Scottsdale, AZ

Dates

08-November-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/72847

Recap

Played MPO division. Have been playing very poorly at league. I started off real hot this time around but finished like a beginner golfer.

I am working on a new swing so I can attribute a lot of the damage to not knowing where my disc was going to go off the tee box, but I even messed up a few upshots and putts to help me salvage par. Also working on a new putting stroke I guess.

On the Bright side, I made 4 putts outside of circle 1 with my new putting stroke. It was crazy!

Scoring

Last place for Pro AGAIN! Started off 3 down through 5 holes and then the wheels fell off.

Bag Highlights

Went all Discraft today, I think the brand covers all the shots I need.

Discraft 6 Claw Luna – Even though I threw it 120 ft out of bounds near the end of my round, it went really far and really straight   I’m going to swing by the shop and pick up a few more Lunas in Z and maybe 6 claw if they have any left.  It’s a nice straight flying putter with lots of control and distance. I can use it off the tee, for upshots, and even putting (imagine that).

Discraft 2023 Tour Series Thrasher – Hyzer flip bombs away. Right now the main way for me to get those 350-400 ft shots on the course.

3 Learnings

1. Stay focused, don’t let a bogey throw you off. There are lots of holes.
2. When working on a new swing, throw shots you know you can make. i.e. don’t try to throw a putter 320 ft when you can just throw a mid easy there.
3. Keep working on the new putting stroke, making long distance putts finally.

Scottsdale, AZ

Dates

21-Jully-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/72847

Recap

Played MPO division. Played very poorly and went OB a lot of times. Lots of excuses, woke up at 4:30am, 119 degrees outside, and sore from weight lifting. In the end though, I think I needed to concentrate more and adjust for how I felt.

The course was a little different this week and probably will be on going. Marty setup some mandos which did increase the difficulty on the holes. Some holes I played the same as always while others I was unprepared game plan wise.

Scoring

5+, last place for Pro (19 players). Started off playing the first hole great (hole 18 over the water), parked the second hole (hole 1) and had my putt spit through the chains. I had 2 total Spit throughs.

Bag Highlights

Axiom Crave 164g. This thing goes far and straight. Hit the basket on 15.

Discraft Zone OS 174g. I actually used this a few times this week to get out of trouble. Specifically a forehand flex approach where I needed the disc to fly in that path and land flat.

3 Learnings

1. Get sleep, being tired does not help my game
2. Smooth is far. The shots I tried to get some power on caused a lot of extra strokes.
3. Changing putters. Envy glow plastic is too slippery for my putting putter. Great for throwing.

Mesa, AZ

Dates

05-Jun-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/69905

Recap

Played MPO division. Very tired for the event. Again, need to get my sleep in the night before.  Shot ok, was holding it down and fell apart on the last few holes as my energy ran out.

Scoring

3+, last place for Pro (4 players lol).  It was 115 degrees out so it was a small turnout.

Bag Highlights

No discs were “working”, because I wasn’t working great

3 Learnings

1. Get sleep, being tired does not help my game
2. Get pre-shot routine together.
3. Play to win, was to chill this round when I should have been attacking.

Mesa, AZ

Dates

12-Jun-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/69905

Recap

Played MPO division. While I got last place, I finally started scoring. Started off on a bad note but turned it around after a few holes

Scoring

-2 , last place for Pros again (6 players)

Bag Highlights

Discraft Raptor (Tour Series) – I live and die by thumbers on this course

MVP Uplink – I find this a lot easier to throw off the tee than a putter when I need something to fly straight and maybe fade to the right. Saved me on the holes where I really had to hit my line instead of a tree.

3 Learnings

1. Putting, practice practice practice
2. Get pre-shot routine together (still working on it).
3. Actually warm up, throw a few holes prior to the round

Mesa, AZ

Dates

22-May-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/69905

Recap

Played MPO division. Nothing was clicking. Haven’t played the course in a while and a lot of things have changed (Red Mountain North).  I finished “ok” but I really did miss a lot of shots. Most likely sleep, need to make sure I get plenty of sleep Sunday nights.

Scoring

Didn’t really make moves until the end of my round. Lots of putts missed and started making them at the end of the round

Bag Highlights

Discraft : Nuke OS : ESP – Wow, I am finally launching forehands. The Nuke OS is helping me overpower the disc. It’s also works great for shorter (250ft) skip shots.

Discraft : Raptor : Tour Series 2022 – Red Mountain is my main Thumber course. When in doubt, look up.

3 Learnings

1. Get sleep, being tired does not help my game
2. Hurt my elbow recently, wear the arm bands. It helps relieve the pain and keeps me from being afraid of throwing max power.
3. Think about different discs. I played the whole course just throwing my “usual” disc on the course. Could probably have scored better if I considered my whole bag each throw.

Scottsdale, AZ

Dates

8-Feb-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/66108

Recap

Played MPO division. Played well. The course was playing “easy” as there was very little wind and the ground play is getting very skippy. I made a nice jump putt to an elevated basket on 18 (death putt). I was driving decent, for sure scoring on the 300 ft or less holes. My putting started off strong and then I missed an easy putt. This caused me to question my putting the rest of the round and I had to be really close to the basket to get a birdie. Going to work on my mental game this week.

Every time I played it safe I was not rewarded. Being aggressive was is how I need to be.

A member of my card, Greg Chance, made an ace on hole 8. Putter dead at it.

Scoring

7 birdies, 2 bogeys. Rating : 948

Bag Highlights

Discraft : Raptor : Tour Series 2022 – Thumbers. Thumbers saved my round. As I was not confident in my swing today, being able to throw a guaranteed dart to 320 ft is exactly what I needed.

Discraft : Anax : ESP – Starting to really like this disc as I have one broken in and one new.  It has a reliable finish so I’m not afraid to put it over the water.

3 Learnings

1. Putting is mental
2. Need to do drills through the week because I’m already falling back to my old swing.
3. A bad hole is not the end of the round. Reset, every hole is it’s own event.

Mesa, AZ

Dates

6-Feb-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/67166

Recap

New league at Red Mountain. I believe the league was at Papago in the past.  Big turn out for a first week on a new course, on a Monday.  Played pro card but with all guy I know and played AM rounds with. We are all kind of leveling up at the same time. First time playing the new layout at Red Mountain. Some holes are the same, many are new. I did play a practice round there so I did have an idea how to play most of the holes.

I was doing pretty well, slow and steady wins the race. Last hole I hit first available tree and my disc bounces and rolls OB behind me. Re-tee, hit second tree. Thumber over the top of trouble, missed a 60 foot jump putt to finish my round with a double bogey on a very easy to birdie hole. This is why I love disc golf, always something that can be improved.

Scoring

5 birdies, 2 bogies and a double bogey. Rating : 824

Bag Highlights

Discraft : Raptor : Tour Series 2022 – Thumbers. Thumbers. Thumbers. They actually got me in trouble on 2 holes because I’m starting to throw them really far. Could be the disc getting beat in.

Discraft : Luna : ESP 6 claw – Just picked up this PB 6 claw Luna and it’s a straight flyer. Can hold hyzer too.  I think this is going to be a secret weapon of mine.

3 Learnings

1. Always follow your routine and imagine your disc flight
2. Don’t try to over power the disc, smooth is fast.
3. Putting is looking real good, continue with this stroke and practice it in the back yard a lot.

Scottsdale, AZ

Dates

1-Feb-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/66108

Recap

Played MPO division. Felt good. I had a lesson on Sunday and worked on swing changes Monday and Tuesday. Came to the course ready to test the changes. I convinced myself to not be embarrassed if I looked funny because I’m still working on pieces of the form. It’s amazing the difference in your disc flight when you do not throw with the nose up.

I threw some discs farther than I ever have. I threw the discs more accurate. I felt like I didn’t even try to throw hard on some really long holes and I still got there. “Smooth is fast” I guess.

Scoring

Took my time, 5 birdies 1 bogey. Tied for 3rd. Thinking back about the round there were probably 5 mistakes and 3 “could have beens”. Made a circle 2 jump putt to an elevated basket, that was cool.

Bag Highlights

Discraft : Nuke : Z – With my new throw I was able to get so much more out of my nukes. They flew far and finished strong.

Discraft : Zone : Jawbreaker – I used this one on a lot of approaches where I wanted it to sit and not get a lot of ground play. The grass on the course is dormant and low so everything slides. This zone went exactly where I wanted it to.

3 Learnings

1. Really getting into the zone of MY shot when it’s MY turn and not thinking of other players or people near by helped a lot.
2. Lessons are worth it. I thought I had a great plan for a swing rebuild this season and it would not have ended well without professional help.
3.  Circle one putts are still a problem when I forget to keep my head up. I need to incorporate a full routine for all of my shots so that I remember all the little things I need to perform before I attempt a shot.

Scottsdale, AZ

Dates

25-Jan-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/66108

Recap

Played MPO division. Our card was made up of 2 members I play with often and Pete Ulibarri. Pete just won the Shelly Sharpe Memorial MP40 division event last weekend. I was nervous as all get out on the first tee. My first throw was 400 ft, but it was 150 ft OB lol.  I settled down about 6 holes in but by then my score was pretty bad and I still made mistakes.  This is the reason I moved to MPO for league. I want to feel pressure and I want to play with better players. Pete shot a 12 down 1051 rated round and it was fun to watch.

At the moment I am redoing my swing and with my nervs at an all time high, my body didn’t know how to throw anymore. I was in between getting my offset correct, reach back correct, turn correct, timing correct. It was a hot mess.

Pete was kind enough to offer our group some swing tips that I’ve already tried in the field and am in awe of the improvement that made. I have a lesson on Sunday with him to see what else we can improve (probably a lot lol).

Scoring

First hole OB, few holes later OB twice, that was 2 double bogey’s right there. I missed a couple of birdie putts as well, left them low. So score wise I did poorly, but overall I learned some things out there

Bag Highlights

Discraft : Meteor : Z – Played a real nice high turn over shot to get inside circle on a clearly Forehand friendly hole.

Discraft : Raptor : Uli Tour Series 22 – Thumbers, I threw 4 thumbers and 3 of them ended up how I wanted. The 1 that went bad I actually had the distance but I didn’t take into account the wind read.

3 Learnings

1. Have to be able to perform while nervous, need to turn the nervousness into excitement.
2. Don’t expect too much if you are in the middle of changing 6 variables
3. Pick the line and throw the line. I too many times threw without actually picking the line I wanted to throw on so I missed left when my discs faded out.

Scottsdale, AZ

Dates

12-Jan-2023

PDGA Link

https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/66108

Recap

New year new me. I moved to the PRO division so I will be grouped with some of the local PRO players. This will allow me to get exposure to better players and increase the nervs. I am also in the middle of a swing change (offsetting my plant foot and working in my trail arm), so that did come into play on a few tees. Both bad and good!

Scoring

I was on track to shoot a nice easy 5 or 6 down when my putter nervs hit.  I went from making all my circle 1 putts (-3) for the previous 8 holes, to wondering if I ever putted before. I even had a 4 putt. Off the tee I had trouble on a few holes because my release was early with the new swing, while on other tees I threw drives straight, long, and far with little effort.

Bag Highlights

Discraft : Nuke : Z – Bombed a few holes with this disc. Love the reliable stabilty.

Discraft : Raptor : Uli Tour Series 22 – You know I love throwing Thumbers. This disc did it’s job. As it’s starting to break in (bought it near the end of 2022), it is getting a nice little pan to the flight. This disc is going to bomb out to 330+ pretty soon.

3 Learnings

1. Get out of my head when putting. Follow routine, visualize the path of the disc, putt it. Just me and the basket out there.
2. Keep working the new swing. Felt some powerful throws without feeling like it was all muscle. Kind of like hitting a home run, feels like you barely hit it.
3. Catch myself if I feel uncomfortable during my walk up or about to putt. Step back, try again.