It wouldn’t be Clash weekend without rain! On Saturday morning there was a light drizzle that made us feel like a cucumber in the produce section of Jewel and Sunday was a picture perfect summer day. Of course, we lost the cool squiggly tree near Hole 12’s B Pin on Saturday morning, both events at The Canyons this year started with downed trees. Adam Wrona from the Lockport Park District got to work after a quick text to clear the tree for the players. Adam has had so many ideas for the course, he and the park district have been better than ever with keeping The Canyons pristine!

The fun thing about running these events is that we get to choose what PDGA Tier they will be. The not so fun thing is that not everyone will be happy about it.

Here’s a quick history on Clash at the Canyons.

Clash I - 2017, Pro/Am A-Tier, 2 Days, 54 Holes, 144 Players. Pro Purse $5,870. TD Steve Rachan

Clash II Pro - Clash II Am- 2018, Pro/Am A-Tier, 4 Days, 54 Holes, 424 Players. (Half played Thurs/Fri the other half played Sat/Sun) Pro Purse $8,852 TD Steve Rachan

Clash III - 2019, Pro/Am B-Tier, 2 Days, 36 Holes, 200 Players. Pro Purse $4,221. TD Steve Rachan

Clash IV - 2020, Pro/Am B-Tier, 2 Days, 36 Holes for Pros (18 Holes for Ams, second round canceled due to weather. 27 Holes for FA3 due to weather), 235 Players. Pro Purse $7,451. TD Sean Callahan

Clash V - 2021, Pros A-Tier DGPT Silver Series, 3 Days, 54 Holes, 176 Players. Pro Purse $39,108. TD Sean Callahan

Clash V - 2021, Ams C-Tier, 2 Days, 257 Players. TD Sean Callahan

Clash VI - 2022, Pros A-Tier, 3 Days, 44 Holes due to weather, 173 Players. Pro Purse $34,219. TD Sean Callahan

Clash VI - 2022, Ams C-Tier, 2 Days, 36 Holes (MA1-31 Holes due to weather) 287 Players. TD Sean Callahan

Clash VII - 2023, Pro/AM B-Tier, 2 Days, 36 Holes, 274 Players. Pro Purse $3,631. TD Sean Callahan

You can clearly see where we went bigger and where TD burnout happened. We run over 10 events a year, not including leagues and flex starts. We have an amazing team of tournament directors and volunteers but after last year we knew we wanted to scale back Clash for our own sanity. What we didn’t realize was the pedestal that the players have Clash on. (Tell us what makes Clash stand out for you from our other events in the comments please!) The bigger the event the more it takes to make it run properly, from raising the cash for the pro purse, to organizing volunteers, to making sure spectators were respectful, to becoming weather spotters, to dealing with the general park goers that wanted to play in the creek on Hole 18 while lead card teed off…. it became exhausting.

Even though we returned Clash to a one weekend Pro/Am event we think we still made it an enjoyable experience for everyone that played. The special touch of Joe Moore announcing everyone’s name elevates the event, this is his third year announcing and he has signed up to do it every year from here on out. The spotters keep the event running smooth, these guys are out there all day long retrieving discs and marking where the disc went OB. Having an extra set of eyes and the encouragement they bring to the players are top notch. Always thank the spotters at every event you attend!

Thanks to our amazing spotters and everyone that made this event possible!

Ed Schenkenfelder - Hole 6A - All 7 years.

James Heath - Hole 4 Sunday.

Andrew Rosendahl - Hole 4 Saturday. He didn’t get in to the event but still wanted to be a part of it. This is how you Clash.

Matt Kelly - Hole 13 - Matt played THEN spotted.

Matt Stachura - Hole 13 - Matt played THEN spotted.

Joe Moore (Jose Mas) - Announced ALL DAY both days then spotted for lead card all the way through the track.

Huge thanks to Mike Apostolou for running every players meeting and keeping all of us in line. Mike is an integral part of the team and we are VERY lucky to have him!

Thanks to Lauren Lakeberg, The Disc Golf Photographer, for coming out both days and documenting the event. She continues to bless us with her creative genius and mystical outlook on life. Support her by purchasing a print or digital download directly from her website! Check out the full Clash gallery HERE.

Thanks to Anthony Guzzo for setting up the Everyday coffee shop and keeping the good vibes going. This isn’t Motel 8s free coffee, this is the good stuff. Be sure to support Everyday by buying a cup or a bag of beans to brew your own!

The free snacks were provided by a secret snack fairy.

Thanks to Aquaman, Jeff Wisniewski, for combing the creek for lost discs Clash weekend and literally every week of the year.

Thanks to Dana and Connor at Discmania for the amazing player pack discs and continued support of our events! Meta Essences!

Thanks to Andrew Wherry of Redemption Disposal for the GJTS sponsorship!

Quick moments that I will never forget which has nothing to do with the actual play of the tournament. The human moments that light our fire.

• Thank you to the players that came out with great attitudes! Our favorite part of running tournaments is the comradery between players. You continue to inspire us and remind us why these events are so important.

• When you don’t get into the event but still choose to be a part of it really means a lot, that is peak selflessness.

• Matt Rooney exiting his Uber on the street with 0 seconds to spare and immediately teeing off.

• The leadership and coaching skills of Mike Strauss, he’s got a gang of followers and we are here for it.

• Ed Radakovitz for taking a stand and showing what our community is all about!

• Machely Lopez had the biggest smile on her face every time I saw her.

• Mason Green is a bigger gentleman than most of the adults. Keep an eye on this kid.

• Noah Feil, who was dropped off both days to spectate. He caddied for Dana Vicich and was just so stoked to watch the Pros play in person. Keep an eye on him too.

• Oscar Grizzle who traveled from Bourbonnais just to watch Ryan Mulder play. He asked what Ryan putts with (Dynamic Discs Agent) and promptly bought one so he could get Ryan’s autograph. We have faith in the next generation of disc golfers!

• Walking into the bathroom only to find Alonzo Anthony didn’t lock the door, he turned around and had me sign a disc right there.

• Joe Moore’s descent into delirium, giving us facts about “breaking a leg” and “why its called being there or being square.”

• Mike Apostolou running the entire thing but still making sure everyone else was okay. Someone take this dude sledding.

• Lauren Lakeberg running herself ragged but still taking the time to check on me, she made me a peanut butter covered rice cake which I dropped peanut butter side down on the counter, I still ate it.

Clash at the Canyons VII Winners

• Rima Jokubouskas put on the boosters and shot 172 points above her rating to take down FA4.

• Natalya Mason took down her first B-Tier win in FA3.

• In FA2 Madison Borzick shot 45 points above her rating to secure the win.

• Alexa Marx continues to improve her game and took home her 8th win of the year in FA1.

• Kevin McClayton won his first MA4 event.

• In MA3 Brad Stambolic secures the win by 4 strokes.

• Bobby Mac of the infamous McDonald family takes down his first win ever in the MA2 division.

• Kory Seddon takes down MA1.

• John Knudson won MA70 and is #12 in the PDGA Global Masters Series Rank.

• Dan Buckler takes down his first B-Tier win in the MA60 division.

• Mark Goffi traveled all the way from Georgia to win MA50.

• Jorge Piña Jr. is on a winning streak in MA40.

• Robert Ryan shot 30 points above his rating to secure the MP50 win.

• Al Hermosillo won MP40.

• Team Dellwood Disc Golf’s Zack Finwall keeps the helmet in Illinois and won MPO, this is the first event his parents spectated, I think they brought some luck!

CTP’s

• MA1 - Hole 1 - Jared Gardner $120

• MA40 - Hole 9 - Vernon Manning $120

• MA50 - Hole 5 - Steve Waters $70

• MA60 - Hole 10 - Dan Buckler $70

• MA70 - Hole 6E - Bob Pitlock $70

• MA2 - Hole 7 - Ben Halter $120

• MA3 - Hole 18 - Matt White $120

• MA4 - Hole 13 - Matt Kelly $120

• FA4 - Hole 14 - Gianna Losito $70

• FA3 - Hole 15 - Dawn Pina $70

• FA2 - Hole 16 - Cassidy Mayorga $70

• FA1 - Hole 2 - Lexi Marx $70

Aces

NO ACES! We rolled over the unhit Ace fund of $980 from Clash 4th of July Flex to bring the pot up to over $2,000 and still no one hit it.

We will be rolling it over once again to the next stop on the Greater Joliet Tour Season, The GJTS Putting Championships! So on top of our already added $5,000, over $2,000 will be split into all divisions to bring the added cash to $7,000! Get signed up HERE!

Clash VII winners, full results can be found HERE

Greater Joliet Tour Season Leaderboards can be found HERE.

Out of Towners: (We claim Northern Indiana as our own.)

Josh Riley - Keokuk, Iowa

Sam DiCarlo - Austin, Texas

Austin Weik - Fort Collins, Colorado

Kory Seddon - Chandler, Arizona

Nick Schleicher - St Louis, Missouri

Mark Daughters - Lehigh Acres, Florida

Alex Ulp - St Louis, Missouri

Joseph Benek - Indianapolis, Indiana

Jared Herring - Mead, Colorado

Mark Goffi - Mcdonough, Georgia

John Molenda - Franksville, Wisconsin

Alan Clifton - Fenton, Missouri

Randy Jacobson - Mcfarland, Wisconsin

Eric Sisco - St Louis, Missouri

Dominic Monsivais - Davenport, Iowa

Kevin O’Neill - Royse City, Texas

Rhett Baxley - Henderson, Kentucky

We had the GJTS putting Game on Saturday too, results can be found below:

Uppers

1st - Sam Lin - $75

2nd - Ryan Stilson - $63

3rd - Ryan Mulder - $50

4th - Zach Finwall - $38

T5 - Nathan Feldheim - $8

T5 - Dan Fiorino - $8

T5 - Bruce Churches - $8

T5 - Phil Mulder - $8

Lowers

1st - Dan Rebholz - $74

2nd - Jake Kotke - $56

3rd - Louis Olendorf - $56

4th - Jordan Kappra - $32

5th - Kevin O’Neill - $32

Highlight video filmed and edited by Leo “Doc” Borowski.

Cast & Crew

• Sean Callahan - Tournament Director, Dellwood Disc Golf. Fearless Leader.

• Sheila Callahan - Assistant Tournament Director, Dellwood Disc Golf, the lady in the shop.

• Leo “Doc” Borowski - Assistant Tournament Director, DiscTV - Filmer, Editor, Audio Guy, doesn’t want a clean computer.

• Ryan Fancher - Assistant Tournament Director, Unstable Disc Golf Gear - Trophies, player packs, lead card music. Tears of the Kingdom tips.

• Mike Apostolou - Assistant Tournament Director - Player Meetings, has never eaten a banana OR a PB&J?!

• Lauren Lakeberg - The Disc Golf Photographer - Photos, vibe video, 14 Pedialytes, the Oracle.

• Marc Borowski - Dellwood Disc Golf - Great job this weekend, bird!

• Auston Kap - Dellwood Disc Golf - Keep being positive. You got the next one!

• Joe Moore - Announcer - Delirious water drinker, lead card spotter.

• Anthony Guzzo - Coffee, Playlist, Vibez.