Fitness
Sheila Bean
Disc Golf : Cheap and Cheerful
I thought I might play a round of golf . So I tucked my $ 10 equipment under my arm and immediately headed for a course — without booking a time or paying a fee . Too good to be true ? Nope . This is disc golf , which is just as cheap and cheerful as it sounds .
The goal of disc golf is much the same as regular “ ball golf ”: you work your way toward a target , with as few tries ( or strokes ) as possible . Swap out your golf equipment for a couple of specialized discs — even a plain old Frisbee will do — and throw your disc toward a basket .
By basket , I mean a broad metal basket suspended on a pole . A collection of loosely attached chains helps the disc to drop into the basket . ( Some courses boast earlier versions of baskets or nobasket tone poles that produce a gong-like BONG ! when the disc hits the target .)
Disc golf might have found its beginnings in 1927 in Bladworth , Saskatchewan , where a teacher dreamt up a game by throwing metal lids into circles drawn on the ground . Early “ flying discs ” were invented ten or so years later , but the modern plastic disc didn ’ t take hold until the 1960s . The inexpensive
and durable Frisbee spawned various games , including the uber-popular team sport ultimate and what we now know as disc golf .
Calgary has eighteen public courses for disc golf — some with nine holes , some with twelve , and some with eighteen . Look online for courses in Edmonton , Red Deer , Lethbridge , Grande Prairie , Drumheller , Fort McMurray , and other locations . Most courses do not charge a playing fee . Also look for disc golf courses that have been added to traditional golf courses . Some communities have leagues , lessons , and mentorship programs . Apps can track your score and list courses wherever you are . Some folks compete . Some are pros .
You might already have ball-golf experience and / or Frisbee experience . I had neither ! So I took a lesson to learn basic rules , how to throw forehand , how to throw backhand , and how to putt . I also
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