What Have You Put Yourself Through for Someone Else's Disc?

[XC_Eddy]

My arms are currently covered in poison ivy rash contracted from going into the shule after someone else's shanked drive. He was going to leave the disc behind. I couldn't let that happen. No disc left behind and all that. Relatively easy find, just happened to be buried in a poison ivy patch.

Waking up this morning at 2AM with itchy arms, I reflected upon the other stupid stuff I've done going after other peoples' discs: stung by mud wasps, put my leg through ice on a frozen pond, stung by stinging nettles, and scars on my forearms from shimmying up and down the trunk of a pine tree. All for other peoples' frisbees.

So, those of you who also refuse to let others leave their discs behind, what stupid crap have you done in pursuit of other players' (not your own) frisbees? A salute to all those who go above and beyond to retrieve other players' discs.

 

[notapro]

Tried balancing on a log out in Chautauqua Lake, Hole #2 in Crystal Springs to get my wife's disc out with a stick. Realized I was in trouble so I tossed my phone and wallet to shore before I inevitably fell in.

Not sure if family/spouses count though.

 

[XC_Eddy]

Tried balancing on a log out in Chautauqua Lake, Hole #2 in Crystal Springs to get my wife's disc out with a stick. Realized I was in trouble so I tossed my phone and wallet to shore before I inevitably fell in.

Not sure if family/spouses count though.

Count it. After throwing a PFN Star Teebird into Lake Michigan, my wife now only throws dx stuff that I wouldn't work too hard to retrieve. You fell into a lake for your wife's disc. Definitely counts.

 

[ohtobediscing]

The lake at Desert Fox/Paul B. in MS was very low, so on one of the holes you were throwing over a vast mud flat instead of water. My buddy threw his Champ Destroyer about 40-50 ft out. The mud was gooey to your knee, this was hole 6, and there was no water anywhere to wash off. I went deep into the woods and cut two long branches just before a fork. Bent and wove each fork together, then took the string from my retriever and tied them to my feet. "Snoeshoed" out to the disc and got back with only a little mud on my shoes.

 

[jupiterboy]

Nothing big, but harassment on our local FB forums to the point I left. I don't think they know how a lost and found works, but whatever.

 

[njgrosser]

I once climbed a tree that I didn't realize had poison something in it. Ended up spending wayyyyyy more on calamine lotion than the cost of a new DX Leopard lol I agree that leaving discs behind isn't ideal, but after that experience I try to remember that we're normally talking about $10-$20 lost when I go looking for a disc in the messy stuff.

 

[Moose33]

Have waded into a creek barefoot on many occasions, but most of the time wouldn't do more than that unless it was a really good friend/the person isn't physically capable of getting it.

 

[MikeK]

Tried balancing on a log out in Chautauqua Lake, Hole #2 in Crystal Springs to get my wife's disc out with a stick. Realized I was in trouble so I tossed my phone and wallet to shore before I inevitably fell in.

Not sure if family/spouses count though.

I got a better one for you, from that very same hole. Maybe even the same log. Playing a tournament out there a few years ago and another player went a few feet out. He goes and balances on the log, slips off, and a sharp branch penetrates his leg. He made an un-human sound. He did finish the round though.

 

[Three Putt]

I think this was last summer, but somebody threw a disc into some heavy shule off one hole. The property actually belongs to the church next door to the park, so I wandered into the the church and asked if they cared if I thinned that out. They didn't. So now we are like two days after the disc loss and I went out with clippers and a weed eater and just tore the bejeezus out of the shule. I scared the Hell out of a dude who was hiding back there toking on his lunch break. I just chopped away at stuff for a couple of hours and cleared a bunch of crud out back there. Didn't find the disc. The next week were were playing again and the guy walked back in there to see how much work I did looking for his disc; he took two steps in and went "Oh, here it is." The thing was wedged into a bunch of branches right at eye level; I walked past it probably 50 times looking down.

 

[Dcinmd]

Oh about 6 years ago I walk across a frozen pond in Virginia. I had my reasoning why it was safe but a good friend came along and gave me a ear full for doing so.

 

[thecandydan]

So, those of you who also refuse to let others leave their discs behind, what stupid crap have you done in pursuit of other players' (not your own) frisbees?

Well, here's a retrieval story from my blog, copied below, kinda good/fun memory for me:

Day 1641 Lost Disc Retrieval Story

Day 1641

In a nutshell we played a round at Osage and found a disc and this is the story I posted to Cincy Disc Golfers Lost & Found. Saving it here as a fun memory:
Emmett Kresslein

No one else needs to read this. lol

TLDR: I found your Sexton Firebird.

Played Osage today. On Hole B Danny spots a disc across the creek.

Hmm, looks like a Sexton Firebird. I'm sure someone's missing that so I figure we should try to retrieve it so someone else doesn't find it and keep it.

Okay Emmett, did you know an Qwik Stik extends out to 18' plus my arm about 3' . . . means the creek which your disc was located on the other side of was, oh, about 23' away.

Holding onto a honeysuckle bush . . . lean out into the creek and with the full extended pole somehow grab the edge of the disc with the hook and pull it about 3' toward me . . . before it falls off into the rapidly moving stream.

Oh crap, so much for rescuing that 'bird . . . oh wait, it's on its back and floating down the creek like a boat. Quick scan down the creek, spot a sandbar about 30' away and rock area about 70' away where I might be able to grab it as it floats.

Run down to the sandbar . . . no bueno . . . clearly floating 3-4' beyond my pole's reach . . . quickly collapse the pole and run down to the rock area . . . uncollapse the pole . . . reach out . . . and watch it float 6" outside my reach.

Oh well, so long Firebird, I tried to save you but there it is floating down into the deep area where the creeks come together when . . . it snags the last rock.

Okay, let's try this again. Extend pole and reach . . . oh wait, it's 3' out of reach. Seriously? Okay, it's still fluttering on that last rock. Find a big rock, throw in 2' in. Step on it, reach . . . oh yeah, it was 3' out of reach, stupid. Okay. Another big rock another 2' out. Step out onto it . . . oh no, it's too round, slip off and now my foot is wet.

Okay, not giving up. Get another big flat rock, throw it out there and yes, finally I can reach it. Snag the disc. Don't drop, don't drop, don't drop . . . somehow it stays on the hook, miracle of miracles it remains on the hook the whole 18' back and doesn't drop into the fast moving deep water.

Sexton Firebird saved. Don't think I've ever worked so hard to save a disc. lol

Could barely read your name on it, nearly worn off.

Is the disc still yours? If so PM me and I'll get it back to you.

 

[ThrowBot]

Gotta give a shout out to @brentjacobs, who has been dangled by 1 ankle, headfirst into a canal in a Denver-area business park. All because I threw an ill advised roller with my CD2.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

This is good stuff!

Yeeeeerz ago, (before I had a retriever)...

Son threw an OOP 150 Z Storm into a pond on a cold fall day. Didn't want to finish the round and drive an hour home wearing wet jeans (damned things take forever to dry). So I stripped down to my skivvies and went disc diving.
He still bags that disc to this day.

But that's never gonna happen again. :|

 

[Innova63]

This is a case of "Karma is real"
Root River, hole 15 from the long tee requires a drive across creek just short of the short pin (hole has like 4 possible basket locations, all requiring clearance of the creek from the long tee only). For my old arm, the smart play is Roc to just short of the creek, any driver probably ends up hitting the far side bank and going into the water...
I rarely play this hole smart...

The creek is really deep, seeing the disc in the water is rare, so I usually spend time trying to feel for the disc with my "gator" retriever. While feeling around in the water, I will wave groups on through, I see many smarter players then me...they all land short of the creek.

One day after completing my round, I went back to see if I could find my errant drive. I was feeling around the murky water and had a solo single player throw a poor drive that landed in the creek, as he approached, I offered to grab his disc and he gave me the okay. I latched on with the gator and pulled it out, he thanked me as asked if had any success finding my disc. I said that I think I could feel it with the gator but was not successful grabbing it blindly in the murky water. He was about 30 years my junior and at least 50 pounds lighter, so he asked where it was and crawled out on a log that I would not have trusted, asked for my gator and poked around, said he felt what he thought was a disc, rolled up his sleeve and reached in well past his elbow, almost to his shoulder, and pulled out my driver.

So, in my humble opinion...

"karma" is real...

 

[Countchunkula]

I don't get a reaction to poison ivy, so I'm the designated PI disc retriever in most any group I play with. Always try not to touch any plant matter and rinse off the disc once retrieved. Why take a chance? I'm sure I've pulled hundreds of discs out of PI over the years.

Pulled a disc out of some PI about a month ago and guess what, I had the rash the next day in a few spots on the arm that I used to retrieve. Seems like my immunity is fading, so folks better be more careful of the PI.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I don't get a reaction to poison ivy, so I'm the designated PI disc retriever in most any group I play with. Always try not to touch any plant matter and rinse off the disc once retrieved. Why take a chance? I'm sure I've pulled hundreds of discs out of PI over the years.

Pulled a disc out of some PI about a month ago and guess what, I had the rash the next day in a few spots on the arm that I used to retrieve. Seems like my immunity is fading, so folks better be more careful of the PI.

I have no data or study to support this, but I read somewhere that the more exposure people have to urushiol, the more likely they are to develop an allergic reaction to it, and that reactions tend to worsen the more you come on contact with it.

This definitely seems to be the case with me.

So even if PI doesn't mess someone up now, they'd still be wise to limit their contact with it, in order to maximize the # of years you have where it doesn't affect you.

That's my take.

 

[Riverdog]

Not a disc retrieval story, but relevant to poison ivy. A disc golf HOFamer friend from Florida used to make a North Carolina trip to the Asheville area every year from Florida to visit in-laws. We'd get up with each other then and usually play the old, original Richmond Hill course, may it rest in peace. On around hole two or three first time Steve (name only slightly altered to protect his reputation) asked, "Is there any poison ivy?" I just kind of looked at him side ways and asked, "Do you recognize pine trees?" His response, "Well yeah". To which I responded, "Then everything else is poison ivy." Richmond Hill had thigh and calf sized PI hanging like grape vines. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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[ru4por]

I don't get a reaction to poison ivy, so I'm the designated PI disc retriever in most any group I play with. Always try not to touch any plant matter and rinse off the disc once retrieved. Why take a chance? I'm sure I've pulled hundreds of discs out of PI over the years.

Pulled a disc out of some PI about a month ago and guess what, I had the rash the next day in a few spots on the arm that I used to retrieve. Seems like my immunity is fading, so folks better be more careful of the PI.

I have had to have a quick chat with a couple of designated PI disc retrievers. While their service is highly appreciated, some have a disregard for the continued danger they can then present. Throwing an arm over my shoulder, high fiving, getting in my car. They sometimes forget that everything they transfer the oil to, becomes a threat. I had a buddy that would show off by tromping through the stuff and then carpool with me. My wife spend a summer getting PI on the back of her calves, from the car seat where we suspect he left hit mark.

 

[GripEnemy]

Marriage.

They were great Comets.

 

[art_vandelay]

I saw a guy eat some poison ivy on the course to prove to the card that he was not allergic. Nothing happened that day but it sounds like he should probably not keep doing it.