Thanks for the stairs, Gags!

Thanks Chris Gagne for the new stairs. Great job!

Tall golfers everywhere appreciate your efforts. Short golfers just grumble at the higher-than-usual steps. Boo hoo to them I say! :-)

Donnie pulls a hamstring going up the new stairs to Hole 17.

Brr

My dog and I met Nut this morning about 9 AM for a round. It was 25 degrees and very breezy. As we were getting ready in the parking lot, a Jeep drove past the entrance, slowed, and stopped. Brian and I looked at each other and smiled. New people.

Don and Andy drove down and across from Hancock, NH to play Devens on their first stop of a day of Massachusetts disc golf. They joined us and we all had a good time, but not so good scores!

Did I mention it was freezing and windy out there? Brian was pretty happy though as he came within two strokes of beating me for the first time!

Don and Andy

• To experience your own subzero round, join us tomorrow at 9:30 for the Sunday Social. $5 and a can of food for the food bank. See you there!

Flags in front of a local biz were flat out thanks to the constant wind today

After you play our course, you'll do this

But maybe not this fast.




Who's up for a round Saturday morning? I'll probably be there around 8:30-8:45. I'll also be there Sunday for the Social. Don't forget something for the Loaves and Fishes! Email or post here.

Mystery Man strikes again

Looks like our anonymous worker bee has struck again. Rumor has it that someone built some steps leading up to tee 17 and flattened out the tee area the day before Thanksgiving.

Thank you mystery man!

Dave's Septic Service drops a deuce!

Dave's Septic Service of Manchester, NH has donated $100 to the course! Thanks Dave!

I can vouch for Dave's portable toilets. We used them for our last outdoor event at my business. They were delivered and picked up on time, and were clean and shiny and ready action!

More aces on the Hill

Congrats to Chris Piaseczny on his ace on Hole 2 Nov. 8. (Sorry about the delay Chris.) He nailed it with a Wizard which he later lost on 16 (d'oh!). Luckily, he found his lucky disc a few days later during our Challenge against Borderland.

Then, this past Black Friday morning, Hole 8 sponsor Arty Graustein also hit Hole 2 with a Buzz. Nice job, bud!

So far Hole 2 has been aced at least 4 times, with two of those aces being first-ever aces. So, if you are still looking for your first ace, head on over to Devens. We aim to please!

Happy Thanksgiving, golfers!

Make you own comment.

Aubuchon Hardware nails a birdie

Ha ha, get it? A hardware store nails a birdie sponsorship. Who-boy, that's a funny one...

Thank you Ayer Aubuchon Hardware for sponsoring our course! Forget those impersonal big box stores and support your local hardware store. Get the hometown service you need at Aubuchon.

The next time you are on the course, check out the fine hose clamps holding the flags to the basket. Yep, I bought 'em at AH. Aubuchon Hardware started in 1908 in Fitchburg and now has 130 stores throughout New England and upstate New York.

Thanks again, guys! First-time online buyers use code WEL888 to get 10% off!

Dave's Ace Race Dubz ace video

I've watched this about 25 times and still smile each time. What a way to win our playoff for the AM1 Dubz title. Great job, partner!

I love how Dave nonchalantly walks up to the tee box and flicks his disc. No practice motion, just set and launch. Nice!

Thank you Nut for sharing the video. I'm glad you where there to capture this exciting piece of Devens Disc golf history!

Snowy Sunday Social?

Just a reminder that our Sunday Social is still on for every Sunday at 9:30 AM. I should be there, barring any last minute work-related dog factory stuff this week.

Looks like we may get a dusting of snow Saturday night too. Nice!

• Remember, it's $5 and a can or two of food for the Devens food pantry.
• Winner gets $5 off at the Devens grill. Hey, that's a free beer!

Until then, I leave you this:

• Man pulls bus with his ears!

Benny Lava!

Yes, I know, this has nothing to do with disc golf but I got a chuckle out of it. I love the "translation".

We lose a close one to Borderland: 14-0!

Yes, we got stomped, but it looks worse than it was. We lost several matches by a stroke or a hole, but unfortunately you don't get credit for that! I must admit, those Park Rangers have got some mad skills, money.

Hope you all had a good time despite our lunch snafu. It was great showing off the course to more of NEFAland, and thanks for the many positive comments!

Unfortunately, some guys left before I remembered to take the group picture! D'oh!

Gags and Josh enjoy a post-challenge refreshment

Bring on the Park Rangers!

This Sunday at 9:30, the boys from Borderland are coming to Devens for our next NEFA Challenge. For the past few years during the off-season, courses from MA and CT have formed teams and challenged each other each month to a day of disc golf. An overall league winner is declared in the Spring.

Last month we lost our inaugural challenge to Team NASA (a mishmash of Amesbury, Pyebrook, and Wompatuck players) at Amesbury. This month we are hosting our first Challenge against a stacked team from Borderland.

It won't be easy going against several of the top pros in New England, but since we are a young new team, we've got nothing to lose and look forward to taking it to one of the best teams involved in the Challenge.

Hopefully the Hill will be kind to the home team and wreak havoc on the Park Rangers from Borderland!

The Sunday Social will still take place, so if you aren't involved in the Challenge, feel free to play.

Rainy Saturday and the Sunday Social

Hoping to avoid the rain from Hurricane Noel, I got to the course very early Saturday morning to clear a downed tree on 16 that had been bothering me for a while. My plan was simple -- clear the tree and then play a round with Luke Adolph. But, as some of you know, I just can't move a tree and be done with it. I must improve, tweak, finesse. Damn it, I love working on the course!

Luke putts on 8
I ended up thinning out some smaller trees on the right slope of 16 and getting rid of the pine that blocked the view of the pin from the tee. Then I dragged all the crap down the hill and across the road and forced myself to call it a day and go play some golf!

Jim Bobka had just gotten there and we bumped into Luke on 1, so we decided to play a very casual round. Nut emerged from the woods on hole 2 after having played a few holes, but had to head home. Thankfully, the rains held off until hole 18. Perfect!

Sunday Social
We had perfect autumn weather today - cool, crisp, sunny, cloudless. Some trees are still fighting to show some color too. Nice. It was a great day to be on the course.

Ken, John, Dave, Pete, Tim, Donnie


Dave Ace James and Pete Mr. Ace Race Nevius had a steady round to pull out the win, but Tim Seiger and I made it interesting with a hot back-9 push.

• Pete/Dave: 54
• Tim/John: 55
• Donnie/Ken: 56

Donnie calls his broker before we start. "Sell! Sell! Sell!"



Dave putts on 1



Birdseye view of Dave on 8

Thank you!

Thank you Mark Hamilton for your donation! Mark is an accomplished musician and music educator and was one of the first guys to check out our course last year. Check out his website and learn how to make music fun for you and your students.

Ace Race disc now legal

Here is some news from Discraft:

Nearly 200 Ace Races were held around the world this season, and now comes good news for the thousands of players who fell in love with the 2007 prototype Ace Race disc: it is now PDGA approved for tournament play. The disc has been named the Impact, and is classified as a long range driver with a 0.0 stability rating. All Ace Race copies of the disc are included as approved.

I hope some of you are taking advantage of the beautiful Fall weather we're having and are getting some rounds in. Unfortunately, I'm not -- stinking sun is down by the time I leave this damn cube. Ack!

Thank you NEFA!

Great news! The New England Flying Disc Association, better known as NEFA, has awarded our course a $400 grant to go towards baskets, tees, and sign improvements. Thank you!

This is NEFA's second grant in two years to our young course and we sincerely appreciate their support. Thank you board members John Hart, Rick Williams, and Joe Proud.

Please show your appreciation by joining NEFA today. Your $20-25 membership fee enables you to participate in the yearly tournament points series, receive a newsletter, and feel good knowing that you are supporting the growth of disc golf in New England. The NEFA discussion board is one of the most lively in the country, too!

A good hunk of membership fees go directly back to area courses in the form of these grants. This year, $3400 was given to 9 different courses!

• More about NEFA
  

New doubles record!

Matt Stroika and Pete Johnson set a new doubles record this weekend during a round against Matt DeAngelis/Greg Wintrob and Jerel Davis/Phil Vilmorin.

While both teams of Matt/Pete and Matt/Greg shot the leaves off the trees, it was Pete's monster drive on 18 and Matt's 60-ft comeback uphill putt (yes, I said comeback and uphill) that sealed the deal with an impressive 47!

Thanks for sending me the news and scores, Matt. Here are their scores for the rest of us to drool over:

Pete Johnson and Matt Stroika
2 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 24 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 23 - 47

Matt DeAngelis and Greg Wintrob
2 2 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 24 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 24 - 48

Jerel Davis and Phil Vilmorin
3 2 4 3 2 3 3 3 2 25 2 2 4 3 4 2 3 2 4 26 - 51

This is hole 18 (but not Pete!)

We need help for Shirley Fun Day Sat.

Ack! I forgot that we are helping out for the Shirley Fun Day this Sat. (tomorrow). We will have a few baskets setup for participants to kill some time before their run/walk. It is rain or shine and I need one or two people to help out! We need to be there between 8-9AM.

Please, somebody give me some love and say you'll help out. Email me now!

Loaves and Fishes loves disc golfers

We are happy to say that we donated $2 from every Doubles entry from this past Saturday ($40 total) to the Devens Loaves and Fishes. Add that to the 30 or so cans of food we've donated so far from the Sunday Social and they are loving us disc golfers. Thank you!

If you'd like to donate money, food, or clothing, please visit the L&F website, or make a donation at this week's Sunday Social.

Let's Go Sox!

More tourney photos

Thanks to metal wizard Jim Bobka, we were able to give out these awesome keychains/bag tags/zipper pulls to all Doubles first place winners. Thanks a bunch, Jimbo! Your designs keep getting better and better.

• If you'd like Jim to create your next trophy, email him.

Second place winners got these:

• For more photos from Saturday, go here now!

Aces Galore!

What a great day yesterday! Thanks to all for coming to our first-ever tournament and being part of history! So, whose legs are pretty tired today? :)

I think things went pretty well. People seemed to be having fun going by the "Ohs!" and "Yeahs!" I heard coming off the Hill. The ace race took a lot less time than I thought it would, so sorry about the wait between it, lunch, and the doubles round. Next year we'll tweak a few things and make the day even better.

More pix and words later.


Twenty-three Ace Racers challenged the Hill on Saturday



Ace Race champ, Ultimate Ace Pete Nevius, shows off his prize pack of 15 new Discraft discs, bag, and towel. Pete got things started off right by aceing his first throw of the day and ended up with 2 aces and 1 metal. Pete has been playing for just over a year and has definitely been bitten by the disc golf bug. He also came in second in the post-tourney poker game. Nice job Pete!




Josh Zielinski and I tied for second with one ace and two metals. Josh won the CTP playoff and took home $20. Thank you to Brent Watson (who won the post-tourney poker game) and Pete Tolvanen for adding some extra cash to the Ace Race.

Josh Z (and Matty Brier)




Nature Walk Doubles Results




On a day dedicated to aces, Dave James aced hole 1 in a playoff to win the AM1 Doubles title against Arty and Gags. Way to go partner! How poetic is that? Best of all, Nut captured it on video. It is Dave's first ace at Devens and his first since 2000. Yeah boy!

Tourney Today: Sat Oct 20

Attention golfers. We are having our first tournament today (Sat Oct 20), so if you are planning on playing a round at the Hill, please let tourney players play through. Thank you!

If you want to join us, bring a friend at about 1:00 and join us.

Lunch vendor available Sat morning

Good news! Course sponsor, Nashoba Restaurant in downtown Ayer, will be taking lunch orders starting at 8:15 on Saturday. Thank you Bobby!

$6 for sub and 2 bags of chips. Choices are: Ham, Tuna, Roast Beef, Turkey, Italian. Bring your own liquid refreshment.

Be sure to stop by later for an adult beverage or two in their cozy bar filled with sports memorabilia.

It's almost Ace time

Rob, Pete, and I played the Ace Race tees tonight. Rob hit the top of the basket on 2 and I hit chains on 16. No aces though, but man, was it fun! You are in for a great time on Saturday.

When we got there, Dave was busy weedwacking the practice area in front of the sign. It's looking good now. Even though there's a chance of rain in the morning, we will play rain or shine.

Check-in starts at 8. Get there early to get your pick of discs and get a few practice holes in.

Who wants to be the first King of the Hill?

Only a few days left to our first mini-tourney! It would be great to get a few more doubles teams signed up.

If not, no problem. We'll still have fun without you!

Don't forget about Apres-Golf Poker and Eats at Dave's house. I think there's 8 people in for that so far.

Here's who's in:

PRO OPEN
1 Matt Stoika and Matthew Livermore

AM1
1 John Borelli & Dave James
2 Steve Berthiaume & Jim Bobka
3 TM Dyer & TBD
4 Donnie Phillips & Rick Cruikshank
5 Arty Graustein & Chris Gagne
6 Mark Hamilton & TBD
7 Rob Walker & TBD

AM2
1 Brian McNulty & Doug Solman
2 Dan Hargey & Dave Lassila
3 Benjamin Koyle and Matthew Hardy
4 Pete Nevius & Bill Sylvester
5 Ike Walker & Jake Weinberg


REC
1 Tim Seiger & Doug Orleans
2 Marcy Rose & Tony Gordon

Scenes from Saturday

It was a good day on the Hill this Saturday. Each basket now has a bright orange sticker on it and a bright orange flag on top of it. Hole 12 is a little thinner down near the basket with a few less skinny trees blocking the fairway.



A couple from Harvard and their dog visited the Hill for the first time


Hole 7 looks snazzy with its new flag and sticker


Hole 13 looked so nice with the sun and the pine needles carpeting the fairway

Ace Racers

Here's your competition. Names with * have not yet paid.

1. John Borelli
2. Dave James
3. Brian McNulty
4. Nik Groleau*
   
5. Tim Seiger
6. Steve Berthiaume
7. Andrew Gallerani
8. Donnie Phillips
9. Jim Bobka
10. Pete Nevius
11. Rob Walker
12. Scott D'Agostino
13. Brent Watson
14. Pete Tolvanen
15. Mike O'Rourke
16. Matty Brier*
17. Phil Vilmorin*
18. Josh Zielinski*
19. Bill Sylvester*
20. Matthew Livermore*
21. Matt Stroika*
22. Daniel Marcus*
23. TM Dyer
24. Ken Gary*
25. Andy Murray*

Wait List

1. <>

Notes

• There will be no break between Ace Race rounds. In case of a tie, we'll have a throw-off CTP.
• Our lunch plans fell through, so while we work on securing a sub shop, please plan on bringing your own lunch if you are staying for Doubles.
• Thanks to additional hole sponsorships from Pete Tolvanen and Brent Watson, second and third place will be paying out a modest amount of cashola. Thanks guys!
• Remember to stay off the soccer fields. If you are bagged by Devens folks for using the fields and we get charged, you will have to pay the $40/hr fee! Thank you for cooperating.
• Some Devens officials and State Police will also be stopping by, so tuck in your shirt and be on your best behavior! We'd like to make a great first impression.
  

Player packs have arrived!

Two boxes from Discraft were waiting for me on the porch last night, along with one box of bicycle flags that we are going to put on every basket. Woohoo!

Going by the label on one box, it looks like the new proto discs may be called the Pulse.

The winner of the Ace Race is going to make out like a bandit: 14 new discs (three are the new FLX style), a good-sized towel, and a pretty nice bag.

Ace Race Grand Prize


Each player pack contains a black hat, mini, two proto discs, and a sticker for your car window. Discs range from 167 to 175, but most are in the 170s.

Player Pack


There are still two spots left.

3 Ace Race spots left

Only three spots left for the Ace Race. Let me know now if you want one. Players packs should arrive this morning. I feel like it's Christmas Eve or something.

There's plenty of space left for the afternoon Doubles round.

A new doubles record

Just noticed on the NEFA boards that Andy Gallerani and Bobby Direnzo shot a blistering 49 playing a round of doubles last week against Bear Dunn and Mike Murphy (who shot a 50). That's some pretty sweet shooting from both groups! Nice job, guys. The previous record of 51 was set at the Sunday Social earlier this summer.

The bar has been set! Who's going to beat it?

Thank you!

Donations from Phil Vilmorin and Cheryl Kreidermacher came in this weekend. Thanks very much!

And thank you Ken Gary for stringing up a rope on Hole 16 to help us non-billy goats get down the Hill. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it's going to help out a lot.

Doubles, Another Ace, Ultimate, Chili, and Live Music

Eight golfers showed up this Sunday for the Social despite some cool, damp, and rainy conditions. Donnie and Phil pulled off the victory and also won some raffle tickets to the Chili Cook Off. Congrats!

Chuck, Phil, Donnie, Pete, John, Luke, John, Nut, Ryan


I aced hole 2 for the second time using the same disc (Latitude 64 Medius) in a sudden death playoff for third place. It was a beauty. Before teeing off, my partner Ultimate Pete said, "Okay, Johnny, ace this." What can I say? I do what I'm told! It capped a dramatic 3-stroke come-from-behind "win" for us over Nut and Luke.

Phil and I went over to the Cook Off and set up a basket for the kids to play with and then ducked into the Grill for an adult beverage and some Pats on the tube. Nut and Donnie soon joined us and after a bit Donnie and I walked down to Rogers Field to catch some of the Ultimate regionals going on.

When we got back to the Cook Off, Dave James was there talking up the course and Phil was raving about Chili #11. "You have to try #11. It's the best." I did and I have to say, "Ehh...".


J. Geils


J. Geils and his jazzy 4-piece combo started to play while some kids (and even some adults) had fun putting. All in all it was a nice afternoon despite the overcast skies.


How many do you have?!



He's in the Zone!



Future Pro Womens Champ!



Listen to Jazzy Jay.

Team Devens Falls in First Challenge

The 2007-2008 NEFA Challenge season is officially underway. Saturday we (Captain Andy Gallerani, me, Steve Berthiaume, Doug Bechtel, Luke Adolph, Chris Gagne, and Justin Anderson) played NASA (a mishmash of players from Amesbury, Pyebrook, and Womp) up at Amesbury.



Not sure of the final score, but we lost. I think we won one singles matchup in round 1, and maybe two doubles matchups in round 2. It was a good time all around and some good golf was played.

Stevie B and I played against Mark Arnold and Chris Brown in what was probably the most intense and fun doubles round I've ever been in. After Steve and I birdied the first hole, we then pushed the next 12 or so holes. The remaining holes were a battle and we swapped the lead several times. Steve and I made it tough on ourselves by leaving ourselves a bunch of long putts that we had to make just to stay in the game. I hit one or two, but Steve was unstoppable! Mr. Clutch.

After a five-hole playoff (and more even clutch putting by Steve), we lost on a park job from Chris on hole 5. I didn't even feel too bad about losing the match since it was so damn competitive.

Next month we host Borderland in what should be a very tough matchup. Hopefully our home course advantage will save us a few strokes!

J. Geils at Annual Devens Chili Cook-off Benefit this Sunday

Join our course sponsor, the Devens Grill, at the 3rd Annual Devens Chili Cook-off to benefit families affected by autism.

• This Sunday, Oct. 7, 1-4PM.
  
• $10 gets you all the chili and cornbread you can eat, plus tunes by Groton resident, J. Geils!

Like last year, we will have a few baskets set up for people to try some putting. There is also a pretty big raffle.

If anyone wants to help with the demo, let me know. Otherwise, see you there after the Sunday Social.

Today is the last day to register for the Ace Race!

Today is the last day to register for the Ace Race. We are up to 20 people. Excellent!

These people have not signed up:



But these people have:

1. John Borelli
2. Dave James
3. Brian McNulty
4. Bill Sylvester
5. Steve Berthiaume
6. Pete Nevius
7. Timothy Seiger
8. Donnie Phillips
9. Jim Bobka
10. Brent Watson
11. Mark Hamilton
12. Scott D'Agostino
13. Scott Sullivan
14. Andrew Gallerani
15. Rob Walker
    
16. Josh Z
17. Doug Solman
18. Pete Tolvanen
19. Matthew Livermore
20. Matt Stroika
21. Phil Vilmorin
22. Mike O'Rourke
23. Daniel Marcus
24. TM Dyer
25. 
    

Ace Race short tees are in

We layed out the tees for the Ace Race this weekend. Let me just say that there will be ample opportunities to ace these bad boys! You must sign up by this Thursday though so I can order the players packs!

Post Tourney Poker
Dave J is hosting a post Nature Walk Doubles poker game at his house about 10 minutes away from the course. Call 978-456-0020, email him, or post a comment here if you want in.

• Texas no limit hold 'em
• $20 buy in plus a new (non-Ace Race) disc
• 20 player max
• 67 Still River Rd, Harvard, MA
  

Register now for our Ace Race and Nature Walk Doubles mini-tourneys, Oct. 20!

• All the info is in our flyer. (PDF)
• Deadline for Ace Race registration in Oct. 4 (we need time to order the players packs).
• Doubles deadline is Oct. 19.

Don't delay. Order today! Operators are standing by!

• Register for the Ace Race online
• Register for Nature Walk Doubles online