Knowing your game can help you win the battle with trees

Trees, trees, everywhere trees. (photo by Andre Fredrick)

by Andre Fredrick — RattlingChains.com staff

Let’s talk about trees, folks.

My life as a disc golfer began its incubation in the Midwest, in the lovely state of Minnesota. While trees certainly came into play there, it wasn’t until I started throwing in Oregon that I realized just how much a threat they pose to my scorecard.

Trees are everywhere out here, from narrow saplings to massive pines. Big or small, a well-placed tree can quickly devastate your score, knocking your drive down to a measly 50-feet, or sending an approach shot into the rough.

Granted, there are times that I thank the heavens for trees, be it because of a helpful kick or stopping an errant shot from going as wide as it may have.

Do you have a problem? (photo by Andre Fredrick)

Ultimately, however, this is just pure luck and luck is never something one should count on to save par and keep their score low.

It could be argued that hitting trees to the detriment of one’s score is just as much a matter of chance as getting that lucky deflection, but I disagree.

There are a number of ways in which you can handle throwing on a wooded course, and you have a great deal more control over the outcome than you might imagine. While I haven’t mastered throwing in their midst entirely, over my years of hucking plastic in Oregon, there are a number of lessons I have learned that have made them less of a factor to my game. Here are a few:

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Lost discs can at least make for good stories

I will first admit that I am not as regular of a disc golfer as I would like to be. That’s the crappy part about not having a good course within 1:20 of you.

Still, I’ve traveled around and played several good and tough courses.

Through all of that, I’ve never (knock on wood) lost a disc.

There have been times I should have lost a disc and somehow found it. I’ve actually almost given up on looking for it before I stumbled across it and found it.

I’m sure, at some point, I’ll join the group of people who have lost discs. I’ll just hope it’s not one of my favorites!

A couple of weeks ago, during our weekly poll, we asked people about their best lost disc stories. And with that, we’re going to give a disc out to the best story as decided by members of our staff.

Before we get to the winner, I’d like to share a few other stories as there were some good ones for sure.

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Poll 17: Calling people out in a tournament

This is one of those questions I’ve wanted to see answered for a long time.

I’ve heard some incredible stories about these things, too. Tournaments can be pretty intense, especially when players are quoting rule books.

We’ll get to that in a moment, though.

First, let’s take a peek back at last week’s poll results and comments.

We wanted to know if you were a fair-weather golfer or if you played in pretty much any sort of weather that Mother Nature threw at you.

The results didn’t fully shock me, considering it seems to match up with many disc golfers I know.

I might only like certain weather situations, but many others seem to see it differently!

A total of 72 players voted in this week’s poll and of that group, 50 percent (36 votes) chose that they play in any weather.

That was followed by “A drizzle is fine, but not a rainstorm,” which drew 25 percent (18 votes) and was followed by “That’s what they make umbrellas and rain gear for!” (10  percent/7 votes).

“Sunshine only for me” was fourth with four votes (6 percent) and “Cold or heat is fine, but nothing else” rounded out the top-5 with three votes (4 percent).

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Disc golf becomes a life-changer

(Editor’s note: RattlingChains.com welcomes Andre Frederick to the writing crew here. Andre lives in the Pacific Northwest and will provide some interesting commentary about disc golf from his eyes. Welcome Andre to the staff of Rattling Chains!)

By Andre Fredrick — RattlingChains.com Staff

I’ve never been the athletic sort.

My youth saw me as an awkward, chunky lad with limited athletic ability. I tried tennis lessons, and, I even took up junior varsity football, but no sport could maintain my interest. I wasn’t terribly competitive and didn’t find myself motivated to compete against others.

Toward the end of my high school days, I discovered disc golf.

Some friends and I would visit the Burke Lake course in Virginia occasionally on weekends to play a casual round, using old Lightning discs that a few friends had collected.

While I had fun, I didn’t realize then what the game held for me. I honestly kind of dismissed it.

After high school, I moved to Iowa to pursue a college education, and even through those years, I hadn’t thought about disc golf. After graduating, I moved to the Twin Cities to room with a college friend, Matt, and enter the workforce.

These years would re-introduce me to the game that has since changed my life.

Lamenting our lots in the rat race, Matt and I began to play disc golf. We often called in sick to get out and play. It quickly proved to be one of the few activities that would get me outdoors. Matt and I would talk about our woes, share our plans for the future and forget the drudgery of adulthood, all while chasing plastic discs around Kaposia Park.

Parenthood and marriage soon changed many things in my life.

Once more, I forgot about the game of disc golf as I grappled with fatherhood and being a husband. Those weekend jaunts to Kaposia quickly faded into little more than memories.

In the course of my seven-year marriage, I went from being 240 pounds to a whopping 360. I was depressed with my weight and struggled with the pressures of being a parent and partner. In an attempt to salvage things, my then wife and I moved to Portland, Oregon, hoping a change in scenery would improve the state of our union.

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Photography and disc golf: Look beyond the throw

I was laying on the ground as a friend tossed discs into the basket. I was mesmerized by the brilliant blue background of the sky and just wanted to capture the disc as it started to rattle the chains.

(Editor’s note: This is the second in a series about disc golf photography. The rest of the series will continue in the coming weeks.)

By P.J. Harmer — RattlingChains.com Staff

Disc golf is a fantastic sport to photograph. I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before.

Expressions, action, the discs in flight — but it goes so much more beyond that. See, disc golf can be an artistic thing as well.

The silhouette of a basket with a sunset as the background never gets old.

Though the action shot is the ultimate, there’s a lot people can do with point-and-shoot cameras, a camera phone or whatever else to get a great image.

The big point is this, though — not all disc golf shots need to be action or with people in them. The beauty of this game is that baskets, discs and whatever else lend itself to having phenomenal shots.

And you don’t need a high-priced fancy camera (though if you have one, excellent!)

Think of the possibilities out there for images — cool-looking baskets; baskets with nice backdrops; the disc going into the basket (without a person present); discs in crazy landing spots; disc golf bags full of colorful discs. The list can go on and on.

Now, I wouldn’t suggest you try and do all this during a tournament, of course. But during a casual round? Take a peek around.

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Poll 16: Are you fair weather?

I have to admit this — I’m a bit of a fair-weather disc golfer.

This might be coupled with the fact that there’s not a decent course for a good 1:20 drive from me, but still.

I look ahead as far as I can when it comes to tournaments. Is it supposed to rain? Be too hot? It makes me consider if I want to play or not. Especially taking into consideration the terrain of the course.

But we’ll get to that in a second…

First, let’s take a peek at last week’s poll and see what we have.

Of the 72 voters who took part in the poll, 29 percent (21 votes) said they had lost 11 or more discs!

Eleven or more!

Knock on wood, but I’m lucky to know I’ve lost none. Of course, I also search for as long as possible to find my discs, but still. And, I’m sure, I’ll eventually lose a disc or two. It happens.

The next spot went to 5-6 discs, which garnered 22 percent (16 votes). Next was 3-4 discs (21 percent/15 votes), followed by 1-2 (13 percent/9 votes) and none (6 percent/4 votes).

To think people have lost so many discs!

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Company Closeup: Zing Mini Flyers

By P.J. Harmer — RattlingChains.com Staff

What started out as a way to make a few extra bucks after getting laid off from his job has turned into something a bit bigger for Craig Myers.

Myers is the owner and sole employee of Zing Mini Flyers, a company that has designed and created three different mini discs. These discs, which often are used by some as marker discs, are also used when playing mini disc golf.

A finished Zing mini Snipe.

But how would one get into something like this?

Myers said the company started as a need for extra income when he was laid off from an engineering plastics job in 2008. He took the severance package offered and invested into something he enjoyed — disc golf.

Since then, he’s been employed and laid off another time — he notes that engineers are often disposable — but the mini discs have always been a steady income supplement.

He said his experience goes back a ways in making mini discs as he owned another mini disc company, which he sold to a disc distributor located in Minnesota in the 1990s.

But why minis?

The 1956 hot stamp machine Myers uses. It’s an antique, but Myers says it runs great for minis.

“I love the sport of disc golf, and being a career plastics person, I felt the need to make something for the sport,” Myers said. “I like to produce mini discs. Everything about them is small. From the expense of designing and cutting the injection mold, the costs are much lower than larger discs.”

The lower costs can also be attributed to less plastic and smaller machined. Myers said it’s everything the bigger companies have, but on a smaller level. There’s no big warehouses to store them — just make them and ship them.

“Plus, I have a huge allegiance to the large disc manufacturers,” he said. “I just don’t want to compete with them. I’ll just stay happy in my mini world.”

With that in mind, Myers said he has no intentions of ever competing with larger discs or going into making his own large discs.

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Opinion: Hey, bagger! Move up! Or not…

By P.J. Harmer — RattlingChains.com Staff

I’ve noticed a trend recently in disc golf — the cry for sandbaggers to get out of the way of others.

But what’s a sandbagger?

Not too long ago, there was an entertaining discussion in my area about whether or not somebody was bagging because they wouldn’t move up.

The argument was based on the fact that a person won at Am 2 last year by 10 strokes. He was returning to play Am 2 this year.

So, people hollered for this player to move up. (Side note — the person did eventually move up).

According to Urban Dictionary, a sandbagger is:

A person who pads a handicap or acts as if he/she is at a lower skill level than he/she actually is so he/she can achieve better during competition that’s handicapped or by skill level.

In traditional golf, sandbagging has been done for years. I’ve played in tournaments where you know a person is way better than their handicap. However, with ball golf being more widespread, people can find ways of padding that handicap.

In disc golf, though possible, it seems a little less likely to me. There’s more of a reason for the screaming of “bagging,” in my eyes.

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Poll 15: The lost discs

We definitely want to know about your lost discs.

I’ve heard some great stories our there about discs being lost and the attempts to get them back etc.

So why not a poll?

The question is simple — you’ll let us know how many discs you’ve lost. But, the kicker is the comments. You have the chance to win some plastic in this one!

First, let’s go back to last week when we asked you how many people you’ve introduced to disc golf.

For this poll, 85 people took part. I was quite shocked at the top vote getter in that 32 percent (27 votes) said they have introduced 21 or more people to the sport. Well done, people!

That spot was followed by 3-5 (29 percent, 25 votes) and 6-10 (21 percent/18 votes). The fourth spot was 1-2 (9 percent/8 votes) and 11-20 took fifth (8 percent/7 votes).

The cool part? Of our 85 voters, not one said they hadn’t introduced someone to the sport, which is very nice.

Let’s check out a couple of the responses, too.

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Photography and disc golf: Action doesn’t have to be hard to capture

Capturing action shots with disc golf is always cool, but one doesn’t need high-priced camera equipment to capture the essence of the game.

(Editor’s note: This is the first in a series about disc golf photography. The rest of the series will continue in the coming weeks.)

By P.J. Harmer — RattlingChains.com Staff

I’ve been lucky over the years to be able to submerge myself into photography. From having a dark room growing up, to working for a weekly newspaper where I had the chance to learn all facets of a camera.

Over the years, sports has always been a big part of my photography. Whether it’s being close up at a baseball game or trying to find the right angle during a football game, sports photography can be tricky.

This post, however, won’t be about the technical parts of disc golf photography (I’ll save that for another day), rather the basics of what to look for, where to stand and other things you can do.

The reality is cameras are more and more affordable, so everybody can enjoy taking disc golf photos. And with camera phones (such as the iPhone) getting better and better, the ability to take disc golf photos is becoming easier and easier.

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