Yeti Road Report

What a week! Thank-You Winthrop University………………………..

The USDGC does not appear to be losing any ground on maintaining status as the best tournament on the PDGA Tour. With a purse surpassing $80,000 you would think that alone would make it tops. Fortunately, the purse is just a professional bonus to being treated like the sports best athletes. Everything falls into place because of a dedicated staff being led by more than capable visionaries Jonathon Poole and Harold Duvall.

The 2006 USDGC Staff. Volunteers came in from around the US

There are just so many cool things surrounding this tournament on top of playing on a World Class disc golf course. Let’s see if some photos can help convey the happenings outside of the actual United States Disc Golf Championship.

Jon Lyksett helped organize the EDGE Village that saw area school kids take field trips to the USDGC to participate in disc golf and watch the allstar action.

No matter how bad you thought you played or what part of the course showed you no love. The love could be found just yards from the 18th green in Sammy Poole’s Ice Cream Sanctuary. Sammy has mastered the art of ice cream making and is always ready with a smile and a new flavor for you to try. Truely like a hug from heaven.

You know you have made it in disc golf when Sammy Poole dedicates an ice cream flavor to you. The USDGC Three Champion Maple Walnut seemed to be one the favorites.

And what is a top notch tournament without a players party. Live music, a Slo Smokin’ BBQ dinner and a beer trailer from Miller Lite set the stage for a too much fun kind of night. Inside the Wingate Inn, Pro Senior Grandmaster and showman Pete May put on a ping pong tournament that saw the winner get a crack at beating Pete out of $1,000.

Shawn Sinclair made his way through the tournament bracket and scored the first couple points on Pete who acted like maybe Shawn had a chance. It wasn’t long before Pete started handicapping himself. This climaxed by Pete playing through paddles and discs on the table, a chair and finally a Zeppy excluding much of Pete’s side of the table. How good is Pete May at Ping Pong? Let’s just say that Sinclair is really really good.

Oh yeah, the party. By 11:00 the flip cup relay had grown from one table and 8 participants to races involving three tables, teams of 10 and up and back running of the line. Thank goodness for earning a mid-day tee time.

Sunday was a day for Creative Loafing. The Charlotte weekly listing of things to do sponsored the Sunday Spectator Day that saw the Gold Course packed all day long for spectators who came to watch and then wondered how they might fair on such a course. Participants received a disc, had the chance to win numerous prizes and helped Habitat for Humanity all while enjoying the most perfect weather for fall outdoor activity. I even got to learn some great golf lessons while chauffeuring for an all-star group of volunteers, caddies and players that couldn’t get enough.

I took a total of 21 strokes on hole #11 this week as I just struggled staying in bounds trying to crack the code of this hole. The lead card on Friday went 3, 4, 5, 5. I pulled out a Star Aviar today and casually scored a very easy Par 4 just throwing that disc. Ha,Ha,Ha.

World Mini Golf Champion, Kevin McCoy taught us one better. The USDGC lead card on Thursday shot the tough 888 ft hole #13 with scores of 4, 5, 6, 6. Twenty-nine players this year scored a ten or higher on this hole with a fourteen being the highest score. Twenty-one is the highest score ever recorded there several years back. Kevin McCoy used only a new Innova Driver Mini and scored a par five on this hole. Yes, it was incredible to watch and made us all laugh at the trouble we had given ourselves on this hole throughout the tournament. Ha, Ha, Ha.

The tour doesn’t stop here so enjoy Pumpkin Time and keep smiling!