I would like to say that the events in this story occurred during the 3rd round of the 2010 ANW disc golf tournament but as you, the reader, will soon understand things are bit hazy regarding that round.

Generally we have one day with 2 rounds of Disc Golf play. Depending on the quality of play during that first round and the timing of the start of the 2nd round the boys can get a touch inebriated around the turn of the 2nd round. For whatever reason be it the excitement of being at ANW or just because there were a lot of shots flying around due to inefficient play, numerous sidebets and more than a few beer bongs being downed AND on top of that the beer in hand rule.

Sometime during that 2nd round, I want to say after hole #7 and before hole #9, things started to unravel for two of the brothers.

Vin’s Vanishing Act

The first event was Vin’s vanishing. He just vanished. I still to this day don’t remember him leaving. He was just gone. Now, in a normal situation this would be concerning but Vin has done this before. He’s wandered off into the woods, hidden in a bathtub, etc. So we figured he was safe.

As a side note his disappearances are not all that unusual EXCEPT for the fact that a player has to finish the round or receive a DNF and therefore is awarded ‘The Meat’ for the year.

Vin vanishes, the crowd shows some concern yet the round must go on.

As we proceed through holes 8, 9 and 10 there are few stops for conversation and penalties. In the later holes it becomes clear that another brother, Dag, is struggling… not just on the course but with basics like walking. Yet he soldiers on.

Hole 10 ends with the picnic table as the pin and the picnic table also marks the location of the next tee. A good place to stop, chat and get your mind right for the closing holes.

During this pause in the action Brother Leo decides that Vin needs to come back out on the course and finish so he’ll avoid the DNF. This is how family can help out. So Leo takes the short walk back to the house to retrieve Vin and help him through the last few holes.

I can’t see!

Shortly after Leo departs, Dag comes walking up the hill to the picnic table…slowly. He comes to a stop by the group standing by the picnic table and announces “I can’t see!”. Our collective response is…”What?”.

“I can’t see!”. We ask if he’s going to be OK and he says ‘Yes’. This, folks, is peer pressure at its finest. As we’re finishing that conversation we hear a commotion behind us. It’s Leo guiding Vin through hole 9. Vin has tossed his disc into water.

As we watch Vin, who Leo dwagged out of the house wearing his flannel jammies, hits a rock and does an outstretched arm face plant into the water.

It kind of looked like a baptism in reverse but where the person being baptized consumed all the wine…in the community. That water was cold, cold late October Lake Michigan water. Brrrr.

Leo pulls Vin out of the water and Vin goes back in to the house. Dag tees off on 11 and slams his disc into the first available tree and then proceeds to finish the hole, barely. Once done with the hole he says “I gotta go in”. He heads to house. Now were down to 4. 

..and, despite all of those shenanigans, I finished the hole and the round. Yet I ended up with ‘The Meat’.