Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Season Start - Career Recap



Stumptown Slosh #3

PDGA C Tier at Milo McIver


I started the 2014 PDGA season at one of the best disc golf venues in the world: Milo McIver State Park. I was both excited and nervous to play this event. I haven't been practicing as much as I'd like to this off season. I played at the super bowl scramble event at Timber and threw some mediocre shots but surprisingly putted well from the mid distance (25-30). In reflection I was less than pleased with my play at the scramble. I would be lying if I didn't say that it was weighing on my mind going into my first sanctioned event.

This past season was a turning point for me mentally. This can be attributed to the fact that this sport is now just a hobby/release and supplemental income for me. Having a wife and a full time job shrank my practice time and event schedule, but boosted my confidence and general state of mind. There isn't any of the pressure I was feeling when I went on tour in 2011. As a result, I don't seem to go on tilt during tournaments. In the past I would follow up one bad hole with a few more. That wasn't the case this weekend as after every mistake I got a birdie the following hole. I count that as no small victory.

I was worried that my putting would not be up to scratch and that if I had to play in inclement weather during the weekend I would fall apart. Luckily both of those things proved to be untrue. I didn't put myself in position to have to make long putts, and as always my execution off the tee was my greatest asset. I had seven deuces in the first round on the East side, all of which were 10-22 feet from the pin. I only missed one putt inside the circle in round one, and that was during the worst wind/rain bout that occurred during the day. I did miss back to back putts inside the circle in round two, but again, followed it up by getting birdies on 3 of the next 4 holes. In fact, most of round two was really solid and consistent, except for hole one where I threw OB twice! My tee shot rolled OB left, than my scramble bounced off a branch and slid off the curb OB again. Ouch.

By the numbers:

Of the 36 tee shots on the weekend I had:
2 drives that were bad and cost me strokes
5 drives that were poorly executed and made me scramble
7 drives that were average but didn't cost me anything
11 drives were well thrown and created opportunities
11 tee shots that yielded instant strokes on the competition.

I putted 39 times inside the circle and only missed 3. (92.31%)
I attempted 7 jump putts. Most of these were long layups or putts toward OB designed to lay up. Only one of them was an actual bid, and I missed just shy off the left side.

This was my 138th single event as a pro, and the start of my 8th professional season. Due to my excellent driving and proficient short range putting I ended up wining by five strokes and getting my 24th career win!


Career Recap

I've updated my career stats page and wanted to share some interesting things I found:

It took me 20 events before I got my first pro win (Eugene Celebration, 2007). It wasn't till my 49th event that I won for a second time (Midsummer Glide, 2009).

I didn't take a second place finish till my 40th PDGA event (Daylight Savings, 2009).

In my first 50 PDGA events I had a total earnings of $6,384.00. 1 win, 1 second, and 6 thirds.

In contrast, my most recent 50 PDGA events I have a total earnings of $13,902. 11 wins, 9 seconds, 6 thirds.

In 2010 I played a total of 32 events and won 12 of them, which counts for half of my career victories.

This is my favorite state and perhaps an Oregon record: From (6.26.2010 to 9.11.2011) I played in 15 Oregon A, B or C tiers and took top three in all of them! That's 15 consecutive tournaments in Oregon on the podium. 7 wins, 6 seconds, 2 thirds.

My longest streak of consecutive events that I have cashed in is 25 events (8.21.2010 to 6.5.2011)

I've cashed 120 events (87%) and missed cash 18 times (13%).

Although I've won multiple times on certain courses, the only event I have repeat victories in is the Pine Jam.

Summary

I am super stoked about the 2014 season and I will try to recap all of my events from this year. Some folks may find these blogs a bit boring, but that's just cause I lean towards the analytical/statistical side when I write about disc golf. For those who are stats junkies like me, you'll love this stuff!

Thanks, 
Dion

Team Discraft - Team Paragon - Team Gorilla Boy



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