The courses.

OSP, Wilco, Benbrook, and Wells Branch were the main focus when we bid on USWDGC.

But opportunity knocked.

OSP was supposed to be for FPO. We had a fun layout that brought in a few temp holes, would have started on 6, skipped at least 2 and 5 and finished on Hole 4 down to a new pin in the valley instead of up top.

But Sprinkle happened.

Pivot.

OSP got shifted to other divisions, if my memory serves me right it was going to be FP40/50 and FPO. It was too hard for the other divisions. They would also play WILCO with that. Pretty good test.

We added a few turf boxes, cut a par 4 in half and bought a new basket that was donated to the park after the event. 

Unfortunately no pros made it to that course. There were schedule changes made that I should have stopped in hindsight. The course was too hard for everyone else.

FP40/50 spent all 4 days at Wilco.

I was given a directive to find a second course for the Juniors and Age 60/70+ players. Playing just Wells was no longer good enough.

This was going to be Wells Branches first PDGA event too. We had worked it out with Brian and the MUD. We can’t thank them enough for making it happen.

The new layout at Wells was also the plan pretty early on. It solved a few problems for course flow and safety at the event and longterm for the property and club. They also got access to the new land which made this all a even possible.

Anyways, need a compliment to Wells now.

Oh and we are just a few months out.

Enter Live Oak.

Just close enough to work.

Our friends at Live Oak stepped up.

New 18 hole layout. Permanent tee pads for the first time ever.

We first started working with them in Dec 2017. Putting Leagues. Course tweaks. Bat City. OBO. COTO. USWDGC. The most fun 18 hole course in Austin.

Garey Park.

Rewind it.

Benbrook.

Xan Erwin.

A force of nature.

Sprinkle Valley has as much of his blood as it has mine.

But Benbrook? That’s his labor of love.

He’s worked that place into a gem.

That course deserved to have a Major.

NADGT and USWDGC were a part of selling his vision for the course to the city of Leander.

Which led to Garey Park.

Theres a championship level course coming here soon. It didn’t work out before USWDGC, but it’s another Olse course and something that again was a result of Xan’s  networking.

We toured it with the PDGA. It’s a breathtaking venue. 

The timing wasn’t right.

Wilco.

The North Austin legend.

The city poured a short box and held us install a few new pins.

We had to tweak some holes for safety. It wasn’t worth someone getting hit with a disc at a major. The risk was high.

Sprinkle Valley.

The race to the finish.

Hole 18s green was literally last.

Up until a few days before the event it was supposed to be the island. No drop zones.

Olse spent a month building it.

The PDGA balked. They feared complaints. 

Literally while Olse was screwing the final boards on too.

That’s why the front of the island isn’t topped off with 2x10’s.

Rules were debated. How does it change? Does it have to?

Olse walked off.

I was paralyzed in hindsight.

There was no rain in the forecast so the pond would be dry.

So you got the peninsula.

One day before the event.

Two years of work.

To lose that much control at the end.

To not get to show the full scope of what all the volunteers helped us build.

What Olse had dreamed up.

Yeah I was pissed. Petty.

Thats my livelihood as much as it is the players.

Thats my career too.

This is what my hometown built.

Fear.

Wrong choices in the face of fear.

Similar things this year for The Open.

Cold feet. Fear. Ratings.

The beauty of Hole 18 to me is the fear.

It made the PDGA afraid. DGPT too.

At The Open we had to add a drop zone to play the island. FPO was supposed to play a short par 4 pin too. Operational reasons made it change to everyone playing the island.

I’ve touched on the mental warfare that hole presents as a pressure cooker.

Now play it without drop zones. Without mandos. Without throw limits.

You can’t have fear if you want to advance.

Fear makes you make mistakes.

That hole made everyone make mistakes.

Thats my take away from all of this.

Don’t let fear tell you why not to do things.

I operated without fear for years to get that course built. To get that event across the finish line.

Only to let fear consume for months after.

Don’t be afraid.

Just go get it done.