By Jack Trageser – Rattling Chains staff

Players and observers have long believed that golf courses manifest unique characteristics — personalities, really — that set them apart from one another.

Unlike, say, football, basketball, or tennis, which have playing fields that adhere to strict and uniformly measured specifications, golf courses come in varying shapes, sizes, and topography. But ball golf itself has limitations (primarily, the need for a playing surface and contour that permits the ball to be struck with control and aim) which keep course design within certain constraints.

The field of play for disc golf, on the other hand, has far fewer limitations.

Players merely need grounds that can be traversed (which is, of course, subjective based on the fitness and preference of each player) and open enough so discs can be thrown, fly free, and be located (also subjective). This high level of flexibility and adaptability has resulted in courses installed in a very wide range of locales, which, in turn, provides the opportunity for more personality associated with its playing fields than any other sport.

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Simply put, disc golf courses have been placed in all kinds of crazy places, like thick woods, steep mountainsides, deserts — even in underground caves and on the side of a volcano, which is awesome! It’s one of the reasons most disc golfers love the sport — the essence of golf combined with all the landscapes nature has to offer.

With all that variety, and personality, it’s only natural that disc golf courses would be a breeding ground for unique nicknames and colloquialisms. Whether it be a tree, a patch of nasty rough to be avoided, or an entire hole, disc golf courses invite metaphoric description.

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