On a gorgeous Saturday a couple weeks ago, with blue skies and temperatures in the mid-70's, a group of our friends convened near Paw Paw, West Virginia. Back in the spring during March Madness, the eight men play the pool and the pay off is a round of frisbee disc golf to be played in the summer when they all can get together. Dano flies in from Anchorage for the weekend (!) and the others drive from Arlington and DC to this 18-hole course traversing over 40 acres of hills, woods, 2 ponds and fields. The course is just on some man's property, 6 miles off the main road on the most twisty turny gravel road.
All were gung ho to begin. Their particular game is a drinking game. Not to say they don't take their golf seriously, but drinking plays a big part. The winner of the pool gets to drink good beer for free.
The loser carries the cooler for all and has to drink cheap beer. The others have to buy beer and get to drink it all. This is a long course, up hills, down hills, around ponds and takes about 4 hours to complete. This year Tim carried the cooler. He's a big, strapping young man and carried two coolers so no one would run out of beer. Anything with wheels is prohibited.
This is what the 'hole' looks like. It stands about 5' tall, has a metal basket that the disc is thrown in to with the chain helping to guide it in (and not just bounce off the pole).
There are two water hazards, ponds with green algae covering them, devouring the disc under green slime.
Disc golfers use an array of discs with varying weights, lips and sizes. Serious biz.
There are even professional disc golf bags but I'm sure you'd get beat up if you showed up with one of these!
Every tee off is marked and is numbered with the par, determined by distance and degree of difficulty. Arguing is allowed and even encouraged.
One keeps their own score and includes birdies and bogies and strokes. Disagreements about actual scores are discussed nearly every hole.
And lots of chillin' and hangin' and drinkin'.
Trapper (the little blob on the left) did the first 9 holes with them. I'm sure he ran twice as far as the players and was whooped by the time the guys came round for refills.
I hung out in the 'Woodshed' while the men were off throwing their shoulders out. Back in the day, I traveled around playing disc golf and still play some, but I'm not very good so I stayed back and had an awesome time hooping and knitting.
I brought my boom box and found electricity in the barn (yay!) so grooved to the tunes that Beth made for me 'Hoop 1', Hoop 2', compilations of dance music just right for hoopin'.
Practicing some shoulder moves
some hip action
lift off!
spinning
boooyaaaa!
Dave had a go of it. Total determination.
Garrett walks up to give some pointers.
and easily takes charge. Yea, this is how it's done Dave.
You put it on your hips and it's just simple waist action, just a little.
then, oops, it's not supposed to do that! Dave is seriously studying this move.
and Trapper just watches the madness.
A great day with jolly good friends, and another year gathering together to bond over this silly, yet fun sport of disc golf.
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