Disky business

On Thursday, I played Disc Golf for the first time. For those who aren't familiar, Disc Golf is similar to traditional golf except instead of hitting a ball into a hole, you throw a frisbee-like disc into a standing basket. The object of the game is to navigate the course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc. There are different types of discs used for different purposes (eg. putter).

This is a disc

This is a basket

When Chris asked if I wanted to play, I was intrigued. I've been wanting to be more active and he described it as "exercise in disguise." 

Perfect.

I imagined a leisurely jaunt on a rolling green, casually throwing a frisbee at a basket. 

First mistake.

With that image in mind, I wore a fleece jacket, corduroys and sneakers without socks.

Second mistake.

When we arrived, there was no rolling green in sight, just a beautiful wooded park. Chris quickly briefed me on the rules and the game began. As a former high school discus champion*, I assumed it would be a walk in the park. 

Pun intended

Throwing the disc is harder than I imagined. It's lighter than a discus but heavier than a frisbee. And for disc golf newbies it tends to veer off in the opposite direction of your target. Chris patiently tried to teach me the choreography of throwing but I'm not the most coordinated person in the world. I walk into things pretty frequently (hourly) and have fallen down (and up) my fair share of stairs. Needless to say, it took me quite some time to grasp the step, step, hop throw. Or something like that.

Another thing I didn't anticipate was the retrieving of the disc. In the heavily wooded park, there were streams to cross, mud and puddles to (unsuccessfully) navigate around and slippery acorns and wet leaves to (unsucessfully) avoid slipping on. Also, some sassy squirrels tried to drop acorns on my head. And it rained at one point.

Deadly acorns

Oh did I mention the hills? There were a lot of those. The "rolling green" translated into basically an all up-hill course. The only rolling involved was if you slipped and fell down the mini-mountain. Exercise in disguise? An 18 hole, 1 mile, steep hilled course is just called exercise. If that's what Chris considers disguise, he would make a terrible spy. 

The hills are alive

By the end (ok, second hole) I was sweating, out of breath, with muddy pants and soaking wet feet. I'm not sure who won because I stopped scoring after I hit par 8 on one hole. That should tell you who won. 

While disc golf was nothing like I imagined, it was fun and a good workout. And the scenery was incredible.

But next time, I'll dress a little more appropriately.

*In the Prep B, Central Jersey division in which I was one of the only discus throwers.