For the third day in a row today, I was playing new courses in the mud. Or an inch or two of standing water. All while more rain was falling from the sky. It was only sprinkling at River Hill Park in Lexington, Kentucky, so I didn’t get TOO wet there! But on my back nine holes at Veterans Park DGC in Lexington, the skies opened up and I looked like a wet, dirty rat.
Two times I wound up flat on my back, slipping on some muddy hills. And by the time I made it back to my car after the round, my left sock was covered in blood. But the “T” in Tonn stands for tenacious (or sTupidity? Ha!), so I pressed on in the rain and mud…checking out a nine-hole course at Miller Park in Corbin, Kentucky, as well as what is left of a nine-hole course at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.
Lincoln Memorial University has tens of millions of dollars worth of new construction currently occurring on the campus. I wanted to stop by and see said construction work, as my mapping company has had a few discussions about potentially creating a new campus map for the institution after all the dust settles. But I also wanted to see what was left of their nine-hole disc golf course. Including Hole 9, which is a 600+ foot monster set on the side of a giant hill. And I got to meet my first snake of the trip, a 12-14 inch black snake on Hole 8. Not poisonous! However, we both agreed to leave each other well-enough alone and go our separate ways. 🙂
Feeling discouraged, demoralized, and defeated after three days, fourteen rounds, in the rain, mud and standing water, I needed a pick-me-up! And it was as if the “disc golf gods” decided to smile down upon me, with us seeing the first sunshine on the trip as we made our way toward Asheville, North Carolina and Sandhill NTDGC.
Sunshine! Actual sunshine! I wanted to drop to my knees, kiss the ground, and raise my hands to the sky while shouting “thank you!” But I decided instead to play as quickly as I could before my luck might change. I liked Sandhill a lot! I’m sure temperatures in the mid-70s F with my first sun of the trip had at least a little bit to do with it! But it was a fun, albeit short (4,657 feet), course with lots of trees and elevation changes. Hills you could actually walk up and down…without winding up flat on your back. 🙂
After that enjoyable final round on the day, it was time for dinner and my hotel in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Fingers crossed for more sunshine tomorrow!
Magic Number = 546 (1,454 Courses Played)
About Tonn’s Travels
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 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.