Arizona

Bravo Arizona.

The people, the parks, the food, the attractions, the disc golf… You can’t see my actions, but I’m kissing my fingertips and opening them dramatically…

Arizona was the second stop along our tour, and it didn’t disappoint.

The two disc golf courses for the 2019 Memorial Championship were set in public parks 30 minutes apart from each other. The first course, Fountain Hills, is a course that I have been looking forward to playing since my inception of going on tour.

Fountain Hills park is in Northern Scottsdale and has a large lake in the center. Bright green grass buffers the lake all the way around with walking paths throughout. The disc golf course runs counter clockwise along the lake bringing the reclaimed water directly into play on half of the holes.

The wind was minimal during both rounds that we played, but it kicked up once an hour, on the hour for 15 minutes. This was directly due to the fountain in the middle of the lake.

This fountain contains 3 600 horse power engines and can shoot the water up to 560 feet. The resulting pressure of the water coming back and hitting the surface of the lake has enough power to create wind that can be felt all around the park.

My first round at Fountain Hills was my best round by far this season, and throughout the other rounds I had many shots that allowed me to feel confident in my disc golf game. I finished in 89th, and didn’t make the cut, BUT! these shots and this first round were breaths of fresh air as I continue to grow and improve. I’m finding my stride.

Not only did part of my disc golf game feel good, my parents were also there to see it. My folks drove from California to hang out in the desert and watch people throw plastic circles at metal contraptions, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

While the tournament was the focus of the week, we had a great time exploring and seeing some beautiful and inspiring exhibits. The first exhibit that we went to was “Electric Desert” at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. This botanical garden had 7 different exhibits using image mapping, music and lights to incredible effects.

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The following day we went to the Musical Instrument Museum. This place is so unique and inspiring. Upon entering the museum, you receive a headset. This headset detects which area you’re are in and plays the corresponding video of that section. Each tv display has multiple videos depicting music or the instrument of a particular region or country. Surrounding all of these tv displays are local instruments with descriptions depicting way too much great information.

We spent 3 hours and barely scratched the surface as there are over 15,000 instruments and close to 300 different exhibits all displaying multiple videos. This place is magical, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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After the Musical Instrument Museum and with the tournament over, we headed South to see my Aunt and Uncle for the night and the following day. It was a well deserved lazy day, but still fun to talk and create art.

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This week felt like a true breakthrough in more ways than just my disc golf game. The trailer is starting to feel like home, I’m developing routines to stay productive and healthy on the road, and I’m hungry to keep improving.

This next week I am excited to have time off from tournaments to continue to create routines and develop goals for myself during this trip.

Cheers Arizona!