Winter Training

Whispers and murmors of winter training rounds have been trickling my way. It seems certain enterprising members of the tour have been putting their holiday vacation time to good use, with exhibition rounds and practice sessions aplenty.

First there was scattered word of a round between Saito and Shankar on Saito's home turf. Ravi, defying the many critics, apparently handled Saito with relative ease (although the posted scores did not seem particularly impressive). I think this was probably an important round nonetheless, because it thrusts into the spotlight two competitors who will most likely be locked in combat in the coming season. Despite the result, the general consensus seems to be that Saito will be putting a fair amount of pressure on the Shankmeister in the coming season and may soon overtake him. Unfortunately, Shanks may not have the same amount of time to devote to our beloved sport as he once did whilst meanwhile Saito is undergoing an intense training regiment, is privately coached and has state of the art facilities set up in his abode. This should be an exciting match-up to track in the coming season.

Shankdog apparently contined his Newbie thrashing tour with a visit to Burke Lake Park where he met up with athe tour's first papa, G-Bru, for three full rounds. Word on the street is that Ravi manhandled Greg with some stellar play. Personally, I think its great that Ravi is able to get a couple wins under his belt against these relative newcomers. Hopefully this will translate into more confidence and a more consistent performance on the course when he actually comes against some of the tour's more highly ranked players.

Speaking of highly ranked players, Mr. Mills decided to head south this week for some more optimal training conditions. Word is he has not wasted the opportunity. Chester and Mike apparently squeezed a few rounds in and rumor has it Mike made a significant step in terms of his driving distance and overall ability. To quote the man himself, his game is looking "sharp" and he has "played a ridiculous amount of disc this week" and has been "throwing the disc farther then ever." Yikes. Mr. Guns, sir, I hear you are in the market for a doubles partner?


Meanwhile, the Maddog himself, of course a perennial contender with numerous tour victories under his belt, has also been out there honing his game in response to all the training taking place. The Maddog headed out to Buffemville for a solo round of 27 to perfect his skills and get used to some new plastic. Is there anyone not practicing?

Yes. Unfortunately, myself. Nada, zip, zero. I am feeling a bit anxious about not taking part in any of these sessions - Will season 4 finally be my undoing? I have been measuring the angles and I am thinking I can sacrifice some aesthetics to squeeze a basket into my apartment. Its probably not going to impress the ladies, but it I think drastic measures may need to be taken in order to keep up with the curve.