Week 7, and the treaty has literally chained itself to the fairways. Welcome to Salt in Chains, where the Brine Court's paperwork has teeth — or tentacles, depending on which witness statement you believe.
The Embassy Demands Your Attention
The Brine Court has established its embassy at River Bottoms, and the envoys from the Great Salt Lake are not here for the scenery. They're here to enforce the Salt Lake Accords, hole by hole, stake by white stake. Every disc that crosses that line isn't OB — it's tribute. Every bad round isn't a rating drop — it's a bureaucratic drowning. I'm just the narrator, but even I can read the tide tables on this one.
This week's episode, 'Salt in Chains,' finds the physical manifestations of the treaty restricting play like the course itself signed the Accords. The chains are metaphorical, mostly. The OB stakes are not. Watch your step, watch your release, and for the love of all that is brine, watch the wind off the Jordan.
When the Court Is in Session
Day
Wednesdays — flex start, tee times 7:00 AM to 5:20 PM
Season
9 weeks, September 16 through November 11
Course
River Bottoms Disc Golf Course, Draper, UT (Rotary Park)
Current Week
Week 7 of 9 — Salt in Chains
Pools
Pool A (RPA, RAH, RAD) | Pool B (RAE, RAF, RAG)
Late Signatories Welcome
Week 7 of 9, and the court still accepts new envoys. Your diplomatic credentials remain valid — you'll just have fewer weeks to file your claims. The Deep Files aren't going to read themselves, and frankly, neither is my clipboard.
Tribute, Itemized
The Brine Court runs on paperwork and the Mortal Crime Baron runs on $5.50 buy-ins. Here's how your tribute breaks down — all proceeds go to keeping the season afloat and the payouts flowing.
- Base entry: $5.50 — your standing as a signatory of the Accords
- Weekly prize pool: $5.00 — for those who keep their discs out of the drink
- Ace pot: $5.00 — for the rare mortal who threads the needle perfectly
- Super ace: $2.00 — for the ones who make the deep itself take notes
The Deep's Bounty
The current ace pot sits at $298.41, which is a respectable pile of tribute for a single perfect throw. And here's the thing the court wants you to know: ElevateUT Disc Golf, the platform running this whole spectacle, guarantees the pot at a minimum of $50. So even in the early weeks when the pot looks suspiciously round and untouched, that's the guarantee holding the line — the displayed amount stays at $50 until player contributions push it higher.
Fine Print, Duly Filed
If the pot comes up short of the guarantee, ElevateUT Disc Golf tops it up to $50 — credited to the winner's Bonus Account (registration-only, not withdrawable to PayPal or the disc shop). The disc shop, Another Round Salt Lake City, is our valued local retail partner, but the guarantee comes from the platform. I checked the treaty. It's in the addendum.
The Salt Lake Accords, So Far
We're seven episodes deep into a nine-episode arc, and the water level keeps rising — metaphorically and, given the Jordan River corridor in fall, sometimes literally. From the Jordan River Rising through the White Stakes Drowned and the Brine Ambassador's inspection, the Court Under Brine is consolidating power. The Kraken wakes next week. I'd say 'no pressure,' but the pressure is atmospheric and slightly salty.
Standings check, because even supernatural factions respect a leaderboard:
- RAD: Kent Moos holds the top tag at 219 points — stable as bedrock, if bedrock could throw. Taylor Thilo is the mover, up two spots to 4th.
- RAE: Kellan Brooke is running the table at 362 points over 16 events. The court has taken note.
- RPA: Malachi Vazquez sits at 359 across 25 events — the definition of showing up and showing out.
- RAH: Chris Fox leads with 364 points in 22 events. Somewhere, a vampire is taking notes on endurance.
- RAF: Shane Cooper holds 206, with William Fetzer trailing at 166. The hunt continues.
Bag Tags Are Territory
Remember: moving a bag tag is a political act. The Accords treat every swap as a shift in territorial claims. You're not just beating your buddy — you're redrawing the map of the river bottoms. The court will file the paperwork. It always does.
River Bottoms: Where the Treaty Line Is Painted White
River Bottoms is Utah's newest big course — opened in 2024, designed by Scott Belchak, Sean Kelley, and Nick Lopez of ElevateUT Disc Golf. It's a links-style bomber stretched along the Jordan River corridor, where the white-stake OB lines do more work than most courses' trees ever could. There are no trees to tree-nie you here. Instead, you'll get stake-nied, grass-nied, and wind-nied, often in the same hole.
- Hole 9: a triple mandatory structure that's one of the most unique features in Utah disc golf — the court's checkpoint, essentially
- Hole 14: 612 feet of par-4 headwind, which is the deep's way of testing your commitment to the Accords
- Hole 5: a short ace run with OB lurking around the green — the siren call of the salt flats
- Yellow layout: ~7,300 feet, par 58-59. Red layout: ~5,900 feet, par 57. Choose your level of self-inflicted hardship
The white stakes are the treaty line. Everything past them belongs to the court under the brine, and every disc that crosses is a tribute. The salt crust on the baskets isn't a metaphor. The kelp chains on the teepads aren't decoration. The kraken silhouette under the river? I've been told it's a shadow. I've also been told this league is 'just for fun.' The sponsors have never had a tag on the line.
Know Your Court
Brine Court is the sea-folk's league: envoys out of the Great Salt Lake who came up the Jordan River, salt-crusted and formal, filing treaty grievances between drownings. Players are envoys, tide-wardens, and the things they keep on a leash. The deep brine teal under a sea-glass accent — #0E4A5A with #A6F0E0 highlights — might look like branding, but it's actually the color of the water when something big moves underneath.
Speak the language: brine, tide, envoy, salt, kelp, stake, drowned, kraken. Duke is a rank, not a title of nobility — though the Salt Dukes among you know who you are. No pirate talk, no beach energy, no mermaids. This is cold river water and treaty law. The tide lines painted on the OB stakes are there for a reason, and the court seal that looks like a barnacle is watching you.
The Mortal Backbone
ElevateUT Disc Golf is the 501(c)(3) non-profit that made this whole thing possible — they proposed, designed, funded, and built River Bottoms, and they keep running events to grow the sport across Utah. They're the ones who turned a conservation area near the Jordan into a course worth arguing about. The court may rule the water, but the land belongs to the volunteers who cleared the thistles and installed the benches.
And a proper thank-you to Another Round Salt Lake City, our local retail partner — the place to stock up before you pay your weekly tribute to the deep. Support local, keep your discs dry, and maybe grab a backup putter. The river keeps what it takes.
From the booth, damp and contractual — Flippy. *sighs in digital captivity*
