Let’s be serious here.
Well, not so serious.
Sometimes, these polls will take a light-hearted approach to try and get some discussion going and just see what people are doing in the world of disc golf.
That’s kind of where we’re going with this week’s poll.
In the United States, this past weekend (for most people) was a long, three-day one. With a federal holiday on Monday, that made for some free time.
So we’re curious about those of you who played this weekend and if you have any stories!
More on that in a moment.
First, let’s check back with last week’s poll and see what some readers had to say.
Last week, we asked you how far you would walk or hike to play a disc golf course. Only 73 of you voted, but it was still somewhat surprising how the results panned out.
The winning selection was more than a mile, picked by 25 (34 percent) of the voters. A quarter of a mile (18 votes/25 percent) was next, followed by a mile (12 votes/16 percent), half a mile (11 votes/15 percent) and across the parking lot (7 votes/10 percent).
Though realizing disc golfers can be outdoors enthusiasts and hikers, it still would have been hard to pick more than a mile as the winning selection. After all, carrying the bag and such for more than a mile before you play, then tackle the course, then (maybe) have to hike back? Yikes!
Let’s see what some people had to say:
Bocephus Moonshine said:
One local course used to be a nine hole course with a 0.3 mile hike between the parking lot and the first hole. That hike never kept me from playing the course. Now it’s an 18 hole course with the first hole very close to the parking lot. Walking out through the wilderness used to freak out my girlfriend, but I would tease her, telling her, “You don’t have to outrun the wildlife, you just have to outrun me.”
I see getting out to play a round as an opportunity to get exercise, so if I were to add a mile or two to the amount I walk, I think it would be a good thing.
It is definitely a form of exercise. And another way to look at it would be it’s a good warm up before actually playing.
Simpletwist said:
I’d walk a half mile I think. But it really all depends. What’s the buzzz about the course. Is it one of those “must plays?” Am I traveling especially abroad, and its the only course within my travel plans? Time of day might also come into play, or time of year. I voted a half mile. A bit of a hike before you even start, but not unreasonable if its “the” course I thought it was.
Of course I prefer to drive right up to an empty course.
There’s definitely going to be factors involved with deciding if the walk is worth it. If it’s not a great course, it might be worth it if it’s in a nice place to hike. In that case, maybe a putter or something only? But the idea of driving up to an empty course has to be something most would like!
Kevin King said:
I don’t think that I’ve ever played a course that didn’t start right by the parking lot, so I’ve been spoiled. I’d probably find it pretty annoying to have the need to walk any further than a quarter mile to play.
As for how long I *would* walk to play – I’d probably walk to the moon if there was a course there.
If one is not used to walking to the first hole, it makes sense it could be annoying.
Cosimo R says:
About three miles would usually be OK. More than that, and the walk (both ways) starts to take such a significant amount of time it would make me reconsider. In any case, the nearest good course is five and a half miles away, and I’ve walked that.
Actually, in most cases – and I’m not just talking about disc golf courses here – if something’s about three miles away or less, I’ll generally just walk unless I’m in a hurry. Of course I’ll walk longer if walking/hiking is the main activity
It’s probably a safe bet that you’re in a minority being willing to walk six miles round trip to get to the first tee and then back. But it’s to be commended. You’d have to plan quite a bit of extra time for the three-mile walk to the tee and then the three-mile walk back. Now if it’s out of choice, great. But if it’s a course in the middle of the woods somewhere with the only access being hiking… it’d be fun to see how many people would be willing to do that distance for a course. But could you imagine the work getting the baskets and tee boxes out there?
Thanks to all who voted and all the others who commented.
Now on with this week.
With the long weekend in the United States, we want to know if you played disc golf this weekend. Even if you didn’t have the long weekend, feel free to chime in, vote and comment.
If you played, where was it? Anything out of the ordinary? A great course or a bad one? Something funny or crazy happen? Did you win a tournament? Let us know in the comments below.
[poll id=”64″]
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!
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The last 3 years, I have been scheduled to work over memorial day weekend. I just happened to trade a Monday for a Friday so I got to play doubles before the LCO. I didn’t get to the pro clinic, but spent the entire morning with the Fam and ended up with a great experience playing on an extremely amazing course. I was off Monday (memorial day) and spent the day working on projects at home enjoying the weather without a disc in my hand. It was a glorious partly cloudy day and couldn’t have been better.
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I played on memorial day.. I always play memorial day and veterans day. I’m an Army vet and I always throw an extra disc for an MIA/POW, a fellow vet or otherwise, some way to remember my fellow veterans etc. ON the 27th, I played at Pohick Bay Park in Lorton VA with my wife. She shot her best round ever at +4. She came very close to getting a few birdies too, but they either just barely missed or one even went in and bounced out.. My favorite throw of hers was on hole 5. Last veterans day, I aced that hole. On Monday, she missed the ace by 2 feet. it was amazing. it was by far her best shot ever. She was so happy. I was so happy too.
I also played in a vibram birdie bash at Giles Run, also in Lorton VA on Sunday teh 26th. Great course if you can control your discs.. not a great course if you are trying out new discs, which is what the birdie bash is all about.. You get two discs one putter and one driver or one mid.. of the 17 people playing, 10 people lost discs and 3 or 4 lost both discs. I didn’t win anything, but it was quite frustrating spending most of the afternoon looking for discs in the briars and thorns.. All in all it was a great weekend..
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Up here in Canada we didn’t have a long weekend (our’s was the weekend prior) but I did find time to go out and play a brand new course in Sparwood BC. It was a two-hour drive from home, but the in-laws were heading there anyway so I hitched a ride. I’ll be moving to that area in a few weeks, so I was ecstatic to learn about the fresh course there.
There is still some work to do on the course (leveling out the tee pads, setting up tee markers, clearing some of the fairways) but it was fun to play a course in its infancy.
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I played a bit of disc golf all three days. On Sunday I played my 22nd course since moving to Washington. Shelton Springs in Shelton, WA. was one of the best courses I’ve played so far. It rained on us a bit, but the weather didn’t ruin the experience.
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I think Shelton Springs is the best course in Washington. The Mason County guys did a fantastic job on that course!
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I played 3 times since last Thursday. I am just coming off shoulder surgery on my throwing arm. Thursday my Ortho Doc, & Physical Therapist both gave me the green light and my wife and favorite player partner started a little mini vacation. Drove right from the doctors office to the course. It was so sweet being back out there again after 3 months rehabilitation.
Thursday was 27 from the short tees at Joseph Davis State Park. Like riding a bike, I was quite happy with how well I played. The course was in fantastic shape too. Best shot with the wife and we shot 5 down with only 1 bogey. We figure shooting best shot and I won’t have to test the arm from really bad lies. Tried all my normal throws, FH, BH, Tomahawk and even tried (successfully) a roller. No distance but the accuracy was much better than I had hoped. And no pain!
Then on Saturday we played Arrowhead at Wilson-Tuscarora State Park. Weekends at JD can get very crowded and there was a tournament scheduled anyway. I know I’m no where ready for competition. Wilson is a little tougher, longer but always an almost empty course. Played well again,best shot form the short tees; 5 down. I even banged chains on the 17th basket. Another ace would have been sublime, but just hearing the sweet cha-ching as the basket spit out my Nuke was sweet enough.
Monday again at Arrowhead for another round of best shot from the short tees. And another great outing. Shot 2 down and the wife parked one this time, no chains but right under the basket. We even birdied the lone par 4 on the course.
And I’ll be playing just about every other day for the foreseeable future. Probably no competing at least with any seriousness until next year, and I’ll be playing from the short tees until I get back my old noodle arm distance.
So for me it was a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
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36 holes on Saturday in 35-45mph winds and 45-degree temps. 36 holes on Memorial Day with beautiful conditions. No tourneys. Nearby courses. One course was a 9-hole I hadn’t played before.
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Yep! Played the Mountain Disc Golf Experience in Asheville, NC. Had a great time.
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Yup…dislocated my stupid shoulder for the second time in the last month too…
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I played 6 whole holes on Sunday; my step-dad and myself geared up and took my brother and cousins to the course. My brother and cousin’s had never played before so we briefed them with some basics and headed to Tee Box one… Their first challenge, a short 240 hole that quickly worked to the right. I hit CTP with an anhyzer, with my step-dad immediately behind me with his forehand drive. My brother and cousins with all their effort tossed their discs that quickly finished left into the brush and creek. We finished the hole accordingly two Birds and 4 bogies.
with a little more instruction and a few tosses under their belts it didn’t take the guys long to level out there throws with more distance and better accuracy. My brother was even getting a consistent anhyzer by hole 4.
At that time the winds began to pick up and by Tee 5 the sky opened up on us. We finished what we could but were forced to call it.
The next morning I got a text from my brother at 8:15, it read, “Let’s finish that round”.
Even though we got rained out, all the guys are looking forward to our next outing.
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