When needing to drive up to Springfield, Oregon today to visit my new neurologist, I decided to try and play a disc golf course I had tried to play several months ago (to no avail): Bear Creek Disc Golf Course. Not the Bear Creek Disc Golf Course I played when visiting Medford, Oregon a few weeks ago! The Bear Creek Disc Golf Course near Cheshire, Oregon, designed by Richard Reister, who also is known as "Caddyman" as a founding member of the Professional Disc Golf Caddy Association. I thought: "What are the odds?" Playing two new courses in a row named Bear Creek Disc Golf Course, hours away from one another. A fun coincidence.
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Caddyman and I texted back and forth a couple of days before my visit, since the last time I tried to play this course, I couldn't find anyone around to ask how to navigate it (the course can be a little confusing to figure out where to go in several places without guidance). And when I pulled into the property, J.D., the owner of the property, was there to greet me and help me figure out the first 5-6 holes. He even offered to spot for me, which helped as I threw my big (TOO big) bomb down from the "top of the world" tee on Hole 6.
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I was teasing J.D. that I cannot putt to save my life as he watched me play the first seven holes. But I put on a rare putting display, sinking long putts for deuces on Holes 2 and 3. I almost sunk long putts on Holes 4 and 5 too, so I think J.D. was thinking I was a sandbagger...ha! But then on Hole 6, I showed off my amateur skills, throwing my tee shot WAY too high and right of the satellite dish that had been turned into a large basket at the bottom of the hill. I was pin high off the tee, but I was a good 80-90 feet right of the basket.
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After carding my three on Hole 6, I decided to display Rec skills instead of Amateur skills off the Hole 7 tee, flipping my tee shot WAY left and out of bounds...deep into a large 8-9 foot tall Himalayan blackberry patch. Being the great guy that he is, J.D. climbed right into the thick of that blackberry patch with me, collecting scratches and getting thorns stuck in his hands/arms/legs/back like I was. I think he thought my chances of finding my ProLine Squall were zero. But ten minutes and about twenty scratches/thorns later? I found that Squall...darnit (leave no disc behind). Of course, it took me at least five minutes to make it the 8-10 feet forward to reach it without a machete! But I finally got that disc back in my bag...even handing J.D. a second disc that someone had lost in that same blackberry patch.
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After carding my circle-4 on Hole 7, I got back to playing Derek Tonn disc golf! Amateur level play, but rock solid amateur level play. :-) I deuced Hole 8, birdied Hole 10, then ran a 70-foot deuce putt on Hole 13. Winding up my round with a -4 (51). The course plays a lot tougher than the hole distances make it appear! If I were spot-on my game? I should have shot around -6 or -7. But I was satisfied with a -4. I was especially satisfied adding a +1 to my Courses Played Collection.
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/wp:paragraph wp:heading {"level":3,"extended_widget_opts":{"id_base":-1,"column":{"desktop":"12","tablet":"12","mobile":"12"},"alignment":{"desktop":"default","tablet":"default","mobile":"default"},"roles":{"state":"","options":"hide"},"visibility":{"selected":"0","options":"hide","acf":{"visibility":"hide","field":"","condition":"","value":""}},"author_page":{"author_pages":{"selections":"1"}},"devices":{"options":"hide"},"days":{"options":"hide"},"dates":{"options":"hide","from":"","to":""},"styling":{"selected":"0","bg_image":"","background":"","background_hover":"","heading":"","text":"","links":"","links_hover":"","border_color":"","border_type":"","border_width":"","background_input":"","text_input":"","border_color_input":"","border_type_input":"","border_width_input":"","background_submit":"","background_submit_hover":"","text_submit":"","border_color_submit":"","border_type_submit":"","border_width_submit":"","list_border_color":"","table_border_color":""},"class":{"selected":"0","link":"","id":"","classes":"","animation":"","event":"enters","speed":"","offset":"","delay":"","logic":""},"tabselect":"0"}}ABOUT DEREK
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Derek Tonn is a member of the DGA’s Ambassador Team. His company, Mapformation, LLC, has been DGA’s partner in the development of disc golf tee signage since 2012. The longer our two companies have worked together, and the more Derek has gotten to know all the great folks at DGA, the more he has wanted to formally sing the company’s praises. The more he has realized that “Steady” Ed’s (the father of disc golf and the modern-day Frisbee) vision for the sport and his company perfectly describes his own interests and priorities related to disc golf, and the more Derek has recently been encouraged to share his story.
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