Bluebell Woods at ReBoot Disc Golf Course is a challenging round in the best conditions, we didn't really need driving rain in 38mph winds but that is exactly what 20 hearty souls had to contend with in the first round of this years Rubber Biscuit. But like most days in Scotland we experienced a "summer event" at just the right point in our day and it was pleasant conditions for the last few holes of the second round and during our awards ceremony. The most impressive performances were made by two of our Junior competitors Cole H. and Abel C. who bravely played two rounds on the Red Course in worst of the days weather. Cole then joined three more Jr players in the second round of action which earned him the Novice trophy. All our junior players received a disc, mini marker and medal of participation which they can use as a token of membership to play on 9 participating disc private disc golf courses. Thanks again to our volunteers for chaperoning the Junior players through the rain. During lunch we hosted the "chip for rubber" which saw all the participants take 3 attempts at chipping a golf ball into a disc laying upside down. This was no ordinary disc, it was a 2009 Vibram Open Summit, A collectors item in certain circles. On his first attempt Keith A. chipped the ball straight in and took the prize. Thanks again to the players and people who assisted in this years event. We hope to see everyone at The Hermitage on October 3rd for the Doubles tournament. Also there is a Vibram Birdie Bash at Ace Adventures on 27th September.
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Research Study on Disc Golf Yields Intriguing Findings by Justin Menickelli, Ph.D. As a nation, we simply do not walk very much. We tend to watch TV, drive our cars and sit at our computers. When we choose to walk rather than sit, we burn more calories and our hearts have to work a bit harder. If we keep walking, our bodies adapt to this kind of good stress and we become physically fitter. Ideally, a person should walk around 10,000 steps a day to maintain a healthy level of fitness. With support from the PDGA, the first nation-wide research study to examine disc golf and physical activity is complete. We talked with people playing sanctioned tournaments, weekly doubles events and casual rounds. Our main goal was to discover just how much folks walk while playing a round of disc golf. We clipped pedometers on 257 men and 156 women playing 8,029 holes of disc golf on 38 different courses. We found out that every time a person ventures outside to play disc golf, they take an average of 6064 steps; well on their way to reaching 10,000 steps. We were also interested if gender, age or score influenced the average number of steps folks walked while playing. Along the way, we traveled to eight different states, asked a lot of questions and learned a lot about the great sport of disc golf. We ran some fancy-schmancy statistical analyses on the data we collected and discovered that women walked about 60 fewer steps per hole than men on the same course, from the same tees (regardless of their age or score). On an 18-hole course, that amounts to a whopping 1,080 less steps. Because men typically take longer strides, we anticipated the exact opposite. Equally as interesting, for every year older (regardless of their gender or score) people walked about ten less steps per 18-hole round. So, if you are 50 years old, then you will likely walk about 300 less steps than a 20-year old on the same 18-hole course. Why? Perhaps both women and older players spend more time in the fairway and less time wandering around. For me, adages like “older and wiser” and “the women are smarter” come to mind. Score also proved to be a variable that had an influence on steps. Each additional throw a person took resulted in just under four additional steps per hole, regardless of their age or gender. Missed your twenty foot birdie putt? At least you are getting more exercise. As is the case in nearly every sport, the more skilled you are the less the physical workload. If you want a serious workout, play the Harold Duval designed Ashe County Park course located deep in the mountains of North Carolina. Folks playing the long tees averaged nearly 9000 steps per 18-hole round. That fact, combined with the severe elevation changes, likely make it one of the most physically demanding courses in the country. In addition to collecting step counts, we ask folks a lot of questions and some of the answers surprised us. A lot of people we talked with preferred to play casual rounds and local doubles events rather than sanctioned tournaments. Most folks could not name more than one touring professional and many were not members of the PDGA. When we asked people their PDGA number, we got a similar response; “I might play in one or two tournaments a year...for me, it is just not worth joining.” Of course, for many of us, being part of an organization means more than the bottom line. Family obligations keep me from playing more than a handful of sanctioned tournaments a year, however, I do like to check out my tournament statistics (as bad as they are). I really enjoy reading DiscGolfer magazine each month and being an active member somehow makes me feel like I am part of something bigger. Perhaps just as important is what we did not investigate. We did not take elevation change into account (walking up hill is undoubtedly more strenuous than walking on a flat surface), or examine how much time people spent in their target heart rate zone while playing. Pedometers are relatively inexpensive and wearing one is pretty unobtrusive. Altimeters and heart rate monitors cost plenty and may limit the size of the subject pool. Future studies should consider investigating these factors. This study’s findings suggested that playing disc golf is a great way to be physically active and that age, gender and score may have a significant impact on the amount of physical activity people get while playing. Of course, disc golf is about more than simply walking. For many of us, playing disc golf is an ideal combination of fun and competitive spirit. Mark Twain supposedly once called ball golf “a good walk spoiled.” As someone who enjoys the excitement and challenge of disc golf, I like to think of it as “a good walk defined.” I must extend a very special thank you to Brian Graham, Jon Lyksett, Chris Tuten, Des Reading, Jay Reading, David Barney, Chris Page, David Shope, Chris Cooper and all of the folks that agreed to participate in the study. Dr. Justin Menickelli (#31347) is an Associate Professor of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Western Carolina University located in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. When not playing disc golf, he enjoys spending time with his wife Kirstin and their two boys Aidan (age 4) and Noah (age 2). Source URL:http://www.pdga.com/a-good-walk-defined
Hello, We have exciting times ahead for our sport here in Scotland so let's get right to it with a few fun facts. - Action Glen Disc golf Course in Creiff is open for business, rental discs available from the main office. - Loch Monzievaird Disc Golf Course is under new management -We saw a pair of aces on the same basket in the same week. Congrats go out to players Ruari H. From Fife on Red hole 8 and Hamish B. aced hole 18 at ReBoot Disc Golf Course. - There are 11 operating disc golf courses in Scotland Bdga Course Directory - Stay connected on two new Facebook pages Perthshire Disc Golf & Scottish Disc Golf - One Year Junior Membership (=>19 yrs old) to All participating courses (7) on the Quaich Tour included with Junior Division entry fee. Participating Courses; Ace Adventures, Craggan Outdoors, Loch Tay, Action Glen, Loch Monzievaird, The Hermitage & ReBoot Disc Golf Courses Quaich Tour dates
Leagues 16th August Sunday Handicap League- Craggan DGC - Moray Disc Golf 23rd August Sunday Handicap League - Ace Adventures - Moray Disc Golf 29th August Last Saturday Pdga League- ReBoot Disc Golf Course 27th September Vibram Birdie Bash- Ace Adventures- Moray Disc Golf Quaich Tour Leaderboard
Hope to see you on the course soon.
Cheers Seamus I would first like to personally thank all the 11 year old boys for pointing out the weakest points of our disc golf course. By nature there is no more of a destructive force than an innocent group of P5/6 boys left to their own accord in the woods, I'm certain I was the same. With no malcontent if it could be broken, twisted, knocked or tampered with at all as a group they achieved it. The course has been repaired, leveled and hardened and is now in a better stronger place because of you, so Thanks again. In May we started this series of events to showcase the group that was exemplary at understanding our sport. We presented each group with a quick tutorial on grip, throwing technique and putting as well as other pointers like scoring and navigating the course. We played a few rounds of 'Ring of Fire' to warm them up before they teed off to become accustomed throwing the discs and focusing on the main objective of our sport, throw the disc into the basket. Each junior player had one disc and one go around our 9 hole Red Course. I cannot put into words how honored we feel to have hosted over 700+ Juniors (>=16) at our course in the last five weeks. The spirit, camaraderie and pursuit to succeed in a new sport was unparalleled and drove home how uniquely inclusive our sport can be. A few times we were able to organize 9 groups of 4 all starting at one time, a Junior shotgun start!! The participants traversed our wooded course which is about a Kilometer to complete this challenge, some went happily and asked to play a second 9 hole round, others needed inspiration but all felt the accomplishment of completing a round of golf. In the end Loretto Senior School reigns supreme posting an outstanding combined score of 143 by clinching the top 6 scores of the series. We play disc golf for the memories of enjoying time with our friends and encouraging them to succeed along our sides. Hitting a 30 meter putt for the first time is as exhilarating lifelong experience and generally lures players back for another chance of improvement. Loretto Senior School showed the camaraderie and etiquette that is driving the natural evolution of our sport. I believe this fundamental approach to a new sport made the difference for all these first time disc golfers and they now they can enjoy the thrill of scoring the best in our Series as well. Congrats!! Loretto Senior School!! Speaking of impressive an honorable mention must go to our 3rd place group the North Berwick Bear Cubs, a group of 30 P5/6 pupils from Law Primary School. If you need any proof a little practice goes a long way they have 2 well used DGA disc golf baskets in their playground at the Primary School with enough discs for their entire class to use. We've gotten to know most of these young pupils hosting demonstrations and lunch clubs at the school. They absolutely crushed the Red Course only 7 strokes from 2nd place to students much older and rose above their next peer group by 15 strokes. Over the last five weeks there were many rounds of ring of fire and more laughs than I'll remember as well as an impressive hole in one by Olivia from Dunbar Grammar, countless big putts and many, many lost discs. Working with all these young disc golfers has made me a better teacher of our sport as well as a more patient coach. Our hopes are that a few of these Juniors will grow up playing disc golf and in the future find success on the best courses throughout Europe and around the world. I would like to say Thank You to all who participated and we hope to see soon. Seamus & Julie
What a weekend for disc golf in Moray! The hospitality was the endless, the food was amazing (especially the cheesecake!), the courses were challenging and the camaraderie could not be beat. We played 72 holes on two amazing courses that are as different as the men who designed them. Ace Adventures is a rugged 'Outback' disc golf course that plays through the woods with dramatic elevation change and has some of the best pin placements around. Ace Adventures recently added stone paver tee pads and new tee signs on all 27 holes which ensure this place is somewhere to watch. Craggan Outdoors "simply" added 9 baskets to what is already an amazing place to golf. At Craggan they did an excellent job making a challenging disc golf course on the grounds of a stunning golf course. The long open fairways, OB fence lines and tucked away pins in addition to the swirling winds make this course an instant 'must play'. The combination of the two venues in one event are unparallelled to the region and will surely become a marquee event. Congrats to Open Champ - Seonaidh Charity Am Champ - Andrew Lamb Novice Champ - John Smart Pdga Unofficial results Cheers!! Moray Disc Golf The Arch and Notch are new discs from Vibram Disc Golf. When I first received these discs in the mail I had a hard time deciding whether or not to throw them because they are beautiful first run discs. After about two weeks I finally decided it was time and took the Arch and Notch out for a few rounds of golf at Bluebell Woods in Dunbar Scotland. I generally throw a round of 62-65 at Bluebell Woods and these discs right off the shelf helped me produce an average round. I've played 36+ holes of disc golf with just the Arch and Notch off the tee on every hole in all types of wind and weather. Trust your Rubber. The Notch is a medium speed fairway driver that is easily compared to an Innova Teebird, although I think its a little faster than a Teebird and of course a better disc. This disc like the Arch is extremely consistent even after multiple high speed tree hits. In an open field this disc was flying 300+ feet and finishing consistently. Since I am not a big power player I will throw the Notch in windy conditions (Head and Cross wind) when I need a disc to hold a line and finish left (RHBH). Other players may possess the crushing ability but as a 915 rated player I do not have the power to turn this over forehand or backhand. Thrown flat backhand this disc went straight with very little to no turn until it faded. I found the Notch to be an extremely consistent disc but for the time being it will not replace the Ascent in my bag. I will however have the Notch on practice rounds because I feel my level of play can be judged by the length and consistency I can throw this disc. The Arch is a low speed fairway driver that is without a doubt the easiest throwing disc I have ever had in my bag. At Bluebell woods we have some narrow wooded fairways and the predictable glide, turn and fade of the Arch makes it an easy choice when precision matters. I was able to throw this disc 250+ feet both forehand and backhand without turning it over once down tree lined fairways and short open holes. This disc has now gotten up close and personal with many many trees and still flies like its just out of the box. I will not try and launch this disc into a headwind nor is it a replacement distance driver, I found great success with the Arch as a control fairway driver. I'm looking forward to trying this disc at different weights to finely tune how I can use it best. This disc will help me achieve a personal best score at Bluebell Woods. Great Disc! Nice work Vibram, this one goes in the bag. What an amazing year we have had for disc golf so far and its only the last few days in April. There is far too much to cover in one Newsletter without tempting the most avid disc golfer to a nap so I will try and be brief, just remember this is an exciting time for our sport. Only 6 weeks ago our tour kicked off with The Battle at Bluebell Woods- Euro Tour #1 and since then there has been two other Bdga Tour events. From The 23rd Scottish Open on The Isle of Mull to the 1st Annual Loch Tay Open Scotland has seen some high level disc golf indeed. These successful events drew the best players from all over the UK, Europe and America to compete for money and prizes. Luckily as far as The Quaich Tour is concerned we are 3 events into a 10 event series so there is still plenty of disc golf for everyone. I'd like to think that as the sport expands we will need to keep each other informed of all the developing activities so I've established a Forum on my website. (I'm all ears if anyone has a better option to keep us all informed of disc golf scene in Scotland.) for now feel free to list events, leagues, "Hey, I have the afternoon off" type things on this forum. DG Forum Please sign up and be heard, lets all stay on the same page and blow the lid off this sport. The Pdga ratings update for April 28th has put 3 Edinburgh Disc Golfers at the forefront of the sport in the UK. We wish these Gents the best of fortune for the remainder of the 2015 Season, Congrats to Seonaidh#2, Hamish #3 & Calum #5. They don't even have a local disc golf course, ...wait a second maybe they do now. The Hermitage Disc Golf Course The Hermitage is allowing disc golfers to play disc golf on their golf course on a pay to play basis. We will have the opportunity to set up our portable baskets and use the golf course to play our sport. If we all act accordingly and pay our greens fee (£3 per person) we should have a permanent home at The Hermitage in about a year. Just like disc golf there are no tee times at The Hermitage so feel free to walk up and play disc golf anytime. Please yield to golfers and let them play through as you move your basket about the course. If you are planning on playing at The Hermitage in a large numbers call ahead just for courtesy. We will start with an informal gathering at Tee1, 6th May 6pm, and we will grow from there, let me know if you can make it. I can only imagine in a short time we will have many different layouts to choose from and as we learn to gather in larger numbers the course will only get better. I'm hoping that by the time we establish our permanent home here we will have enough in a volunteer base to install the course in a day or so, then we'll keep it evolving. Feel free to contact me about playing disc golf at The Hermitage anytime.
Next up ---> The Moray Open 23rd &24th May 2015 Pdga C-Tier Quaich Tour #4  Video Here Please join us at The Moray Open in May to celebrate the two newest disc golf courses in Scotland. Whether you just picked up a disc or are a seasoned veteran there is fun waiting at this event. One day option is available, see the invitation in the link above for details.
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Seamus"I have all my wisdom teeth, two up top, two beneath and yet I recognize my mouth says things that aren't so wise" CTD Archives
February 2018
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