One of the great things about disc golf is the variety in many things associated with the sport — discs, baskets, terrain, courses etc.
But courses — that’s a place where the variety kicks in.
Woods, open fairways, random trees, crazy mandos, island greens — you name it, it’s probably out there.
With this poll, we’ll be discussing types of courses — but we’ll get back to that in a moment. First, let’s travel back to last week when we asked where disc golf ranked in your life.
Not surprisingly, it seems to rank highly with people. Not always as the No. 1 be-all thing, but high in an overall sense of where you see the game. As with many things in life, this poll showed a variety of answers and reasons why.
Of the 119 who took part in this poll, 61 percent (73 votes) said disc golf was their favorite outdoor activity. Second was obsessed nothing ranks higher, which garnered 31 votes (26 percent). That answer was followed by a sport I enjoy playing (10 percent/12 votes), just getting into disc golf (2 percent/2 votes) and something I dig doing when I have the chance (1 percent/1 vote).
Let’s see what a few people had to say:
Simpletwist said:
Honestly it was tough not to say obsessed, and some would argue that perhaps I am. But easily its my favorite outdoor activity. I love to fish, bike, I even love to bolf. But spending time with my family comes first.
Now when I play with my family, I have the best of all worlds.
This sounds like the perfect way to look at things.
Sweet Bang said:
By far my favorite outdoor activity. Before I started playing in 2012, my favorite outdoor activity was sitting in the cool water of local green-belts for hours at time while enjoying the views and cold beverages.
Disc golf was just what I needed after my ruptured Achilles. I got off my ass, got on the course and worked on my game… I wanted to improve so much that added putting practice, a weekly solo round and weight training to my weekly regimen.
Disc Golf quickly changed my life, how can it not be my favorite?
It definitely makes sense that it’s your favorite outdoor activity and it’s good to see you were able to make it that.
Doug D. said:
Obsessed was my choice, but Favorite was my vote. It is the one thing I will have THE most trouble giving up when I’m too old to play outside, but just doesn’t hold a candle to relationships with people. Now, when you can combine the two like last Saturday when 4 of us journeyed 200 miles in 16 hours and played 84 holes of golf on 5 new courses…well, maybe I should have marked obsessed!
That sounds like one heck of a fun trip!
John said:
I enjoy being a husband and father too much to choose the obsessed option.
It’s good to see the priorities in life as what you note is something to be fully respected.
Ray E said:
I’m a work-obsessed musician; that’s the most important discipline in my life, and it takes up a lot of my time. Beyond that, I’ve been practicing yoga in one form or another for eight or nine years. All of that is great, but all of that takes place indoors. Disc golf has given me a great reason to get outside and enjoy the Louisiana greenery. I’ve been glad to find a sport I can practice on my own but still share with others, and something that gets me out of doors! It’s definitely my outdoor activity of choice, and that attraction of it has helped me share it with other family and friends.
That really is a great way to look at this sport. And hopefully the sport helps you unwind, too!
Thanks to all who commented and voted. Let’s move forward with this week’s poll.
We want to know — What type of disc golf course is your favorite?
Wooded? Open? A mix? A place with baskets? If you’ve played the sport long enough, there’s no doubt you have heard players talk, grumble or whatever else about certain courses.
Some like the technical aspect a wooded course brings. Other like to grip it and rip it on an 800-foot open field. Some like the mental challenge of going in and out of the woods and on to open fields.
Where do you stand in all of this?
Vote below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
[poll id=”61″]
If you have any comments, questions, thoughts, ideas or anything else, feel free to e-mail me and the crew at: pj@rattlingchains.com. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter andlike us on Facebook!
rattlingchains.com 
From my home, I have a choice between two equidistant courses; a mixed course and a wooded course. Playing the mixed course is fun, but playing the wooded course has made me better at the game because it is much more challenging.
I sometimes fantasize about building my own course here in Florida. It would have to be in a wooded area with no water (I HATE losing discs – yes, I’m cheap), but it would have some O.B. areas marked off to create virtual bodies of water where you can get your disc back without swimming with alligators.
When I was a newbie, I used to complain about difficult courses, but now I think the harder a course is, the better the course is, especially if the course has short and long tee pads. Some of my local courses have nothing but long unobstructed holes, and those courses are boring to play. I’ve even gotten to the point where it angers me to see unauthorized disc golfers altering the landscape to make particular holes easier. Seriously, if you hit a particular tree branch too often, step-up your game. The tree isn’t the issue. The issue is your skill.
LikeLike
It looks like I’ll go with the masses on this one. Give me a good mix. Something that tests all parts of the game. I like to thread the needle and find that perfect line in the trees. And I also like to air out a bomb. Well as much of a bomb as this noodle arm can get. Its nice to play with the wind and space.
Another thing about a good mix is if you’re getting frustrated by the wind you can take some cover in the trees. Or if you’re getting a little tired of chopping trees and winding up in jail, then letting a good open rip can be just the tonic you need.
LikeLike
I have few chances to play wooded courses, but I have liked them best. The ability basically to hike with discs is pretty cool. To play a course on a piece of land that I would enjoy being on anyway is a bonus. Finally, I think the chance of memorable holes is greater on a wooded course than the other types. Looking from the tee across a gully with a creek at the bottom and a basket at the top of the hill on the other side (for example) is something I will remember for a long time.
LikeLike
Disc golf definitely helps me unwind! Another of the perks.
Variety is the quality I covet the most in a course. The better I get, the more interested I become in the mental game of choosing discs and lines. On a course with static qualities – be they distance, obstacles, angles, whathaveyou – I find I start to lose engagement with one of my favorite parts of the sport. Having variety helps keep me on my toes! Not to mention that it grows my game – nothing better when playing a new course than being forced into devising a new shot or utilizing an unfamiliar one.
LikeLike
I wanted to vote “anything as long as it has baskets” but the longer I play the more I value the variety of a mixed course. We had a bucket course here for a while but I couldn’t justify the drive until the course was finalized.
The other courses here have multiple tee and multiple pin placements. There are 2 courses that have some slight elevation changes to the terrain, and the new one (after all the Vortex baskets went in) is somewhat flat on the bottom 9 and all up and down in the top 9(hence the deviation from front/back). The holes range from wooded to open bombs to anhizer to tunnel.
Variety is the spice of life and we have it all here with 3 great courses within 15 minutes of each other. And those are only the public courses, there are multiple private courses that have everything from short “put & approach” to windy, open grassy fairways. It’s great to live in the Inland Northwest.
LikeLike
Pingback: Poll 56: The courses on which you play | Keystone Disc Golf