Disc Gator Giveaway!

[Curtdawg01]

Well, I've only been playing for about a month. About a week in, I only owned a putter. I would borrow discs from my friends as we played. One of the local courses has a very small, but perfectly placed pond. After a round in which 4 out of our group of 9 threw discs into that pond, I decided that might be a good place to find some discs to start building my collection. I got all pumped up for all the discs I would find. I went out the next day with a friend and began wading around. We spent about an hour looking around this tiny pond. Probably only 40ft in diameter. Just when I had given up, I found one. At GL river. I nor any of my friends had heard of it. We are all pretty new. Soon I became infamous for that disc. You all know the river so you know what I mean. Needless to say I became very attached very quick. Here's where I lose it. Back at the same course a week later, at the first hole that the pond comes into play, I stand ready to throw my river past the pond. I jokingly say "from wence it came, it shall return." And sure enough, if I didn't just flub my throw and hyzer it right into the center of the pond. Well. I loved that thing so I went straight in after it. And I found it! I was so happy. I did however lose my shoe stuck in the mud. Three days ago I was playing a different course. I left my river on the ground as i attempted my putt. Something distracted me and I left it laying there on the ground. A few holes later I noticed it was gone. I remembered where I left it and immediately ran back. I asked everyone along the way if they had picked it up and they all said no. I had he bottom inked. I got back thinking it may still be there since I was in the rough a good bit. It wasn't there. So not only was it lost, one of those people lied right to my face about finding it. Pretty sad about it. Maybe I could have used the gator to give them titty twisters and extract the truth.

 

[bdodson]

Way back in the day, like 2007, I was playing this course: http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=993

Around this time I was dating my wife (we were not married yet) and I had told her my dad and I and some others were going to be disc golfing. She happened to show up mid round, and of course all the guys in the group did not actually believe she was there to see me. She left me to be berated by the peanut gallery and walked along the beach, in the direction of the hole. The hole we were about to tee off on is dangerous when the tide is up because if you go right the waves and sand eat the discs. I have seen a disc disappear in two inches of water.

Well after the short roast it was my turn to throw. The girl of my dreams walking in the sand, watching from a distance, my dad and his friends smirking, probably jealous of the gorgeous blond giving me any attention, and then there is me, ready to prove to the world I am the man.

Well, as far as disc golf goes, I am not the man. Whatever disc I had I grip locked it and crushed it hard. I threw it over my gf/wife's head and sent it straight out towards the pacific and eventually into the pacific. Utter despair caused me to hesitate to sprint in that direction. The groans behind me were not comforting and were not even as they turned to small cheers.

The splash into the water the disc made was insignificant compared to the splash that beautiful girl made as she sprinted into the bay. We could hear her shriek from the cold and excitement and we watched in bewilderment as she made it knee high and bent over and plunged her hand into the water. She came up with my disc in hand and hollered and the small crowd erupted! This girl was a keeper.

The great thing about this story is how is captures so many elements of my life, including the spirit and love of my wife. She may have calmed down a bit since that adventure and this last December while at the same course I asked her about getting a disc for me again if I tossed another one in the Pacific. She made some comment about me having too many discs or something I couldn't quite understand. I shanked my drive right again. Luckily the tide was a little lower and the disc had enough fade to get itself surrounded by sand.



To top it off, my dad launched a disc off this teepad to the right:

That concrete pad is a jetty and it goes out into the water. There are huge huge rocks to the right of the jetty and nasty tidepools down there. If your disc goes in that and the tide is up, it is good as gone. After the successful recovery from above, my dad and I went to the tidepools the next day during low tide. DISC FOUND! It was laying in the middle of shallow pool and we figured the crashing waves must have kept it pinned right where it was when it sank. It was a cool couple of days....

 

[Prototype]

My worst lost disc experience is when I let my friend throw my brand NEW champ cobra. The disc went into the underbrush known as 'Nam. After dodging a few snakes like Indiana Jones, we resorted to walking the flight path up and down, majorly up hill mind you. I felt like I was training for Everest. After all was said and done the sun started to set on my lonely Cobra and we parted ways. I never got a call, not that anyone would even venture into that snake den.I guess if there is a silver lining, we got to know the hole better by walking it up and down so many times. If I would have had the Disc gator, I could have went Steve Irwin on those snakes. Crikey!!!

 

[Moose33]

Okay, I'm at hole 9 G McCurrey park. Threw a lackluster drive that ended up near the power poles that run through the park. I figure a nice mid speed tommy with my a Teebird is just the thing to get me near the basket.

I let it rip, it felt like a good shot, but the disc disappears! I never see it land, until I walk around the other side of the power poles an find it lodged ten feet up in the mesh casing of the pole. Appearantly there was a small gap and my Teebird skunk right in it.

So I try pushing it back with a stick, no dice. I try to climb the pole, not happening. I end up having to call my father in law and ask him to bring a ladder to the course. It was a challenge getting it out since the gap was so small, but I got it back.

 

[Old Dog]

An Ode to My Sweet Leopard

Here's my story it's sad but true
about a disc that I once knew.
We used to love to play a round
in every single course in town.
She was a Leo' (I an Aquarius)
we had such fun the two of us.
Then one cold late November day
a strange park I decided to play.
So there I was on the tee pad for basket nine
everything till now had been going just fine.
The wind was blowing my hands grew numb
so I made a decision I know now was dumb.
My gloves will keep my fingers warm I did reason
after all this is the start of the winter season.
The shot was long and straight, the wind was brisk
and the lake to the right didn't seem like much of a risk.
My sweet Champion Leopard was capable of the task
and she sat in my bag just waiting for me to ask.
My grip felt fine, my reachback was good
but the hit came late, it didn't snap like it should!
I held my breath as I watched her fly
if she lands in the water I'll surely cry!
To the right she flew and just kept on goin'
all I could do was watch and moan.
If she catches a tail wind there might be a chance
maybe she'll clear the lakes deep, dark expanse.
Unfortunately lady luck was not with me this day,
she plunged into the water... the bank five feet away.
Thankfully Discgolf Center always has plenty of Leo's in stock
plus their service is great… Wade my friend, you rock.
The hard lesson I learned that frigid November day…
leave the gloves at home and bring a Disc Gator when you play.

 

[Kepdog2]

My first lost disc was an old cheetah that turned and didn't come back...landed right in the middle of the fishing pond. Some fisherman in a boat nearby paddled over to it and claimed to see it at the bottom. It wasn't worth a swim.

 

[WOTI]

I once was playing a course in Milaca, MN. Hole 14 came along and I tried to swing a forehand around a tree from across the river. Caught on that tree and dropped less 5 feet from shore. I thought it would be an easy rescue in some chilly early spring water. Wrong I was. Sank to my knees in the foulest smelling muck. Got the disc back but smelled bad for the remaining 2.5 hour drive up to Duluth, MN.

My impossible to retrieve disc happened just a few months after I had learned to play. I had recently returned to Duluth for college and though I would try out the UMD course. Hole 8 is a short shot that favors a straight or slight anhyzer putter. It was really windy and I was new and didn't know what I was doing. I grabbed a Wraith and tried a spike hyzer. Well, there is a air exchange unit about 30 feet high off to the right and I managed to park a shot right on the top of the protective netting. I figured it would blow off sometime and I would never see it again. I received a call less than 2 weeks later and it was the schools boiler operator. He said someone tried to break in and he grabbed the disc while he was fixing the gate. Still have that disc in my bag today.

 

[dalenoel]

Our local course, Marion DGC, has a pond that catches road runoff but on the 14th hole it is directly inline and the only water hazard. During a round a friend dropped his favorite disc in the pond. With one of the 4-some living across the road from the course we went over and got his 'snow rake'. In the process of trying to retrieve the one disc, pond was very muddy with no visibility, we never got his but did collect 4 others which none had a number or name. All were given to new players.

Disc Gator seems to be shorter and could then be carried on a round as the snow rake was 8' long and 3 foot wide. Not easy to carry. Looking forward to using Disc Gator on future rounds.

 

[f'in draggin']

A very expensive disc

We were playing at a converted ball golf course in North Alabama that has several ponds, similar to this one: http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/3716/e2c56ea0_m.jpg. My new Wraith fell in the water about 15' from the edge, but still shallow enough that I could see it just a couple of feet under the surface. It's summer time, I'm in shorts and sandals, no problem! I wade in and discover that there's a deep hole between the shore and the disc, so now I'm wet to the waist, but that's ok, I've got my disc. Then I remember......... my iphone.........

 

[discflinger]

A few years back, I threw a disc in the pond on E Swinney #18. I went in barefooted, to be able and feel around with my toes and waded about. I stepped onto a drainage pipe and didn't feel where it went to. Suddenly, I felt it shift and realized that I was standing on top of a two foot long snapping turtle. Needless to say, I knew what Jesus felt like, walking on water. After about 15 minutes, I got the courage to go back out and eventually did retrieve my disc.http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/2524/0f79dd44_m.jpg

 

[Shmacka]

A Swamper's Tale (abridged)

"My" pond has plastic going into it almost daily. Lots of people tell me about a disc they hope I'll find, but I (almost) never find the disc they want back. I found a boss one evening, about neck deep, but was dismayed to find a name and number inked on the rim. :|

About two steps away, I found a tie-dyed katana with no ink anywhere "*SCORE*"!!

I called the number on the boss the next day and the cat asked me "did you find my tie-dyed katana that went into the water right next to it?" Well, I believe in doing the right thing, so I said yes. We met up the next weekend, and I handed the discs over. He took one look at the katana and said "nope, that's not it. Mine had different colors in it." :doh:

I let him have it, anyways. I get so many freakin' discs out of that pond that being greedy is just silly.

If for some reason you are interested, the unabridged version of this tale is available here: http://richorants.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/966/

 

[edism]

When my wife practices in the backyard our young son volunteers to go into the brush and briers and rescue her discs. Such a brave guy.

 

[jedeye]

My "moms" is a good sport, but she draws the line @ muddy/wet wading in for discs. She will throw if my kids or I am around to retrieve her errant throws, but we live quite long way from her. My kids, on the other hand, will risk life/limb not to lose a $10 piece'o'plastic! If I were to win a Disc Gator, I would give it to my mom for Mother's Day. I think that would get her off the couch to throw more, just knowing she could reach out to grab a disc without having to get too muddy! She would probably insist on walking more rounds with the kids to increase the safety level of their outings.

 

[FadedThrows]

Earlier today I decided to go play a couple rounds with my girlfriend and get my dog out of the house for a bit. We stopped on the way and I bought a couple discs I've been eyeing for a while. It was turning out to be a great day.....

On hole one my girlfriend, who is relatively new to the game, throws one of the new discs in the water. I knew it wasn't far from the edge but i couldn't see it and decided we would come back after the round and I could swim for it. Well on hole five i throw my other brand new disc over an 8 foot tall chain link fence. It was locked so of course i had to climb the fence cause I wasn't losing both new ones that soon. On the way back over the fence something didn't feel right when I landed. I had cut my hand wide open and we had to immediately leave and rush to the ER. We ended up spending over 4 hours waiting to get stitches.

The only thing I could think about the whole time is how i didn't get to finish my round and i never got to get my new disc out of the water. I guess I've gotta go swimming for it in ten days when the stitches come out.

here is a picture for anyone who cares....you can still see a blade of grass in there from where i caught myself on the ground. http://imgur.com/a/XOriY

 

[Geo95]

I have 2 different story's of me retrieving discs because I'm not sure which one is more interesting. I live In Wichita Kansas and their is this Course named Herman Hill. Tough course next to some big roads but people still play it and love it. Both story's take place there. I think the first story was at a tournament maybe or maybe it was at league but I'm not exactly sure. It was hole 16 from the short tee I think it was. Hole 1 is sort of tough because you have a stream in between you and the basket and the Arkansas River on the left. The short tee is near the road and away from the river but I was a beginner playing for about a year at that time. I threw my first shot to a small bridge that goes over the small stream. then I thought I would just throw my floating #2 slice over and easily just get past the stream. Well that wasn't the plan. Their are a couple big trees before the stream and I was throwing at an angle from the tree. I was confident and threw but It hit the tree and I didn't see it land because the tree was blocking us so we thought it landed on the 2 feet of grass or the sidewalk before the stream. We thought it was going to be an easy retrieval and it wasn't. We were looking around and we couldn't find it anywhere. Not in the stream or anywhere. Then one of the people playing with us said "What's up in that tree?" And I look up and my disc is wedged between 2 trunks of the tree about 10 feet above. I had no Idea how I was going to get it down. We tried and tried until we finally got it down. That was a first for me. That was a weird retrieval for me. But the 2nd story might be just as weird. I was playing a tournament in November called the Round Up. It's a fun tournament and I wasn't sure I could win but I tried and tried. Well we get to hole 3 and a big busy street is to our right and the sidewalk is to our right and we had to throw straight down about 300 feet or so and the basket was on a hill. Their was room to the left but we had to get past 3+ big trees that weren't much of a problem. So of course I land short and I was just thinking of grabbing my buzz and putting some power on it and landing it under the basket but that didn't work. I had grip locked the disc and it went into the street and at that moment I was at least happy their wasn't a car passing by that I would have hit. Anyways I grip lock it and It goes to my right into the street and the one small place out of every place it could have gone. It could have hit the road and landed on the side but that didn't happen. Their was a small sewer sort of thing for when it rains so It doesn't flood. Not sure what those are called but It goes into their and I'm like " Really? ". It could have landed somewhere else but it had to land there. I was surprised and mad but I cross the street and see that it is about 3 or so feet down and luckily I could still see it. After the tournament before the awards my friend said he could help me get it out. Luckily he has this sort of contraption with metal shaped in an L sort of way and it comes out from a pole so it doesn't have just 1 wire metal coming out of it. Not sure how to explain it. Anyways he had helped me get it out and I was thankful for that. People were probably looking at us weird when we were trying to get the disc out of the side of the road sewer thing. Anyways, those were the 2 weirdest disc retrievals I have had yet.

 

[texhop58]

A few years back I was living in Corsicana Texas and at the time the town didn't have a course. My wife (girlfriend at the time)was flying back from New York to dfw airport. It's about an hour-hour half drive. So I look up and find out there was a course right beside the airport (bear creek in grapevine) And I think to myself I could probably squeeze a round in while waiting for her. I play about 6 maybe 7 holes and I tee off. My disc hits and runs towards the edge of a cliff. And I hold my breathe as it gets close and of course it falls over and down. This was the first disc I ever bought. I'm sick to my stomach. Also happened to be a 12 KC pro teebird. Which I didn't realize I was valuable. So I make the walk towards the cliff. I look down and about 7 feet down I see my disc at the edge of the bank. I know I have nothing long enough to reach it. I notice that there are roots growing out of the cliff and I think to myself I could probably use them. So I find the least steep part and work my way down. I slide down and now have a good hold on a root. Step over to next bump in cliff and swing myself to the next root. Oh this won't be bad. Step on next foot hold and grab the root. Pull feels good. Swings over. CRACK!!! Pop. I go sliding down the embankment and rip my arm to shreds. Just cut up and into this nasty green mossy stagnant water about waste high. The bottom of the creek was mossy mud. I can't get walk without slipping. I crawl to the edge and throw the disc back up. I've saved the disc. But my trouble begins. I can't get straight. I struggle to free my foot from the mud. I end up loosing a shoe into it. About that time, I would say 15-20 minutes later I here someone say. Hey look someone left their bag. I yell up. And I hear someone say did you hear something. I yell again and I see two heads look over and start laughing. Then they see my bloody arm. And think. Oh maybe this is serious. They find a tree branch and lower it down so I can grab and atleast pull myself myself free of the muck and onto the bank. So I get my footing take off the one shoe I have and throw it up because it was just covered in that moss junk and was just slick as it could be. I grab their tree branch and walk up the wall as they pull barefooted. I get up to the top and they can see it's just a really bad scratched up arm. I put my mucky one shoe back on, grabbed my bag, and walk back To the car head held low. I then Remember. Oh damn. Girlfriend!!! I reach for my phone. In my pocket. It hits me. My phone was in my short pockets the whole time during the ordeal. Phone is ruined. And I get to my car. I plop in my car soaking wet and drive over to the airport. I'm about 15-20 minutes late. Pull in and can't call. So I have to walk into the airport barefoot soaking wet and stinky. I find my girlfriend sitting by the window. She looks pissed! Come I find out she for in 30 minutes early and had been waiting almost an hour. She looks at me and where the hell have...what the hell happened to you. Said. I don't want to talk about it. Cars this way. Everyone in the airport staring at me. Hop in the car and drove to the nearest target. She went in got me a towel, shorts, shoes and a clean shirt. Also some peroxide for my arm and cleaned it. Took just about a week of cleaning to keep the infection out. About a week later I was up having out with a buddy an his dad playing a doubles round. And ace with that disc! My first and only ace ever. That disc is now retired out.

 

[kirk]

splash..

We have all have that one disc that we cant do without...well in late November last year that disc was a beat in lat 64 that was really turning right for me it just seemed to do what i wanted it to and i was feeling pretty confident when i stepped up to the tee pad on number 9 at windermere , I gave it a toss and it just went right..right in to the pond..well then comes that moment when you weigh just how important that disc is...do i really need it? can i live without it? hard questions for sure...it was 33 degrees outside..but im not far from the truck, ok i need it!! Simply dont want to do without it , walk over start the truck turn the heater on move it a little closer, peel off the shoes and socks roll up the pants and step on in wade on out pick up the disc turn and head back to the bank..sink in the mud, lose my footing...Im going in...SPLASH....once i made it back to the bank it was a pretty fast trip (sloshy too) to the truck... Man i love this game..

 

[ManOnTheDoor]

So, my youngest son was born 8 weeks early, weighing in at only 2 lbs, 10 oz. A little dude for sure. He's doing fine now, but that type of start was a rough one for sure. Anyway, I had a good idea for a dye and had BennetUA work up this disc for me (you might have seen it in the Dye-a-day thread a few years back). I thought it displayed the difference in the size of my boys at birth really well.

Well, I didn't proof read the first design closely enough and there was a typo on one of the dates, so I had him make another for me and I put the typo one in my bag to throw. It was an ion after all. Even though it had the wrong date, it still meant a lot to me. I thought I'd never throw it in a risky situation and never put my contact info on the back. Obviously, you can see where this is going.

My buddies and I went on a road trip and ended up playing Blackhawk in Tulsa - a very nice, but very tough course. In our threesome, the other two guys managed to both lose a disc in the pond along hole 8. I played it safer and made it through that hole with my bag intact. Hole #9 though was a different story. My nerves were up from the other guy's lost discs on the last hole, so I wanted something very straight and easy - usually how the ion worked for me. The ion with the dye of my sons' feet from their birth certificates.

Well, I grip lock that thing and it never had a chance. Stayed close to the shore, but I never saw exactly where it went in. I easily spent 20 minutes looking for it - and the other guys took the opportunity to look for theirs as well (in the background of the picture - when not taking a photo of me). I'm sure the Gator would have had a better chance of finding it rather than the giant tree limb I was using.

I still miss that disc...

 

[akastyx]

1st time's the charm...

1st toss of my 1st game and plunk, the disc goes into a muddy channel. I'm playing with my friends who all encourage me to abandon the disc because the water was too deep and too dark. But, between you and me I am stubborn as a mule. I found a tree branch that had fell nearby and begin to blindly scrap the bottom of this murky abyss. Meticulously scanning the floor for multiple minutes until I felt a difference in texture. I use the stick to drag the mysterious item closer to the bank and slowly I bring it to the surface. PAYDIRT!!! It was a driver disc. However, it wasn't the same disc that I threw into the water. In fact the disc that I pulled from the water was a much higher quality disc. I felt like I was playing some videogame. I threw into the water the disc and it was magically upgraded. Unfortunately, I let my friend barrow the disc that I found so that he could continue playing after he lost his own disc andddd…. Plunk he lost it to the middle of the same channel on the next hole. :wall: I still love him though. It was a great story and a great learning experience. I Hope everyone found this enjoyable.

 

[michaelmove]

so, march 29th this year, we are hosting the spring fling at steele creek park in bristol,tn. its the first tournament there, because we have rented baskets from innova and are putting this on a ball golf course as a 2x/year tournament. four holes are over or adjacent to the lake... last week i lost my first disc ever to water. threw my favorite f2, grip locked it and hit a tree on a hole you have to go 270 ft to clear water. its 8-10ft out there, and this gator sounds like itd help me get back my best f2. please send it to me in bristol, and when i get my disc back, i'll post you a pic of "mike smith, the happy owner of the best f2 once more". fingers crossed...