Disc Golf

 Over the previous 3 days I've thrown a fresh plastic discs, frisbees if you will. I finished 4th in the amateur over 40 division in the Tasmanian Open Disc Golf competition. I played well for the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the tournament. I'd prefer to continue working on repressing the memories of the opening round.

 

I have a practice basket in my backyard and I've spent enough time making that beautiful chain music to have a solid Pavlovian experience when I'm preparing to putt. "You love the sound of a disc getting caught in the chains". And I alone, in that moment have the power to ring that bell and give me the dopamine we all crave as simple animals.

 

Today I hit some putts. I sent a few sailing past, but always with a way of ensuring an easy come back putt. I prefer when I putt confidently.

I threw better off the tee pad over the final round, scrambling less and giving myself easier upshots. I still left a few short, or with tester putts... but all in all my approach game was decent. 

 As I laid back after the round to stretch out my back I looked up to see this amazing view...

 

Disc Golf

 The disc golf hobby really dug it's claws in. I play in the local social league that runs once a month and have been lucky enough to be battling for the handicap honours. The bit of structured competition has really raised my enjoyment as it's given me some goals to work on. The first is simply to beat my handicap each outing, something that I've managed to do most months. The more specific things have been putting in focus practice with the sorts of shots I find myself commonly making.

I've definitely found a few moulds and plastic types that I really like, and I've built up quite a collection of discs. Here's a few that I have duplicates of because practicing a shot with a handful of the same disc helps work on the key ingredient; consistency.

Deputy from Dynamic Discs - my putting putters.

Berg from Kastaplast - approach disc that will fade and get to the ground, also fun to fly flex lines. Also great for many emergencies using rollers, flicks, and thumbers.

Fierce from Discraft - when I need to fly a tunnel.

Thrasher from Discraft - I'm learning to shape this in a range of ways.

A New Hobby: Disc Golf

Last year while visiting family in Ballarat and taking the kids to the playground we drove past the Victoria Park Disc Golf Course. I spotted the baskets and somehow registered what they were and googled to find more information about the course.

Of course this triggered something in the google algo and I then started to get disc golf content showing up in my youtube. After watching a few JomezPro videos I was hooked.

I did a bunch of research and decided to dive in by buying two Innova Disc Golf Beginner Sets and a MVP Black Hole Pro Basket. I think that two days after these arrived I declared that disc golf was my new obsession and ordered a bunch of discs, including a Dynamic Discs Judge Disc Golf Putter Five Pack so I could get in more efficient putting practice in the backyard.

My wife and kids are also showing an interest, so it's been pretty easy to allow myself to really dive into the sport and invest in getting the gear I require to fully enjoy it.

This weekend I'm going to finally head over to the Poimena Reserve Disc Golf Course to play my first round with the Hobart Disc Golf crew. They play off the short tees which I'm very happy about, as it'll allow me to focus on throwing my Zone, Shark, Piwakawaka, Tui, and Pig. I just hope that all my putting practice saves me a few strokes to make up for being totally novice when it comes to teeing off and throwing upshots.

My short term goal is to get enough practice in to feel comfortable in the Novice section of Tassie Open in October, which I've signed up for.

I'll close out with a chart showing the flight ratings of the discs I'm bagging: