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Ben Calhoun's Blog – September 2008 Archive (33)

Tour Statistics as of 09/29/08

$

$ Spent: (includes every penny spent on anything, car repair, lodging, food, discs, bills, etc) since April 26th- 12,970.56$

$/Day:- 84$

PHOTOS

Taken:- 25,872 @ 33.1 GB

Per course: - 50

COURSES

Total in life:- 884

New in 2008- 509

Per day:- 3.3

per day with days… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 29, 2008 at 2:00pm — 9 Comments

HOME

I made it home safely last night, after driving 750+ miles and playing just 9 holes.

I left Memphis at 7am and got home around 9 pm (1 hour time loss). On the way, I stopped at Idlewild to play my fav. course, and was really upset to find the Kentucky State Doubles going on, unable to play I moved on to a dinky 9 hole course right off the Interstate in Ohio.

I'll probably be here for just under 2 weeks, then head back toward Memphis and to the SE and East coastal states to… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 28, 2008 at 12:11pm — 1 Comment

Mid-south

Jacksonville, AR- Dupree:Begins harmless enough, with some very very short and tight woods holes in land similar to Bandemer, back home. Poorly/not marked, bad tee pads, not in great condition. A few wicked tight doglegs, one is like 100' so it's tough to get a sidearm to turn so fast. Then the back 9, literally beginning with #10, is just miserable and unplayable, the entire fairways are poison ivy. Buggy.

Cabot, AR- Kerr Station:One of the shortest courses on Earth,… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 26, 2008 at 5:05pm — 4 Comments

Tragedy strikes at the end of a round

My putter cracked to the center!

On a drive, and still ended up parked. What a tragedy. It has been in the bag for 3 of the last 4 years straight, an old D Challenger, orange, worn-in like no other, that special plastic that was just better than the new ones.

That's the second Challenger I cracked this year, last time is was near freezing and a Crystal Z, this time it was in the mid-80's and a D. Very upsetting. Must have been brittle from years of use and weather exposure, 3… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 25, 2008 at 6:24pm — 3 Comments

Movin right along

Texarkana, Little Rock areas tomorrow on the way home.

My entire legs are sore now, can't hardly run up and can't really throw any good shots, so needing to get home and rest soon.

Saginaw, TX- Willow Creek:Boring, flat and wide open in a floodplain park with few trees. Seriously, if you hit a tree here, you should feel bad. Grassy, well maintained, windy. Tees marked with red posts, cement. A few long holes needing a driver or a big arm with a midrange, but the rest can… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 24, 2008 at 6:30pm — 2 Comments

1 more

Intending to play Willow Creek, North, Arcadia #2 then drive to Texarkana tomorrow.

Crowley, TX- Bicentennial:Similar and in complement with Z-Boaz, features many long, tough holes over varied terrain including flat grassy areas with a creek, and huge rocky hills and ridges. 20 long holes with elevation, wears you down. Triple tees, most of the middle set are cement. Sort of well marked with many temp. signs and a map, easy enough to follow. Fun, scenic and fairly balanced.… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 23, 2008 at 7:10pm — No Comments

Z-BOAZ

DEFINITELY planning to go home for a break now. After just 9 hole I didn't have it in me to keep going, but I did and played another 9. Just too burnt out. Not stopping until Hos reaches 1,000 if he does. Working out a good route as of now, to play along the way for about a week. Then, 2 weeks off, possibly searching for a job and apartment for winter, then back straight south in mid-october to the SE states to finish as planned. Another day or two left in DFW… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 23, 2008 at 2:46pm — 1 Comment

Veteran's

Probably should have taken a day off, but I felt good and it was nice out so I didn't. I can't believe it's in the 90's in late September.

Grapevine, TX- Bear Creek:Besides actually being a good course, it just isn't possible to play it well and enjoyably. On hole #5 I had to putt backwards down the fairway instead of at the basket, due to ivy vines blocking my entire route. If you follow through on the drive on 3 holes, your hand will brush a poison ivy vine. If you go off… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 22, 2008 at 5:28pm — 3 Comments

way down to the bone

..I just can't even move, just spent the afternoon sleeping in the a/c. Not sure I can/will play tomorrow, really need that break. Too much activity and no time to let the muscles heal, it's getting painful again.

Grand Prairie, TX- Mountain Creek:There is no possible way to properly navigate this course without a map or a guide (map not in existence). The baskets are #'ed, but the tees are not. It claims to have cement tees, but I found no 'tees' just a walking path… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 21, 2008 at 6:00pm — 1 Comment

I have DGRUS bumper stickers now, find me on the course for one

862

The stickers are big, with white lettering on a green background, and there are a lot.

More confusion today. One of the courses I planned to play is no longer there. Luckily I was warned by a helpful local at Alex Clark. Someone had actually changed it online this time, I just don't check everything though I usually go by the book. But another course was all messed up for a tournament, improved by making 36 holes using the baskets from the old course. Problem was,… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 20, 2008 at 5:30pm — 1 Comment

More disappointment, but expected

I didn't exactly have top courses planned today, trying to knock out a lot of short ones so I wasn't expecting anything great. Two were nice, 1 was unplayable and one was very confusing.

Got tires rotated (4/16" tread left) and new valve-stems because mine were recalled apparently.

Mesquite, TX- Porter:One of the nicest 9 hole beginner courses around. Cement tees, signs. The grass is practically ball golf quality, so your shots can roll away big. Hilly, with some… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 19, 2008 at 6:41pm — No Comments

quick stats

Courses:

476

Courses/day:

3.2

Days:

146

Gallons of gas:

962

MPG:

27

Miles Driven:

over 26,000

Miles/day:

178

$ spent approx (food, housing, gas, discs, car repair, everything):

12,000$

$/day:

82$

quick approximations

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 18, 2008 at 9:19pm — 2 Comments

Thanks!!

Blog #2 Thursday

For telling me about the 3 new courses in Mesquite, Bill Burns. Saved the day. The 2 I played so far are pretty awesome. Someone has done a lot of work and was given lots of $$$ to put these courses in. 3 new courses with tees and signs in one city that had 0, in one year!

Have not planned tomorrow yet..looks like the remaining one in Mesquite, Crawford Memorial, then some to the North of Dallas.

Round #4 Thursday-

Mesquite, TX-… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 18, 2008 at 7:58pm — No Comments

The day's not over

More disappointment today, but this time because the course WAS so great and amazing, yet too much ivy to play all of it and enjoy it as much as it otherwise would be.

I just learned the course I was gonna play tonight is unplayable right now, and I'm staying right by it. Luckily I also learned of three new courses 10 miles away, so I will head out after this to hit 1-2 of them.

Athens, TX- Cain:Hard to find #1 if you follow signs for the park in town and don't go to the… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 18, 2008 at 5:10pm — 2 Comments

Take these with a grain of salt

Today was a highly disappointing day. I still do not understand why Texas gets such great reviews and talk-up. I've played near half the courses here now, and am just not that impressed on an overall scale. Sure there are a few killer courses I'd die to have back home, but so many are *poorly marked, *bad tees, *insane poison ivy to the point I can't even play it, *blind shots w/low ceilings, shots over huge rough and tree line, *lost disc potential in mucky water full of poisonous snakes,… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 17, 2008 at 7:26pm — 1 Comment

WhACkO Texas

I did it again..went to another course I had already played, Woodway in Waco TX. Last time I must have not crossed it off in the guide, it happens. I instantly recognized it upon turning into the park, with it's distinct tee signs and lakeside views. Since it was 7:30, and I remember it had low ceiling fairways, I skipped it this time and went straight to Nacogdoches. I didn't throw until 11:30.

The first course there was pretty badly damaged in the path of the storm, I wasn't expecting… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 16, 2008 at 6:54pm — No Comments

New shoes

I got two new pairs of shoes, they should be the last I will need on this trip leaving me a few for when I get back too. There was a Cabela's near Austin so I shopped around for awhile, and ended up with two that I've already worn through before, a pair of Columbia Tigertooth (really long lasting and tight grip, great support and my old pair still works great but have been used for 150+ rounds) and a pair of NB- 521 (bought some for pro worlds last year, wore em through winter at work they are… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 15, 2008 at 7:54pm — No Comments

Selfish post-hurrican concerns

Stupid ******-******* hurricane Ike just ruined my trip.

Oh and I got an ace today, but too frustrated to really care, plus it was only 110'.

It's VERY CLEAR now that going to Houston or anywhere nearby is out of the question, not just for this week but for the rest of the trip. That area was going to fill a week of my time, and since I'm already way ahead of schedule in terms of where I am in the country, I don't know where to go or what to do next. I can always finish… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 14, 2008 at 6:40pm — 1 Comment

Sunny skies in west Texas

It's 95 degrees and sunny as heck right now, on the far-away-from-Ike side of the state. Glad I'm over here and not over there. I think it's the first time I've seen the sun in 5 days. Ran into a small doubles tournament going on at the courses in San Angelo, but they let me play through, thanks guys.

I REALLY don't know what to do now, with Houston being wrecked and all. I think it'd be prudent to stay away from there, to let them fix it up and stay out of their way, if it's even… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 13, 2008 at 7:58pm — 7 Comments

Lubbock is better off than Galveston will be tonight, at least

Man was it ever flooded in Lubbock though! 8.22" of rain in a day, the previous record was 5.50".

So many roads closed off, schools canceled, boats washed away, some houses with water in them by the course, nearly 1/3rd of the holes in town were underwater, some in a new lake and some in raging waters from an overflown run-off by a dam. It made for a tough day. Thanks, Mike for showing me what you could at Buffalo Springs.

Check out the pictures of underwater baskets if I can upload… Continue

Added by Ben Calhoun on September 12, 2008 at 8:20pm — 2 Comments