Saturday marked the official start of my 2016 season, playing the C-tier DGDG Open at Devils Grove in Lewiston ME. It is a fun little course with a lot of elevation but not a lot of distance.  I didn’t even bother to carry any drivers in my bag, it’s that short.

The first round started off slow and steady until a string of birdie twos on holes 6-9. The back nine is where it got interesting.  And by interesting, I mean frustratingly average.  I had a string of six or seven holes in a row where my drive was clean and hit the exact line I wanted each time.  The only problem was that the disc carried past the basket by anywhere from 25-45+ feet each time, leaving me with few good chances at and therefore no birdies for my efforts.

The end result for the first round was a middle of the pack 51.  Not the greatest of rounds but certainly not a disaster either.  I was within striking distance of the leaders and the cut line for the final 9.

The second round didn’t start off so well, with fours on three of the first four holes, including one where I took a two in the first round.  I recovered with four birdie twos in a row to get myself back on track, then really got in a groove with six deuces in seven holes before finishing the round with an ugly four on hole 2.

I joked after I hit first available on that last hole that I had just cost myself a chance at the final nine.  I was nearly right, but instead of being just out of the running, I was in a giant six-way tie for the final spot.  Just making it was no longer enough to assure getting paid out.

Of the nine holes, only one was different than anything we’d played all day, and that was the first one.  We teed off from hole one but played to basket two.  Finally, a need for a driver.  It went well and I carded a three on the hole (arguably a birdie).  From there it was a matter of playing steady and smart as everyone else pressed and fell apart.  I finished the nine with a 25 and ultimately sole possession of 9th place.

Overall, it was a fair showing for my first singles event of the year.  Nothing truly disastrous happened all day, and my putting was very good.  The big difference maker was not giving myself enough opportunities to convert birdies even on relatively clean drives.

Next tournament for me is on May 7 at Coggshall Park.  Really looking forward to that one.  The course was already a fun one, but the club has reportedly made some dramatic improvements since last summer.  Can’t wait.

Four+ months passed by fast and I’ve neglected the blog. Whoops.

Fortunately, not a whole lot has happened over the winter.  Most of my time was spent keeping our course playable in the snowy conditions.  I ran three doubles tournaments over the course of the winter, each one better attended than the one before.  Registration opened and quickly closed on my June B-tier DDGC16 when it filled in about four days.

Since the snow’s been gone, I’ve been busy getting the course into shape for the spring.  I’ve already cleaned up a few fairways, cut a few trees to widen others, and a couple holes have gotten brand new long pin locations.  Work’s never done on that front.

But the biggest impetus to get back to blogging is my tournament season finally gets under way for real this weekend.  It’s a bit later into the spring than I usually get started, but tournaments are filling faster and faster these days and I’ve missed out on a couple merely due to bad timing.  Oh well.

My 2016 tour kicks off on Saturday just down the road at Devils Grove in Lewiston and the DGDG Open.  I played there last year as part of the Vacationland Open event.  This time they’re running a stand alone tournament.  It’s a fun little course that doesn’t call for much in the way of drivers.  Lots of holes drive-able with a putter.  My favorite kind of course, really.

After DGDG, it’s a week off before I head back to what I’ve affectionately come to call my personal ATM, Coggshall Park in Fitchburg MA.  Four starts there yielding three wins and a playoff loss.  Hoping to make it four wins on May 7, but it’s going to be a tough field to do it against.

I’m following that event with a full month off to focus entirely on preparing for the DDGC.  So much to do, so little time to do it in, and I expect to enjoy every minute of it.

Now to get back to putting practice on my Dynamic Discs Marksman. Best investment I’ve made for my game in a long time…just a great practice target for a reasonable price.