Living in South Fremantle my local haunts are the Dick Lawrence Oval or the Spearwood disc golf courses. A few weeks ago, I said to my wife, “I’m just going to chuck a disc.” Almost 1500 kilometres later I was on the hunt for Tom Price Baptist priest Gavin Douglas, having been told he was a keen, very keen, player. Armed with just a name I’d tracked him down through the tourist information centre. The shop sells disc golf starter kits with Tom Price logos. The young ladies were very helpful, and I quickly set up a game with the local disc golfing priest for that afternoon. The course is deceptively simple at first look, but proved to be challenging, with lots of trees and hidden baskets, tree tunnels, hills and hollows.
DAY 1 OF THE TOM PRICE INVITATIONAL
“No shot is straight forward,” Gavin, a dead ringer for ABC Gardening guru Costa, said. He greeted me like an old friend. “Good to see ya mate, I don’t get to play many rounds with adults. Mostly kids I teach on Tuesdays and Wednesday’s”.
Hole 1: His advice on hole one was “try to go straight between the trees”. I threw my Atlas as it loves straight. It started nicely a skip shot off the ground – straight into a tree. Gavin threw a left sidearm, which looked good, but curved in hit and a branch.
Hole 2: Across a gully simple hyper shot, no prob.
Hole 3: a 60-metre blind basket behind bush and trees. I threw a backhand hyper, it a tall gum tree branch at 40 metres. Hit a second tree and came back 30 metres. (In a practice round before Gavin arrived I birdied this. Not this time). Gavin wide anhyzer 10 metres from the basket. Nice.
Hole 4. Gully and big gum trees. If you throw a hyzer they are waiting. I threw an anhyzer and yes they were, as was the steep bank my disc rolled down. This hole was a headache.
Hole 5. A 90-metre hole, surrounded by trees and shrubs. Gavin and I played it like a pinball machine. We both said if the object was to hit trees, we’d miss everyone. We didn’t. At this point I must say Chris Finn who designed the course did a good job. Ably assisted by Jimbo.
By the end of the nine holes Gavin was two over and I was five over. We parted with a rematch set for the following day.
DAY 2 OF THE TOM PRICE INVITATIONAL
Having won yesterday Gavin was all smiles. But the question was would the joust between Tom Prices’s Gavin “Paul McBeth” Douglas and Freo’s Dave D’Angerous (Trot) have a different outcome?
The local champ was off to a slow start on the first five holes with OBs and errant throws, while I managed three birdies and two pars. The game was on and Gavin looked at the sky for divine intervention.
Hole 6. A gully basket on a slope and guardian trees, a tough par 3. Gavin’s unorthodox left hand anhyzer was amazing, just missing the trees for par. For me a gully shot and a long uphill to the basket gave me a four. For a moment Gavin’s halo was shining, and I started to worry.
Hole 7. A straightforward shot teeing from a rise, towards a long slow depression and a basket on the rise, next to a low hanging tree. I threw a wide hyzer to come in under the tree for a perfect five metre to basket, no probs. Gavin the same seven metres from basket. His friend upstairs was giving him a hand at last. This should have been an easy two. I could have touched the basket from my stance, slightly uphill put then basket fear (“don’t miss, it’s easy, don’t miss”). Then the sound DONK, as I hit the top of the basket Gavin smiled and said. “What happened?” as he looked onwards the heavens. “ I don’t know,” I said. “I just don’t know.” Gavin gets an easy birdie.
Hole 8. Sixty metres, gully down the middle, trees either side, basket on top of a hill and protected by a huge bougainvillea. I threw a cautious Atlas to avoid the trees and gully. Gavin launched a left hander hyzer which left him wide. My second shot I pulled my old Buzzz, backhand throw. Nice and easy next to the basket. Gavin’s next throw clipped the top and shot sideways, but we both made par. As Gavin enters our scores into the disc golf app he looked at me and said, “do you want to know the score?” “No, no, no,” I replied.
Hole 9. Sixty metres, vee shaped trees guide you to the basket with small guardian trees in the middle and a large reticulation sprinkler in front of the basket, with a vee shaped gum two metres to the left. A long gully and OBs on both sides. I threw my Xpress first, it looked good until it hit the top of the gully and rolled back 10 metres, leaving me a 15-metre putt. Gavin threw a left-handed hyzer which followed the right side of the trees leaving him a 10-metre put. Suddenly it dawned on me – the jocular banter between us had dried up. This was serious, sheep stations were at stake. I grabbed my Emac putter and noticed the vee-shaped gum obscured all vision of the basket. I threw a hook shot and hit the tree, as many had done to judge by the disc shaped scars on its trunk. Gavin cool and calm a spin putt launched only to hit the top of the basket. I now have a 15 metre putt, I grabbed my Emac again and said, “Come on make those chains ring”. Just like Slowmez E left my hand headed towards the chains, and KA-CHING, they rattled. I hit the rim and Emac spun around and dropped into the basket. Inside I was dancing in delight. Now Gav’s turn. As Madonna’s song says Time Goes By So Slowly. This was not a hand of God moment, more the hand of Gavin the Baptist at his finest. Ka-Ching. No messing about he drove it home with confidence. The verdict. The previous day I (Trot) was five over par. Today I was par. Gav said, “not bad”. The previous day Gavin was two over par, today he was the same. “Not bad for a guy with a disability,” he quipped. I replied, “With my dodgy back and your dodgy legs we should team up for the Paralympics.”
Summing up, if you’re going to Tom Price you’ve got to look up Gavin the disc golf Baptist priest, he will have you in stitches and make you most welcome. As for the course what may look easy will test anyone’s skill level. The record for the course is a 21 of a 27 par course, held by Chris Finn. Gavin is next with 22. It’s a long way to go but worth it.
Thanks Gavin and Tom Price.
Dave D’Anger