Morley Player Profile: “Big D”

Daniel “Big D” Lichtmanbig-dPDGA#25509 Open Division

Began playing disc golf?: I first found disc golf at Campland by the Bay in PB. They had a few baskets in the middle of the park, I was 10 or 11 and had a beach Frisbee, and I had a blast. The next time I saw disc golf baskets was in 1994 at Morley field, but it was a couple more years before I started playing there. Once I started playing Morley, I had the sickness, and now I can't stop!

First Disc: DX Cobra. Dark green. (thanks Snapper!) Horrible disc, but it were great to own one, and not rent anymore!

Favorite Morley Field Hole: Hole 11 without the shoe tree on hole 2. Hole 11 is the most recognized and social hole. I've met plenty of cool people there over the years. It's also the hole where I skip aced E position in a first round, and hit chains on the same basket during a second round in league.

Morley Field Aces: 15 Aces at Morley Field. Hole1(2), 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13(3), 14(2), 16, 17, 18. It seems like 13 should be my favorite hole, having aced it three times now!

Favorite Disc: Star T-Bird. I found one on a course in Indiana a few years ago, started throwing it that day, and loved it. I've replaced it a couple of times, but can't imagine my game without it.

Favorite Driver: I always waiver between the Star Destroyer and ESP Surge

Favorite Midrange: The Crystal Buzz is by far my favorite midrange, but the Comet and Gator are discs that have to go in the bag too

Favorite Putter: JK Aviar is the best piece of plastic in the bag

“In My Bag?": Champion Stingray, Champion Viking, First Run ESP Surge, Star Destroyer, Champion Orc, Sparkle Tsunami, Star T-Bird, Champion Firebird, Star Monster, Champion Gator, Crystal Buzz, First Flight Shockwave, ESP Comet, KC Pro Aviar, JK Pro Aviar, Soft JK Pro aviar

Tourney wins and / or Top 5 finishes (not necessarily from Morley): Top 5 Finishes: 2002 Spring Fling Novice 2nd Place 2004 EIEIO Intermediate 3rd Place 2004 Las Vegas Halloween Classic Intermediate 4th Place 2005 Plastic Pilots El Dorado Open Intermediate 2nd Place 2005 Emerald Isle Open (EIEIO2) Intermediate 2nd Place 2005 Morley Field Spring Fling Intermediate 2nd Place 2005 Waller Pines Open Intermediate 4th Place 2005 Casitas Coyote Classic Intermediate 1st Place Winner! 2005 Southern California Championships Intermediate 1st Place 2006 Summertime Open Advanced 4th Place 2006 Southern California Championships Advanced 3rd Place 2006 Morley Field Course Championships Amateur Champion 2007 Ice Bowl in Paradise Advanced 2nd Place 2007 Sun Valley Open Advanced 4th Place 2007 Coyote Classic Advanced 2nd Place 2008 Morley Field Course Championship Open 5th Place

Favorite DG Website: The PDGA website is the most useful website, having all the past tournament results and upcoming tournament info. Without it, I may never remember what year I placed fourth at Mountain High! DiscGolfersRus is much more social, and is a great website too. It's nice to have an outlet for pics and videos, and a place to talk disc golf trash with friends.

Favorite Pro Player: My favorite pro to play with Micah Dorius. He and I have had a lot of good times as partners on Wednesday doubles, and he has taught me quite a few things about the game. Dave Feldberg is my favorite pro to hang out with off the course. He's a goofy, fun guy who likes to party, play poker and tell lame jokes. But technically, as I must play Pro at Morley, I will have to say that my favorite pro player is Big D!

Tips for other players that have helped you: Slow down, focus and follow through... slow down your motions and follow through. Most pros look almost like they're in slow motion until the point of release, and then all the momentum you create needs to follow through your shot. Focus on your line before you even think about throwing. Visualization is key to the game. When I stand at my lie, I see the shot I want happening in my mind over and over, until it's all that I can focus on, then throw that line just like it happened in my head. Sometimes I know it's in the basket just a fraction of a second after released, since I feel the shot hit the line just like in my head.

2009 SD Aces Bag Tags

Be one of the first on the course to sport one of these cool bag tags from the San Diego Aces DGC. Bag tag challenges are a lot of fun with other club members. Low numbers are still available but they are going quick... act soon! Sign up for the club and also receive a new SD Aces logo disc! acesbagtag2009 Colors / #'s are as follows:

1-10: Black 11-25: White 26-50: Red 51-75: Orange 76-100: Yellow/Gold 101-125: Light Green 126-150: Green 151-175: Aqua

28th Annual Southwestern Team Disc Golf Invitational

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Team Sylmar beat Oregon 6.5 to 5.5 in the finals

Team order of finish Sylmar 8-0 Oregon 5-3 Huntington Beach 3-3-1 Redwood Empire 3-3-1 Arizona 3-4 San Diego 3-4 Santa Cruz 2-5 Oak Grove 0-7

Oregon 5.5 Sylmar 6.5img_6178 1 Nate Sexton 4 Steve Rico 8 2 Avery Jenkins 7 Kyle Crabtree 2 3 Dave Feldberg 7 Robert McIntee 1 4 Lane Mason 4 Gabe Cota 8 5 Andrew Rich 5 Bamba Rico 5 6 LeLand O” Driscoll 4 Chris Horn 6 7 Dion Arlyn 10 Gary Sandoval 4 8 Tom Embree 5 Steve Wisecup 3 9 Mike Ruzicka 5 Rich Dionne 7 10 Doug Saulter 4 Mike Byrne 8 11 Kurt Bayne 2 Mark Horn 0 12 Teresa Bellinger 1 Jennifer Griffin 3

Round 1 SD 8.5-OG 3.5 RE 6.5-AZ 5.5 OR 5.5-SM 6.5 HB 7.5-SC 4.5

Round 2 SD 4-AZ 8 RE 9.5-OG 2.5 SM 7-SC 5img_6189 HB 2.5-OR 9.5

Round 3 SD-4.5-HB 7.5 RE 6(33)-SM 6(37) Or 10- AZ 2 OG 3.5-SC 8.5

Round 4 SD 3-SM 9 RE 6(36)-HB 6(36) SC 7-AZ 5 OG 2-OR 10

Round 5 SD-5.5-OR 6.5 RE 7.5-SC 5.5 OG 3-SM 9 HB 4-AZ 8

Round 6 SD 6.5-SC 5.5 RE 4.5- OR 7.5 OG 6(40)- HB 6(42) AZ 3.5-SM 8.5

Round 7 SD 8-RE 4 SC 5.5-OR 6.5 HB 5-SM 7 OG 3- AZ 9

Course Championship Results

OPEN

1st-31-$375-trophy-Chris Vilmorin 2nd-28-$230-plaque-Ed Speakman 2nd-28-$230-plaque-Micah Dorius 4th-27-$120-Carlo Pelg 5th-17-$71-Jeff Nichols 5th-17-$71-Daniel Lichtman

AM

1st-14-$200 shop credit-trophy-Brandon Langston 2nd-9-$160 “ “ –plaque-Chris Hanau 3rd-6-$140 “”-plaque-Josh Egbert 4th-4-$115 “ “Paul Morgavo 4th-4-$115 “ “Chris Wymer 6th-3-$95 “ “Clark Jackson 6th-3-$95 “ “Josh Coombs 8th-2-$82.5 “ “Randy Wylot 8th-2-$82.5 “ “Mario Traba 10th-0-$75 “ “Rob Pennington 11th+2-$66 “ “Erick Bones 11th+2-$66 “ “Mike Tyberg

WOMEN

1st+15-$65-trophy-Brittney Breed 2nd+22-$40-plaque-Kayleen Boyle 3rd+31-$25-Allison Wylot

Morley Field Shoe Tree - R.I.P.

January 9, 2008 BALBOA PARK – It was called the shoe tree, and it was one of San Diego’s strangest landmarks. Hundreds of pairs of shoes – sneakers, high heels, Rollerblades, you name it – hung from its branches. For some reason, people tossed their shoes onto the massive tree, which graced hole No. 2 at Morley Field Disc Golf Course for about three decades.

Tourists – yes, tourists – would drive to Morley Field to get a peek.shoetree280

Until Sunday.

Wicked winds knocked the old tree to the ground. It had died years ago, but it was never cut down because of its popularity. Still, not everyone knew about the tree, one of 10 or so throughout Balboa Park lost to the winds.

NANCEE E. LEWIS / Union-Tribune Footwear festooned the landmark two years ago. “Oh yeah, it’s missed,” said Mitch Zunich, who works at the disc golf pro shop. “Everybody is pretty bummed out.” Zunich and other park employees suspect all of the rain-soaked shoes did the tree in. They said that when the high winds swooped in, the wet shoes served as anchors, pulling the tree to the ground. Yesterday morning, three workers used a chain saw to slice the tree into pieces. The shoes were loaded into two tractor beds – each about the size of a twin bed – and hauled to a nearby Dumpster. It took five trips to get rid of all the shoes.

Legend has it that the shoe tree started with a bet. The loser of the disc golf game had to toss his shoes into the branches. By yesterday afternoon, all that was left of the shoe tree was a single branch and a 6-foot stump. It looked as if the stump had been pushed over; the base was still attached to its roots. All of the shoes were gone, but there were two pairs of laces – one turquoise, the other white – strung around the branch. And what looked like a black handkerchief was actually a pair of Victoria Secret panties. “Somehow that’s appropriate,” a nearby golfer remarked. At some point last year, shoes started showing up on another tree. This one is on hole No. 11.

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