Poll 5: How many discs do you carry during a round?

The world of disc golf bags seems to be quite large.

There’s not just a few you can look through to see which one you like best — there are so many! That showed in last week’s poll when we asked our readers what kind of bag they used.

A total of 228 people votes in this poll with the winner being an Innova bag with 59 votes (26 percent). Fade was second with 46 votes (20 percent), followed by Revolution (29 votes/13 percent) and GripEQ (27 votes/12 percent).

The fifth spot went to other brand — so 22 voters use a brand we didn’t list.

There were some interesting bags mentioned, too. Reader Chris Leo talked very highly about the Mystery Ranch Golf Mahal bag. If you haven’t seen one of these yet, follow the link. Wow. Talk about being able to pack a lot of stuff. I’m sure this bag wouldn’t be for a lot of people, but it could be used in a lot of situations!

There also seems to be some love for the GripEQ bags. In the research I’ve done, they seem like a great backpack bag.

At least one reader mentioned being ready to downsize their bag — and I’m on the same page there. Though I love the revolution bag I carry, the reality is I don’t need something that size all the time. So I might be looking to find a good, rugged bag for casual rounds so I can carry fewer discs and have a lighter walk.

One other thing I noticed with some of the responses were people saying they had more than one bag they used. I assume that it’s the difference between serious and casual play. Either way, it seems to be a logical choice for some to have this sort of a setup.

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Rattling Chains Photo of the Week: March 31

Image by Kevin Morrow; at the Hawk Hollow Open (October 15, 2011).

The photo is of Tom Edwards, throwing a Wraith with a chicken-wing throw off the No. 1 tee. Hawk Hollow No. 1 is a 429-foot open shot from a highly elevated hilltop with an out-of-bounds creek 10 feet behind the basket.

Tom threw the wraith low and hard, in a high crosswind. The disc flew straight to the pin and landed about five feet from the basket for an easy birdie.

Kevin says:

My process for this image was in my head and I had to practice it a lot in my back yard since I would not be looking through the viewfinder.

I used a Nikon D2x with a 10.5mm lens. I mounted the camera on a 4-foot scissors tripod with a remote trigger. The camera was set at 5000th shutter and f4.5. I wanted to get as much depth of field as I could with a shutter speed high enough to stop the disc in flight. I placed the camera about 6 feet in front of the end of the tee. I covered the camera with a towel to hide it and muffle the sound a little.

When a group of players arrived, I would fire off a couple of frames to make sure the noise of the camera would not distract. I had to stand off to the side so I would not be in the frame or in the view of the player. When the player began his throw I would press the remote trigger and began firing off frames until the disc was down range. I averaged about 30-40 frames per player. Out of the 30 or so players that I shot this way, only about 10 had the disc in the frame coming off the throw. Of those I was only able to get two that were good. Tom’s throw was the reason behind this image looking so good. His chicken-wing style threw the disc down the middle of the frame combined with my timing on his throw to get a great disc golf image.

Techie info:

  • Camera: Nikon D2X
  • Shutter speed: 1/5000
  • F-stop: F/4.5
  • ISO: 400

Why we chose to use this photo:

If you take photos and appreciate photos — especially sports action photography — there are images that make you drop your jaw and scream “Holy crap!” This shot is one of those.

Knowing how tough it is to capture the “shot,” makes this even better. Sports photography is extremely tough and it’s a business where sometimes you don’t have time to set up and really get what you want. But Kevin captured something here that shows the beauty of how awesome a shot can be when you are given enough time.

This shot works in so many ways — editorial, feature, personal — showing how amazing it is. The fish-eye lens really works well here and the colors are dynamic. The orange disc with the blue sky in the background is really wild. The burning sun in the corner of the shot is simply awesome. But it’s the little things that really sold us, too. The farm all the way in the background, with the silo standing tall and proud.

Overall, what a great image! Thanks for sharing, Kevin!

Have some great images you want to share with the Rattling Chains readers? Please e-mail pj [at] rattlingchains.com with the subject “Photo of the Week.” Please note that we can’t guarantee all images will be used. Send as many as you would like as if the photos are top notch, we’ll use more than one from you!

When sending in images, please remember to send the story about the photo, the location and any technical information possible! The story can be as long or as short as you like, but please make sure you give some details!

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

One round. One disc. What’s your choice?

One disc for one round? This would be my choice. What about you?

One disc.

Do you know what yours would be?

Just one.

One glorious piece of plastic to carry for 18 holes.

Drives. Up shots. Putts. In and out of trees or wherever else.

One simple disc.

Backhands. Forehands. Flicks. Overhand shots. Rollers.

One.

Oh how life could be so simple, eh? No need for a bag full of discs. Just that one piece of plastic.

One.

Could you do it? Could you survive? Would you get the cold sweats when you had a certain shot and you didn’t have another disc? Would you panic?

Or would you just deal?

This idea came to me recently after a lackluster round at a St. Patrick’s Day tournament. Though I didn’t play awful, I knew I could do better. There were times I went with one disc, threw it and wondered if I was better off using something else.

After that round, I swore off disc golf for a bit. I needed to re-focus. Until the next day that is.

With the idea of doing some photography of the older baskets at the Rutgers course in New Brunswick, N.J., I set out with Rattling Chains staffer Darren Dolezel. We opted to play some sort of round, but with me toting my camera — I didn’t want to carry many discs.

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Poll 4: What kind of disc golf bag do you use?

Turns out many disc golfers are active in more ways than on the course.

At least according to the poll conducted on Rattling Chains last week. Each votes was able to choose up to three other sports they participated in besides disc golf.

For me, it’s only a couple of things. I like to ride my bike when I get the chance (albeit probably not as much as I should!) and I play softball as much as I can during the spring and summer months.

Outside of that, it’s the occasional hike and disc golf for this guy. And that works well for me. I could probably use a trip to the gym sometimes, but who couldn’t, right?

We didn’t get every sport listed, which kind of stinks with “other” receiving the most votes for the week.

Ninety-two voters took part in this past week’s poll, giving us a total of 178 votes.

Other earned the most with 27 votes for 29 percent of the vote. It was followed by cycling (23 votes, 25 percent). Baseball/softball, ball golf and just disc golf followed with 20 votes each (22 percent).

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March 24: What’s in your bag?

Note: This is the second of two weekly features we’ll be running at Rattling Chains. Both features — the Photo of the Week and What’s in your bag? — give readers the chance to submit to the site.

Until we build up several of each of these, we’ll be swapping these every other week. Once we build a good amount of them, we’ll run one of each every Saturday.

For the first week, I’m going to run what’s in my bag to show the items we are looking for. See the end of this post for information on submitting your bag and contents! We look forward to seeing what you have!

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Here's what's in my bag

I have a bigger bag than I need, but it was a gift and it’s hard to turn down a revolution bag. So in a given round, here’s what I carry in it:

Discs:

  • Innova Katana Blizzard (132g) — new to the bag
  • Aerobie Epic
  • Innova Beast (150)
  • Innova Valkyrie (150)
  • Innova Pro Leopard (166-yellow) — this one is beat in really well
  • Innova Pro Leopard (166-orange) — still working in
  • Vibram Trak (171)
  • Vibram Ibex (173M)
  • Discraft Buzzz (171)
  • Innova JK Aviar (175 — carry two).

What else?

  • Usually two 32oz Nalgene bottles of water, but carry one per 18.
  • Granola bars/trail mix
  • Waterproof scorecards
  • PDGA Rulebook
  • Two minis
  • Camera (during casual rounds, I usually bring my digital SLR)
  • Notebook (for notes about discs etc.)
  • Several pencils

My bag is a Revolution “Carolina” Team Bag with Innova gel straps. It’s the most comfortable pairing I’ve found to carry discs (and other items).

The straps make the bag lighter, it seems.

During tournaments, I’m more apt to make things as light as possible — so no camera etc. If it’s hotter, I’ll carry both water bottles as I tend to drink as much as possible when out playing. I hate getting to like hole 15 or 16 and feeling like I’m immensely dehydrated because I didn’t drink on a regular basis. So, two bottles per 18 becomes a must in the warmer months.

I used to carry more discs — but realized I didn’t use them all. During tournaments, I take a few out as well so I’m not tempted to do something silly. This helps eliminate a little weight so I can carry both water bottles etc.

That’s what’s in my bag.

What’s in yours?

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.”

Rattling Chains Photo of the Week: March 24

Note: We’re starting some new weekly features here at RattlingChains.com. These are going to be reader submissions, however. The first is a Photo of the Week. We’re looking for your best disc golf images. Not just the normal photo of people holding a disc or something like that (though, at times, we’ll use those) but some of your best shots. Artistic, action whatever — just make them your best. See the end of this post for how to submit images.

The other weekly feature is “What’s in your bag?” The first of those will run later tonight. Until we get a pretty good heap of each of these, we’ll probably rotate them every Saturday. Once we get a good crop of things built up, we’ll do two posts each Saturday.

Without further adieu, here’s this week’s Photo of the Week!

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Photo by Jenny Cook

Taken at Idlewild in Burlington, Kentucky.

Jenny says:

I was awestruck at the contrast of the basket, power lines and trees up the hill and in the horizon. Even when daylight is just about lost, I still keep my camera in mind because I love the opportunity to photograph a disc golf basket as a silhouette.

This particular course and sunset marked the end of a fairytale two week disc golf filled honeymoon. My husband and I had traveled to North Carolina, Tennessee, and back to Illinois and played countless courses along the way.

Techie info:

  • Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T1i
  • Shutter speed: 1/40
  • F-stop: F/5.6
  • ISO: 1600

Why we chose to use this photo:

This image is one of those awesome disc golf shots that can make you stare for a few seconds. The colors, the silhouettes, the lighting. This is an image that would make for a great enlargement and frame to go on somebody’s wall. This is a beautiful shot from top to bottom. Thanks for sharing, Jenny!

See more of Jenny’s images on her website.

Have some great images you want to share with the Rattling Chains readers? Please e-mail pj [at] rattlingchains.com with the subject “Photo of the Week.” Please note that we can’t guarantee all images will be used. Send as many as you would like as if the photos are top notch, we’ll use more than one from you!

When sending in images, please remember to send the story about the photo, the location and any technical information possible! The story can be as long or as short as you like, but please make sure you give some details!

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Being a plastic addict (or why I buy too many discs)…

The collection grows and grows...

Hi. My name is Steve, and I am addicted to plastic.

Innova. Discraft. Latitude 64. Discmania. I’ve tried them all.

ESP. Champion. Super Stupid Soft. It doesn’t matter what trendy blend it is, they’re all good to me. I’ll even slum it with some DX or Pro-D when I am really jonesin’, just for the taste.

Westside. DKG. DGA. MVP…Oh, sweet luscious MVP, with that inner core of candy-colored goodness wrapped in an outer, more grippy shell. You are like the M&Ms of flying discs.

But I digress.

Origins of the Obsession

I wasn’t always this bad, you know. No, it started innocently enough. Last March, my dad came into town to see our newborn daughter, but newborns nap.

A lot.

Naturally, we wanted to get out of the house for an afternoon, and I knew there was a disc golf course nearby. I had an early 2000s Innova DX Viper from when I experimented with disc golf in my college days (Who didn’t do a little experimenting in college, right?) collecting dust in the garage, and we went down to the local sporting goods store and picked up a blue 177 gram Innova DX Roc. Armed with one disc each, we were ready to go enjoy a leisurely day in the park throwing around a Frisbee.

We were just bored. That’s how it always starts, right?

One round, and I was hooked.

For reasons I can’t quite explain, the lure of playing disc golf just kept calling to me. I went and grabbed the Innova starter set (Leopard, Shark, Aviar), plus a DX Valkyrie, and was on my merry way.

Beware the Internet

I had been playing for a couple weeks, whenever I could snag some free time (or when my wonderful wife would give me a break from the new duties of fatherhood), when I stumbled upon something magical:

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So, who won the plastic?

After finally getting everyone into the Random.org randomizer, the winner of our first plastic giveaway has been decided!

First, let me say how educational and interesting the responses were! So many different discs mentioned and I really enjoyed those who told about why the disc is their favorite.

And the winner is…

If you didn’t win this time, keep coming back. We have all sorts of things to give away and I received a few more pieces of plastic donated this past weekend. So, I’ll be coming up with some new ideas for ways to give away more plastic.

I’ve also been told by a few people/companies that we have some items to give away coming our way. Hopefully it will arrive soon and we can have some more fun giveaways.

You do realize I’m stalling, right?

This is kind of like American Idol and those talent shows… they hold off and hold off before announcing the winner.

And for us? Well this is plastic! The Innova Lycan!

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Poll 3: What other sports do you play?

It sounds like many disc golfers don’t like to worry about music playing to get through a tough round.

Last week’s poll produced some excellent comments and thoughts about whether or not one listens to music when playing.

Some do it during casual and not in tournaments. Some seem to need it to really prepare. Others won’t have it at all.

The interesting part is it seemed like a couple people might be talking about having music without headphones. Now that would be crazy and I would not be able to deal with that. Not because of the noise, but because of music preference. If I am in a situation where somebody has a genre of music playing that I don’t care for, I’m just going to get upset.

I’m not playing to get all upset and I’m sure most others aren’t as well.

Well, outside of that missed putt or two.

I personally voted no as I’ve never listened to music when playing. I have, however, kept the iPod in my pocket in case I needed it to block something or someone out. I haven’t had to use it.

Some people had some interesting thoughts, however, so I wanted to share a few of the comments.

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That’s a disc. On the wire.

It can -- and did -- happen! (photo courtesy Kody O'Neill)

There are things that happen in this world where one has to question if it really could happen.

Kind of like if someone told you they got their disc stuck on a power line.

Would you really believe it if someone told you that?

Exactly.

Insert Kody O’Neill, who went out to play a casual round with his friends Salamen Butler, Levi WhiteEagle and Travis Duncan at Lake Bella Vista Course in Bella Vista, Arkansas.

Yes, it's WAY up there! (photo courtesy Kody O'Neill)

O’Neill said the course is pretty new and is a pro-level course. The beginning could have been a warning of what was to come as three discs were lost (water hazard throws) through the first five holes.

“We made a joke coming around to hole 15 that we could not lose any more Frisbees,” O’Neill said.

Then came hole No. 17, a par-4, 750-foot straight hole. O’Neill took out an Innova Tee Bird and said he threw it as far as he could.

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