After having a few weeks to try and adjust to my epilepsy medication, I thought it was high time I get back in the saddle and get back to course collecting today! Particularly since a course I helped to design, Seven Mile Lake Park in Fulda, Minnesota, recently opened to the public. So after asking a few family members nicely if I could “hitch-hike” down to Fulda this morning, I was able to add another new course to my collection.
The course in Fulda is very short, measuring in at only 1,861 feet over nine holes! The park just doesn’t have the land to safely allow for much more than that. But that said? It is fun to play. Holes 1-3 start you out with three ace runs in a row. And Holes 2, 4, 5 and 6 will punish you with water and/or tall rough if you get greedy or careless off the tee, while Hole 9 will be a tough deuce for players of any ability. I figured that someone of my ability (~MA40) should be able to card a 22 if I took what the course gives me. Didn’t get too greedy on Holes 2, 4, 5, 6 or 7. And after great tee shots on Holes 4 and 6, along with one underwhelming tee shot on Hole 7 (embarrassing was more like it, ha!), I managed to card a -3 (21) for my round.
I was happy to be playing again! Though I struggled with dizziness throughout. I felt weak and tired after only nine holes, which didn’t make me feel good (mentally). But then I remembered that this journey I am on is a “marathon,” not a “100-yard dash.” So I decided to count my blessings and simply be thankful for being able to play a quick round between rain showers this weekend.
I hope people around the Fulda area enjoy that course in the years to come! Great players will yawn their way to a 20-21 over nine holes…but the course wasn’t designed for MPO/FPO! It was designed as a place for locals and campers playing recreationally, who might not even know what the PDGA is, to have a little fun and burn a few calories in an area of the park that hadn’t previously been used for much else. Mission accomplished! 🙂
Magic Number = 486 (1,514 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.