Just over a week after returning from Scotland, Manchester Disc Golf Club decided they were holding a Sunday League, starting the first week of September 2020 for 6 weeks. Due to Covid restrictions it was not possible for all players to turn up all at once and head off to play. Matt, the organiser, had had a challenging time sorting out the League details on UDisc, who were still Beta testing their League option on the App, because he had been inundated with entries.
For a first attempt at playing with and against someone else, other than my partner Catriona (who decided she would play the League as well), my Sister and Brother in Law, I had decided to give this a go for a number of reasons;
- No pressure to perform on just one day, so a good way to start competitive Disc Golf.
- If I had a bad round I could try to improve the next time.
- Your best 4 scores counted towards your overall result.
- I'd get to meet more players and put some faces to names I'd seen on Facebook.
- I could see if competitive Disc Golf was for me.
There were 91 players registered, split into 3 Divisions - Mixed Amateur, Female Amateur and Novice. The reduction in tournaments during the year had clearly left some players craving for competition. There were 10 females in the Female Amateur and 4 in the Novice and I was the eldest. This was an amazing sign up for the women.
There are 2 tee points at Manchester, Blue and Red. The intention had been to have all players play off the longer Blue tees. On some holes that is hard for beginners and so I asked Matt if it was possible to have the Female Am and Novices play off the Red Tees. Matt told me that the League section of UDisc only catered for one tee off point as an option for all League players.
I decided to contact UDisc and explained about the League and asked whether it was possible to change the League section to accommodate Blue and Red Tees. To cut a long story short, Matt is a Beta tester for UDisc and the guy I was chatting with contacted him about my request. After some tech stuff, which I know nothing about, it was sorted and we were able to announce that the Mixed Am would play off Blue and Female Am/Novice would play off Red. We could even have a mixed card, as each player would be registered under the division of their choice and would sign into the App under our League. The App then recognised the division the player was in and subsequent tee and returned the scores to Matt accordingly.
Covid restrictions were in place but provided social distancing was maintained at the tee boxes we could play on cards from 2-4 players at any time from 6am to 6pm on the designated Sundays. One round of 18 holes.
On the first week 6 women came to play throughout the day. Our first card comprised of Catriona and I plus one other female (R) and a guy (M). We 3 women played off the Red Tee and M off the Blue tee. It was good to see others play and there was good banter as we played our round. Playing the round knowing that scores mattered really made me conscious of my focus on the game. However, I had to stop myself from chatting too much in between holes as it distracted me from time to time. It was that definite competitiveness I've always had and it was coming through after all these years.
I played a good round and it was fun was to see the Live Scoring on Udisc throughout the day, and to see where Catriona and I placed at the end of it.
The second week we played again. We decided it was better to play when the weather was good and get our scores in, in case the weather decided to change and make play harder. I started off with 2 Bogeys and a double Bogey, what on earth was that all about. Putting pressure on myself I think, to do better than last time. I got my head sorted and decided that it didn't matter, I was here for the experience and to lighten up and enjoy. After that I made Par on every hole except the last and again came top of the Leaderboard.
Week 3 and covid was taking another turn for the worse. Restrictions hadn't changed but infection rates were rising. Catriona and I still wanted to play but I was concerned about being around too many people. I know it was my anxiety but we needed to manage that. We therefore decided that we would play together, acknowledge other players on the course but leave as soon as we had played. It wasn't the same as the previous 2 weeks but we had committed to completing the League.
This continued until we completed the 6 weeks. Watching the Live Scores when we got home as the other players in our division were showing up a different times of the day.
This was my best score of the 6 weeks and I was pleased to have played all 6 even though it was only your best 4 that counted. Week 4 was not so good score wise and I was the victim of not working out the correct disc for the windy conditions. I was however delighted and somewhat surprised that at the end of the League I was the overall winner of the Female Division.
This was certainly good experience and interesting to learn of myself, that my competitive nature did kick in from time to time and that I actually enjoyed it even though I had been apprehensive before hand. It was great meeting, even if only briefly, some of the other women on the course, and I was encouraged that there were others out there who wanted to have a go as well.
The League got a lot of great feedback on how Matt had organised it, and everyone had a fun time competing despite the limitations of restrictions. I would say that if you fancy trying out competitive Disc Golf for the first time, playing a League is a good way to start.
During the 6 week period of the League we decided to head off on another trip to try out the course at Bedworth and also have another few rounds at Quarry Park. So watch out for the tales of disc golf at Bedworth next.
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