Surely You Jest(er) About all the Disc Golf Stuff!

Two weeks ago marked a year since my first (PDGA sanctioned) disc golf tournament, so to celebrate I played in the very same tourney I played in a year ago!  On the up side, I improved my score compared to last year, but ended up placing about the same.  I went into the tourney thinking I would be able to perform significantly better than I did, and left feeling a bit humbled, and ultimately realizing that if I focus on results and not on enjoying the game, things don't work out so well.  When I first started playing in events like an Ace Race and a CTP event (see previous entries), I was excited to play and for the success I was stumbling into...  I had intended to record my experiences from each event and report them here.  However, it is pretty apparent that I have failed to make these intentions a reality (yes, yes, as the old saying goes: intentions pave the road to hell).  So, instead I'll give a timeline report on my various disc golf adventures:

• Surely You Jester (March 31, 2012 -7th Place (of 12))
• Northside Christian Church 21 (April 21, 2012 - 7th Place (of 9)) - Played while sick with the flu, thought I had shaken it, turns out heat and exertion taught me otherwise!
• Higher Power Open III (May 5, 2012 - T-9th Place (of 16)) - My second round score was the best score for that round in my division!
• Jack Brooks 2.0 (July 7, 2012 - 10th Place (of 11)) - Possibly one of my worst tourneys to date, felt off the whole day.
• Thomas Bertrand Memorial VI at Klein Park (July 28, 2012 - T-16th (of 26)) - Longest I traveled for a tourney, almost 100 miles.  
• Spring Valley Spectacular VI (September 8, 2012 - 5th (of 12)) - First tourney I finished in the top half of the field, and thus received payout to use at the disc golf store!  Also, the most expensive disc golf tourney to date as I got a severe case of poison ivy and had to see a doctor to get treatment.
• Return to Never Never Land (October 13, 2012 - 4th (of 14)) - The only three to beat me play this course all the time, so I felt pretty good about staying up with them!
• Greater Houston Disc Golf Championship at Windwood (October 27, 2012 - 8th (of 14)) - I was in 3rd place after the first round, but some costly mistakes allowed me to slip 5 places and just miss a payout.
• Double Barrel Brooks Finale II (November 3, 2012 - 5th (of 19)) - One of my best finishes of the 2012 season, and a whole lot of fun.  By this point I had been playing enough in the Houston area that I know a lot of the people I played with and that makes the day that much more fun!
• Surely You Jester Too (January 5, 2013 - 2nd (of 11)) - I was 4th going into the second round and had a hot round to jump to second.  I had a relatively terrible first round, and thought about leaving before the second round, but that is just not into my nature to give into such feelings.  However the day was challenging as it was pouring rain the first round and I was wearing the wrong sweatshirt and shoes, I was wet and miserable.  But with a change of both for the second round, I had one of the most enjoyable rounds to date and one of my best finishes!
• Sugarland Showdown II (January 26, 2013 - 16th (of 24)) - Positive side of this tourney was that I got a disc as part of playing, so I didn't go home empty handed.  On the other side, I played terrible, and not only that but multiple shots that should have easily gone in the basket jumped out, so not only was my playing off, but luck was against me as well.  It was a fun day, but humbling as well as I had been progressing so nicely.
• Busch and Miller at Brooks (February 9, 2013 - 1st (of 15)) - FIRST PLACE!!! Woo!!  After shooting a quadruple bogey on my fifth hole of the day, I didn't think it was going to be a great round, but I relaxed and had fun, and did not worry about my overall score, just each hole.  I ended up in 3rd place after the first round, 1 stroke out of 2nd and 5 strokes out of first.  The second round was on a different course, but I had a great round and gained back the 5 strokes on the leader.  We had to play a playoff for the tie breaker and I won on the first hole.  I met some new people and had fun with those I already knew.  It was a very fun day and my first win at a sanctioned PDGA tourney! (The Saturday before I played a one round mini tournament at the same course as the second round and also took first place, against a very different field.

Competing in the manner has been a blast!  I have met new people and am involved in community activities outside of church and school activities.  By far, the most significant and joyful disc golf event of the year was the Discraft Ace Race Against Cancer event Ashley and I organized and ran in Utah over the Summer.  We raised money for a friend of Ashley's who is fighting cancer.  It was wonderful to see members of the community come together to support a great cause and also to introduce many people to the game.  This was a brief rundown of the official events this year, but to come is the story of my first ace at the year end doubles tourney.  Thanks for reading, see you next time!