This is probably my last blog about Hole 18 for a bit.

Those stairs.

That green.

The OB rules.

Honestly I have re-written this exact blog a half dozen times over the last 4-5 days.

I also NEED to make a very large disclaimer before you keep reading...

My goal here is to touch on the mental challenges with the hole and the meaning of it all. Unfortunately there is just no fair way to speak the responsibility I have to the women, the event, the venue, DGPT, PDGA, the fans and Mint all at once.

So I've just been trying to understand the moment.

It's weird having a famous hole now. A lot of people are showing up just to throw to the green of Hole 18 now. 

Do we lean into it? Play it up? Again, no matter what way we go, someone feels offended. What's good for the venue too? Austin Beerworks?

This the mental space I get to live in. This is golf for me.

Make the right choices. Be ok with failure.

Disc Golf is better when we have holes that fans know are the pinnacle of skill. A simple upshot that brings absolute chaos into the mind.

For me the big problem in disc golf right now, and this is solely my personal opinion(not Mint), is the camera.

There is now a clock ticking for every round. We have a major constraint on how long the round can be.

The broadcast dictates the competition.

It dictates how much emotion we can expose. How connected you feel to the players.

Daylight is burning. People are watching.

Throw the shot already.

The camera is now the priority for everyone. 

Not the golf.

The camera.

That is also OK to me. We need the cameras. We need the pressure. We need the exposure.

We need DGPT.

Honestly, Disc Golf is really fucking good at marketing itself. 

Not many sports ever figure that part out on their own like Disc Golf did.

It helps that we are a product driven sport. It's easy to market a lot of this.

Everyone behind the scenes is aware of all of these factors. The players fight for easier holes because it makes their job easier.

The problem is easy holes aren’t good for the camera.

So long as we want this to be a live broadcast, the public will get to watch the sport and players evolve.

You will see more shots like Hole 18's green.

To me Sprinkle Valley is a "throwers course".

We don't present a lot of hard putts unless you are out of position. 

The course rewards great throws with easy putts.

That changes drastically on 18s green.

It is not fair. It is not easy.

It stands out. That is the point.

It's a mental challenge to ignore the OB.

Ignore the stairs.

Figure out how to get to the basket.

The broadcast, the emotion, all your mistakes, perfect drives…

The last throw.

A set of stairs.

A 45x40 island.

What the heck is this evil putt.

Here is the first wide open tee shot on the course.

It's different on purpose.

It's supposed to rattle you.

Make you make excuses.

At least that is my interpretation.

Mike still won't tell me.

I think he enjoys watching us figure it out.

Also while I am not the course designer, I have been involved in every course decision for USWDGC and DGPT.

I have to know how to speak to the designers wishes as well as listen to the players and tours needs.

Or maybe I should care most about what is best for Sprinkle Valley. The thing that keeps the lights on. The players don’t help me there.

Or does disc golf need this more than anyone else in the room?

So while I bear some burden for what many in FPO dealt with, I’m also ok with them having to deal with a green that is the pinnacle of their game.

Whether I get my way or not is a private matter, and saying the wrong thing does have legal and financial ramifications for everyone involved.

This is now a business for everyone at the event. It is not just frisbees in the park.

Whether FPO should play that green will stay debatable no matter my reply to you.

The die is cast. 

This green is going to be a story every year it's on tour.

The stairs.

Honestly, if I had my way, I'd make the hole harder.

If your division plays to that green, it should be the ultimate mental test.

You want to be the best? Go prove it.

No drop zones. No 4 swing maximums.

Just a green surrounded by OB.

The player has to figure out. It’s not my job to make it easier especially when the shot is 150ft and you just spent the last 17 holes throwing 300ft wooded shots at baskets you can’t see.

These players have solved harder physical holes before.

They are never asked to solve mental ones.

Skill wise they have turned what used to be insanely challenging holes into a casual Monday round at Zilker park.

They treat 400ft par 3's like ace races.

The equipment and the physical game has always gotten better than the course.

We have to trust that. Even when it looks bad. We have to trust that the players will rise to the occasion physically.

They often do.

You can't design around the fact that some players can't do it.

With this hole, it just means they aren't ready for it.

Going into Thursdays round last week, I think most people at the event understood that the players were very capable of making the green, but that we would see some high numbers.

The threat of that high number is also why it can feel so hard.

Humans have this weird way of making thoughts into reality.

If you’re thinking about missing the island…

You will miss it.

The first time you play 18, you feel the fear. 

You know it's not a hole you want to mentally have to deal with in a tournament.

Those stairs are uncomfortable.

Beyond them are so many unknowns.

You don't know if you have that shot dialed in.

The gap above the stairs is 21ft. Doable.

It widens some in the bowl and tightens back at the green.

If we want this game to showcase players throwing technical 10ft gaps, then those players will make it happen.

They will follow the money and find ways to earn it as easy as possible. By either improving their skill or changing the rules.

By doing what’s good for the camera.

So back to 18.

Those stairs.

Can I get to the right spot? Where is the perfect spot anyways?

Did I do enough on the other 17 holes?

Can I afford to lose 5 strokes on 18?

What place am I in?

You are processing all of this while those stairs wait for you to throw.

Block it out.

Throw it already.

The players just want to get back to their RV.

But they have to sign some discs and do a clinic.

They have a fly mart. Messages and photos with fans. 

It's the job. It's not fair.

They are professionals.

But life is still running through their heads when they compete.

They live with that.

This is the real job:

Put the disc in the basket and take less throws than everyone else to do it.

Only one person wins.

So back to 18's tee.

Those stairs.

The first and only wide open tee on the course. The wind is a factor, or maybe an excuse.

To me both are a reason many people lose focus on the tee of 18.

It’s a moment for a mental break.

It’s the tee shot they like throwing.

It's wide open. Rip it. Let the wind take it.

Oh no, I landed behind the walls.

Well this upshot got weird.

How do I get to the stairs?

Maybe this disc. Or this one.

Ok, let's try this scramble.

Cedar tree. Stump. Mulch. 

Ok how do I get to the stairs.

Pitch up to the stairs.

Didn't work.

Pitch up to the stairs.

This doesn't feel like golf.

No it doesn't.

That's the point.

You stopped playing Golf on the tee box.

The course didn’t.

You wanted to just throw a frisbee off the tee.

Look good for the camera.

So you made it to the stairs.

That wasn't ever the real goal.

You need to be on that island.

In the basket.

You ignore all of that because you know those stairs come first.

The camera matters. It’s on you. Someone might see you fail. 

On Hole 1s box, you know what is waiting.

The nerves are built up all round you.

A pressure cooker.

The cameras. The fans. The pressure. 

Fuck this hole.

Fuck these stairs.

Am I ready?

Just throw it.

OB.

This is when the hole get's really hard.

You are overloaded. You stop thinking. You make mistakes.

It’s too much to process.

Too many distractions. Reasons. Excuses.

Guy said something pretty profound in the warehouse today.

It's a factor I hadn't considered but I'm more than confident Olse does for every shot and gap.

To paraphrase Guy's point:

Hole 18’s green is hard because you can't get that disc back.

It's not like golf where you can grab the same type of ball. You aren't throwing your club.

You still have the tools you need to play the hole in ball golf.

Get a new ball. Swing away. Swing better.

But in disc golf, once you throw the perfect disc that you need for the perfect shot...

And it doesn’t work.

And you didn’t cross the island.

And your favorite disc failed.

It just sits there waiting for you to get on the island. 

Your favorite disc failed you.

You failed.

What is left to use?

It's a mental layer that ball golf just does not have, at least to the degree that we do in disc golf.

When we lose that perfect disc, it ruins our round. When it fails us? Our week. Our month.

It takes time to get a new one just how you like it. Most times it's never the same.

Can I trust that disc again?

We have a personal and emotional connection to each disc.

We don't have that with the golf ball. It's just another ball.

So do you carry 4-5 backup discs now? Are you mentally ok with knowing you are now prepared to tank the final green because you have enough discs to do it.

FUCK NO.

Not a single elite player in the world will build out their bag around one bad throw.

There is no space for negative game plans in any elite players mind.

This is what this hole plays on.

It creates drama. Pushes emotions. Rattles you. Makes you uncomfortable.

It also feels really good when you birdie it.

You know what it takes to just get par. You know how bad it hurts to get a 10.

It feels like an ace when you end with a birdie on 18.

To me, this sport needs to be embrace more of these uncomfortable moments.

Physically the sport has caught up to itself, but mentally for the players there isn't enough money or return at these events to make the stressful holes worth it.

The issue isn't the hole.

It's the constraints we have on the sport. The money, the cameras, the discs, etc.

It's how those play on us mentally.

That's my take at least. Might be a little biased.

Might just be doing some marketing.

Might be playing golf with you.

We'll see which way the sport goes from here.

To end this blog I wanted to bring up this weeks Tour Life Podcast with Brodie and Uli

Here is a quote from Uli:

"There is nothing that we play where you have this psychological warfare by yourself on a hole. Like nobody's applying pressure. The pressure is already there three holes before. You're like oh gosh, 18 is gonna be kind of crazy. This could end my round."

The stairs are inevitable.

Figure it out.

Until tomorrow.