Today was a pretty good way to end my mini-trip in Oregon for work. Not related to weather, as it rained almost the entire time I was playing courses on my way home. And not related to my health, as I struggled with mild dizziness and a pounding migraine (one that forced me to stop my course collecting adventure one course early). But in the fact that I was able to gut it out and get another +3 in my Courses Played Collection, along with getting reacquainted with the big, beautiful Pacific Ocean.
My first stop on the day was at Mary’s River Park in Philomath, Oregon. I must say, what a pleasant surprise! A beautiful, well-kept nine-hole course that had quite a bit of shot variety. I was impressed. My play on the course was solid, not stellar, to the tune of a -2 (25). But in the pouring rain? I thought an estimated round rating of 954 was pretty darned good. I left at LEAST another deuce out on that course! Although for how wet my discs and I were, I was surprised I got to -2 on the round.
My second stop on the day was at Toledo Red Dog in Toledo, Oregon. A course I’ve been looking forward to playing, since it is one of the first courses on the planet that I ever helped DGA create tee signs for! But when I got to the Hole 1 tee? What I found was a very dangerous nine-hole course. The rain made it even worse. But even under dry conditions, those “fairways” adjacent to steep drop-offs, and slick paths up/down to tees and baskets made me wonder how many injuries have occurred on that course in the past decade? There are a few fun shots out there, such as Hole 6! But a couple fun shots, surrounded by chances for players to be dialing 9-1-1, made me think that that nine-holer might be better being pulled. 🙁 I escaped with my life, “health” and a -2 (25), for an estimated round rating of 866! But that was a scary, scary place to play. One of the librarians in the adjacent library even commented: “You are BRAVE to be playing that course!”
After shaking off my disappointment from Toledo, I made my way to the star of the show today: Wilder DGC in Newport, Oregon. I didn’t think I would get to play it, as I hadn’t heard back on my request for a permit before we left the Oregon Garden Resort. But while we were in the car driving, my email with my permit arrived. Hooray!
My round at Wilder got off to a rocky start, as after throwing my tee shot on Hole 2, I could NOT locate my ProLine Tempest. I looked and looked (and LOOKED) for that bright yellow disc! I must have walked around the area I was sure that disc had landed at least six times, including a few adjacent areas I was sure the disc hadn’t rolled to, “just in case.” But it was hiding. And knowing my wife would be wondering if I was laying out on the course somewhere if I didn’t finish my round in a timely manner? I reluctantly needed to leave it behind. [sigh] Lost disc number two on this trip. When someone finds it, I hope they have fun with it. 🙁
After losing my second disc on this trip, I tightened up. Trying to be extra careful not to lose any more discs. That often meant throwing a ProLine Squall on tee shots where I should have thrown a ProLine Tempest! But I did not want to go home with an even lighter bag. Although beginning with my parked tee shot on Hole 7 (photo above), I was able to run off three deuces in a row. I played things ultra-conservative after that, however. Shooting par the remaining ten holes to finish at a -2 (58) and an estimated round rating of 974. A little heavy, in my estimation! More like a round in the 940s-950s. But I played solid, considering I was underthrowing all of my tee shots by 30-40+ feet on purpose.
Wilder became my eighth and final course played on this trip! I was also hoping to play Twisted Pine DGC in Newport. But being dizzy, having a throbbing headache, and shivering uncontrollably after being soaking wet for the previous few hours? I decided to live to fight another day.
Magic Number = -62 (2,062 Courses Played)
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.