My first ace was in 1996 at Lansing, MI's Grand Woods Park, #16 with a yellow (almost orange) 171g Whippet. Nobody was around to witness it, but I can close my eyes and put myself right there!
How long had I been playing? Well...I may have been playing since 1989 before that, but it was sparingly. In the early days I almost never saw others on my home course (Oxbow Park, Goshen, IN) and had no idea how to properly throw a Disc. It was me and my Stingray with little 150' forehands and that was about it. I spent 4 years at Ball State where there was no course anywhere close to me from '91-'95. I did occasionally throw my Discs around the quad at trees where people mostly just gave funny looks. I had a Stingray, a Chains Aviar, and a Roc. I left the Whippet and Viper at home. Couldn't throw them.
When we moved to Michigan State for my wife's grad school, though, somebody told me about Grand Woods the following April (this is before everybody was online all the time...I had to hear about it through word of mouth!). It was SO much more fun and less brutally punishing than Oxbow (remember, Oxbow was made to be EASIER for the '96 worlds; it used to be unbelievably perilous), plus there were lots of good players at Grand Woods and a club (Capital City Renegades) so I learned how to play better. I was hooked and was there almost every day.
1989 was my first year, but I consider 1996 to be my Disc Golf rebirth and the first "modern" year of play for me.
My 2nd ace was also in 1996 at Grand Woods (#15). With a Barracuda...
!
