Hell Yeah!

The Green Mountain Open was a lot of fun this weekend despite a few torrential downpours at both N. Calais and Sugarbush.

Room 201: Dave, Marcy, John, Daniel, Phil


I'm happy to say that Devens made a fine showing up in VT. Marcy finished 3rd, two strokes behind the Intermediate Women winner and also won a CTP. I finished 11th in AM1 and Ed H finished 4th in Mens Advanced Masters. As for Dave and Phil, let's just say they've had better days. Hell yeah!

• Full results

John and Marcy hobnob with '06 Pro World Doubles Champion Jay Reading and 3-time Pro Womens World Champion Des Reading



We finished! John, Marcy, and Dave

Hopping Hill

Tons of people were out playing the Hill last night -- definitely the most I've ever seen. We only had eight bagtaggers, but there were at least 12 others either playing with us or on their own. That included seven kids ranging from grammar school to high school. Nice!

Lots of low tags were up for grabs and that brought out some solid competition in our foursome of Arty, Luke, Pete T, and me. Luke started off on fire and was nailing putts left and right. The rest of us were just playing our game, nothing fancy, although the trees were angry at Pete.

Once we bumped into the reporter and photographer on hole 9, it felt like everything went to crap. Too much pressure of looking good for our public, I guess. In reality, our scores didn't suffer too badly and once we hit 17, Luke and I were tied at +2.

After I parked my drive for a drop-in deuce and Luke carded a 3, we headed up to deadly 18 where good rounds have been made and destroyed. All I needed to preserve my lead was a good drive, a good upshot (or would that be a downshot?), and an easy putt. Anything more than that would open the door for Luke.

I let loose an Avenger SS nice an easy and it cruised down the middle of the fairway. It started to turn right a little too late but made the crest of the hill and crashed into the trees on the far side. Luke's drive cut right too early, clipped a branch, and spit out into the fairway. I started to breathe a little easier but still knew I needed to throw a good controlled floater down the hill -- something I've been having trouble with lately -- for a chance at a doable putt.

I ended up in a slight clearing on the edge of the fairway, but still needed to throw an arcing shot around several trees to reach the pin. So, out came my trusty Aviar and happily it did what it was supposed to do and landed about 20 ft above the basket -- with no evil roll! I nailed the sorta scary downhill putt and Luke managed to salvage a respectable 4. Victory and the #1 tag was back with me. :)

Here are the results:

• 1 John 55, 10
• 3 Luke 57, 5
• 4 Dave 58, 1
• 5 Donnie 59, 3
• 6 Arty 59, 13
• 8 Mike C 60, 8
• 10 Ed Ho, 61, 6
• 13 Pete T, 62, 4

Dave's wife Kari hit chains from the Ace Race tee on 7! Blammo!! Great job, Kari!

Look for an article next Friday in the Acton local paper and its sister publications.

Dave, Marcy, and I are off on a mini-roadtrip to the two-day Green Mountain Open at Sugarbush and N. Calais in VT this weekend. Check back next week for pictures of us hobnobbing with the beautiful disc golf people of the world.

Come get your 15 minutes at the WW

Here's your chance to get your name and face in the local newspaper. A local sports reporter may be coming by the WW to see what we are all about.

Be sure to wear your Wednesday best!

Dave has also declared tomorrow as Ladies Night, so bring your lady, your sister, your niece, and your Mom. Not quite sure what he has in store exactly, but I'm sure it'll be good!

Amesbury update

The Amesbury Park & Rec board met lat night and decided to punt the decision on building the ice rink in the middle of the course over to the Mayor, even though he has not been in attendance for any of the meetings.

• Updated article
  

There was a good turnout, and I am proud to say that a handful of Devens regulars attended or worked the phones the past few days in support of Amesbury. Thanks, everyone.

New old photos posted

I've reposted some photos on the website from the "early" days and added some more recent ones. Now I'm only 4 months behind. Jeez...

Check out the photos. Maybe you'll see a familiar face, or at least reminisce about our glorious Orange Bucket Days.

Top Pros in Leicester for NT event at Maple Hill

Many of the world's top pros will make Leicester, MA their home for the next few days as they compete in the Vibram Open at Maple Hill. This is the last stop on the PDGA National Tour and is definitely the biggest tourney to hit New England in a while. You should go watch! Fri-Sun.

No rain for WW

The rain stopped about 5:10 tonight. If you had not wussed out, you would have seen Pete N hit a 150-footer on hole 6 and Jimbo Bobka unleash a monster drive on 18 that made it at least 2/3 of the way down the hill. Both beautiful shots.

You could also have almost been decapitated by someone with extreme griplock.

We mixed it up tonight with 3 Disc Dilemma. You could only bring three discs out. It was fun.

Results:

• 1 Dave, 56, 1
• 10 John, 58, 12
• 12 Jim, 63, 10
• 14 Pete, 68, 14
• Marcy shoots a 60 from the mid-tees.

Here's another wuss:

Amesbury Pines course could close!

In a brilliant planning move, Amesbury, MA town officials have given permission for an ice skating rink to be installed in the field between holes 9, 10, and 11 of Amesbury Pines disc golf course. Brilliant!

Help DanO save his great course!

• Read the newspaper article
• Read Dan's post on the NEFA boards

Main points from Dan's post:

So here I am writing this to everyone asking for your help. I need your support. I need everyone's support. How can you help? Here is how:

• Contact the mayor's office and cast your support.
• Contact the liaison for the P&R and voice your support. Her name is Kathy Crowley and her # is 978-388-8137.
• Commission Chairman Jon Manakis: 978-270-8249
• Sam Wilmot: 617-312-6514
• Mark Tanzella: 978-204-0382

Take a second and call these folks, leave a message or whatever.

IF WE DON'T VOCALIZE THEN WE DID NOT TRY HARD ENOUGH!

Anyone who is willing to come and support me on the 28th I will make you dinner for your time and willingness to support me. I want to cook a monster dinner for all of you so please gather together, carpool, call, cut and paste this thread and article everywhere and together we can make a difference. I can be reached at 603-396-1157.

I would really appreciate your efforts in any way you can help.

Disc Golf 101: Throw Far

Yet Another Ace in the House!

Holy crap! This must be National Ace Week at Devens. Donnie aced hole 9 on Sunday too! Nice shooting, boy!

Another Ace in the House!

From Arty:

Last night, Ruzbin Martinez nabbed the second ace of his short disc golf career on Hole #2. He threw an Epic thumber that wedged into the basket. New ways!

Nice job, Ruz! That's two aces in two days at the Hill!

Ace in the House!!!

Devens was graced with another ace this morning! Dave James nailed hole 9 and also shot a personal best of 52. This is Dave's second ace at Devens! Way to go, Dave!

This is the fourth ace on hole 9 this year. How about we give another hole a chance, people?!

Crappy music plagues the WW

A record twelve bag-taggers were forced to listen to some really bad music tonight coming out of the Shriver Job Corps next to the course. Quality songs with lyrics like "I want a lap dance, give me a lap dance. You're a lap dancer" and a bunch of crappy Spanish rap floated over the back nine, making for some interesting mini dance moves before and after some putts.

But anyway, back to the golf. Dave J reclaimed the #1 tag with a snazzy 56, followed by Ken also with a 56, and Donny with a 57.

Lots of CTPs and CTTs were up for grabs tonight donated by Pete (Meow sticker), Prime Discs (water bottle), Marcy (bag of caramels), and the course (an '07 Ace Race disc).

Results:

• 1 Dave J, 56, 2
• 2 Ken, 56, 3
• 3 Donny, 57, 5
• 5 Luke, 58, 18 (Great job Luke!)
• 8 Mike C., 59,13
• 10 Jim, 60, 10
  
• 12 John, 62, 1
• 13 Arty, 62, 24
• 14 Pete, 65, 8
• 18, Josh, 67, 14
• 24, Dave, 69, 12
• 26, Mike, 69, 26
  

CTPs: Mike C (water bottle), Donnie (Ace Race disc), Arty (caramels)
CTT: John (Meow sticker)


A full moon rises above Devens



Ken, Dave, Dave, Pete



The Bobka Clan



Tonight's tags

A kinder, gentler, more rewarding Hole 4

Hole 4 just got a little more friendly, fair, and rewarding for those that throw straight and long off the tee. After a few experienced golfers I respect commented a few weeks ago that accurate drives were being punished by the many guardian trees in front of the basket, I saw their point and decided to thin it out some.

In a bizarre accident, Donnie was speared through the skull by a basket flag


There was also a larger pine tree just past the midway rock ledge that was really just blocking the fairway, so after much hemming and hawing, I decided to take it down. Wow, what a difference it has made -- it's like a 3-lane highway now. :)

Now you'll get rewarded for a good drive and you'll be in position to deuce the hole, although it is still a challenging putt up and over the final rock ledge. But the secret to success still remains the same -- throw straight and stay on the fairway.

Donnie and I also installed 3 more tee box front board things on 3, 6, and 15. We tried to put one on 5, but hit a ton of rocks.

There were a handful of golfers out yesterday morning and early afternoon. I bumped into John K. with his son and nephew; two other guys from Westford; the Life is Good Guys who were on their third round of the day; and Glen R. who I hadn't seen since Sugarbush last summer. Great to see everyone out there!

WW Results

On an extremely humid night and after two really crappy bogeys to start, I bounced back to shoot a personal best of 53 (-1) to reclaim the #1 tag last night. Shot of the night was a crazy 200-ft skip-birdie on hole 12. We saw it curving down the hill and lost sight of it behind a tree. Then we heard "crash" into the chains! Damn, was it beautiful. Definitely my longest birdie ever.

New bagtagger Dave won a CTP (glass) and Pete N won yet another CTP also (hat).



Here are the results:

• 1 John 53, 3
  
• 2 Dave 58, 2
• 3 Ken 63, 1
• 8 Pete 63, 12
• 12 Dave, 68, 25
  
• 15 Rob, 69, 8
  
• 18 Luke, 70, 15

Rob checks out the new kiosk on tee 1 built by Dave James


Can you find Rob?


Ken takes the high road on hole 8


Marty McThumber played a few holes tonight


Don't mess with Marty


We met Jeff M who said he just shot a personal best. Nice job!

Can an indoor disc golf course be that far behind?

If you happen to be in the Netherlands in 2010 and want to play some indoor golf, go here.

Trip report: Burr Oaks Grove (Green Lake, WI)

Devens regular Donnie Disc Golf hit the road last week for a family vacation and has filed this trip report:

Fresh off a Midwest vacation trip, I'd like to offer up a great big shoutout to all the terrific folks at Burr Oaks Grove Disc Golf Course on the shores of majestic Green Lake in Wisconsin. These people really know how to treat people right!

As advertised, this meticulously groomed 27-hole course offers a great challenge to even the most experienced golfers. There are three terrific water holes, not including the river holes, and among these is the signature 333' water-to-willow par three that has claimed an innumerable number of discs.

Travelers to the Milwaukee or even the Green Bay area would do themselves an injustice to miss out on this must-see tour stop. When you make your reserved tee time, be sure you bring your 'A' game as Pat and cousin Justin are sure to be nearly unstoppable with their off-the-chart (never miss) 30' plus jump putts, laser sharp drives, and pinpoint layups.

Be sure too to bring some New England spirit and friendship, as I was met with unmatched generosity and hospitality.

Attack of the Killer Mosquitos

After a 45 minute rain delay, five of us hit the Hill for a fun round of golf, complete with a ton of mosquitoes who were enjoying the post-rain humidity and fresh meat walking the course. Yum.

John, Arty, Ken, Ed, Josh


Arty started off on fire, but it was Ken who lit it up last night to take home the number 1 tag, tying his personal best of 58. I had some "fun" with trees on pretty much every drive and was neck and neck with Ed H for most of the round. Josh has a beautiful drive on 12 but clanked his birdie putt! So close!

Results:

• 1 Ken 58
• 3 John 62
• 6 Ed 62
• 24 Arty 64
• Josh 67 (no tag)

Start your holiday early

Head over to the Hill tonight for some explosive golf at our Wednesday Weekly @ 5:30.

I'll be there early putting in a few more tee box things, probably on 3/5, so if you've got the time, come out and help. Call me at 978-433-6133.

God bless America and Happy 4th!

Devens concert and fireworks are Thursday (details) and Ayer's are on Saturday.

When's the last time you played golf down a 4000 ft mountain?

If you are looking for a great tournament to play this summer at a spectacular venue, sign up for the Green Mountain Open. It is on three awesome courses in Vermont.

• August 1-3
• North Calais, VT and Sugarbush Resort (Warren, VT)
• PDGA A-Tier (Pro) and B-Tier (Am)
• Website and event flyer
• Course info
  

Last year was such a great time that a few of us from the Hill are going again. You should too.

The TDs really need you to register now so that they can finalize a bunch of details, so sign up now.

At first it may seem like an expensive weekend, but if you get a few roomies or bring the family, it makes for a relatively cheap summer vacation. Dan Doyle and Chris Mayone put on a great time and have lined up some bigtime sponsors like Coke and Magic Hat, so you know you'll go home with plenty of free stuff and a ton a great memories. Don't miss it!

Usage Up, Donations Down

While we are happy to see the course being played by more and more people, we're a bit sad that no one has shown their appreciation or support by donating a single red cent over the past several months.

Although we'd love to use your donations for iPods and beer, we actually put it toward other important things like our rather large insurance bill and State registration fee.

So, how about it? Pass up that extra adult beverage or Gatorade and throw a few bucks to your favorite disc golf course today. Go ahead, click that PayPal button to the right, you can do it. Thanks !

Freestyle Frisbee Demo and Workshop Friday

Come see NEFA co-founder and World Freestyle Champion Todd Brodeur this Friday at the Groton Public Library. Todd Brodeur's website Groton Public Library website

Friday June 27, 2008

6:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Lawn

Frisbee Show and Playshop with 2-time World Freestyle Champion Todd Brodeur. Experience the fun and excitement this simple yet space-age object can bring. Come and watch a master of the craft and learn a few tricks yourself. This program includes demonstrations of simple tricks, then Todd will show some harder moves and combinations. He will have a collection of various types of different Frisbees, some have stories that go with them. He then will show some tricks and games that everyone can try. World Class Frisbee Shows and Playshops are enjoyed by all ages. It's a great introduction to Frisbee for beginners and brings back some great memories for seasoned saucer tossers. Todd brings all the Frisbees needed and always have some for sale to autograph.

The many ups and downs of the Hill

A few weeks ago after the WW, we met Mark who had been taking a run around the course. He had a few gadgets attached to him and it turns out they track all kinds of data like calories burned, distance traveled, GPS coordinates, and most coolly -- elevation changes.

He sent me these nifty charts of his last run and promises to take more readings in the next few weeks, average them, and then supply us with our official elevations. How cool is that?

The Hill looks even more hilly and dramatic when you see it represented this way, doesn't it?

Can you guess what holes these are? Hint: He only sent 9-18.

A.




B.




C.

WW

Another great night of golf Wednesday, especially for me as I shot par for the first time. Yeah baby!

The "Next Tee" signs are looking good too. Nice job, Dave. The Hill was very generous Wednesday as Josh also found Luke's sunglasses and I found Mark's lost disc wedged under a log. Ken even found a disc of his that he lost 3 weeks ago!

Results:
New/Name/Score/Old

• 1 John 54, 2
• 2 Dave 57, 10
• 3 Ken 59, 11
• 10 Jim, 61, 3
• 11 Rob, 64, 1
• 12 Pete, 64, 12
• 14 Josh, 66, 14
• 15 Luke, 68, 15

Pete won both CTPs this week (Magazine, Coozy) and Rob won a cookie for FFP.

Jim parks 11



Rob birdies 9

Nice job, boys!

Devens Day Spa says "Ahhhhhh!"

A big thank you to our latest Birdie sponsor, Devens Day Spa, a full-service beauty salon and day spa!

After a tough round on the Hill, you're going to need some pampering, so stop by the Spa for a massage, a haircut, some new nails, or a refreshing enzymatic peel!

Just because your game looks bad doesn't mean you have to also! Thanks again, Mark!

Webelos say, "Thanks Dave!"

Just got this great email from Den Leader Will Rolfe. Hmm, do they have a disc golf activity badge yet? And I learned that Webelos stands for "We'll be loyal Scouts." Huh, you learn something new everyday.

Hi
I wanted to thank Dave for the great Demo and instruction he gave to the Webelos Scouts from Ayer on June 1. They had a great time learning a new sport. I'm sure you will be getting more calls from the other Dens as well as the Jr. Girl Scouts, and possibly one of the Boy Scout troops in town.

Thanks again

Will Rolfe
Den Leader
Pack 32 Ayer

Lost stuff alert!

Got two emails this week about lost things. Keep your eyes open and if you find anything, give Luke or Mark a call. Karma will bestow great things upon your weenie arm if you do.

From Luke:

I just played Devens DGC tonight for the first time, and it was a great course and well worth the drive from Boston. But sadly, I lost my nice sunglasses somewhere in the (probably) back nine of the course. In the fading sunlight, I looked extensively around holes 13-18 and couldn't find them. There's a good chance they're near a tee box. I'm just writing to ask if you could post it on your blog, or keep an eye out for them at the next league night. They're black and are made by H2Optix. If anyone finds them, I'd be glad to go pick them up, or pay for shipping, and give them another $25 for their troubles. My cell # is 651-303-9002 if anyone needs to call.

Thanks, and other than this huge bummer, I really enjoyed my round at Devens. (Email Luke)

From Mark:

Hey John, Wed. June 11 5pm, old faded yellow cobra, beautiful drive off 7, just over hill, slightly turning right towards basket, traveled a while before I heard it hit ground, couldn't find it. Prob: My son scribbled his name "Will" and home phone number on back, my cell would be better if anyone finds it: 978.302.6366. Much obliged, Mark (Email Mark)

It's a MicroBirdie!

Sponsor John Knowles of MicroVision sent in this motivational poster he made using a photo of him nailing his first birdie on the course.

Keep up the good work, John. There's many more out there waiting for you!

WW Results

Another rainy evening tonight, but by the time we started it was barely misting and finally nothing. Just dark, damp, and gloomy. No bugs though!

There was lots of movement tonight with the top tags sinking and the bottom tags rising up. Revolution!

• 1. Donnie 60, 8
• 2. Bobka 60, 14
• 3. John, 61, 13
• 8. Dave 62, 1
• 12. Pete N 64, 13
• 13. Mike C, 65, 3
• 14. Josh, 74, 18
• 18. Marcy, 75, 2

I have to give props to Marcy who played all holes from the regular tees for the first time and did great. She even out-drove Donnie, Jim, and me on holes 3 and 5! We may have our next pro woman in-the-making here...

• CTP hole 1: Josh, t-shirt
• 2nd shot CTP hole 18: Pete N, Princess Leah action figure

Jim started the night off with a nice putt on hole 1



Marcy checks out her second shot on hole 2



Welcome to the Gallery of Hole 3 Goofy-Looking Follow Thrus!



Donnie flicked up his drive here on hole 4



John on Hole 4

Ok, then. Don't tell me where you live. ;-)

Where are you?

I was looking at the ClustrMap this morning that shows where visitors to this blog are from. I think it is pretty cool how readership has slowly spread across the globe, especially to Europe and spots outside of New England. Devens Disc Golf is worldwide, baby!



Anyway, I thought it would be fun to see where all my faithful readers are from, so do me a favor and post a comment with your hometown and local course (even if you are in New England).

And if you have a free place to stay, let me know too -- I've always wanted to play DG in Germany! :)