I recently returned from a weekend trip to Denver where I fell in love (for the second time), with one of my old hobbies – Frisbee golfing.
I was first introduced to the sport in college. There was a tiny nine-hole course on campus that me and my roommates and neighbors would all walk to what seemed like every day, when we weren’t studying or going to class of course. At first, it was a tough sport to master. I thought I was pretty good with a Frisbee in my hand because I played ultimate Frisbee in high school, but disc golf is a different animal.
Through my four years in college, I had gotten pretty good at disc golf, playing in a tournament or two, although I never finished in the money. The competition is one facet of the game, but the comradery was the main draw for me to keep returning to the links.
Sure, there are other sports where you can just hang out with your buddies with a bit of competition involved, but disc golf is so relaxing. Walking around on a nice day and chucking a disc at a basket is about as simple as it gets. Once you get into it, you can start thinking about the wind speed and direction, the perfect flight path to the basket and how to master that deep shot or the putt around a tree, but in its simplest form, disc golfing is just throwing a Frisbee at a basket.
For those of you don’t know what disc golf is, it is exactly what it sounds like. Just think golf, but with Frisbees and baskets instead of balls and cups. There are different discs to throw in different situations, just like there are different clubs in golf. You typically have a driver, mid-range and putter. Those are three to get you started and you can build your arsenal from there. If you’re like me, you can build your disc collection from discs lost in trees, creeks or ponds and long forgotten by other disc golfers, as long as you are risky enough to go for them. The scoring works the same as golf as well.
Like I said, I fell in love with the sport in college. I ascended to the president of my college’s disc golf club, but a lot has happened since then. There was a while where I didn’t touch a disc. Something about moving 19 hours away from home and starting a new job out of college put Frisbee golf on the back burner. I went from going almost once a day, to going maybe once a month, but not because of a lack of opportunity.
There are several courses in the area, including two right here in Torrington. I haven’t yet ventured to the course at the college while classes are in session because that seems a little risky, but I do like the course when the campus is empty. The Pioneer Park course is a nice, tight course that you can get done on a lunch break.
Moving out of Torrington, LaGrange has a nine-hole course on the walking path that I turn into an 18-hole course because I end up playing it backwards on my way back to my car. Scottsbluff, Neb. has a great 18-hole course that reminds me of some of the top courses I used to go to back in Ohio. Trees and water hazards are everywhere at the Scottsbluff course and the challenge of that course keeps me coming back. I’ve played on two courses in Cheyenne and, like I said, I recently played on a course in Denver.
Disc golf courses are out there, it’s just a matter of finding them and enjoying them. It’s a cheap and easy sport to get in to. The learning curve isn’t too steep and the fun is endless. As for me, you can catch me on the (disc golf) links this year.
