Documenting a special moment from late 2008

i used to disc golf. all the time. summer weekends were dedicated to tournaments, mostly local, but occasionally i'd travel. random doubles after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and casual play in between all of that. i never really got "good", but i was ok.

the competition of organized tournaments was fun, but the moments i will cherish the most are the hundreds of rounds i played with my dog, Krusty.

we started in Alabama in the late 90's, early 2000's. back then, i'd shank discs left and right into the woods and i'd send him in one way after them while i went the other way. "Go get the frisbee!" i'd say right before heading into the thicket. most of the time, i would come out of the woods and he would be sitting there with the frisbee on the ground in front of him. who knows how long he'd been sitting there?

we moved to NC at the beginning of 2001 and i started picking up pointers from some of the best disc golfers in the world, so not as many discs for the dog to retrieve, but still lots of fun to be had. he and i have weathered thunderstorms, snow and ice, intense heat and yellow jackets all during a round of disc golf. it's been some of the best times of my life out there, him and me.

he's 12.5 years old now and i didn't play a whole lot of golf in 2008. i'm in the cycle of "i don't have the time or money to play tournaments, and even if i did, i don't have the time to play casually often enough to be competitive in a tourney, so why bother??". it doesn't make me feel to badly b/c he doesn't get around as well and the summer heat really takes it out of him. we get our exercise and playtime in the house, on walks and in the back yard where i have a basket and practice my putting now and then.

i was feeling sentimental late last year and decided to get one last round in before 2009. it would be the only full round i played at my "home course" of Cedar Hills. it was a beautiful December day and the weather was probably mid 50's. i packed up the dog and my golf bag and we hit the course like the old days. he showed no signs of slowing down through the entire 18 holes and did super. luckily i brought my camera, but only managed to get a few shots. i present them to you now:











this wasn't the most memorable round of golf based on my score or spectacular shots, but b/c i know it's one of the last times i'll be out there with my special dog. i couldn't have asked for a better day.