Napa Tourney - Day 1
Well I decided to play in the Vintage Cup as my first tournament, as Gregg L. was going to play and I wanted to play in at least one tournament before Santa Cruz at the end of the month. I was really not sure what to expect, but figured there was only one way to find out.
The weather had been projected to be rainy, windy and wet, but turned out to be very nice. There was some rain, but it was very light and the biggest problem was the wet grass (on the temporary course in the archery range). The tounrament consisted of two rounds per on Saturday and Sunday (one each on the regular course and temp. course). Gregg and I were to play the temp course in the morning and the regular course in the afternoon. As it turned out, Gregg and I got to play together for the first round, as we were randomly put together, which was nice.
The first group consisted of Gregg, Shannon Scott (aka Monk), Jay and myself. I found that after a few holes I was a little over matched and not quite as good as the rest of the group. This was ok, and I tried to remember I have only played for a few months, and not to get caught up trying to play beyond my capabilities - but despite that I was trying too hard to throw longer than I can or make shots I don't have. I found that I am more competitive than I thought and so did not shoot as well as I wanted (and took a 72). This put me in the position of being "dead f*@%ing last" (or DFL) for the intermediate division, not the kind of showing I thought I would have!! Chika was there as well and he had a great early round and seemed to be doing really well.
After the first round, I realized I just needed to play each hole and shot the best I could and not try to do too much. Also in the second round, I was paired with the other guys I would spend the rest of the event with, George and Gary. They had shot considerable better than I did and had me by 5 and 7 shots respectively, but as we started I felt more comfortable as their throws were about as good as mine and they were great guys who were easy going and out to have fun. With that, I played much better and had my best round at Napa so far (shooting +10 over and a 65).
Riding home, Gregg and I discussed the day and how I sort of got caught up in trying to play above my head and not my own game. I still had fun and the weather was not nearly the factor we both thought it might be. Gregg shot his usual consistent game and was in the mix for AM2. The whole experience reminded me of when I played grass volleyball and going to tournaments, and how low key things were and not much sponsors and the organization was done informally for the most part. Day one was good, I learned that my game is still a long way from being competitive with more seasoned players, but that I could rise to the challenge and play better when needed by focusing on my own shots and not the outcome.
The weather had been projected to be rainy, windy and wet, but turned out to be very nice. There was some rain, but it was very light and the biggest problem was the wet grass (on the temporary course in the archery range). The tounrament consisted of two rounds per on Saturday and Sunday (one each on the regular course and temp. course). Gregg and I were to play the temp course in the morning and the regular course in the afternoon. As it turned out, Gregg and I got to play together for the first round, as we were randomly put together, which was nice.
The first group consisted of Gregg, Shannon Scott (aka Monk), Jay and myself. I found that after a few holes I was a little over matched and not quite as good as the rest of the group. This was ok, and I tried to remember I have only played for a few months, and not to get caught up trying to play beyond my capabilities - but despite that I was trying too hard to throw longer than I can or make shots I don't have. I found that I am more competitive than I thought and so did not shoot as well as I wanted (and took a 72). This put me in the position of being "dead f*@%ing last" (or DFL) for the intermediate division, not the kind of showing I thought I would have!! Chika was there as well and he had a great early round and seemed to be doing really well.
After the first round, I realized I just needed to play each hole and shot the best I could and not try to do too much. Also in the second round, I was paired with the other guys I would spend the rest of the event with, George and Gary. They had shot considerable better than I did and had me by 5 and 7 shots respectively, but as we started I felt more comfortable as their throws were about as good as mine and they were great guys who were easy going and out to have fun. With that, I played much better and had my best round at Napa so far (shooting +10 over and a 65).
Riding home, Gregg and I discussed the day and how I sort of got caught up in trying to play above my head and not my own game. I still had fun and the weather was not nearly the factor we both thought it might be. Gregg shot his usual consistent game and was in the mix for AM2. The whole experience reminded me of when I played grass volleyball and going to tournaments, and how low key things were and not much sponsors and the organization was done informally for the most part. Day one was good, I learned that my game is still a long way from being competitive with more seasoned players, but that I could rise to the challenge and play better when needed by focusing on my own shots and not the outcome.
posted by Scott at
7:14 PM
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