After settling in and attending our first day of meetings at our Oregon Small Business Development Center Directors Fall Conference at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, I quick hustled a mile down the road to play an eighteen-hole tonal course, Cline Falls, before the sun dipped below the horizon (and rattlesnakes started coming out to see what’s what). I REALLY don’t like snakes! And the thought of encountering venomous snakes several minutes from help is an even less pleasant one. But I was able to successfully avoid encountering any slithering friends while adding another eighteen holes to my Courses Played Collection.
I actually LOVE playing tonals! It is something I’ve enjoyed in the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, as well as one fun course on the big island of Hawai’i. A few course collectors don’t consider anything other than courses with actual baskets as a course played in their collection! But I’ve always counted them…and think they are much more legitimate (as a course played) than temporary courses that appear for 24-48 hours and then disappear forever. And there’s nothing quite like the sound of tonals…very distinctive from metal baskets with chains.
For how fast I needed to play this course (much faster than my usual routine, beating all those rattlesnakes coming out and “stretching their legs,” ha), I played very well! I managed to shoot a -9 (46), for an estimated round rating of 964. But after getting back to my room tonight, I discovered that I had forgotten to take a picture from the Hole 12 tee. So on the course record at DGCourseReview.com, only seventeen of the eighteen holes have a photo of what things look like from the tees. 🙁
I really liked the course! All the powdery dust from the Oregon high desert coated just about every nook and cranny in my bag and body, ha! But after a quick shower tonight, all was well with the world. I also got to tell my sister that I was able to play course #1972 on the day she turned fifty. She was born in 1972, so I thought that was a fun coincidence.
Magic Number = 28 (1,972 Courses Played)
How it All Got Started: Tonn’s Travels >>
A main purpose of this blog will be to share information, helpful tips and tricks (everything from health and fitness to methods for saving money while you’re out “bagging courses” of your own), and ideas for better, safer course design. But I am also hoping to inspire others with my passion for the sport, via the stories I can share about all of the interesting experiences I have. All of the interesting people I meet. All of the amazing courses I am blessed to have the opportunity to play. If I can inspire even a handful of individuals to get off the couch, get “out of their bubble” or “security blanket” and explore more of this big, beautiful planet we all call home? Then I will consider this effort a success.
About Derek
Derek Tonn is a member of the DGA’s Ambassador Team. His company, Mapformation, LLC, has been DGA’s partner in the development of disc golf tee signage since 2012. The longer our two companies have worked together, and the more Derek has gotten to know all the great folks at DGA, the more he has wanted to formally sing the company’s praises. The more he has realized that “Steady” Ed’s (the father of disc golf and the modern-day Frisbee) vision for the sport and his company perfectly describes his own interests and priorities related to disc golf, and the more Derek has recently been encouraged to share his story.