Lack of Sans-a-Belts Makes Disc Golf Fun for All By Adam Caldarelli

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Have Hyzer, Will Travel

With no greens fees and no sans-a-belt pants, disc golf is slowly but surely becoming a legitimate alternative to the standard whack-the-ball-with-a-club golf, or as its referred to in disc golf circles, “Ball Golf.” As opposed to the ball variety which uses, um… a ball, disc golf incorporates the same basic rules, but is played with a flying disc or Frisbee instead.
The sport has been around in one form or another for at least 20 years. That’s when Ed Headrick invented the “Pole Hole,” the standard goal used in the sport. “It’s a misnomer to say before 1975 that the game didn’t exist. It was just called Frisbee golf,” says Headrick, who is also the inventor of the Frisbee itself and the Super Ball — both of which he invented while at Wham-O. He now runs a company called the Disc Golf Association which manufactures the Pole Hole on which he holds three patents — the patent for the Frisbee he sold to Wham-O for $10. One of his Pole Hole patents just expired, and he fears other companies will try to copy his design.
The Pole Hole design is the accepted “hole” for disc golf. Other designs — one, a metal tube that produces a “gong” when struck — seem primitive compared to the Pole. And, the fact that the sound of chains in the distance has become synonymous with the hollow “dice cup” sound of a golf ball rattling home maintains the dominance of the Pole Hole. Headrick, who has been called the Obi-Wan Kenobi of Disc Golf, not for his Jedi mind tricks (These aren’t the Discs you’re looking for) but for perhaps his semi-resemblance to Alec Guinness and his paternal attitude in promoting the sport. He is also the founder of the Professional Disc Golf Association, which now holds an annual World Championship. This year the event will be held in South Bend, Indiana in August, and will truly determine the world champion.
Disc Golf is an international sport. The event annually attracts hundreds of players from all over the world. As a national sport in Sweden, the professional organization receives money from the government. The sport is also big in Japan where they like all things golf. Golf, like fishing, gets you outside; the beauty of the sport is where it takes you. This is also true of disc golf. In fact, the settings on a disc golf course are much more natural than that of a ball course. Trees are rarely uprooted while building a course. Trees usually stand right in the middle of the fairway and even the greens. The courses are usually in wooded areas.
Disc golf is not without its technical side. You can shoot a round with one disc, providing you don’t lose it. Some players carry up to twenty discs: a few drivers, a variety of midrange specialists and a putter.
The discs themselves are similar to your standard throw-at-the-beach Frisbee but are smaller in diameter and generally heavier. While your standard Frisbee clocks in at 10 to 12 inches in diameter and weighs 125 to 165 grams, a golf disc measures 7 inches across and weighs anywhere from 165 to 185 grams depending on its intended use. They are designed to go far, but can take some time getting used to, for they are very temperamental. Made of polyethylene, the discs, like clubs in ball golf, help players in a variety of situations. And like ball golf, a player will have to employ a number of different techniques.
Discs suitable for driving long distances come in “stable,” “understable” and “overstable.” An overstable disc will veer to the left when thrown by a righty and an understable one, the opposite. A stable disc tends to follow a straight line if thrown correctly. That is the key, to throw the thing correctly. They require a lot of spin, quite a bit of power and just as much faith to get them to do what you want. Not much effort is needed to send a so called stable disc curving deep into the woods. However much joy these babies bring when your perfect line drive tee shot disappears into the distance, they’ll bring just that much frustration when all that distance from your last drive is transferred sideways.
On any given course, on any given round, experienced players will use the same numbers of throws as discs. Throws range from the standard backhand to flinging the disc upside-down. Rolling is even accepted. A well placed roller is oftentimes more valuable than the long drive. And, then there’s the side-arm, the over-hand, the hyzer, the anhyzer and any combination that works. Whatever gets you close to the hole in the least amount of shots is the best shot for the situation. Getting close to the hole is the goal, how to get it in the hole is where people start to disagree. “Everyone has their own theory on putting styles,” says Tim Selinske of Innova, a California manufacturer of discs. Most people employ the standard backhand throw, but some have to be different, using what’s know as the butterfly putt, in which you fling the disc end over end almost like a jump shot. Whatever works, works.
Headrick and Selinske both agree that the sport is getting away from the recreational player. Professionals are throwing too far; courses are getting too long. Recently, Scott Stokley threw a 165 gram Discraft Xclone an Aerobi-like 200.1 meters for a world record.
Selinske, who started his company with three other world class players 13 years ago, initially marketed their discs towards professionals, but now sees an advantage in targeting newer players. While Headrick attributes the problems he sees in the sport to the discrepancy between the skill levels of the different players, Selinske believes the sport is not borrowing enough from ball golf.
“There just aren’t enough full time people dedicated to promoting the sport,” says Selinske. Headrick cites examples of new courses in Texas with holes over 1,000 feet. “These guys forgot where they learned to play,” says Headrick referring to the distance throwers. “The sport will never get into gear unless we get back to recreation golf.” This is the primary reason Headrick “abandoned” the PDGA and started the Recreational Disc Golf Association, “to spread the fellowship of the sport.”
Tom Schlueter, editor of Disc Golf Journal, a bi-monthly magazine, says, “There is nothing wrong with 1,000 foot holes as long as there are different length tees.” The majority of disc golf courses are on public land, and usually in city parks. Headrick’s company will send anyone interested a packet designed as a guide to getting a course in your area. “A course can be such a dominant factor in a park, and it has to be set up so the two critical factors would be for the park directors and the people in the park to be happy,” says Selinske. For this reason Headrick will not sell his Pole Holes to anyone unless he can design the course. For insurance reasons, he avoids designing holes around water hazards because they are “liable nuisances” and it’s no fun to lose a $10 disc in the drink.
He is also careful to avoid areas with high concentrations of regular park-goers who might see disc golf as a danger. One of his original courses in Wilmette, Ill. was eventually shut down in the early ’80s because it was too popular. Neighbors complained that parked cars ruined their view of the park. He is now more careful to incorporate wooded areas away form the congested residential spots.
These perceived problems may only be evident to the true insiders of the sport, and they definitely haven’t slowed the growth of new courses. According to Headrick there are 500 courses around the US and more going up every year. Gail McColl, general manager of Michigan-based Discraft calls 1996 “a watershed year for the sport,” stating that there are 12 new courses in Texas alone. There is even a pay-to-play course in San Diego. Everyone involved with the sport wants to borrow “carefully” from ball golf; however, the consensus is ball golf can keep the greens fees.
With only 500 courses nationally, quite a number of people have yet to be exposed to disc golf. While courses continue to go into the ground, there are enough people who like to throw Frisbees in the woods at strange objects. Whether you take the laid back approach or the attitude of a pro, disc golf costs nothing to play a round. These are the true public links.
A list of courses in your area can be found on the internet at some website with a few w’s, a couple of dots and a com. Check your friendly neighborhood search engine.