One of the most attractive aspects of the game is that anyone with a Frisbee and some time to kill can play. Those of us that play seriously have sport discs that are very aerodynamically efficient and specialized, but if you and your buddy or child both dig an old Frisbee out of the closet and go out to play, it is an even match, equipment-wise. A round usually take about two hours, at the outside, and takes you up and down hills (depending upon the local terrain), and through the woods, with plenty of time for conversation and communing with nature while you search for errant throws in the aforementioned woods. And you will throw it into the woods.

The reason I say this with such cynical certainty is that a flying disc is a wing, and flies like one. Various sports that involve using a ball as a propelled object do take aerodynamics into account, but a ball is a projectile, like a bullet. A thrown disc is subject to the same considerations as any wing, plus a few extra that involve a gyroscope. Force, spin, wind direction and speed, angle of the disc, and choice of disc all come into play. With this many factors, even the best players have the occasional errant throw.

The Golf Disc

The discs used by disc golfers are similar to the old Frisbees you used to throw at the lake the way that a Piper Cub is similar to an F-16 Fighter Jet. The Cub is user friendly and more forgiving to beginners, but of limited range and capabilities. The golf disc is fast, long range, and difficult to control. Thrown properly, they can fly a great distance, fly a curved path either right, left, or in an “S” curve, be skipped, slid (when thrown upside-down) under overhanging foliage, or rolled for even greater distances than most people can throw one.

There are many types of discs, but they break down into three basic types: long-range drivers, mid-range driver/long approach discs, and putters. Drivers are thin on the edge and cut the air very efficiently, enabling you to throw them for long distance, sometimes even in the appropriate direction. They are harder to control because of this thin edge, and the angle of the disc coming out of your hand and amount of spin are crucial to proper control.

The mid-range drivers have a higher profile (read: thicker lip) that makes them easier to control, but reduces the distance that they can be thrown. An experienced Disc Golfer can still throw one far enough to reach most holes. If they were restricted to only one disc for a round of play, a disc of this type would be most golfer's choice.

Putters most clearly resemble what most people think of as a flying disc. They are shaped like a Frisbee on steroids; the same basic profile, but thicker and made of heavier plastic. They are easy to throw and to control, but cannot be thrown for great distance. They are mainly used for short approach shots, situations where a great deal of accuracy is called for, and, of course, putting. This is the best disc for most beginners to learn the game with.

The various types of discs and their differences in flight characteristics are one of the main appeals of disc golf. Even within drivers, there are many different types. One disc will hold a straight line longer than another will before going left, or another may be more effective against a head wind. Since everyone throws a little differently, the discs react a little differently to various throwing styles. The merits of different models of discs are debated among disc golfers the way that oversized drivers, for instance, are debated about by ball golfers.

Another interesting characteristic of golf discs is that, as discs incur damage due to use and the hitting of trees, rocks, etc., their flight characteristics change. Most new discs are what we refer to as “stable.” This means that the flight path of a disc will turn toward the left when thrown with clockwise spin, and right when thrown with counter-clockwise spin. For example: A disc thrown in the traditional “backhand” manner will go left at the end of its flight. A disc thrown in the same manner with the left hand will go right. Even when the throw is angled to go in the other direction, a new disc will try to turn to its stable side. But as the discs get minor nicks and dents on the edge of the flight plane, they start to lose that stable tendency. We call this condition “beat;” meaning that you can turn the disc and it will hold a line without coming back to its native direction.

Once a disc starts to get “beat,” you can make it go from left to right with a backhand throw. Since some holes are straight, some are left to right, and some are right to left, this is a valuable quality. It means that you can get close to the pin with your strongest throw, even if the design of the hole goes against that throw's natural (stable) direction. Make a disc golfer choose between his brand new driver and his best turnover disc, and he will usually take the latter, because it is harder to replace.

The other way to reach a pin that turns in the opposite direction of your native throw is to throw sidearm (similar in motion to a sidearm baseball throw), which spins the opposite direction of a backhand. This throw is harder for most people to master than the backhand, but a very handy skill to have, both because of the change of direction of the flight, and to escape from a bad lie in the woods, where your backhand may be blocked by trees and other obstacles.

The first time that you throw a golf disc, regardless of how well you are coached otherwise, it is going to veer left and hit the ground about fifty feet in front and twenty feet to the left of you (assuming that you are right handed). This is because we were raised throwing Frisbees. This is easily corrected, and soon you will be able to get the disc in the general direction you desire. Next you will try to throw further, and in doing so will aim the disc higher, now ending up seventy-five feet away and fifty feet to the right. This is also easily corrected. To throw a golf disc further, you throw a little higher and a lot harder. It is a wing, remember? With some decent instruction and a little patience, you will be throwing for reasonable distance and accuracy fairly quickly, and much faster than it takes to get the hang of driving a golf ball.

I play with about fifteen discs in my bag. Most pros carry from ten to sixteen, but there is no maximum number. You are limited only by your ability to transport them around the course. A reasonably good round can be played with one disc, and beginners should probably start with no more than three or four. I have a slightly “beat” midrange driver that I carry in my briefcase on one-day business trips when there is little likelihood of playing, but the possibility still exists. I have found that I can play to within about four or five strokes of my average on most courses with it, and closer than that on older, shorter courses. A golf disc usually costs about seven to twelve dollars, and can be purchased at better sporting goods stores, through local clubs, from one of several mail-order distributors, and at some courses and recreational centers or park offices.

Many ball golfers go their whole life without a hole-in-one. Almost every serious amateur and virtually every professional disc golfer has at least one hole-in-one, or “ace,” to their credit. The odds of hitting a basket thirty inches wide with chains around it from three hundred feet away are statistically much higher than hitting a ball with a club into a three inch hole from 180 yards. One of our local pros is striving to match his age with his total number of aces. The count is at thirty-six and thirty-four currently.

The Course

Disc golf courses are found nationwide. There are over eleven hundred courses in about forty-five states. Most are in public parks and free to play, some require a few dollars for a parking or green fee, but none are prohibitively expensive. Because of the grassroots nature of course development, there is tremendous variation in style, length, and layout of the courses. Course designers are often competing with other sports and activities for space, and do not have the financial backing that a ball golf course commands, so creativity and adaptability are essential. The up side of this is that there are some very picturesque and unusual holes out there.

Holes on a typical disc golf course usually run about 100 to 150 yards, but this varies greatly from course to course. They may be a short as 50 yards, and longer than 300. The configuration, or “shape” of a hole may involve right turns, “S” curves, or narrow windows through trees or other obstacles through which the disc must be thrown to get near the pin in a reasonable number of strokes. Elevation plays an important part on some courses, as does water and other out-of-bounds areas. A good disc golfer can throw 100 yards with reasonable accuracy, while bringing the disc toward the pin from right or left. Many professionals can throw 150 yards or more with consistent accuracy. Think of standing on the last line of the end-zone of a football field and throwing a field goal on the other end, and it will give you some idea of the power and skill these players possess.

Disc golf is a sport for any age or gender; it provides a reasonable amount of exercise, a disproportionate amount of fun, and can be played with your children without having to hear all those insipid references to Tiger Woods. More serious play and competition is easily found, and there is tournament play for both amateurs and professionals on a local, regional, and national level. Disc Golf is a great day in the park, you don't have to be six-foot six and two-forty to play it well, and it can be played in cut-offs and tee shirts. It is relatively inexpensive, amazingly addictive, and easy to get reasonably good at. What more could you ask?

In the Augusta area we have four excellent disc golf courses; at Pendleton King Park, at Lake Olmstead, and Riverview Park in North Augusta. There is also a course in Columbia county at Patriot's Park. The courses in a given area may be found by using the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) Course Guide. The Augusta Disc Golf Club may also be helpful. We welcome questions, new members, and traveling disc golfers. We also host an annual tournament whose proceeds go to Special Olympics, and welcome sponsorship from businesses or individuals.

 

True seekers of knowledge who thirst for the ancient secret of the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing may receive the startling answer by inquiring at my email address or by prostrating themselves at my door.

Meanwhile, here are the 20 most useless tips I ever got on how to hit a golf ball. The 800-Pound-Gorilla system ignores all of them.

1. Hit down at the ball. (What'd you think, I was gonna hit up at it?)
2. Pull down with the left hand. (I prefer to lunge at the ball with both cheeks.)
3. Move your left hip smartly at the hole. (Did you think I was gonna move my left hip dumbly at the hole?)
4. Don't move your head. (This sage advice is for you stop-motion movie freaks.)
5. Brace your right leg. (How'd they know I was in that skiing accident?)
6. Imagine you're swinging a silk stocking with a rock in it. (Oh no. I'm not taking off my socks!)
7. Imagine you're turning in a barrel. (Oh no, it's somebody else's turn in the barrel.)
8. Imagine you're throwing a ball underhand (you know, like in girls' Little League).
9. Visualize the flight of the ball before you swing. (I always visualized it dribbling off to the left., and sure as shooting that's what it always did.)
10. Move both knees at the hole. (What happened to moving my hips smartly at the hole? If I move anything else I'll be out of town)
11. Pause at the top. (No way. The golf pro always gets after me for holding up play.)
12. Swing easy. (Oh no, I'm swinging for the fences!)
13. Turn your shoulders away, then turn them back. (I prefer to turn away in disgust AFTER I dribble all those shots off to the left.)
14. Imagine you're holding a tray in your right hand. (Imagine, hell! I AM holding a tray in my hand!)
15. Load up at the top. (Good! My tray was getting low on hors d'oeurvres anyway.)
16. At the top of the swing, point the club at the hole. (Which one? There's 18 of "em.)
17. Swing, don"t hit. (I thought that was the whole cotton-picking point!)
18. Coil, don't sway (Look out! I am a dirty snake in the grass!)
19. Tape the word "KILL" on your driver. (I used to have "BE NICE" taped on mine.)
20. Take the club away low and slow. (Oh no. I prefer to jerk it back with a lurch, sway around, do a little dipsy doo, collapse my left hand and THEN jump in the barrel.)

Not one of those dumb tips ever worked for me.

But the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing does. When I show up on the first tee, even golfers of great renown scatter like leaves in a high wind.

To receive the secret of the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing right away, email me and I will email you the secret right away!

P.S. Just so you will know what to expect when you start using the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing, I'll tell you right now what warnings the PGA made me print on my club covers.

• Driver: Death!
• Three Wood: Doom!
• Tight Lie Wood: Destruction!
• Utility-Wood: Despair!
• Snake Wood: Jump in the barrel!

Once again, the sage of auburn has spoken.