A good walk...and a new perspective
It wasn't supposed to be anything. Just a stroll through the woods during a trip to visit my brother in Pennsylvania for his birthday. He had a few discs and I picked up an inexpensive starter set before I went up to give us a few more. We still went to a sporting goods store for two additional discs when I got up there. I think that gave us nine to split among my brother, myself and my son, for our round of disc golf. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we had 3 a piece.
Anyway, so we set out on July 8th with the GPS guiding us to South Mountain Disc Golf Course in Bethlehem, PA, near Lehigh University. I had already downloaded about 4 apps to use as a scorecard. (I've never been good at playing for fun and I ALWAYS keep score...it's a curse.) We grabbed our discs and made our way across the parking lot toward the first tee and the map of the course layout.
This was my first time playing disc golf, so I had no idea what to expect. I approached this with the same mindset I had as a new player to the "round golf" variety, don't lose any equipment and forget the last shot. Other than that, I had nothing. I was just toting 3 hopped up "frisbees" inside a string bag into the woods on the side of a mountain.
I remember standing at the first tee box and thinking to myself, "Wow. That's a lot of trees," and then I asked my brother where we were throwing. "Over there a little to the right," he replied. Then we starting playing the game that would continue for the next couple of hours (we did not play well, or fast,) which was, if you stand here and look that way, see there past that group of 3 skinny trees and you can make out the basket over there...uh huh. "These are the easier tees, right?"
So, I took my position and threw the crap out of it like I had no intention of anyone having to catch it...and we were off. As we walked to retrieve and heave again, I noticed where the more advanced tee was located. Now that was just ridiculous. It's a disc, not a circular saw blade. A whole lot more trees. Anyhow, I think I managed to make 4 on that one. That's not a real stretch for a guess since the hole was fairly short and we pretty much stayed around fours most of the time anyway.
When we got to number 2, the game of, "if you look from here", didn't really work and so began the occasional implementation of scout teams. In case you're not familiar, this is when one (or more, depending on your trust level) walks or runs ahead to see where the heck the proper direction to throw is going to be. Ideally, that's the direction you throw, but this was not always the case.
We muddled our way through the first 4 or 5 holes when a single caught up with us. (Again, not difficult.) Anyway, we took a seat on a bench nearby and encouraged him to play through.
Now, let me start by saying that I knew nothing about throwing discs before I went out that day. I knew the basic right-hand back hand and felt I could get comfortable with a forehand flick from back in my Frisbee throwing college days. But this guy...he had this smooth, long, slide step approach with a forehand-ish grip. I say forehand-ish because he had what appeared to be his thumb hooked underneath the disc with a level forehand throw. And he tossed the most beautiful settling, straightest shot down the fairway and, after thanking us, quickly hustled down near the basket for bird. I have yet to recreate that motion. Not sure it's worth my time, but my brother did try a few holes later.
By the time we got to nine we were getting a little goofy and decided to go live. Heck, I didn't even really know where I was, but we made some decent throws. I was kind of proud of it at the time since I did actually hit a fairway, but now I understand how awkward, and embarrassingly short that throw was. Acceptable for a disc golf virgin I guess.
I got lucky later on one of the downhill holes, 12 maybe, when I hit a tree and my disc rolled down the mountain for a tap in bird. That felt good, 'cause I can be very competitive...unless I suck and have absolutely no chance.
My first time out, I was definitely looking to have fun, which I did. Despite the 19-over 73 and my brother beating me by 8, I had a good time. Compared to my round golf scores, plus-19 wasn't bad at all. But a good walk in the woods with family has become a bit of an obsession.
Since that day on the mountain, I've collected a few more discs to play with and have found some nice layouts close to home. I still didn't go play again until mid-August. Even then, it was with my son, or my brother. I was more than a little apprehensive about throwing in front of too many people. I'm never particularly comfortable with the learning curve. I've always been able to perform well in the realm of most sports, at least at a decent recreational level.
I don't know what's gotten into me about this game though. Like round golf, it requires planning and execution, creativity (especially with escape shots.) I've been watching videos on techniques and trying to understand the language. I may need to brush up a little on rotational inertia and linear momentum. I love the physics and the numbers...as long as I can start putting up some better numbers.
I look forward to meeting more players and getting better as I embark on a new course...literally. I'm just not looking forward to how many times I'll have to correct my brother-in-law when he calls it "frolf." Oh well.
Anyway, so we set out on July 8th with the GPS guiding us to South Mountain Disc Golf Course in Bethlehem, PA, near Lehigh University. I had already downloaded about 4 apps to use as a scorecard. (I've never been good at playing for fun and I ALWAYS keep score...it's a curse.) We grabbed our discs and made our way across the parking lot toward the first tee and the map of the course layout.
This was my first time playing disc golf, so I had no idea what to expect. I approached this with the same mindset I had as a new player to the "round golf" variety, don't lose any equipment and forget the last shot. Other than that, I had nothing. I was just toting 3 hopped up "frisbees" inside a string bag into the woods on the side of a mountain.
I remember standing at the first tee box and thinking to myself, "Wow. That's a lot of trees," and then I asked my brother where we were throwing. "Over there a little to the right," he replied. Then we starting playing the game that would continue for the next couple of hours (we did not play well, or fast,) which was, if you stand here and look that way, see there past that group of 3 skinny trees and you can make out the basket over there...uh huh. "These are the easier tees, right?"
So, I took my position and threw the crap out of it like I had no intention of anyone having to catch it...and we were off. As we walked to retrieve and heave again, I noticed where the more advanced tee was located. Now that was just ridiculous. It's a disc, not a circular saw blade. A whole lot more trees. Anyhow, I think I managed to make 4 on that one. That's not a real stretch for a guess since the hole was fairly short and we pretty much stayed around fours most of the time anyway.
When we got to number 2, the game of, "if you look from here", didn't really work and so began the occasional implementation of scout teams. In case you're not familiar, this is when one (or more, depending on your trust level) walks or runs ahead to see where the heck the proper direction to throw is going to be. Ideally, that's the direction you throw, but this was not always the case.
We muddled our way through the first 4 or 5 holes when a single caught up with us. (Again, not difficult.) Anyway, we took a seat on a bench nearby and encouraged him to play through.
Now, let me start by saying that I knew nothing about throwing discs before I went out that day. I knew the basic right-hand back hand and felt I could get comfortable with a forehand flick from back in my Frisbee throwing college days. But this guy...he had this smooth, long, slide step approach with a forehand-ish grip. I say forehand-ish because he had what appeared to be his thumb hooked underneath the disc with a level forehand throw. And he tossed the most beautiful settling, straightest shot down the fairway and, after thanking us, quickly hustled down near the basket for bird. I have yet to recreate that motion. Not sure it's worth my time, but my brother did try a few holes later.
By the time we got to nine we were getting a little goofy and decided to go live. Heck, I didn't even really know where I was, but we made some decent throws. I was kind of proud of it at the time since I did actually hit a fairway, but now I understand how awkward, and embarrassingly short that throw was. Acceptable for a disc golf virgin I guess.
I got lucky later on one of the downhill holes, 12 maybe, when I hit a tree and my disc rolled down the mountain for a tap in bird. That felt good, 'cause I can be very competitive...unless I suck and have absolutely no chance.
My first time out, I was definitely looking to have fun, which I did. Despite the 19-over 73 and my brother beating me by 8, I had a good time. Compared to my round golf scores, plus-19 wasn't bad at all. But a good walk in the woods with family has become a bit of an obsession.
Since that day on the mountain, I've collected a few more discs to play with and have found some nice layouts close to home. I still didn't go play again until mid-August. Even then, it was with my son, or my brother. I was more than a little apprehensive about throwing in front of too many people. I'm never particularly comfortable with the learning curve. I've always been able to perform well in the realm of most sports, at least at a decent recreational level.
I don't know what's gotten into me about this game though. Like round golf, it requires planning and execution, creativity (especially with escape shots.) I've been watching videos on techniques and trying to understand the language. I may need to brush up a little on rotational inertia and linear momentum. I love the physics and the numbers...as long as I can start putting up some better numbers.
I look forward to meeting more players and getting better as I embark on a new course...literally. I'm just not looking forward to how many times I'll have to correct my brother-in-law when he calls it "frolf." Oh well.
Love it.
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