Author Archives: grumblog

Patapsco, back with the blues…

Well, I hit Patapsco from the blues today. Another stellar round.

Not.

While I had some very nice drives, it seems I really need to continue working on the rest of my game. You don’t think so? Check out the stats:

  1. Kid picked up my second shot, but put it back where it was for me. Bogey, 4
  2. Ouch. OUCH! (*$#@@ Triple Bogey, 6
  3. Bogey, 5
  4. Bogey, 4
  5. Double Bogey, 6
  6. This is definitely the first time parred from the blues, if not ever. Par! 4
  7. Birdie, 3
  8. Par, 4
  9. Bogey, 5
  10. Par, 3
  11. Should have Birdied this one. Par, 5
  12. This shouldn’t be here either: Double Bogey, 5
  13. Par, 4
  14. Par, 4
  15. Bogey, 4
  16. Bogey, 5
  17. Bogey, 5
  18. Bogey, 5

The totals: +8, +6 for +14 (ouch) in 41, 40 for 81 strokes. I need to shave 10 strokes off my game before my birthday (Oct 2). And that’s from the blues!

I have a knack it seems for coming up way short on approaches. I think there’s a reason for that. At least, one that I can name: today, I used 2 discs: the XS I found, and the Roc that was given to me by P. Neither was suitable for me to use for approaches. Too long. I need to bring a shorter disc for that stuff.

Today, I also started throwing the extra disc on drives and approaches. I played through a group of 4 (2 were noobs) on 4 (great drive there, btw) and saw no one else. Since I was pretty much alone and not holding anyone up, I took practice throws. Tried some sidearms. That’s going to require a lot of work. Keep throwing them too high.

Finally, I need to work on uphill drives because mine are killing me. On 2 and 16, I keep hitting ground near the red tees. I can’t tell you how much that bites my nads!

Burke: with Katie

I’ve been slacking a bit. I played Burke last Thursday with my sister, Kate, but haven’t gotten around to posting the results. Not that anyone cares. I don’t think anyone’s reading this but me. But anyway…

My sister turned 22 on Wednesday and we played 18 at Burke on Thursday. Here’s the results:

  1. I don’t know how I managed to do this: Double Bogey, 5
  2. I think one of my best drives on this hole. Birdie, 2
  3. Bogey, 4
  4. Par, 3
  5. Par, 3
  6. Par, 3
  7. Par, 4
  8. Birdie, 3
  9. Birdie, 3
  10. Par, 3
  11. Birdie, 3
  12. Par, 3
  13. Bogey, 4
  14. Birdie, 3
  15. Double Bogey, 5
  16. Par, 4
  17. Par, 4
  18. Birdie, 3

Basically, I shot par on the front and back 9s: 30, 32 for a total of 62 strokes. I would be so happy to have that from the blues at Patapsco. My sister ended with 5 over, which is pretty good considering she hasn’t played but a few times, and most of those with object holes instead of baskets.

I hope to play more with Kate, and my brother, and it’s nice to see them both develop an initial interest in the game without my involvement.

Burke Lake: An old friend…

On Sat, I had a chance to go see a Redskins pre-season game against the Steelers. A friend of mine in NoVA was able to get tickets, so I headed his way. Since he lives just a hop, skip, and a jump from Burke Lake, I headed down a wee bit early and we played a round with his GF.

Before we get to the numbers, I just want to talk a bit about BL. I really enjoy this course. It was my first and will always have a place in my heart even though it’s no longer my home course. It’s a short 18 in the woods and on the weekends can be a very crowded place. Being short, it lends itself to the newb player and allowed for me to learn the game without massively bad scores in the beginning. It also taught me about pinball. And hating trees. And made it so that when I now play courses that are out in the open and sculpted like ball golf courses, I feel out of place. “Where are the trees?” I jokingly told the guys at Druid Hill last week that one of the reasons I was throwing poorly was that the “wide open spaces confuse and frighten me.” (Think “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer”) Of course, it wasn’t true, I was just looking for excuses.

The Burke numbers:

  1. I should have parred this one but… Bogey, 4
  2. Par, 3
  3. Par, 3
  4. Par, 3
  5. Bogey, 4
  6. Birdie, 2
  7. Par, 4
  8. Par, 4
  9. Birdie, 3
  10. Par, 3
  11. Birdie, 3
  12. I don’t even remember how I did this, but I think it was from missing a simple putt. Double Bogey, 5
  13. Par, 3
  14. Birdie, 3
  15. Double Bogey, 5
  16. Par, 4
  17. Birdie, 3
  18. Par, 4

Par: 62
Me: 63

+1 for the round. Not bad, but should have been better. I shouldn’t have any double bogeys up there, but I do and I’m not proud. But, I’m not unhappy with the round. Which brings up another thing I love about this course, it’s not hard to beat and always leaves me feeling happy.

Ah well… I think I’ll be hitting it again later this week. My sister and I have scheduled to play a round on Thursday. Hopefully it will happen. “You play?” I ask her when she shows an interest in joining me. “I’ll kick yer ass!” she responds. Game on, sis, game on.

Druid Hill: A new title begining!

Yes. It’s true. I’ve finally met another MD course: Druid Hill in Scenic Baltimore. Right by the zoo.

Via a various virtual message board, I found someone intent on playing today @ 3. When going to a new course, I prefer a guided tour. ;) I showed up and met P, G, and R; three very nice guys who were kind enough to let me schlep along with them. One was a pro! er…. Pro! They all played like pros compared to me. But I had fun and didn’t do too poorly.

We played 21 holes. I know we started with #1, but after 4, we cut into the woods for 3 “X” holes, then went back to the main course. I didn’t pay attention to actual #s on the holes, just what I shot, so the #s below might not correspond to the proper hole #.

  1. Bogey, 4
  2. Double Bogey, 5
  3. Double Bogey, 5
  4. Bogey, 4
  5. Bogey, 4
  6. Double Bogey, 5
  7. Bogey, 4
  8. Par, 3!
  9. Bogey, 4
  10. Par, 3!
  11. Bogey, 4
  12. Par, 3!
  13. Bogey, 4
  14. Bogey, 4
  15. Bogey, 4
  16. Bogey, 4
  17. Double Bogey, 5
  18. Double Bogey, 5

For some reason, I stopped keeping track at that point. I think there were a couple par 4s in the end, but I don’t recall where or if I even marked them correctly. ;) I was mostly there to play a round, meet some MD players, and as ever: practice. Need more of it, btw. ;P I’m happy I made 3 pars.

Oh, and I’m not adding them today. You can do that. I’m beat! But I will add a link to an older map I know of online. I don’t think it includes the 9 X holes. One last thing about Druid Hill, it’s the home of Thursday Night Triples, 2 hours before sunset.

Patapsco, The Glutton Returns

Getting tired of the “Patapsco,…” titles? I am a little bit and thought about stopping today, but I like being able to just scan and know what a given article is about from the first word of the title. How does this title relate to today’s tale of woe?

Well, I played another round today. That makes 5 in 9 days. Still feeling tired but in the long run I’m sure this will be good for me, two-fold: my game and my overall health. Probably about 2 miles of walking per round. I need better shoes!

The results (from the blues, natch!):

  1. Bogey, 4
  2. Bogey, 4
  3. Bogey, 5
  4. Bogey, 4
  5. Par, 4
  6. Double Bogey, 6
  7. Bogey, 5
  8. Birdie!!!!, 3
  9. Bogey, 5
  10. Bogey, 4
  11. Birdie!!!, 4
  12. Double Bogey, 5
  13. Par, 4
  14. Bogey, 4
  15. Double Bogey, 5
  16. Bogey, 5
  17. Double Bogey, 6
  18. Bogey, 5

Not the best round by far, but I wasn’t necessarily trying my hardest. Today was more about getting out, getting exercise, and still working on my drive. Most of the crap above was my own fault and could have been avoided had I brought my A game and gave it 110%.

The totals: 40, 42 (82) Baaaad! Hopefully that will be my worst and I’ll never be there again.

Something else to be noted: I took some practice drives with a sidearm throw. Trying some techniques I learned online that are completely different from the way I’m used to throwing sidearm. Had some very promising results and I’m hoping that I can incorporate that throw into my game soon. I actually did use it twice today for approaches that needed it and did them fairly well.

Patapsco, the pain!

Well, ok, Patapsco isn’t painful. What is painful is the day after playing when I’ve been playing a round every 2 days for a week. Yes, this is the end of that week and I’m a bit sore. My right bicep especially. I played 72 holes of disc golf this week. 18 on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. All at Patapsco. 3 from the red tees, 1 from the blues. BTW, I’m phasing the reds out of my game unless someone else requests them. From here on out, Mikey’s got the blues, baby!

Saturday’s round (8/11/07):

  1. Double Bogey, 5
  2. Double Bogey, 5
  3. Par, 4
  4. Par, 3
  5. Par, 4
  6. Double Bogey, 6
  7. Par, 4
  8. Birdie, 3
  9. Par, 4
  10. Par, 3
  11. Birdie, 4
  12. Bogey, 4
  13. Birdie, 3
  14. Par, 3
  15. Bogey, 4
  16. Double Bogey, 6
  17. Par, 4
  18. Par, 4

That’s the round. The totals:

+7 (+5, +2) in 73 strokes (38, 35). I should have been lower, but I wasn’t necessarily trying to beat my best. I was trying, but I was also working as a tour guide. My friend, Alex, and his gf, Vicky, were visiting and had not played Patapsco before. Therefor, I was showing them around and just playing casually. I promise to play better next time! And from the blues, too!

The Quit

100 days, 14 hours, 58 minutes and 46 seconds smoke free.
2012 cigarettes not smoked.
$450.00 and 15 days, 8 hours of my life saved.
My quit date: 5/1/2007

I like the looks of that. (so much that I had to come back and bold those numbers!)

Patapsco, a first!

Much as I wish I could say that I finally broke even at Patapsco, I can’t.

What I can say is that I did achieve a first today: I played from the blue tees for the first time. For any course. I didn’t do too badly either. One thing I noticed: on a number of the holes, the blue tees offered a better start than the reds. Fewer obstacles. At any rate, I don’t remember much standing out, but here’s the numbers:

  1. Started this with a great drive that actually went farther than my average from the reds. Why? Fewer trees to deal with. Double bogey, 5
  2. This one went to hell straight out of my hand. Quadruple bogey(!!!), 7 (ouch!)
  3. Par(!), 4
  4. Bad drive behind the bushes on the left. Triple bogey :(, 6
  5. Par, 4
  6. Bogey, 5
  7. Par, 4
  8. I love this hole! Behind a tree, 30′ from the pin on my 2nd shot. Par, 4
  9. Liking this one too when I don’t mess it up! Par, 4
  10. Easy peasy when it’s in the A position. Par, 3
  11. Birdie, as usual, 4
  12. Still working on this one, Double Bogey, 5
  13. Par, 4
  14. Par, 4
  15. Bogey, 4
  16. Bogey, 5
  17. Bogey, 5
  18. Par, 4

All in all, not bad, if I say so myself. The first time I played Patapsco, I threw +16 from the reds. From the blues today I threw +14 (+10, +4) with 81 strokes (43, 38). Plenty of room for improvement, and I’m up for the challenge. I will beat this course, from the blues, some day. Hopefully this year!

A storm was coming in as I hit the back 9. Thunder sounded while putting 11. “Bring it on!” I yelled*, “You’re not scarin’ me off!” It continued rumbling on and off. On 17, I heard the first drops sprinkling the trees above me. Walking out of the woods to the 18th tee, I felt those few drops. A light sprinkle. I drove. As I was approaching my final shot on 18, I heard the rain hitting the trees and approaching fast. I scooped up the disc, putted it in (about 6′), grabbed it and headed into the woods. The storm was here and I was done.

* I do that sometimes when no one’s looking.

Patapsco, an addiction

I played it again today. Only 2 days since my last round. I’m sure I’ll feel a bit sore tomorrow. Wish I was in better shape, but smoking cigs for 20 years will do that. I’m sure the rest of the unhealthy lifestyle didn’t help, but it’s all changing. May 31, 2007 was my last day as a smoker and I’m playing a lot of disc golf. I know that if I was still smoking, Patapsco would be killing me!

On to the round! (After reading a local dg forum, I decided to change the way I post my rounds, plus the last post was a book!) (Also, I score each hole as it’s marked, but the unmarked ones I score as 3s. :/ )

  1. Bogey, 4 strokes
  2. this started off with an off drive into the woods (easy on this one) and followed with more crap, including a missed putt! Triple bogey, 6
  3. shook off the crap and Parred the one, 4
  4. a late release led to a Bogey, 4
  5. Par, 4
  6. Played almost like 2, crap followed by crap. Another Triple bogey! 7
  7. was in the A position so I Birdied this one, 3
  8. a phenomenal drive that left me 25′ from the pin behind a tree. And it was with my midrange MRX! Birdie, 3
  9. A beautiful drive followed by some crappy approaches. Bogey, 5
  10. Hell of a drive that put me 10′ from the pin. Birdie, 2
  11. First 3 shots were off, but had decent distance. Should have birdied. Par, 5
  12. Same as last one, but with bushes! Double bogey, 5
  13. Almost over the side, but Par, 4
  14. Birdie, 3
  15. Bogey, 4
  16. Par, 4
  17. Par, 4
  18. Par, 4

That last few were fairly uneventful. Nothing really stood out. I’ve learned on 17 that even if the drive goes off to the left and down the hill, if you still get distance with it you can salvage it.

Not bad, even though it adds to +8 (+7, +1) with 75 strokes (40, 35).
Last weeks score in this format +4 (+3, +1) with 71 strokes (36, 35).
I’d hate to see how my first round at Patapsco, earlier this year, breaks down. +16 at least.

Time for a database!

I think I’m getting closer to a regular perfect drive. ha!

Patapsco, a map!

I found this map of Patapsco online. It is very accurate and I recommend bringing one to anyone playing there for the first time. I did my first time (printed in color and then “laminated” with scotch tape). Ended up playing with a couple other guys who had been there at least 3 times before. Turns out they needed a map, too! There were 2 holes they didn’t even know existed. “Guess we’ve only been playing 16 holes here.”