Of the 38 rated players in my division, the ratings ranged from 757 to 946. Though my rating of 853 was almost exactly the middle of the range, only 18 of the 38 had a rating below 900 and only 5 were worse than me. Generally 10 rating points equals one shot for most 18 hole rounds as was played that weekend.
The following pic is of the ratings of the top 20 players in my division from rounds 3 and 4:
The scores in the boxes are mine. A person with my rating was expected to be 14 total shots worse than I did for those two rounds. On Sunday, 18 of the top 20 players were among the 20 whose rating going into the event placed them in the top half of the field.
One of the two unrated players finished 5th having the type of game to do so. The person whom I referenced in a post made 3 years ago as he beat me by 29 and 31 shots in two round events was one shot better than I was on Saturday and shot the same score as I did on Sunday.
The next thing is to determine how did this happen and how can it be repeated in future events.
First of all, those in my division came from 13 states, Ontario, and France. 60% of the division had to travel multiple state lines to Crown Point, IN and were not as familiar with the courses as someone who has played multiple events there in the previous 13 months.
Second, the course setup and conditions were favorable since the rain made the grass higher than normal which helps a low thrower on approaches. On the blue and red courses, there are three different holes with two tee pads and all three favored my game as the 2 par 3s that I could reach were not backed to the point where I couldn't and one par four was extended was to the point where those who could easily get there in two shots (unlike me) couldn't. There is also one hole which had an OB line in the events last year but not this year and I took advantage of that to get a birdie.
Third is the plan. Having the whole week before the event off work was a tremendous benefit as it allowed me to look at the new holes on Monday and focus other practice on specific shots rather than learning the course as well as having the physical ability to get extra practice on Friday after the round.
Fourth is the player. There have been glimpses of this type of performance since November 2016 but injuries and work have prevented them from appearing over a longer term. Keeping the weight down (especially after gaining 3lb during the week off) is a must as well as maintaining fitness.
Unlike many rounds I played and like the best rounds I have played in the past, there were no real spectacular shots made over the whole event as I put one in from 80 feet on my first practice hole on Sunday morning. There were no long puts made, no long shots that either went in or even bounced off the basket. It was just full of good, solid shots with no major mistakes and no bad breaks.
To be honest, the Saturday round seems more repeatable than the Sunday one.
When I look at a disc golf course, I determine what is the theoretical best score I could shoot on it without making a shot over 50 feet or having a shot go the maximum distance under an ideal condition. This is how I look at the Lemon Lake Blue course I played on the Sunday round:
There were only 4 holes where I did not get my minimum score. On 9, 16, and 17 I was less than 30 feet but had a shot around a tree or bush (two of which I hit the front of the bucket) and on 13 I decided to not try to reach the basket from 245 feet since I had a small gap with OB if I missed left and bushes down a hill missing right so I put a shot to 80 feet away and another 5 feet away to get my 5.
Most players in my division have a lower theoretical minimum score due to their ability to throw a disc farther than I do reaching holes I can't so my margin of error is definitely lower than others even though I throw a disc farther than I did 3 years ago.
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