Beginners Luck and Tales of the Sandbagger

Once again we return to the wide world of disc golf... on November 12, 2011 I played in my first disc golf tournament. This one was down at Jack Brooks Park, which is closer to Galveston, TX than Houston, TX. This was the first annual Justin Freeman Memorial Tournament, to raise money for Justin's daughter who lost her father this year to a fatal car crash. It was a fun day and I met new people as we were randomly paired for a doubles round of disc golf. I was super lucky and was paired with a guy who is really good! Even though that intimidated me a bit, I was able to pull my weight and come through on quite a few holes. On the third hole of the day my partner ACED it! In the end we tied for third, but in the tie breaker lost, and didn't get the third place prize, which was a bar tab for $40 at a local bar... drats! Instead we won one $20 gift card each to a local mini-golf course! So much better! This way Ashley and I can go on a fun date! (So I paid $20 to participate, got a tourney stamped disc and the gift card, and played a fun round of disc golf, and got BBQ pork for lunch, that is a win in my book!) If I keep winning prizes that translates to dates, then Ashley might continue to support my desires to compete in disc golf tournaments! (That's the plan anyways!!!)

Now onto the next event. (Another side note, do not be confounded by the following pictures, I realized in posting them that there are many similarities... Hawaiian Punch shirt, BYU hat, Fighting with Annabelle bracelet, same pants, shoes, and the same amount of scruff on my face!) In December a CTP Challenge was held at the Windwood Presbyterian Church disc golf course. CTP designates Closest-To-The-Pin (although now that I write it out, I'm not sure which word the T represents... or why we don't call it CTTP). In this event each competitor is allowed one throw from a modified tee, much like in the Ace Race from a previous post. The winner of the hole is the person whose disc gets the closest to the basket. As a side note, disc golf incorporates many of its cousin's jargon, so in disc golf there is no pin to mark a hole, but the terminology from golf remains. Back to the CTP, this event is singular in the amount of prizes that were up for grabs, over $3000! Each hole had a $25 prize for the winner. We played 2 rounds of 21 holes, which generates a lot of prizes! I played in the entry level division. Now this is where we get to the Tale of the Sandbagger! For those not familiar with this term, perhaps, as I was before this event, well it is simply someone who plays below one's ability and skill to win. As I played the event I was winning quite a bit of the holes in my group (2 other novice division players) but I figured that of the other groups behind us, I would hold onto a few holes and the event would be worth my entry fee. What happens next indeed did surprise me... and the winner of hole one round one... Derek O'Neil... clapping... I walk up to the table and claim my prize, people clap... winner of hole 2 round 1... Derek O'Neil... hole 2 round 2... Derek O'Neil... and this is where I understood the shame of the sandbagger! About the 4th or 5th time I went all the way up to the awards table many from the crowd started heckling... SANDBAGGER!!! SANDBAGGER!!! And then for every hole I won after that, it was the walk of shame up to the table to claim my soiled prize! They could chant all they want but winning 15 holes of 42 felt good! And with $250 to redeem in the disc golf store trailer on site made me feel like this:


Playing disc golf is enormously fun, however being able to go on a disc golf disc shopping spree made me feel like a kid in a candy store! I was able to pick up about 13 discs of my own choosing, many of them in the more expensive versions such as higher quality plastic and tie-die that I normally wouldn't have purchased on my own. I definitely stocked myself with some sweet plastic (only problem is that my bag is not big enough now)! If you recall earlier how I mentioned my master plan to get Ashley to love disc golf more and my competitions... well I got a few new discs for her and made sure that they were not just quality discs, but of course that they were pretty! Although not a sandbagger in my book, I consented to playing up a division the next time! GAME ON!