2006 Tauranga Extreme
Disc Golf Tournament It used to be New Zealand's toughest disc golf course. And by all accounts, Australasia's toughest. But after someone told Tournament Director Dean Marshall that the Tauranga Extreme was not really extreme, his alterations to the course make it an easy contender for Toughest Disc Golf Course on Planet Earth!
This being said, the 20 hardy golfers that turned up for The Extreme were greeted by a park in full bloom with trees of all kinds and colour gently moving in the light breeze that never got past light and was often non-existent. And speaking of conditions, it turned out that this particular area appeared to have the best weather of all of New Zealand that weekend - ha ha! Whilst there was one or two showers, we were mainly treated to warm, often sunny, conditions for all four rounds.
After a quick nosh courtesy of Subway, the trusty troops headed back out, now in seeded groups. The top two groups were all in contention with a mere 4 shots between them all - staggering when you consider the unlucky rollers and amount of tree bunkers on every hole. By the end of play (after a looong wait for the Waiheke group - always last in by over 40 minutes!), Dean had pegged back Simon to be dead even with him, firing the first par round of the tournament - nice. Blair Joines (Taumarunui) fired a very fine 1-over 57 to take his 'rightful place' in the top group for Sunday morning. Plus he was determined that Bruno would not end up in front of him after 4 rounds. Ah, the pleasent rivalry of kiwi disc golf. And so it was on to an evening of rest and relaxation. Well, for Dean at least as he sneaked home. For the lads staying the night in HQ, it was Foozball and singing (terrible singing, believe me!) with Pete Boyle providing percussion via a couple of 2 litre plastic bottles and a plastic bin. One would think they were trying to keep poor ol' Simon awake, but he soon quietened them all down by walking out in his jocks for a glass of water - that sight is enough to quieten even Dylan and he wasn't even there! The third round on Sunday is where much shuffling of places can occur as players try to position themselves for the final and last round. Local legend Dean Marshall pulled of another excellent par round to sit ahead of Simon by two shots. There was now some daylight between these two and the rest of the field - 6 shots back to Blair. The Ace Pool was still alive and stories abounded of some very close calls - usually from the strong and steady arm of the agressive Eagle throwing arm of Mexican Wonder Juan Unda (the Unda Thunder Wonder living Down Under!). His grassy knoll shot on his 72nd hole with his famous "Arthur Eagle" was the straightest, most direct shot we have ever seen. That it did not clang straight into the chains was beyond the entire group, but he was pleased to take the gimmie birdie to finish. There were some tired bodies that returned to HQ - for many it was now a case of survival. But for all, the final round was a challenge to see if they could better their 3 previous rounds and secure targetted placings for those crucial Tour Points. Most interest for the large gallery (a man and woman walking their dog) was focused on the top group of course. Was Dean going to play classic Match Play style and try and keep that paper thin lead of 2 shots? A defining moment came on the 10th when a 4 metre putt for Simon bounced out and rolled. And rolled. And rolled. In the end a potential birdie had turned into a quadruple bogie and by the 18th tee Dean had a 5 shot lead. Unbeatable you would say, but remember - this is The Extreme and anything can happen. Sure enough, Dean's drive slammed into the slopes and started what was looking to be a swamp run 110 metres down into the scary (but very picturesque) swamp that had been eating up discs on the 18th, 17th, 1st and 2nd holes. Luck was on Marshall's side as the disc somehow stopped its roll after only 15 or so metres. And so at the end of play, he held onto a 4 shot lead to make it back to back wins on the circuit (he won The Hill by 3 over Simon in April). Great golf and a well deserved win. Disc Golf rookie David Keene continued his surge to the top with an outright 4th place - despite a 2 shot scorecard penalty. It looks like we are to finally see some of the younger players battling the mighty Feasey for the top spot. But based on Simon's great win in Taiwan, it may be some time before the level headed Kingslander lets go of the mantle. Baskets were recovered, hands were shook and shattered bodies retired back to 'real' life. Big ups to all involved, especially Tournament Director and 2006 Tauranga Extreme Disc Golf Champion Dean Marshall. No one shot under par, but Dean was the only player to manage par 56 and he did that an amazing 3 times! And if we find out who told him the Extreme was easy, he'll get a slap around the chops!! |
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