2008 Japan Open Blog

[discglfr]

Hey everyone,

As most of you know, Ben Singer and I are heading to the 2008 Japan Open. In fact, our 13 hour plane ride is about to start boarding in a few minutes.

I was hoping to keep some type of blog or posting going but we'll see how that works out. I think this thread seems like an appropriate place to keep such as set of updates. I've never claimed to be an English major or a journalist but I'll do my best to keep you up to speed (whenever possible).

We are officially 3.5 hours into our trip and everything has been perfectly smooth sailing so far. We left my house in New Berlin around 8 am and had no problems with construction or traffic on our way to O'Hare Airport. We parked in an economy lot and easily 'trammed' over to our terminal. A few minutes later we were checked in and heading through security. After security checked out my enormous bag of electronics we were on our way to the waiting area with well over an hour to spare. To my pleasant surprise there was even complimentary Wi-Fi in the Japan Airline lounge area where I'm currently posting from.

Next time you hear from Ben and I, we will be in JAPAN!

[DoughDuff]

Hope you've had a good trip, keep us posted.

[kwibby1]

Gokouun o inorimasu! buddy

[discglfr]

Wow - finally here for update number two.

Let me first start by saying that my internet connection is very limited here in Japan. However, I think that might be the ultimate blessing in disguise because it keeps me off the computer while visiting this amazing place.

I don't have too much time so I'll give you the quick and easy updates:

Ben and I had a pretty good flight which ended up being about 13 hours. I was a little worried because we taxied on the run way for over an hour but it was smooth sailing from there on out. I would highly recommend using Japan Air anytime you have an option to because we had great meals, an in air camera, 13 different movies channels, and about a dozen video games to play on the screen located on the seat in front of us.

Ben's eye had been bothering him since the day before so he spent most of the time dozing in and out. I managed to watch 3 different movies and the 2006 Japan Open DVD. We started getting anxious when we had 2 hours left. We touched down, got through customs and baggage and met up with nearly 50 other golfers that were coming into the airport.

3 hours later we boarded a shuttle bus to take us on our last leg to the Pure Cottages. It was nearly a 4 hour trip after a few pit stops for restroom and food breaks. In the back of the bus I heard plenty of stories along with Kenny, Feldberg, and a handful of other guys all playing poker. Ben and I had a chance to catch up with John Duesler and Val Jenkins got us up to speed about her touring plans and agenda. After nearly 24 hours of traveling we finally arrived at our destination. Sure enough, we were greeted by a multitude of Japanese staff and players. They clapped and cheered as we all exited the bus. What an unbelievable experience.

To our surprise we were given our own cottage. After rummaging from room to room checking out our cool place we finally called it a night. Everyone strongly encouraged us to make sure that we shut the drapes because the sun was going to rise in a mere 4 hours.

After waking up we headed to the buffet breakfast. I'll write something later about all of the various food choices. We boarded a shuttle bus and headed to the course. Now I could write about 10 pages about the course alone but I think the pictures that will get posted in a few weeks will do plenty of talking.

We played the course then headed back to the cottages around 4 pm. After having a little computer party in the hotel lobby we headed off to the amazing buffet dinner that was provided. There we celebrated 5 people's birthdays during the dinner ceremony. Ben decided to stay up with some other golfers at this point and I head a headache so I called it a very early night.

Today is Wednesday and we woke up and headed over for breakfast. After eating we again headed off to the beautiful course. Just as we were about to tee off on hole 1, Jay and Des asked to join us. We obliged but after a few holes we split because they were still getting acclimated to weather and they wanted to throw 3 or 4 shots on every hole.

On one particular hole we ventured a few hundred feet off the fairway to chase after a waterfall that we could hear in the distance. There we re-created what looked to be a cheesy senior high school picture amongst the waterfalls and rocks. It was actually pretty cool because besides finding dozens of golf balls off the beaten path we constantly came across errant disc drives as well. Speaking of errant disc throws - both Ben and I have really learned to throw and use this super light, 150 class plastic. However, Ben's enormous power and crushing drives have sometimes been wayward and and been in flight for a few hundred feet down the fairway and then a few hundred feet more down a cliffside or been found 50 feet up in a tree.

Again, I can't stress enough how my stories and words don't even come close to doing this trip justice. I have already taken over 1,000 photos of this amazing adventure. Those photos range from Kenny smacking golf balls at the clubhouse to Ben scaling trees for a disc to the breath taking views of the huge mountains.

The official opening ceremony is about to take place in about an hour. We are really excited to start the tournament tomorrow. This turned out to be way longer than I planned but like I said, it's only a fraction of what we are experiencing. Thanks for following along and we'll hopefully post more in the next day or two.

More information can be found on the event using www.japanopen.info (http://www.japanopen.info) and going to the Japan Open Chronicles Page. John Dusler, Terry Roddy, and the rest of the awesome IT and Media staff are doing an awesome job of (helping me get online) updating the world with what is going on here.

See you all in the next post!

[discette]

It is already Thrusday morning here in Japan and the first round will begin in a few hours. The player meeting last night was truly amazing. It is absolutely the best player meeting I have ever been too. There was fun, food and drink galore. We had a taste of Japanese culture with the drum ceremony. The player package was awesome.

Good luck to all the competitors today and to everyone reading this at home, this really is an event not to miss. You can read more and see photos at the Japan Open site. there is a link on the front page of PDGA.

[cgkdisc]

Suzette said it's already Thursday and the round will start soon. But the PDGA Tour site hasn't turned the "open book" icon into a gold cup yet...

[discglfr]

It is a funny site here in the hotel lobby. We have 5 or 6 people all hanging out, making posts, sending e-mails, doing homework, reading scores, replying to discussion boards and updating event websites. For the longest time we had problems even getting online but then finally it was working again.

Val Jenkins in particular is doing here online classwork for college classes while I sit with PDGA representatives that are working to get the PDGA scores page updated. The first day of the Japan Open is coming to a close and it's been everything that everyone out there could possibly imagine and then some.

Today I had the pleasure of shooting with Ari from California, Jay Reading from Iowa / Texas, and KCJ from Japan. He introduced himself as the "Ken Climo of Japan" which was very humorous. Our group was fun and light hearted as we cheered each other on shot after shot. The group even felt my pain when I had one of the most unfortunate days on the disc golf course in my life.

3 different times during the round I went OB but then came to rest against the curb of the cart path. Each of these times I was less than 6 inches from being in bounds. On one hole I proceeded to the drop zone which was about 180 feet from the pin. I tossed my Aviar out for my circle 3 and it slammed into the chains but then fell out. Heartbreaking but exciting none the less.

On the second to last hole I threw a seemingly perfect drive which then hit a bunker rake and rolled backwards into the ob. I proceeded to hit the 16 foot putt for another OB par. I think I had 3 or 4 OB Pars on the day. Jay and I both finished our rounds off by deucing the one of the most picturesque holes in disc golf - hole 27 at the Nasu Highlands Course. After the round we had our pictures taken and then proceeded to get our complimentary lunch. I had the pleasure of eating with Jay, KCJ, and Ben.

Well, that brings us up to speed here in Japan. As I said, it is the Geek Squad hanging out here in the hotel lobby all plugging away on our various applications. Tonight we have another buffet style dinner here at the cottages and then we'll gear up for tomorrow.

Rumors were floating around that today was our best chance for getting any rain and we didn't see anything more than over cast skies and a few sprinkles. I hope that everyone was right and that the rain will stay away for the remaining 3 or 4 days.

Again, the words I (and others) post on this blog come now where close do doing this place justice. It is simply amazing.

Until later tonight or sometime tomorrow - Ter

[discglfr]

Wow - I just looked at the 'official scores' for the first time. I am extremely elated to see that I'm tied for 18th! Ben is in 16th! Wow, for having 8 OB strokes today I guess I can't complain. I'm certainly surrounded by some of the best players in the World so I guess I can toss any complaining I might have done right out the window. Tomorrow I am still looking for an improvement in scores!!!

[discglfr]

If I haven't said it already - there is a ton of information and updates about the event located on the official event website - JapanOpen.info (http://www.japanopen.info).

One of the cool features on the site is a LIVE WEBCAM (http://japanopen.jp/tournament/2008/cam/index.php) for people to view.

Ok - It's time to go and wake Ben up so that we can get ready, have breakfast, and head to the course.

[kwibby1]

Nice second round ! and thanks for the blog.

[discglfr]

Good morning everyone ...

We got back from the course today and then we went ahead played MORE golf. There is a 9 hole course here at the Pure Cottages so Ben and I ran out behind our room and started the course on hole 2. When I look out my bedroom window I have a tee pad less than 50 feet away. Ironically enough, I have also heard that the cement tees here at the Pure Cottage Course are the ONLY cement tee pads in all of Japan.

So after the course we got ready and headed to over to the dinner at the amusement park. The dinner was great but the entertainment was even better. I dubbed the group the 'Stomp of Japan'. The full group was there tonight which consisted of 5 or 6 members and they proceeded to pound on drums and dance for at least an hour. It was incredible.

So again I am sitting in the lobby among 6 or 7 other people working on their various priorities. Dave Feldberg is entering grades for a class he teaches, Brian Graham is making a post, and a sleuth of people are checking scores, updating webpages, and using there Skype Program to talk to loved ones back home.

Tomorrow morning we won't have tee times like the first two rounds. Instead, everyone will be teeing around 9 am. The open men will play 18 holes instead of 27 which will be interesting because I have no clue as to which 9 holes we are not playing. After we play the regular course they will then have a final 9 for the top 3 or 4 in both the men's and women's divisions. It should be a very exciting day. Both Ben and I are hoping to play well so we can get some of that Yen payout!

It's 8:55PM on Friday night here so we'll be heading to bed in the next few hours and next time I post will likely be AFTER the Japan Open has completed.

Again - this is an experience of a lifetime - I have mentioned that yet? Slight tight!

[discglfr]

Hey everyone,

It's been a little bit of a gap since my last update but it's been a long 24 or 36 hours. Heck, I don't even when I posted last because we are in a completely different world here in Japan. I certainly mean that in a good way.

I left off by saying that we had to play our final round. Instead of playing 27 holes on the final day we only played 18. I had a great group which consisted of Jim Meyers, Kevin McCoy, and Jesse Heinonen. Ben played with Erich Altoray, Dave Dunipace, and David Munk. In the first 54 holes of play I had 12 ob strokes but in my last 18 holes I managed to not take a single penalty stroke. Also, Saturday's play was in some intense wind. It was a steady 10 to 15 mph wind which was just a warm up for the 40 and 50 mph winds that came during the final 9 for the men and women.

After the awesome dog expo and the final 9 we got back to the cottages to prepare for a pretty intense night of eating, celebrating, and wrapping up this amazing journey. We again had a great dinner, unlimited drinks, and plenty of entertainment. However, most of the entertainment that was provided on Saturday night was orchestrated from within the players themselves. We were playing Roc - Paper - Scissors for official Japan Open Caddy Bibs and then it was off to the official karaoke room. Just about everyone was a part of a song or two through out the night. The alcohol was flowing as well as the great vibes.

I'll fast forward until all of the pictures are posted. You'll will certainly be amused by some of the pictures and video that we have.

This morning I woke up and was reminded of just how hard we partied. I was not feeling well neither was Ben. The worst part was that we already signed ourselves up for the scenic tour which had a bus departure at 8am. I figured we'd both pass on the tour since it was already 8:30. However, Rick Voakes called to our cottage and told me the bus was about to head out and we should hurry if we are coming. Ben ultimately decided to pass but I joined the tour and attempted to fight through my hangover.

Once I got on the bus I saw that it was nearly 10 hours of sight seeing. Finally after some fresh air on top of a volcanic mountain I started feeling a little better. I took another 500+ pictures including some of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. One of my favorite parts was going to a hot springs bath house where you take off your socks and shoes and walk around in really hot water which is massaging your feet the whole time. I also walked across Japan's largest suspension bridge which was awesome.

It is currently 11:21PM on Sunday night and we are getting a taxi out of here in just over 5 hours. We will be taking a taxi to the bullet train which will bring us into Tokyo. Our flight is at noon but after our 13 hour venture (backward) we will arrive at O'Hare at 9:45 AM. Then the real jet lag can begin!

Next post will be from the States!

I forgot to post this ... Ben completed that round with a 69 and finished in 22nd place which was good for 25,000 YEN. I finished in 15th which was good for 50,000 YEN. Boo ya - I am bringing home 50,000 YEN. How sweet is that? Here is a direct link to the scores (http://www.pdga.com/tournament/tournament_results.php?TournID=7272).

[Dana]

Good shooting! Thanks for the updates, I enjoyed reading about the trip.

[DoughDuff]

Congrads on all that yen. sounds like you really had a good time. Thanks for the posts and the links, we have enjoyed them.

[discglfr]

Both Ben and I have returned to our respective homes and things are starting to get back to normal. We had a great flight back which was only about 12 hours. However, instead of it feeling like 20 it felt to me like it was about 4. Heck, I was ready to make another round trip if need be:)

I know things are back to normal because it is now about 3:30 AM and I'm on my computer doing disc golf related work. Earlier on Wednesday morning I had a demonstration with nearly 30 teachers that were taking continuing education credits and so I was brought in as a presenter. There was plenty of good energy from these teachers as I gave them an overview of disc golf (in a classroom) and then I let them loose on a few holes at the course in Oak Creek.

I have already delivered discs, answered a few dozen e-mails, spoken to 4 different park and rec departments, and invoiced a handful of customers since being back. This week was the in between week for the New Berlin League so I was glad to not have that on Wednesday night. I don't have any organized disc golf planned for this weekend and I'm pretty thrilled about that.

All in all I would say that our Japan trip is officially over except for getting completely unpacked, changing out my bag full of discs, and eventually sifting through the 2500 pictures that I took and getting some posted online.

I want to again thank everyone that followed Ben and I on our crazy journey. We both received dozens of complimentary e-mails and pms and the love was much appreciated. It was especially crazy seeing how Japan experienced a horrific murder spree and an earthquake both in the time of our visit. I can't say that any of my upcoming adventures will be this exotic or exciting but I'm sure we'll have more action during future events or maybe even a Pro Worlds Blog!

Terry & Ben