Major kudos to the 25 hardy individuals who battled the elements this past weekend at the Whitler Classic in absolutely drenched out conditions at Shirley Macey Park.
While the plan was to embrace the roots of our sport and play some frisbee games in the park, Mother Nature had other plans. There were no freestyle nail delays, MTA exhibitions or DDC tips to be had on Sunday, just two rounds of soggy disc golf.
Before I break down the day’s events though, I want to take the time to properly highlight Glen ‘The Whitler’ Whitlock who served as the inspiration for this event. Glen is a disc golf pioneer and a member of the Disc Golf Hall of Fame (2021 Class). His story is well told and known by most club members now, so I’ll spare you the details. I will, however, share a personal anecdote that I feel describes Glen perfectly.
I first met Glen in I believe 2008 at the Pender Classic where he was playing a game of Double Disc Court. I had been playing disc golf for just a short while and had no history with disc sports at all. That is to say I was horrible at throwing a proper frisbee. I had a blast though and would say ‘Hello’ to Glen at various disc golf events across the province for the next couple years. I was playing in the Rec divisions and shooting 100 over par, while Glen was always playing for the win in Open. I had a bit of a ‘cool by association’ thing going on with a player who had earned a lot of respect from the field and would brag to my Rec cardmates about being Whitler’s little buddy. Flash forward about 10 years and I found myself living and playing disc golf on the Sunshine Coast. I was re-introduced to Glen and mentioned to him, ‘You probably don’t remember, but we played DDC together years ago,” he interrupted me to say, “Of course I remember you, Trevor right?”
Incredible.
From the very first interaction I ever had with Whitler, he demonstrated how welcoming the disc golf community can be. He’s as genuine and kind of an individual as you’ll meet and I can’t think of anyone else more deserving of having a tournament named in their honour. Three cheers for The Whitler!
Now… onto the action!
Junior Division
Big, big, biiiig shoutout to our two Junior competitors Grant Evanson and Toby Cavers. The boys embraced the rainy conditions and battled it out through 9 holes, smiling the entire way. Grant earned himself a five stroke win for his first club victory… but both boys walked away with prizes!
Nice shootin’, gentlemen.
Recreational Division
The Big Man is back in town. Alex Rainville made his return to the club, playing his first event since last October. He scored a very solid +10 score and managed birdies on Hole 16 and hole 18 down the stretch. Rainville bested 13 year old Beckett Thomson who was making his debut in the Rec division after playing Junior last season.
Much respect to Beckett for pushing himself to another level and for making Alex earn his victory out there. Look for big things from this kid as he continues to hone his game.
Intermediate Division
Toby Johnson managed to wrestle victory away from Adam Grout in Intermediate this past weekend thanks to an impressive final round. Grout, last month’s champion at The Painters Open, had a 4 stroke advantage heading into the final round but stumbled down the stretch. “My game got away from me… fingers crossed for nicer weather next tournament,” Grout stated while complimenting Johnson’s performance.
Leapfrogging Grout and into 2nd place was James Kwantes in his first showing this season. Kwantes played a steady game both rounds and secured himself a great finish in his first event back.
As for Johnson, it’s no surprise to see him at the top. He’s shown a steely resolve over the past three seasons and is always in the mix to take down an event due to his even keel playing style. Nicely done, Toby!
Advanced Division
2023 Intermediate Division champion Rod Dalziel takes down his first victory in Advanced! Oh… wait… what’s that? He didn’t?
Wait… wait… Isaac Carroll? In Advanced? There’s no way… the guy shot the hot round of the day!
Carroll shot a scorching -8 to win Advanced by a whopping seven strokes over 2nd place Dalziel and a staggering 15 strokes over 3rd place finishers Jeff Doran and Darin Brose. I mean… settle down, young man.
In all seriousness, Carroll was the day’s best performer regardless of division and earned himself an impressive victory in very difficult conditions. He has shown flashes of what he’s capable of at previous events and now looks like he’s ready to take his game to the next level. Impressive stuff from a good kid!
Open Division
The People’s Champion: Muhammed Ali, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kenny Powers and now… Trevor Connors.
Connors and good buddy Denny Nordli battled back and forth for 36 holes in the pouring rain and enjoyed it so much that they elected to play an additional four hole playoff to determine a winner. Prior to the playoff though, Nordli looked to win and lose the tournament at least a couple times on Hole 18.
Holding a one stroke advantage over Connors, all Nordli had to do was stick the island hole 18 for victory. He came up short though, meaning a par was the best he could manage from the drop zone. Connors tee’d off next with an opportunity to close things out but appeared to come up short as well. When the two fierce (and handsome) competitors assessed their lies though, it was discovered that Connors was actually in bounds by mere inches, while Nordli was ridiculously out of bounds. Nordli then missed his drop zone attempt giving Connors a circle’s edge putt for the win.
Guess what?
He bricked it low… go figure. On to the playoff.
The two soaked and wrinkled competitors headed to Hole 1 for a playoff that ended up being another 30 minutes in down pouring conditions. Ultimately though, after pushing with pars for three straight holes, it was Connors who would prevail on Hole 4.
Nordli threw his tee shot pin high, but wasn’t in an ideal placement for birdie. Connors meanwhile had a poor tee shot that ended up midway down the fairway. He managed to scramble his approach to 20 feet though, more or less securing par. Sensing an opportunity to go home and dry off, Nordli ran the basket for a birdie and victory until… you guessed it… those damn trees. On his aggressive birdie bid Nordli caught a tree and was shot down, still in Circle 2. After Connors rudely (naturally) made his Par putt out of turn, Nordli sailed his par attempt high and wide, conceding victory.
Connors cracked wry smile and thought to himself, “Nice, but I really should have brought a bigger umbrella.”
The two men shook hands and immediately began discussing the coming joy of changing into a pair of dry socks.
Shoutouts and Thank You’s
Thanks again to all 25 competitors who made it out on Sunday! Special thanks to Sheena Careless, Matt Cavers and Matt Thomson for helping out with our younger competitors. Shoutout to Matthew Kliewer for providing us with 9 baskets to use for this event and also shoutout to Andrew Sponagle for providing a shelter on Hole 14. Also shout out to everyone who helped set up and tear down the course. Much appreciated!
One last shoutout to Glen ‘The Whitler’ Whitlock once again for inspiring this event and for inspiring disc golfers around the world for the past 40 years.
Our next tournament, the Trail Bay Source for Sports Classic hosted by Josh Romer, goes July 6/7th at Camp Byng. Stay tuned!