Day 14: The good, the bad, the ugly of disc golf... my time in Louisville
I'm at a McCallister's Sandwiches in Louisville, KY. I've been here about 3 1/2 hours and they've been really cool about so they're good people. I'll have to visit them in Jefferson City to see if they're as cool with loitering there.
It feels like days since I've posted... oh wait, it has. I had football to watch yesterday and this morning I didn't want to post because we got linked on johncombest.com and I didn't want any non-regulars to the site to think all Sean was doing was harboring my disc golf habits. I've gotten to play a lot in the past couple of days: partly because of the day off, and partly because the Greater Louisville Area has a heavy concentration of courses.
A couple of days ago I got a real treat in Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro, KY, where there was a spectacular course. It had one hole that I actually had to climb two flights of stairs to get to the top of the Mesa where the basket was located (it couldn't be seen from the tee). I got to play nine holes one night, and I was playing beyond my skill level. I came a couple of feet from an ace (hole-in-one) on hole one, a 337 ft hole with an elevated tee and a creek that ran behind the basket to scare a player. I also hit chains (nicked the basket but didn't land in it) on my drive for hole 4 - the hole with the staircase and mesa. All night I was parking my drives. (Parking a drive means putting it right next to the basket, like how you would want to "park" your car close to the doors at the grocery store.) I didn't have to make any terrific putts to shoot a hard-earned 5 under par for the nine holes.
The next morning I drove all the way back to play the course again. This time I only got 3 under on the front nine on another good day, and on the back nine got 2 under. I've been saddened by the lack of players at the courses during this trip. Usually it's not hard to find someone to play with, but I haven't seen a sole on these courses all trip until that morning. I was joined on the back nine by two 12-year-olds who had never played before, but had discs and wanted to learn. I got to show them my different discs and show them the different ways to hold and throw them. I used to tutor at an elementary school and was a recess supervisor for two years, so I'm used to children that age. It was good to have someone to talk disc golf with, and they were very attentive.
Sunday morning I played the ugly course. It was in Elizabethton, KY. I shot 2 over (1 triple bogey, 1 bogey, 2 birdies) and was happy to have the score. The triple came on a 584 foot hole that had trees blocking your drive, a clump of trees to take your second shot through, and had the basket tucked into a small clearing in some dense woods. Typically holes that long have few obstructions because it's two full shots just to get to the basket (remember everything is a par 3). I made a lot of good saves for par, and I'm feeling more confident in my putts. The course was open for the most part, but included more 500+ foot holes than one would typically find on a disc golf course.
This morning I got to play a nice little course in Radcliff. It had the kind of partly-dense big trees with no underbrush that make for a good disc golf course, but it didn't have any holes longer than 300-feet. The course was short, but fun because I still had to use a variety of shots. I even got to use my backhand drive three times for birdies. If you read earlier, I don't have a very strong backhand drive, but it was enough for the short holes. I was 8 under (1 bogey, 9 birdies). Any hole I didn't birdie, means I went askew somewhere. All the holes except maybe 17 and 11 were birdie possibilities. It was a good day, but I'm more impressed by 5 under on the front nine of Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro.
Now we're off toward Cincinnati. Sean's probably long ahead of me, he's traveling so fast these days. I'm sure he'll have an update tonight.
It feels like days since I've posted... oh wait, it has. I had football to watch yesterday and this morning I didn't want to post because we got linked on johncombest.com and I didn't want any non-regulars to the site to think all Sean was doing was harboring my disc golf habits. I've gotten to play a lot in the past couple of days: partly because of the day off, and partly because the Greater Louisville Area has a heavy concentration of courses.
A couple of days ago I got a real treat in Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro, KY, where there was a spectacular course. It had one hole that I actually had to climb two flights of stairs to get to the top of the Mesa where the basket was located (it couldn't be seen from the tee). I got to play nine holes one night, and I was playing beyond my skill level. I came a couple of feet from an ace (hole-in-one) on hole one, a 337 ft hole with an elevated tee and a creek that ran behind the basket to scare a player. I also hit chains (nicked the basket but didn't land in it) on my drive for hole 4 - the hole with the staircase and mesa. All night I was parking my drives. (Parking a drive means putting it right next to the basket, like how you would want to "park" your car close to the doors at the grocery store.) I didn't have to make any terrific putts to shoot a hard-earned 5 under par for the nine holes.
The next morning I drove all the way back to play the course again. This time I only got 3 under on the front nine on another good day, and on the back nine got 2 under. I've been saddened by the lack of players at the courses during this trip. Usually it's not hard to find someone to play with, but I haven't seen a sole on these courses all trip until that morning. I was joined on the back nine by two 12-year-olds who had never played before, but had discs and wanted to learn. I got to show them my different discs and show them the different ways to hold and throw them. I used to tutor at an elementary school and was a recess supervisor for two years, so I'm used to children that age. It was good to have someone to talk disc golf with, and they were very attentive.
Sunday morning I played the ugly course. It was in Elizabethton, KY. I shot 2 over (1 triple bogey, 1 bogey, 2 birdies) and was happy to have the score. The triple came on a 584 foot hole that had trees blocking your drive, a clump of trees to take your second shot through, and had the basket tucked into a small clearing in some dense woods. Typically holes that long have few obstructions because it's two full shots just to get to the basket (remember everything is a par 3). I made a lot of good saves for par, and I'm feeling more confident in my putts. The course was open for the most part, but included more 500+ foot holes than one would typically find on a disc golf course.
This morning I got to play a nice little course in Radcliff. It had the kind of partly-dense big trees with no underbrush that make for a good disc golf course, but it didn't have any holes longer than 300-feet. The course was short, but fun because I still had to use a variety of shots. I even got to use my backhand drive three times for birdies. If you read earlier, I don't have a very strong backhand drive, but it was enough for the short holes. I was 8 under (1 bogey, 9 birdies). Any hole I didn't birdie, means I went askew somewhere. All the holes except maybe 17 and 11 were birdie possibilities. It was a good day, but I'm more impressed by 5 under on the front nine of Yellow Creek Park in Owensboro.
Now we're off toward Cincinnati. Sean's probably long ahead of me, he's traveling so fast these days. I'm sure he'll have an update tonight.
posted by The Transporter at 12:55 PM
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