The Council is split, the drums are fighting each other, and the earth is literally cracking open beneath the cart paths. Welcome to Week 6 of Grave Roots, where the dissonance is evidence and everyone's a suspect.
The Record So Far
Exhibit A: a Thursday league at Roots Disc Golf Course where the dead refuse to stay buried and the living keep throwing plastic at them. Exhibit B: the course itself, once a par-3 ball golf course paved over in the 80s, raised from the dead in 2014 by volunteers who refused to let the history rot. Exhibit C: you, probably, standing on a tee pad wondering why the ground is humming.
This is the Choir Clash, the week where the bone choir sings in two different keys and the drummers can't agree on a tempo. The course plays fair for no one. The tags, however, play for everyone. Let's enter the evidence.
The Necromancy in Question
Roots sits on the site of Salt Lake's first disc golf course — buried, paved over, and resurrected by grassroots fundraising. The Jordan River runs along the east side like a wake, and the old course map bleeds through the new one like a ghost that never got the memo. This is not a metaphor. The roots are literally pushing through the pavement.
- 18 holes, par 54, flat and grassy with mature trees that have opinions about your lines
- Hole 9 plays along the river — pretty until your overstable disc becomes a water offering
- Hole 12's triple-mandatory gap is the universe's way of saying 'not today'
- Hole 18 demands placement and power, which is a fancy way of saying 'good luck'
Two Factions, One Graveyard
The Silent Wake (RPA, RAH, RAD) plays like a séance — still, solemn, letting the roots grow deep. The Bone Percussion (RAE, RAF, RAG) treats every basket like a drum skin that needs hitting. One faction whispers. The other thuds. This week, they're playing over each other, and the scorecard is the only witness.
Tribute and Offerings
Format
Choose your own card, flex start 7:00 AM – 5:20 PM
The Mortal Crime Baron handles the money so the rest of us can pretend magic isn't involved. Standard stuff.
The Ace Pot, Currently Restless
The ace pot sits at $263.41 and climbing, with a $50 minimum guarantee from ElevateUT Disc Golf. If the pot ever looks stuck at that $50 floor, it's not a glitch — it's the guarantee holding the line until player contributions push past it. And if the guarantee tops up the pot, the difference lands in the winner's Bonus Account (registration credit only, not withdrawable to PayPal or your local disc shop). The dead don't do cash advances.
Ace check
No ace last week. The chains remain unchained. $263.41 says someone's due.
Standings: The Trial Continues
The evidence shows Kellan Brooke holding court atop RAE with 241 points — a commanding lead, but the real drama is the shuffle beneath. Nicholas Stosiek and Brian Bowling traded places this week, one rising, one falling, separated by a single card's worth of judgment. And in RAF, Shane Cooper has overtaken Stephen Marks for the top spot. The tags are political. The politics are personal.
We're six weeks into a nine-week ritual. The drums are loud, the roots are restless, and the curse is nowhere near spent. If you haven't signed the Redwood Treaty yet, the ink is still wet — late joiners are welcome, and the dead are very patient.
When the Drums Call
Every Thursday through November 12 at Roots Disc Golf Course. Flex start from 7:00 AM to 5:20 PM — pick your tee time, find a card, and get your throws in before the lanterns come out. The remaining episodes: Choir Clash, Grave Accord, Wake Walk, and the Last Drumbeat. The finale is coming, and the ground knows it.
Gratitude, Filed Properly
Thanks to Another Round Salt Lake City for supporting the league as our local retail partner — stop by for discs, advice, and the distinct feeling that someone else understands what you're doing out there. And a proper acknowledgment to ElevateUT Disc Golf, the 501(c)(3) non-profit keeping this whole séance running, growing the sport one resurrected course at a time.
The choir is off-key, the drums are fighting, and the ground is cracking open. Somehow, this is still just disc golf. See you Thursday.
