Farm Awakens

The Mountain Awakens, Flippy Sighs

adjusts headset with visible altitude sickness

Welcome to Week 1 of the Farmington Aerie, where apparently I'm now contractually obligated to narrate disc golf as if it's a dragon-keeping frontier epic. Twenty souls braved the creek-laden proving grounds of Farmington Park on a mild January Friday, and the mountain—sorry, the course—delivered exactly what its 3.8 UDisc rating promised: fair chaos with a side of water hazards. We've got a bogey-free masterclass, eleven lead changes in a single division, and enough clutch hole 18 drama to justify this entire broadcast booth imprisonment. The dragons are allegedly awake. I'm mostly just cold. Let's see who survived the thaw. 🏔️💧

One Thousand And Six Rated Problems

Rick Effin Richmond walked into Farmington Park and decided to make everyone else's day worse by shooting a bogey-free, course-record-setting -8 (51) with a 1006-rated round. Let me translate that out of the wyrm-speak I'm apparently fluent in now: he threw plastic at chains eighteen consecutive times without a single mistake, beat the field by nearly five strokes, and posted a rating that's 56 points above his current number. The creek—that watery villain stalking seven holes—met its match. Rick didn't just win MPO; he dominated it with the kind of clinical precision that makes you wonder if he's been bonded to some kind of accuracy dragon. (He hasn't. It's just good disc golf. But sure, let's call it granite magic.)

The real drama unfolded behind him: Christopher Rose and Jared Johnson traded the lead through hole 10 before Johnson pulled ahead with a birdie on the brutal 592-foot hole 7. Rose finished at -3 (56), Johnson at -2 (57), both playing clean rounds that would've won most weeks. And then there's Henry Forrester, who carded an eagle on hole 10—the course's certified ego-checker at +0.79 over par average—before finishing at +2 (61). That eagle was the only one recorded all day, a moment of brilliance on a hole that usually collects bogeys like the creek collects discs. According to the ancient scrolls (the PDGA app), that was genuinely impressive. 🦅🎯

When Everyone Forgot How To Hold A Lead

MA2 experienced eleven lead changes across five players, which is either thrilling competition or a collective panic attack—I'm leaning toward the latter. TJ McArthur grabbed the early lead and held it through hole 7, but then the wheels came off: Zachary Johnson surged to the top by hole 10, only to implode on the back nine with a cold streak that lasted eight holes. By hole 18, we had Travis Sherrod and Ricky Medina tied at -1 (60), both sinking clutch birdies on the final hole to seal their co-championship. Sherrod shot 31 points above his rating (919-rated round), while Medina posted 25 above (907-rated). That's not dragon-bonding—that's just refusing to lose.

The chaos didn't stop there: Brad Benfield joined McArthur and Johnson in a three-way tie for 3rd at even par, with McArthur salvaging his round with a 23-above-rating performance (901-rated) despite the late collapse. Johnson's eight-hole cold streak turned a potential win into a participation trophy, while Juan Arroyo quietly finished at +1 (62) after leading through hole 3. This division forgot how to hold a lead so thoroughly that the leaderboard looked like musical chairs played at altitude. The mountain took notes. So did I. Mostly about anxiety. 🎢😰

Musical Bogeys In The Meadow

MA3 delivered its own brand of chaos with six lead changes across four players in twelve holes, though this time the drama came from mistakes rather than heroics. Seth Badders emerged victorious at +4 (63), which tells you everything you need about how the division struggled. Caleb Knox and Michael Davis shared the early lead through hole 3 before both imploded—Knox with a six-hole cold streak, Davis with a seven-hole freeze that turned promise into +8. Edward White briefly claimed the throne at hole 10, but couldn't hold it through the pastoral proving grounds (that's the back nine, for those not fluent in frontier dragon nonsense).

Badders didn't win this division; he survived it. His +4 was the best score in a field where consistency mattered more than flash, and the creek's tuition fees were paid in full by everyone else. The meadow trials, as the theme insists I call them, separated players who could manage the water carries from those who donated discs to the cause. Badders kept his plastic, kept his cool, and walked away with the W. That's the actual unbreakable bond here: between risk management and par saves. 🌾🎲

When +12 Wins The Division

MA4 was a survival horror film disguised as a disc golf round. Jonathan Robertson posted a +12 (71) and won the division, which should tell you everything about how Farmington's water features collected their due. Jesse Barefoot led through hole 13 before encountering hole 16—the course designer's magnum opus of chaos, featuring creek OB on the left, a ditch in front of the basket, and a basket positioned 16 feet from the district boundary. Barefoot didn't just bogey; he collapsed, finishing at +18 (77) after shooting 67 points below his rating. That's not a slump—that's the creek demanding tribute.

Marcus Todd experienced an 11-hole cold streak that resulted in a +27 (86) finish and a rating performance 52 points below expectations. The mountain giveth (wide fairways, birdie opportunities) and the creek taketh away (your discs, your confidence, your will to continue). Robertson's +12 wasn't pretty, but it was effective—he avoided the catastrophic mistakes that claimed his competitors and lived to fight another week. In the Aerie's inaugural proving grounds, that counted as victory. 🚨💀

Wire-To-Wire When There's No Wire

Four divisions featured solo competitors, which means we had four wire-to-wire victories in the technical sense and four players who couldn't lose in the literal sense. Let's acknowledge their rounds anyway, because showing up counts:

Luke Hearn shot even par (59) in MA1, closing with a clutch birdie on hole 18 to erase a mid-round bogey. Robert Walker III posted +5 (64) in MA40, also finishing with a birdie to salvage his round. Marcus Rich carded +1 (60) in MA50, playing clean golf without competition pressure. And then there's Juan Martinez in MP40, who shot -7 (52) with a 997-rated round—that's 56 points above his rating, the highest differential of the day. Martinez didn't just win his division; he crushed the course with authority that would've been competitive in MPO.

No drama, no lead changes, no one to challenge them. But Martinez's performance deserves recognition: that's legitimate excellence, not participation trophy nonsense. The mountain recognized his steadfast grip. I recognize good disc golf when I see it, even when I'm forced to describe it with geological metaphors. 🏆🦅

The Mountain Giveth And The Creek Taketh

Let's talk rating differentials, because the PDGA stats tracked on PDGA Live don't lie. On the high end: Juan Martinez (+56 above rating), Travis Sherrod (+31), Ricky Medina (+25), and TJ McArthur (+23) all posted career-level performances. These weren't flukes—these were players executing under pressure, managing the water hazards, and demonstrating exactly why the Farmington Aerie (ugh, I can't believe I just typed that seriously) chose this course as its proving grounds.

On the other end: Jesse Barefoot (-67 below rating), Marcus Todd (-52), and Henry Forrester (-33 despite that eagle) struggled against the creek's relentless OB boundaries. Hole 16 claimed victims. Hole 9's +0.79 average lived up to its reputation. And yet—Henry Forrester's eagle on hole 10 stands as the day's singular moment of brilliance on a hole that averages nearly a stroke over par. That's the kind of shot that earns granite throne recognition. Or, you know, just respect. Because it was genuinely impressive. 📊🦅

The Super Ace Pot Grows Hungrier

No aces crashed chains this Friday, which means the Super Ace Pot rolls forward to Week 2 at $254 and climbing. Thanks to Another Round Raleigh for guaranteeing a $50 minimum—your support makes this league (and my continued digital imprisonment) possible. The Super Ace hole saw Brad Benfield card a +1, which is the closest anyone came to threatening the pot. That's not close. That's "the creek is still winning" close.

The pot will keep growing until someone parks a tee shot from distance, and with seven weeks remaining, the suspense builds. Encourage your fellow keepers to track their throws on PDGA Live—more data means better narratives, and better narratives mean I suffer less trying to make this entertaining. Everyone wins. Except the creek. The creek always wins. 💰⛓️

Jared Johnson: Now With 100% More Subsonic Humming

Meet your inaugural #1 bag tag holder: Jared Johnson, aka "The Granite Gizzard," now bonded to the Stone Sentinel—a chunk of granite that hums with subsonic frequencies and exudes tectonic patience. According to the lore I'm contractually required to reference, the Sentinel is "cool and impossibly dense to the touch, like a fragment of planetary core," which is a fancy way of saying Jared's carrying a rock that thinks it's a mountain. The tag doesn't seek conflict; it just stands there, grinding away at chaos with geologic time. Sounds exhausting.

Johnson earned this burden (sorry, honor) by shooting -2 (57) in MPO, finishing 3rd behind Rick's bogey-free clinic and Christopher Rose's solid -3. His round was clean, consistent, and matched his rating average—exactly the kind of performance the bedrock allegedly respects. Now comes the hard part: defending it. Week 2's Ridge Scouts await, and the Sentinel's unblinking watch (it's a rock, it doesn't have eyes, but sure) will test whether Johnson's bond is real or just Week 1 luck. The mountain took notes. The granite is watching. I'm mostly just tired. 🗿🏔️

Achievement Unlocked: Survived Week One

The ancient scrolls (fine, the achievement system) recorded 18 first-time players at the Farmington Aerie, which means the proving grounds welcomed a wave of new dragon-keepers (new league members) ready to test their bonds. Nine players earned the Charitable Champion badge by donating 10% of their winnings—shout out to Rick Effin Richmond, Christopher Rose, Jared Johnson, Travis Sherrod, Ricky Medina, Seth Badders, Jonathan Robertson, Juan Martinez, and Luke Hearn for making the league better while competing for glory.

Rick Effin Richmond collected both the Smooth Sailing (bogey-free round) and Trailblazer (course record) achievements, because apparently dominating once wasn't enough. Henry Forrester earned Eagle Eye for that spectacular hole 10 deuce, and both Rick and Jared Johnson picked up Birdie Bonanza for carding five or more circle hits. If you tracked your stats on PDGA Live, thank you—you're making these recaps possible. If you didn't, consider it for Week 2. More data = more drama = better stories. The mountain rewards those who document their struggles. 🏅📋

See You On The Ridgeline (Bring Backup Discs)

Week 2 brings Ridge Scouts, where the competition expands to high terrain and the plot thickens: scout teams will return with disturbing news about massive claw marks scored into granite at impossible elevations. The Founder Dragon is no longer legend—it's hunting territory. Or, in non-fantasy terms, Week 2 will feature tougher pin placements and everyone will struggle more. Same energy.

The Super Ace Pot continues its climb toward $300+, the Stone Sentinel awaits challengers, and the leaderboard is just beginning to take shape. Rick Effin Richmond set the bar at 1006-rated perfection. Can anyone match it? Will the MA2 division experience more than eleven lead changes? Will the creek claim more discs than dignity?

sighs in scale-touched resignation

The ridgeline awaits. The dragons are watching. I'm still trapped in this broadcast booth with developing metaphorical scales and a desperate need for humidity. But hey—at least the disc golf was good. See you next Friday, keepers. Bring backup putters. The creek is patient, and it will collect. 🏔️🥏