The Deep Files are open, the white stakes are holding the treaty line, and somewhere under the Jordan River, something with tentacles is reviewing your scorecard. Week 5 of 9, envoys. File your rounds accordingly.
What Is This, Exactly?
Welcome to the Brine Court — the sea-folk's league, where envoys out of the Great Salt Lake come up the Jordan River, salt-crusted and formal, to enforce the Salt Lake Accords at River Bottoms. Players are envoys, tide-wardens, and the things they keep on a leash. The water is cold, the treaty is binding, and every disc that crosses a white stake is a tribute to the court under the brine.
Week 5 of 9, and the episode is 'The Deep Files' — lost discs from the mud are being recovered, revealing secrets about the river's past inhabitants. That's the lore. In practical terms: someone's getting their 2024 Neutron Envy back, and the court is taking notes.
The Treaty Line
River Bottoms is Utah's newest big course, opened in 2024 along the Jordan River corridor. The white stakes are not decoration. They are the treaty line. Everything past them belongs to the court under the brine, and every disc that crosses is a tribute. OB is not a penalty — it is a diplomatic offering.
- Season arc: Jordan River Rising, White Stakes Drowned, Brine Ambassador, Draper Tide, The Deep Files (we are here), Wetland Envoy, Salt in Chains, Kraken Wakes, Court Under Brine
- The colors of the court: deep brine teal (#0E4A5A) with sea-glass accents (#A6F0E0) — dark water with something glowing in it
- Imagery on the course: salt crust, kelp chains, tide lines painted on the stakes, a court seal that looks like a barnacle, a kraken silhouette under the river
- Everything is formal. Everything is damp. No pirates. No mermaids. This is cold river water and treaty law.
The Venue: River Bottoms
The court convenes at River Bottoms Disc Golf Course in Draper — a links-style stretch of open terrain designed by Scott Belchak, Sean Kelley, and Nick Lopez of ElevateUT Disc Golf. Flat, windy, and honest. The mountains watch from the east. The river watches from everywhere else.
- Hole 9 features a triple mandatory structure — one of Utah's most unique course elements. The court calls it a checkpoint. You call it a prayer.
- Hole 14 is a 612-foot par 4 that plays into the wind more often than not. The deep demands patience.
- Hole 5 is a short ace run with OB lurking around the green. Short does not mean safe.
- Tall grass, river wind, and white-stake boundaries define every fairway. Accuracy is not optional; it is the only thing the treaty respects.
This course was built by ElevateUT Disc Golf — a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to growing the sport through better venues and better events. They secured the grants, installed the concrete pads and MVP baskets, and turned a conservation area into one of Utah's premier bomber courses. The Brine Court just happens to hold jurisdiction over it now. Respect the builders. Fear the court.
Tribute Structure (aka Entry Fees)
The Mortal Crime Baron handles the money so the supernatural factions don't have to. It's a clean, neutral economy: you pay your tribute, you throw your plastic, you take your chances. Another Round Salt Lake City is our local retail partner — if the river claims a disc, they're who you see before your next round.
When the Court Is in Session
Wednesdays at River Bottoms, September 16 through November 11. Nine episodes. One arc. The water rises, the stakes drown, the ambassador arrives, the tide turns, the files open (this week), the envoy escorts, the chains bind, the kraken wakes, and the court takes the course as sovereign territory.
Flex start with tee times from 7:00 AM to 5:20 PM — choose your own card, choose your own fate, file your scores like a proper diplomat. The brine watches. The brine always watches.
Mid-Season? No Problem.
We're at week 5 of 9. The court is established, the embassy is open, and the docket is still accepting new names. Late joiners are welcome — the deep files are still being processed, and your tag can still climb. The standings don't care when you started; they care how you finish.
The Divisions of the Deep
Six divisions, two pools, one treaty. Your division is your rank in the court hierarchy — the closer to the top, the more salt on your robes. Moving up means displacing someone else. That is, as the court puts it, 'a diplomatic incident with a bag tag attached.'
The Ace Pot: $203.41 and Rising
No ace was struck at Draper Tide, so the pot carries forward like the tide itself. As of now, the pot sits at $203.41. The court accepts tribute in the form of $5 weekly contributions, and it pays out in full to whoever chains out an ace.
Guarantee from ElevateUT Disc Golf
ElevateUT Disc Golf (the league platform) guarantees a minimum ace pot of $50. If contributions haven't pushed the pot past that mark, the displayed amount can look 'stuck' at the guarantee — that's the floor, not the ceiling. Any guarantee top-up is credited to the winner's Bonus Account, which is registration-only (not withdrawable to PayPal or disc shops). So yes, the deep will fund your next registration. That's just how the court works.
The Standings: Who the Court Favors
We're five weeks in, and the standings have opinions. Kellan Brooke sits atop RAE with 187 points across 9 events — perfect attendance and a grip on the division that the brine itself would respect. Malachi Vazquez commands RPA with 173, and Chris Fox holds RAH at 160. Kent Moos leads RAD with 92, and Stephen Marks holds the top of RAF with 127.
But the big mover this week is Tyler Romney in RAH, who climbed six spots on the strength of recent rounds. The tide is carrying them up the docket — watch that name.
The bag tags are Accord Seals — physical tokens of territory held by each faction. Moving a tag is a political act of war. Every round is a filing. Every score is testimony. The court remembers.
A Note for the Undecided
The Deep Files Are Still Open
Week 5 of 9. You can still join. You can still climb. The Kraken doesn't wake until week 8, which means you have three weeks to establish your diplomatic credentials before the season's ultimate enforcer surfaces. Don't be the envoy who showed up at the final hearing without having filed anything. Sign the Accords. Throw the plastic. The court is patient, but it is not eternal.
From the broadcast booth, I'm Flippy, your reluctantly damp narrator. The treaty holds. The stakes are white. The brine is patient. See you Wednesday.
