disc golf

Women to be featured this week on Rattling Chains

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Don’t be alarmed by the different look of the website. It’s for good reason, I assure you.

This week is a special week — and one that we as disc golfers need to embrace and help push.

Why?

There aren’t enough females playing disc golf.

And that’s a shame.

This sport is extremely fun and it works so well that people of any age, gender, race or anything else can play it. And with the proper work, anyone can become quite good.

Some of the finest disc golfers I’ve ever seen are female.

At the Vibram Open last year, I had the chance to watch some of the very best professional women — Val Jenkins, Sarah Hokom, Paige Pierce, Catrina Allen and Sarah Stanhope. The list can go on and on.

A few years ago — based on my stellar scores during the first round of a tournament — I was paired up with four women in the second round.

To say they thoroughly whipped me would be an understatement.

But what a difference. They were competitive, yet kept things loose, offered some advice and were extremely nice to be paired with, despite me not being so good.

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May 5: What’s in your bag?

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Kelly's bag carries a lot of things!

This week’s “What’s in your bag?” feature comes from Kelly Littlefield, who calls three courses in Colorado “home field.”

But it’s not the courses that Kelly calls home that makes the bag unique. Nope. It’s that Kelly names every disc. Not only are the discs named, they are after race horses! In fact, it’s a superstition.

The drivers

It can be funny, however. Kelly says someone may call after finding a lost disc and might say “Is Van Gogh there?”

Kelly calls Optimist Park (Fort Morgan, Colo.); YMCA of the Rockies (Estes Park, Colo.) and Badlands (Federal Heights, Colo.) as home courses.

Good stuff, Kelly. And thanks for sharing what’s in your Fade Fly or Die bag!

Discs:

  • Innova Pro Valkyrie 174g – Chocolate Candy II (Me like some Valkyrie!)

  • Midranges

  • Innova Pro Valkyrie 168g – Chocolate Candy III
  • Innova Pro Valkyrie 150g – Ghostzapper
  • Innova Champion Valkyrie 171g – Dust Commander
  • Innova R-Pro Wahoo 169g – Bumble bee (Best swimmer in my bag!)
  • Innova Pro Beast 167g – Bee Bee Bee
  • Innova Pro Vulcan 167g – Van Gogh )My newest addition and instant favorite!)
  • Innova Pro Destroyer 172g – Dobber
  • Innova Star Spider 175g – Real Quiet
  • Innova Star Skeeter 175g – Winning Colors
  • MVP Proton Ion 175g – Dotted Battle Cow
  • Vibram Soft Summit 174g – Blue Man
  • The rest of the stable for another day!

What else?

  • Two aluminum Tampa Buccaneers water bottles
  • My cell phone with Avery Jenkins wallpaper
  • One pack of Eclipse spearmint gum
  • One large Shamwow towel and one small Shamwow towel
  • One 18 Rabbit Nibblin Apricot granola bar (It’s a wifey thing, don’t ask!)
  • Four Trails Best Beef and Cheese sticks (Reason for the flossers)
  • Bag of Bigs Zesty Ranch Sunflower Seeds (The best seeds, period!)
  • Golden retriever, sharpie and pencil
  • Kleenex, sun screen, ibuprofen, Napoleon Dynamite vanilla lip balm and Hot Spot hand warmers
  • Usually three pounds of change (I scrounged up enough change to buy a disc once!
  • Official Rules of Disc Golf & Competition Manual

Want to submit your bag and contents? Here’s what we need: A couple of photos of your bag and discs. Put together a list of everything you carry in the bag — from food to discs to anything else. Then maybe give a paragraph or two about your bag and if there’s anything you do between casual and tournament rounds etc. Finally, don’t forget your name, location and home course! Cell phone photos are fine, but please try and make it as high quality as possible. Grainy shots might not be able to be used. E-mail all of these things to pj [at] rattlingchains.com with the subject “What’s in my bag.”

What’s a 9-hole course worth to you?

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Nine-hole courses can be as scenic and as challenging as 18-hole courses. (Note, this image comes from an 18-hole course)!

Is a 9-hole course worth anything?

It’s amazing to hear someone say that a 9-hole course isn’t worth the land it’s on. But I’ve heard that — more than once.

This came up recently on one of the local club’s message boards. There was discussion about a 9-hole course and one of the area players was quite adamant about the waste that is a 9-hole course.

Someone asked about a possible course and if it would start as a 9-hole layout. They were told that it would be 18.

A response came about “it must be” 18 holes. And that “most people” think the 9-hole courses are a joke. Nobody plays or cares about them. And, of course, no tournaments.

And being this person said it, it must be the truth, right?

What followed was some banter where people defended 9-hole courses and, of course, couldn’t sway the naysayer.

Apparently, it’s a mental exercise for people to argue in favor of a 9-hole course, he noted. Yet, his brain doesn’t have enough cells to argue with “this sort of craziness.”

Then, as if this was a court case with closing arguments, it was noted that “Disc golf courses have 18 holes. Period. More than 18 is even better.”

Quite the interesting situation, I’d say.

The benefits of a 9-hole course are easy enough to explain — it’s a place for people to play, it gives options, you can get through a 9-hole course quick enough and, if in a good spot, it can be just as challenging and scenic as an 18-hole course.

The fact that one person feels his opinion is the ultimate say on this matter doesn’t irritate me. That happens in everyday life. But the realization here is that 9-hole courses do have their place in this game.

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Company Closeup: Big Hyzer Bag Company looking to make its mark

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In the world of disc golf, bags are becoming more and more important to players.

For those taking the game a bit serious, especially.

It’s not likely, after all, to see a professional-level player — or many amateurs, for that matter — carrying a small sling bag that carries four or five discs.

No, the bigger bag is becoming more and more prevalent, especially for tournament players. Bags need to do more than carry discs, though. There has to be enough room for snacks, drinks, towels, jackets and anything else.

How about a stool?

Those tournament days can get long and with backups on some holes almost inevitable, one might want to sit down.

Enter Big Hyzer Bag Company.

Owner John Chamness, an amateur-level player from Huntsville, Alabama, has been playing the game seriously for eight years, but has been involved with the game since 1985. That’s when his step-father used to take him to the original University of Alabama-Huntsville course where the targets were concrete cylinders used for storm sewers. At that time, they just used standard freestyle Frisbees.

Coming from that point to making bags that he hopes will compete in an already competitive market was a long road for Chamness, the 2007 Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) Volunteer of the Year.

The concept of Big Hyzer Bag Company came in 2007 when Chamness and his friend, Will Kelly, went to an A-Tier event at the SportsPlex in Athens, Alabama. Another friend, Chad Smith, was on the final card with pro Steve Rico and the duo wanted to support Smith.

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Review: PDGA app for iPhone

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With smart phones becoming so prevalent in everyday life, many disc golfers have seemingly ditched the pencil-and-paper scoring in favor of applications for their phones, whether an iPhone, Android or Blackberry.

The ease of being able to tap a number on a screen and making sure there’s no mathematical issues helps make these apps even more popular.

This app is solid and easy to use.

I used to own an Android and had a few apps on there that I enjoyed. Within the last year, however, I swapped to the iPhone and couldn’t find a scoring app as much as I liked the one I had for Android.

That meant I purchased several. Others have done the same, so I’ve been told. There are a couple of us who plan on writing some reviews on these apps. We’re still looking for someone who might be willing to do some Android/Blackberry reviews, too.

The latest app I messed around with was the official PDGA app, which as of now is only on the iPhone. Hopefully it will appear within other formats soon as it seems like it is a pretty sharp app, from my tests.

Let’s take a peek at the app (I am using version 1.0.9, which was released Feb. 2).

Overview

First, the app is connected to the extensive courses database the PDGA has and that is one heck of a great tool. You can search for courses near you and get the skinny on said courses, which is a valuable thing.

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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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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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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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