Before the snow falls, it’s time to get a detailed scoring round on A.W.O.L. I warmed up with nine holes on Little Black Bear, then nine holes on NorthStar, and finally playing my scoring round.

I had a nice warm-up so I was ready to play A.W.O.L. on the first tee. When I was walking towards hole 5, I saw a player I know from the competitive scene and asked him how his round was going, which he replied he was 4 under par through 6 holes. I replied I was 3 under after 4 holes.

I then threw a good shot on hole 5 and made a 45-foot putt to card the birdie… now I am 3 down through 5. On hole 6, I threw a good shot on the wrong line and it ended up in the wall of trees at the end of the first fairway. During league on Sunday, my doubles partner and I were in the same general area. He was able to pitch out of the trees and into the fairway. I proceeded to huck the disc and hit a tree about 5 feet away from me. Next shot… essentially the same thing. I ended up carding a 6.

I guess I learned my lesson and didn’t try so hard and I landed in the fairway on my next throw. My third throw landed to the left of the hole and as you can see from the first picture… I saved par with a great putt. Now I am still 3 down through 6 holes.

The next hole, which is one of the tougher ones when it comes to accuracy… I was able to get it around 18 feet from the basket and make the put for my fourth birdie of the day. After my drive on hole 8, I saw the same guy and he asked if I wanted to play the last 9 together, which I replied yes. I didn’t have a great drive on hole 8 so my lie was a bit tough to convert to a birdie. My drive was a bit short on 9 so I ended with a par, just like on hole 8. Now I am 4 under par though 9… possibly my best start to a round on AWOL.

My first drive on 10 went way left and landed in the dreaded guardian trees. I had to pitch out and eventually carded a bogey. My drive on 11 went too right, as it has lately and I basically repeated the same scenerio… a bogey.

My drive on 12 was too far right… bogey again. My drive on hole 13, taking the right-hand route was the worst drive of the day and I ended up with another bogey. I turned it around a bit and parred the next two holes, getting a birdie on the easiest hole… 16 and a par on 17.

My drive on the last hole of the day looked good, but was a bit on the left of the fairway and hit a late tree. I pitched the disc forward to get some distance and stay on the fairway. I have been attempting a few more run-ups on the fairway and was able to get the disc about 23 feet or so from the basket with a solid throw. A relaxed and solid putt allowed me to card a 4 and score my second-best round on AWOL.

Now I have played rounds with this person before and am comfortable playing with him… so why the sudden change in how well I was throwing starting with hole 10. I am guessing it was a rhythm issue. Playing a solo round, you get to dictate the pace and focus. When you play with others, the pace slows down because there is another person and you end up chatting as well.

It was a fun round overall and I was happy and a bit surprised I score a 1 under par. I was able to get one round out of two under par for A.W.O.L. for one of my 2021 goals.