Mayone is the One

Calais Gold

Going into the Calais weekend, I had given you my top five candidates to take down the Pro Division. I told you that Jeff Spring, Chris Young, Mike Habets, Johnny Betts, and Sean Bleything had a chance at winning. As usual, the Circle Three Predictions were a little bit off. The story of the day, at least from our perspective up north, was Chris Mayone. His scores of 66 and 69 were good enough for a first place tie in Pro Open and a subsequent playoff. Although Mayone did not prevail in said playoff, he did put forth an outstanding performance, one good enough to surprise many of us (and himself) as well as earn the Circle Three Headline.

Once again, Vermont was plagued by the last minute out-of-town addition who took down the Pro field. This time around it was former Vermont regular Pete Johnson. He absolutely crushed Calais Golds on the first round, shooting a 61 and grabbing a five stroke lead on the next closest Pro heading into round two. Johnson's second round was a little more down to earth, at 74 strokes. That allowed Mayone and his steady play to claw his way back for the playoff. Although Johnson did prevail on the day, Chris Mayone prevailed in our hearts.

Mayone is an interesting player. He's eligible to play in either Pro Masters or Pro Grandmasters, if he so chose. Plus, he's coming off some surgery, so no one would complain if he hid in one of the age protected divisions. But, that's not Mayone's style. He's a big boy who plays big boy disc golf, so for him, it's Pro Open or nothing. And that's commendable.

I have to touch on the fact that I didn't include him in my Calais prediction. I kind of felt bad after he had such a great day. Was it unfair of me to skip right over him? For a minute, I thought so. Then I found out that Mayone wasn't even confident enough in himself to enter the Pro Side Pot. So, if he wasn't even rooting for himself, then I shouldn't feel so bad not picking him to win.

Either way, props to Chris Mayone. He worked his way through two rounds at a very challenging course. And as Chris Young said, he did it “very smoothly.” Nice work, Mayone. Months ago I said I'd be happy to give you some props if you earned it, so here you are.

Bleything, sampling some of the finer things.

And then...

*Although the Pro Division had some shakeups, the top 3 remain the same. Jeff Spring is in 1^st with 416.33 points, Chris Young is a close 2^nd with 403.65 points and Habets remains in 3^rd with 349.75. I should note that Habets had his best finish (netting 76.92 points) since winning Pinnacle. Maybe he's been reading this blog. Anyway, the top five is rounded out with a resurgent Dave Frothingham in 4^th (325.53 points) and the ever steady James Beaulieu in 5^th (287.77 points).

*This season, and consequently each tournament still remaining, is really starting to mean something. We've finished 7 of the Green Mountain Point Series events and only 3 remain. For those Pros who want to make a move, time is running out. And let's not forget that Jeff Spring is the reigning Wrighstville Open champ, so I doubt he'll be giving that one away without a legendary battle.

*Rivalry Watch. I owe you a few updates on the Rivalry Watch. I was neglectful and didn't square up our results after the LPO, so we'll do that and then move onto the Calais wrap-up. It's suffice to say that those disc golfers I was beating up on early in the season have had enough of my blathering and are ready to win the Rivalry Watch. Results are much closer than they used to be.

So, going in to the LPO, my record was a respectable 10-6. My score on the day for the Sugarbush courses was a pretty lame 124. I was easily bested by Justin DeVico and Seth McQuade. I beat Ira Divoll (Thanks, Ira!) and we didn't see Spencer Weatherholt, Jim Conroy, Dave Carter or Andy Powell at the LPO. So, on the day, I only had 3 rivals present and 2 of them beat me. That puts me at 1-2 on the day and 11-8 on the season (after LPO).

Calais, however, was filled with rivals. I finished the day with a pretty poor 162. That means that Jim Conroy beat me. Seth McQuade, who won AM 1, obviously beat me. Ira Divoll placed in the money, and beat me, as did Justin DeVico. Spencer Weatherholt got me by a stroke, and I was fortunate enough to play the second round with him and see it with my own two eyes. Thankfully Dave Carter was nice enough to DNF and gift me a win. So, at Calais, I got destroyed. I was 1-5 on the day. Now I'm 12-13, the first time I've had a losing record against the rivals this year.

Nice work, boys, but thankfully the season ain't over yet.

Spencer, hitting good putts right in my face.

*Pro Prediction Follow Up: I picked Spring/Young/Bleything for the win/place/show. Spring and Young didn't have enough to hang tough at Calais, but Bleything did end up in third. So, my predictions weren't legendary, but if you think you would have picked Johnson/Mayone/Bleything ahead of time, then you're just kidding yourself.

*AM 1. Yes, I almost forgot about this one. I played the first round with Seth McQuade, who wasn't very happy with his disc golfing and talked about quitting and caddying for his wife. I was trying to convince him to drop me off at the Three Penny Tap Room before the second round started. Neither on of those things happened, and instead, McQuade came back from behind in the second round and won the division by two strokes. Nice work, Seth. That'll shake up the AM 1 division race. However, we're not going to dive into that today. The work on the street is that Chris Young is going to be bringing us an AM 1 follow-up later this week. Until then, we'll hold off on the AM 1 analysis.

*D(NF) Carter. That is all.

*Calais. What a special place. The course always looks immaculate, I think, but this time it was especially fantastic. The perfect weather didn't hurt, but the time and energy that goes into that course is really legendary. I'd like to extend a special thanks to all the folks who work hard there, but especially to Paul Olander. Paul is the real godfather of disc golf in Vermont, even though I throw that term around a lot. He does so much to make our sport and his course fantastic. Thanks again, Paul.

*Aaron Moore. What a nice guy. Plus, an excellent TD. From my end things went very smoothly and Aaron is a big person to thank for that. Plus, he didn't even play in the tournament. Talk about commitment. Thanks again, Aaron.

*Worlds Update.  Andy Powell shared a story with me about a Circle Three he carded at the Worlds.  It's a great story.  He sailed a huge drive that went past the basket, down a hill and out of bounds.  In true Circle Three fashion he nailed the putt.  I figured it was worth mentioning.  It's also worth mentioning that this was the turning point for Andy's Worlds appearance.  Not a positive turning point, but a turning point that sent his play spiraling out of control.  Like I said, true Circle Three fashion.  

*The final word this time goes to me. I don't often take it, but it's my blog and I'll do it if I want to. I'd like to make a pitch for the formats of tournaments at Calais. No, it's not my course and no I wasn't the tournament director, so I probably don't have much to complain about. But complaining is what started this website and complaining is what keeps me going. Personally, I think that two rounds of Golds for amateur players, even advanced amateurs, is a little too much. Sure, we're just one step away from Pros, so you could argue that two rounds of Golds is good practice for us, but I think it could be done differently. If it were up to me, I'd have amateurs play a round of Golds and a round of Blues. Let's be honest, Blues are still challenging (and it's also a beautiful layout) so why not let amateurs play a round of each? Maybe we can get this in place before the Vermont State Finals...

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Here Comes the LPO

It's almost time to thrown down.

This morning I was doing my daily internetting, you know, reading the forum, checking in on www.bachnein.com, looking at my page view stats.  The usual.  Somewhere along the way, probably from Twitter, I came across an interview on the Daily Show that Jon Stewart did with Loius C.K.  Not only do I think Louis C.K. is super funny, but it caught my attention that he was recently vacationing in Vermont, “being in the green of America.”  I watched the interview, and you can watch it here, if you’re not too easily offended.  (It’s NSFW.)

I watched to see if he mentioned playing a round at the new Brewster Ridge course or maybe talked about a day trip to Montgomery.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Louis C.K. is a disc golfer, but he did have some choice things to say about bloggers (among other people).  He said blogs were the place for “hyperbole and garbage.”  The views and opinions are “uneducated and unfettered.”  Jon Stewart added, “Say whatever pops into your head.  Blah.”

How flattering that these two legends of comedy and television could totally nail the theme of Circle Three so easily and so precisely.  It’s taken me over a year to define the mission statement of this website and these two did it in a few short moments.  Amazing. 

So, let’s dive into some uneducated, unfettered talk about the Lincoln Peak Open.  It’ll be filled with hyperbole and, as usual, will be mostly garbage. 

*Five events in the point series are down and five remain.  Someone still has the chance to win out and knock Chris Young from the top spot, but will it really happen? 

*The Pro Open field, as it has all season, looks like solid gold.  Tim Walsh is driving north to play.  Vermonters old and young, including Dave Frothingham, Chris Young, Pete Hess, Ian Thurston, Mike Davies, Jeff Spring, Mike Habets, Matt Marro, Travis Keller, and Jon Moorer are scheduled to attend.  Ian Thurston and Mike Habets, from the fair state of New Hampshire, will be in attendance.  And something tells me that we’ll also see some last minute, out-of-state additions to the Pro field.

*I’ll make my Pro Open predictions based on who we know is playing right now.  I think Tim Walsh is going to stick with the Vermont Tourist theme and take down the division.  Why not make it two Vermont tournaments in a row?  However, I do think that the Peak course will be the place that Jeff Spring starts to make his mid-season move.  I expect him to have a strong enough day to take second.  And Young Bucks is going to stick around, as always, in order to keep a tight grip on his point series lead.

*Pro Open Win/Place/Show Prediction: Walsh/Spring/Young

*AM1.  This one makes my palms sweat just thinking about it.  Right now four out of the top five players in the division are registered for the LPO- Justin Kaulius, Edwin Bedell, Seth McQuade, and Brad Harris.  Only Andy Powell is not on the pre-registration list.  I guess that’s what playing in Worlds will do to a man.

 

*I’ve written before that I think the rest of the division is going to be hard pressed to stop Brad Harris on his march to the top.  A solid finish at the LPO may put him atop the division leader board.  His consistent game and terrific putting should play well at Sugarbush, but I don’t see him winning this one.  Christian Keidel, is this your time to take home a win?  I’m not picking you, but maybe you should think about it. 

*These predictions are totally junk, because I’m not doing anything but making unfettered guesses.  So I’m going to dive in head first.  Phelan Lyman for the win in AM1.  Tyler Teed with momentum from some good recent rounds.  Harris because he’s incredibly solid. 

*AM1 Win/Place/Show Prediction: Lyman/Teed/Harris

*So, yeah, I did it again.  Both predicted winners are out-of-staters.  In the Loius C.K. and Jon Stewart interview that we opened with, Stewart says, “You know the lesson here?  Never go to Vermont.  It’s a dangerous place.”  If only we could spread that word to players outside of the Green Mountain State…

Gretchen Kruesi takes great photos, thanks as always.

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Thoughts on the Green Mountain Point Series

Here I sit on a lazy summer day, drinking coffee and listening to some Phish jams from the recent SPAC adventure.  Really, I should be thinking of disc golf, but I’ve been distracted by other summer time things recently.  Luckily for me, nothing’s really changed since the last time we spoke. 

Tim Walsh for the win.

On July 1^st, Base Camp Outfitters hosted the 2^nd, and final, Killington Classic.  The word is that next year the tournament will be renamed.  Some have suggested the Base Camp Open, that way we can have the BCO at BCO.  They could do some sort of Face/Off type logo on their discs- BCO/BCO.  In order to trap him, he must become him.  Anyway, enough about that nonsense for now.

The Killington Classic was dominated by out of state winners, at least in the divisions I’ll be covering today.  Pro Open was won by Mr. Vibram, Tim Walsh.  He’s another of disc golf’s super nice guys and he happens to be incredibly talented when it comes to throwing plastic at chains.  His overall total of 99 won the division by 5 strokes.  Vermonter Sean Bleything makes the biggest point series jump, after earning a second place tie with the legendary Daniel Marcus.  Mike Davies, a Vermonter but also a point series boycotter, took 4^th and our own Young Bucks was 5^th.

Here’s the current top 5 in the Pro Open Division of the Green Mountain Points Series:

1. Chris Young (90/95.83/52.94/87.5/76.47/Total= 402.74)

2. Jeff Spring (70/41.67/94.12/87.5/64.71/Total= 357.99)

3. Jon Moorer (40/79.17/76.47/43.75/29.41/Total= 268.8)

4. Mike Habets (100/41.67/0/56.25/52.94/Total= 250.86)

5. James Beaulieu (90/54.17/0/87.5/17.65/Total= 249.31)

A few things are clear to me at this point.  First, Bleything had a strong finish on Sunday, gained 94.12 point series points, but still hasn’t cracked the top five.  Second, no one even looks to be in the same ball park as Chris Young right now.  He’s separated from Jeff Spring by 45 points and then there’s a huge jump to third place and beyond.  Third, Mike Habets really hasn’t proven to me that he can dominate anywhere but Pinnacle.

Seriously, though, so what?  An astute, unnamed Pro and I were speaking at the Killington Classic.  He had a pretty laid back attitude about the point series and Chris Young’s seemingly insurmountable lead.  I’m paraphrasing here, but the sentiment of this Pro was pretty simple.  We’re still at a point where someone could win out the next 5 events, or even have 5 very strong finishes and take the lead.  Mathematically, he’s totally correct.  Do I personally think it’s possible?  If I were in Vegas, I wouldn’t lay my money on that bet. 

In the spirit of Vermonters getting their asses kicked by out-of-staters, Stephen England came north to win AM 1 at the Classic.  Brad Harris tied two other southerns for second place and BCO regular Tyler Teed took fifth.  These results won’t change the point series race for now, but it does make a foreboding statement going forward.  And it’s one we haven’t really addressed here yet.  Brad Harris is going to win the GMPS AM 1 Division. 

It pains me to say it, but go ahead and try to prove me wrong.  Here are the current standings:

1. Justin Kaulius (87.5/89.66/70.37/33.33/54.17/Total= 335.02)

2. Edwin Bedell (100/89.66/0/66.67/70.83/Total= 327.16)

3. Seth McQuade (56.25/0/92.59/87.5/79.17/Total= 315.51)

4. Andy Powell (93.75/17.24/85.19/66.67/29.17/Total= 292.02)

5. Brad Harris (0/96.55/92.59/0/95.83/Total= 284.98)

If you ask Christian Keidel, he’ll tell you that Justin Kaulius is only at the top of the point series because he’s played in five tournaments.  As a matter of fact, Keidel will probably be able to speak for hours on the subject.  And there’s certainly truth to it.  Edwin Bedell started hot and has fallen off a little since missing a tournament for personal reasons.  However, he’s still banking two solid scores.  Seth McQuade has two hot scores and a mid-range score.  Powell has two solid scores in the bank.

And then there’s Brad Harris.  He’s only played in three tournaments out of five.  In those appearances, he’s managed three very impressive, very bankable scores.  Compare his top three to the top three of anyone else in the division and he’s got a nice lead.  (Hey, Christian, if you compare your three scores he’s also beating your ass pretty handily.)  So, can Harris be stopped?  At this point, I’m going to bet on no.  Harris for the win.  It’s my belief that if he won the division that he’d be the first New Hampshire resident to win a non-age-restricted division. 

Things You May or May Not Care About:

*The amazing Jeff Spring recorded a stellar Circle Three at Twin Falls at the last money game.  He happened to do it on the same hole that spawned the name for this website.  Spring stepped up to hole 18, threw his drive in the water, took his penalty stroke, and on his re-tee put his disc straight in the chains.  Nice work, sir.  You also owe me five bucks for the name usage.

*Sean Bleything has been on a nice roll.  He took down his first money game win after a one hole playoff with Frothy.  He had the strongest Vermont Pro finish at the Classic.  It’ll be fun to see what he can do with all this momentum.

 

*Vermonters, WTF?  How often are we going to continue to get beat by all of these out-of-staters.  I know what you say.  They have more courses then than us.  Their courses have better tee boxes than most of ours.  They have better competition.  They have a longer season.  So what?  It’s time to stop whining and start beating some southerners as they come north for our money and our points.   Keep practicing that putting. 

*BCO.  Wow.  You may have heard me say this before, but I feel like every time I go there, more and more improvements have been made.  It impresses me.  As does the dedication that Mike Miller shows to disc golf.  Can I make one suggestion?  I think it’s time for some championship level baskets.

*Let’s keep ruffling some feathers.  I’ve heard some grumblings about the Peak Course lately.  It seems to be in a little bit of rough shape.  Now, I haven’t seen it myself, so I’m going off second hand information.  Let’s hear it from those of you that have played.  Is it in tournament shape?  Should we just be playing two base rounds for the tournament instead of a peak and a base?  I know playing the peak is a game changer, but is it ready?

*Also, the LPO costs $60 if you’re playing Pro Open.  Ouch.  That’s approaching the price of a day of skiing.  Glad I’m not playing Pro.

*The final word this time goes to Mike Miller.  Keep doing what you’re doing, sir, we all appreciate it greatly. 

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Late June Pro Break Down

The Green Mountain Point Series is now four events in with six to go on the 2012 season. By next Sunday, the Point Series will be halfway over. You can still think that the standings don't matter right now, but you'll be having a harder and harder time of convincing me of that. So, let's take a look at the Pro Open Division. You can find the raw data here if you wish.

Current Top 5

Chris Young

Jeff Spring

Jon Moorer

James Beaulieu

Ian Thurston

I know that last time I broke down the Top 10 Pro's. Right now I only get the impression that five of them are in the hunt. At least right now. Someone else could come from farther back in the division with some big performances, but until that happens these five have the real chance at winning Pro.

1. Chris Young

(90, 95.83, 52.94, 87.5, Total= 326.27)

Young, flexing it.

We all know that you'll be needing five bankable scores to win the Pro Division. The real debate lies in what kind of score makes for a bankable score. I have to believe that the winner of Pro will have a 100 or something awfully close, three or four scores above 80, and maybe a score in the 70's. Anything less and I really don't think it'll fly.

So, as of now, Chris Young already has three very, very solid scores. He'll drop the 52.94, but he's in a position of only needing two scores in the 80's, or maybe a 70 and an 80. Do you think Young Bucks has what it takes to record two more good scores over 6 remaining tournaments? If I were a betting man, I'd take that bet. On second thought, I am a betting man. So, if anyone wants that action, let me know.

For now, I think its clear. The Circle Three Tarot Cards all point towards a repeat for Chris Young. He's got that score near 100 (with a 95.83) and he's got two scores above the mid 80's (with a 90 and an 87.5). A strong performance from Young at the Killington Classic and he might be taking a victory lap for the remainder of the season. And with some challenging tournaments ahead- stops at Killington and Sugarbush come to mind- that might be the best position of all to be in.

2. Jeff Spring

(70, 41.67, 94.12, 87.5, Total= 293.29)

Spring

Jeff Spring, obviously, was the preseason prediction to win the Pro Division, at least from the Circle Three blog. The first two stops on tour- Pinnacle and the Sap Bucket- didn't serve Spring very well. But, he's made a strong rebound and has two solid scores after Black Falls and Gnomes. Still, he'll need three more bankable scores over six tournaments. That's a slightly tougher position than the one Chris Young is currently in.

I do like Spring's chances at some of the later stops this summer. I think his game could play well on Lincoln Peak and at his adoptive home course in Calais. Oh yeah, and he won Wrightsville last year, so that course obviously suites his game just fine. Personally, I'd like to see Jeff Spring drop some hot scores at Killington, but if it doesn't happen, you heard it here first. Spring has plenty of time. And knowing his perchance for showing up late, he's probably OK with that.

3. Jon Moorer

(40, 79.17, 76.47, 43.75, Total= 239.39)

Moorer and the flick.

First of all, I'm happy to report that the Circle Three blog is the only place where this poor guy's name gets spelled correctly. Other websites, forums, and point series standings, take note.

Other than that, Moorer is having quite a fine rookie season in Pro. As a matter of fact, I think he's having the kind of year that anyone debuting in a new division could hope for. A few times in the cash. Some really stellar tournament rounds. Third place in the group nearly halfway through the season. But, is it enough? Or will Moorer make some more waves during the second half of the season?

His golf seems to be getting better and better, despite what the numbers look like, so it's certainly possible. Killington may be the place to start, but I'm not sure if its the right place for him.  He won AM1 at Calais last year, so he's capable of shooting well there. His long flick bombs can play quite well at Sugarbush and they won't hurt in Lyndon or at Wrightsville. Moorer could wind up being the perfect second half disc golfer. If he really wants to win Pro, that's what he'll have to do, with only two decent scores in the bank so far.

4. James Beaulieu

(90, 54.17, 0, 87.5, Total= 231.67)

Beaulieu, launching the boat.

Props to James for being in the Top 4 and still holding onto a score of zero. And shame on the 17 people in his division he's beating while holding a score of zero. But, I shouldn't take anything away from James by talking about other people in his hard earned Circle Three write up space. Sorry, James.

Anyway, he's working with a 90 and an 87.5. He's behind on Chris Young, which everyone is, and he's behind on Jeff Spring. However, I would argue that Beaulieu is actually in a better spot right now than Jon Moorer. Two of the scores that Beaulieu has will be bankable and Moorer, arguably, doesn't have any. Not any that meet my criteria, at least. So, despite the rankings, I think Beaulieu is in a better position than Moorer.

I'm trying to look back at Beaulieu's scores from last year, to make some comparisons. But most of them are in the Pro Masters division. So, I don't even know how to make sense of them. I don't know the conversion rate from Pro Masters to Pro Open. It doesn't compute. I guess I'll just have to go with my instincts here.

I like his chances of finishing Top 5 for the season, definitely. I think he can be Top 3. But, I don't see him winning it. A victory at Killington would certainly change my feelings, at least a little. Otherwise, I'm not convinced.

5. Ian Thurston

(70, 4.17, 47.06, 87.5, Total= 208.73)

Thurston, at right.

Ian Thurston. Thurstonian. I really do like that this guy is still in the Top 5. I'm probably throwing my journalistic integrity right out the window here, but if you're not rooting for a guy like Ian, than you're some kind of maniac. Or maybe you're competing in his division. Either way, he's a good guy who deserves to succeed, even if you're playing against him.

Remember that score of 4.17 that he's carrying from the Sap Bucket and the stink I made about it last time? Ian said it was some motivation for him before Gnomes, so that's cool. So let's talk about it some more. The score he got from Gnomes was an 87.5, which is fantastic. That's actually almost 21 times as many points as the Sap Bucket score. Or, if you subtracted the Sap Bucket score from the Gnomes score (87.5 – 4.17) he'd actually still have a bankable score (83.33). So there are some statistics for you to chew on. Or, some simple math problems for you to glance over, if you wish.

Back to Ian, though. He's a good guy who deserves to win. I just don't think this year is the year. By my count he's working on one bankable score with one on the bubble. He's going to have some hard work ahead if he wants to make major jumps in the division of Pros.

Outliers

*Mike Habets, Jonathan Betts, James Sweat, and Dave Frothingham are the next four Pros in the standings. Yeah, Dave Frothingham. Remember him? If you haven't been to money games in a while, then you might not. But, rest assured, he's still a Pro in Vermont.

*So, Mike Habets. Got hot at his home course of Pinnacle and scared the Pro field. Or, scared the Circle Three blog, at least. But, since then he's cooled off like your favorite swimming hole in October. He's a good disc golfer, no question. He's just not proving that he's ready for the prime time in Pro Open. (Not that I'm suggesting he should move down. God no. I'm just saying he's going to need to really turn it on to get in this race).

*Jonathan Betts. As predicted, his schedule is filled with things that aren't disc golf tournaments. Imagine that? I can't. But, its true. While you're aimlessly throwing things at other things in the woods, Mr. Betts is building a legacy. Or a family. Or something like that. Betts has a 100, so you can't argue with that. But unless he steps up his attendance in the second half, I doubt its his year either.

*James Sweat. Tied the course record on his first round at the White River Disc Golf Course. Then got 13 strokes worse on his second round. What I'm trying to say is, that you never quite know what you'll get from Mr. Sweat. But, he plays Sugarbush well and he won the Ams at Wrightsville last year, so he's not dead yet. Overall, he probably won't be in line to win the division since he doesn't really have a bankable score right now.

*Dave Frothingham. He's played three out of four tournaments but doesn't have a score that counts right now. He too is unpredictable this year. He can go from being a non-factor in a tournament to crushing the field on the following (Wednesday) night. So, who knows what the second half may hold? I just think that 3^rd place may be the ceiling for him this year, and that's if he works his arse off.

*Final Word: Late June Circle Three Pro Prediction: Spring/Young/Beaulieu. Yep, I'm covering both sides of the fence here. I'll take action on Chris Young to win the division, but I still can't give up on the Year of the Spring.   

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After Gnomes

There are many ways to tell that summer in Vermont is in full swing. The hills and mountains are covered in explosions of green. The swimming holes are as scenic as ever. Sunsets over Lake Champlain are utterly beautiful. And those southern disc golfers come north in droves to take our NEFA points.

Some of the White River Gnomes.

On Saturday June 23 the White River Disc Golf Course hosted the Gnomes Challenge V. The tournament was small, capped at 72 players, but nothing short of interesting. The course was ravaged by Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011. The bridge was ruined, trees were decimated, and baskets swept away. Some NEFA support and a small group of hard workers rehabbed the course in time for the 5^th running of Gnomes. Some replacement holes, old fairways covered in sand, and a river crossing by canoe could not stop strong NEFA players from slamming chains all day long.

The first ever disc golf tournament with a river crossing by canoe?

The Pro Open Division was won by NEFA phenom, reigning NEFA AM 1 champ, and new Pro, Stephen Economos. Despite some first round difficulties, he won the division with scores of 50 and 46 on the par 54 course. That gave him a one stroke win over fellow out-of-stater Mark Valis. Five players had a total of 99 strokes on the day to tie for third. Green Mountain disc golfers James Beaulieu, Jeff Spring, Ian Thurston, and Chris Young were in that group. Props to Thurston for a strong finish. All in all, the point series won't be too changed by any of this.

Stephen Economos takes Pro Open.

AM 1 was also won by another out-of-state player, who happens to be another member of the Economos family. Nick Economos won the division with a two-stroke lead over Vermonter Matt Cohen and third was taken by Vermonter Sayer Dwinell-Yardley. None of those folks are GMDGC members, so that won't affect the point series too much either.

Following the tourist trend, Phelan Lyman, a phenom in his own right, won AM 2 with scores of 50 and 47, which would have put him in a two way tie for 2^nd in Pro Open. Doug Wiemer, of Smuggs, Vermont fame, took 2^nd in AM 2 and claimed his first tournament ace pot prize, with a ridiculous ace on hole 10. Jordan Potvin, a Vermonter who's new to the point series took 3^rd.

Vermont is still beautiful, despite Irene's best efforts.

Thankfully there were some folks who didn't let their divisions go to out-of-staters. Al Rosa won Men's Pro Masters with a 51 on both rounds. Dan French took Men's Masters, Dana Dwinell-Yardley won Advanced Women's, Gretchen Kruesi grabbed the Intermediate Women's win, and Jayce Slesar beat the Juniors.

Let's Not Forget About:

*The Green Mountain Points Series. Things really didn't change all that much and not nearly as much as I hinted at last week. Chris Young is still winning the Pro Open Division. I bet you've never heard something like that before. Jeff Spring is still in 2^nd and Jon Moorer continues to hold 3^rd. Young now has three really bankable scores in the series (90, 95.83, and 87.5) so watch out.

*AM 1. Justin Kaulius still holds the division lead, despite getting only 33.33 points out of a poor Gnomes performance. Andy Powell is in 2^nd. About 18 points separate those positions right now. Edwin Bedell is 3^rd and only 6 ½ points from Powell.

*AM 2 and those other divisions. All around good guy Dan Walsh has the AM 2 point series lead. Doug Wiemer's 2^nd and Robbie Bean is 3^rd. In Pro Masters Josh Rappeport is in the lead and in Pro Grand Masters John Sudarsky has 1^st. Gretchen Kruesi has the lead in Intermediate Women's and Jayce Slesar has four 100's (move up) in Juniors. How about that? All the multi-person divisions just got Circle Three mentions.

*Rivalry Watch. Well, things were bound to even out a little in this race. I was 9-3 against the rivals before Gnomes. Four rivals played the tournament: Seth McQuade, Andy Powell, Spencer Weatherholt, and Justin DeVico. A 51 in the first round and an absolutely terrible 60 in the second round gave me a 51/60/111 on the day. McQuade was 49/52/101, so he beat the pants off of me. Powell was 54/53/109, so he beat me too. DeVico was just one stroke away from being bad enough to tie me, but he got me with a 55/55/110. Spencer was somehow bad enough to lose to me. Sorry, Spencer. He was 56/56/112 for the day. At Gnomes I was 1-3 against the rivals. That's the first time this season I've lost the day. Overall for the year that leaves me at 10-6. That's a .625 winning percentage, which doesn't sound very good, but is better than any team in Major League Baseball right now.

*Later in the week Circle Three will be offering some more commentary on Gnomes, some deep thinking on the Green Mountain Point Series, and a look ahead at the 5^th stop on the summer tour, the Killington Classic. Feel free to stop back.

*Thanks as always to Gretchen Kruesi for great pictures.


*The final word this time goes to the wonderful folks in Randolph. Thanks to everyone who helped out to fix up a course that took the worst of a very, very bad storm. Thank you.   

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Black Falls VI

Marcus takes the win with Mayone and Betts,
among others, looking on.

The Green Mountain Points Series is somehow off to a three straight tournaments with nice weather streak, after a beautiful, and tumultuous, day in Montgomery, Vermont. Once again GMDGC disc golf saw an out of towner come north to win a tournament. This time it was the very solid, and now legendary Montgomery visitor, Daniel Marcus. He was able to pull off a huge deuce on hole 18 at Black Falls to beat Jeff Spring, who along with Jason Powers led the tournament for most of the day. But, just like NASCAR, the most laps led doesn't always equal winning, and Spring and Powers found that out this weekend.

The day began at the huge, scary Cherry Hill course, which features an open, rolling, long front nine and a steep, wooded, tricky back nine. Only two players got in the 50's on the Cherry Hill round. Powers was 57 and Spring was 59. On a course where scores got into the 80's, with even some Pro's shooting in the 70's, being in the 50's is fantastic.

Players moved down the road to Black Falls for lunch and began gearing up for another tough round, this time on Black Falls Gold to Gold (for many players). Spring tried his best, but could only manage a 58 on the Golds. Daniel Marcus, as he often does in Montgomery, marched his way back, probably only throwing Aviars and Rocs, shooting a 53 on Golds to win another Vermont tournament.

Winner, winner

For the People:

*The point series is getting interesting, with us 30% of the way into the season. Young Bucks still has a hold on Pro Open, with Jeff Spring in second, and newcomer Jon Moorer in third. This Guy is winning AM1, at least for the current time, with Andy Powell and Edwin Bedell in second and third. Enough about that, though, we'll cover the points series later this week.

*George Boone's crew is taking disc golf by storm right now. Who knew that Mr. Boone was raising a whole new crop of outstanding disc golfers right there in the shadow of Burke Mountain? Boone himself won Pro Grandmasters, Travis Keller won last week's AM1 division at the Sap Bucket and this week Nick Soave took AM1 to school with his scores. The Boone Crew is not only rolling deep, but they're also cashing in on their performances. 

*Which leads me to Nick Soave not cashing in at Black Falls VI. Nick shot a very respectable 63 at Cherry Hill and then followed it up with a lights out 53 on the Golds. His 53 tied Daniel Marcus and Jon Moorer for the best round scores of the day on that layout. So, Nick, don't you think its time to move up? And I'm not just saying that because you play in my division right now or because I'm adding the usual Vermont “move up” peer pressure. I'm asking for the best reason of all. You could be winning money in Pro right now. Isn't that a worthwhile reason to move?

*Prediction Follow-up. Predictions suck, I don't know why I make them. In Pro Open, I predicted Spring/Betts/Moorer but hinted at an out of towner taking it. And take it Daniel Marcus did. Spring was second, so that's worth something. Betts and Moorer tied for fifth. In AM1 I said Harris/DeVico/Kaulius. Instead it was Soave/John Mucciarone/Harris. So, I had one close. Overall, my predictions weren't stellar, but better than any others I heard on my drive to Montgomery on Saturday morning.

*Rivalry Watch. Going in to this one, I held a 6-1. We had 5 rivals playing this time around: DeVico, Divoll, McQuade, Powell, and Conroy. McQuade and Powell finished third and fifth on the day, with both of them beating me. I did manage to take down Divoll, DeVico, and Conroy. So far Andy's beaten me twice and McQuade once. On the season, I'm now 9-3 against the rivals. That's a .750 winning percentage, which would put me in the lead in any division in baseball, if you're keeping score at home.

*The final word goes to those amazing people in Montgomery. They really know how to do disc golf and how to put on a good event. So, thanks to all of those wonderful folks up north who continue to put up with our shenanigans.     

Black Falls (and Cherry Hill)

Black Falls is waiting.  Who's ready?

With the quickest possible turnaround between Green Mountain Points Series events, we're quickly rapidly approaching Black Falls VI. Sunday's Sap Bucket X is still fresh in our minds, but players only have six days to rest, recuperate, and practice putting. So, what's going to happen in Montgomery, Vermont this Saturday? Circle Three takes a guess, and with the Point Series so young and things so up in the air right now, it's probably barely more than a guess.

*Pro Open: It's hard to deny that Johnny Betts is in a prime position to cash in this weekend. He's hot off his first Sap Bucket win, which happened to come in his first tournament of the season. Getting another first, a win at his own event would really throw the rest of the division into a tailspin. Earlier this year I questioned if Mr. Betts would play enough tournaments to really be in contention in the division. Two wins in three tournaments would really mean something. Those scores might keep him coming back to play tournaments later in the season, as well.

But, it certainly won't be an easy day for Johnny. Not only does he have a grueling round at Cherry Hill and a round at the now more-difficult Black Falls to contend with, there are a bunch of other players who could make his shot at back-to-back wins much more challenging. I'd expect Matt Idol to play better than he did at the Sap Bucket and he's got a real chance to crush the Golds at Black Falls. Chris Young will certainly be working hard to keep himself atop the division. Jon Moorer is also right in the mix and can go under par at BF. Not to mention, he's capable of stunning scores at Cherry Hill. So, what's it going to be? Will someone slip in from out of town at the last moment to steal it? Or will a Vermonter hold in down in state?

*Pro Open Predictions: Making a call like this makes me question why I ever got into the prediction game. I should just stick to the commentary. But, we're here now, so here's what I think. I'm going with Jeff Spring to win. I still think he's going to emerge as the real contender this season, so maybe Montgomery is the place to start. Plus, Jon Moorer gets his first Pro podium. So, here you go: Spring/Betts/Moorer.

*Am1 is a mess. Edwin Bedell is on top of the division, but he won't be in Montgomery. Justin Kaulius is second, but who knows if he can hang on. Brad Harris wants to capitalize on his solid Sap Bucket finish. Christian Keidel still wants a win. Travis Keller's win at the Sap Bucket was huge, but he's not registered for this one yet. Spencer Weatherholt, Andy Powell, Aaron Moore and Justin DeVico are all up top in the division.

*Am1 Predictions: I hate to admit it, but I'm worried about Brad Harris again. Look for him to be ultra consistent all day long. I'm going with Harris/DeVico/Kaulius. But, I just don't know if any of these guys will really hang on over two very tough rounds. I think Aaron Moore might build off his Sap Bucket finish and spoil the podium for at least one of these three. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

*If you've got some predictions on the divisions I've snubbed, let's hear it. Put your money where your mouth is. Or at least put your words where my website is.