The sheer idiocy of playing in snow

[Hyzflip10]

it's pretty common to play winter rounds and or winter leagues here.

We have a winter league on Saturday morning. It is at a private course where the tee pads are regularly shoveled. All holes are relatively short and wooded. It is a lot of fun and a great way to work on the mid range and approach game, even in the winter.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Do most course facebook pages keep up with snow conditions at the course?

I'm a never-facebooked person (one of the few left on the planet I know . .. ) but in the winter it's frustrating around here as some courses will have an inch while others have tons.

Tough to get a straight answer from disc golfers too --- seems like ski conditions we should have "disc conditions".

"<2", tees clear." and keep it updated.

etc.

Don't need Facebook to update course conditions, you can do it right here where disc golfers and course info are both located. Would be nice if more members took a few seconds to update the conditions after they play when that info would be helpful to others. :thmbup:

 

[smarkquart]

I have already posted once stating that I will play 365, but my mood is so greatly determined by the quality of the tee pads. I have enough clothes and gear to ensure that I will at least survive no matter what the temperature. I can handle extremely cold temperatures as long as the wind is relatively calm, but nothing makes or breaks my mood than the state of the tee pad. I can achieve 400 foot power, but it is a complete body effort. If I am arm only, I am done into the 280-320 range. If you are used to a certain flight, your game and your mentality is built on that, and suddenly and often you fail to achieve normalcy, it throws off your whole game. Nothing pisses me off more than icy tee pads.

Griplocks and late releases are bad enough, but I have no desire to break anything by slipping. What I hate most about winter are those short-lived days of above average temperatures that lull you into a false sense that winter is not that bad. Snow thaws, puddles and mini-lakes form, and it is an annoyance but still playable if you have enough towels with. But then it freezes, forms ice, and stays bitterly cold for the remainder of the season. Now we have ice for several months. If it was just cold when it snows and stays that way, allowing you to shovel and maintain clean tee pads, that would at least be acceptable. We are designing our local 9, and moving the tees is a necessity. Aside for safety, flow of play, and keeping it a relatively difficult shot, we are taking into consideration of keeping the tee from being flooded.

I hate winter.

 

[Hyzflip10]

I have already posted once stating that I will play 365, but my mood is so greatly determined by the quality of the tee pads. I have enough clothes and gear to ensure that I will at least survive no matter what the temperature. I can handle extremely cold temperatures as long as the wind is relatively calm, but nothing makes or breaks my mood than the state of the tee pad. I can achieve 400 foot power, but it is a complete body effort. If I am arm only, I am done into the 280-320 range. If you are used to a certain flight, your game and your mentality is built on that, and suddenly and often you fail to achieve normalcy, it throws off your whole game. Nothing pisses me off more than icy tee pads.

Griplocks and late releases are bad enough, but I have no desire to break anything by slipping. What I hate most about winter are those short-lived days of above average temperatures that lull you into a false sense that winter is not that bad. Snow thaws, puddles and mini-lakes form, and it is an annoyance but still playable if you have enough towels with. But then it freezes, forms ice, and stays bitterly cold for the remainder of the season. Now we have ice for several months. If it was just cold when it snows and stays that way, allowing you to shovel and maintain clean tee pads, that would at least be acceptable. We are designing our local 9, and moving the tees is a necessity. Aside for safety, flow of play, and keeping it a relatively difficult shot, we are taking into consideration of keeping the tee from being flooded.

I hate winter.

Yeah, winter sucks. I honestly have no expectations in winter of hitting my Max D, even with perfect tee pads. I like to work on my mid game and approach shots. Less wear and tear on the body, less frustration and more fun.

Once spring hits and I can shed a few layers and the muscles work up, my distance increases by 40-50 feet.

 

[Vintage Folfer]

I honestly have no expectations in winter of hitting my Max D, even with perfect tee pads.

One thing I'm curious about but haven't seen addressed here is how the cold air itself effects distance. Does the frigid air itself slow the disc down? I sometimes get the feeling that my drives go a bit further when it's hot out and not as far when it's cold. Is there something to that or is it all in my head? Seems to me the air would be a bit thinner when it's hot and denser when it's cold, adding friction/resistance, so it's harder for the disc to slice through colder air. Is that true or does it make no difference?

 

[IHearChains]

You don't need ribbons or chalk or anything fancy. Just stick to a few basic rules of thumb:

1. Throw bright discs
2. Throw one disc per hole
3. Watch where your disc lands and walk straight to that spot
4. Don't throw if you can't see the landing
5. DX plastic is your friend
6. Don't be a baby

NO. Walk single file and stick to the track until you get as close as possible to the landing mark. Foot traffic all over the fairway makes it impossible for the next group to see their landing marks.

 

[ru4por]

Don't need Facebook to update course conditions, you can do it right here where disc golfers and course info are both located. Would be nice if more members took a few seconds to update the conditions after they play when that info would be helpful to others. :thmbup:

Disc Golf Scene is pretty active around here as well. You can often send out an inquiry as to course conditions and get a response.

 

[ru4por]

One thing I'm curious about but haven't seen addressed here is how the cold air itself effects distance. Does the frigid air itself slow the disc down? I sometimes get the feeling that my drives go a bit further when it's hot out and not as far when it's cold. Is there something to that or is it all in my head? Seems to me the air would be a bit thinner when it's hot and denser when it's cold, adding friction/resistance, so it's harder for the disc to slice through colder air. Is that true or does it make no difference?

Honestly, it is pretty hard to tell. By the time you try to calculate out the distance robbed by extra clothing, more difficult terrain, shortened run up and different discs, the impact of cold is hard to define. Probably less of an impact on distance than any of the above.

 

[uncle pennybags]

NO. Walk single file and stick to the track until you get as close as possible to the landing mark. Foot traffic all over the fairway makes it impossible for the next group to see their landing marks.

SO walk more like sand people then stormtroopers?

 

[ejvogie]

Hide your numbers

 

[BuzzzChief]

NO. Walk single file and stick to the track until you get as close as possible to the landing mark. Foot traffic all over the fairway makes it impossible for the next group to see their landing marks.

You don't have to physically walk in the shortest possible line to where your disc lands. I just mean keep an eye on the spot and walk to it. If you throw and then turn around, pick up your bag, check your phone, fiddle with your junk, then take a look down the fairway and decide where to walk.... you probably already forgot where your disc landed.

 

[smarkquart]

SO walk more like sand people then stormtroopers?

Yes, for the obvious movie reference and the likelihood of hitting an intended line in winter is the same percentage as those "precise" shooting stormtroopers that Ben Kenobi fears so much. But more realistically, the fewer prints on the fairway as possible the better. Not only will it reduce the marks your eyes have to search through, but having multiple lines running all over the place makes it difficult while you are watching your drive to judge which set of prints your disc is nearest.

 

[ThrowBot]

I will watch the disc land and pick out a landmark on the correct line, but walk down the fairway as far as possible on established paths. Not only does this keep the fairway clear of distracting footprints for other players, it also helps to delay the inevitable boot sogginess.

When I'm in the right distance range, I'll walk perpendicular to the fairway until I'm lined up between my landmark and the tee.

Yes, playing disc golf in the snow is pretty stupid. But a lot of times, it's better than not playing disc golf!

 

[Twmccoy]

You don't have to physically walk in the shortest possible line to where your disc lands. I just mean keep an eye on the spot and walk to it. If you throw and then turn around, pick up your bag, check your phone, fiddle with your junk, then take a look down the fairway and decide where to walk.... you probably already forgot where your disc landed.

In my instance last week, the hillside I threw the disc on was covered with weeds and sagebrush. The snow was choppy and had lots of areas where people and animals had walked through it. Plus, there were areas where the weeds made the ground uneven. I couldn't tell where exactly the disc came down and entered the snow.

I was very lucky to have found that disc at all. It look nearly an hour of persistent searching.

I was a dope to even throw into that mess. No matter where I threw it the disc would have been buried.

 

[oldfartdiscer]

Winter disc golf is great in Wisconsin. No mosquitos, deer/horse flies or other insects using you as a food source. Dressing in multiple THIN layers (I use 4 with a wicking tshirt base and windbreaker last) is key. Wind is the thing that will prevent me from going out. Otherwise it's just paying more attention than normal as to where your disc lands. Stop whining!

 

[aphilso1]

Winter disc golf is great in Wisconsin. No mosquitos, deer/horse flies or other insects using you as a food source. Dressing in multiple THIN layers (I use 4 with a wicking tshirt base and windbreaker last) is key. Wind is the thing that will prevent me from going out. Otherwise it's just paying more attention than normal as to where your disc lands. Stop whining!

Totally agree. I played this week in single digit weather (negative temps if including wind chill) and was much more comfortable than I am in mid-summer rounds. Cold and wind can be overcome via enough thin layers of appropriate clothing, whereas heat/humidity/mosquitoes cannot. I still hate slippery teepads and the risk of losing discs under the snow, but overall I find winter frolfin' to be very enjoyable.

 

[Nick Pacific]

Disc Golf Scene is pretty active around here as well. You can often send out an inquiry as to course conditions and get a response.

What is cool about Bandemere is that it's the designated winter dgcourse for a lot of locals round here, so between the weekly leagues and players there the snow gets trampled down fast and someone is always shoveling and salting the pads up.

That's the move, try and organize leagues and people you know to gang up on one local course in the winter, even more people will come out to that one because the conditions won't be as bad.

 

[_MTL_]

I used to have an all white bag for probably 10 - 15 years.

People would always say when they first saw it "what do you do in the snow?!?"

I DON'T PLAY DISC GOLF.

 

[HeavyCritters]

Heading out to shovel teepads! :thmbup:

 

[gcr_russell]

I'm not sure I understand anything in this thread. What is S-N-O-W?