HOT.
Unfreakin'-believably
hot.
That's
the best way to sum up the 7th stop on the Ziegen
Light Texas 10 Charity Tour in Victoria,
Texas.
The
Heat
The
biggest tournament of the year in Victoria,
the Victoria Open,
is traditionally held in February. Back in February,
the nighttime temperatures were in the 50s (low
was exactly 50°). The hi-temperature during
the tournament was a very mid-winter Texas-like
71°. I remember playing both days in t-shirts
and shorts. Even in February, I thought the
park was lush and green.
Most
of the golfers I talked to during and after
the even last weekend said that the second round
(tee time was 1:45 p.m.) was the hottest round
of disc golf they had ever played. At least
two cases of heat stroke and one player being
carted off by an ambulance were testament to
the devastating nature of 93° heat coupled
with 73% humidity*. I'm sure even countless
more players suffered from heat exhaustion brought
on by the 114° heat-index (anything above
111 is considered extremely dangerous).
*Note:
The high temperature for the day was 93°,
while the average humidity was 73%…however,
the high-humidity level for the day was 94%.
I
consider myself to be an expert on avoiding
and treating heat-related injuries. I was a
combat medic in the US Army and a licensed emergency
medical technician (EMT). During the 262-mile
Texas Water Safari marathon canoe race, I learned
and used all the body maintenance tricks I could
to regulate my body temperature and stay hydrated
(I think I'll write a separate entry on this).
These tricks helped me to stay as focused and
cool as possible during the two rounds I played
this weekend. But I still ended up suffering
from heat exhaustion by the end of the second
round.
So,
let's just say it was dangerously and miserably
hot. And we all suffered through it. Except
maybe Ian Hovey, the 14 year-old kid who played
on my card both rounds. He hardly seemed affected
by the heat at all. He didn't drink nearly as
much water as the rest of the old guys (me included)
on our cards, didn't soak through his clothes
with sweat, and didn't complain at all about
the heat. I'll attribute his resilience to his
youth.
Oh,
and we played some disc golf on two amazing
18-hole courses.
The
Courses
We
used the original 18-hole layout at the Riverside
Course in Victoria, with a few modifications
due to losing 2 holes because of a double booking
with a local car show. I thought that the park
was lush and green in February? Well, this course
is a beast of another nature by the end of July.
Throwing lanes and tunnels that were available
in February were either a fraction of their
winter size, or gone entirely. But, as usual,
the course was in immaculate condition.
The
Riverside Disc Golf Club deserves huge props
for getting the new (temp, but hopefully soon-to-be
permanent) Fox Bend Course ready for the tournament.
The new course is a smaller, tighter course
cut into the very heavy rough and trees on the
seldom-used back section of this immense park.
I think it was Tony Bender who coined the phrase,
"Keep it on line, and you'll be fine".
In other words, keep your drives on the fairways
(the very narrow fairways…often no wider
than 25-30') and you should salvage pars. Miss
the fairways, and the thick shule will cost
you strokes (if you are even able to find your
disc).
Round
1
Our
division started the day on the original Riverside
Course. Last month, my brother Marty and I played
in our first tournament ever against each other
(we played together in the 2004 Amateur World
Championships). For Round 1, Marty and I would
get to play on the same card against each other
for the first time. Also on our card were Jimbob
Karshis, who I played with for the first time
last week at the Live Oak Summer Open (another
scorching hot Texas summer tournament), and
Ian Hovey…who I have played with on the
same card numerous times.
We
started on the 356' #9, where we all started
with routine pars (3s). And then I went through
a bad streak, carding three consecutive bogies
(4s), before settling back down and making par
on the short-but-dangerous #12 (OB rope and
cliff just feet to the left side of the basket,
and the OB road along the length of the right
fairway.
Marty
was playing well, and crushing his drives, but
not as accurately as he usually does. His mid-range
game was on though, and enabled him to save
par on nearly every hole.
I
carded my first birdie (2) on hole #3—which
was our 9th hole of the round—with a 32'
putt. This was after a routine 4 on the 561'
mando-enforced #2. I was still sitting at +3
for the round…3 strokes off of Ian's card
leading Even.
However,
I birdied three of the next four holes to get
my score back down to even.
Ian
and I were neck-and neck until he took a 4 on
the short #7 and fell a stroke behind me. But
I gave the stroke back on our second to last
hole (the 294' #8), when I smacked a tree 50'
from the tee box.
On
the final hole, the tight 276' #8A, Ian just
missed with his ace run, and landed just on
the edge of the green…about 15' from the
basket. My drive sailed long and just out of
the putting green, about 35' from the basket.
I knew Ian was going to make his birdie, so
I stepped up to my putt and nailed it to finish
the round with a +1 (55) to tie Ian for the
best score on our card. Mary finished with a
consistent +3, while Jimbob worm-burned too
many drives and ended with a +8 round.
Ian
and I thought our +1 rounds might be the best
scores of the morning in our division, but a
local whom I didn't know (Bobby Dunagan) shot
a -3 (51) on his home course to take the early
lead.
Other
notes from Round 1 —
