No christmas this year

As expected, had to explain what I call christmas to coworkers and why I won't experience it in 2023.

Though eligible to play in the 2023 Masters World's, my decision to not play is valid on all counts:

An uncomfortable round trip flight to PHX (with luggage) would be needed along with a rental car to drive to and within Flagstaff along with a seven night hotel stay since Saturday arrival and departure would be necessary. one day earlier than 2022 to adjust to the elevations and one day later in case I make the cut.

The elevation and topography of the region make navigating the courses difficult which has become a recent problem for me.

I am not good enough nor have enough disposable income to justify making the trip.

I examined the 2022 & 2023 results of the six players who made the trip from the Chicago area to play between the MA50 and MA65 divisions and discovered between them:

76 total non flex start wins in a tournament

36 C tier

29 B tier

8 A tier

3 majors

Me: zero. In 10 years, have won six total non flex start C tier events.

There were 15 times in the 18 months I was in a club, league, or tournament against one of the six. All 15 times, they scored better.

Two of the three times there were two of them, I managed to score better than one of them but finished 13 and 8 shots behind the other who won the division. The third time, I ended up doing the "walk of shame" in front of two of them standing on the 12th tee at Sunset Hills in the chase card as I hobbled to the pond in front of #6 to attempt to retrieve two discs that ended up in the pond in front of the green.

Though there were some cases where it came down to one shot, when it continuously happens, the only reason is that they are better.

As difficult as it was to not go in 2015 due to a lie, unlike the rest of the years I didn't play, this one has no one else to blame.

So, what do I need to do to (according to Natalie Ryan) "get better"?

First of all, fix the body. A person whose age equals my BMI could play in Flagstaff and that has to change. Have had moderate success over the past 6 weeks but it takes a long time to undo decades of poor eating. My grocery trip today involved more tasty desired items not in my cart than regular I purchased. The last two autumns also involved a work related issue with the left leg that no doubt contributed to unchecked weight gain that was not corrected once the issues went away.

Another personal issue is failure to walk off the course until satisfied with the result or the body says no. This has definitely caused stress related issues with the body multiple times this year. I scared myself and my card mates at an event two weeks ago with how difficult it was to get up after sitting five minutes late during round two. There have been multiple events over the past two years I could not play due to physical issues.

No doubt, there is likely a better way for me to throw a disc and there are people who can help me with that. Two of them are multi time major champions and are running a clinic in 12 days at 50 Acre Park and it makes sense for me to pay money to see if they can help me.

For some reason, knowing there is something that can be done to make me better provides comfort. It is a bit scary for me to try to be better since there will be a point where there is not much more that can be done.

If nothing else, if the body is improved, navigating courses and getting out of bed and the car will become less stressful.