Get out there and try it, you lazy bum.
Published on August 8, 2004 By citahellion In Sports & Leisure
I mentioned to dharmagirl in one of her threads about hobbies that I am an avid frisbee golfer. Since she was so interested in finding out more about it, I thought I should take the opportunity to try to expose a few more of you to the sport. It's fun, it's cheap, it's good exercise, and it's easy if you know how to throw a frisbee and walk. (And you don't even have to do those at the same time!)

Frisbee golf is like regular golf ("ball golf", as we like to call it) in that you are trying to get an object from the tee into the hole by propelling it. But instead of a golf ball, you have a frisbee, and instead of clubs you have your arms. So you stand on the tee pad and throw the frisbee toward the pin. Wherever your disc lands, you go there and make your next throw from that spot, until you get a disc into the "hole", which is actually a metal basket. This basket is a couple of feet in diameter, a couple of feet off the ground, and has chains hanging above it to help trap your frisbee and make it drop into the basket.

In contrast to regular golf, frisbee golf uses extremely cheap equipment. Frisbee golf discs cost between $8 and $20. And you don't even need these special golf discs to play, you can use whatever regular old frisbee you have lying around the house. Although, getting the golf discs is recommended if you want to get good scores. But you only need three or four discs; a driver, an approach disc, a putter, and maybe a different kind of driver if you feel like it.

Frisbee golf courses also are almost all free to play. In a few places you might have to pay for parking, or maybe a dollar or two in "greens fees", but by and large there is no charge.

Frisbee golf courses are also popping up all over. According to the PDGA web site (Professional Disc Golf Association, www.pdga.com), there are over 80 courses just in Minnesota. There's gotta be one close by you.

It's a quick, easy thing to do. I can play a nine-hole course and still have time to hit McDonald's in a one-hour lunch break. 18 holes might take 90 minutes to 2 hours.

And it's good exercise. You're mostly walking and throwing, so you're burning calories, but it's all low-impact, so it's easy. Most frisbee golf holes are measured in feet where a regular golf hole would be in yards. A nine-hole course will probably end up being about 2/3 to 3/4 of a mile. You can walk that far, can't you? (Of course, if your throws go wildly astray, you might add a little extra distance to that.... )

So what are you waiting for? Go find a course and give it a try!

Comments
on Aug 08, 2004
*All* my frisbee throws go wild

For some reason I can't throw it "flat"...it always tips to one side.

Just frickin figures...I have a slice in EVERY kind of golf!
on Aug 08, 2004
Give me real golf anyday. Whether you take this as a trolling post or not, that's up to you, but real golf can be just as fun as you claim frisbee golf is. The only thing I find appealing is the price, greens fees are getting a little pricy for my budget but I still love the game. You would get more exercise from real golf as well. During 18 holes of golf, walking straight down the middle of the fairway EVERY hole (which many people don't do ), you may walk anywhere from 3 1/2 to 4 miles!

Give me the ball and club anyday.
on Aug 08, 2004
Sorry, but I'm with Mark Twain: "Golf is a good walk spoiled." Getting more exercise from golf is kind of a negative; you get too much exercise in one huge chunk. Who wants to pay $50 for the privilege of spending 3-4 hours traipsing around after a little ball for 4 miles?? 2/3 to 1 mile is a nice, pleasant chunk of exercise, and a frisbee is easier to spot, too.