Month: April 2012

Poll 9: The National Tour

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Before we get to this week’s poll, let me say this — some of you golfers play a lot in the span of the week!

And, well, I’m a bit jealous.

See, the nearest “true” course to me is about a 1:20 drive away. And though it’s not too bad if you play a couple of rounds, the economy will tell you that it’s not something that’s feasible to do every day!

So, I go when I can. There are talks, hopes and plans of a course or two in our area, though, so I can hope one day I’ll be playing as much as some of you!

Anyway, let’s check out the results of last week’s poll

We had 126 voters and the winning choice was 3-4 rounds per week, which received 32 percent of the vote with 40 people making that their choice. Next was 1-2 rounds with 33 votes (26 percent) and then 5-6 rounds per week with 26 votes (21 percent). The next was 7-9 rounds (12 percent/15 votes) and 10 or more (9 percent/12 votes).

Brian Buller notes:

It usually varies week to week for me, but on average I would say about 5-6 per week. If I could, I would have a minimum of 3 rounds per day but it’s hard getting out there very often without a car.

Three rounds per day? That would be a lot of disc throwing if you could pull that off!

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Weekly disc golf wrap: News and notes

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The weather has been wacky in my part of the Northeast recently. So much so that we actually had some snow recently.

Snow!

Alas, the weather turned this weekend and a couple of us from the RattlingChains.com family got to get out and play a round Sunday. It felt good to flip some discs in a good weather. We got the chance to test out a new disc, take some video and photos and enjoy.

And, as has been the trend lately, there’s been some good coverage of the sport in the media. So let’s take a peek at what was out there this past week.

April 29

  • Edora Park disc golf course sticking with 18 holes (Fort Collins, Colo.)
  • Amphitheater, disc golf on park commission’s plate Monday (Chico, Calif.)
  • Weather does not deter disc golfers from competing (Frankfort, Indiana)
  • Enjoying another flight path (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
  • Disc golf clinic set for Tuesdays in May (Hannibal, Mo.)
  • Disc golfers let ’em fly at 18th annual Vintage Cup

April 27

  • Disc golfers raise $1,200 indoors (Helena, Montana)
  • Local Resident Vying to Make Disc Golf Course a Reality in Lacey (Lacey, NJ)
  • Bud Hadfield Park boasts 18-hole disc golf course boasts 18-hole disc golf course (Houston, Texas)
  • Westchester Lagoon Disc Golf Summer Closing Sparks Online Petition (Anchorage, Alaska)
  • Should town amend recycling center code? (disc golf talked about midway through story — Ravena, NY)

April 26

  • Anchorage’s Westchester disc golf course closure was inevitable (Anchorage, Alaska)
  • Extracurricular course (River Valley and Ozark Area, Arkansas)

April 25

April 24

April 23

  • Disc Golf is an Electrical Impulse, a Word, OK. (Sean Blog)

If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, ideas or anything else, feel free to e-mail me and the crew at: pj [at] rattlingchains.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Rattling Chains Photo of the Week: April 28

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A shot from last year's Relay For Life in upstate New York.

I am not going to take liberties too often to post my own photos on this weekly feature. (Note to others, however, send us your best disc golf photos to use here! Info is  at the bottom of the post about what we need etc.)

But, last night was our area’s annual Relay For Life. The 10th straight year, actually. The Relay is the American Cancer Society’s biggest yearly fundraiser. I’ve been involved with the Relay for several years now, doing so when my father passed away from this awful disease.

Every year, we attempt to do something different the day of to raise a little extra money.

Last year, we brought disc golf into the equation. With one lighted basket out front to get people interested and a 6-hole course in an open field, we sold CFR Glow Aviars to raise money. We then gave away prizes for the winning cards, putting etc. It was quite the success (despite having a bunch of the discs left over).

This year, with very cold temps and even some snow floating around, we didn’t go as big. We only had a few baskets out and didn’t really charge people, but tried to show people the game of disc golf.

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How many putters did you try before you found “the one?”

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Being a successful putter is like being in a successful relationship. Both require dedication, commitment, and sacrifice. It isn’t always easy, but in the end, if you are willing to work hard enough, the rewards are worth the struggle.

But finding that special putter that you want to settle down and spend the rest of your disc golf life with can be quite the journey.

When I first started playing, I picked up an Innova DX Aviar, and we got along OK, but I just wasn’t that into it. That spark just wasn’t there, and we parted ways.

Shortly thereafter, I found a Discraft Magnet, and I was in love. The way it felt in my hand, how it hit the chains so gently. We just connected. I thought it was the one.

After a couple of months, though, something went wrong. I don’t know if it was me, or the putter, but we just weren’t clicking anymore. I was missing five-foot putts, and it was a strain on our relationship.

Plus, my eye started to wander. I saw a sexy MVP Ion in a shop, and I took it for a spin. The look, the feel … this baby was hot. I left my Magnet, and was swept off my feet by the Ion.

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A card for your collection? Let’s find out…

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Who is the winner?

Last week, I shared a story about the Avery Jenkins card.

This card played a part in me getting interested in the sport. Though I imagine I would have found the game again without this card — but who knows when?

It’s funny how things like this happen. I’ve since talked to people who have tried to find these cards, only to not be able to get one in a pack. And though the base cards can be found on card collecting sites, there’s still the cool feeling of finding a card you want when you crack a box and few packs.

Some of the cards I’ve pulled from packs over the years (Cole Hamels jersey card; Torii Hunter bat card; Jim Thome jersey card) mean more to me than some of my favorite cards that I’ve had to scrounge through eBay auctions or card shows.

So, yes, it was cool to pull Avery’s card.

And it’s even cooler to give a few of these away knowing some people are going to really enjoy them. Especially that they are autographed. And, another cool point is he signed these for these giveaways.

Anyway, reading the comments on here and on Facebook showed that Avery is, indeed, a great ambassador of the sport and earned his spot on a card.

I know, you are all wanting me to announce some winners. But give me some slack here! I wanted to show a couple of people’s comments from the original story.

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A friendly reminder: Showing etiquette on the course

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In the world of disc golf, many players are unfortunately not even aware of the “etiquette” concept.

I’d guess that many players have had no exposure to ball golf prior to discovering disc golf, and everything about our version of the sport is more casual. Most courses have no pro shops, no marshal, no tee times, and feel much more like what they are: a public park where people can come, go, and do as they please.

However, anyone familiar with ball golf knows that etiquette is a big part of the game. Golf is a self-officiated game, with no referees, umpires or the like to point out when a player has broken a rule or committed an infraction. But “golf etiquette” is specifically concerned with the unwritten rules that have less to do with the scoring part of the game and more to do with respect for the other players in your group and on the course.

According to Merriam-Webster, etiquette is defined as “the
conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by
authority to be observed in social or official life” In the ball-golf
world, this translates to a universally-understood group of social mores that all serious competitive or even learned recreational players observe.

The more laid-back nature of disc golf means that the rules of etiquette for our sport will differ accordingly. However, the reality that it’s still golf — a game that calls for intense focus to play well, mixed precariously with interactions with groups of people both familiar and unfamiliar — requires us act within unspoken but generally agreed-upon mores.

I personally enjoy a disc golf setting that simulates this aspect of ball golf as closely as possible, and if you’re reading this, odds are that you also treat your rounds of disc golf as more than just tossing plastic for a couple hours. If that is the case, please read my non-exhaustive compilation of disc golf etiquette guidelines and let me know what you think. Tell me if you agree or disagree, and if there is anything I overlooked, which I’m sure is the case.

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Taking disc golf to the streets (and anywhere else you can set up a basket)

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One of the ideas a couple of us had when we initially started this disc golf blog was to do some urban disc golf.

We thought it would be fun to take a portable and explore, and to see if we could come up with some fun video.

It might be around here. Elsewhere. Travels. Whatever.

But urban disc golf is new to a few of us. We’ve tried a few things and screwed around with some videos. And there’s going to be more, hopefully. Especially now that the weather is turning good.

But what makes for a good urban disc golf video?

A few months back, four of us got together to do a little testing of the urban disc golf idea. We have ideas on how to expand it and such, but we wanted to do a few things to see what kind of reactions we could get.

We started in downtown Albany (N.Y.) and wandered around. It wasn’t the busiest day, so that made it nice to be able to move around and see what we could get away with.

And get more ideas.

This is one we did. The lady in the bus stop definitely seemed to wonder what the heck we were up to.

Is this the best urban disc golf video? Of course not. But we are working to try and make things better. Maybe get some more people. Maybe try a couple of crazy spots. Maybe things can get better.

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Poll 8: Rounds per week

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It appears disc golfers don’t overdo it when it comes to PDGA-sanctioned tournaments.

In last week’s poll, when we asked our readers how many PDGA tournaments they would play in this year, the winning answer was 3-6.

It makes me wonder if we should have just said tournaments? After all, there are doubles tournaments, non-sanctioned local tournaments and other ideas. But, it’s also interesting to see how many PDGA tournaments, because one pays the membership fee to be part of the organization.

Maybe we’ll re-visit this later in the year and make it overall tournaments and see how many tourneys people actually played in.But for now, let’s see how the vote turned out. A total of 86 people voted.

The winning selection of 3-6 tournaments received 29 votes (34 percent). In second was 1-2 tournaments with 19 votes (22 percent). Third was 7-10 with 13 votes (15 percent), followed by none (11 votes/13 percent).

It’s interesting to have the “none” vote that high. Is it that people are not playing in PDGA tournaments or none at all? Either way, it’s intriguing to me as I think it might show the more casual side of this sport and how beneficial it can be etc.

Let’s see what some people said for last week’s poll.

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Weekly disc golf wrap: News and notes

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Another week gone by as we get deeper and deeper into the 2012 playing season and the news is seemingly blooming.

In our neck of the woods in the Northeast, the weather has been fantastic. That, of course, means more playing and more chances to get disc golf in the mainstream media.

April 21

  • Disc golf gains popularity in Saskatoon (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)
  • Former PDGA World Champion McCabe started career in Emporia

April 20

April 19

  • Disc golf course ?to open in Lake in the Hills (Lake in the Hills, Ill.)
  • Charting a disc golf course in Riverside Park (Grand Forks, ND)
  • Fishing, Disc Golf Possible Parts of Park Grant Application (New Lenox, Ill.)
  • Drought forces disc golf course to close (Georgetown, Texas)
  • You may already have a franchise in the ICBA (Hillsboro, Ohio)
  • Student aces competition in disc golf (Western Carolina Univ.)

April 18

  • Williamson County disc golf course closed for six months because of dead trees (Georgetown, Texas)
  • Disc golf course founder Ben Barton honored for dedication (Laketown Township, Mich.)
  • CSU team captures national disc golf title (Coloradan.com)
  • Dog park, disc golf course now open (Grand Chute, Wisc.)

April 17

  • Disc golf’s popularity soars (Omaha, Neb.)
  • Emporia can place a bid to host Amateur Disc Golf World Championship (Emporia, Kan)
  • CSU takes home men’s disc golf national title (Fort Collins, Colo.)

April 16

  • Disc Golf Contractor Renegotiates Agreement with City (story about pay-to-play course; also has update for April 18; Inver Grove Heights, Minn.)
  • Colorado State wins disc golf crown (Augusta, Ga.)
  • A Warm Day for a Round of Disc Golf (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.)
  • PTC disc golf course to close for renovations (Peachtree City, Ga.)
  • Glass Blown Open gets high praises (Emporia, Kan.)
  • Colorado State outpaces the field for Collegiate Disc Golf title (Augusta, Ga.)

If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, ideas or anything else, feel free to e-mail me and the crew at: pj [at] rattlingchains.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

April 21: What’s in your bag?

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Kevin Morrow's bag, filled with his orange discs!

This week’s What’s in your bag? feature shows us the contents of Kevin Morrow, who keeps his discs easy to find with them all being orange.

Morrow, of Fredericksburg,Va., calls Loriella DGC his home course.

Now let’s take a peek at his bag contents (in Kevin’s words) …

I began playing in 1986. Around 2002, I stopped playing and began playing again in 2010. So much had changed in those few years.

First, I ended up cracking all my old DX plastic and needed to replace my discs. Then I went online and discovered all the disc golf sites and e-stores selling everything you could ever want.

It’s not like the old days when you had to wait for the local pro to show up so you could buy your plastic out of his trunk. They still do that but now you go online and the latest plastic can be at your door the next day. So, I had to learn discs all over again and the different plastics. I have bought just about every mold and tried it out to see how it fit my throw.

My bag:

It is a little different than most. I got the idea from a member a DGCourseReview who found this backpack on Cabela’s website. It looked like a great option and I always wanted to find a backpack style that didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Kevin's bag and discs.

My bag is a Cabela’s XPG Pro Series angle tackle backpack. It lists for 69.99 but I was able to get it for the online sale price of 49.99, with free shipping.

I had to make a few modifications. I built a half-inch PVC frame to keep the bottom compartment that held the tackle boxes rigid. With the frame, I can carry about 19 discs. Without the frame, even more can be stored. I only carry 14 discs.

The top compartment has plenty of room for my extra stuff. I also drop an orange or some kind of snack, too. The top flat pocket, behind the sunglasses case, makes a great putter pocket that can carry two putters, but it can’t be zipped up with discs inside. So I put the putters in the top compartment when I’m traveling. I like personalizing my stuff. Most of the patches were given to me by friends and family.

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