Brengle Terrace is in Jeopardy!
Dear Aces Members,
Brengle Terrace is in jeopardy!
I am writing this note to all members of the San Diego Aces as what could be
the final appeal for help on the construction of the Brengle Terrace disc
golf course. We received a letter from the City of Vista telling us to
complete 16 of the holes by July 12 or they will terminate our agreement. A
quote from the letter: “If not, the City expects the existing tees and pins
to be removed from the park and the grounds returned to their condition
prior to the start of the course construction.”
The impact of this goes beyond Brengle Terrace. Potential for new courses
all over the county will be hurt if we don’t succeed. The Aces reputation
with government decision makers will be tarnished. On the other hand, if we
do succeed, we can point to this course as another example of how disc golf
can work in city parks.
IF THIS HASN’T GOTTEN YOUR ATTENTION, THEN DELETE THIS EMAIL AND GO PLAY
SOMEWHERE ELSE.
Otherwise, read on.
In December the Aces entered into an agreement with the City of Vista to
install the course within six months. In good faith we signed the agreement
with the belief that, with several hundred avid disc golfers in our
organization, we’d have the man-power to have it open in 2-3 months. I even
remember worrying about too many people showing up and thinking “how are we
going to manage all those people?” Well, that problem has not come to pass
and now we are struggling to meet our commitments.
There is one weekend between now and July 12. The work is scheduled to
begin around 7:30 AM until we are exhausted or run out of daylight on each
of the following days.
Friday, July 6
Saturday, July 7
Sunday, July 8
Lunch will be provided on Saturday, and we are organizing prizes for a
raffle for those who work this weekend.
So please sacrifice a couple rounds of golf this weekend and come help us
get this course open. Once you see this place you will understand why such
effort has gone into it so far. It’ll be worth it.
Respectfully,
Jeff Nichols, President
San Diego Aces Disc Golf Association
760-484-7020
jeffnichols@cox.net
Goat Hill Provides Another Challenge!
Alternate Shot-Doubles-Skins in the dark with the sprinklers on at a ball golf course is a crazy way to end a tournament, but if you’re Steve Rico…you gotta love it. And the extra $400 to split with your partner helps. Rico had earlier made up a three-shot deficit in the second round, firing a 1050-rated, 10-under par 54 on the 10,811 foot Goat Hill layout to take the $410 1st prize in the Men’s Open division of The Challenge @ Goat Hill in Oceanside, California. You might say he had a good afternoon.
This was the second year that Bellows Golf Management, who runs Goat Hill for the City of Oceanside, hosted The Challenge – a PDGA C-tier tournament. 108 players converged on the course, playing two rounds of cart-enhanced disc golf under sunny skies and a persistent wind. Innova Disc Golf supplied great player-pack schwag while Disc Golf Values supplied beautiful Metal Flake and Blizzard tournament discs. In the Men’s Open division, local San Diegan Micah Dorius and Huntington Beach’s Jeff Spohr jumped out to an early lead with matching 6-under 57’s. Trey McKelvey was two shots back with a 59, with Rico and Philo Braithwaite lurking one stoke further back at 60. But Rico’s 2nd-round 54 was four shots better than anyone else’s score, and eclipsed the field. Brothers Max and Alex Nichols of nearby Ramona, CA rounded out the list of cashing pros in MPO.
Kimmy Jones, of Phoeniz, Arizona made the trip west a successful one, by taking first place in the Open Women’s division. She battled with La Mirada’s Indigo Brude for the win, adding two strokes to her first-round one stroke lead and taking home the goat trophy. There was a tight battle in Pro Masters, where good friends Chris Brophy and Dan Duron needed two holes of sudden death before Brophy earned the title. Their final scores of 3-under were only one shot better than former World Champion Steve Wisecup (-2), followed by Las Vegas’ Jeff Jacquart (-1) and L.A.’s Rick Hoffa (E). Steve Killian rode his collection of orange discs to a two-throw win in Pro Grandmasters, besting Marcus Cisneros (+4), Jeff Nichols (+7) and Rob Wilson (+7).
Three of the four amateur divisions contested required sudden-death playoffs to determine the winner. In Men’s Advanced (sponsored by SDSF Pro Shop), A.J. Risley took the lead after the first round, firing a 1010-rated 59 to take a 2-shot lead over Ethan Wellin and Steve Evans, 3 shots over Matt Hutchings, Jeremy Barnes and Patrick Paramore. Wellin’s steady play in round 2, however, allowed him to make up the deficit and force a playoff. Ethan was able to hit his birdie putt on the treacherous peninsula hole (#2) to take the win. In Men’s Intermediate (sponsored by Legacy Discs), Nick Wright won the 1st-place playoff over 1st-round leader Justin Carter, while Ben Walnum won the 3rd-place playoff over Kevin Christie. A playoff was also needed to resolve the winner of the Men’s Recreational Division (sponsored by DGA), where Wes Scheider took the title over David Phillips. Michael Brayton (+4), whose wife had secretly signed him up for the tournament as a gift, rode that high to first place in Advanced Masters (sponsored by the Las Vegas Disc Golf Club), just ahead of Paul Morgavo (+6), Bill Maury-Holmes (+8) and Anthony Bassett (+8).
But the fun wasn’t over. All day long, players and spectators had been buying raffle tickets for a chance to be paired with a pro player to compete in the VooDoo Disc Golf Final 4 Challenge. Four pros were to be paired with four raffle winners (who also received VooDoo golf bags) to play four holes of alternate-shot doubles, with four $100 skins on the line. Micah Dorius and Jeff Spohr got in based on their first-round 57’s, with Rico’s 54 and Max Nichols’ 58 in the second round filling the last two spots. Even though the sun was setting, TD Allen Risley, fearing a riot (good-natured, of course), decided to let the contest go on. The four pros each pulled a raffle ticket: Micah selected Scott Beyma (MM1), Max selected Greg Arimura (MM1), Jeff picked Stephen Brown (MA3) and Steve picked…his Sylmar homie, MPO player Alex Sardelich. What happened next is not completely clear, since it was very dark. But according to the scorekeeper the four teams pushed on all four holes, finishing the last hole (Hole 18) under sprinkler fire. In the end, Rico and Sardelich took the $400 based on their overall low score.
Many thanks to major sponsors Bellows Golf Management, DiscGolfValues.com and Innova Disc Golf, as well as amateur divisional sponsors: SDSF Pro Shop, Legacy Discs, DGA and the Las Vegas Disc Golf Club. Thank you also to Mark, owner of The CheeseSteak Grill, who supplied every player with a free 9” cheesesteak sandwich for lunch or dinner!
Brengle Terrace Park Close to Opening!
We’re getting close! 16 of the 18 holes at The San Diego Aces Disc Golf Course at Brengle Terrace Park are scheduled to be opened for play on July 14. The remaining two holes require a large amount of brush clearing and will be opened a few weeks later. The 16 that will be open are the result of vigorous effort by a relatively small number of volunteers who have spent many weekends pouring out their blood, sweat and tears for this cause.
There is still work to do. Two tee boxes need to be constructed entirely, six others need to be topped off with DG and compacted, four basket sleeves need to be installed, plus a large amount of cut branches and bushes need to be chipped. Assuming we can accomplish all that by July 14, we can open. After the opening we will install the tee signs and start on the last two holes.
Why only 16 holes you ask? The short answer is lack of volunteers. Our agreement with the city requires us to complete the course within 6 months of its signing. There is only so much progress a handful of people can make each week and the city is losing confidence that we will finish. They are pressuring us to get it open for play.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!
This weekend, June 23-24 the park is hosting the Scottish Highland Games and we will not be able to work. But there will be a surge of activity after this weekend. Please contact either Jeff Nichols, jeffnichols@cox.net, 760-484-7020 or Courtney McSherry,courtney@kineticdiscgolf.com, 760-453-6321 and commit to a time where you can spend a few hours. Planned work days are 6/29, 6/30, 7/1, 7/6, 7/7, 7/8 and during the week before 7/14 as needed. It’s a good feeling to be able to say “I had a part in creating this course”, worth missing a few rounds of playing.
Also, if you have access to an industrial grade wood chipper, plate compactor or chain saws, that would be very helpful. These items are expensive to rent. If you have a good contact with an equipment supply business, we can make them a tee sign sponsor in exchange for use of their equipment.
We are collecting tee sign and other sponsors. If you or a friend owns or works for a business that could benefit from tee sign advertising space while supporting a community project, please ask them if they can sponsor a hole. Brochures describing sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Jeff Nichols.
Once you see this place you will understand why we have worked so hard to get a course here. I think golfers all over San Diego County will love this course.
Jeff Nichols, President
San Diego Aces Disc Golf Association
760-484-7020
jeffnichols@cox.net
Summer Doubles Time!
Saturday Doubles at Kit Carson park starts back up this Saturday, June 2nd. 9am start, $5 entry, A/B pool random draw. Apparently there is an ace pot of $150 that rolled over from the winter league (but aces on the temporarily-shortened hole 6 don’t count).
Brengle Terrace Park Update
Montiel Monday Night Doubles starts hot!
Tom Vincent, winner of the Fall/Winter Doubles Series started out hot again, partnering with Stephen Brown to shoot 15-under and win the first week of the new series. Tom and Stephen won a CTP playoff with Dan Ford and Scottie Bowers, after a four hole sudden-death playoff failed to settle the matter. Dan was able to soothe the pain by counting his winnings from the ace pot – he won $83 by acing hole #3 from the long teepad.
Scott Miller and Don Vincent took 3rd after a CTP playoff win over A.J. Risley and Ron Lehmel, who had tied at 13-under. There were 25 players for the first week of the series. Not a bad turnout considering it coincided with the NCAA Basketball Finals game. The league will run until October, with sign-ups starting at 5pm each Monday at Montiel Park. There’s a chance the series will alternate between Montiel and CSUSM – there’s a sponsorship deal in the works with a business close to CSUSM.
Goats can Swim!
Luke Christensen accepts the 1st-place trophy.
Braving some of the craziest disc golf weather seen in San Diego in a long time, 64 players came together for the March Goat Hill monthly and all left with stories to tell. When it was over, Luke Christensen had bested Nick Newton and Carlo Pelg in a sudden-death-by-drowning CTP shot to take 1st place in the open division. The twenty-one Open players played an interesting Goat Hill layout – all baskets set in their longest placements and teeing off from the blue (back) ball golf tees. This resulted in a layout well over 13,000 feet that left many long-throwing players grinning but resulted in 4-hour rounds. Luke, Nick and Carlo finished with scores of 72 and took the three payout spots, with Josh Damron one behind with a 73 (which included a 2 on the 495-foot 11th hole) and Marc Jarvis and A.J. Risley one more stroke back at 74.
The Advanced division saw a solid 1st-place performance by local Trever Patterson, a member of the Goat’s Friday after-work patrol, who carded a 68 in the heavy wind. Morley favorite Adazm Nash was one shot behind in 2nd with a 69, with 3rd place going to Huntington Beach’s Mike Sheridan. Trever’s round included a drop-in deuce on hole 11 and an amazingly-easy three on hole 7, while Mike’s highlight was canning a 150ft shot for 3 on 796ft hole 17, with his overstable Pig. David Dohr and Josh Hesser, both of San Diego, tied for 1st place in Intermediate with a pair of 68’s. Dave won the CTP playoff in the rain and took the win in the Intermediate division. Russell Jackson took third with a 70. Helen Wilson made the trip down from Victorville to win the Ladies’ division, with 9@9 regular Pam Iam taking second place.
But the weather was the star of the show on Sunday. Players battled steady 10-15 mph winds throughout the event, which gusted at times in the 20-25 mph range. The first four or five groups were able to play in mostly dry conditions, but most of the field had the pleasure of experiencing near-monsoon level rain for at least part of the back nine. Those competitors who had finished early sat under the pro shop patio roof, munching on tasty brats and watching the green-yellow-orange bands of rain on the Weather Channel’s mobile phone app. At multiple points in the deluge, the rain was falling sideways, which didn’t stop some of the Open players from carding amazing scores. Word is that Goat Hill management has placed an official request with the powers at be for more favorable conditions for the next monthly. Sign up early for that one, as it’s sure to fill fast.
Brengle Terrace Disc Golf Course construction has begun!
Here is a picture taken over the weekend during work on the elevated tee of hole # 3. With only a few volunteers the construction crew did a superb job of clearing and leveling. A rock retaining wall was even built.
Imaging what can get done if YOU show up. There is a lot to accomplish. Joining the crew for a few hours would be much appreciated. Plus you’d have the pride of knowing that you were part of the team that made it happen. As of today, very few people can say that.
Work will commence again at 7:00 am every Saturday and Sunday morning from now until May. Get a few friends and put a few hours in.
Please help the Aces accomplish something for us all to enjoy. Contact John Heaton (john@whirldsports.com) with when you can help and include your telephone number so we can contact you.
San Diego Aces Disc Golf Club 