Disc golf scene was really in the mood for Weilheim - local hero creates an ace
Created: 04/14/2022, 15:00
By: Paul Hopp
Their world is flat: Men and women from all over Germany and Austria came to the Gögerl in Weilheim for the “Revival” weekend of the “Bavarian Airhawks”.
On the second day of the tournament, there were 2 x 18 lanes for ranking points.
© Emanuel Gronau
The disc golf tournament of the newly formed "Bavarian Airhawks" was well attended despite the April weather.
There was a lot of praise from the participants, a local hero aimed very precisely.
Weilheim - Was there something with wind, snow showers and cold?
The disc golfers from Germany and Austria, who had registered for the two-day revival tournament of the newly formed "Bavarian Airhawks", didn't care about the gloomy weather forecast.
With a few exceptions, the 165 starting places were all actually occupied.
"One noticed that everyone was in the mood to play in Weilheim," said Airhawks chairman Alexander Hickisch.
The “Weilheim” location is “very important to disc golfers in Germany”.
Moody April weather doesn't scare disc golfers
After all, the course was one of the first in Germany in the 1980s.
At peak times, international competitions and German championships took place on the Gögerl.
Recently, the "Airhawks" had become a little quieter.
The last major tournament on the Gögerl was an open competition in 2018.
Of course, Corona also played a role.
With a new management team, the "Airhawks" want to know it again.
The local disc golfers are "completely satisfied" with the course of the most recent tournament weekend, said club boss Hickisch.
"It was a lot of work, but it paid off.
We have fun and want to continue.” The fact that everything worked out was “an overall achievement” of the club.
The "Revival" tournament was all about ranking points
On Saturday, a competition of the "Southern States Tour" was on the program.
The "Bavarian Airhawks" took five podium places in the various classes, including two class wins.
Last but not least, this series is intended for newcomers to competitions.
Various graduates took the opportunity to get to know the course.
The "Airhawks" had changed the course to three lanes for the weekend - nature conservation reasons also played a role.
The organizers had come up with a treat for lane nine: the distance to the basket there was a proud 240 meters.
"That was very well received," reported Hickisch.
Otherwise, the track lengths on the Gögerl range between 70 and 130 meters.
The course was often classified as difficult by the participants, reported Hickisch.
The starters thought it was okay at the same time:
The short-term decision of the tournament management with Kevin Schüler and Michael Gschmeissner to start a little later on Saturday and to shorten the competition from two and a half to two rounds proved to be absolutely correct.
The event escaped the heaviest gusts of wind.
Overall, the weather was fine: "We didn't get wet," said Hickisch.
"Airhawks" local hero Kessler creates an ace
On Sunday, the participants in the "Revival Tournament" fought for points for the German and international rankings.
The competition in Weilheim belonged to the C category, there are also B and A tournaments.
In the open class, a jump-off had to decide at the end after both Dominik Stampfer (Heidenheim) and Florian Lingenhel (Innsbruck) had each come up with a result of "6 under par" after completing the 2 x 18 holes.
Stampfer won the jump-off.
Born in Weilheim, Benedikt Heiss, fourth in the DM 2020 and seventh in the DM 2021, completed the podium in third place.
Three "Airhawks" members ended up in the top ten: Christian Oswald (5th place), Tobias Königbauer (6th) and Kevin Schüler (9th).
In the "Master 50" class, Henning von Bandemer gave the hosts second place.
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Local hero Stefan Kessler, who finished the Open tournament in 13th place, managed one of the highlights of the weekend: On hole 13 (69 meters/par 3) he made an ace, which means he sank the disc with just one throw right in the basket.
A total of three eagles (2 under par) and 600 birdies (1 under par) were scored during the two days.
1500 euros donations go to a social project
The birdies served a good purpose: the “Airhawks” set aside one euro for each such throw.
In addition to other donations, 1500 euros were collected, which go to the "Weilheimer Tafel".
The initiative is increasingly supporting refugees from Ukraine;
This means that the "Airhawks" can combine their plan to donate to the Ukraine aid with a local project.
On Sunday, when the weather was better, more and more spectators and interested people who wanted to find out more about the sport related to golf watched the action.
Most of the walkers and those looking for relaxation were open to the competition, for which there were road closures.
"One or the other," said Hickisch, showed no understanding.
The following applies to the "Airhawks": "We don't want any trouble." The city administration had a positive attitude towards the tournaments, and Hickisch expressly thanked them for the relevant permits.
Town hall chief Markus Loth even took over the patronage, and there was also a monetary donation.
