This is the tough part of the touring year. Lots of expensive travel between events. After the Bob West memorial, we stayed with Bob Dodge in the Los Angeles area for a few days, preparing for the El Dorado Open. Bob works for Verison and doesn't have a telephone connection at his house. He's completely wireless.

Dave, Avery and I struggled a bit at the El Dorado Open. I turned my ankle between rounds on the first day and had to wear a brace for the rest of the tournament (and at the upcoming St. Patrick's classic). We earned our entry fees back and moved on towards Sacremento, stopping along the way at the petrified forest just north of San Francisco, where we stayed a night with Roger Canseler and James Swinger. They gave us a tour of the petrified trees and of their course. We drove on across the Napa wine valley to Sacramento.

Roger rode with us to Sacramento... we had a 'eufloric' time.

Like I was saying before... it's been a lot of driving. My mind is a blur of road signs and mile markers. Here's is some more interesting stuff that has been going on:

-The Winnicrew has gotten into the habit of calling each other 'shule-monkeys' when we play badly (shule being a golfer's term for the deepest, darkest part of the rough). James Swinger donated a little plastic 'Curious George' monkey to us, so now the deal is that whoever plays worst at an event has to clip the 'shule-monkey' to his bag for the next tournament. If you play in Gainesville next weekend you'll see the monkey making an appearance on my bag.

-After uninspired shule-monkey performances at the St. Patrick's Classic, Dave was carrying the SM for National Doubles and was unable to get rid of it since he and Avery (his partner) tied. So far, it turns out that the SM has been a good luck charm, or at least a motivational factor. Everyone who has had to carry it has played well at that tournament.

-We somehow talked Innova-Champion into advertising on the side of the Winnebago. An agreement was reached so the Innova would be the only disc manufacturer represented on the Winni. We had to change Gateway's ad so that it didn't mention their discs but we refunded their money, (plus the cost of the vinyl sticker) and gave Gateway and new spot for free. Davey Mac wasn't entirely pleased with the decision but I think that we will remain friends in the long run..... it's just business. We also had a special 100 disc run of 'Winnicrew' thank you discs to give to the people we stay with while on tour. They are very nice and I deeply thank Innova for all the help they gave us in making them. A couple discs are just a token, but we really needed a way to thank the people who help us out so much out there. I hope that our friends find some value in the discs.

-On the drive from Innova-West (Cali) to National Doubles (Texas) we broke down in Phoenix. Oil pump went out, and was no small task as it turned out. None of the local repair places would work on the engine, so I dove in. Dave called a friend we made during the Bob West and she drove him around town all day looking for parts. They eventually found the only oil pump in Phoenix and I replaced it in a mall parking lot over the course of two days. We rolled into Round Rock on Friday morning after a 26 hour driving spree and got in one round on each of the re-designed courses. Thanks for the use of your car Allison. Way to go Mark Ellis/Carlton Howard on becoming 2001 National Doubles masters champions.

-National doubles went pretty well. Very windy, cold and wet. Like last year, Al and I had one bad round. Actually it was a bad half round. When it was all said and done we finished 2nd behind Stokely and Russell. Didn't seem fair. Stokely throws so far and was putting well too. Ron is Ron. He played great too. Dave and Avery stuck it out and cashed.

-Next was the big drive to Raleigh, North Carolina. 200 miles into the trip I lost the fan clutch... not a real big deal but scary when it happens. A little more time lying under the Winnie and we were on our way.

-At the Dogwood Crosstown we stayed with Dave Mansfield, Brian 'Mad-Dog" McCree, and Brian Schweberger. You may remember us breaking down at their house last year. This year they hosted us and about 7 other touring golfers for the big SuperTour run by Kirk Yoo.

-Linda flew out to play in the tournament and got a little taste of the tour life. She stayed in the Winnie with me, Dave, Avery, Al and Sue, (their pop-up broke an axle just outside of town and they needed a bed) and Storm the dog. Pretty crowded. We all got rained on a bunch. Linda played well in a field of eight women, didn't cash but had a good time and made some new friends. It was great to spend some time with her again. We got a room Sunday night and the hotel 'forgot' to give us our 5am wakeup call so she could catch her flight. Luckily we made it in time for the next flight to St. Louis and didn't have to pay anything extra. It was a great time Linda... hope to see you again soon. I miss you already.

-Dave Feldberg played four solid rounds and finished in 2nd place. This is Dave's second top two finish in SuperTours. Avery edged me by a stroke to make the top ten.

-Advertising is going pretty well on the Winnie. I'd like to thank our paid advertisers:

• Innova Champion
• Revolution Disc Golf Bags
• 'G''s Disc Golf Promotions
• Fly-18
• Gateway Disc Sports
• Sky South
• Disclife.com

-On a similar note, we'd also like to offer up personal/club/gift ads to people. For $75 we'll pick a highly visible 4"x12" spot on the Winnie and put your name and PDGA # there.... or your girlfriend's name... or your new baby's name... or your club's name. Basically anything you want within reason. The name, number or club's ad will be placed on the "Honorary Winnicrew Members" section of the Winnie. Hopefully we'll be able to fill it up. Your ad will remain for the life of the Winnie, and will help us to keep playing on the Tour.

-The Winnicrew will be running some MaceMan doubles events in between tour stops for the rest of the year starting with an event on the Monday following the Gainesville SuperTour. Look for a schedule of stops here in the near future. Thank you Maceman.

Well... I tried to cover most of the major happenings as of late. If I go more than seven days without posting something send me an email telling me to get my butt in gear!

-Todd and Crew

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