Tour Stop #13
Rock Hill, SC
"Four States, USDGC, and 200,000 miles!"
So we got to JohnE's family's place and practiced for a few days and decided to head to the Four States Open for the weekend and then head straight back to Rock Hill, SC. Just 17 hours each way! I had never played in Joplin, MO but had heard it was a great event. Synthya and I drove all the way non-stop and arrived to great weather and friendly people. We had sushi with some of our Missouri friends - Brandy, Janey, and the Flagg Family. The courses were a little short but fair.
I hosted a clinic that was very informative at the event. Some days you speak clearly and make good points and this was one of those days. I still do love teaching. I have never been much of a short course player, having to average more than -12 per round. I did my best but fell short struggling on the last nine holes to find more than a birdie while my competitors managed 5 a piece. My teammate Chris Clemons won his first A-tier claiming over $2000 dollars. I finished in third place. We had a good time and I wanted to thank the tourney staff and my caddy and for taking such good care of me.
One exciting part of this trip was getting to meet Synthya's brother Chris and her nephew Tristian. They live in Oklahoma so they drove up for a night and we had dinner and ice cream. Tristian had so much energy and reminded how without adult stress, life is a happy place. It was also nice getting to talk with Chris and learn more about Synthya and her family.
We raced back to Rock Hill to find out it was hurricane season and it haf been raining the whole time we were gone and that the USDGC had changed the caddy book and we had practiced the wrong holes! Fun! On a side note, the RV went over 200,000 miles, all disc golf!!!!
I practiced the new changes and then it started to rain and didn't really clear up until the day before the event. After that the weather was beautiful for the next few days. I played pretty well the first two rounds, but I took a seven on 17 in the first round so I was in 11th place. The third round the course took my lunch curbing shots in the air, roll aways, and bad shots. I shot my first round over par in years, dropped to 22nd and lost my title hopes. The weather took a turn for the worse on the final day and so did my game and I ended up finishing in 17th. This was my first time out of the top ten at a major in over a decade. A tough finish to a decent year.
While in Charlotte I took Synthya to play at my favorite course in the area, Renaissance Gold. What Stan McDaniel has done out there is amazing and I just wanted to show Synthya what I think is challenging golf without ropes is like. Great job Stan! After all this time the course looks great and is still very difficult.
We are heading to the Mango Classic in Jackson, Mississippi this weekend for an A-tier but before we left we spent the day checking out Charlotte, attending museums and enjoying good food. Charlotte is one of the fastest growing cities in the USA and it is thriving. After culturing ourselves we went to play a round at Boyd Hill and then I had to have my last dinner in Rock Hill be Sake Express. I like this area of the country and look forward to coming back. Thanks to everyone who helped me in some way during the last few weeks, Zack, Josh, Kevin, Kyle, Grayson, Cameron, JohnE, McCray family, Tyler, Synthya, Charlie, and many others. Without people like you we couldn't make this tour happen!!
Also in Charlotte they have an awesome local sustainable public market that featured all kinds of food and juices from prepared to raw. While enjoying some ice coffee we looked over and noticed the Viva Juice Bar, which happened to be a USDGC sponsor this year. We had some samples and made a new friend, AJ. If you are ever in Charlotte make sure you stop by and try some, fresh and tasty treats.
As Johnny Cash said "We're going to Jackson!"
