I consider myself pretty lucky with airport luck.  I booked a flight with Landen to MI on American (which was, at the time, my second favorite ‘major’ airline behind Southwest, who didn’t fly where we needed to go.)  A month or so later, Ash was cleared to fly despite starting her 8th month of pregnancy and we were set to fly.  Would Ash’s typical bad luck bring down the flight?

Well, Ash or no Ash, American Airlines screwed the pooch on this one.  Let’s break down what happened.

1st Flight – RNO to ORD (Chicago) – We print our boarding passes out the night before and were all set.  Then at 3:45am Ash gets a phone call.  We call back to find out our flight has been cancelled.  No reason why, just cancelled.  Ash calls them up and talks to someone for a while, who was very inept and poor at explaining things.  We get a new flight booked that will actually put us into MI earlier than anticipated.  Okay, this could work out after all.  We decide to get to the airport early “just in case.”  Bear in mind, we have a 2 year old who, despite being a patient toddler, is still a toddler.

We check in at the airport to be told that we’re not BOOKED on the flight, we’re on standby.  We have a choice: go to American, wait in line amongst the other people who are in our boat, or just go to the Delta flight we’re “booked” on and hope to get on.  We choose that (as we were first on the standby line).  At the gate, they inform Ash that they’re getting all of the American holdovers and just turning them away.  But he tells us “you never know.”  So we figure we’ll wait out the 90 minutes to see if we get on the flight.

Then, our makeshift flight that we MIGHT get on is running late.  First a half hour, then 80 minutes.  If you looked on the ENTIRE Reno flight board, there were only 3 flights with any negative status changes: ours that got cancelled, the incoming one that was late, and our outcoming one was late.)  It now seemed pretty unlikely we’d make our connector and we’d be stuck in MN, not Chicago.

Finally, they start boarding.  They call families.  They call all boarders.  I finally get tired of waiting and say “When will you know the status of the stand-bys?”  ”Oh, you can board.  You’re all on.”  We go to the final checkin guy who seems to think we’re not on, but after a while, we all get seats near each other.  Landen sleeps through almost all of the 3 hour flight.  Thank Goodness.

Flight 2: ORD to GRR – So instead of an 80 minute layover, we have about 40 mins.  And of course, we are at one extreme end of the airport, and our next gate is at the extreme other end.  I take off running with the car seat and tell Ash to find a tram.  I reach the Delta desk only to have the lady there tell me that we’re not booked on the flight at all.  She asks me who booked it, and I nearly swear telling them the episode with American, and she pauses for a few minutes.  Then, wordlessly, she hands us our tickets.  We do arrive at Grand Rapids over an hour earlier than our original trip, but with many many more gray hairs.

Flight 3: GRR to ORD – We get to the airport with about 90 mins before flight – we don’t anticipate any issues since this flight isn’t cancelled for no reason.  We look on the board.  There are only two flights with messages, one unrelated one that is delayed, and ours which says “Volunteer”.  I speculate that they overbooked.  Turns out I’m right.

We get to the gate to hear announcements that they are looking for two volunteers to bump to a later flight, offering $300 vouchers.  If we didn’t have a 2 year old, we might do it, as it’s only 4 hours later, but we got the 2 year old.  After a few more pleas, they announce that they are involuntarily bumping people from the flight based on the order the tix were purchased.  First name up?  That’s right, ole’ Ash (bear in mind, she couldn’t book her tickets earlier because she had to wait for medical clearance.)  They tell her she can “volunteer” and still get the $300, or if she says no, she won’t get any voucher and will be booted off.  Ash waddles back (perhaps exaggeratedly) extremely upset (not all exaggeratedly).  We talk.  All three of us could get bumped and make $900 in vouchers, only having to wait four hours.  Then they tell me they won’t arrange any transportation to and from the airport in the interim, meaning we have to entertain a tired toddler for 4 hours (he had gotten up at 3am his body-clock time) in an airport.

I go up and give the 2nd degree (I wasn’t quite at 3rd degree yet) asking that the airline is REALLY going to separate my 8-month pregnant wife from her 2 year old son for reasons SHE WASN’T RESPONSIBLE FOR!?!?  Unacceptable.  I felt bad for the guy (I don’t think he was even typically a desk-guy – he was wearing an orange vest), but really, it is totally unacceptable.  Right as they’re about to close the gate, he tells me we can all get on.  All our seats are separated (of course), with Landen sitting alone.  After a few nice volunteers moved, we got to sit together.

I didn’t find out what happened – did someone else volunteer non-verbally?  Did he arbitrarily kick people off?  If someone else volunteered, I would have liked to thank them.  Oh well, American sucks.

Flight 4: ORD to RNO – This one was fine, other than Landen being pretty much done with flying.  He napped for about 1 of the 3.5 hours.  But his “done” is still better than 90% of toddlers’ best days.

The summary?  American Airlines, once my second choice, has just lost my business.

So (ever notice how many of my sentence start with so or well?  An awful lot) – after two rounds, I was perched at a tie for 98th in the A POOL!  We were set to play at Ryan Ranch, a course I anticipated doing poorly at because everything is 50′ longer than I can throw.  Did that happen?

Yes and no is the short answer.

I ended up throwing somewhere around 5 birdies, but also threw plenty of bogies and didn’t capitalize on good drives on the par 4s.  The distance was something of a non-factor, as I birdied a couple of holes that were “out of my range” and 4d holes that I had great drives on.  Again, the ups killed me.

If it weren’t for a sweet 50′ putt with NO ceiling (admission: I was just trying to lay up) and a crushing 450′ downhill drive, I would not have ended my round 2 2 to card a -2.  But I did.  It was a round that gained me a couple of spots, but similarly the divide between me and the cash line grew deeper (probably now about 8 strokes, with only one round left).

Tomorrow is an early tee-time (8:30) and I should be asleep right now.  It’s at Pinto, the course that will make-or-break most people.  I could easily see a -8 at the course by the top guys (the ones who threw a mind-boggling -16 today, for instance), and I could see a +16 from guys who hit all the OB (after all, 12 “pros” shot +16 or worse today, including several rated my rating or better.)

Let’s hope for the round of my life to sneak me into the semis.  I’m not counting on it, but I’m having a good time trying.

So I stayed in a hostel the last two nights with my wife’s family (and plenty of strangers), and this is relevant.  Monday night, the night before Worlds began, I was asleep with a stranger in the bunk above me.  (This is the same woman who spent over a half hour getting ready for bed, which involved leaving and entering the door at least 10 times, and climbing up and down the bunk at least 3).  At 5am, her alarm goes off.  I sorta hear it, but manage to ignore it.  less than a minute later, THE PHONE FALLS OFF HER BED AND LANDS ON MY FACE.  I scream out, at first in pain, but then more in shock.  I had no idea how symbolic this would be.

ROUND 1 – DELAVEAGA – Shaking off some nerves, I have my first good drive on hole 3, giving myself a 25′ deuce putt.  I turn it into a four.  That could have set me into a tailspin early, but I managed to pull my head into it a bit, and ended up only +3 after the first 19 holes.  I figured that would be a great round, and holes 20-27 were ones that I managed to go -2 on in practice.  On hole 20, I have a lousy drive, but stay safe.  I throw a good 150′ up shot that would have netted me a 15′ putt, except I hit the ONLY root on the ground, and the disc shoots up and rolls 30′ down the hill.   I have no shot whatsoever.  I take a 4.  While walking to hole 21, I slip on another root and slam my low back on that root.  What the hell?

Hole 21 is a shorty short with lots of trees.  I throw too hard, miss EVERYTHING and go 100′ down the hill.  Manage to save my 3.

Hole 22 I have a good drive, hits a tree, drops straight down.  Not an easy up, despite being only 60′ away, and I take another 4.  Hole 23, another okay drive, another bad placement (tough up shot), another 4.

Then, and here’s where the symbolism happens, as I have had my luck take a comedically tragic turn for the worse, I go to take a leak.  AND THE BUTTON COMES OFF MY PANTS!!!  I manage to jerry-rig something with a key-ring, but I 4 the next hole as I’m worried my pants will fall down as I play.

I finally get a safety pin and finish with 3′s, but that stretch of 5 holes cost me 4 strokes, and the difference between a 971 965 rated round and a 994 989 rated round.  I was still happy overall, but felt like I played so much better than my score.  That much bad luck will do that to you.

ROUND 2 – CSUMB – I start off with a drop-in deuce, something I very rarely do in disc golf.  Many of my early drives were turning very sharply over and I was scrapping to get by.  After 9 holes, though, I was -1 to course par, so not too shabby.  I start to play better, and aside from the par 4s, none of which I birdied – unusual for me – I was shooting pretty well.  After 18, I was -3, which was right around that 1000 rated mark the day before.  I just wanted to end solid and keep up the round.

Then, much like Tuesday, I started wavering.  I don’t know if it was the length of round or what, but I threw two 4s and a 5 (with a three) on a stretch of holes I was hoping to go 4 3 2 3.  I manage to hit two deuces near the end.  Finally, with an 84 on  the horizon, I throw a great drive on my final hole (18), but get stuck deep in a tree.  I have a pretty awesome out to put me within 15′.  THEN I MISS THE PUTT.  I end the round with a 993 984-rated 85.  I’m very happy with the round, but even a couple of drives different and I could have really crushed it.

My putting as a whole has been great.  However, when it’s for birdie, I’m having trouble (I’ve only hit 2 putts outside 20′ that were birdie putts).  If it’s to save a par, I’m clutch (I’ve probably hit 8 putts outside 20′ for par).  It’s crazy.

Where does this put me?  IN THE A POOL!  I had thought there was no chance at me making the top 108 (after all, there was something like 75 players who were 990+ ratings alone).  But not only did I make it, I cracked the top 100 (I’m 98th).

Now I just have to make up 7 strokes to make the cut and the cash.  Hmmm, that seems difficult.

Today was a single round at Delaveaga, the only course I’d played before.  When playing it the last time, I lost two discs, got poison oak that lasted for a week, and thought the course to be overrated.  I still think the course is overrated, but like most courses, I enjoyed it more the second time than the first.

I met up with NJ-native Flick who is playing in Worlds.  He and I have only done two worlds’ ever, and both were coincidentally the same (am worlds 2005, this year’s pro worlds).  I didn’t keep score, per se, because i was throwing multiple shots and not always playing my first drive.

Holes 1-9, were pretty rough.  I was still warming up, my drives were a bit off, my ups had trouble.  I estimate probably being +4 on that 9.  We got to the middle holes, and I would estimate losing another few strokes – maybe +2.  I did have my first deuce on what is really the only gimme hole on the course.  I was starting to feel pretty decently about my round here.  On the final 9, I shot 2 birdies and a bogey (I only had one bogey after hole 13.)  I would estimate throwing a +5 or so for the round.  If I do that in the tournament, I’d be quite happy.  If I manage to throw par on this course, I’d be ecstatic.

Tomorrow, Pinto Lake practice and the distance competition.

So I decided to play two rounds at two of the courses today, a move that might have been “stupid” considering I played 52 holes of golf today, more than I’d done in the previous 3 weeks.  My quick opinions:

- CSUMB – this was the course I had walked off of not a few months ago.  It was markedly better today, though there were still a few times I was left scratching my head at some of the holes.  This is a pretty fair course, all in all, and throwing par here will be a good round.  The first nine holes are key, though, since nearly all of them can be deuced but with all the OB, you could see 4s and 5s too.

- Ryan Ranch – this will probably be my least favorite of the four courses.  Not to confuse that with it being the WORST course – it isn’t.  It’s just that many of the holes are about 50′ too long for me, so even if I crush it, I still won’t make it within the 30′ circle.  A few really cool holes, but I see this being the course where I lose the most ground.

My phone also decided for over an hour to refuse to turn on.  I took out the battery, looked at it menacingly, put it back in, and it’s okay for now.  Knock on wood.

Dela tomorrow.

With my first pro Worlds around the corner, I’ve been doing some thinking (for a change of pace.)  In no particular order:

- The Masters division is an age-protected division.  You have to be between 40-50 to play in it.  People gripe about this because someone who is 41 really has no disadvantage over someone who is 38, but they get to play in an “easier” division.  So many 40+ guys defend it saying it’s not about the age, it’s about playing with a body that is breaking down, and having family to take care of, and important jobs, and not being able to make disc golf the priority it once was.  Well, I have a herniated disc and problems in my neck and back, I have a family that I take quite seriously, and I’m the sole breadwinner in the house right now.  Can I play Masters too?

- I’ve been having dreams about disc golf, not surprisingly.  Yesterday was the second one about Worlds specifically.  I ended up throwing one hole for practice and did a shot I would never do in a tournament.  It worked out well.  I wonder if that’s telling me something.

- In talking with some guys at dubs yesterday, one guy jokingly picked me to win it all, and the other guy said I’ll be “top 100 for sure.”  I’m flattered everyone else has such confidence in my game.  Right now I’m rated T145 out of 180.  Obviously, I’ve got my work cut out for me to hit top 100.  If I did that, I would be ecstatic.

- It is four rounds of 27 holes, then another semi-final round for the top ~64 players in pro.  Right now there are 55 players who are 1000+ rated, and another 21 who are 990+.  I am 956, which means those 990 guys should beat me by 4-5 strokes a round.  So I figure in order to make the cut, I need to throw 4 rounds of 1000-rated golf, which would be pretty amazing golf for me.

- I only have 9 1000+ rated rounds ever, and the most I’ve ever had in a tournament is 2.  My other two rounds in that tournament were 949 and 953.

- I’ve only played two of the courses once each.  I played about six holes of a third course and walked off.  I’ve never played the fourth course.  I go down tomorrow, will hopefully play one round at all 4 courses over the next three days.  It isn’t much, but at least I won’t be playing totally blind.  The two I played – I didn’t play particularly well.

- I am predicting a finish in 125th place.

- Someone brought up score.  The course par will be 341.  I think that’s actually a “tough” par because Delaveaga is listed as 81, and earlier this year an 81 was an 977 rated round.  Watching the videos, there was a number of holes where the demonstrators said “You should be happy if you get a 3 on this hole.”  If I can end up around par, I’d be thrilled.

- This is my first Worlds since 2005.  And I’m pretty happy that Flick will be there.  He was one of the guys who went out in 2005 and played in Arizona.  It’ll be good to see him again.  And we have the exact same rating, so DOLLAHZ IS ON!

- This will be my first tournament with glasses.  There isn’t much change in vision, but there is the fear that they’ll suddenly fling off my face.  If they become a distraction, they’re coming off.

- I’ve been putting “tired” lately, not committing to them, and consequently I’m missing low and/or left.  Before almost all of my tester putts (20-40′) I’ve been saying “COMMIT” to myself.  My putting has been better, but not spectacular.  Hopefully I don’t need the verbal reminder, but I can’t play tired.  Which will be a challenge with those 27-hole rounds.

That’s it.  BRING IT ON!