What's your disc golf history?

[Three Putt]

I just started playing this week. Seems OK so far.

 

[Chef Joe]

The chef I work for has been playing for about 11 years. I ran in to him at the local course one day, and watched him play. About a year later, the restaurant hired on the son of the guy who spearheaded the sport in town. I asked if I could borrow a couple discs and if he'd teach me how to play. Sure enough, I enjoy the hell out of it.

 

[NDABRUSH]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French waitress named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I recieved my first scribe. At the age of 14 a Zoroastrian named Vilma taught me how to play Disc Golf, it's breathtaking- I suggest you try it.

that sounds like a pretty good movie script. I have always wanted a nice, meat helmet?

 

[harr0140]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French waitress named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I recieved my first scribe. At the age of 14 a Zoroastrian named Vilma taught me how to play Disc Golf, it's breathtaking- I suggest you try it.

That has the vibe of the movie Big Fish!

 

[SpringDgLover]

The details of my life are quite inconsequential... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French waitress named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I recieved my first scribe. At the age of 14 a Zoroastrian named Vilma taught me how to play Disc Golf, it's breathtaking- I suggest you try it.

So where are your reviews on the courses of Belgium? I wait breathlessly on pins and needles for what comes next.

 

[rikardob]

It all started back in 73. We used to throw a sewer cap all the way up the hill in the snow and try to get closest to the flag pole at our school on the top of the hill. Sewer caps were made from lead back then so they would always be there when we got out. We would do the same thing all the way home uphill in the snow. My game really picked up in the 80's when I started wearing shoes to school and they made the sewer caps out of steel which is much lighter. It was all downhill from there.

 

[Gamecock]

Even Frisbee fans may not know about local courses!

I just started playing this week. Seems OK so far.

Just you wait... Try to play with some people who are better than you for more inspiration.

First of all, I am AMAZED to see that image you have set for your handle. I'd thought of this exact idea over a year ago, but filed it away to "do later".

Later did finally get here and I whipped up a larger and half-size image and just put it online, only to see it appears I hadn't thought of this first after all.

​

If anyone wants to get a full size version of the above image, find it here:

Park Circle Disc Golf Course Links Page

I like the version I made a LOT better than that one anyhow.

Anyhow, on to the subject of this thread...

I loved playing with Frisbees in High School and saw I could impress girls if they watched. That was about all the positive reinforcement at the time. LOL

Played Ultimate in college at University of South Carolina when the sport was first getting organized. (Instead of "Stall 1, Stall 2" etc., we said "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi". I could always play better than average player.

I first saw disc golf baskets out at Kiawah Island SC in early 80's, but it was 50 miles away and I had a hard time finding anybody to go out there with me to play it. I never did see anybody else playing there and I didn't know special discs were needed.

I did drag some buddies along and we played it with regular Frisbees, but I never found anybody else who shared my excitement for it at that time.

Not long later, find a golf disc at the beach, but never put 2 + 2 together.

Years later, I heard the small course at Kiawah (home of 1991 "War on the Shore" USA Ryder Cup victory on The Ocean Course) was a goner. I had always wanted to, but I never even took a photo of that DG course!

Many years pass and I never got word that a new disc golf course right here in my own town was installed. And, despite actively playing Ultimate games on a weekly basis again, that subject had never came up. When somebody did mention it during a break period between 2 games, I was shocked I had not heard 1 peep about it before. There was just an old outdated AOL page about it (listing OLD outdated contact numbers) and that was it. (Why aren't more Ultimate players into disc golf + vice versa?)

That very same day, I drove by, saw baskets and I was dying to play it!

Tried 1 hole with my Ultimate + some smaller Frisbees and quickly realized I need to ask someone where I can get some discs in town immediately.

Had no idea where golf disc I had found went to, but wanted it bad then!

2 starter sets and 2 holes later, I was hooked. The third hole I played had the basket hidden behind a circle of trees that seemed IMPOSSIBLE to make in only 3 shots! (Sadly, this primary position was later moved.)

Soon thereafter, I got my kids, my nephew, his kids, plus other relatives and friends to try it and almost all of them got hooked shortly after that.

After a couple months, I set out to try to inform as many other people in my area about Park Circle Disc Golf Course, so I created a new web site all about it. It has taken about a year to get the site to where I wanted it to be, but it's there now!

If you don't mind, please let me know what you think. Although perhaps I need to start another thread on that subject. Look for that coming soon!

To wrap up, informing others about disc golf and your local course(s) does help people to "get it". Most people have a very hard time figuring how it works, much less have a clue that it has now become a competitive sport.

 

[Looneytick]

I threw Frisbees (can you say cheap toy?) from 1960 until today. We had no idea of Disc golf (wasn't invented yet) and made a target course in the woods and fields by my house. Later we did the target thing again, still played catch and still never heard of disc golf. My buddy called me and said his son told him about the game and wanted to know if I wanted to play, the rest is history. I've been playing for 3 years now, I have introduced 2 dozen people to the game and wished I had begun many years before. I started when I was 54 and have developed my forehand throws so they don't hurt. My son plays with me often and generally kicks my butt! In a little while we will work out a handicap for "The old Man" to stay competitive. Dat's all!!!

 

[Sports_Fan_Stan]

I've been golfing (the ball type) since I was 15. Back in the early-90's, a college buddy took me out for my first round of disc golfing. I used his discs and found out that disc golfing was a lot harder than I could've imagined. After that experience, I stayed in my comfort zone on the ball golfing links.

About 5-years ago, my buddy from college needed a place to stay and proceeded to move in with me. We would talk endlessly about both types of golf. I was surprised to find out that disc golf shared many rules and most of the courtesy of ball golfing. Before long, I was trying disc golf more-and-more.

At first it was frustrating. I could throw it hard but had little idea how the discs would fly (or crash). Then, I got hooked up with a disc golfing girlfriend and the pressure was on. So, I listened to everyone's advice and before long I had the "X step" and the "tomahawk" figured out. Now if I could only figure out how to putt...

 

[sweeper]

To make a short story longer:

When I was in high school, I threw frisbees all the time. I played ultimate and just catch with my friends in the Tops parking lot at night (it had the best lighting.)

Fast forward 15+ years or so:

A friend of mine who I worked with played disc golf all the time and was constantly trying to get me to play. I, in turn mocked him for playing a "sissy game" that was only for "pot smoking, tree hugging hippies and rednecks" ect...

One day after a staff meeting he asked me to play and I said "hell no" as usual. He said he'd buy me a margarita after we played and if nothing else, I can be bribed. I had a BLAST and have been playing ever since. I can wup up on him now. He has kids and moved to middle of nowhere, so we don't play too much any more. I've been playing for 2 years and a little now.

 

[WillA]

They had a course on campus at Murray State back in the late 70's and I think I p[layed it once or twice. Then later 1982-84 I moved to Louisville I started playing regularly at Iroquois Park. My friends and i didn't really know the rules so on longer putts we would take a running leap and dunk the disc in the basket LOL. I did have two aces back then.

I moved from Louisville to New Orleans and didn't play again until about four years ago. I was living here in Murray again but the course they used to have on campus was long gone. But one day I saw some college kids throwing ultimate discs at a light post. I asked if they were playing Frisbee golf and they were. They had made up some target courses. I started playing with them and pretty soon we started going to real courses and then they built a real course in the park here. Now I play all the time. Crack isn't as addictive as disc golf.

 

[Camgolfer]

This last year I will start a new chapter in my disc golf history titled: Actually trying... Before we played really casually and I had no real reason to get better. For some reason about a year ago something clicked and I have been improving and playing much much more ever since.

 

[Camgolfer]

. Crack isn't as addictive as disc golf.

I still get the shakes when I have not thrown in a while though.

 

[NatiBuckeye]

My local parks department put in a very nice 9 hole course and BOOM... hooked forever. The nice courses in the area and our local club helped aswell.

 

[ChainMan]

I played my first round of object disc golf in 1976. In college me and a buddy set up an object course on campus and played incessantly during nice weather and sometimes in the snow. In 1982 I got a chance to play the 1976 Frisbee World Champion Peter Bloeme and within the space of a day he taught me how to throw a 110g lid over 300 feet.

In 1984 I played my first dg course with actual baskets. I didn't play for another 13 years. Finally I moved to a place with a course within walking distance in 1997. I played sporadically over the next 12 years until this year. I just asked myself why I don't play a sport that is so convenient, so challenging and so healthy? I'm hopelessly addicted now. I love the physicality, the mental game, the science and the kinship.

 

[krallbd]

I first started playing so that I would be included with some friends more. They always seemed to like it, and I thought they were cool...so that meant disc golf was cool. Glad I did get into it, lets me unwind after a crappy day at work now.

 

[CwAlbino]

I started when I was about 10. My dad had learned about the sport and we had a small 9 hole course in town. He went out and got a dx eagle and I was stuck with something similar to an Ultimate frisbee. We played a few times and it was quite a bit of fun. He soon bought a starter pack with a 150 cheetah, a shark, and a 150 P&A aviar (still have all 3). I got the cheetah and started to throw forehand. My dad started backhand, and I taught him forehand as time passed and my distance surpassed his. I had no clue about overstable, understable, and for some reason I thought midranges were dumb. Whenever I bought a disc I would just go by how it feels and how I thought it would fly by how it felt in my hands. Over time I got friends into it, who got their friends and siblings into it, and now the majority of disc golfers in the area throw forehand . I didn't research anything, just learned by playing. In the last two or so years I started playing with an advanced player that really helped me work on my form and backhand. We went to a few tournaments and play casually when we meet up. He started out forehand as well so we work together to improve our backhands. The last two years are what really made me go from a rec player, to a serious player. I've spent more time on the internet researching, as well as on the first hole just driving over and over to practice (like a practice field). Since moving up to MN my game has improved substantially, being able to watch a few local pros, including Discraft's "Critter" is quite the learning experience. League play is great, it helps to calm nerves down under "pressure", and learn from other people.

 

[Camgolfer]

Bump for a lot of new people here. I like to read stories

 

[bazillion]

I recall, way back when, being in a park somewhere and seeing this gray disc flying ENDLESSLY through the air. I thought to myself, "I've gotta stop smoking this sh!t".

Then, years later and straight as a string, I moved near to Oak Grove in Pasadena and happened to see some guys playing there. I asked where I could get a disc and they directed me to Alcorn Liquor (out of one vice, into another) which is where I bought my first disc.

The rest, as they say, is history

 

[harr0140]

Discs sold in a liquor store. . . here I thought Ace Hardware was a strange spot to sell discs.