Disc Golfing in Ionia State Rec Area: Round 2 a #wednesdaywalk post

Last week I talked about how @mrsbozz and I decided to skip our morning camp walk and instead go play a round of disc golf. This was her first time, so I decided to keep it simple and we just played the front half of the course.

Since it wasn't your standard 18 hole course, it wasn't as simple as playing the front 9 one day and then the back 9 another day. If you want to find out more about that first day, you can read the post here.

Instead, because of how the course was naturally separated, we played the front 10 the first day and then on the second day we played holes 11 to 24. I really feel like the back half of the course has gotten a lot more love than the front half. Perhaps it was added on later and therefore newer? It's hard to say, but it was more open and more enjoyable to play in my opinion.

Either way, it was a great way to get some exercise for us and I am once again including this adventure as a #wednesdaywalk post sponsored by @tattoodjay.

I already posted last Friday that we came across our fair share of fungi along the way. I think part of it just has to do with the damp atmosphere of the rec area. It's near a dammed river, so there are lots of wetlands and damp areas. Perfect for fungi growth I guess.

Although there were more "wide open" holes than the front of the course, there were still a fair number of fairways that took you through the thick of the woods. I also felt there were more elevation changes on the back half of the course than the front. There was a point with a deep ravine that I am going to share in a bit here and @mrsbozz almost lost a disc down there.

The good news was, the undergrowth wasn't that dense. I've been on courses in the past where if you land anywhere but the fairway, it is almost a treasure hunt trying to find your disc. On the holes that weren't wide open, they left enough trees that it still made it challenging.

Some of the holes were a bit of a distance from one to the other, but it wasn't too horrible. This was probably the longest walk between holes we had and it was made worse by the clear elevation change that you can see in the photo.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like we were climbing a mountain, but at this point it was starting to get warmer and more humid and we had played a couple holes and had worked up a sweat.

This might have been one of my favorite holes on the course. It looks simple because there are nearly zero obstructions in your way. However, that grass on each side of the fairway is pretty thick and it is filled with thistles. I had to venture in there once or twice on this hole to grab @mrsbozz's disc. It wasn't fun.

Sometimes holes like this can be more difficult than the ones with tight lanes that go through the woods.

This was the semi deep ravine that I was talking about earlier. @mrsbozz's disc landed down the side of the ravine. Too far down for us to get it from the top and just a little too high up for me to get it from below.

I ended up climbing down the ravine, crossing the small stream twice, and using a downed branch to reach up and pull the disc further down the wall of the ravine. From there I was able to cross the stream again and grab it. I did get my right shoe a little wet/muddy, but it wasn't too bad. Plus I didn't lose a disc, so that is very good!

This is the same ravine. It's hard to tell from this photo, but it's a lot steeper down the edge than it looks. Also a lot further down than the picture implies.

Trust me!

I thought I had a photo from down in the ravine looking back up, but I guess not. Instead, I give you this photo standing at the basket and looking back towards the tee pad. This gives you a better idea of how steep and deep the ravine was. Her disc was up past that group of two trees in the center about halfway down the bank.

One of the things I didn't like about the course was the fact that it connected to other trails throughout the park. There was a point I was getting ready to tee off and I heard voices. I held off for second an sure enough two older ladies came walking up the fairway towards us.

It's a good thing I held off otherwise I might have taken one of their heads off with my drive (not really, but you get the idea). They apologized, but then they continued to wander in and out of our throwing lanes for the next couple of holes.

This was hole 24 and it was probably my favorite hole of the whole course for a couple of reasons. First, as you can see, it has a huge elevation change from the tee pad to the basket down in that green area of the photo just past the small wooden bridge.

Second, it was probably my best shot of the round and I really needed that after the game I had. It wasn't my best round by far, but I ended it on a high note.

At 184 Feet, it is a relatively short par 3. I "parked" my disc right near the basket and had a pretty easy putt for a birdie on the hole. It was my only birdie of the round.

This is where my disc landed from my tee shot. You can see the tee pad in the right center of the screen up that leaf covered embankment. I actually would have driven well past the basket, but my disc hit a tree branch and fell where I took the photo above.

What a great stroke of luck for me!

I ended up with a +15 for the 14 holes we played and @mrsbozz ended up with +44. That's still pretty good for only her second time playing. She still doesn't have the distance down with her throw, so she has to make a lot of shorter throws to get to the basket. I do have to admit that she is quite a putter. She sunk some putts from distances that would have been a real struggle for me.

I think part of it had to do with the fact that she was just having fun and wasn't in her head as much as I get when I am going for a long putt. It's often much easier when you are relaxed and just don't give a #$%!$!.

Now that she has a couple of rounds behind her, I look forward to playing more with @mrsbozz and seeing how much she improves. I don't think she has found a new passion, but I do think she has found something new that she doesn't hate doing together with me :)

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