Nice Sign

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.

For me? Awww you shouldn't have....

Well the Secret Santa gifts are starting to roll in. Despite the efforts of a few crack code breakers, the anonymity of the givers has largely been maintained.

I received mine yesterday and they are pretty sweet, including the hot off the presses Special Blend Orc (limited production run almost sold out!), combining the speed of champion and the grippiness of pro plastics. I had a heart-to-heart last night with this disc and all I can say is watch out during Season 4, cause this lil red orc (playable scrabble word btw) is going to kick more ass than...well, than an ass kicking machine. Even better, I have big plans for the Buzz, which will hopefully fill a certain maw in my bag when it comes to tricky approaches.


One of our loyal readers has sent a few pics of presents en route. I am hesitant to post them here before received by the lucky recipient but hey i just can't resist. Someone went above and beyond the call of duty, decorating with their heart, soul and well developed festive aesthetic:

Then again there are some mutterings going on. Good natured mutterings of course. For example, a certain pimp daddy received a shiny new rule book (my vote thusfar for most appropriate gift) which he was perhaps not overjoyed about, although I guess this really is more of a gift for the rest of us, as it can become wearisome to have to constantly reprimand pimps to "play your lie!". The Shankmeister also however received a very nice instructional vid - which all of us could certainly benefit from and perhaps with proper study the Raven will be holding a clinic for the rest of us in Season 4. Of course he also need not worry about losing his brand new disc - as we have proof positive that it floats...

Here is a shot of what Saito received. Damn fine looking haul if you ask me. That full color disc looks almost too pretty to actually throw. Perhaps it deserves a place of honor on the mantle as I'm sure Tomoko will agree that it qualifes as fine art. That towel will also come in handy once Saito starts wiping the floor with us next season. Giver = TOBEREVEALED

Hanukah came a bit early for Guns , the proud new owner of a Spider which seems to have a very precise touch, and an XS, which to quote Marshall Street is ... well actually we better not quote them as it is not too flattering. But i'm sure Mike will do wonders with this underappreciated piece of plastic.

Please send more pics of loot for posting!

ben

Holiday Disc Exchange

The secret gift exchange is on this Holiday Season with Chet, Greg, Guns, Burgler, Saito, Mr. Norwalk, Maddog and Shankmeister all participating. Tomoko has generously agreed to supervise the secret randomizing with some programming help from Chester.

It seems each of us may take a very different approach to the occasion. For instance, in a recent email, Greg wrote:

Why not add a little special touch and personalize our holiday gifts? You know, embellish a little here and there with a well-placed tuft of feathers, braided pipe cleaners, or puffy stickers...Just to get your crafty creations on a roll, how about a few quick squiggles with a glitter pen? or maybe some shiny sequins? or even a full-edged application of Lee Press-On nails? This would definitely kick it up a notch! Of course, for those not so artistically inclined this might be a challenge, but I guarantee you'll grow to love the sight of your own personalized putter sailing through the sky trailing a tail of shimmery tinsel in its wake!

I must give props to the festive spirit, however I am secretly praying that Greg is not my assigned santa. Unicorn stickers mess with my concentration.

Anyway here are the ground rules for the exchange:

1. Total spent must be at least 20 dollars EXCLUDING shipping costs.
2. Gifts must arrive by December 25th
3. Get me something cool

There are many online disc retailers but here are two of the more popular ones amongst our frequent disc purchasers:

Gotta Go Gotta Throw (Saito can give you a complete rundown of their specials as well as the owners private phone number)

Marshall Street (Dave and I went to this shop recently and it is stocked!).

Anyway, you should be able to find some good deals. Ring in with anything I've missed and lets keep this thread updated with relevant news in the comments (although it seems stating preferences is in disfavor).

Just When You Thought....

...the season was over certain tour members somehow managed to squeeze in two seperate rounds this week:

First, Ben and Mike M. snuck away to FDR, where in the past Guns has reigned supreme earning him the title of Mr. FDR due to his consistent success there and status as course record holder. Well this day would be no different. Mike was in fine form, administering a bludgeoning to our Season 3 (and 2 and 1) Champ that would leave him doing some soul searching for days. Millsbury's forehand was on, he had some monster drives, including a few of the best we've seen on the long par 4 number 6. He was also looking quiet confident with the back hand valkyrie shots and brought a steady putting game to the table. Ben, however, was in a different place, a sad lonely place that involved many weak drives and deplorable putts. The trees reverberated with his screams of frustration as he tried to exorcise the demons that have plagued him at this course. In the end, Mike took this exhibition event handily with a final score of +4 (new course record) to +10.

Next, Ben Mike M. and Saito found themselves at Tyler State Park for a full day of cold weather disc. The long johns and off hand gloves were in effect this day to combat the near freezing temperatures, but that didn't stop Ben from getting hot early and keeping the heat applied all day long. The format was 2 seperate 27 hole exhibition rounds with a cold hotdog grubbing break in between (courtesy of den mother Tomoko).

Round 1 saw Ben open with two straight bogies but then settle down and find his groove. He birdied 4 of the next six holes using the "tongue out-putter in" technique illustrated in the photo. By hole 12 the scores were Ben -2 Mike +11, Saito +13. Yes folks, thats a 13 stroke lead after 12 holes. What happened to Mike M this day? All the more confounding considering his recent stellar play at FDR. The turning point really came at about hole 9, which offers a treacherous ravine off the left, and even bigger cliff beyond the basket, all sandwiched with an OB road off to the right just to keep you honest. Well both Saito and Mike found themselves ensconced deep in the ravine while Ben kept it tight for par. The gulf just seemed to grow of its own accord after this hole. Interestingly, going into the final 9 holes of the first 27 hole round, Saito was legitimately threatening Mike for second place (they were tied most of the round). Alas, the final 9 played to Mike's strengths and he managed to break out with a few much needed birdies to seperate himself from the tenacious Blake prodigy. When all was said and done Ben made a strong statement with a +5, Mike meanwhile carded a dissapointing +16 with Saito falling off at the end to finish +21.

Round 2 looked like it might prove more competitive, considering Mike's strong play at the end of round 1. Ben started off by double bogeying the extremely easy hole 1 though (with saito tripling, ouch), giving Mike a 2 stroke lead roght off the bat. Ben again settled down however and was able to build a two stroke lead of his own over Mike and Saito. A triple bogey for our hero on that damnable hole 9 however brought the scores back into parity with everyone now tied at + 5. This was the critical juncture in the round, who would step up and who would go home crying for mama? Next hole, birdie for Ben, par for saito and bogey for Mike. Mike wasn't quite crying yet though (although i could have sworn i saw a tear as he retrieved his disc from yet another hazard, see photo), that would come later. After a few more holes, Ben found himself with another tidy lead of three to four strokes over the two challengers. Mike's will to win had wilted (and the mental errors mounted) after a few frustrating holes in which he missed two mandotories (this was Saito's golden opportunity to take down a tour veteran with a strong move but he also missed the same mando!), shanked a few short puts and seemed confused as to which driver to pull out of the bag. Going into the final 9, ben held steady at +6, Mike was at +10 and saito had slipped to +12. Even with all the frustrations, Mike could potentially make a move with a great back nine. Twas not to be though as Ben held strong as Mike missed some key opportunities, bringing the final result to +8 for Ben, Mike +11, Saito +20.

A fun day and one in which Saito was in the mix in the early and middle stages but tended to fade towards the end. On one particularly painful hole depicted in the photo, we see precisely how far Saito's initial drive made it from the tee. If this course was only 18 holes, Saito would have had a very competitive score. I know Mike was up late this night contemplating how close he came to being bested by the relative newcomer, a fate consensus agrees will probably be destined for one Mr. Shankdog in the coming season...