timothyasteele
Birdie Member
For anyone who went, I'm interested in what your thoughts and experiences were like...players to spectators to volunteers.
This was my first big DG Tour event, and I went to check it out with my 4 year old daughter and my cousin who has never seen any professional disc golf.
We went down for the day to see some semi-finals and the finals, with the goal of the day to have a few discs and minis signed for my daughter by Dave Feldberg and Ken Climo, and anyone else we bumped into. She likes Dave after seeing the you tube video of him playing his home course (Dexter), and has heard me talk about Ken Climo and seeing his name on so many of my discs!
First impression - great venue, beautiful CA weather, lots of happy smiling people, and a fun excited vibe from everyone.
We got there around 11:30, so we got some food (bacon wrapped hot dogs and a gyro), then we looked at some of the gear booths and I ended up meeting and talking to Jay from Huk Lab for awhile. He offered to send me some stuff at wholesale so I could mark it up and use it as a fundraiser for my course opening event. Great guy, so I bought a stool and some shirts, and then we were off to see some competition.
As we were wandering around trying to find the lead card, Feldberg, Owens, and a few others stroll on by going to hole 1. So we went over to watch them throw and holy smokes can they bomb. I feel like such an amateur after watching the lines they can hit with narrow gaps 300+ feet away.
All day, various players kept wandering by and me or my daughter would ask for their autographs on her minis, and they would smile and sign them for her. She had a blast! "Daddy, I love getting all my minis signed. Can we do this again?!" :thmbup::thmbup:
The best thing about this sport and the event is that all the players are so approachable. No security hounding you, no huge egos (that I could tell), just nice people.
After the semis, I had a brief chat with Nate Doss and Valerie Jenkins, then with Avery Jenkins, then I got lucky and snagged Ken Climo between holes for 2 signatures. He was cool - super good humored despite him missing his first Worlds in 23 years. We then bumped into Will Schusterick, and we talked for a good 5 minutes while he was practice putting. He asked my daughter hold old she was, "I'm turning 4 August 24th", and then she asked how old are you? Class act for a 19 year old kid. I then saw Nikko when he was grabbing some food, and had a long conversation with Dave Wiggins Jr. while watching the finals. He started at 5 or 6, so I told him I hoped my daughter could throw 550+ someday since she was starting even earlier.
Then we saw Paige Pierce 20 minutes after she won, and got her autograph. She said hi and told my daughter she has a younger sister who's learning too, and then high-fived my daughter! Big grins all around...
I went back to the booths to grab a water and there all alone in the DD booth is Eric McCabe. So we start talking and I find out he's moving to the Santa Cruz area! I told him about my new course and inquired as to whether he'd come up to Benicia to do a driving/putting clinic for a group of friends and kids once we officially open, and he said sure. Now that will be fun...
So, my daughter was bugging me all day after we saw Dave Feldberg earlier without getting her mini signed (he was busy playing), so when we finally caught up with him right before we left, it made our day. He was in a small group, congratulating Paige on her win, with a few others asking for an autograph. Here's how it went...
Me - "Hey Dave, can I get a quick autograph?"
D - "Sure, hold on a second."
So he turns to me, and my daughter politely asks him and he signs her mini. Then, I ask him to sign one of my primary 10x putters and he looks at me stunned.
D - "Wow! Where did you get this one??"
Me - "Well, I'm a big 10x Aviar fan, and I know you throw them so I thought it would be fitting for you to sign one. I have a few."
D - "And it even has the short range driver on it, and it's max weight, my favorite. I just cracked one...got any more of these?"
Me - "None in black, but I have a few others."
D - "Great, write your number or email address on this and we can trade"
Me - "Right on...give me a shout. Thanks!"
It was epic, and my daughter the whole time was just in shock that not only did we get to meet and get an autograph from him, but now he was asking Daddy for discs LOL!
We'll see if he emails or calls...very cool dude.
Lastly, we're walking out and Steve and Bamba Rico are hanging out. So I say hi, and we get a mini signed, and Bamba says, "does your daughter have a PDGA number yet?" I say no, and he says, "sign her up man, she's playing right!". So I think that will be part of her birthday gift...help support the cause, however flawed it may be.
Final impression - what a fun event, with so many dedicated volunteers, good food, great competition, nice folks, and what a way to try to make a living. I wish I could roll around the country and have their life for a year or so. Also met and thanked Dave Schott right before we left. He seemed very pleased and was beaming with a satisfied looking smile.
Final tally of signed Minis and disc for my daughter:
Dave Feldberg
Valerie and Avery Jenkins
Will Schusterick
Josh Anthon
Paige Pierce
Steve and Bamba Rico
Eric McCabe
Dave Wiggins Jr.
and Ken Climo on her chains aviar
So, who else has some good stories to share?
I'll post some pics later.
Tim S.
This was my first big DG Tour event, and I went to check it out with my 4 year old daughter and my cousin who has never seen any professional disc golf.
We went down for the day to see some semi-finals and the finals, with the goal of the day to have a few discs and minis signed for my daughter by Dave Feldberg and Ken Climo, and anyone else we bumped into. She likes Dave after seeing the you tube video of him playing his home course (Dexter), and has heard me talk about Ken Climo and seeing his name on so many of my discs!
First impression - great venue, beautiful CA weather, lots of happy smiling people, and a fun excited vibe from everyone.
We got there around 11:30, so we got some food (bacon wrapped hot dogs and a gyro), then we looked at some of the gear booths and I ended up meeting and talking to Jay from Huk Lab for awhile. He offered to send me some stuff at wholesale so I could mark it up and use it as a fundraiser for my course opening event. Great guy, so I bought a stool and some shirts, and then we were off to see some competition.
As we were wandering around trying to find the lead card, Feldberg, Owens, and a few others stroll on by going to hole 1. So we went over to watch them throw and holy smokes can they bomb. I feel like such an amateur after watching the lines they can hit with narrow gaps 300+ feet away.
All day, various players kept wandering by and me or my daughter would ask for their autographs on her minis, and they would smile and sign them for her. She had a blast! "Daddy, I love getting all my minis signed. Can we do this again?!" :thmbup::thmbup:
The best thing about this sport and the event is that all the players are so approachable. No security hounding you, no huge egos (that I could tell), just nice people.
After the semis, I had a brief chat with Nate Doss and Valerie Jenkins, then with Avery Jenkins, then I got lucky and snagged Ken Climo between holes for 2 signatures. He was cool - super good humored despite him missing his first Worlds in 23 years. We then bumped into Will Schusterick, and we talked for a good 5 minutes while he was practice putting. He asked my daughter hold old she was, "I'm turning 4 August 24th", and then she asked how old are you? Class act for a 19 year old kid. I then saw Nikko when he was grabbing some food, and had a long conversation with Dave Wiggins Jr. while watching the finals. He started at 5 or 6, so I told him I hoped my daughter could throw 550+ someday since she was starting even earlier.
Then we saw Paige Pierce 20 minutes after she won, and got her autograph. She said hi and told my daughter she has a younger sister who's learning too, and then high-fived my daughter! Big grins all around...
I went back to the booths to grab a water and there all alone in the DD booth is Eric McCabe. So we start talking and I find out he's moving to the Santa Cruz area! I told him about my new course and inquired as to whether he'd come up to Benicia to do a driving/putting clinic for a group of friends and kids once we officially open, and he said sure. Now that will be fun...
So, my daughter was bugging me all day after we saw Dave Feldberg earlier without getting her mini signed (he was busy playing), so when we finally caught up with him right before we left, it made our day. He was in a small group, congratulating Paige on her win, with a few others asking for an autograph. Here's how it went...
Me - "Hey Dave, can I get a quick autograph?"
D - "Sure, hold on a second."
So he turns to me, and my daughter politely asks him and he signs her mini. Then, I ask him to sign one of my primary 10x putters and he looks at me stunned.
D - "Wow! Where did you get this one??"
Me - "Well, I'm a big 10x Aviar fan, and I know you throw them so I thought it would be fitting for you to sign one. I have a few."
D - "And it even has the short range driver on it, and it's max weight, my favorite. I just cracked one...got any more of these?"
Me - "None in black, but I have a few others."
D - "Great, write your number or email address on this and we can trade"
Me - "Right on...give me a shout. Thanks!"
It was epic, and my daughter the whole time was just in shock that not only did we get to meet and get an autograph from him, but now he was asking Daddy for discs LOL!
We'll see if he emails or calls...very cool dude.
Lastly, we're walking out and Steve and Bamba Rico are hanging out. So I say hi, and we get a mini signed, and Bamba says, "does your daughter have a PDGA number yet?" I say no, and he says, "sign her up man, she's playing right!". So I think that will be part of her birthday gift...help support the cause, however flawed it may be.
Final impression - what a fun event, with so many dedicated volunteers, good food, great competition, nice folks, and what a way to try to make a living. I wish I could roll around the country and have their life for a year or so. Also met and thanked Dave Schott right before we left. He seemed very pleased and was beaming with a satisfied looking smile.
Final tally of signed Minis and disc for my daughter:
Dave Feldberg
Valerie and Avery Jenkins
Will Schusterick
Josh Anthon
Paige Pierce
Steve and Bamba Rico
Eric McCabe
Dave Wiggins Jr.
and Ken Climo on her chains aviar
So, who else has some good stories to share?
I'll post some pics later.
Tim S.