Our Oregon SBDC Directors Fall Conference at Eagle Crest Resort finished about an hour earlier than had been planned this afternoon. So I decided I had time to sneak in two new courses instead of one…continuing my march toward 2,000 courses played.
My first stop on the afternoon was at Coyotes Den DGC, an absolutely BEAUTIFUL high desert course located several miles North of Redmond. It was a pay-to-play course, but was worth every penny! This was the course I have been waiting to play since I arrived in the area. And if I lived in the area, I would be out here playing disc golf ALL THE TIME. A few holes weren’t the greatest, but the majority of holes more than made up for those minor deficiencies.
The course was a monster, measuring 8,537 feet over eighteen holes. Not the type of course this distance-challenged MA50 will typically excel at! 🙂 But my ProLine Torrent came to do WORK this afternoon…consistently putting it out there 350-375+ feet off the tee. I ended up shooting a +3 (63), for an estimated round rating of 993. Pretty darned fun and satisfying, on the best course I have yet seen in this area!
After coming off that high at Coyotes Den, I made my way into town to check out the nine-hole Dry Canyon DGC. The course didn’t hold a candle to Coyotes Den, though it was a lot of fun in its own right! Two baskets, long and short, gives players a chance to decide which way to play things off the tee. I chose to shoot at the longer targets, in effort to see what I could do against the best the course had to throw at me.
The course was a little longer than most nine-holers too, measuring in at 3,292 feet. I didn’t play it as well, shooting an even-par 27 for an estimated round rating of 958. Still, shooting a round in the 950s after Coyotes Den forced me to throw big drive after big drive (my shoulders and right kidney area were crabbing at me by the time I made it back to the resort tonight…ha) was certainly respectable.
Tomorrow I leave Redmond, en route to Cave Junction, Oregon. It might be my best chance of the week to hang a big number on my Courses Played Collection.
Magic Number = 26 (1,974 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.