Field Notes

What a weekend! The highlights were the good times outside of sanctioned play, honestly. Getting to meet new people and hang out with good friends and having meals was such a blast. Staying nearby Whitmarsh was very nice because it turns out the Mount Vernon/Burlington area has great food. Don't sleep on "Big Scoop," it's truly a spot that will not disappoint. Train Wreck Bar & Grill has an amazing Rueben. Scratch kitchen soul-food!

SeaTac league round was very ordinary. Shot near my rating, didn't have a round of great golf but got through it and learned a few things along the way. Nice weather and it's so nice being able to play with great people.

Friday afternoon, my first time seeing Whitmarsh, and knowing it's kind of a legendary little course, I wanted to give it my best. I love technical little wooded shots, and this course gives you chances to score. I didn't find a lot of points first round through, but my goal was simply learn where to avoid the bogeys. That plan can go sideways, and did a few times in round Saturday, but I think the practice round gave me a little boost going in.

Complete lackluster performance from me Saturday morning Round 1. I knew I needed to step it up, and I was firmly on the chase card in 7th place. I avoided the bogeys and late 2nd round started finding the birds. It culminated in a 120 foot throw-in, then I just needed to play the last hole. The magical moment was when my friend was waiting for me on the last hole to let me know I was in the lead and to just par this last hole and it's mine. I was a little shocked and kept it together. Taking the top of the box, didn't even pump a shot, just fired off an easy smooth drive that actually hit within 30 feet of the pin. We walked down talking about pitching it under the basket because the par will win the round.

It was a joy being able to win and have the support of Brian and the Bok Squad to share it with me. I'm having a lot of fun playing disc and enjoying it with such a cool group of people.

A great weekend of disc golf. Amazing crisp clean spring weather with sunshine and light winds. This was the biggest field I've joined, and I really enjoyed it. Great playing going on in the MA3 division, with the winner averaging 933 over both rounds. That's solid game! Super chill cards, fun meeting some awesome players. I only beat one guy on each of my cards, but with the larger field, I walked with 58.5 player points since I beat 12 guys. This is a great haul for 2 rounds of fun. I'm on pace to keep collecting toward the 1000 that will get me into AM Worlds '27.

There were a few moments where I played exceptional disc golf this weekend. One was late in Round 1 where I was tucked on hole 16. A huge upshot, where basically one distance and shape was required about 160 feet out. I threw a Fireball and pulled exactly hard enough to find the target way up to the left. I turned it so well the guys nearby cheered. This was one hole after hitting a 50 foot death putt in the wind. The whole card cheered loudly on that one! I love hitting those shots, everyone does, but such a simple and pure joy to ring up the chains and stop in the basket from anything farther than 15 feet.

First time playing MA3, and had an amazing time meeting eastern WA locals and ripping their course with them. Took 1st place by 3 strokes, but it was close all the way down to the last hole. I was sitting at E and 2nd place was sitting at +1 stepping up to the last tee pad. The whole thing came down to a downhill island shot, and the island was smaller than C1.

I had honors, grabbed my Envy, and knew that I had to give this a smooth throw with a firm snap to both get it there and keep it straight. I had missed the island in practice and was 1 for 2 in the first two rounds. I decided to keep my nerves at bay when I stepped up. I knew being relaxed is the way. I thought of a friend who I used to disc golf with a lot, pretended he was standing down by the basket, and tossed it down to him. It floated straight toward the basket and landed about 10 feet to the left. 200 or so feet down, kept it straight.

After hitting the green and just needing to watch everyone drive, I checked the score for the first time. I knew I was doing pretty good, but once I looked I immediately knew I was standing there a winner of the 3 rounds in MA3. A great feeling, and as we all played out the hole I just enjoyed the moment. When Michael came up to shake my hand on the win I gave him a hug and thanked him. What a day!

Especially when my morning started with a skip-ace on the hole I sponsored for the event. 3/29, Hole 17, Sunnyside Park, Skip-Ace. Pro who witnessed it: Isaac McGonigal. He inked me up. Also, I wrote "hole 2" on the disc because I started each round on 16, so I saw it as hole 2. I was so excited on the ace I didn't really think it through and now I just want to keep it as "hole 2" because it shows how unbelievable the feeling of an ace is. Hole what? Does it even matter?!

Had a great time playing on a really cool card. Good group, with a 950+ rated pro in the group! I was able to follow a few of his lines and really enjoyed the great weather and solid disc golf. Shooting over 900 was fun, I was really hitting some great putts. Feels good to make them stick!

This round was a great way to get warm for the 3-rounder ahead Saturday/Sunday in Pullman.

Another amazing day on the course. Decided to jump on a meetup for 18 holes at Jackson. A great ball golf/disc golf hybrid course, where everyone is enjoying their shots on the same fairways. Our baskets are usually sitting just beyond the green, with each green playing as a hazard. The course itself provides really fun elevation changes and shot shapes in addition to pristine grounds.

I was paired up with a great guy who was finding great lines and we even celebrated a star frame after both of us fully parked the same forehand on 17. Fun round, amazing weather and just a chill way to grab a few birds on a Sunday morning.

Absolutely legendary course. I've seen it so many times on coverage, so it gave me the chills a little bit when I was able to park a signature island hole surrounded by pavers and tap in for bird. I played white then red tees, where the white tees are a lot more challenging. I felt very lucky to be on the MA1 card for Round 1. A local budding pro, 22 years old, who dyes discs and is a fun guy to play disc golf with, absolutely shredded the white tees. I got some good shots in and laced a few fairways (between bogey holes, of course). I walk away stronger.

I played two rounds under my rating, but the thing is: that's the game. I'm happy with the experience and hanging out in the woods with a bunch of good dudes flinging frisbees.

Round 2 gave me a chance at redemption on a lackluster rating off the first. I finished under par, and I didn't even realize that until the end. I was finding windows through the trees, cutting in with a Fireball and trying shots I've never even thought of before.

I walk away knowing that I need more putting in my life. When I practice putting daily, my rounds feel a lot better. I have been working very diligently on my upshots instead of putting, but now it's time to start putting these together. I won the day with a positive mindset, enjoying great weather, and seeing where I gain strokes.

Lots of fun carving up the fairways today. For every 25–30 foot putt I made it felt like I dropped a 15… So, that's how it went. Always about 5–6 strokes from where I want to be. I see where they are, and going to clean them up.

I just got promoted from the waitlist for 2 rounds at Shelton Springs tomorrow. Too excited. First time playing there and a full 6 player MA40 field to compete with. I'm going to get a full reset and eat a lot of pizza tonight. Wipe everything down and get the bags packed in the morning for an early drive. Glad I had a strong SeaTac round (well, not too strong) today to get the jitters out of the way and hopefully just swing very smoothly all day tomorrow.

A beautiful day on the course with two great dudes on the card. Deception Pass gets wind, it's kind of the whole deal up there, but at least we didn't get rained on, which in March qualifies as a gift. The course itself presented some real footing challenges, but summer will sort that out soon enough. Driving over the bridges onto Whidbey Island is such a treat every time. I will absolutely be back up here for more disc golf.

Stayed in the mix all day. Hit one big 60-foot putt that I'm still thinking about, and was parking for birdie from 250 to 300 feet six different times. Finished 3rd, and then got a genuine surprise: my first trophy. Hardware! They handed it over and I just stood there grinning. Used the credits to pick up a Berg and a Berg X, both in colors I'm excited about. My friend Brian from Bok Squad is going to dip-dye one of them so it looks like a black-and-white cookie but with neon colors. Can't wait to see how that turns out.

Fun day throwing in good weather. SeaTac really knows how to present a challenge, and I stayed fairly steady with minimal blow-ups. Not my best performance numbers-wise, but the kind of day where you learn something. Got to play with a few seasoned regional players I hadn't met yet, which is one of the best parts of these events, the card is always teaching you something if you're paying attention.

Picked up some real lessons watching the better players shape their shots and stay consistent hole after hole. The kind of stuff you can't get from YouTube. Shooting one stroke better in Round 2 than Round 1 felt genuinely strong, finishing on the upswing is a good habit to build, and both rounds pushed my rating up slightly. Progress is progress.

Round 1 was a revelation. Finished 1 under par, clean, confident, everything clicking. Felt like I was finally figuring this whole thing out. Then lunch happened, and after lunch, the Pacific Northwest remembered what it does best. A cold, persistent rain rolled in and turned the course into a slip-and-slide. Traction? Gone. Dry towels? Submerged by the halfway point. Gear? Soggy. Morale? Fading.

The 88-point swing between rounds was humbling. Even in the rain, I should be staying more consistent rating-wise, that's the honest takeaway. But the card had a calm energy to it, everybody grinding through the same conditions, nobody complaining too hard. Lessons learned. The Rain Wizard title is aspirational at best, but you gotta name the chapter something.

Worth the drive up to the mountains just for the signature hole alone: a big dumptruck bed as a backdrop with a hanging basket, sitting right in the heart of copper country. This Discmania Disc Golf Park is a short course, but don't let that fool you, the mandos and generous OB markings make it a serious short-game exercise. Extremely fun and well designed to punish lazy shots.

And then it happened. First sanctioned ace. The signature hole, no less. An official 1 now living on my PDGA stats forever. Garrett on our card aced one too, and we were both losing our minds about it. Finished just a few strokes short of first, but the guy who took it played beautifully steady all day, genuinely honored to compete with him. Todd the tournament director and his wife Anissa were incredible hosts, making sure everyone enjoyed themselves from start to finish. Oh, and the local Mexican restaurant afterward? Possibly the best I've ever had. The whole trip was a 10.

Pretty weather, my 4th tournament, and somehow I won the whole thing. Started both rounds with a double bogey, just absolutely punting the opening hole like it's a tradition now, then tightened up and played real golf the rest of the way. The group on the card was great, and the competition stayed close until the very end. Finished one stroke better in each round, meaning the last two holes could have gone either way. That kind of pressure is exactly why you sign up for these.

The highlights reel is short but sweet: a throw-in from about 100 feet on hole 6 for the birdie, the kind of shot where the disc disappears behind some trees and you just hear chains, and a 45-foot putt that felt significant because I practice that distance obsessively. Big moments, both of them. Bought P2 D-Line putters with the prize money, which feels like the most disc golf way possible to reinvest your winnings.