Vibram Birdie Bash at Windwood Presbyterian Disc Golf Course

The much anticipated Vibram Birdie Bash at Windwood Presbyterian Disc Golf Course is officially in the books. Twenty-eight players registered for the event, though not everyone was able to attend. For those in attendance, the frigid 40 degree weather only added to the excitement. The local weather in Houston was not the only act of God that the birdie bashers had to contend with though. Due to the snow storms and weather conditions in the northeast United States, the player’s packs that were to be used in the Birdie Bash were unable to arrive on time.

The format of the Birdie Bash is pretty straight forward. The player gets to pick two discs from Vibram’s lineup. With those two discs, the player attempts to get a birdie or better. Aces, eagles, and birdies all have a different point values, and of course, the person with the most points wins. Since the player’s packs did not come in town on time, I was able to supply everyone that did not already have their own discs with two Vibram discs of their own. I am pretty sure that in most situations, they were even able to get the same discs that they had ordered too.  At the conclusion of the event, I was only down by 1 disc, a Vibram Lace, that was thrown into the creek and not able to be recovered.

Three divisions were represented at the event: men’s, women’s and junior’s. The overall champion was Marcus E. (VP/Lace) with a combined score of 65 for both rounds, narrowly beating the second place finisher that posted a 63. The women’s champion was Kaitlin F. (Summit/Ibex), and the junior’s champion was Khalil H. (Summit/O-Lace). The spirit award winner was Steven A. (Summit/O-Lace), who was nominated by multiple cards due to his willingness to help everyone have fun throughout the rounds, and determination in retrieving lost discs for other players. In 40 degree weather, he entered the cold creek that ranges from ankle to waist deep in order to retrieve discs for 6 different people. He continued to play both rounds with wet extremities, never complaining, and always willing to help.

Windwood Presbyterian Church was an awesome host, as always. Christina B., Windwood’s Community Outreach Supervisor,  was in great communication with me the whole time, and was excited to open their course up for our event. She provided pencils and scorecards to the players since our supplies were not in, put our event on their electronic street sign, and even came up on Saturday with her kids to check out the activities and offer help in any way possible. Without Christina and Windwood, we would not have been able to have such a great event. Windwood Presbyterian DGC is the 16th highest rated course in Texas according to DGCourseReview.com (out of 342 Texas courses).

Other awards and prizes were also given out at the event. Round 1 contained a CTP (closest to pin) contest for each card. CTP winners, Chris G., Austin H., Clayton K., Joe P., and Khalil H. will all be receiving a special Vibram mini that doubles as a bottle opener. The prizes for the second round went to the highest score on each card. The card winners, Jared S., Marcus E., Clayton K., Joe P., and Tyson K. all earned some special edition Vibram socks.

Last year’s Birdie Bash at Windwood taught us a valuable lesson about improving the “fun factor” at the events. Last year we played the course from the regular tee boxes, and with regular course par. Unfortunately, nearly half of the players did not score a point, and even though everyone had fun playing last year, it can be disheartening to walk away with a bunch of 0’s on the card. This year, any hole over about 325′ became a par 4.  This really improved the scoring ability throughout all skill levels, and 100% of the participants were able to score.

This year’s event was very rewarding as many new players were introduced to Vibram Disc Golf, and even though the player packs were not in due to weather, everyone was very understanding. Not one person voiced a complaint to me about the event, weather, scoring, player packs, etc. Everyone I spoke to had something positive to say about the event, and most people really enjoyed the discs as well. One email that I received after the event started, “First off I wanted to say thanks for putting on a great tournament, even with the obstacles that you faced. I had a great time and met some great people.”

The next Vibram Birdie Bash that we (Disc Golf Underground) will be hosting, will be April 11 at 1776 Park DGC in Friendswood, TX (Click here to go to the registration page). It will be another family friendly event, and should be a lot of fun. We do not anticipate any snow storms that week, so player packs should be in! Come join us, and bring a friend.