The fourth annual Birdiefest was another extraordinary event hosted by George “Geo” Ellis and Melissa “Meli” Crouse at Beaver Branch Disc Golf Course.
Forty-five players came out to enjoy a warm spring day with light breezes. There were snakes and other animals also enjoying the surroundings. The 24-hole Red Course (short pins to short basket placements) was used for both rounds. The event featured a CTP on every hole! There was also plenty of food and drink, several rounds of ring-of-fire, which gave out about $175 worth of merchandise, two aces, and loads of fun to be had!
There were 10 players in the Open Pro division. Jake Azato came off of travels to Florida and California for some birdie action and walked away with first place. Jake shot a 57 and a 56 for a 113 on the day. Brian Morris got second (114), tying the course record in the first round with a 53. Shawn Breske tied the course record in his second round to get third place, shooting 116 on the day.
The Pro Masters featured nine seasoned players. Bryan McAlees shot two great rounds to end with a 113 (which tied the Open winning score). He was followed by Jim “The Flick” Krick, who shot a 117, and also scored a hole in one ace on the day (Hole 6, a flick with a Rhyno).
Trevor Willey won the grandmasters division, which consisted of five veterans to the sport. He shot a 120 on the day, shooting two rounds of 60, to edge out Steve “Wedge” Winchester, who shot a 60 and a 61 on the day!
CJ Krick won the Pro Women’s division, shooting a 60 and a 66 for a 126 shots on the day. Co-tournament director Melissa Crouse shot a hot second round of 63 to claim second place (133) in the women’s pro division.
There was hot action in the Advanced Amateur division. At the end of the second round, Dave Eihinger, Dave Potts and Scott Morris all found themselves tied (at 123) to put them into sudden death playoff action. The three teed it off on Hole 1 in front of a gallery of about 30 people. Dave Eihinger sealed the win with a 2 “Birdie” on Hole 2 (from the drainage ditch!). Good show guys!
There were five Intermediate Amateurs. Greg Szewczyk won his division, shooting a 133, followed Chris Reed took second, shooting a 139. Chad Greener, playing in one of his first tournaments scored and ace-hole in one on Hole 4!
This is the Birdiefest’s fourth year. The first two years were at White Clay, and the last two have been at Beaver Branch. When asked about Birdiefest, Meli said, “This all started from Geo and I wanting to “give back” to disc golfers and have a layout that was suitable to our playing styles.”
Geo introduced the sport to Meli six years ago this June. She says that at first Geo did not know if she would like the sport but went on to say, “I was hooked after my first round, even though I could only throw about 50 feet and all hyzer.” Meli credits all of the “many great ladies” and men of the game for encouraging her to play.
Birdiefest is truly a unique event. As courses have gotten longer and harder to correspond to our ball-golf cousins (with true par 4s and 5s), Birdiefest is a tournament where the playing field is leveled by playing a par three layout. The talks are already in the works for next year, which shall prove to be another great, not to be missed event! Thank you Geo and Meli for running this excellent event!
-Brian Morris #16791
Marley, Sonnheim, McAlees, Dennis, and Litchford score wins at the 2009 Beaver Branch Bonanza!
July 18, 2009-Thirty-seven players came out to enjoy a pleasant summer day at Beaver Branch Disc Golf Course in Townsend, Delaware. This is the third year for this tournament, which previously took place in the spring; it was moved to July for additional sunlight and to take advantage of the Branch’s facilities.
The course was set up in its 18-hole configuration (5515’) with four par 4’s and three holes over 500’. There were out-of-bounds on 9 out of 18 holes. There were 10 CTPs, crock-pot hotdog lunch and a pool party afterwards! There was also another pond monster sighting!
Bob Marley won the Open Division, shooting a 107. He carded a 50 in the second round (57 in the first round) to win by one stroke over Brian Morris (108). Bob’s front nine on the second round was nearly flawless, he carded one 3 and one 4 and seven 2s. Jason “Tilly” Tillman took third place shooting a 113, and Vince Sutlic placed fourth, shooting a 114.
The Open Women Division was won by Becky Sonnheim, who shot a 65 and a 61 for a 126 on the day. Second place went to Melissa Crouse, and third to Mary Red.
The Master’s Division featured six players, with Bryan McAlees shooting two 54s for a 108 to edge out Jimi McIlvain by one stroke. Bruce “The Deuce” Mitchell shot a 56 and a 54 to take third place with a 110.
The big story on the day was the eight players battling it out in the Grandmasters Division. After the first round, all eight players were within three strokes of the win. The leader board read: “56, 56, 57, 57, 58, 58, 58, and 59!” JD Dennis shot two solid rounds of 56 and 57 (113) to beat out Steve “Wedge” Winchester, who shot 58 and 56 (114) to take second shooting in the second group.
There was also some hot disc golf going on in the Advanced Amateur Division. The advanced division featured 10 players battling out through the woods, across the fields and over the numerous out-of-bounds areas. After two rounds of golf, Rick Litchford and Robert “Boogies” Sheren were tied at 117. Rick won after a three-hole sudden death playoff. On Hole 3, Rick secured the win by scoring a par, while Robert bogeyed. Greg Middleman finished third shooting a 118, Mark “Cape” Mahafferty shot a 119 for fourth, while Scott Morris and James Martinez tied for fifth shooting 120s.
The next Branch event is slated to be on November 21: Fall Fiasco Doubles! This is a “bring your own partner” doubles event. There will be three professional divisions: Open (all ages), Masters (40+) and Mixed (guy and gal). Non-pro (Amateur) will be one division (no advanced or intermediate).
BEAVER BRANCH ACTION FRIDAYS
4/16 (5:30) >>> 4/17 Spring Ching! (9 AM Tee)
4/23 (5:45)
4/30 (5:45) >>> 5/1 Birdie Bash! (9 AM Tee)
5/28 (6:00)
6/4 (6:00)
6/11 (6:00)
7/9 (6:00)
7/16 (6:00) >>> 7/17 BB Bonanza! (9 AM Tee)
Beaver Branch Birthday Bash
We had 32.75 players play the Branch Birthday Bash on a wonderful spring day. Temperatures were in the low 70s and the winds were fairly calm, but variable. Thanks to my brother Scooter, my Dad, H-Bomb, and SKM for helping me run the event. Thanks to Da Bear for the chili and Mom for the meatballs! Thanks to DDG – Jimi for the plastic. No thanks to the Spam Wad. Thanks Smackingtrees for the CTP, Harvey, Ching and Eric for playing mini golf! Whoever processed the hotdogs and made the bread – Thanks!
BIRDIEFEST 2010
Forty-two (42) players marauded Beaver Branch for the 2010 Birdiefest. The weather was warm (upper 80’s) and sunny. First round, Trevor Willey hit an ACE on Hole 7 with an Aviar, which was also a CTP. Second round, Greg Middlemas hit and ace with a Classic Rock on Hole 12! We had hotdogs, chili (thank you Jimbo!) and cornbread (Thank you Mrs. B) with all the fixins for lunch! There were CTPS on more than half of the holes (thanks to everyone for donating to make the event even more exciting!). Kevin Gleason (proud member of the Shu Crew (Salisbury, MD) and also from High Point, NC) WON the Open division shooting 58 and a 56 (114). Breske put on his “putting mask” in the second round to move into a tie for 2nd place with B Mo and Kham. In the Pro Womens division, Mary Red got first by posting a 73 and 70! Tournament director, Bryan Smackingtrees McAlees, shot a smokin’ 54 and a 61 two win by 2 strokes over Fudd in the Masters division. Dale Wilson (also of the Shu Crew), won the advanced division shooting a 57 and a 60 (117), edging out his co-pilot, Boogies (119). Gerardus Nolden shot a 66 and 65 to win the Intermediate division. Beaver Branch hopes that everyone had a great time, and we see you all July 17th if not before for the BB Bonanza and Pool Party!
