As the weekend approached, a Canadian Cold Front descended upon the Midwest and took away all of the beautiful 80+ degree weather we had been enjoying all week long. There were some concerns that this might deter some golfers from wanting to make the trek to Vichy. Any concerns were quickly squashed, as tournament central quickly became a madhouse on Saturday morning with 88 people registering for the event. This was, by far, the best turnout that the property has seen since the old PDGA sanctioned days. Cold weather just isn’t enough to scare anyone away from this epic disc golf facility! That said, all of the campers were rewarded with some perfect mid 50s disc golf weather in the afternoons, which was more than enough to melt away any bad memories about frozen toes and fingers from the morning.
Saturday‘s play started with everyone playing the Ozark Mountain (Par 72) layout. There were 5-somes on just about every hole, so play was a little bit slow. The extra set of eyes certainly came in handy, however, when a disc would slide up under the leaves or hide itself in one of the many nooks and crannies that OM is so famous for. The last card in finished right before dark thankfully. The hot score for the round came from Nikko Locastro, carding a course record 59! Everyone then ramped up for the evening festivities which included a visit from The Public House Brewery (serving a delicious stout and unfiltered wheat) and a late night glow round. Music and the sound of fun being had could be heard late into the night!
Sunday morning started off with temperatures hovering right around 30 degrees. There was a hard frost on the ground and everyone’s gear. After everyone dragged themselves out of their tents, opened up some Hot Hands, and defrosted their plastic, it was time to get golfing. The Open Pro, Open Masters and Advanced divisions started out on Spencer-Davis (Par 63). The Advanced Masters, Intermediate, Recreational, and Women’s divisions all started off on Akita’s Run (Par 54). The frost quickly vanished and the temperatures started to rise. After a while, there were multiple jackets strung up in trees in most of the “junction” areas as the temperatures once again climbed up to around 50 degrees by noon. In the afternoon, the pools switched courses and enjoyed an absolutely perfect round weather wise…not a cloud in the sky and nothing but beautiful vistas and fairways to look at! The hot score at Spencer-Davis was shot by Gateway’s own Justin Bunnell, shooting a 58. The hot score at Akita’s Run was shot by Nikko, tying the course record with a 44!
After all of the competition wrapped up, everyone collected their prizes, packed up and headed on home. I am sure some life-long memories were had by all! I personally heard many people giving the property their praises and swearing that they will be back next Spring.
A big “THANKS” goes out to Dave Mac, his family, and all of the volunteers for setting the courses up and providing such an awesome venue for us disc golfers. It is quite the privilege to get to play these courses and enjoy their hospitality.
See everyone next time!
P.S.
We’ll be adding the tournament scores as soon as possible!
THE OZARK MOUNTAIN COURSES WILL NOT BE PLAYABLE UNTIL AFTER NOVEMBER 26TH DUE TO FIREARMS DEER SEASON.
IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN PLAYING ANYTIME AFTER NOVEMBER 26TH, PLEASE CONTACT DAVID DIRECTLY AT 314.303.1488
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