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June 24, 2021 9:14 AM Subscribe
One of my favorite things about disc golf is that some of its more ardent fans refer to golf as 'ball golf,' which 100% sounds like a euphemism for covertly adjusting one's testicles.
posted by box at 9:45 AM on June 24, 2021 [20 favorites]
posted by box at 9:45 AM on June 24, 2021 [20 favorites]
Interesting article, glad it didn't just concentrate on the golf guy.
posted by maxwelton at 10:32 AM on June 24, 2021
posted by maxwelton at 10:32 AM on June 24, 2021
That's awesome. I play "call the hole" disc golf at the cottage with my nieces and nephews. It's a hoot. I really need to pick up some real discs and play on a real course. There's some good course listing maps online:
https://www.pdga.com/course-directory
https://udisc.com/courses
https://www.ontariodiscsports.ca/discgolf/courses
posted by Popular Ethics at 10:42 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
https://www.pdga.com/course-directory
https://udisc.com/courses
https://www.ontariodiscsports.ca/discgolf/courses
posted by Popular Ethics at 10:42 AM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I found a Discraft driver during a summer job, around 1997 or so. Still have it. Think it's a cyclone? Never thought much of it, I was unfamiliar with the sport except knowing that one of the local college town shops carried the discs (they also carried a lot of tye dye, sandals, and little glass pipes marked "for tobacco use"...)
Anyway fast forward to 2015 or so, talking with another dad while our kids were busy at a Cub Scout meeting, discovered he was into disc golf. Dug out the old disc and played a round with him. It was fun, I picked up a couple more discs and now that my son is older we each have a couple to throw when we go play. There are a few free courses nearby, I like to drag him out to throw a round for fun before getting the weekly groceries. Well, pre-COVID, anyway; last weekend was the first time in a year that we had actually gone out to perform the old pre-grocery ritual.
We nearly always see other families out playing the game - quite a few kids, plus the "serious" players, the guys who can't go out without the 30-disc backpack - and the less-serious players, who apparently can't throw an anhyzer without an Anheuser.
I like that the game is simple, accessible, and fun to play. I'm never going to make money doing any sport, let alone this one, but anything that encourages kids to go outside and get moving is good. This is one of those games. The courses we play are local parks, not private clubs. It doesn't have the high entry fees of so many other sports, because the equipment is so minimal - you need at least one disc, which might set you back $10 for a decent low-end single disc. I have a decent set of golf clubs, but in the past 10 years I've gotten way more use out of the 2-3 golf discs that are always in the trunk of my car. Just like regular golf, I pretty much suck at it, but unlike regular golf, it takes so little time, money, or planning to go play that we actually DO it.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:43 AM on June 24, 2021 [13 favorites]
Anyway fast forward to 2015 or so, talking with another dad while our kids were busy at a Cub Scout meeting, discovered he was into disc golf. Dug out the old disc and played a round with him. It was fun, I picked up a couple more discs and now that my son is older we each have a couple to throw when we go play. There are a few free courses nearby, I like to drag him out to throw a round for fun before getting the weekly groceries. Well, pre-COVID, anyway; last weekend was the first time in a year that we had actually gone out to perform the old pre-grocery ritual.
We nearly always see other families out playing the game - quite a few kids, plus the "serious" players, the guys who can't go out without the 30-disc backpack - and the less-serious players, who apparently can't throw an anhyzer without an Anheuser.
I like that the game is simple, accessible, and fun to play. I'm never going to make money doing any sport, let alone this one, but anything that encourages kids to go outside and get moving is good. This is one of those games. The courses we play are local parks, not private clubs. It doesn't have the high entry fees of so many other sports, because the equipment is so minimal - you need at least one disc, which might set you back $10 for a decent low-end single disc. I have a decent set of golf clubs, but in the past 10 years I've gotten way more use out of the 2-3 golf discs that are always in the trunk of my car. Just like regular golf, I pretty much suck at it, but unlike regular golf, it takes so little time, money, or planning to go play that we actually DO it.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:43 AM on June 24, 2021 [13 favorites]
Interesting article. When I got to this: "...his latest car purchase: a McLaren 570S Spider", I remembered I just saw one of those driving down the road I live on (that is not the kind of car you see in Augusta, GA very often) and wondered if it might be him. The PDGA is headquartered right outside of town so it is conceivable he could be here for something. But after a little googling it seems that his is black and the one I saw was white, so apparently it was someone else with enough money to buy cars that cost as much as a nice house.
posted by TedW at 10:44 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by TedW at 10:44 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: a euphemism for covertly adjusting one's testicles.
posted by Billiken at 11:36 AM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Billiken at 11:36 AM on June 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
One of my children's boyfriend's family bought a golf course, (they have some cash), that had closed, and turned it into a disc golf course. Which, seems completely insane to me, but there you go. 10 Million also seems insane for disc golf endorsements...
posted by Windopaene at 11:59 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 11:59 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Meaningless data point of the day: Brodie Smith, Paul McBeth's business partner in Foundation Disc Golf, is married to a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
The fact that I know this even though I care pretty much nothing about either disc golf or football tells me that I now officially have spent way too much time on the internet.
posted by JanetLand at 1:56 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
The fact that I know this even though I care pretty much nothing about either disc golf or football tells me that I now officially have spent way too much time on the internet.
posted by JanetLand at 1:56 PM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
to echo caution live frogs, I'm recent to disc golf and really loving it. also loving the ease (not so much at being terribly good at it.. I'm not at all good, and no sign of getting good): you need a disc, ideally 3 discs (distance, mid-range, putt).. okay, maybe 4 discs if you want a floating driver, because losing your disc in the pond is not fun.. let's just face it, if you enjoy the game you will probably buy many discs just so you can have the one called a Dragon or a Leopard, Wahoo or Shark.. but I digress.
the middle school nearby has installed a few baskets up on their playing field, it's way less of an investment vs. e.g. football or lacrosse. you can be as competitive as you like, or not. some friends and I got into it during the nadir of the pandemic, going so far as to tape gift ribbon to the discs and playing through winter (the tail makes it so you can find them in the snow). very much a fan of this game.
posted by elkevelvet at 2:45 PM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
the middle school nearby has installed a few baskets up on their playing field, it's way less of an investment vs. e.g. football or lacrosse. you can be as competitive as you like, or not. some friends and I got into it during the nadir of the pandemic, going so far as to tape gift ribbon to the discs and playing through winter (the tail makes it so you can find them in the snow). very much a fan of this game.
posted by elkevelvet at 2:45 PM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I remember way back in 1991 when I was at University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign there was a nearby park that we went to all the time. They had those Frisbee® golf goals (holes?)... the things that look like poles with chains and a basket. All over the place. I never—not even once—saw anyone playing Frisbee® golf with them. They just stood there like weird sculptures set at intervals around the park.
posted by SoberHighland at 3:00 PM on June 24, 2021
posted by SoberHighland at 3:00 PM on June 24, 2021
They had those Frisbee® golf goals (holes?)... the things that look like poles with chains and a basket.
I was riding through a park a couple of months ago and they had these but the place was packed with frisbee golfers. I guess the park you went to was 30 years ahead of its time.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:27 PM on June 24, 2021
I was riding through a park a couple of months ago and they had these but the place was packed with frisbee golfers. I guess the park you went to was 30 years ahead of its time.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:27 PM on June 24, 2021
Many local governments are finding that a disc golf course is an easy way to spend leftover budget money. Got a large park that doesn't get much use and $5-10k spare? Install a disc golf course and put some details on your website and you've got something for your local politician to open and the public to use. No maintenance costs either, and its not too hard to rip the baskets up and put them somewhere else down the track.
posted by jjderooy at 6:12 PM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jjderooy at 6:12 PM on June 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
There's a lovely, heavily-wooded park in our neighborhood, with a disc golf course that partly snakes through the old woods. It's quite lovely, and I often see young couples playing through. Some of them are quite good at it, and it's fun to watch.
For some reason I cannot fathom, a vocal minority of people in the neighborhood want to bulldoze most of the woods to put in a neighborhood pool.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:00 AM on June 25, 2021
For some reason I cannot fathom, a vocal minority of people in the neighborhood want to bulldoze most of the woods to put in a neighborhood pool.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:00 AM on June 25, 2021
The only disc golf course I've ever seen was in Lapland. My kids and I played it during the 90 minutes of daylight in mid-December, at -12C.
posted by pipeski at 6:27 AM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by pipeski at 6:27 AM on June 25, 2021 [1 favorite]
In Santa Cruz, one can drive to at least 5 disc golf courses within 15 minutes.
With this kind of income, he could almost afford to live here.
posted by subocoyne at 1:56 PM on June 25, 2021
With this kind of income, he could almost afford to live here.
posted by subocoyne at 1:56 PM on June 25, 2021
We have a bunch of free municipal courses in Anchorage that have been around for at least 20 years and they are extremely beloved. It’s such a great chill hangout and it’s fine if you suck.
Our only problem is that we cannot bring the dog because, well, no one loves a frisbee-loving dog at the disc golf course.
Neat article! Lots of niche activities I hadn’t ever really thought of as being Things are now clearly Things through social media.
posted by charmedimsure at 2:13 AM on June 26, 2021
Our only problem is that we cannot bring the dog because, well, no one loves a frisbee-loving dog at the disc golf course.
Neat article! Lots of niche activities I hadn’t ever really thought of as being Things are now clearly Things through social media.
posted by charmedimsure at 2:13 AM on June 26, 2021
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posted by pipeski at 9:24 AM on June 24, 2021 [2 favorites]