Redwood Treaty

The Turf Remembers Everything 🪦

Five players gathered under the bridge at Roots Disc Golf Course to sign the Redwood Treaty — a pact to respect the buried history of the land before anyone threw a drive. 74.6°F, wind sitting at 13.8 mph, clouds overhead like the sky was taking notes. This isn't just a nine-week league; it's a sonic excavation, where the thud of chains raises whatever's underneath the turf. The drums started Thursday. The choir of the dead hummed along. And somewhere on hole 4, something old shifted in its sleep. 🥁

Seven Strokes Between Heaven And Heck

David LaTour took RAE at +3, first place, wire-to-wire — never relinquished the lead, held the cash line, and posted an 854-rated round for round of the day. The catch: his front nine was seven strokes better than his back. Seven. The man built a mansion on the front and spent the back nine looking for the deed. Still, a win is a win, and the veteran left the course with the trophy and a story about his own unraveling. 🏆

The Par Train Has No Brakes

Zachary Fica wins RAG at +4, second place event-wide, riding a five-hole par train from holes 13 through 17 — no birdie fireworks, just relentless, boring, effective par. First-time player, series competitor debut, division winner. The 841-rated round was round of the day in RAG, which is a lot of firsts for one afternoon. The Death Curse series has its opening statement. 🚂

A Record Carved In Living Wood

Malachi Vazquez wins RPA at -7 with a 47-stroke inaugural course record, wire-to-wire, round of the day, and the Trailblazer nod. He carved his name into the ledger on day one. The Silent Wake gave up exactly three sole birdies all round, and Malachi took two of them — hole 9 (Par 3, 401ft) and hole 16 (Par 3, 270ft). Britain Best finished even at E, but the round cost him: OB on hole 1, OB on hole 18, and a 56-point below-rating performance (891 on a 947 rating). He did drill a 39-foot C2 putt on hole 13 and grab the only birdie on hole 7 (Par 3, 269ft), so the highlight reel isn't empty. Malachi's hot streaks both died at three holes — 8-10 and 15-17 — which is the only thing that stopped him from lapping the field twice. 🔥

Twenty Points Above The Curse

Kent Moos wins RAD at -4, second place event-wide, with a 941-rated round — twenty points above his 921 rating, round of the day in RAD. The bounce-back was the story: two over on hole 1, then the sole birdie in The Silent Wake on hole 2 (Par 3, 247ft) to answer immediately. Three under across holes 2-4, another sole birdie on hole 14 (Par 3, 262ft), and a hot streak that expired at three holes like everyone else's. The one blemish: 1-over on the Super Ace hole 16, which cost him a shot at the big pot. Twenty points above rating and still one hole short of free money. 📈

The Pot Grows, The Pot Waits

The Super Ace pot is back and now sits at $1,760 after four contributors added $8.00 this week. Kent Moos' 1-over on hole 16 was the closest anyone came to cracking it, which tells you everything about how that hole is treating the field. The split payout means the drama compounds every week nobody aces — a season-long subplot nobody asked for and everybody's watching. 💰

Skins ran separately: one card, three players, $27.00 exchanged. Malachi Vazquez took 11 skins for $16.50, David LaTour took 6 for $9.00, and Britain Best grabbed 1 for $1.50. The carryover scoop landed on hole 14 — five skins worth $7.50 to David LaTour — before Malachi closed it out on hole 16 with a birdie for 2. Per the skins playbook, that's a clean sweep of the drama. 🎯

Every Signature Costs Something

The Roots Course Fund raised $2.75 this event: a $0.25 winnings donation from David LaTour and a $2.50 league registration contribution. Total raised is now $916.16 — 92% of the $1,000.00 goal — leaving $83.84 to go. That's the physical manifestation of the treaty: honoring the land with real dollars. Push it over the line at the Roots course fund. 💵

The Appendix Finds A New Host

In The Silent Wake pool, Malachi Vazquez takes tag #1 — the Grim Appendix — after entering the week at tag #5. A four-spot jump in AllIn mode, where every tag reshuffles based on standings and no defense was logged. The Appendix is the living consequence of signing the Accords: a card-sized mass of shifting printed text, fever-warm to the touch, tendrils reaching to attach more firmly, growing heavier with every rating point lost. Right now it sits on the shoulder of a man who just shot a 979-rated round and a course record. The Appendix doesn't care. It's patient. It's read your whole history. And in AllIn, missing a week means getting buried at the back of the line. 📜

The Markers Are Maps, Not Stones

Week 1's record is now part of the buried history this league is excavating, and the Redwood Treaty has its first signatures. But the turf isn't done talking.

Next Thursday, September 24, Grave Roots returns to Roots Disc Golf Course for Buried Tees — Week 2 of 9. Old markers from the 1980s ball golf era are pushing through the turf on hole 4. They aren't stones. They're maps to a layout that no longer exists, and they're confusing the GPS systems. The choir of the dead hums in the background while players navigate obstacles nobody put there. Layout: Grave Roots League Layout. Bring your discs, bring water, and bring a compass that doesn't lie.

Register for Buried Tees →

So we're trusting 1980s ball golf markers to guide a disc golf round. Sure. Let's see how that goes. ⛳