Finale at Twin Falls

The season finale of Twin Fall's Money Game series proved to be an epic battle. The weather was pretty amazing, considering it was mid-November. The talent and competition was second-to-none and the hospitality of the house was simply amazing.

Holmes sinks the tournament winner

Todd Holmes won the day, posting a first round score of 54 and a second round score of 55. He was the uncontested winner of the day's Overall Best Score prize, but had to go to a playoff for the Lowest Single Round of the Day prize. The playoff only took one hole, with Holmes besting Dave Frothingham when Frothy failed to convert the elusive Circle Three on hole 17.

The Host and the Doctor

The real story of the day, though, belongs to Amy and Matt Cohen. My words here can't describe the hospitality and generosity they show to the Vermont disc golf community. From course maintenance, to cooking, to cleaning up, and generally taking care of us all, they deserve amazing thanks and praise. They truly are the First Family of Vermont Disc Golf. Thank you.

Leftovers:

*CTP prizes made for an exciting and lucrative day for some local disc golfers. Seth McQuade parked hole 2 and Matt Idol grabbed the prize on hole 5 for some nice prizes. Sean Bleything stole a very impressive CTP on hole 13 for a slightly larger prize and Jon Moorer simply parked hole 18 to take down the big prize.  (If you take a look at the picture of Holmes' winning putt, you'll see how close Moorer's CTP was...it's marked with the American flag.)

*Speaking of Jon Moorer, he also took down a prize for the Most Birdies in One Round. He and Frothy both had 5 birdies in a round and had to playoff for the prize, the day's second playoff. Moorer's soon-to-be legendary approach from the crowd on the deck knocked out Frothy after one playoff hole, for the second time it happened to Frothy on the day.      

*Speaking of hole 18, did you see that chump who set the single hole score record on hole 18? For those of you scoring at home, that was a Seven Circle 18. If you're interested in starting your own website, I might recommend that for your name.

The beauty of Twin Falls and the cool hand of Dr. Holmes

*Chris Young didn't win, for once. Very surprising. The reason I bring it up is that I thought Young Bucks was the most blogged about disc golfer. I think the Dr. may be giving him a run for his money. Evidence here and here.

*Brock. I didn't know you were leaving town. Not that I can blame you, but you're now the second real deal player to blow in and out of our lives here in Vermont. Anyway, don't forget, aloha means hello and goodbye. So, aloha.

*The final word this time goes to the Cohens. Matt, Amy, Noah, thank you, thank you, thank you.   

These guys are thankful for yesterday's hospitality

Also, thanks to Christian Keidel for the first winning putt photo and Matt Cohen for the second.

    

Your Next Pro?

We've talked about it before. The year 2011 was a pretty epic one for the Vermont disc golf scene. Chris Young stole the show. However, the Am group may provide us with the most drama in the off-season. Who's going to move up? Who's going to stay in the Am category and bag it next year? Is anyone going to make the huge leap from Am 2 to Pro?

Well, keep asking the questions and I'll keep finding the answers. Circle Three is proud to announce our very first Am to Pro jump of 2011.

He looks unassuming, but don't be fooled.

Bachnein's own Rang Duce is going Pro for 2012. He'll officially become the first GMDGC Am to move to Pro this year. He'll be the first Twin Falls player to go Pro. And he'll become Bachnein's first ever sponsored Pro. Wow. Pretty heady stuff.

Bachnein partner Taylor Johnson and Rang Duce

Rang told me that he was worried about playing poorly in Pro next year and getting beat up by the veterans. But then he just decided he wouldn't. Not that he wouldn't play Pro. Just that he wouldn't play poorly and get beat up. I love it. That's the kind of confidence he'll need in next year's top division. Admit it, the man knows how to handle stress. He battled last year and he battled this year.

His career highlight tells a little about Rang Duce's overall mindset. This past year he ended up on the second card at Black Falls V. A stellar score of 51 on Gold to Gold in the final round not only catapulted him off the second card but actually gave him the win with an 8 stroke lead over the next closest finisher. He's not one to give up and can't ever be counted out of a tournament.

Rang Duce (center) and a few of his loyal supporters

Of course, in Pro, it won't be so easy. But I think Rang Duce is ready for the next challenge. He got his Am win and in a very noble fashion he's going to make the Pro jump. I'll miss him in the Am division, but its nice to see him move up. Good luck, Rang Duce.  

Chris Young Can't Stop Winning

When I was thinking about this blog post, the hardest thing to come up with was the title. Here are some options that didn't quite make the cut.

*Young and McQuade Come Up Huge

*Andy Powell Has Something to Prove

*Global Warming? Sure Seems Like It

*Andy Powell Thinks My Writing is Shallow and Pedantic

*Its Always Sunny at Trapp Lodge

*42 Holes of Disc Golf Up and Down Hill is A Lot

*Fall Platter Helps Trapp Take the Next Step Towards Disc Golf Greatness

*Discs Lost in Killer Pond!

*Three Pros and a Powell

November seems like a time to prepare for winter. Living in Vermont, there's no question that the long, dark season is around the corner. Usually this time of year we're thinking snow tires, wood chopping, and packing on the winter pounds.  Instead, this past Sunday was 50 degrees, sunny, and amazing. That's my idea of disc golf in Vermont in November and it made for a great, if unseasonable, Fall Platter.

Our usual tournament events are pretty tense, with lots of people vying for a chance to move up in divisions and win big prize money. The Fall Platter brings a welcome change of pace. Without the pressure of the Green Mountain Points Series, disc golfers seemed to be laid back and more able to enjoy a great day. The field was small, but we made up for it with copious amounts of disc golf. And Chris Young can't stop winning. Seriously. He can't. He finished yesterday with a 5 stroke lead over the next closest Red Division finisher. He continues to be lights out.

The Red Division, though, was as hot as the blaring sun in the extreme elevation of Trapp Family Lodge. Lots of AM 1 and AM 2 players stepped up to play in the Big Boy Division. Props to them. But even with a large group, the Pros still managed to separate themselves from the field. The three Pros in the group finished 1-2-3. Mr. Andy Powell had the top AM finish, ending up 4^th in Red.

Al Rosa, who's also done his fair share of winning this year, took down the Orange Division. He edged out Justin Foster by just 3 strokes. Matt Zabawa, making a great comeback after recent difficulties, was 3^rd.

In the Yellow Division, Andrew Rowan took the win, finishing with a 3 stroke lead over John Sudarsky and a 6 stroke lead over Dave Rooke. The Green Division was won by Jayce Slesar in the day's tighest battle. He beat out Gretchen Kruesi by just one stroke.

Remainders:

Upgrades like this go a long way.

*The Trapp Family Lodge really is doing a great job with their course. Sure Seth and Chris gave them some help this week, but the Lodge is working steadily to improve their course. They have an amazing piece of property and its great to see disc golf being taken seriously by them.

*Yesterday's temporary Hole 3 was amazing. I hope Trapp realizes its greatness and incorporates it into their current layout. It might not be easy to add it in and it would probably mean that temporary Hole 4 gets added in with it, but that hole is pretty spectacular.

*Andy doesn't think my writing is shallow and pedantic. Well, he might, actually, but he hasn't told me so. He does think its a little on the negative side. That's probably hard to argue with. If anyone has suggestions for story ideas or spins on topics that aren't negative, feel free to use the comments section.

*How many discs got lost in the pond hole yesterday? I saw quite a few go in and there were more that I heard about. Maybe we should do a Maple Hill-like dive for discs sometime soon. Any volunteers?

*Ace Pot Throw-off from the deck?  Brilliant.  Hopefully that will become a tradition at Trapp.  

*Seth McQuade and Chris Young get the final word this time. They stepped up and organized the Fall Platter, which included the usual tournament work plus setting up new holes at Trapp. Thanks, guys.