June 24-25 – Escape Open – Saskatoon
My home course, where I’ve played hundreds of rounds and made so many friends. I was the highest rated player in the tournament at 977. It is the home course for most of the competitors, so we all have a good feel for it despite some changes made for the tournament. I wanted to win this one so bad, and it showed…
R1 I shot -4 (957). My game was feeling so good leading up to this weekend, it was first place or bust. Once again, this is not the way. I was anticipating feeling nervous during the first hole of the tournament as everyone who cares about their performance does. But I had placed so much pressure on myself to play my absolute best and win this weekend that the nervous feeling stuck with me for the whole round. There is nothing inherently wrong with feeling nervous for a large portion of a round, but I was not prepared for it that day.
R2 I shot -5 (967). Everyone is different in this, but objectively, there are good times to check on other people’s scores and bad times to check on other people’s scores. When I was there doing my thing, getting birdies and playing pretty well in the first half of R2, this was a bad time to check scores. What I saw was that other people were also playing well and getting birdies, therefore I was not making up any ground on the leading score. Disappointing. So I played the rest of the round disappointed, as you can probably imagine that wasn’t helpful.
Scoreboard after two rounds.
R3 I shot -12 (1042). Okay, at this point I was thinking winning is possible but not believing winning is possible. I’m five shots behind the three co-leaders, hoping to catch one of them, knowing it’s unlikely to catch all of them.
Of course, with these moderate expectations and really no pressure on myself other than to have fun, I proceed to make 11 birdies in a row and sit at -13 for the round with one hole remaining. Everything was working, so you know what I wasn’t going to do now? I wasn’t going to check scores, that’s for sure, not after what happened yesterday.
In hindsight you know what I should have done? Yea…
18 is a tricky hole for the tournament, one that isn’t part of the regular course. It’s pretty easy to par if that’s what you aim for, which if I had checked scores I would have seen I was ahead by one and a par would likely win it. Instead I went for birdie and slipped out of bounds by a few inches, missed my par putt by a few inches and went on to lose in a playoff after missing a long putt to win by a few inches.
“The secret to shooting low scores is to let go of trying to shoot low scores.”
When I was starting to practice disc golf I had the goal of shooting 5 under par at William A Reid. I proceeded to go out and shoot 4 under par every way possible five consecutive rounds.
Everyone is different, but this stays the same: You better be REAL careful the expectations you put on yourself and how you approach them.
I learned a lot from this tournament as you might imagine, most of which is to just enjoy myself and know that this is the mindset to play your best regardless! Also, always check scores before the last hole…
July 1-3 – River City Cup – Edmonton
R1 I shot -9 (1010). This was really encouraging, you’re always a little unsure how things are going to play out when the tournament round is just the second time you have played the course. I also got to play with three guys I’d never met before, which is a rare occasion. Highlight was absolutely parking the hardest par three hole on the course, we are talking two inches from the pin, beautiful.
R2 I shot even (960). This was the worst weather conditions I have ever played in. The winds were so strong you were checking to make sure trees were not falling on you. My goal was to be under par, which I would have achieved if not for a double bogey on the eighth. You know when you’re walking in the mall and unintentionally lock eyes with someone coming towards you? You have to look away to ensure you don’t collide, well, the eighth hole has this stupid little gravel path across it about three feet wide that’s considered out of bounds and I looked right at it before I threw…
R2 blew me away
R3 I shot -4 (963). Out with the wind in with the rain, it was SO wet, brutal. I had my umbrella, towels and did the best I could do but it’s just not fun playing your nice little game in the park in squishy shoes while getting DRENCHED.
July 15-16 – Edmonton Open – Devon, AB
On most courses there are a couple holes that are too easy and maybe some that are too hard. Bailey’s Crossing gets it just right; each hole was birdied and also bogeyed in every round of play. That is one of the reasons it’s in my top 5 favorite courses (Raptors Knoll also meets this statistic; read the final installment on statistics to see the hypothetical ‘Impossible Eighteen’ course made of holes that were not birdied this year).
Practicing hole 11
R1 I shot -8 (1014). My best score ever at this course on my 8th round here, we will take that for sure! I was fortunate to be on a card with two good friends of mine. It makes such a big difference to have good vibes out there, anyone who says they don’t perform better while having fun is lying.
R2 I shot -7 (1005). Very proud of this round. Most of these tournaments are scheduled with two rounds on Saturday and one on Sunday which means 5-6 hours on the course, usually in the heat, trying to think clearly and maintain focus. This round started with a double bogey!
On hole #1 I put my drive about 25ft left of the basket on a hillside and was dismayed to watch my putter slip off the chains and roll down the hill into bushes that played hazard (plus one stroke). I realize now as I am writing this in March of 2024 that I could have ‘abandoned’ my throw which incurs a one stroke penalty plus the abandoned stroke and putted again from 25ft instead of from down the hill in a bush… aaanyway, I regrouped immediately for three consecutive birdies and off I went.
R3 I shot -2 (960). More solid regrouping after some early bogeys thanks in part to my friend volunteering to carry my bag for me! After spending all my mental energy deciding what disc to throw on the tee of hole 15 instead of how to throw it, I made a big uphill putt to save the birdie.
Big putt on 15
After that I let my mind wander to what my score might be if I birdied the last three holes, I would shoot another -7 which would mean three 1000+ rounds in a row! So yea, as we have learned so far you don’t wanna think about that while you are playing, I went par-bogey-bogey to finish…
Tee shot on 18 with Casey’s jinx
“It’s a game that is imperfect, you’re going to make mistakes, it’s ALL about how you respond to the mistakes. If you lose focus and things go the wrong way, it’s fine, accept it and come back. Recovery is the goal, it’s how long you stay in that emotion that makes the difference”
July 21-23 – BC Open – Langley
Raptors Knoll is one of the best courses in Canada. All the holes have their own space, so you don’t see other groups that much during a round which makes you feel like you’re on your own little adventure.
R1 I shot -4 (996). What a grind, a 4+ hour round in the HEAT. Thankfully my friend caddied for me all weekend, otherwise this would have been a different story. I was happy with this score as I had only played the gold layout once before! Most importantly the putt was working! My circle two putts (33-66ft distance) were feeling great.
All-Star Caddy
Long putt on 15
R2 I shot -3 (988). Playing in that type of 30+ heat definitely plays tricks with your mental clarity, highlights were a perfect approach on the signature par 5 and finished well with a good birdie putt on 18.
Approach on the par five
Birdie putt on 18
R3 I shot -4 (970). One step back and two steps forward? This round felt like a series of false starts. When you are just a tiny bit off it makes all the difference. I started with three consecutive bogeys which certainly makes you question yourself. But I pulled it together and grabbed six birdies in a row on the back 9, something only Casey (1st place) and one other player out of 64 accomplished.
My putting this weekend felt really good, and with a whole month before my next tournament I set the goal of making it great. I tinkered with slight changes to my feet, fingers, wrist etc.
Brandon Redekop 