greatest players in the world in attendance.

The trip itself started on a very weird and expensive foot and Val and I. With a few time delays on subways through New York City, we ended up missing our flight to Stockholm out of JFK. They stopped checking international baggage at 60 minutes before the flight, and we missed the cutoff by 2 minutes. This mishap cost us $700 to reschedule our flights, a day of practice, and recoup from jetlag. The next day we were certain to not miss our flight and everything was right on schedule. With a short layover in Amsterdam we landed in Stockholm (only about the 30 hours later than initially planned).

With that little mistake behind us, we were happy to finally make it. Our good friend, Victor Nyhuus picked us up from the airport and then took us out to the course that rainy afternoon. The course had a changed layout but it was still as beautiful and challenging as we remembered. They had done an immaculate job of preparing the course regardless of the rainy weather they had been having. After the practice round, the main challenge was to fight off the jet lag, which was beginning to set in quickly after our long day. The key is to condition yourself to the current time zone by not completely throwing your body clock off when the tournament comes. We decided to head downtown for dinner instead of hanging back at the hotel and possibly “resting our eyes” for a couple minutes. And I’m glad we made it downtown. We found a great vegetarian buffet, Herman’s, overlooking the Stockholm harbor. The atmosphere was awesome and the view was spectacular but once our stomachs were full we were ready for bed. We had a busy day ahead of us to prepare for.

First, Val and I played an early practice round with our Finnish friend, Toni Asikainen, then straight back to the hotel and into taxi headed to the Swedish National Sport Complex. A friend, disc golfer and world distance record holder, Christian Sandström, invited Val, Avery and I to take part in a Disc Golf biomechanics study. The data would help to discover the best ways to throw and injury prevention. We suited up in sensors and threw anhyzers, flat shots, hyzers and side arms to gather as much data as possible. It was such a fun experience to be a part of and I just want to thank “The Storm” (as we call him) for including us in a great study. Watch the video for the full experience.

{youtube}JhENHSio-S8|700|400|0{/youtube}

The study took about six hours, which meant we had to rush to the players meeting downtown. Once the players meeting was over it was a final taxi back to the hotel and almost directly to bed.

The next day was the start of the tournament. I felt I was ready to play but with the tight schedule I didn’t feel completely confident with my game plan. Never the less, it was game time. I ended up shooting a 58 that put me 3 strokes behind leader Will Schusterick. It was a good round with good shots, but still never felt comfortable on course.  With that being said, I was happy to only be three strokes back of the lead.

 Day 2 brought us some, high a swirly winds making a challenging course even more difficult.  Almost our entire group, the lead group, was frustrated except lefty Devan Owens, who was playing with great confidence and purpose. I was feeling even more unconfident as I was making changes for the wind and it wouldn’t react as I expected. With the blink of an eye, we had three holes left, and my chances to recover my round were dwindling. Will and I tied for the round. I was happy to not lose any ground to the first round leader but was disappointed I didn’t make any up either.

As Day 3 came, I felt that if I was going to have a chance to win I needed to make a move and not let the course get the best of me. I committed to a more intense warm-up and made sure I was ready to play.  Through the first three holes I was struggling a bit to make my move, and was last to tee on hole 4. The 4^th hole was a 260ft Par 2, that’s right a Par 2. The tournament staff must have felt the hole was too easy for the field, but it really was not a “gimmie”. The basket was on a mound with two guardian trees you had to go around or through. I took the direct route and to my extreme surprise it went in. I got an ACE!! We all laughed at the fact that I was the only one to “birdie” the hole since it was a Par 2. It had been years since my last ace so I was excited to finally get that monkey of my back. The rest of the round felt a little easier as that ace gave me the confidence I had been lacking. I felt more focused to hit my lines off the tee and make the crucial putts. When the round was over I was happy with my play. I ended up scoring a 54, which was only outshined by Will at an incredible 52.

Will was leading going into the final round; I was in second (5 back) with a group of great players 2 strokes behind me. The final day at a Major always has a different feeling; you can feel the pressure in the air with players knowing it is their last chance to achieve the greatness that could come from an amazing final round.

For me the final round was a huge let down. I was ready to make my move and battle for the win, but I let the wind confuse me yet again. I found myself not judging the wind right all day and it ultimately cost me a chance at the title. I will say though, Will played great all weekend and truly deserved the title. When the chips fell, I ended up finishing in forth. I focused on finding all the positives in the week and am trying to mentally prepare myself for Worlds, the next tournament for us.

Finally, the tournament was over and it was time to have a little fun with friends in downtown Stockholm. We met up with some friends from Finland and Australia, in search of a place to watch the soccer game, Spain vs. Italy We wandered around trying to find a bar, but they were all packed and the town was buzzing. By the time the game was over, we were directed to one of Stockholm’s great nightclubs, F12. It was a cool place simple made up of an outside staircase of this 100 year old building and two patios. Like most popular nightclubs, the place was packed, the drinks were expensive, and the house music was blaring. We had a great time as we took in the atmosphere and enjoyed being in Sweden with friends. The sun was nice at bright at 3am and it was time to finally cram in a cab and head home.

Monday was our final day in Sweden so Avery, Val and I did some sightseeing around Stockholm. The city is truly beautiful and it was just fun to walk around and check out the old buildings. Our main goal was to make the Vasa Museum, which was home to quite possibly Sweden’s biggest failure. The Vasa Museum is home to a giant war ship from the 1600’s that sank literally minutes into its maiden voyage. In the 1950’s it was resurrected and rebuilt with all its intricate details. The museum is a great visit if you’re ever in Stockholm.

I must say that each time we head over the pond a new experience is seemingly always on its way, and this year was no different. I want to thank everything from Stockholm who showed us such great hospitality we really appreciate it. They should be very proud of their event; we had a great time playing in it.

But, it’s nice to be back home, and with the Worlds on the horizon, my excitement is building every single day. Charlotte here we come!

Over the last seven years I have been traveling to the European sub-continent of Scandinavia. It is always interesting visiting another country that shares the love for Disc Golf and see how they develop. The growth that I have seen since I first visited has been simply amazing, and next to none around the world.

This year’s European Major was held in beautiful Stockholm at Järva Disc Golf Park. Järva has been one of my favorite courses to play over the years. It’s large fairways and challenging greens live up to the tournament’s motto “Easy to Love, Hard to Win.” There is a certain style to European design, with difficult angles, that always have been challenging for me, despite the fact that I like the holes. This year was no different, as the course was set up very difficult with most of the greatest players in the world in attendance.

The trip itself started on a very weird and expensive foot and Val and I. With a few time delays on subways through New York City, we ended up missing our flight to Stockholm out of JFK. They stopped checking international baggage at 60 minutes before the flight, and we missed the cutoff by 2 minutes. This mishap cost us $700 to reschedule our flights, a day of practice, and recoup from jetlag. The next day we were certain to not miss our flight and everything was right on schedule. With a short layover in Amsterdam we landed in Stockholm (only about the 30 hours later than initially planned).

With that little mistake behind us, we were happy to finally make it. Our good friend, Victor Nyhuus picked us up from the airport and then took us out to the course that rainy afternoon. The course had a changed layout but it was still as beautiful and challenging as we remembered. They had done an immaculate job of preparing the course regardless of the rainy weather they had been having. After the practice round, the main challenge was to fight off the jet lag, which was beginning to set in quickly after our long day. The key is to condition yourself to the current time zone by not completely throwing your body clock off when the tournament comes. We decided to head downtown for dinner instead of hanging back at the hotel and possibly “resting our eyes” for a couple minutes. And I’m glad we made it downtown. We found a great vegetarian buffet, Herman’s, overlooking the Stockholm harbor. The atmosphere was awesome and the view was spectacular but once our stomachs were full we were ready for bed. We had a busy day ahead of us to prepare for.

First, Val and I played an early practice round with our Finnish friend, Toni Asikainen, then straight back to the hotel and into taxi headed to the Swedish National Sport Complex. A friend, disc golfer and world distance record holder, Christian Sandström, invited Val, Avery and I to take part in a Disc Golf biomechanics study. The data would help to discover the best ways to throw and injury prevention. We suited up in sensors and threw anhyzers, flat shots, hyzers and side arms to gather as much data as possible. It was such a fun experience to be a part of and I just want to thank “The Storm” (as we call him) for including us in a great study. Watch the video for the full experience.

{youtube}JhENHSio-S8|700|400|0{/youtube}

The study took about six hours, which meant we had to rush to the players meeting downtown. Once the players meeting was over it was a final taxi back to the hotel and almost directly to bed.

The next day was the start of the tournament. I felt I was ready to play but with the tight schedule I didn’t feel completely confident with my game plan. Never the less, it was game time. I ended up shooting a 58 that put me 3 strokes behind leader Will Schusterick. It was a good round with good shots, but still never felt comfortable on course.  With that being said, I was happy to only be three strokes back of the lead.

 Day 2 brought us some, high a swirly winds making a challenging course even more difficult.  Almost our entire group, the lead group, was frustrated except lefty Devan Owens, who was playing with great confidence and purpose. I was feeling even more unconfident as I was making changes for the wind and it wouldn’t react as I expected. With the blink of an eye, we had three holes left, and my chances to recover my round were dwindling. Will and I tied for the round. I was happy to not lose any ground to the first round leader but was disappointed I didn’t make any up either.

As Day 3 came, I felt that if I was going to have a chance to win I needed to make a move and not let the course get the best of me. I committed to a more intense warm-up and made sure I was ready to play.  Through the first three holes I was struggling a bit to make my move, and was last to tee on hole 4. The 4^th hole was a 260ft Par 2, that’s right a Par 2. The tournament staff must have felt the hole was too easy for the field, but it really was not a “gimmie”. The basket was on a mound with two guardian trees you had to go around or through. I took the direct route and to my extreme surprise it went in. I got an ACE!! We all laughed at the fact that I was the only one to “birdie” the hole since it was a Par 2. It had been years since my last ace so I was excited to finally get that monkey of my back. The rest of the round felt a little easier as that ace gave me the confidence I had been lacking. I felt more focused to hit my lines off the tee and make the crucial putts. When the round was over I was happy with my play. I ended up scoring a 54, which was only outshined by Will at an incredible 52.

Will was leading going into the final round; I was in second (5 back) with a group of great players 2 strokes behind me. The final day at a Major always has a different feeling; you can feel the pressure in the air with players knowing it is their last chance to achieve the greatness that could come from an amazing final round.

For me the final round was a huge let down. I was ready to make my move and battle for the win, but I let the wind confuse me yet again. I found myself not judging the wind right all day and it ultimately cost me a chance at the title. I will say though, Will played great all weekend and truly deserved the title. When the chips fell, I ended up finishing in forth. I focused on finding all the positives in the week and am trying to mentally prepare myself for Worlds, the next tournament for us.

Finally, the tournament was over and it was time to have a little fun with friends in downtown Stockholm. We met up with some friends from Finland and Australia, in search of a place to watch the soccer game, Spain vs. Italy We wandered around trying to find a bar, but they were all packed and the town was buzzing. By the time the game was over, we were directed to one of Stockholm’s great nightclubs, F12. It was a cool place simple made up of an outside staircase of this 100 year old building and two patios. Like most popular nightclubs, the place was packed, the drinks were expensive, and the house music was blaring. We had a great time as we took in the atmosphere and enjoyed being in Sweden with friends. The sun was nice at bright at 3am and it was time to finally cram in a cab and head home.

Monday was our final day in Sweden so Avery, Val and I did some sightseeing around Stockholm. The city is truly beautiful and it was just fun to walk around and check out the old buildings. Our main goal was to make the Vasa Museum, which was home to quite possibly Sweden’s biggest failure. The Vasa Museum is home to a giant war ship from the 1600’s that sank literally minutes into its maiden voyage. In the 1950’s it was resurrected and rebuilt with all its intricate details. The museum is a great visit if you’re ever in Stockholm.

I must say that each time we head over the pond a new experience is seemingly always on its way, and this year was no different. I want to thank everything from Stockholm who showed us such great hospitality we really appreciate it. They should be very proud of their event; we had a great time playing in it.

But, it’s nice to be back home, and with the Worlds on the horizon, my excitement is building every single day. Charlotte here we come!

Over the last seven years I have been traveling to the European sub-continent of Scandinavia. It is always interesting visiting another country that shares the love for Disc Golf and see how they develop. The growth that I have seen since I first visited has been simply amazing, and next to none around the world.

This year’s European Major was held in beautiful Stockholm at Järva Disc Golf Park. Järva has been one of my favorite courses to play over the years. It’s large fairways and challenging greens live up to the tournament’s motto “Easy to Love, Hard to Win.” There is a certain style to European design, with difficult angles, that always have been challenging for me, despite the fact that I like the holes. This year was no different, as the course was set up very difficult with most of the greatest players in the world in attendance.

The trip itself started on a very weird and expensive foot and Val and I. With a few time delays on subways through New York City, we ended up missing our flight to Stockholm out of JFK. They stopped checking international baggage at 60 minutes before the flight, and we missed the cutoff by 2 minutes. This mishap cost us $700 to reschedule our flights, a day of practice, and recoup from jetlag. The next day we were certain to not miss our flight and everything was right on schedule. With a short layover in Amsterdam we landed in Stockholm (only about the 30 hours later than initially planned).

With that little mistake behind us, we were happy to finally make it. Our good friend, Victor Nyhuus picked us up from the airport and then took us out to the course that rainy afternoon. The course had a changed layout but it was still as beautiful and challenging as we remembered. They had done an immaculate job of preparing the course regardless of the rainy weather they had been having. After the practice round, the main challenge was to fight off the jet lag, which was beginning to set in quickly after our long day. The key is to condition yourself to the current time zone by not completely throwing your body clock off when the tournament comes. We decided to head downtown for dinner instead of hanging back at the hotel and possibly “resting our eyes” for a couple minutes. And I’m glad we made it downtown. We found a great vegetarian buffet, Herman’s, overlooking the Stockholm harbor. The atmosphere was awesome and the view was spectacular but once our stomachs were full we were ready for bed. We had a busy day ahead of us to prepare for.

First, Val and I played an early practice round with our Finnish friend, Toni Asikainen, then straight back to the hotel and into taxi headed to the Swedish National Sport Complex. A friend, disc golfer and world distance record holder, Christian Sandström, invited Val, Avery and I to take part in a Disc Golf biomechanics study. The data would help to discover the best ways to throw and injury prevention. We suited up in sensors and threw anhyzers, flat shots, hyzers and side arms to gather as much data as possible. It was such a fun experience to be a part of and I just want to thank “The Storm” (as we call him) for including us in a great study. Watch the video for the full experience.

{youtube}JhENHSio-S8|700|400|0{/youtube}

The study took about six hours, which meant we had to rush to the players meeting downtown. Once the players meeting was over it was a final taxi back to the hotel and almost directly to bed.

The next day was the start of the tournament. I felt I was ready to play but with the tight schedule I didn’t feel completely confident with my game plan. Never the less, it was game time. I ended up shooting a 58 that put me 3 strokes behind leader Will Schusterick. It was a good round with good shots, but still never felt comfortable on course.  With that being said, I was happy to only be three strokes back of the lead.

 Day 2 brought us some, high a swirly winds making a challenging course even more difficult.  Almost our entire group, the lead group, was frustrated except lefty Devan Owens, who was playing with great confidence and purpose. I was feeling even more unconfident as I was making changes for the wind and it wouldn’t react as I expected. With the blink of an eye, we had three holes left, and my chances to recover my round were dwindling. Will and I tied for the round. I was happy to not lose any ground to the first round leader but was disappointed I didn’t make any up either.

As Day 3 came, I felt that if I was going to have a chance to win I needed to make a move and not let the course get the best of me. I committed to a more intense warm-up and made sure I was ready to play.  Through the first three holes I was struggling a bit to make my move, and was last to tee on hole 4. The 4^th hole was a 260ft Par 2, that’s right a Par 2. The tournament staff must have felt the hole was too easy for the field, but it really was not a “gimmie”. The basket was on a mound with two guardian trees you had to go around or through. I took the direct route and to my extreme surprise it went in. I got an ACE!! We all laughed at the fact that I was the only one to “birdie” the hole since it was a Par 2. It had been years since my last ace so I was excited to finally get that monkey of my back. The rest of the round felt a little easier as that ace gave me the confidence I had been lacking. I felt more focused to hit my lines off the tee and make the crucial putts. When the round was over I was happy with my play. I ended up scoring a 54, which was only outshined by Will at an incredible 52.

Will was leading going into the final round; I was in second (5 back) with a group of great players 2 strokes behind me. The final day at a Major always has a different feeling; you can feel the pressure in the air with players knowing it is their last chance to achieve the greatness that could come from an amazing final round.

For me the final round was a huge let down. I was ready to make my move and battle for the win, but I let the wind confuse me yet again. I found myself not judging the wind right all day and it ultimately cost me a chance at the title. I will say though, Will played great all weekend and truly deserved the title. When the chips fell, I ended up finishing in forth. I focused on finding all the positives in the week and am trying to mentally prepare myself for Worlds, the next tournament for us.

Finally, the tournament was over and it was time to have a little fun with friends in downtown Stockholm. We met up with some friends from Finland and Australia, in search of a place to watch the soccer game, Spain vs. Italy We wandered around trying to find a bar, but they were all packed and the town was buzzing. By the time the game was over, we were directed to one of Stockholm’s great nightclubs, F12. It was a cool place simple made up of an outside staircase of this 100 year old building and two patios. Like most popular nightclubs, the place was packed, the drinks were expensive, and the house music was blaring. We had a great time as we took in the atmosphere and enjoyed being in Sweden with friends. The sun was nice at bright at 3am and it was time to finally cram in a cab and head home.

Monday was our final day in Sweden so Avery, Val and I did some sightseeing around Stockholm. The city is truly beautiful and it was just fun to walk around and check out the old buildings. Our main goal was to make the Vasa Museum, which was home to quite possibly Sweden’s biggest failure. The Vasa Museum is home to a giant war ship from the 1600’s that sank literally minutes into its maiden voyage. In the 1950’s it was resurrected and rebuilt with all its intricate details. The museum is a great visit if you’re ever in Stockholm.

I must say that each time we head over the pond a new experience is seemingly always on its way, and this year was no different. I want to thank everything from Stockholm who showed us such great hospitality we really appreciate it. They should be very proud of their event; we had a great time playing in it.

But, it’s nice to be back home, and with the Worlds on the horizon, my excitement is building every single day. Charlotte here we come!

Over the last seven years I have been traveling to the European sub-continent of Scandinavia. It is always interesting visiting another country that shares the love for Disc Golf and see how they develop. The growth that I have seen since I first visited has been simply amazing, and next to none around the world.

This year’s European Major was held in beautiful Stockholm at Järva Disc Golf Park. Järva has been one of my favorite courses to play over the years. It’s large fairways and challenging greens live up to the tournament’s motto “Easy to Love, Hard to Win.” There is a certain style to European design, with difficult angles, that always have been challenging for me, despite the fact that I like the holes. This year was no different, as the course was set up very difficult with most of the greatest players in the world in attendance.

The trip itself started on a very weird and expensive foot and Val and I. With a few time delays on subways through New York City, we ended up missing our flight to Stockholm out of JFK. They stopped checking international baggage at 60 minutes before the flight, and we missed the cutoff by 2 minutes. This mishap cost us $700 to reschedule our flights, a day of practice, and recoup from jetlag. The next day we were certain to not miss our flight and everything was right on schedule. With a short layover in Amsterdam we landed in Stockholm (only about the 30 hours later than initially planned).

With that little mistake behind us, we were happy to finally make it. Our good friend, Victor Nyhuus picked us up from the airport and then took us out to the course that rainy afternoon. The course had a changed layout but it was still as beautiful and challenging as we remembered. They had done an immaculate job of preparing the course regardless of the rainy weather they had been having. After the practice round, the main challenge was to fight off the jet lag, which was beginning to set in quickly after our long day. The key is to condition yourself to the current time zone by not completely throwing your body clock off when the tournament comes. We decided to head downtown for dinner instead of hanging back at the hotel and possibly “resting our eyes” for a couple minutes. And I’m glad we made it downtown. We found a great vegetarian buffet, Herman’s, overlooking the Stockholm harbor. The atmosphere was awesome and the view was spectacular but once our stomachs were full we were ready for bed. We had a busy day ahead of us to prepare for.

First, Val and I played an early practice round with our Finnish friend, Toni Asikainen, then straight back to the hotel and into taxi headed to the Swedish National Sport Complex. A friend, disc golfer and world distance record holder, Christian Sandström, invited Val, Avery and I to take part in a Disc Golf biomechanics study. The data would help to discover the best ways to throw and injury prevention. We suited up in sensors and threw anhyzers, flat shots, hyzers and side arms to gather as much data as possible. It was such a fun experience to be a part of and I just want to thank “The Storm” (as we call him) for including us in a great study. Watch the video for the full experience.

{youtube}JhENHSio-S8|700|400|0{/youtube}

The study took about six hours, which meant we had to rush to the players meeting downtown. Once the players meeting was over it was a final taxi back to the hotel and almost directly to bed.

The next day was the start of the tournament. I felt I was ready to play but with the tight schedule I didn’t feel completely confident with my game plan. Never the less, it was game time. I ended up shooting a 58 that put me 3 strokes behind leader Will Schusterick. It was a good round with good shots, but still never felt comfortable on course.  With that being said, I was happy to only be three strokes back of the lead.

 Day 2 brought us some, high a swirly winds making a challenging course even more difficult.  Almost our entire group, the lead group, was frustrated except lefty Devan Owens, who was playing with great confidence and purpose. I was feeling even more unconfident as I was making changes for the wind and it wouldn’t react as I expected. With the blink of an eye, we had three holes left, and my chances to recover my round were dwindling. Will and I tied for the round. I was happy to not lose any ground to the first round leader but was disappointed I didn’t make any up either.

As Day 3 came, I felt that if I was going to have a chance to win I needed to make a move and not let the course get the best of me. I committed to a more intense warm-up and made sure I was ready to play.  Through the first three holes I was struggling a bit to make my move, and was last to tee on hole 4. The 4^th hole was a 260ft Par 2, that’s right a Par 2. The tournament staff must have felt the hole was too easy for the field, but it really was not a “gimmie”. The basket was on a mound with two guardian trees you had to go around or through. I took the direct route and to my extreme surprise it went in. I got an ACE!! We all laughed at the fact that I was the only one to “birdie” the hole since it was a Par 2. It had been years since my last ace so I was excited to finally get that monkey of my back. The rest of the round felt a little easier as that ace gave me the confidence I had been lacking. I felt more focused to hit my lines off the tee and make the crucial putts. When the round was over I was happy with my play. I ended up scoring a 54, which was only outshined by Will at an incredible 52.

Will was leading going into the final round; I was in second (5 back) with a group of great players 2 strokes behind me. The final day at a Major always has a different feeling; you can feel the pressure in the air with players knowing it is their last chance to achieve the greatness that could come from an amazing final round.

For me the final round was a huge let down. I was ready to make my move and battle for the win, but I let the wind confuse me yet again. I found myself not judging the wind right all day and it ultimately cost me a chance at the title. I will say though, Will played great all weekend and truly deserved the title. When the chips fell, I ended up finishing in forth. I focused on finding all the positives in the week and am trying to mentally prepare myself for Worlds, the next tournament for us.

Finally, the tournament was over and it was time to have a little fun with friends in downtown Stockholm. We met up with some friends from Finland and Australia, in search of a place to watch the soccer game, Spain vs. Italy We wandered around trying to find a bar, but they were all packed and the town was buzzing. By the time the game was over, we were directed to one of Stockholm’s great nightclubs, F12. It was a cool place simple made up of an outside staircase of this 100 year old building and two patios. Like most popular nightclubs, the place was packed, the drinks were expensive, and the house music was blaring. We had a great time as we took in the atmosphere and enjoyed being in Sweden with friends. The sun was nice at bright at 3am and it was time to finally cram in a cab and head home.

Monday was our final day in Sweden so Avery, Val and I did some sightseeing around Stockholm. The city is truly beautiful and it was just fun to walk around and check out the old buildings. Our main goal was to make the Vasa Museum, which was home to quite possibly Sweden’s biggest failure. The Vasa Museum is home to a giant war ship from the 1600’s that sank literally minutes into its maiden voyage. In the 1950’s it was resurrected and rebuilt with all its intricate details. The museum is a great visit if you’re ever in Stockholm.

I must say that each time we head over the pond a new experience is seemingly always on its way, and this year was no different. I want to thank everything from Stockholm who showed us such great hospitality we really appreciate it. They should be very proud of their event; we had a great time playing in it.

But, it’s nice to be back home, and with the Worlds on the horizon, my excitement is building every single day. Charlotte here we come!

Over the last seven years I have been traveling to the European sub-continent of Scandinavia. It is always interesting visiting another country that shares the love for Disc Golf and see how they develop. The growth that I have seen since I first visited has been simply amazing, and next to none around the world.

This year’s European Major was held in beautiful Stockholm at Järva Disc Golf Park. Järva has been one of my favorite courses to play over the years. It’s large fairways and challenging greens live up to the tournament’s motto “Easy to Love, Hard to Win.” There is a certain style to European design, with difficult angles, that always have been challenging for me, despite the fact that I like the holes. This year was no different, as the course was set up very difficult with most of the greatest players in the world in attendance.

The trip itself started on a very weird and expensive foot and Val and I. With a few time delays on subways through New York City, we ended up missing our flight to Stockholm out of JFK. They stopped checking international baggage at 60 minutes before the flight, and we missed the cutoff by 2 minutes. This mishap cost us $700 to reschedule our flights, a day of practice, and recoup from jetlag. The next day we were certain to not miss our flight and everything was right on schedule. With a short layover in Amsterdam we landed in Stockholm (only about the 30 hours later than initially planned).

With that little mistake behind us, we were happy to finally make it. Our good friend, Victor Nyhuus picked us up from the airport and then took us out to the course that rainy afternoon. The course had a changed layout but it was still as beautiful and challenging as we remembered. They had done an immaculate job of preparing the course regardless of the rainy weather they had been having. After the practice round, the main challenge was to fight off the jet lag, which was beginning to set in quickly after our long day. The key is to condition yourself to the current time zone by not completely throwing your body clock off when the tournament comes. We decided to head downtown for dinner instead of hanging back at the hotel and possibly “resting our eyes” for a couple minutes. And I’m glad we made it downtown. We found a great vegetarian buffet, Herman’s, overlooking the Stockholm harbor. The atmosphere was awesome and the view was spectacular but once our stomachs were full we were ready for bed. We had a busy day ahead of us to prepare for.

First, Val and I played an early practice round with our Finnish friend, Toni Asikainen, then straight back to the hotel and into taxi headed to the Swedish National Sport Complex. A friend, disc golfer and world distance record holder, Christian Sandström, invited Val, Avery and I to take part in a Disc Golf biomechanics study. The data would help to discover the best ways to throw and injury prevention. We suited up in sensors and threw anhyzers, flat shots, hyzers and side arms to gather as much data as possible. It was such a fun experience to be a part of and I just want to thank “The Storm” (as we call him) for including us in a great study. Watch the video for the full experience.

{youtube}JhENHSio-S8|700|400|0{/youtube}

The study took about six hours, which meant we had to rush to the players meeting downtown. Once the players meeting was over it was a final taxi back to the hotel and almost directly to bed.

The next day was the start of the tournament. I felt I was ready to play but with the tight schedule I didn’t feel completely confident with my game plan. Never the less, it was game time. I ended up shooting a 58 that put me 3 strokes behind leader Will Schusterick. It was a good round with good shots, but still never felt comfortable on course.  With that being said, I was happy to only be three strokes back of the lead.

 Day 2 brought us some, high a swirly winds making a challenging course even more difficult.  Almost our entire group, the lead group, was frustrated except lefty Devan Owens, who was playing with great confidence and purpose. I was feeling even more unconfident as I was making changes for the wind and it wouldn’t react as I expected. With the blink of an eye, we had three holes left, and my chances to recover my round were dwindling. Will and I tied for the round. I was happy to not lose any ground to the first round leader but was disappointed I didn’t make any up either.

As Day 3 came, I felt that if I was going to have a chance to win I needed to make a move and not let the course get the best of me. I committed to a more intense warm-up and made sure I was ready to play.  Through the first three holes I was struggling a bit to make my move, and was last to tee on hole 4. The 4^th hole was a 260ft Par 2, that’s right a Par 2. The tournament staff must have felt the hole was too easy for the field, but it really was not a “gimmie”. The basket was on a mound with two guardian trees you had to go around or through. I took the direct route and to my extreme surprise it went in. I got an ACE!! We all laughed at the fact that I was the only one to “birdie” the hole since it was a Par 2. It had been years since my last ace so I was excited to finally get that monkey of my back. The rest of the round felt a little easier as that ace gave me the confidence I had been lacking. I felt more focused to hit my lines off the tee and make the crucial putts. When the round was over I was happy with my play. I ended up scoring a 54, which was only outshined by Will at an incredible 52.

Will was leading going into the final round; I was in second (5 back) with a group of great players 2 strokes behind me. The final day at a Major always has a different feeling; you can feel the pressure in the air with players knowing it is their last chance to achieve the greatness that could come from an amazing final round.

For me the final round was a huge let down. I was ready to make my move and battle for the win, but I let the wind confuse me yet again. I found myself not judging the wind right all day and it ultimately cost me a chance at the title. I will say though, Will played great all weekend and truly deserved the title. When the chips fell, I ended up finishing in forth. I focused on finding all the positives in the week and am trying to mentally prepare myself for Worlds, the next tournament for us.

Finally, the tournament was over and it was time to have a little fun with friends in downtown Stockholm. We met up with some friends from Finland and Australia, in search of a place to watch the soccer game, Spain vs. Italy We wandered around trying to find a bar, but they were all packed and the town was buzzing. By the time the game was over, we were directed to one of Stockholm’s great nightclubs, F12. It was a cool place simple made up of an outside staircase of this 100 year old building and two patios. Like most popular nightclubs, the place was packed, the drinks were expensive, and the house music was blaring. We had a great time as we took in the atmosphere and enjoyed being in Sweden with friends. The sun was nice at bright at 3am and it was time to finally cram in a cab and head home.

Monday was our final day in Sweden so Avery, Val and I did some sightseeing around Stockholm. The city is truly beautiful and it was just fun to walk around and check out the old buildings. Our main goal was to make the Vasa Museum, which was home to quite possibly Sweden’s biggest failure. The Vasa Museum is home to a giant war ship from the 1600’s that sank literally minutes into its maiden voyage. In the 1950’s it was resurrected and rebuilt with all its intricate details. The museum is a great visit if you’re ever in Stockholm.

I must say that each time we head over the pond a new experience is seemingly always on its way, and this year was no different. I want to thank everything from Stockholm who showed us such great hospitality we really appreciate it. They should be very proud of their event; we had a great time playing in it.

But, it’s nice to be back home, and with the Worlds on the horizon, my excitement is building every single day. Charlotte here we come!

With this year’s spring tour coming to an end, it seems fitting that extreme weather would be at our doorstep. We knew that heading to Emporia, KS, for the 2012 Glass Blown Open the weather would be as spontaneous as it has been every trip we’ve made there. Mother Nature did not disappoint this year.  There has been a scary trend over the last few GBO’s with perfect conditions early in the week but less than desirable conditions (cold, rainy, and windy) as the event started. This year we were lucky enough to avoid the rain and cold but the wind was enough for everyone to handle.

The GBO is a great tournament to play, but mentally you have to ready for anything. It is important to capture the opportunities when you have a chance because you never know what the next round has in store.  Unfortunately for me, the strokes were falling out of my pockets like dollars in a casino.

The tournament play was only half the story at this year’s GBO, as Saturday night a huge tornado came heading our way. We were glued to the Weather Channel and TorCon 9 for hours awaiting the arrival of the storm. The closer the storm got, the more we realized how hard it would be to leave our home out in the parking lot to get destroyed.

So, at about midnight, Val, Avery and I took Big Blue and headed west to avoid the worst of the extreme weather. While they suggest to “never run from a tornado” we were under strong suggestion of a Kansas local that we make a break for it while we had the chance. After a white-knuckle drive, we made it to Strong City, KS, and pulled behind the nearest gas station to find some cover. As Emporia was under the Tornado watch and everyone was in bunkered storm shelters, Strong City barely saw a drop of rain. We were not the only ones dodging the storm, as we found company in Ricky Wysocki, Big Jerm, Paige Peirce, Devan Owens, Paul McBeth and Brittany Blair who had found the same gas station to bunker down in. We stayed glued to the radar just watching and wondering what was going on in Emporia.

When we finally saw the storm had passed at about 2:30am, we all headed back to town to get some well-needed sleep. Unfortunately in Kansas even though storms pass through, the wind continues to blow. Needless to say, Sunday’s weather was crazy with some of the worst wind I have ever played in. I was happy to get on the course and off without too much damage to my ego, but it was definitely time to leave Emporia.

We next headed to Lawrence, KS (Larryville) for a meet and greet signing at the local outdoor shop; Sunflower. We played a showcase round at their local course, Centennial Park, which brought around 50 spectators to the event. Val, Avery, Justin Atwater-Taylor (Owner of Grip Equipment and Lawrence local) and I played 18 holes for the entire local disc golf community to enjoy. The entire event was a great experience with a chance meet some great local players and play a fun round with my closest friends. After the round, it was dinner and drinks at the local brewery and one of our favorite stops, Free State Brewing. We shared a few beers and an amazing dinner that ended our great day in Larryville.

The next morning, Val and I headed into Kansas City to hang with one of our best friends and legend, “Crazy” John Brooks. It was great afternoon spent playing disc golf with Crazy and one of his long time friends Bob. Bob has a sweet course right in his back yard (that they call “Buck and Dough”) so we decided to play doubles/skins. The teams were Val/Crazy and Bob/I.  The match was so much fun! Val and Crazy jumped out to a big lead in the beginning but with local knowledge of Bob we were able to make a big comeback and take the match in the last few holes. The night ended with a great BBQ and bon-fire in Crazy’s backyard till the wee hours.

Another great trip to Kansas, but the tour must continue. We packed up Big Blue and started our way west back to California, with a stop in the New Mexico Rockies for a tournament on some unexplored territory for us.

With this year’s spring tour coming to an end, it seems fitting that extreme weather would be at our doorstep. We knew that heading to Emporia, KS, for the 2012 Glass Blown Open the weather would be as spontaneous as it has been every trip we’ve made there. Mother Nature did not disappoint this year.  There has been a scary trend over the last few GBO’s with perfect conditions early in the week but less than desirable conditions (cold, rainy, and windy) as the event started. This year we were lucky enough to avoid the rain and cold but the wind was enough for everyone to handle.

The GBO is a great tournament to play, but mentally you have to ready for anything. It is important to capture the opportunities when you have a chance because you never know what the next round has in store.  Unfortunately for me, the strokes were falling out of my pockets like dollars in a casino.

The tournament play was only half the story at this year’s GBO, as Saturday night a huge tornado came heading our way. We were glued to the Weather Channel and TorCon 9 for hours awaiting the arrival of the storm. The closer the storm got, the more we realized how hard it would be to leave our home out in the parking lot to get destroyed.

So, at about midnight, Val, Avery and I took Big Blue and headed west to avoid the worst of the extreme weather. While they suggest to “never run from a tornado” we were under strong suggestion of a Kansas local that we make a break for it while we had the chance. After a white-knuckle drive, we made it to Strong City, KS, and pulled behind the nearest gas station to find some cover. As Emporia was under the Tornado watch and everyone was in bunkered storm shelters, Strong City barely saw a drop of rain. We were not the only ones dodging the storm, as we found company in Ricky Wysocki, Big Jerm, Paige Peirce, Devan Owens, Paul McBeth and Brittany Blair who had found the same gas station to bunker down in. We stayed glued to the radar just watching and wondering what was going on in Emporia.

When we finally saw the storm had passed at about 2:30am, we all headed back to town to get some well-needed sleep. Unfortunately in Kansas even though storms pass through, the wind continues to blow. Needless to say, Sunday’s weather was crazy with some of the worst wind I have ever played in. I was happy to get on the course and off without too much damage to my ego, but it was definitely time to leave Emporia.

We next headed to Lawrence, KS (Larryville) for a meet and greet signing at the local outdoor shop; Sunflower. We played a showcase round at their local course, Centennial Park, which brought around 50 spectators to the event. Val, Avery, Justin Atwater-Taylor (Owner of Grip Equipment and Lawrence local) and I played 18 holes for the entire local disc golf community to enjoy. The entire event was a great experience with a chance meet some great local players and play a fun round with my closest friends. After the round, it was dinner and drinks at the local brewery and one of our favorite stops, Free State Brewing. We shared a few beers and an amazing dinner that ended our great day in Larryville.

The next morning, Val and I headed into Kansas City to hang with one of our best friends and legend, “Crazy” John Brooks. It was great afternoon spent playing disc golf with Crazy and one of his long time friends Bob. Bob has a sweet course right in his back yard (that they call “Buck and Dough”) so we decided to play doubles/skins. The teams were Val/Crazy and Bob/I.  The match was so much fun! Val and Crazy jumped out to a big lead in the beginning but with local knowledge of Bob we were able to make a big comeback and take the match in the last few holes. The night ended with a great BBQ and bon-fire in Crazy’s backyard till the wee hours.

Another great trip to Kansas, but the tour must continue. We packed up Big Blue and started our way west back to California, with a stop in the New Mexico Rockies for a tournament on some unexplored territory for us.

With this year’s spring tour coming to an end, it seems fitting that extreme weather would be at our doorstep. We knew that heading to Emporia, KS, for the 2012 Glass Blown Open the weather would be as spontaneous as it has been every trip we’ve made there. Mother Nature did not disappoint this year.  There has been a scary trend over the last few GBO’s with perfect conditions early in the week but less than desirable conditions (cold, rainy, and windy) as the event started. This year we were lucky enough to avoid the rain and cold but the wind was enough for everyone to handle.

The GBO is a great tournament to play, but mentally you have to ready for anything. It is important to capture the opportunities when you have a chance because you never know what the next round has in store.  Unfortunately for me, the strokes were falling out of my pockets like dollars in a casino.

The tournament play was only half the story at this year’s GBO, as Saturday night a huge tornado came heading our way. We were glued to the Weather Channel and TorCon 9 for hours awaiting the arrival of the storm. The closer the storm got, the more we realized how hard it would be to leave our home out in the parking lot to get destroyed.

So, at about midnight, Val, Avery and I took Big Blue and headed west to avoid the worst of the extreme weather. While they suggest to “never run from a tornado” we were under strong suggestion of a Kansas local that we make a break for it while we had the chance. After a white-knuckle drive, we made it to Strong City, KS, and pulled behind the nearest gas station to find some cover. As Emporia was under the Tornado watch and everyone was in bunkered storm shelters, Strong City barely saw a drop of rain. We were not the only ones dodging the storm, as we found company in Ricky Wysocki, Big Jerm, Paige Peirce, Devan Owens, Paul McBeth and Brittany Blair who had found the same gas station to bunker down in. We stayed glued to the radar just watching and wondering what was going on in Emporia.

When we finally saw the storm had passed at about 2:30am, we all headed back to town to get some well-needed sleep. Unfortunately in Kansas even though storms pass through, the wind continues to blow. Needless to say, Sunday’s weather was crazy with some of the worst wind I have ever played in. I was happy to get on the course and off without too much damage to my ego, but it was definitely time to leave Emporia.

We next headed to Lawrence, KS (Larryville) for a meet and greet signing at the local outdoor shop; Sunflower. We played a showcase round at their local course, Centennial Park, which brought around 50 spectators to the event. Val, Avery, Justin Atwater-Taylor (Owner of Grip Equipment and Lawrence local) and I played 18 holes for the entire local disc golf community to enjoy. The entire event was a great experience with a chance meet some great local players and play a fun round with my closest friends. After the round, it was dinner and drinks at the local brewery and one of our favorite stops, Free State Brewing. We shared a few beers and an amazing dinner that ended our great day in Larryville.

The next morning, Val and I headed into Kansas City to hang with one of our best friends and legend, “Crazy” John Brooks. It was great afternoon spent playing disc golf with Crazy and one of his long time friends Bob. Bob has a sweet course right in his back yard (that they call “Buck and Dough”) so we decided to play doubles/skins. The teams were Val/Crazy and Bob/I.  The match was so much fun! Val and Crazy jumped out to a big lead in the beginning but with local knowledge of Bob we were able to make a big comeback and take the match in the last few holes. The night ended with a great BBQ and bon-fire in Crazy’s backyard till the wee hours.

Another great trip to Kansas, but the tour must continue. We packed up Big Blue and started our way west back to California, with a stop in the New Mexico Rockies for a tournament on some unexplored territory for us.

With this year’s spring tour coming to an end, it seems fitting that extreme weather would be at our doorstep. We knew that heading to Emporia, KS, for the 2012 Glass Blown Open the weather would be as spontaneous as it has been every trip we’ve made there. Mother Nature did not disappoint this year.  There has been a scary trend over the last few GBO’s with perfect conditions early in the week but less than desirable conditions (cold, rainy, and windy) as the event started. This year we were lucky enough to avoid the rain and cold but the wind was enough for everyone to handle.

The GBO is a great tournament to play, but mentally you have to ready for anything. It is important to capture the opportunities when you have a chance because you never know what the next round has in store.  Unfortunately for me, the strokes were falling out of my pockets like dollars in a casino.

The tournament play was only half the story at this year’s GBO, as Saturday night a huge tornado came heading our way. We were glued to the Weather Channel and TorCon 9 for hours awaiting the arrival of the storm. The closer the storm got, the more we realized how hard it would be to leave our home out in the parking lot to get destroyed.

So, at about midnight, Val, Avery and I took Big Blue and headed west to avoid the worst of the extreme weather. While they suggest to “never run from a tornado” we were under strong suggestion of a Kansas local that we make a break for it while we had the chance. After a white-knuckle drive, we made it to Strong City, KS, and pulled behind the nearest gas station to find some cover. As Emporia was under the Tornado watch and everyone was in bunkered storm shelters, Strong City barely saw a drop of rain. We were not the only ones dodging the storm, as we found company in Ricky Wysocki, Big Jerm, Paige Peirce, Devan Owens, Paul McBeth and Brittany Blair who had found the same gas station to bunker down in. We stayed glued to the radar just watching and wondering what was going on in Emporia.

When we finally saw the storm had passed at about 2:30am, we all headed back to town to get some well-needed sleep. Unfortunately in Kansas even though storms pass through, the wind continues to blow. Needless to say, Sunday’s weather was crazy with some of the worst wind I have ever played in. I was happy to get on the course and off without too much damage to my ego, but it was definitely time to leave Emporia.

We next headed to Lawrence, KS (Larryville) for a meet and greet signing at the local outdoor shop; Sunflower. We played a showcase round at their local course, Centennial Park, which brought around 50 spectators to the event. Val, Avery, Justin Atwater-Taylor (Owner of Grip Equipment and Lawrence local) and I played 18 holes for the entire local disc golf community to enjoy. The entire event was a great experience with a chance meet some great local players and play a fun round with my closest friends. After the round, it was dinner and drinks at the local brewery and one of our favorite stops, Free State Brewing. We shared a few beers and an amazing dinner that ended our great day in Larryville.

The next morning, Val and I headed into Kansas City to hang with one of our best friends and legend, “Crazy” John Brooks. It was great afternoon spent playing disc golf with Crazy and one of his long time friends Bob. Bob has a sweet course right in his back yard (that they call “Buck and Dough”) so we decided to play doubles/skins. The teams were Val/Crazy and Bob/I.  The match was so much fun! Val and Crazy jumped out to a big lead in the beginning but with local knowledge of Bob we were able to make a big comeback and take the match in the last few holes. The night ended with a great BBQ and bon-fire in Crazy’s backyard till the wee hours.

Another great trip to Kansas, but the tour must continue. We packed up Big Blue and started our way west back to California, with a stop in the New Mexico Rockies for a tournament on some unexplored territory for us.

With this year’s spring tour coming to an end, it seems fitting that extreme weather would be at our doorstep. We knew that heading to Emporia, KS, for the 2012 Glass Blown Open the weather would be as spontaneous as it has been every trip we’ve made there. Mother Nature did not disappoint this year.  There has been a scary trend over the last few GBO’s with perfect conditions early in the week but less than desirable conditions (cold, rainy, and windy) as the event started. This year we were lucky enough to avoid the rain and cold but the wind was enough for everyone to handle.

The GBO is a great tournament to play, but mentally you have to ready for anything. It is important to capture the opportunities when you have a chance because you never know what the next round has in store.  Unfortunately for me, the strokes were falling out of my pockets like dollars in a casino.

The tournament play was only half the story at this year’s GBO, as Saturday night a huge tornado came heading our way. We were glued to the Weather Channel and TorCon 9 for hours awaiting the arrival of the storm. The closer the storm got, the more we realized how hard it would be to leave our home out in the parking lot to get destroyed.

So, at about midnight, Val, Avery and I took Big Blue and headed west to avoid the worst of the extreme weather. While they suggest to “never run from a tornado” we were under strong suggestion of a Kansas local that we make a break for it while we had the chance. After a white-knuckle drive, we made it to Strong City, KS, and pulled behind the nearest gas station to find some cover. As Emporia was under the Tornado watch and everyone was in bunkered storm shelters, Strong City barely saw a drop of rain. We were not the only ones dodging the storm, as we found company in Ricky Wysocki, Big Jerm, Paige Peirce, Devan Owens, Paul McBeth and Brittany Blair who had found the same gas station to bunker down in. We stayed glued to the radar just watching and wondering what was going on in Emporia.

When we finally saw the storm had passed at about 2:30am, we all headed back to town to get some well-needed sleep. Unfortunately in Kansas even though storms pass through, the wind continues to blow. Needless to say, Sunday’s weather was crazy with some of the worst wind I have ever played in. I was happy to get on the course and off without too much damage to my ego, but it was definitely time to leave Emporia.

We next headed to Lawrence, KS (Larryville) for a meet and greet signing at the local outdoor shop; Sunflower. We played a showcase round at their local course, Centennial Park, which brought around 50 spectators to the event. Val, Avery, Justin Atwater-Taylor (Owner of Grip Equipment and Lawrence local) and I played 18 holes for the entire local disc golf community to enjoy. The entire event was a great experience with a chance meet some great local players and play a fun round with my closest friends. After the round, it was dinner and drinks at the local brewery and one of our favorite stops, Free State Brewing. We shared a few beers and an amazing dinner that ended our great day in Larryville.

The next morning, Val and I headed into Kansas City to hang with one of our best friends and legend, “Crazy” John Brooks. It was great afternoon spent playing disc golf with Crazy and one of his long time friends Bob. Bob has a sweet course right in his back yard (that they call “Buck and Dough”) so we decided to play doubles/skins. The teams were Val/Crazy and Bob/I.  The match was so much fun! Val and Crazy jumped out to a big lead in the beginning but with local knowledge of Bob we were able to make a big comeback and take the match in the last few holes. The night ended with a great BBQ and bon-fire in Crazy’s backyard till the wee hours.

Another great trip to Kansas, but the tour must continue. We packed up Big Blue and started our way west back to California, with a stop in the New Mexico Rockies for a tournament on some unexplored territory for us.

After all the fun in Kansas it was time for Val and I to take Big Blue off for a new adventure into unknown territories of the Southwest.New Mexico and the Pendaries Village in the Santa Fe National forest is our destination.

The drive was flat but beautiful in its own way.  As we started heading up and up and up and we knew we were getting closer.  When we got there we were surprised to find ourselves at 7,800 feet on a ball golf course playing disc golf surrounded by mountains.  It was absolutely breathtaking! Playing on tour in the same places every year it is tough to get excited to play anymore, but we were genuinely excited for the weekend.

We got there on Thursday and went out to play our first practice round, but got hit by a freak hailstorm and decided to cut the round short. Its really incredible how the weather can change so quickly that high up.  Thankfully, we were on golf carts and were able to rip through the last few holes before heading in. We were not too worried as the weather for the weekend was forecasted to be amazing.

Pendaries is a mountain community that was founded over 100 years ago by a French sheep rancher, and has turned into tightknit community all based on summer golf season.  The entry of the community takes you through and open range cattle farm that was very cool as the cattle we so close with quite a few cavs around having fun.  The community has taken disc golf very well and we had many of the year round residents watching the rounds all weekend.  Marcos Castillo and Justin Weldon and crew did a great job of running an unforgettable event and really thank them for that.

Friday was a lazy day, as we spent most of the time around our sweet campsite enjoying the fresh mountain air.  We finally made it out the course later that day where Val and I played doubles together for the first time.  We had so much fun and worked well as a team to score a solid 55. Knowing we left some strokes out there we didn’t know if that would cost us. Surprisingly, we ended up taking the doubles by 6 strokes.

Come tournament time, we saw a lot of new faces of the New Mexico locals.  It was great to meet so many new people and enjoy a perfect weekend on the beautiful course.  After a few tournaments of being off my game, I started to feel a little more comfortable and confident in my play. I couldn’t beat our doubles round but I came close by shooting 56 my first and last round of the tourney. In all it was such an amazing event with catered lunch, golf carts, friendly faces, and a beautiful course to top it off.  Thanks to the Pendaries tournament staff for inviting us and hosting such a memorable tournament!

Val and I had some new friends and new experiences under our belt, but it was time to head on down the road.  Not too far though, as we were sent to a small town called Ojo Caliente for a night at a natural hot spring resort.  We got there at about 7:30 pm, with a few hours to spare until the pools were closed, so we grabbed our suits and headed in.  There were six different springs to choose from but our favorite was the Iron pool.  We spent the next few our hours relaxing in the beautiful setting and enjoying the New Mexico starlit skies.

After the night of soaking at the hot springs, we were relaxed and ready for New Mexico brewery tour in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  But before I continue the story, and want to mention that drinking responsibly is very important and something that Val and I always take very seriously. So, please drink responsibly and drink good beer!

First we made our way into the historical and cultural Santa Fe for a delicious New Mexican lunch in the downtown square. After some spice, we strolled through the small streets filled with galleries and local artists selling traditional artwork. Next was our first brew stop at 2^nd Street Brewing, which was a nice restaurant with ok beers but great Internet.  Val and I spent our time wisely getting work done and enjoying a few beers in the process.  Once all the work was done we packed up and headed to the second brew stop, Santa Fe Brewing.

Santa Fe Brewing was little out of town, but once we got there, the locals were out in full force.  We settled up to the bar and started trying the beer.  Chicken Killer Barley wine was the big draw on the beer board so we gave it a try, was good but not as good as the Black IPA which had great flavor. We spent some time with locals and talked about some of the great things Santa Fe had to offer. Once happy hour was over, we got a souvenir growler filled and headed on our way. 

The next stop was Maria’s Restaurant, and suggestion by New Mexico’s favorite woman, Shelia Kirkham. This place had a great menu of New Mexican food and a margarita list that went on forever.  We got our table and started looking over the drink menu.  With more than 200 Margos and 130 Tequilas on the list, needless to say, we were looking for a while.  Val decided to make it easy and go for a recommended Margo and I went for 3 Tequila taster flight. I picked 3 of the tequilas that I was familiar with and knew that I liked, next time I’ll be a little more adventurous. We were so happy when our food came out. It was amazing, and of course covered in red chilies.  After dinner it was getting late and we needed to get up into the Santa Fe National Forest to stake out our campsite.  So we headed up into the forest, winding back and forth up the mountain.  It was dark but you could just make out mounds of snow on the side of the road.  Finally we made it to the Big Tesuque campground, at 9,700 feet.  It was a clear night and not too cold even with the snow so it made some great sleeping weather.

The next morning was amazing we woke up to hillside of snow 20 feet from Big Blue, to a snowmelt creeks running by and a beautiful Aspen tree forest.  It moments like this where Val and I really feel lucky.  Got everything situated in for the day and headed even further up the mountain for the view.  The view was amazing and I felt like I wanted to stay up on that mountain for days but it was time to head down the mountain and on to Albuquerque.

As we drove down to Burque, as the local would call it, Val laid out our itinerary for day 2 of the brewery tour.  Since it was almost lunchtime when we got there our first stop was at a wood fired pizza joint/brewery, Il Vicino.  They had a small selection of beer and a house made root beer, so we grabbed the lunch special, an IPA, and some of that root beer. It was all amazing, and a great start to the day! Il Vicino was located in the neighborhood called Nob Hill, which was full of shop, bar, restaurants, and 2 more breweries within 1000 ft, Kelly’s and Tractor Brewing.

Being in the area, we had to visit Kelly’s Brew Pub and Tractor Brewing and enjoy the beautiful day and great people watching on a busy street.  As the rush hour hit in, it was time to head downtown for Marble Brewing and to meet up with Burque local and Pendaries Spring Classic TD, Marcos Castillo.  Marble had the best beer selection of our tour and a great patio to enjoy it on. We spent the next few hours just chatting it up about everything New Mexico. Our favorite beer of all was the Marble Red. It was nice and hoppy and definitely tops our list of the best Reds ever!

For dinner, we headed to Sadie’s Restaurant, which again was a taste of the New Mexican flavor that I was beginning to become addicted to.  After dinner, Marcos had one more stop for us at La Cumbre Brewing.  La Cumbre was the winner in the American Style IPA division of the Great American Brew Fest in 2011.  The IPA was great and a perfect finish to great time in New Mexico.  Marcos and his girlfriend Myrriah were kind enough to put us at there home for the night and in the morning make us great breakfast to send us on our way West.

Whenever we take the 40 back home to Santa Cruz, we love to stop in Flagstaff, AZ. It is such a cool town to hang in with great energy and good food. We ate at our favorite Thai place in Flag and got a good night sleep in the cool night of the Arizona mountains. We popped out of bed early to start on our 12 hours back home. Val started the day at the driver’s seat and brought us down from the high elevation and into the dessert to the AZ/CA border.  After about 300 miles, I jumped back into the driver’s seat and got us back to Santa Cruz by 10 that night.

The spring tour had its up and downs but it was fun nonetheless.  It’s always a coin toss how the year will start disc golf wise but one thing is certain that we are going to find new things to see and do.  This year was no exception with visiting new town, eating new foods, and conquering new challenges.  We look forward to recharging our batteries in Santa Cruz and getting ready for the long summer tour where the big tournaments wait in the wings.

After all the fun in Kansas it was time for Val and I to take Big Blue off for a new adventure into unknown territories of the Southwest.New Mexico and the Pendaries Village in the Santa Fe National forest is our destination.

The drive was flat but beautiful in its own way.  As we started heading up and up and up and we knew we were getting closer.  When we got there we were surprised to find ourselves at 7,800 feet on a ball golf course playing disc golf surrounded by mountains.  It was absolutely breathtaking! Playing on tour in the same places every year it is tough to get excited to play anymore, but we were genuinely excited for the weekend.

We got there on Thursday and went out to play our first practice round, but got hit by a freak hailstorm and decided to cut the round short. Its really incredible how the weather can change so quickly that high up.  Thankfully, we were on golf carts and were able to rip through the last few holes before heading in. We were not too worried as the weather for the weekend was forecasted to be amazing.

Pendaries is a mountain community that was founded over 100 years ago by a French sheep rancher, and has turned into tightknit community all based on summer golf season.  The entry of the community takes you through and open range cattle farm that was very cool as the cattle we so close with quite a few cavs around having fun.  The community has taken disc golf very well and we had many of the year round residents watching the rounds all weekend.  Marcos Castillo and Justin Weldon and crew did a great job of running an unforgettable event and really thank them for that.

Friday was a lazy day, as we spent most of the time around our sweet campsite enjoying the fresh mountain air.  We finally made it out the course later that day where Val and I played doubles together for the first time.  We had so much fun and worked well as a team to score a solid 55. Knowing we left some strokes out there we didn’t know if that would cost us. Surprisingly, we ended up taking the doubles by 6 strokes.

Come tournament time, we saw a lot of new faces of the New Mexico locals.  It was great to meet so many new people and enjoy a perfect weekend on the beautiful course.  After a few tournaments of being off my game, I started to feel a little more comfortable and confident in my play. I couldn’t beat our doubles round but I came close by shooting 56 my first and last round of the tourney. In all it was such an amazing event with catered lunch, golf carts, friendly faces, and a beautiful course to top it off.  Thanks to the Pendaries tournament staff for inviting us and hosting such a memorable tournament!

Val and I had some new friends and new experiences under our belt, but it was time to head on down the road.  Not too far though, as we were sent to a small town called Ojo Caliente for a night at a natural hot spring resort.  We got there at about 7:30 pm, with a few hours to spare until the pools were closed, so we grabbed our suits and headed in.  There were six different springs to choose from but our favorite was the Iron pool.  We spent the next few our hours relaxing in the beautiful setting and enjoying the New Mexico starlit skies.

After the night of soaking at the hot springs, we were relaxed and ready for New Mexico brewery tour in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  But before I continue the story, and want to mention that drinking responsibly is very important and something that Val and I always take very seriously. So, please drink responsibly and drink good beer!

First we made our way into the historical and cultural Santa Fe for a delicious New Mexican lunch in the downtown square. After some spice, we strolled through the small streets filled with galleries and local artists selling traditional artwork. Next was our first brew stop at 2^nd Street Brewing, which was a nice restaurant with ok beers but great Internet.  Val and I spent our time wisely getting work done and enjoying a few beers in the process.  Once all the work was done we packed up and headed to the second brew stop, Santa Fe Brewing.

Santa Fe Brewing was little out of town, but once we got there, the locals were out in full force.  We settled up to the bar and started trying the beer.  Chicken Killer Barley wine was the big draw on the beer board so we gave it a try, was good but not as good as the Black IPA which had great flavor. We spent some time with locals and talked about some of the great things Santa Fe had to offer. Once happy hour was over, we got a souvenir growler filled and headed on our way. 

The next stop was Maria’s Restaurant, and suggestion by New Mexico’s favorite woman, Shelia Kirkham. This place had a great menu of New Mexican food and a margarita list that went on forever.  We got our table and started looking over the drink menu.  With more than 200 Margos and 130 Tequilas on the list, needless to say, we were looking for a while.  Val decided to make it easy and go for a recommended Margo and I went for 3 Tequila taster flight. I picked 3 of the tequilas that I was familiar with and knew that I liked, next time I’ll be a little more adventurous. We were so happy when our food came out. It was amazing, and of course covered in red chilies.  After dinner it was getting late and we needed to get up into the Santa Fe National Forest to stake out our campsite.  So we headed up into the forest, winding back and forth up the mountain.  It was dark but you could just make out mounds of snow on the side of the road.  Finally we made it to the Big Tesuque campground, at 9,700 feet.  It was a clear night and not too cold even with the snow so it made some great sleeping weather.

The next morning was amazing we woke up to hillside of snow 20 feet from Big Blue, to a snowmelt creeks running by and a beautiful Aspen tree forest.  It moments like this where Val and I really feel lucky.  Got everything situated in for the day and headed even further up the mountain for the view.  The view was amazing and I felt like I wanted to stay up on that mountain for days but it was time to head down the mountain and on to Albuquerque.

As we drove down to Burque, as the local would call it, Val laid out our itinerary for day 2 of the brewery tour.  Since it was almost lunchtime when we got there our first stop was at a wood fired pizza joint/brewery, Il Vicino.  They had a small selection of beer and a house made root beer, so we grabbed the lunch special, an IPA, and some of that root beer. It was all amazing, and a great start to the day! Il Vicino was located in the neighborhood called Nob Hill, which was full of shop, bar, restaurants, and 2 more breweries within 1000 ft, Kelly’s and Tractor Brewing.

Being in the area, we had to visit Kelly’s Brew Pub and Tractor Brewing and enjoy the beautiful day and great people watching on a busy street.  As the rush hour hit in, it was time to head downtown for Marble Brewing and to meet up with Burque local and Pendaries Spring Classic TD, Marcos Castillo.  Marble had the best beer selection of our tour and a great patio to enjoy it on. We spent the next few hours just chatting it up about everything New Mexico. Our favorite beer of all was the Marble Red. It was nice and hoppy and definitely tops our list of the best Reds ever!

For dinner, we headed to Sadie’s Restaurant, which again was a taste of the New Mexican flavor that I was beginning to become addicted to.  After dinner, Marcos had one more stop for us at La Cumbre Brewing.  La Cumbre was the winner in the American Style IPA division of the Great American Brew Fest in 2011.  The IPA was great and a perfect finish to great time in New Mexico.  Marcos and his girlfriend Myrriah were kind enough to put us at there home for the night and in the morning make us great breakfast to send us on our way West.

Whenever we take the 40 back home to Santa Cruz, we love to stop in Flagstaff, AZ. It is such a cool town to hang in with great energy and good food. We ate at our favorite Thai place in Flag and got a good night sleep in the cool night of the Arizona mountains. We popped out of bed early to start on our 12 hours back home. Val started the day at the driver’s seat and brought us down from the high elevation and into the dessert to the AZ/CA border.  After about 300 miles, I jumped back into the driver’s seat and got us back to Santa Cruz by 10 that night.

The spring tour had its up and downs but it was fun nonetheless.  It’s always a coin toss how the year will start disc golf wise but one thing is certain that we are going to find new things to see and do.  This year was no exception with visiting new town, eating new foods, and conquering new challenges.  We look forward to recharging our batteries in Santa Cruz and getting ready for the long summer tour where the big tournaments wait in the wings.

After all the fun in Kansas it was time for Val and I to take Big Blue off for a new adventure into unknown territories of the Southwest.New Mexico and the Pendaries Village in the Santa Fe National forest is our destination.

The drive was flat but beautiful in its own way.  As we started heading up and up and up and we knew we were getting closer.  When we got there we were surprised to find ourselves at 7,800 feet on a ball golf course playing disc golf surrounded by mountains.  It was absolutely breathtaking! Playing on tour in the same places every year it is tough to get excited to play anymore, but we were genuinely excited for the weekend.

We got there on Thursday and went out to play our first practice round, but got hit by a freak hailstorm and decided to cut the round short. Its really incredible how the weather can change so quickly that high up.  Thankfully, we were on golf carts and were able to rip through the last few holes before heading in. We were not too worried as the weather for the weekend was forecasted to be amazing.

Pendaries is a mountain community that was founded over 100 years ago by a French sheep rancher, and has turned into tightknit community all based on summer golf season.  The entry of the community takes you through and open range cattle farm that was very cool as the cattle we so close with quite a few cavs around having fun.  The community has taken disc golf very well and we had many of the year round residents watching the rounds all weekend.  Marcos Castillo and Justin Weldon and crew did a great job of running an unforgettable event and really thank them for that.

Friday was a lazy day, as we spent most of the time around our sweet campsite enjoying the fresh mountain air.  We finally made it out the course later that day where Val and I played doubles together for the first time.  We had so much fun and worked well as a team to score a solid 55. Knowing we left some strokes out there we didn’t know if that would cost us. Surprisingly, we ended up taking the doubles by 6 strokes.

Come tournament time, we saw a lot of new faces of the New Mexico locals.  It was great to meet so many new people and enjoy a perfect weekend on the beautiful course.  After a few tournaments of being off my game, I started to feel a little more comfortable and confident in my play. I couldn’t beat our doubles round but I came close by shooting 56 my first and last round of the tourney. In all it was such an amazing event with catered lunch, golf carts, friendly faces, and a beautiful course to top it off.  Thanks to the Pendaries tournament staff for inviting us and hosting such a memorable tournament!

Val and I had some new friends and new experiences under our belt, but it was time to head on down the road.  Not too far though, as we were sent to a small town called Ojo Caliente for a night at a natural hot spring resort.  We got there at about 7:30 pm, with a few hours to spare until the pools were closed, so we grabbed our suits and headed in.  There were six different springs to choose from but our favorite was the Iron pool.  We spent the next few our hours relaxing in the beautiful setting and enjoying the New Mexico starlit skies.

After the night of soaking at the hot springs, we were relaxed and ready for New Mexico brewery tour in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  But before I continue the story, and want to mention that drinking responsibly is very important and something that Val and I always take very seriously. So, please drink responsibly and drink good beer!

First we made our way into the historical and cultural Santa Fe for a delicious New Mexican lunch in the downtown square. After some spice, we strolled through the small streets filled with galleries and local artists selling traditional artwork. Next was our first brew stop at 2^nd Street Brewing, which was a nice restaurant with ok beers but great Internet.  Val and I spent our time wisely getting work done and enjoying a few beers in the process.  Once all the work was done we packed up and headed to the second brew stop, Santa Fe Brewing.

Santa Fe Brewing was little out of town, but once we got there, the locals were out in full force.  We settled up to the bar and started trying the beer.  Chicken Killer Barley wine was the big draw on the beer board so we gave it a try, was good but not as good as the Black IPA which had great flavor. We spent some time with locals and talked about some of the great things Santa Fe had to offer. Once happy hour was over, we got a souvenir growler filled and headed on our way. 

The next stop was Maria’s Restaurant, and suggestion by New Mexico’s favorite woman, Shelia Kirkham. This place had a great menu of New Mexican food and a margarita list that went on forever.  We got our table and started looking over the drink menu.  With more than 200 Margos and 130 Tequilas on the list, needless to say, we were looking for a while.  Val decided to make it easy and go for a recommended Margo and I went for 3 Tequila taster flight. I picked 3 of the tequilas that I was familiar with and knew that I liked, next time I’ll be a little more adventurous. We were so happy when our food came out. It was amazing, and of course covered in red chilies.  After dinner it was getting late and we needed to get up into the Santa Fe National Forest to stake out our campsite.  So we headed up into the forest, winding back and forth up the mountain.  It was dark but you could just make out mounds of snow on the side of the road.  Finally we made it to the Big Tesuque campground, at 9,700 feet.  It was a clear night and not too cold even with the snow so it made some great sleeping weather.

The next morning was amazing we woke up to hillside of snow 20 feet from Big Blue, to a snowmelt creeks running by and a beautiful Aspen tree forest.  It moments like this where Val and I really feel lucky.  Got everything situated in for the day and headed even further up the mountain for the view.  The view was amazing and I felt like I wanted to stay up on that mountain for days but it was time to head down the mountain and on to Albuquerque.

As we drove down to Burque, as the local would call it, Val laid out our itinerary for day 2 of the brewery tour.  Since it was almost lunchtime when we got there our first stop was at a wood fired pizza joint/brewery, Il Vicino.  They had a small selection of beer and a house made root beer, so we grabbed the lunch special, an IPA, and some of that root beer. It was all amazing, and a great start to the day! Il Vicino was located in the neighborhood called Nob Hill, which was full of shop, bar, restaurants, and 2 more breweries within 1000 ft, Kelly’s and Tractor Brewing.

Being in the area, we had to visit Kelly’s Brew Pub and Tractor Brewing and enjoy the beautiful day and great people watching on a busy street.  As the rush hour hit in, it was time to head downtown for Marble Brewing and to meet up with Burque local and Pendaries Spring Classic TD, Marcos Castillo.  Marble had the best beer selection of our tour and a great patio to enjoy it on. We spent the next few hours just chatting it up about everything New Mexico. Our favorite beer of all was the Marble Red. It was nice and hoppy and definitely tops our list of the best Reds ever!

For dinner, we headed to Sadie’s Restaurant, which again was a taste of the New Mexican flavor that I was beginning to become addicted to.  After dinner, Marcos had one more stop for us at La Cumbre Brewing.  La Cumbre was the winner in the American Style IPA division of the Great American Brew Fest in 2011.  The IPA was great and a perfect finish to great time in New Mexico.  Marcos and his girlfriend Myrriah were kind enough to put us at there home for the night and in the morning make us great breakfast to send us on our way West.

Whenever we take the 40 back home to Santa Cruz, we love to stop in Flagstaff, AZ. It is such a cool town to hang in with great energy and good food. We ate at our favorite Thai place in Flag and got a good night sleep in the cool night of the Arizona mountains. We popped out of bed early to start on our 12 hours back home. Val started the day at the driver’s seat and brought us down from the high elevation and into the dessert to the AZ/CA border.  After about 300 miles, I jumped back into the driver’s seat and got us back to Santa Cruz by 10 that night.

The spring tour had its up and downs but it was fun nonetheless.  It’s always a coin toss how the year will start disc golf wise but one thing is certain that we are going to find new things to see and do.  This year was no exception with visiting new town, eating new foods, and conquering new challenges.  We look forward to recharging our batteries in Santa Cruz and getting ready for the long summer tour where the big tournaments wait in the wings.

After all the fun in Kansas it was time for Val and I to take Big Blue off for a new adventure into unknown territories of the Southwest.New Mexico and the Pendaries Village in the Santa Fe National forest is our destination.

The drive was flat but beautiful in its own way.  As we started heading up and up and up and we knew we were getting closer.  When we got there we were surprised to find ourselves at 7,800 feet on a ball golf course playing disc golf surrounded by mountains.  It was absolutely breathtaking! Playing on tour in the same places every year it is tough to get excited to play anymore, but we were genuinely excited for the weekend.

We got there on Thursday and went out to play our first practice round, but got hit by a freak hailstorm and decided to cut the round short. Its really incredible how the weather can change so quickly that high up.  Thankfully, we were on golf carts and were able to rip through the last few holes before heading in. We were not too worried as the weather for the weekend was forecasted to be amazing.

Pendaries is a mountain community that was founded over 100 years ago by a French sheep rancher, and has turned into tightknit community all based on summer golf season.  The entry of the community takes you through and open range cattle farm that was very cool as the cattle we so close with quite a few cavs around having fun.  The community has taken disc golf very well and we had many of the year round residents watching the rounds all weekend.  Marcos Castillo and Justin Weldon and crew did a great job of running an unforgettable event and really thank them for that.

Friday was a lazy day, as we spent most of the time around our sweet campsite enjoying the fresh mountain air.  We finally made it out the course later that day where Val and I played doubles together for the first time.  We had so much fun and worked well as a team to score a solid 55. Knowing we left some strokes out there we didn’t know if that would cost us. Surprisingly, we ended up taking the doubles by 6 strokes.

Come tournament time, we saw a lot of new faces of the New Mexico locals.  It was great to meet so many new people and enjoy a perfect weekend on the beautiful course.  After a few tournaments of being off my game, I started to feel a little more comfortable and confident in my play. I couldn’t beat our doubles round but I came close by shooting 56 my first and last round of the tourney. In all it was such an amazing event with catered lunch, golf carts, friendly faces, and a beautiful course to top it off.  Thanks to the Pendaries tournament staff for inviting us and hosting such a memorable tournament!

Val and I had some new friends and new experiences under our belt, but it was time to head on down the road.  Not too far though, as we were sent to a small town called Ojo Caliente for a night at a natural hot spring resort.  We got there at about 7:30 pm, with a few hours to spare until the pools were closed, so we grabbed our suits and headed in.  There were six different springs to choose from but our favorite was the Iron pool.  We spent the next few our hours relaxing in the beautiful setting and enjoying the New Mexico starlit skies.

After the night of soaking at the hot springs, we were relaxed and ready for New Mexico brewery tour in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  But before I continue the story, and want to mention that drinking responsibly is very important and something that Val and I always take very seriously. So, please drink responsibly and drink good beer!

First we made our way into the historical and cultural Santa Fe for a delicious New Mexican lunch in the downtown square. After some spice, we strolled through the small streets filled with galleries and local artists selling traditional artwork. Next was our first brew stop at 2^nd Street Brewing, which was a nice restaurant with ok beers but great Internet.  Val and I spent our time wisely getting work done and enjoying a few beers in the process.  Once all the work was done we packed up and headed to the second brew stop, Santa Fe Brewing.

Santa Fe Brewing was little out of town, but once we got there, the locals were out in full force.  We settled up to the bar and started trying the beer.  Chicken Killer Barley wine was the big draw on the beer board so we gave it a try, was good but not as good as the Black IPA which had great flavor. We spent some time with locals and talked about some of the great things Santa Fe had to offer. Once happy hour was over, we got a souvenir growler filled and headed on our way. 

The next stop was Maria’s Restaurant, and suggestion by New Mexico’s favorite woman, Shelia Kirkham. This place had a great menu of New Mexican food and a margarita list that went on forever.  We got our table and started looking over the drink menu.  With more than 200 Margos and 130 Tequilas on the list, needless to say, we were looking for a while.  Val decided to make it easy and go for a recommended Margo and I went for 3 Tequila taster flight. I picked 3 of the tequilas that I was familiar with and knew that I liked, next time I’ll be a little more adventurous. We were so happy when our food came out. It was amazing, and of course covered in red chilies.  After dinner it was getting late and we needed to get up into the Santa Fe National Forest to stake out our campsite.  So we headed up into the forest, winding back and forth up the mountain.  It was dark but you could just make out mounds of snow on the side of the road.  Finally we made it to the Big Tesuque campground, at 9,700 feet.  It was a clear night and not too cold even with the snow so it made some great sleeping weather.

The next morning was amazing we woke up to hillside of snow 20 feet from Big Blue, to a snowmelt creeks running by and a beautiful Aspen tree forest.  It moments like this where Val and I really feel lucky.  Got everything situated in for the day and headed even further up the mountain for the view.  The view was amazing and I felt like I wanted to stay up on that mountain for days but it was time to head down the mountain and on to Albuquerque.

As we drove down to Burque, as the local would call it, Val laid out our itinerary for day 2 of the brewery tour.  Since it was almost lunchtime when we got there our first stop was at a wood fired pizza joint/brewery, Il Vicino.  They had a small selection of beer and a house made root beer, so we grabbed the lunch special, an IPA, and some of that root beer. It was all amazing, and a great start to the day! Il Vicino was located in the neighborhood called Nob Hill, which was full of shop, bar, restaurants, and 2 more breweries within 1000 ft, Kelly’s and Tractor Brewing.

Being in the area, we had to visit Kelly’s Brew Pub and Tractor Brewing and enjoy the beautiful day and great people watching on a busy street.  As the rush hour hit in, it was time to head downtown for Marble Brewing and to meet up with Burque local and Pendaries Spring Classic TD, Marcos Castillo.  Marble had the best beer selection of our tour and a great patio to enjoy it on. We spent the next few hours just chatting it up about everything New Mexico. Our favorite beer of all was the Marble Red. It was nice and hoppy and definitely tops our list of the best Reds ever!

For dinner, we headed to Sadie’s Restaurant, which again was a taste of the New Mexican flavor that I was beginning to become addicted to.  After dinner, Marcos had one more stop for us at La Cumbre Brewing.  La Cumbre was the winner in the American Style IPA division of the Great American Brew Fest in 2011.  The IPA was great and a perfect finish to great time in New Mexico.  Marcos and his girlfriend Myrriah were kind enough to put us at there home for the night and in the morning make us great breakfast to send us on our way West.

Whenever we take the 40 back home to Santa Cruz, we love to stop in Flagstaff, AZ. It is such a cool town to hang in with great energy and good food. We ate at our favorite Thai place in Flag and got a good night sleep in the cool night of the Arizona mountains. We popped out of bed early to start on our 12 hours back home. Val started the day at the driver’s seat and brought us down from the high elevation and into the dessert to the AZ/CA border.  After about 300 miles, I jumped back into the driver’s seat and got us back to Santa Cruz by 10 that night.

The spring tour had its up and downs but it was fun nonetheless.  It’s always a coin toss how the year will start disc golf wise but one thing is certain that we are going to find new things to see and do.  This year was no exception with visiting new town, eating new foods, and conquering new challenges.  We look forward to recharging our batteries in Santa Cruz and getting ready for the long summer tour where the big tournaments wait in the wings.

After all the fun in Kansas it was time for Val and I to take Big Blue off for a new adventure into unknown territories of the Southwest.New Mexico and the Pendaries Village in the Santa Fe National forest is our destination.

The drive was flat but beautiful in its own way.  As we started heading up and up and up and we knew we were getting closer.  When we got there we were surprised to find ourselves at 7,800 feet on a ball golf course playing disc golf surrounded by mountains.  It was absolutely breathtaking! Playing on tour in the same places every year it is tough to get excited to play anymore, but we were genuinely excited for the weekend.

We got there on Thursday and went out to play our first practice round, but got hit by a freak hailstorm and decided to cut the round short. Its really incredible how the weather can change so quickly that high up.  Thankfully, we were on golf carts and were able to rip through the last few holes before heading in. We were not too worried as the weather for the weekend was forecasted to be amazing.

Pendaries is a mountain community that was founded over 100 years ago by a French sheep rancher, and has turned into tightknit community all based on summer golf season.  The entry of the community takes you through and open range cattle farm that was very cool as the cattle we so close with quite a few cavs around having fun.  The community has taken disc golf very well and we had many of the year round residents watching the rounds all weekend.  Marcos Castillo and Justin Weldon and crew did a great job of running an unforgettable event and really thank them for that.

Friday was a lazy day, as we spent most of the time around our sweet campsite enjoying the fresh mountain air.  We finally made it out the course later that day where Val and I played doubles together for the first time.  We had so much fun and worked well as a team to score a solid 55. Knowing we left some strokes out there we didn’t know if that would cost us. Surprisingly, we ended up taking the doubles by 6 strokes.

Come tournament time, we saw a lot of new faces of the New Mexico locals.  It was great to meet so many new people and enjoy a perfect weekend on the beautiful course.  After a few tournaments of being off my game, I started to feel a little more comfortable and confident in my play. I couldn’t beat our doubles round but I came close by shooting 56 my first and last round of the tourney. In all it was such an amazing event with catered lunch, golf carts, friendly faces, and a beautiful course to top it off.  Thanks to the Pendaries tournament staff for inviting us and hosting such a memorable tournament!

Val and I had some new friends and new experiences under our belt, but it was time to head on down the road.  Not too far though, as we were sent to a small town called Ojo Caliente for a night at a natural hot spring resort.  We got there at about 7:30 pm, with a few hours to spare until the pools were closed, so we grabbed our suits and headed in.  There were six different springs to choose from but our favorite was the Iron pool.  We spent the next few our hours relaxing in the beautiful setting and enjoying the New Mexico starlit skies.

After the night of soaking at the hot springs, we were relaxed and ready for New Mexico brewery tour in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  But before I continue the story, and want to mention that drinking responsibly is very important and something that Val and I always take very seriously. So, please drink responsibly and drink good beer!

First we made our way into the historical and cultural Santa Fe for a delicious New Mexican lunch in the downtown square. After some spice, we strolled through the small streets filled with galleries and local artists selling traditional artwork. Next was our first brew stop at 2^nd Street Brewing, which was a nice restaurant with ok beers but great Internet.  Val and I spent our time wisely getting work done and enjoying a few beers in the process.  Once all the work was done we packed up and headed to the second brew stop, Santa Fe Brewing.

Santa Fe Brewing was little out of town, but once we got there, the locals were out in full force.  We settled up to the bar and started trying the beer.  Chicken Killer Barley wine was the big draw on the beer board so we gave it a try, was good but not as good as the Black IPA which had great flavor. We spent some time with locals and talked about some of the great things Santa Fe had to offer. Once happy hour was over, we got a souvenir growler filled and headed on our way. 

The next stop was Maria’s Restaurant, and suggestion by New Mexico’s favorite woman, Shelia Kirkham. This place had a great menu of New Mexican food and a margarita list that went on forever.  We got our table and started looking over the drink menu.  With more than 200 Margos and 130 Tequilas on the list, needless to say, we were looking for a while.  Val decided to make it easy and go for a recommended Margo and I went for 3 Tequila taster flight. I picked 3 of the tequilas that I was familiar with and knew that I liked, next time I’ll be a little more adventurous. We were so happy when our food came out. It was amazing, and of course covered in red chilies.  After dinner it was getting late and we needed to get up into the Santa Fe National Forest to stake out our campsite.  So we headed up into the forest, winding back and forth up the mountain.  It was dark but you could just make out mounds of snow on the side of the road.  Finally we made it to the Big Tesuque campground, at 9,700 feet.  It was a clear night and not too cold even with the snow so it made some great sleeping weather.

The next morning was amazing we woke up to hillside of snow 20 feet from Big Blue, to a snowmelt creeks running by and a beautiful Aspen tree forest.  It moments like this where Val and I really feel lucky.  Got everything situated in for the day and headed even further up the mountain for the view.  The view was amazing and I felt like I wanted to stay up on that mountain for days but it was time to head down the mountain and on to Albuquerque.

As we drove down to Burque, as the local would call it, Val laid out our itinerary for day 2 of the brewery tour.  Since it was almost lunchtime when we got there our first stop was at a wood fired pizza joint/brewery, Il Vicino.  They had a small selection of beer and a house made root beer, so we grabbed the lunch special, an IPA, and some of that root beer. It was all amazing, and a great start to the day! Il Vicino was located in the neighborhood called Nob Hill, which was full of shop, bar, restaurants, and 2 more breweries within 1000 ft, Kelly’s and Tractor Brewing.

Being in the area, we had to visit Kelly’s Brew Pub and Tractor Brewing and enjoy the beautiful day and great people watching on a busy street.  As the rush hour hit in, it was time to head downtown for Marble Brewing and to meet up with Burque local and Pendaries Spring Classic TD, Marcos Castillo.  Marble had the best beer selection of our tour and a great patio to enjoy it on. We spent the next few hours just chatting it up about everything New Mexico. Our favorite beer of all was the Marble Red. It was nice and hoppy and definitely tops our list of the best Reds ever!

For dinner, we headed to Sadie’s Restaurant, which again was a taste of the New Mexican flavor that I was beginning to become addicted to.  After dinner, Marcos had one more stop for us at La Cumbre Brewing.  La Cumbre was the winner in the American Style IPA division of the Great American Brew Fest in 2011.  The IPA was great and a perfect finish to great time in New Mexico.  Marcos and his girlfriend Myrriah were kind enough to put us at there home for the night and in the morning make us great breakfast to send us on our way West.

Whenever we take the 40 back home to Santa Cruz, we love to stop in Flagstaff, AZ. It is such a cool town to hang in with great energy and good food. We ate at our favorite Thai place in Flag and got a good night sleep in the cool night of the Arizona mountains. We popped out of bed early to start on our 12 hours back home. Val started the day at the driver’s seat and brought us down from the high elevation and into the dessert to the AZ/CA border.  After about 300 miles, I jumped back into the driver’s seat and got us back to Santa Cruz by 10 that night.

The spring tour had its up and downs but it was fun nonetheless.  It’s always a coin toss how the year will start disc golf wise but one thing is certain that we are going to find new things to see and do.  This year was no exception with visiting new town, eating new foods, and conquering new challenges.  We look forward to recharging our batteries in Santa Cruz and getting ready for the long summer tour where the big tournaments wait in the wings.

Last week Val and I traveled to Charlotte, NC to play the Carolina Clash, and check out the courses we will play for the 2012 World Championships. I have played Rennaisance (Renny) before but Nevin and Bradford were new for me.

Nevin was a wooded course that has the feel of a typical San McDaniel design.  The course is anchored by control and patience. Even playing the entire course from the short tees, it is easy to see that you don’t want to stray far from the fairway.

Bradford is another mostly wooded course with wide fairways (for Charlotte). The course has a unique and beautiful terrain, but could become nasty if you’re not hitting your line and have to sacrifice shots to get back on track.

Renny, the crown jewel of Charlotte, is by far the most challenging and longer course of the 2012 World’s courses.  With a good balance of woods and open holes, you need to take advantage of the birdie holes when the chance presents itself. Renny has multiple par 4’s and 5’s both in the woods and in the open.  The rounds at Renny are slow, with lots backups and long holes, bringing patience even more into play.

After a good week of practice I feel happy about spending sometime on the World’s courses. I have a lot to prepare for leading up to the tournament, but I’m looking forward to the challenge this year to defend my title. Val and I have put togather a little video for your viewing pleaseure. Enjoy!

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