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Tour #3 |
| Day 1 - August 3, 2006 - We started out on our trip late on a
Thursday afternoon ($%@# work). Leaving San Marcos around 3pm, our
first stop was at
Twila-Reid Park in Anaheim, CA. When we got there, soccer and
baseball practices were in session. Although it was crowded, it
was a nice, fun course with a few challenging holes. Poliwog Park in Manhattan Beach was our next stop around dusk. this 9-hole course was set around a lovely park with a lake in the middle. This park provided some challenge with elevation changes and trucks parked along the side of the road that looked exactly like ours that AJ hit. At about Ten O' Clock at night we got in line at Pink's Hot Dogs. Around 10:30 we got our hot dogs (if that's what you want to call them). These, without a doubt, were the best hot dogs we've ever had. This is a definite stop on any trip we take up to L.A. After Pink's we hit the road, trying to get as far north in California's Central Valley as possible. We made it to Visalia where we knew we could start the day with two courses to play. The Super 8 Motel in Visalia was home for the night. Note to management: please turn on the AC in rooms so they aren't 90° when your guests show up at 2 a.m. Total holes for the day: 18 Day 2 - August 4, 2006 - Start the day in Visalia, CA.
Played two courses in Visalia:
Troy Korsgaden DGC and Perry Championship
DGC. Troy Drove on to Fresno and stopped for chow at Burrito Loco, then on to Woodward Legacy DGC. This course was hot, dusty and a little windy and it let us make good use of our hyzer flip drives. Final course of the day was East La Loma Park in Modesto. Unfortunately we didn't have enough sunlight to play the entire course. One neat feature was that the first 9 holes were wheelchair accessible. Sonic for dinner. Mmmmm, pineapple shake! Total holes for the day: 66 Day 3 - August 5, 2006 - Spent the night in Auburn, just east of Sacramento. The first course of the day was Auburn Regional Park. Next was Condon Park in Grass Valley. This was a fun course that played through a lot of oak trees. Lots of tunnel shots that required patience and precision. Well worth playing.
Third course of the day was Hanging Oaks DGC
in Penn Valley. Live
music while we played. Cool artwork on the course.
The day ended at Riverbend Park in Oroville. Once again, we ran out of sunlight and were unable to play more than 9 holes. The holes had just been re-designed, so it was a bit tricky to find our way around, but the course was fun to play. Great facilities on site and everything looked brand new. Looking forward to returning to play the rest of the course. We drove on to Chico to grab some dinner at Woodstock's Pizza in downtown Chico, near the campus of Cal State Chico. Good pizza, microbrew beer (for Rizbee Sr.) and lots of coeds. After filling up we drove on to Redding so we could start playing at the crack of dawn. Total holes for the day: 63. Day 4 - August 6, 2006 -
Enterprise Community Park in Redding,
CA.
Lee Fong Park DGC in Weaverville. Crabapple trees all over the
course with
Steelhead DGC in Willow Creek, CA. A short but fun 9-holer in a small park along a dry riverbed. We drove on to Arcata and tried to play the course at Mad River Pump Station #4, but there wasn't enough light (a recurring problem). Dinner was at this cool burger joint: Toni's 24 Hour Restaurant. Total
holes for the day: 45. Kind of a light total, but there was a lot
of tough driving across the mountains. Day 5 - August 7, 2006 - Mad River Pump Station #4, Arcata. We woke up from the - you guessed it - Motel 6 and wolfed down a quick breakfast before heading back to Pump Station #4. This was a pleasant 9-hole course. Most of the holes were out in the relative open, but there were a few where the baskets were tucked into the woods or right up against them. There was one hole where you teed off from in-between two telephone poles back towards the river - it kind of framed your view down the fairway. The water was nearby but it really didn't come into play at all. This round was one of the best putting rounds of the trip - A.J. hit a few really long putts with his new Banger and Rizbee's turbo twist Shuttle Puppy putts were on fire! We made a stop in downtown Arcata at a small shop that sold golf discs, but I can't remember the name of the shop. It was also a bit of a head shop - if anyone knows the name of that place let us know.
Humboldt State University (The Redwood Curtain), Arcata.
Cooper Gulch Park, Eureka. Several of the baskets had been
vandalized or ripped out the night before we showed up. We played
to t Southern Humboldt Community Park, Garberville. A brand new course south of Eureka along Highway 1. It's a small world moment: we call the contact number from the PDGA on-line directory and talk to Dano Porter, whose brother Deano is one of our regular doubles players at our home course (Emerald Isle). Total holes for the day: 54.
Our next stop was Low Gap Park in Ukiah. It was pretty hot when we got here at mid-day. We found a very playable 18-hole course that wound up into the foothills west of Ukiah. This course has been here for quite a while - there were some old Mach 2 baskets out on the course. There were some great tunnel shots through scrub oak and a few great shots up and down the foothills.
Anderson
Valley Brewing Company, Boonville. Fun course on the grounds of
the brewery. Crazy homemade baskets made from old wine barrels and
bicycle wheels. Great to stop for a microbrew tester after playing
a round in the heat. We bedded down for the night at the Cloverdale, CA KOA. There was a 6-hole disc golf course on the grounds here that could really use some TLC. This is an old installation - the baskets are old Tri-State baskets that have plastic chains. Total holes for the day: 60.
Day 7 - August 9, 2006 - Lucchesi Park, Petaluma. Played 9 holes with a cool local guy who helped us find all of the tees. We had to negotiate our way around the day camps being held at the park.
Stafford Lake County Park, Novato. This was Rizbee's favorite
course of the trip. Once again, we play in temperatures reaching
100°. This course had it all - length,
mixture of shots, open shots, tunnels and elevation change. We saw
quite a bit of wildlife here: rabbits, squirrels, a hare, and wild
turkeys!! This course also sported arguably the best tee signs we
have ever seen. The signs use a Google-earth-like aerial photo of
the hole and add annotation for each of the alternate pins and tees
(there was a full set of novice and expert tees). They even used
GPS to note the distance and elevation change from each tee to each pin
position. Very cool!! Aquatic Park, Berkeley. Nice linear out 9 and then back 9 layout. Lots of "pick-up" activity going on in the bushes along the edge of the park - kinda weird. Chabot Park, San Leandro. We played most of this park in very low light or darkness. The glow discs we bought in Eureka came in handy. A.J. almost had an ace - his tee shot on #7 (Champ Coyote) smashed through the chains. Total holes for the day: 54. Day 8 - August 10, 2006 - Big driving day. Central Park DGC, Saugus. Very disappointing - poor signage at the park caused us to spend 30 minutes walking around trying to find the first tee. We stopped at Eleysian Park in L.A. to check out the new Chavez Ridge course. We didn't have time to play, but took a quick look at the first few holes (but that's for another trip!). After Chavez Ridge it was time to head home! What a great trip!!!!!! Total holes for the day: 9.
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Korsgaden DGC was a challenging 12-holer that went
around a soccer field and what used to be (or sometimes is?) a lake. It was a cool
mix of narrow shots along sidewalks and across small valleys.
One hole was called the "Volcano," and had a big raised mound that the
basket sometimes resided upon. This picture shows A.J. putting
from on top of the Volcano. I can't remember just how he ended up
on top of the mound...
crabapples
on the ground. Horses in the field next to the course were
friendly, and definitely wanted some of the apples (which we provided to
them). Nice local kids helped us find the back nine tees (which
played to baskets 1-9). This course had some of the most prickly
shule we found on the trip. I'm still pulling thorns out of some
of my socks.
We then drove over to Humboldt State University and found the Arcata
Redwood Science Lab and the Redwood Curtain disc golf course. This
course is amazing! Being able to play amidst the giant trees was a
real rush. The trees form a huge canopy that blocks out a great
deal of the sunlight, so there are all sorts of mosses, lichens and
ferns growing throughout the forest. The holes on the course
mostly follow fire trails, which is fine because it reduces the habitat
damage. In the picture on the left you can see Rizbee
climbing on of the huge tree stumps. That stump is actually the
2nd tee! You have to climb up on top of the stump to tee off on
hole #2, and it is a long way down. The one unfortunate part of
this course is that it only has 3 poleholes. The rest of the holes
on the course use tonepoles as the target. The tonepoles are
rather ingenious - a heavy gauge pipe swinging on a large bolt that goes
through the large pipe and a smaller pipe which id the vertical support
post for the hole. Hit the big pipe and it clangs against the
support pole, making the "tone."
he holes in the ground where the baskets had been. Discus Eurekas was a fun disc shop in Eureka. We bought several glow
discs (mostly Lightnings) and some little night lights to tape on our
discs so we could play in the dark.
Day 6 - August 8, 2006 - Spent the night in Willits, at the
