The Champion
The survivors had arrived and started to warm up. After having
vanquished all other pretenders, now there were only 2 players standing.
Eric "Birdie" Taylor went to the empty soccer field and started the day's
preparations. As a man on a mission, Birdie started focusing on the task
at hand, much like a laser. Never having won the DGIMP trophy throughout
the year, added to his desire to bring home the championship. On the other
side, Darrell "Tetrahedron Master" was warming up, listening to the smooth
melody of Danny Gaston's guitar rifts and hearing echoes of ??? in his
head. (seriously, I have no idea what he hears in that head of his, but it's likely not fit to print)
TM was feeling good and relaxed having shot a 61 (matching his career best) the
previous night as a warm up.
Meanwhile, a motley crew of renegades also appeared at the course. The
newly formed rebel street league members had decided to crash the party.
The SLEDoG (Street League Exhibition Disc Golf) members were having a
great time, relaxed, laughing and singing who let the dogs out. The
founding members of SLEDoG (Sunshine and the Sith Lord) were joined by
Bushman Pike and Puma Pawson who had shown up for a TWAC challenge match.
Giving deference to the championship match, the players watched as
Birdie fired the opening salvo by throwing a beautiful laser guided first
disc, long straight, curving slightly to the left to end up nestled on the
top of the raised mound in clear view of the basket just 50 feet away.
Undaunted, TM fired a similar shot but just a bit too much to the left,
leaving a difficult 80 foot shot with overhanging branches. TM tried a
high arching shot around the branches, which went a bit too high and left.
Birdie uncharacteristically fired his birdie attempt high, wide right and
30 feet past the basket. Both players settled for bogey and proceeded to
the next hole. Birdie irked by his failure on the first hole, refocused
himself and threw a grace S curve to within 8 feet of the hole and made
his first birdie of the night. TM's tee shot wasn't quite as nice but he
still managed to make the first of 3 pars in a row. Eric had his usual
issues with hole #3 shooting a bogey and the match was tied again. TM
struggled a bit on 5 and 6 dropping a stroke on each hole but bounced back
with a long putt to save par on #7. Birdie came out of the woods on #7
unscathed and also made par. It was on #8, that TM seemed to lose a bit
of concentration and three putted to score a double bogey. With Eric's
par on #9 and TM's bogey, Eric lead was now 5 and things looked bleak for
TM.
However, before Eric could put it into coast mode, his dragon decided
it was hot, tired and thirsty. His tee shot on #10 was short and right
and dove straight into Lake Reeves (so named for the extensive donations
made through out the year). After using his DRS, Eric took the penalty
shot and ended up with a bogey. TM meanwhile made par and had closed to
within 4. This was the magic handicap difference, so essentially they
were tied. However, as much as the lake effect would affect mortal men,
Eric simply shrugged and went to #11. TM feeling rejuvenated, fresh from
his success on 10, made a nice tee shot and second shot to get a par.
Birdie Taylor refocused and threw a magnificent tee shot and a good second
shot for his second birdie of the night. Making a par and still losing a
stroke simply was too much for the Tetrahedron Master. Eric's tee shot
went high and right to the middle of the walking path on 12. TM's tee
shot clipped a branch and dropped like a stone. TM would struggle to a
bogey while Birdie Taylor was now on cruise control and made par. After
pars on #13, Birdie Taylor's destiny was beginning to take hold. His tee
shot on 14 glanced off the tree located just to the left of the tee box
changing the trajectory to go more to the right. The shot still managed to
sail majestically past the first 2 hills & landed not far from the row of
trees that protect the third hill where the basket is located. However
Birdie second shot went wide and he finished with a bogey. Darrell
sensing an opportunity and fighting to stay in the match made a very good
putt from about 30 feet away to save par. TM was only down 1 now. Both
made pars on 15. Birdie's tee shot on 16 went high and off target heading
into the tops of the trees where most of the branches are located.
Miraculously, it hit nothing and skimmed through everything. His approach
shot on 16, the shot was going to be real long and curving far off to the
left when another miracle took place. The shot hit the tree about 10 feet
to the left of the basket and fell to the ground. Without the tree, the
shot was going to be 50-60 feet away. TM meanwhile made bogey to drop 2
shots behind. But it wasn't over yet. 2 shots, 2 holes to go.
Meanwhile, the SLEDoG members were battling each other for supremacy.
However in this league there is no handicap, no steering committee just
street wisdom, grit and fortitude to decide who wins each match. Puma
started the night off on the wrong foot and TWACKING Pike's pine on his
very first shot. Sadly, that was Puma's highlight of the night. Bushman,
Sunshine and Lordie battled each other the entire night. Pars, bogies,
bogies, pars. Back and forth the 3 players went, pushing each other,
scratching, clawing their way to the match's conclusion. After 9 holes,
the three were tied at 33. Passing the championship match players who
were busy retrieving Birdie's errant disc from the infamous Lake Reeves,
the rebels continued their relentless battle. Bushie took the lead on 11
with a par. It was tied again after #12 as Sunshine and Lordie both made
pars. Each hole produced a change only to be reversed on the next hole.
After 16, it was still knotted up at 59. Bushie threw down the gauntlet
with his magnificent tee shot on 17 through the trees and into the
fairway. Lord Skelton stepped up and answered by out driving Bushie by a
foot. Sunshine stepped up and threw a very nice shot that just clipped a
tree but leaving himself in a decent position. However, it was time for
the Sith Lord to use the powers that he alone possesses. Focusing the
power of the force towards him, neither Bushie nor Sunshine could do much
about it and they each made bogey while Lord Skelton made par. On 18,
Bushie made a fair tee shot making it past the trees but without the
distance he hoped for. Sunshine went TWACK into the tree and Lord Skelton
gracefully threw his disc past the trees and a long distance, all the way
to the left edge of the fairway. As Sunshine and Bushie tried valiantly
to overcome their tee shots, Lord Skelton simply moseyed down the fairway,
making the throws needed to claim the match with a 66. Bushie ended up
with a career best, record low 68. Sunshine finished with a 67. Puma
coughing and gasping, after being left in the dust, wheezed to a 75.
By this time, the championship match had started to pick up steam and
had caught up. On 17, Birdie threw a great tee shot through all of the
trees (not hitting anything again) and watch it gracefully turn left
stopping about 50 feet away in the middle of the fairway. TM struggling
to keep up with Birdie's masterful performance, threw a decent shot, which
clipped a tree but still ended up on the far edge of the fairway. Both
players played safe second shots to the basket. TM made his par putt and
Birdie had yet another drop in par. On 18, TM knew he had to gain a
couple of strokes but Eric "Champ" Taylor wasn't going to let that happen.
Champ threw a magnificent tee shot down the right side of the fairway and
long as he had done all night. His second shot headed right for the
basket before tailing off slightly to the left stopping at the base of the
trees that guard the 18th basket. TM also making some nice throws but it
just wasn't quite enough. Champ sensing victory, the championship and the
envy of the disc golf world, squelched the pressure and calmly sank his
6-foot par putt to seal the victory. In the end, Darrell "TM" Gilman had
shot a very respectable 64 but it was Eric "Champ" Taylor shooting his
career best, record low 57 (his first foray into the 50's) that was the
talk of the town this evening.
Eric "Birdie" Taylor will go down in history as the league's first
Champion and he deserves that honor. The tournament ended as it should
have, with the best player winning with his best game. I think that the
handicap system the league established has proven itself very well in
leveling the playing field without skewing the results. Congratulations
go to Eric and all disc golfers who came out and enjoyed the season. This
is your objective, concise, truthful, fun loving, honest, thoughtful,
caring, impartial, unbiased, independent, dispassionate reporter signing
off. Have a great off-season.
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