Disc Golf Anyone?

Every once in awhile, I mention that we went and played Frisbee golf--or the politically correct term would be "disc" golf to those who are fans of the sport. (Sparky is a BIG fan! Almost as much as Eldy is a Notre Dame fan!) That might be a little exaggeration...I learned how to play about fifteen years ago. There are several disc golf courses in the South Bend area. Rum Village was my favorite, so I played often when I lived there, at least a couple times a week for awhile. There's a course at George Wilson Park in Mishawaka, IN, and a couple more at the state parks in the area. It's great exercise--walking 9 or 18 holes on a disc golf course, up and down little hills, or in one case last year, a mountain(!) in our travels....The disc golf course is not as big as a regular golf course, but it has all the "trappings" of a regular golf course--trees, piles of leaves in the fall, (good luck finding your disc that has fallen in the leaf "trap"!) and occasionally a water hazard of some sort. We played one course in Florida at St. Pete's Beach, at the Maximo County Park disc golf course, and there, the PALM trees were the "traps" !

Each hole has a "par"--how many shots it should take you to get to the hole....and the rules and scoring are very similar to golf. Sparky and Eldo don't keep a written score when they play, they just walk the course and keep track of who took the lesser number of throws to get to the chain link basket. Eldo has gotten better rapidly with each time they play, so the playing field has gotten pretty even!

The discs look like regular frisbees but they are specifically designed and weighted for the sport. If you know you have a tendency to throw or "hook" to the left, they make discs to compensate for that. If you slice to the right, there's a disc for that. There are a range of weights for each type of disc, as some people prefer a heavier "driver" disc--that's your main, straightaway throwing disc. The "putters" are heavier and designed for a closer throwing or putting range. You throw at a chain link basket, and the vertical chains "trap" the disc as it hits the basket. Sometimes, the disc will appear to pass right through the chains and bounce out of the basket! I HATE when that happens! The number of yards to the basket varies and determines the par for the throw....It's usually about a hundred yards to the basket or under.

There are disc courses all over the country, and we have seen LOTS in our travels. There is a website called Disc Golf Reviews and it tells you about each course and rates them as to difficulty. Here's a link to the official disc golf organization....http://www.pdga.com   Here's another one to find out where to play...  http://www.dgcoursereview.com/   It's inexpensive, a nice way to socialize with friends for a morning or afternoon, and you are helping yourself to stay healthy!

Haven't got the hang of the iphone camera yet!

Speaking of socializing with friends, we had a surprise visit from Barb and Mike Kavas, friends of Eldy's-- over 45 years they have known each other! They spend the summers in Elkhart, IN and winter in Florida. It was great to see them, and after chatting away for awhile, we decided to go eat at Texas Roadhouse during the early bird dinner special. Dinners are 7.99 for a small steak/chicken/ or another choice, potato, salad and the sweetest dinner rolls. Eldy and Mike traded stories about being teenagers and Mike's '52 Plymouth, painted pink with a black racing stripe. Pink was the only leftover paint available at the time. Mike's brakes were so bad in that car that he when he got home from school, he coasted into the driveway and stopped by grabbing the branches of the bushes sticking out! (It's a good thing he drove the back roads to school.) Ah-h-h-h, the things we are glad we didn't remember when we were younger! I didn't know Mike back then, but he's got such a twinkle in his eye, I bet he was very, very ornery as a teenager! AND, having hung out with Eldy, I KNOW he was ornery! (No surprises there! E. says proudly.) Mike's wife Barb is a little on the ornery side because Mike and Barb have been married over 40 years...It was a really great way to end the day.......Tomorrow is a busy day, we're going to SCHOOL! (Be sure you tell 'em it's NOT driving school, says E.) Nope! Not driving school.....