Four New Courses in Wisconsin – Tonn’s Travels

Well, I’m feeling a little proud to say that I met and exceeded my goal of reaching at least 2,100 courses played today in Wisconsin. After waking up in Red Wing, Minnesota? Becky and I crossed the Mississippi River to visit a few of the more interesting courses in western Wisconsin that I had yet to visit.

My morning starting at Sterling Hill near River Falls, Wisconsin. This course was one of the hardest short courses I have ever played! Only 4,276 feet in length over eighteen holes, but every hole presented a risk of catching an edge or flying over the edge of the fairway and rolling dozens of feet down a hillside. Making it incredibly difficult to find one’s disc, not to mention save par!

I managed to CAUTIOUSLY preserve a par 54 over eighteen holes, only rolling away (DEEP into the rough down a hill) twice. Good enough for an estimated round rating of 923. But honestly? I was just happy to get off the course with my three remaining discs in-hand. I really enjoy tough courses like Sterling Hill, though I almost felt it was unfair and depending too much upon luck. You can make an excellent tee shot, land five feet from the basket, and spend ten minutes looking for your disc 70-80 feet below the basket in the trees and leaves. If you make a bad tee shot, that is different! But making a great tee shot and being punished like that? Sucks.

Next it was on to Hammond Lions Park in Hammond, Wisconsin. Not really much to speak of. Three baskets, and two of the baskets are used twice to make five holes. I played it terribly in the rain, only managing a -1 (14) and an estimated round rating of 805 (again, ANYONE out there want to teach me how to disc golf? Sigh). But it was a +1 in my Courses Played Collection, so my glass is half full.

After my severely underwhelming performance in Hammond, it was time to put on my “big boy pants” and prepare for a serious challenge: Whispering Hills, in New Richmond, Wisconsin. 8.935 feet over eighteen holes (the gold layout, shooting to DGA baskets). That was a workout! But fortunately I was up for the challenge. I managed ten birdies over eighteen holes (including several legitimate Par 4s and Par 5s), and finished with a -10 (55) and an estimated round rating of 1019. Aah…“Stella got her groove back!” 😀 Thankfully. I couldn’t go back to Oregon thinking I’m a disc golfer who struggles to shoot an estimated round rating in the 800s.

I loved Hole 9 in particular (shown above), and it flashed me back to playing Hole 1 at Maple Hill in Massachusetts. Not as long as that hole, and a lot more mature trees left and right of the fairway. But it was the same decision you needed to make off the tee: “Do I go for it, risking an OB wet and throwing my third from the drop zone? Or do I lay up to the drop zone, living to fight another day?” After losing my Tempest in Iowa? I decided to lay up, and was able to card my easy three. No chance at a two! But no lighter bag, and 4+ on the scorecard.

After that bit of a high off an excellent performance at Whispering Hills, I had ONE MORE COURSE I wanted to experience while I was in the neighborhood: Parnell Prairie DGC in Somerset, Wisconsin. Another beast of a course, weighing in at 8,361 feet in the trees off the long tees over eighteen holes. Again, my favorite type of course…where you need to throw radar-controlled tee shots through tight openings between trees to have any chance at deuce (or birdie, or par).

I struggled to hit my gaps on the fairway throughout the round, and I finished at a +5 (71). Bracing for a bad estimated round rating to finish my trip, I was pleasantly surprised to see that DGCourseReview.com gave me a 982 estimated rating! I was surprised, but not THAT surprised, since that course had teeth.

My favorite memory from that course was locals working on short tee installation that afternoon, yelling over at me on the back nine: “Wow…you mean business! You’re playing fast.” I answered: “Yep, my wife’s waiting for me in the car,” which got a good “we understand” laugh from the guys. 🙂

So, that’s a wrap on my trip to the Upper Midwest. Twenty-two courses played in a week! I was thinking that I might have had a chance at 2,100 (twenty courses played) if planets aligned, so twenty-two courses played exceeded expectations. I’m happy. Although a little sad, since I don’t know when my next course collecting trip will be. But at least I took care of business on this trip. Let DGA know that I’m not dead yet! And get things done when I’m given the opportunity.

Back to the land of 65 Fahrenheit, sunshine, and beaches, forests and dunes. “Paradise” is AMAZING! Just not a place with a lot of opportunities for new courses played.

Magic Number = -102 (2,102 Courses Played)

Derek Tonn is a member of the DGA’s Ambassador Team. His company, Mapformation, LLC, has been DGA’s partner in the development of disc golf tee signage since 2012. The longer our two companies have worked together, and the more Derek has gotten to know all the great folks at DGA, the more he has wanted to formally sing the company’s praises. The more he has realized that “Steady” Ed’s (the father of disc golf and the modern-day Frisbee) vision for the sport and his company perfectly describes his own interests and priorities related to disc golf, and the more Derek has recently been encouraged to share his story.