As a professional disc golfer, I am qualified to introduce the sport of disc golf to those here at Dkos who may not know much about it.
Also known as Frisbee Golf or "Folf", disc golf is a fun way to get out there and get some much needed exercise without the god awful environmental impact of its ball cousin. "Bolf" as some of us disc golfers like to call it, often clearcuts a forest and then plants acres of grass that needs to be fertilized, moved & watered to no end. Disc golf, OTOH, uses existing natural objects as obstacles to create an exciting and challenging alternative to the sport.
The rules are the same: The lowest score wins. The only difference is that it is played using golf discs instead of balls and clubs. Join me below the fold for details about this interesting and addictive new sport.
A brief note from our sponsor:
We need hosts for FM; how about you? Yes, you. Anyone interested? Sign up for a day to host and we'll see if we can keep this thing rolling along. There's a calendar in our g-mail account (name: FitnessMonday, pw: exercise)
On to the sport that may have you incredulously scratching your head right now. Square one:
http://www.pdga.com/
The Professional Disc Golf Association has all your questions answered:
What is Disc Golf?
Disc golf is played much like traditional golf. Instead of a ball and clubs, however, players use a flying disc, or Frisbee® The sport was formalized in the 1970's, and shares with "ball golf" the object of completing each hole in the fewest number of strokes (or, in the case of disc golf, fewest number of throws). A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target which is the "hole". the hole can be one of a number of disc golf targets; the most common is called a Pole Hole® an elevated metal basket. As a player progresses down the fairway, he or she must make each consecutive shot from the spot where the previous throw has landed. The trees, shrubs, and terrain changes located in and around the fairways provide challenging obstacles for the golfer. Finally, the "putt" lands in the basket and the hole is completed.
They also provide this handy search to find the courses in your area. If you are lucky enough to live in say, Des Moines, Iowa, not only can you marry your lover of the same sex, but there are over 30 courses within a 50-mile radius!
Some might quickly poo-poo the notion of "frisbee golf" as a pseudo non-sport, but tell that to the current elite of the sport who win in excess of $10,000 for a 1st place finish at the biggest tournaments.
Others might deride disc golf as a "stoner sport" where people drink beer & get high while they "exercise". How this is any different from ball golf I don't know, but you never see anyone play disc golf with a little motorized cart to move them between shots.
.
.
Our sport's Michael Jordan is Ken Climo, the 12-time world champ. He is a living legend who continues to reign supreme still today and has an entire line of plastic which bears his name.
.
.
.
.
.
As this anecdote illustrates, the sport is fun for the whole family, and at times can provide a minor windfall for the pro disc golfer, who tends to be short on cash as a rule.
They were very enthusiastic, with a healthy dose of intra-family competition. Surely the mom, Darlene, was thrilled when she canned a 75-footer, the longest shot of the day by anyone including myself, on my final hole with them.
There are, like Bolf, many types of clubs discs for different shots. There are drivers, mid-range discs, & putters. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say there are at least 1000 to 2000 different models of disc. Then, within that spectrum, there are different weights (between 150 - 180 grams), different types of plastic, etc.
(I seriously risk boring you all with much more detail here up top. I'll be around for a while to answer your questions below)
As photos tell stories better than words at times, I'll end for now with a video & a few shots of holes around the Pacific NW & beyond.
Video of a drive (on a very short hole) at one of the finest courses in the world, Whistlers Bend, Roseburg, Oregon:
...
A red tail hawk enjoys a breakfast squirrel on a fairway, Santa Maria, CA:
Two holes at "The Inn at Lucky Mud", SW Washington:
The above target made from an old tire, a good way to make cheap homemade baskets & recycle in one fell swoop.
Milo McGyver Park in Estacada (east Portland), OR, home to the Beaver State Fling.
Basket made from an old truck rim, Tom Pearce Park, Grant's Pass, Oregon
D'oh! A deer! Somewhere in Wyoming....