WHITE RIVER DGC

I played at White River Disc Golf Course this morning. It was a morning of MANY tree shots, balanced out with THREE pole hits on the second throw (holes 10, 12, and 13).

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My two champion discs of the day...

Gateway Apache Driver (purple disc). It allowed me to make some nice straight drives in tight spaces. It also stands out against green vegetation better than translucent yellow! Plus, it was owned by my friend Derek prior to his death; so he's out on the course with me, too.

Latitude 64° Mirus Midrange. This is my go to disc for forehand throws and bending around obstacles. (I'm primarily a backhand thrower.) I also used it as a "hammer" to go over a few trees.

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The weather was beautiful! Sunny and sunny and sunny in the woods.

WHITE RIVER

This morning I went and sat in silent meditation with members of White River Buddhist Temple in Auburn. Then I joined them for their fall O-Higan (equinox) worship service.

Meditation was both boring and beautiful. Half an hour seemed to be a good amount of time. Turning off my "monkey mind" was more difficult than I anticipated. I worked through some virtual sword routines to keep my mind from wandering astray too much.

This community of faith was extremely welcoming of a newcomer!

WHITE RIVER DISC GOLF COURSE

It's been a while since I've played at White River.

I headed out this morning in 31ºF chill and was on the course before 8:00 a.m. I had the park to myself, except for a couple of walkers. When I left, just before 9:00 a.m., it had warmed to a balmy 35ºF but the sun was shining so it somewhat countered the cold.

If there was a tree, I hit it. And this course has a LOT of trees. To my credit, though, I had a lot of chain skims and basket hits. But those don't count as in, so those extra easy shots added up.

I had an excellent time, so the cold and trees and misses were all worth it!

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Hole 1 - 3
Hole 2 - 3
Hole 3 - 3
Hole 4 - 5
Hole 5 - 6
Hole 6 - 5
Hole 7 - 4
Hole 8 - 4
Hole 9 - 3
Front nine - 36 (+9)

Hole 10 - 5
Hole 11 - 4
Hole 12 - 4
Hole 13 - 3
Hole 14 - 4
Hole 15 - 3
Hole 16 - 3
Hole 17 - 4
Hole 18 - 4
Back nine - 34 (+7)

Total - 70 (+16)

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Since the last time I played, they put up new signage for the "short" course (red course), which was helpful. Plus there are red arrows hanging in the trees near baskets, pointing you to the next hole. Thanks to whomever took the time, energy, and effort to make the course very navigable.

WHITE RIVER DGC FTW

Today was a day to "make up" for all of the cancellations related to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The Child missed out on a karate tournament. The Child missed out on a track-and-field event. I missed out on heading over the pass to central Washington. So the two of us decided to substitute something that would get us out of the house but still keep us safely distanced from others. Disc golf it was!

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I played a 68 on 18 holes, which was +14 over par. Not really all that great a score, but fun nonetheless. Plus it was nice to play among the trees, in the cold, while really fine snowflakes fell here and there.

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The photo above is the dreaded (for me) hole 16 of the White River Disc Golf Course in Auburn, Washington, plus my disc sitting too close for comfort to the aforementioned White River.

I lost the first (and at the time, only) disc I ever purchased on this hole the first time I played it. When it went in the river, a seasoned player, who saw the horrible throw and lost disc, loaned me a disc, had me play a full round with him, and gave me a whole set of tips and suggestions.

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The course was packed with people today. It was awesome to see so many people out having fun after such a shitty week. (With proper "social distance " between groups, of course.)

DISC GOLF as PRAYER

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If disc golf can be a form of prayer, and I believe it can, then I prayed hard today.

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This past week, I was given a some discs that belonged to a friend of mine who committed suicide a few years ago. Derek was a kid who I  served as Sunday school teacher to when he was in high school. As an adult, he discovered that the two of us shared a love for many things—especially disc golf, craft beer, and heavy metal music. Occasionally, we would get together and talk about God and faith and life, as well as the darkness and depression that we also shared.

He and I talked about getting together to play disc golf a couple of weeks before he took his life, so we never did get out on the course together. I wish we had. I wish we had been able to have another one of our discussions about the world and our places in it. But we didn't.

So, today, I added two of his discs into my bag and headed off to the White River disc golf course. I listened to Australasia by Pelican in the car on the way there. It was an album that he recommended to me and I picked up almost immediately after he did so.

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At White River, I exclusively used his Gateway Apache as my driver and his Gateway Element as my mid-range disc. I've never thrown Gateway discs, but I loved both of these. I am pretty sure that I'm going to use the Apache as one of main drivers, since I liked its slightly smaller diameter. It was easier for me to throw than some of my other drivers and definitely more controllable.

I played a 65 (+9) from the red tees. (All holes are par 3, except hole 14 which was par 5 and 735 feet from tee to basket.)

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I played and prayed for Derek, that he may know God's mercy and love, wherever he is as he awaits resurrection and new life in Jesus Christ. I played and prayed for Derek's family and the immense loss and sorrow that they feel in his absence, and for healing for all of them. I played and prayed for my own mourning at the death of someone so young, who seemed so full of life, but who hit a moment that he thought he couldn't escape from in any other way. I played and prayed for my own healing, since disc golf started as a form of physical therapy for me after a disc blew out in my back.

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Derek, I thank your father for the discs. I am glad that I got to play them today. I would rather you had been there on the course with me, in person, but know that I played them (and prayed them) in memory of you. Rest in peace my friend. Rest in peace.

WHITE RIVER DGC

It had been quite some time since I had played disc golf (almost two months), and only the third time since the beginning of the year, but The Wife and I decided to take advantage of some nice weather and time together to tackle the course at White River in Auburn, Washington.  Rustiness and some tree shots meant a 68 (+14), but it was great to be outdoors in the fresh air with discs flying from our fingers.

WHITE RIVER DISC GOLF COURSE

Discraft Stalker driver on White River DGC hole #2.

Troy's Work Table and the family head out for a morning round of disc golf at their favorite local course, White River. TWT is one with the disc, one with the basket. He ties his score for best game ever, 58 (+4), although this is his best game ever. He is extremely relaxed yet focused. His throws, for the most part, go were they need to go. The river tumbles along, birds fill the forest with song, the sun is out, The Child runs ahead while The Wife and TWT chat and hike and throw. In the moment, this is paradise.

LEGENDARY DOUGHNUTS

I was visiting with my neighbor, who also happens to be my barber, when the subject of doughnuts emerged. He acknowledged that our hometown doughnut shop, Happy Donut, is good, but that if I wanted an extra treat that I should make the trip to Auburn for some "fancy" doughnuts. I was intrigued. I needed a "wandering" for the weekend. Therefore, off to Legendary Doughnuts headed The Child and I.



Clockwise from upper left: (1) The Legendary Doughnuts sign; (2) the Fred Flintstone; (3) the Hot Cocoa; (4) the Steve Urkel.

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The Legendary Hot Chocolate was simple and good. Steamed milk and Belgian chocolate made for a rich and enjoyable hot drink to accompany some sweet and fluffy fried dough.

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The Fred Flintstone was the doughnut of choice for TWT. I saw the Fruity Pebbles on top and was instantly sold. The glaze and cereal made it taste as though I was eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles with chunks of doughnut floating in it. It was good but almost too much sugar. I believe I may have slipped into a sugar coma at some point. You'll have to ask The Child.

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The Child selected the Steve Urkel, a glazed doughnut ring topped with Nerds candies. The Nerds were sparse but brought a welcomed sweet and sour mix to the doughnut. I thought it was the right amount of candy, but The Child thought them too hard and therefore in conflict with the tenderness of the dough. I don't know how it happened, but The Child ate the entire thing.

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We brought The Wife home the Hot Cocoa. It was a good simulation of a cup of hot chocolate, with chocolate, whipped cream, marshmallows, cocoa powder, and a piece of chocolate bark on the very top. It was my favorite of the bunch. (Oh, but those seductive Fruity Pebbles...)

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These are good doughnuts, but I still prefer the superb dough of local Happy Donut. During the week, I will stick close to home, enjoying what Legendary Doughnuts considers "amateur doughnuts" on their own display shelves (and what Happy Donut excels at). On a few Saturdays, though, I am going to enjoy the novelty of some "legendary doughnuts" and explore some of their other creations.

WHITE RIVER DISC GOLF COURSE

I played my second-best round of disc golf, scoring a 59 (+5) at White River Disc Golf Course of Auburn, Washington on Saturday morning. Highlights included the following:

*Playing the first five holes in torrential downpour.

*"Losing" a white-colored driver in an open field of grass on a bad throw. A white disc in a field of green that I couldn't find after ten minutes of searching! Someone behind me found the disc and called me.

*The someone turned out to be the guy I played my first round of disc golf ever with: Larry.

*Even with taking the penalty for losing the disc and playing from where I think it landed, I threw a four for the hole, one over par.

*My back nine was the best back nine I have ever played, and it felt like it. 28 (+1).

*On many of my second throws on holes, I was hitting metal—the pole, the side of the basket, the chains, or the top of the basket.

*I almost had a hole-in-one on the final basket. The drive was perfect and landed one foot from the basket. I am glad I had witnesses. I didn't quite believe it myself.

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Hole 1 - 3
Hole 2 - 4
Hole 3 - 3
Hole 4 - 4
Hole 5 - 4
Hole 6 - 4
Hole 7 - 3
Hole 8 - 3
Hole 9 - 3
Front nine - 31 (+4)

Hole 10 - 3
Hole 11 - 3
Hole 12 - 3
Hole 13 - 3
Hole 14 - 3
Hole 15 - 3
Hole 16 - 4
Hole 17 - 4
Hole 18 - 2
Back nine - 28 (+1)

Total - 59 (+5)

WHITE RIVER DGC

Hole #1 drive: focus. (Discraft Elite Z Stalker.)
Photograph by The Child.


Hole #1 drive: throw. (Discraft Elite Z Stalker.)
Photograph by The Child.


Hole #1 putt: in for par. (Latitude 64º Sinus SP.)
Photograph by The Child.

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The sun finally decides to cooperate with TWT's days off, which means disc golf without rain. The ground is still rather muddy due to being oversatuated from the days prior, but that is okay; at least we can play and be dry.

White River Disc Golf Course beckons and we respond.

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Hole 1 - 3
Hole 2 - 4
Hole 3 - 4
Hole 4 - 3
Hole 5 - 3
Hole 6 - 3
Hole 7 - 3
Hole 8 - 3
Hole 9 - 4
Front nine - 30 (+3)

Hole 10 - 4
Hole 11 - 3
Hole 12 - 4
Hole 13 - 4
Hole 14 - 4
Hole 15 - 3
Hole 16 - 3
Hole 17 - 3
Hole 18 - 3
Back nine - 31 (+4)

Total - 61 (+7)

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My drives feel good today. They are solid and straight. I am especially happy with my initial drives on holes 6, 8, 13, 14, and 17. Hole #8 almost sees me get a birdie with my 150-gram Valkyrie driver. Hole #17 is the longest drive I have had to date, and it was beautiful.

I just need to focus on tightening up my putts and I will be in great shape, at least at White River.

THIS IS BOB CALLING...

My cell phone rings.

TWT: Hello?

PHONE: Is this Troy?

TWT: It is.

PHONE: This is Bob calling. I have one of your discs, a D-3 Prostyle, and I will drop it off at Mando's in Auburn later today.

TWT: That is awesome. It has been missing in action since mid-July. Thank you very much.

PHONE: You don't need to thank me. I went out with a group of guys today and everyone gave me discs they have found over the past couple months to drop off at Mando's, since I was heading there after our round.

TWT: I still thank you. You're the one that is getting it there.

PHONE: All right, then. Have a good one, Troy.

TWT: You too, Bob. Thanks again!

WHITE RIVER DISC GOLF COURSE

Disc golf in the rain means fewer people on the course. Therefore, I headed off to White River DGC on a wet Sunday afternoon (by myself!) to play a round.

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Hole 1 - 3
Hole 2 - 4
Hole 3 - 3
Hole 4 - 3
Hole 5 - 4
Hole 6 - 4
Hole 7 - 4
Hole 8 - 4
Hole 9 - 3
Front nine - 32 (+5)

Hole 10 - 3
Hole 11 - 4
Hole 12 - 4
Hole 13 - 3
Hole 14 - 4
Hole 15 - 3
Hole 16 - 5
Hole 17 - 3
Hole 18 - 4
Back nine - 33 (+6)

Total - 65 (+11)

WHITE RIVER DISC GOLF COURSE

After being sick for two weeks with a major head cold—head pressure, congestion, coughing, drainage, body aches, fatigue, et cetera—it was nice to be able to head back outside and hit the disc golf course. It meant that I was doing such the day after a good strong windstorm had removed many leaves from the trees on the course. It meant playing in some strong wind, and having to use my heavier discs. It meant having to adapt my game due to those heavier discs and that brisk wind. It also meant having to search for discs as they buried themselves into piles of leaves or simply blended into the background.


The fairway of hole #1 was littered with yellow and brown maple leaves. One would think that it would be fairly easy to locate a white disc that landed upon them, but such was not the case.


Hole #3 proved to be a challenge, as I hit a tree on the first shot and played at the edges of the fairway for the rest of the hole. Once again, you would think that a bright red disc would be fairly easy to find, but when only a portion of the disc is visible it is somewhat of a challenge.


Hole #6 is only available during the winter layout of the course. It involves fewer trees than summer layout #6, yet I find it more challenging due to the cedar trees. Not only am I allergic to them, but when their branches are wet they may as well be made out of cement. In other words, they stop discs immediately.



Clockwise from upper left: Mirus in a bed of maple leaves; Sinus in a bed of cottonwood leaves; Stingray in a bed of cottonwood leaves; and Gumbputt in a bed of mixed leaves—maple, cottonwood, and alder.


Hole #9 is a fun hole in both winter and summer (#7 in summer layout). Fortunately, I curled my disc around and through trees to avoid most of the leaves on the ground.


Hole #11 is one of my favorite holes. I played it well today. My initial drive curved to the left and set me up within decent putting range. I almost made the basket on my second shot, hitting the pole and glancing off.


Hole #16 was a challenge due to the leaves remaining on the trees. I couldn't get my first two shots to break the screen of trees near the old riverbed. Once I did, I was in good shape.


Buzzz attempts to hide.


As does Avenger SS (Super Straight).

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Hole 1 - 3
Hole 2 - 5
Hole 3 - 4
Hole 4 - 6
Hole 5 - 3
Hole 6 - 4
Hole 7 - 4
Hole 8 - 3
Hole 9 - 3
Front nine - 35 (+8)

Hole 10 - 3
Hole 11 - 3
Hole 12 - 4
Hole 13 - 3
Hole 14 - 3
Hole 15 - 3
Hole 16 - 5
Hole 17 - 4
Hole 18 - 3
Back nine - 31 (+4)

Total - 66 (+12)

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My best shot of the day was an eighty-foot putt that curved around a tree to the right of the basket and hit nothing but chains and dropped right in. It was absolutely awesome. (It also made up for my horrible six throws on hole number four.)

THE DEVOURER

I have nicknamed hole number four on the summer course layout of White River Disc Golf Course "The Devourer." I have lost two discs there—one returned later the same day; one yet to be seen again. I almost lost another.

I threw my current favored driver, my red Discraft Avenger SS, from the tee and watched where it landed. When I arrived at the spot I saw it land, I couldn't find it. After about ten minutes of thorough searching I was just about to consider it lost and move on to the next hole, when I saw a bit of red peeking up from the layer of mulch and dead leaves.

The Devourer thought she had won again. Fortunately, I narrowly escaped her insatiable appetite for plastic.

WHITE RIVER DGC BACK NINE

About the time we started to play the back nine, we could hear chains "chinging" on some of the early holes. It seems that others realized it would be perfect weather to play some disc golf—sunny and mid-60s.


Hole #10 - these stickers really were everywhere. I played this hole nicely, which gave me good position for the basket. Unfortunately, I overshot it by twenty feet, but recovered on the putt. Three throws total.


Hole #11 - the view from halfway down the fairway. It is mandatory that the trees in the center middle must be passed on the left. This is known as a mando. To not pass them on the correct side results in penalty strokes. I struggled getting around them and into a good position. Four throws total.


Hole #12 - the view from the tee. My Mirus driver curved nicely to the right on a sidearm throw from the tee. Three throws total.


Hole #13 - the view from where my first throw landed. I am about halfway between tee and basket.


Hole #13 - the view from where my second throw landed.


Hole #13 - getting ready to throw a thumber for number three. It will land twenty feet from the basket and I will putt it in for a nice recovery. Four throws total.


Hole #14 - the view from the tee. I played this hole the best that I ever have—a good straight drive, strong approach, putt it in. Three throws total.


Hole #15 - the view from the tee. My initial throw went straight down the fairway, but hit a small mound and skipped twenty feet to the left. Three throws total.


Hole #16 - the view from the tee. I had my best initial drive on this hole, which skirts the river. I struggled with some trees on throws that followed. Five throws total.


Hole #17 - the view from the tee. I threw my Valkyrie 150 gram driver too far to the left, but the farthest I have ever thrown it on any hole. Three throws total.


Hole #18 - the view from the tee. This was another hole where my disc went too far to the left on my initial drive, but farther than I usually throw. Three throws total.

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Hole 1 - 3
Hole 2 - 4
Hole 3 - 3
Hole 4 - 4
Hole 5 - 3
Hole 6 - 3
Hole 7 - 5
Hole 8 - 3
Hole 9 - 3
Front nine - 31 (+4)

Total - 62 (+8)

WHITE RIVER DGC FRONT NINE

It was a beautiful fall day at White River Disc Golf Course. The child and I arrived at 10:30 a.m. to find no fog and no people, both of which seemed to be in abundance just about everywhere but at White River DGC. The course was literally deserted of disc golfers other than us during our entire front nine.


Hole #1 - the view from the tee.


Hole #1 - throw number two looks like it will be a thumber through the gap. Four throws total.


Hole #2 - throw number two needs to go over the stump and drop down and in, theoretically. Four throws total.


Hole #3 - the view from the tee. My Avenger SS (Super Straight) lived up to its name and went right down the middle of the fairway. Three throws total.


Hole #4 - getting ready for throw number two. For some reason, hole number 4 for the winter version of the course is already up, so I played it rather than summer #4 (The Devourer of Discs). Four throws total.


Hole #5 - the view from the tee. I played a nice recovery on this hole, throwing a thumber over a screen of small trees to get back onto the fairway. Four throws total.


Hole #6 - someone slapped these handmade vinyl stickers up on the pole of each basket, except for hole #18.


Hole #6 - good advice. Four throws total.


Hole #7 - preparing for throw number two from twenty-five feet away. Three throws total.


Hole #8 - the view from the tee. I sent my initial drive sailing down the fairway and hooking to the left at the end. It landed nineteen feet from the basket and I putted it in on my second throw. Two throws total.


Hole #9 - the view from the tee. My initial drive bent to the left down the fairway and around the trees, even missing trunks and branches I was sure would stop it. I just missed having back-to-back birdies from twenty-five feet away. Three throws total.

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Hole 1 - 4
Hole 2 - 4
Hole 3 - 3
Hole 4 - 4
Hole 5 - 4
Hole 6 - 4
Hole 7 - 3
Hole 8 - 2
Hole 9 - 3
Front nine - 31 (+4)

Total - 62 (+8)