Dwayne and I were the first to arrive at Bryan Park and we wound our way to the back of the park to find the disc golf course. While we waited for the others to arrive, we checked out the disc golf rules posted on a weather-worn bulletin board by the parking lot. 

We also read about the easier gold tees and the more difficult blue tees at each of the 18 holes and checked out the hand-drawn map of the course. A disc golfer with a moppish haircut and a tie-dyed “Army of One” t-shirt began practicing his “putts” at the nearby basket and noticed us reading the sign. “Is this your first time playing?” He asked.

We nodded. “It’s a lot of fun,” he replied. “You’ll get addicted!” He then disappeared onto the course with his friends. It was a beautiful day to be outside and there were plenty of golfers taking advantage of the nice weather.

Mauricio showed up, followed soon after by Clay and his friend Ryan Smith. We made our introductions and Ryan began passing out discs from his bookbag. He handed us each a driver and a putter. The driver discs were thinner, stiffer and had a sharper edge. The putters were a little larger and had a rounder edge. “You could play the whole course with one disc if you wanted, but these two should do you well. I play with a driver, a mid-range disc and a putter.”

“What about that guy?” I asked, pointing to a larger gentleman who had a cylindrical hip bag bulging with discs.

“Sure,” Ryan replied, “some people play with whole sets of discs. They make discs that bank right or left. They make ones that roll. They make soft ones that don’t bounce or skip when they land or hit something. Like this one.” He pulled out a floppy dark green disc and shook it around. 

Ryan looked around the grounds. “There’s a tournament every Wednesday at the course over at Gillie’s Park so it shouldn’t be too busy today. I like this course better anyway. The tees are set up better and the course is more spread out.”

We began to walk to the first tee. “You know what?” asked Ryan, not waiting for a response. “Let’s skip the first hole. Is everyone here right-handed?”

We all nodded.

“Right-handed throws tend to bank to the left and as you can see...” He motioned over to the creek running along the left-hand side of the first hole. “We don’t want to lose any discs in the drink.”

When we got to the second hole, Ryan showed us a side-arm throw to get good distance on our drives. “If you keep your disc parallel to the ground and keep your body over your arm, your disc will go nice and straight. Once you get the hang of it, it’s a little more reliable than a traditional Frisbee toss.” He aimed at the basket 257 feet away and with a snap of his wrist, chucked the disc within feet of the goal. “Who’s next?”

Clay’s disc banked wildly to the left. Dwayne’s landed behind some bushes. My disc flew off to the right but then rolled most of the way back towards the basket. Mauricio’s disc flew straight and strong and landed only a few feet behind Ryan’s.

“Damn! Nice throw,” he said as we began walking up the course to take our second shots. “Furthest away throws first.”

“I think that’s me,” said Dwayne, who was hidden behind a snarl of brush and tree branches. Clay finished the par three hole with a six. Dwayne and I each scored a five. Mauricio got a four and Ryan came on one under par.

“Not bad,” said Ryan as we walked to the next set of tees. “Oh wait, let’s let these guys play through.” He waved a foursome in front of us and they played rapidly through the hole. “Normally my friends and I can do 18 in under two hours. Some people jog through the whole course and some people take their time. Either way, it’s good exercise and relaxing.”

Ryan consistently hit par, but Clay, Dwayne and I threw one or two over at every hole. Mauricio’s long distance shots continued to be solid, but his short game sabotaged him in the end. Dwayne got stuck behind a large tree on hole 5 and threw a beautiful “tomahawk” (a high, arching, overhand-throw with the disc perpendicular to the ground) that leveled out into a perfect set up for par. On hole 8, I couldn’t not hit a tree to save my life and finished twice over par.

It took us almost two hours to finish nine holes and we decided to call it a day. Ryan threw par with a 30, followed by Mauricio with a 38. Clay, Dwayne and I scored a 44, 41 and 43 respectively. Not bad for first timers. We thanked Ryan for the instruction and discussed coming out again.

“That was definitely a lot of fun. How much do these things cost?” I asked Ryan as we headed back to the cars.

“It depends on how much you want to spend. You can get a basic three disc set for $30, or you can spend $45 on a single driver. You guys could probably get a putter and a driver for $20-$25 at Dick’s or Play it Again Sports.”

Indeed, while walking through Carytown with some friends, I wandered into One Eyed Jaques. There, nestled between the non-ironic wolf t-shirts and the Ugly Dolls, was an entire display of rainbow-colored putters and driver discs. I picked a few up and tested their weight and balance in my hand, like I knew what I was doing.

My wife looked over. “Are you really going to play Frisbee golf again?”

I set the discs back on the shelf and gave a shrug. “Yeah, I think I might.”

Hopefully playing this weekend finally!  Is it me or does Tod look like he belongs on some Scottish golf course in that photo?

I thought this was a interesting article because it is exactly how anybody and everybody gets hooked on disc golf. They play it once and like the gentleman said earlier in the article you will get addicted to it. The price is right, your outdoors and most every course is free to play. It’s a win win situation for all.