WW start time moving up

Since none us has nightvision googles, we are moving the start time for the Wednesday Weekly up 15 minutes to 5:15 starting this week. Latecomers do your best to catch up to the rest of us.

This week I'd like to try something new and create two pools with their own payouts (Pros/AM1s and AM2/Recs). You decide which pool to jump in.

A good chunk of bagtaggers are AM2/Recs, so I'd like to spread the wealth a little more, in addition to the separate CTPs we already give out.

We'll see how it goes and if it is worth the hassle for Marcy and me!

Get there early so we can tee off promptly. It's a school night, you know.

Cub scouts explore the Hill

Saturday a group of cub scouts and their siblings from Pack 11 in Groton stopped by the Hill for a little disc golf. After a quick demo they headed out to the course with their shiny new Aviar putters and played 9 holes from the short tees.

The kids got better with each throw and they all had fun! After we were done, Dave found some funky green worm/caterpillar thing in the field, much to the delight of the Scouts!

Thanks for coming and congratulations on earning your disc golf belt loop. And of course, thanks for helping, Dave J. and John R.

A tree fell. Did you hear it?

As we walked over to tee 8 last night, Luke says, "Wow, when did that happen?" I look up and ask what he is talking about and he points at the tree I had just walked by. Yep, call me Mr. Observant.

A large oak tree just behind the tee pad snapped about 3 feet up (looks like due to rot and not an angry golfer) and fell toward fairway 7. It's odd that it fell up the hill, but none-the-less, I am happy it didn't fall the other way and take out the tee sign.

I'll probably go out there later today and look for any squished golfers. ;-)

Thanks for the photos, Luke!

Can't stand the heat?

Are you tough enough to handle the heat tonight for the Wednesday Weekly?

Hopefully the t-storms will roll by in time and break this heat (and flatten all the skeeters!). See you at 5:30.

Congrats Bradley!

Yahoo to Devens regular Bradley Arnall for nailing hole 5 at the Vibram Open this afternoon! Keep it up!

Avery Jenkins shares some putting secrets

Check out this short video we shot yesterday at the Vibram Open. Don't forget to stop by and watch this weekend!

Maple Hill Disc Golf Course: Avery Jenkins shares some putting secrets

Free player's clinic at Maple Hill Thursday

There will be a free disc golf clinic at Maple Hill disc golf course in Leicester, MA this Thursday, Aug. 13 at 6:30 PM. Come get some tips from some of the best pro golfers in the world who are in town for the Vibram Open.

• It's free! Bring a camera and a disc for autographs too.

If you can't make it, at least read about it Friday on the tournament blog. I hear the guy writing the blog has something to do with Devens. ;-)

When is a turkey a turkey-turkey?

Yesterday afternoon I was doing a little work on the Hill, just trimming sprouts coming out of stumps and picking up sticks. I was coming down hole 10 and saw two turkeys crossing the fairway behind the basket.

I thought it was pretty funny seeing two turkeys on Birdie Run. Five birdie-able holes, two turkeys, ... oh the irony!

If you aren't up on your disc golf lingo, any time you get three birdies in a row, it is called a turkey. Since the turkeys were on the second hole of Birdie Run, it was ironic. Ha! I can't stand it.

It did give me an idea for a future tournament though. Maybe we'll offer up a prize for the golfer who cards a turkey somewhere on Birdie Run (holes 9-13). Maybe a drumstick, turkey soup, a turkey sandwich.... Any ideas?

Bad bees

Golfer David just let me know that there's an in-ground bees nest on hole 5. About 15 feet past the hole, up and to the right, if you’re looking at it from the fairway.

I hope to go gas it today. Bad bees.

Top players coming to MA Aug 14-16

The Vibram Open at Maple Hill is the final event of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) National Tour. Held on August 14-16, the event brings together the world’s top seeded players of the season and offers a purse of over $45,000 with the top finisher receiving $2,500.

Get behind-the-scenes info at the Vibram Open tournament blog.

• World champs Avery and Val Jenkins will be there, along with several other top-rated Pros.
  
• Don't miss out on seeing some really good golfers up close. Free, free, free!
• Come support disc golf in New England!
• Just 50 minutes south of Devens in Leicester, MA
  

The richest National Tour event of the season lives up to its motto, paying out 72 open players, more than any other tournament. A beautiful, challenging championship-caliber course with multiple ponds, long fairways, wooded holes, open fields and a clever use of elevation, Maple Hill offers three configurations: Red (5041’), White (6089’) and Blue (8105’), to challenge amateurs and touring pros.

Thursday, August 13

• Dubs - Come watch the best in the world play Skins Doubles on the Maple Hill Blues. (Teams)
• NT Clinic - 6:30-7:30 at Maple Hill - Avery, Valarie, McCabe, Feldberg. Come learn the game from the best in the world.
  
• Meet the Champs - 7:00-8:00 at Maple Hill. Meet 2009 Worlds champions and last year's Vibram Open winners Avery and Valarie Jenkins. Disc signing, chat, photos ...

Friday-Sunday, August 14-16

• Friday at 1:00: Past Champions and the top rated players are grouped together. This should be fun to watch.
• Saturday: Lead groups go off between 12:30 and 3:00
• Sunday, Finals Day: Top cards tee off for the Championship between 11:00 and 12:00

It's Ramen time on the Hill!

Last night's coveted Skills Competition prize was a package of Ramen noodles. Our favorite Pro Grandmaster Ken G fought off Frank S and crowd favorite Doug O to claim this weeks' honors. "My daughter will love me again," said a joyful Ken.

On another mosquito-infested night, Daniel recovered from leaving his putters on his car and having to run back and get them to shoot a 55. Deucing holes 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 15, and 17 didn't hurt! Ken tied him for the top spot. John R jumped 24 tags by shooting a hot 57. Nice job, guys!

Daniel and John R also won CTPs. The ace pot went unclaimed and sits at $194.

• 2 Daniel Marcus 55
  
• 4 Ken Gary 55
  
• 5 John Rodenhizer 57
  
• 6 John Borelli 58
  
• 8 Luke Adolph 58
  
• 12 Frank Strauss 59
  
• 15 Andrew Duquette 61
  
• 16 Alan MacLean 62
  
• 18 Donnie Phillips 63
  
• 22 Dan Nakamoto 63
  
• 29 Matt Duquette 63
  
• 36 Brain Anderson 67
  
• 39 Jeff Cooper 69
  
• 40 Doug Orleans 72

Alan says who needs to putt for dough when you can putt for noodles?


Luke is hungry for some Ramen

I've got the post-Worlds blues

Don't know what it is, but I have been so tired since getting back from KC. Maybe it's the hot and humid weather. Maybe it's that I'm just recovering from my week of golf. Maybe it's that I'm just old. Hopefully tonight's Wednesday Weekly will get me back to normal.

• Tonight's skills competition prize is awesome (if you think a $1.10 prize is awesome!)
  

I've posted more photos from KC on Disc Golf Scene. You may have to be a member to view them. If you are not a member, you should be. It's a great site to keep track of your scores and your disc golf friends.

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore

Yep, I went with the easy headline. Hey, it's been a long week!

Our last day in KC was a leisurely one. After dealing with some kids partying in the room above us until 4:12 AM, we packed up, checked out, and headed to Harrah's for some gambling. Chris played some blackjack and Marcy and I played penny slots. At one point I was up 230 cents. I felt like a big shot.

The place stunk like an ashtray, so we left and headed to Independence, MO to the Truman Presidential Library and Truman home. The library admission was a bit steep for us, so we walked around the gift shop and then stopped in the visitor center and learned that Pres. Truman used a walking stick mainly because it was fashionable. Fascinating stuff.

After a quick lunch at some generic mall, we headed to the airport, said our goodbyes to Chris, and waited with several other golfers for our flight home. We made it home with no problems and rolled into Manchester airport at midnight. Our neighbor Lisa picked us up and we were back in the TreeHouse by 1AM, much to our dogs' delight.

Today it's unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, seeing how much my garden did grow, and trying to unblur the past week of memories. I just skimmed through the previous posts and seeing those photos from last Sunday with the Pros made me pause. Was that only 8 days ago? What a week!

I have to admit it does feel a bit weird not having to go play anywhere today. Maybe I'll do some putting to keep me in the groove. Coming back to this humidity sucks, that's for sure. We had such great weather in KC -- hot, breezy, and unseasonably dry. As an added bonus, there weren't any mosquitoes or other flying pests either! That could have been the best part of the whole trip!

I'll be posting more photos soon.

Marcy, Chris, John

Avery and Val win Worlds

It's a Jenkins sweep. Val won with ease, but brother Avery went to a 4-hole playoff to win. Tons of people watching. Very cool!

Avery's winning putt



Avery wins!

That's it for now. We head home tomorrow evening. Hopefully we will play one more course before we leave. It's been fun. Hope you enjoyed our disc golf adventure!