Have You Ever Played Disc Golf??
Image Source: Tenor
A few friends of mine took me out for my very first round a few years ago. I enjoyed it, but it was just something to do with my friends every few weeks during the summer.
Last year, though, everything changed.
After two years of living a sedentary life while the Rona chaos blew over and even working from home full time, I wanted to find a physical activity that I'd enjoy to get back into shape. I remembered how much fun I had playing with my friends so I wanted to give disc golf another chance.
I started going out more often with one of the guys and I gained a whole new love, and respect, for the game.
I always kinda laughed at disc golf when I was younger, thinking it was just a bunch of grown men throwing frisbees at a target. I wasn't far off if I'm being real, but it's so much more than that. Disc golf makes me use my brain in ways I wouldn't otherwise.
I played for a couple of months using a buddy's extra discs and still didn't know all that much about which discs I "should" be throwing when I made my first purchase. I knew I wanted a driver, a midrange, and a putter, so I browsed around on Infinite Discs looking to put together a mix-n-match starter set. I ended up with an Innova 'Corvette', a Mint 'Mustang', and a Viking 'Knife':
Once I had my own discs I had the freedom to play anytime I wanted, and I did exactly that. I live really close to 3 different courses, and public transit will take me from my house to two of them. I started slow, but once the addiction set in, I found myself on the course 3 or 4 days out of the week to play another round and scratch that itch to throw.
My favorite local course to play is definitely East Frankfort Park DGC:
Image Source: Frankfort DGA
It's all par 3's except one, and the longest hole is only 373 feet, but it requires a lot of different types of shots. I've been able to learn forehand and backhand throws, hyzer flips, rollers, and more. I even got my first Ace on camera on Hole 5 with a short 360 backhand!
I've played almost non-stop since last May, and have even watched tons of pro tour matches and content on YouTube to learn as much as I possibly can. I get out to practice in an open field at least once a week when I can, and I now have a portable basket at home so I can practice my putting whenever I have a few minutes to spare, which my job affords me plenty of. It truly has taken up a nice little portion of my daily thoughts, and I'm okay with that.
I'm sorta hard on myself when I'm out there on the course, but if I'm being honest with myself, I know I've progressed pretty quickly in the time I've been playing. I've pushed my average score on the 24-hole layout of the EFP course to between -2 and +2, which I'm pretty happy with.
I've had so much fun over the last 9 months or so
that I recently started competing in local events!
that I recently started competing in local events!
My local disc golf association holds weekly doubles matches while the leagues are in the off-season and I decided to get out there and start throwing with people who are considerably better than I am so that I can learn more up close and personal.
I thought I had fun playing disc golf before, but I love playing in doubles matches! Having a partner to lean on when you accidentally grip-lock a disc into the trees makes things a bit less stressful, and being able to bounce ideas off someone else about what the best throw or the best disc for the situation might be is absolutely invaluable. This past weekend, I got paired with someone at about the same skill level as myself, and we played off one another perfectly.
My plan is to keep practicing, learning as much as I can about the sport and how to throw my discs better, get some new discs for certain shot types, and get my PDGA number so I can start throwing in sanctioned events! I have no delusions that I'll ever be on the pro tour, but who knows what the future may hold? All I know is that I can see myself having fun playing disc golf for years to come.
I love the adventure that comes with every round, and the tranquility of the course. I love introducing new people to the game and seeing their eyes go wide the first time they get a really nice throw and their disc floats through the air like butter.
I think most of all, I love the community that surrounds disc golf. I've never met an unfriendly disc golfer. Everyone seems to want to help each other improve, and while smack-talk between friends is as much a part of the competition as it is with any other game, everyone does a great job of hyping everyone else up when they do well. When you're on the course, strangers will go out of their way to congratulate you on a great shot they saw from the next hole over.
To me, disc golf is now more than just throwing frisbees at targets. It's not only a sport worth its own respect, it's a hell of a lot of fun and the people are almost always amazing. I also really enjoy writing about the random things I learn, and writing them into a post helps me digest and retain the information, so I'll probably be writing a few posts about some of the more technical aspects of disc golf, as well as other disc golf content like course reviews and photos!
Thanks for reading!
Have you ever played disc golf?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you ever played disc golf?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
I played a few times in my student days when I played Ultimate. There are some courses in the UK, but not near me. Most people have never heard of it, but it's a very accessible sport. Have fun.
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never, but it seems a funny sport to play with friends. I still don't know how people can direct the disk in the direction they want it to go haha
The primary way to get the disc to fly in one direction or the other is to throw either backhand or forehand. Each throw gets the disc spinning in different directions (backhand = clockwise / forehand = counter-clockwise) so when it's flying through the air, it wants to glide right or left.
The angle at which you release the disc also greatly impacts how the disc is going to fly through the air, and you can easily make a backhand throw fly in the "wrong" direction with a little angle control.
The shape of the disc mold also really matters, and some discs will fly further or curve more than others. There are thousands of different discs made by different manufacturers with different plastic blends that all fly a little differently.
It's truly something to behold.
What a great post!
I can’t say I’ve ever played and I really didn’t appreciate the subtleties of the sport until I read about the different discs and techniques to throw them. It sounds like fun and as you say a good way to get out and about.
Thanks for sharing
Cheers
!BEER
I didn't appreciate the subtleties those first few times I went out, either. I really don't know what clicked this past Summer, but I've loved every minute of it!
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I only enjoy watching people play football but I have never heard of disc golf before in my life although I will search for it on YouTube and know how it looks. I can you how happy you are while playing it. I love the zeal you have towards learning the game. Hope to hear your name one of these days reigning in the competition.
That would be super cool 😅
I've started competing on a local level, but I'm still nowhere near as good as some of these college kids that are getting onto the course. I'm just here to have fun and maybe earn a little cash here and there on the days I throw well.
Okay, Just put in your best. I wish you well
I love disk golf and play it all the time. I was first introduced to it by some hippie buddies in college and have been a fan ever since!
The friends that got me into it only really play during the Summer, so just as I was really getting into the sport, they all kinda dropped out for the season 🤣
I'm playing 2 or 3 rounds a week and get out to practice on my Black Hole Lite as much as I can. The hardest part is resisting the urge to buy every disc that piques my interest!
Well i bought more disks than I should have. some of my friends bring a bag out with them and have like 20 disks with them. I bring a putter, a mid-range, and a driver. I still don't believe that something that is round and rotates very quickly can be designed to turn right or left on it's own, I just don't see how that is possible in a physics sense.
One thing that is really cool about the disk golf community is that they will actually return your lost disks at least at the courses I play at. We all write our phone numbers on the bottom and whenever we find one, we'll call the person to return it. Several of mine have been returned to me from an impossibly stuck in a tree position weeks later when it finally fell on its own.