JULIANA KORVER IS INSPIRING

5 time women's world champion Juliana Korver was on hand at Tyler State Park this weekend conducting a free clinic for the ladies, no boys allowed. Saito, Ben and Tomoko happened to stumble upon this event quite obliviously as they prepared to take to the links in a warm-up round to get ready for next weekend's Memorial Day Extravaganza. After it was determined that Ben had not packed the proper accessories to try and infiltrate the clinic en drag, Tomoko considered joining Korver's in progress tutorial. In a testament to the strength of the talent on our beloved tour however, she demurred, and opted instead for the more controversial instruction available from her coach and the other Champ. Juliana's benificient presence was nevertheless felt, as Ben channeled her skills to make a run at the course record, banishing the memories of last weekend's Disaster at Norwalk. Saito was not as in tune with the Korver aura and will be looking to make some adjustments heading into Memorial Day. Tomoko, it must be said, was playing quite well, dissecting the fairways with smooth precision. If she can add a viable putt to her repertoire, Ravi and Mike W had better bring their A games.

RAVI IS ECSTATIC

Its been a very long time since Ravi has had the honor of besting the Champ in any single round over the last 4 (5? 6? 10?) years. Last Sunday was his day. Dave, Ravi and Ben were on hand to test their skills at the revamped course at Cranberry Park, Norwalk. As is well known in these parts, The Champ has reigned supreme over this course for quite a while. That chapter may be coming to a close, however, as there may well be a new master excercising lordship over these lands. More about him later. First, Ravi's big news: he beat a distinctly awful Ben in the first round, claiming second by ten strokes. Ben returned the favor in the second round, besting Shankdog by even more. But alas, this was all academic as the real hero of the day was the Maddog. Simply put, Dave's game was nearly sublime. He easily bested the field both rounds and established himself as a clear favorite heading into the Memorial Day extravaganza.

We were able to ask Ben his thoughts on the new layout: "Dark forces have conspired against me to turn my beloved Norwalk into a mockery of its former self. Where once a variety of shots and a complete game was required to tame this course, now it is a one trick poney, slave to the lefty's, forehanders and... uh.. Dave."

DAVE IS RICH, GRUMPY

Three of the league's top five golfers gathered at Wickham Park, CT yesterday for the course season opener. Ben and Dave battled to a tie in round one, with Ravi trailing a few strokes behind. Instead of settling the tie, the decision was made to change Round 2 to a skins format. Each hole was worth 3 dollars with the winner determined by cash money. For Dave it was like taking candy from a baby. Every time the pot grew because of a tie on the previous hole, Dave snatched it up quick. Whereas at the end of round 1 Dave seemed lethargic and vulnerable, once cold hard cash was on the line the Maddog roared to life, hitting the big shots when it mattered. Ravi on the other hand, had to be escorted to the ATM at the end of the round and found his first taste of the skins format, while fun, expensive.

Inaugral Wickham Skins TournamentFinal Result

Dave a whopping $42
Ben, a very mediocre $12
Ravi, zero dollars

BEN KNOWS HOW TO FINISH

Saito and Ben were out at Tyler this past weekend for two head to head rounds. Ben ran away with the first, ending with a 10 stroke lead. But Saito started playing like a triple crown member the second and worked his way to a seemingly insurmountable 6 stroke lead with nine holes to play. That lead was whittled down to 4 strokes with three holes to play. It shrunk to two strokes with one hole left. End result: Ben wins!

'WTF, how did this happen?!' you are surely wondering? Well, on the final hole Ben parked a beaut right up past the basket for a real nice birdie look. Saito's drive was a twisted, ugly thing, that found wood and brush just after leaving his hand. And his approach was more shankjob. To compound his troubles he next faced an ugly look for par that bounced near the basket and then Oh Shit! rolled on down the hill. Ben cackled with delight as Saito's comebacker for bogie clanked off the rim HOLY DAMN! and rolled even farther down the hill! Triple bogie in the final frame. The Champ's birdie shot sliced into the chains like a knife into Saito's back and it was all over. Goldman by two.

SAITO TAKES THE TRIPLE CROWN

With a blowout victory over Maddog Granger a few weeks ago, Saito completed the coveted Champion's League Triple Crown: career victories over Mills, Goldman and Granger.

When asked to comment on the importance of the occasion Saito brusquely replied: "They questioned my training techniques. They questioned my disc buying habits. The questioned my post-round shower-with-my-discs routine. They are questioning me no longer. Make some room at the top fellas, there is a new kid on the block."

Dynamic Duo

Best Disc Doubles. Everyone loves it: players, fans, sponsors. It gives all the competitors a welcome cushion from some of the harsher moments of disc. Your partner is there to mute the effect of your inexplicable lapse in concentration resulting in your disc hitting that enormous oak tree five feet in front of you. Or that five foot put you just casually bounced off the front of the basket. Instead of going into a blind rage, kicking or hurling your new disc bag across the landscape, spewing curses wantonly from frothing jowls, you just turn to your Partner and plead with doey eyes for him or her to not make the same dumb mistake. And usually they don't. Scores are lower overall, there is much less of a gap between first and last, and there is a welcome dirth of bogies of the double to quadruple variety. What's not to love?

And make no mistake, love is definitely in the air. In recent weeks, a certain doubles duo has been turning heads: The cozy pair of Saito and Mills. First, they crushed the threesome of Ben, Tomoko and Aisha at Tyler, shattering the course record by many strokes. Then, they defeated the veteran combo of Ben and Mickey again at Tyler (in Tournament layout) in a close match decided on the next-to-last hole. Sure Mickey has hurled plastic only once in the last three years or so and, as he would be quick to tell you, he is quite rusty. Nevertheless the Micker is still viewed as a pioneer of the sport....and the tour's new young whippersnappers seem to have thrown down the gauntlet against the old guard. Let the veterans of the tour take note: these lads are ready to rumble.

The Dynamic Duo (as they are now stylingg themselves) have a wonderful, close chemistry out on the course. It all starts several hours before the round where they coordinate bag composition over the phone. Each knows what discs will be in the other's bag. Next, at the course Saito gets in his first tongue lashing of Mike, just a mild berating delivered over some minor pretext: being late, wrong discs, outfit, etc, it doesn't really matter why - the point is to set the tone for the team. Mike needs to be handled, told what to do and what not to do while having the skill to get his assigned task done. Man-of-the-300-Discs for his part, is not just good at keeping Mills on a tight leash, he is also rather gifted at the delicate art of course management, responsible for steering the pair around the links, strategizing their shots. Mike particularly thrives under this arrangement, using his dead on approach and powerful forehand as his chief weapons. Saito in addition to the MikeManagement, contributes his ever improving drive and consistent putt, not to mention his sunny disposition. Both bring the swagger.

Who will rise up to this new challenge? How would the Dynamic Duo fare against Ben and Dave (a.k.a the mighty Dream Team) or some other formidable pairing. Stay tuned...

Photo Opp

Based on the body language in the below photo, which two of the four tour members would be most comfortable together as a doubles team?

Power Rankings

DGC is proud to introduce a new feature: The Power Rankings. Who is on a hot streak? Who's skills have atrophied from lack of use?

1. The Champ - (Previous Rank, 1) He has been pretty consistent of late. While he did manage to drop one round to Mike at Tyler and another to Dave at Wickham this summer he has otherwise dominated, including sweeping the recent three course event hosted by Shankar as well as two hard fought rounds at Norwalk this past weekend. Excellent distance off the tee combined with a veteran short game make The Champ still the man to beat on tour.

2. Mike M. - (Previous Rank, 3) Mike M has taken over the number two spot from champion contender Maddog. The last time these two played head to head Maddog got the worst of it. Fans are clamoring for a rematch. Is this a short term shift or has Millsbury finally edged ahead of Maddog for good? His forehand is looking extremely sharp, his approaches are dead on. Once the backhand becomes more consistent he may have the complete game.

3. Maddog - (Previous Rank, 2) While always dangerous, Maddog has not quite been as consistent as he has been in the past. Aside from one narrow victory in the rain at Whickham recently, he has not been able to best Mike or Ben in head-to-head competitions this summer. Still, Dave has proven time and time again he deserves to be considered amongst the sports most elite players, and there is perhaps no player more feared. Still, it is going to take a few W's for Dave to reclaim past glory.

4. Saito - (Previous Rank, 5) Disc golf's new wonder boy has been turning heads of late. He has shown flashes of brilliance both in his drives and around the greens which hint at his ability to compete directly with the sports elite. Just this past weekend he clipped the Raven's wings, comfortably finishing ahead of Shankar by six strokes. Saito can no longer be ignored as a threat. Watch out Maddog - Saito is not done climbing.

5. Shankar (Previous Rank, 4) The sports resident wild child, Shankadilly, has fallen on hard times on the course. His once feared putting stroke was not present during his latest foray with the big boys. While he has spent plenty of time beating up on the Sports C Tier, we have not seen him make any sort of threat to the top of the division and is the first of the old school to fall victim to Saito's emergence. Perhaps it is the off the course distractions what with beautiful baby Samara, or perhaps the skills have simply reached a plateau? One thing is sure, the competitive fire remains and you can bet Shankar will be working hard towards regaining his former stature.

6. Bruen (Previous Rank, 7). While Greg has been spending most of his time in the bush leagues, reports indicate ample playtime and increasing skills being honed deep in the blue ridge mountians. We shall see how he stacks up at the upcoming Charlottseville Invitiational.

7. Tomoko (Previous Rank, 8) Gushing recent bride Tomoko has all the tools necessary to make a big push in the ranks: a beautifully smooth stroke, a fanatical coach, and a wonderful attitutude out on the course.

8. Wiesburgler (Previous Rank, 6). The Burglar has been absent of late, preferring winter's lack of foliage. Nevertheless he has been playing with increasing skill and could present a challenge for the likes of Bruen, Tomoko and Shankar when in top form. Hopefully he will get back on the course soon.

Not Currently Ranked due to inactive status: Bernstein, Chester

Ravi and Greg's Grand Day Out

Independence Weekend 2006: Sylvan Splendor & Strutting Cocks

Senor Shanks and the Peanut Butter Pirate had ample reason to celebrate over the July 4th weekend...Armed with a spirit of adventure akin to Lewis and Clark, the two intrepid discers headed down to the pastorale hamlet that is Spotsylvania Va for some wicked disc on what may be one of, if not the best disc package around: The Grange.

What’s the Grange? A stellar combo of three privately owned courses, two of which are current PDGA Supertour sites and recently held the Viriginia Open. The third is a fun little ditty of a “Pitch and Putt”--The Tiki Course; complete with wacky sculptural adornments and Christmas tree lights for late night gambling rounds...

The Grange is: A true disc paradise with artfully crafted and challenging holes including hills, valleys, sand traps, ponds, wildflower gardens, putting in a horse corral... A Mach III challenge that begs to be played...A mega chill-out for disc fanatics only complete with a Disc Store Truck, fridge for your muchies, free range birds, barns with old arcade games, and two rockin’ courses: The Dark Side and the Sunny Side. "

I’ll give you an idea of what Mike Trapasso and his family have to offer you...Tight fairways, excellent pin placements, truly outrageous rough, neither long nor short, no crowds--only discers who call ahead and ask to play... Shanks and moi played respectably with RS closing out the day with a +7 and GB with a +17...Excellent play, great company, and our own set of pro courses for the day...Needless to say, I’m inspired. After my loss to Saito ( he played an excellent round, I did not) I was forlorn, but alas, I return! A new member of the Blue Ridge Disc Golf Club, ready to play, I glady welcome any to Charlottesville for a round at Walnut Creek, or a noble crusade to a former Deadhead’s disc paradise: The Grange. As an aside, Shanks and I hit Burke on Monday July 3rd and throwing from the pro tees I threw a +2 and Shanks -2...excellent disc. Peace and gentle hyzers..." Below, a pic of your narrator, Greg:

Greg