This morning before work, a few friends introduced me to the game of Frisbee Golf. Or Frolf, as they called it. It’s played very similarly to regular golf, except that you use Frisbees or Frolf disks instead of clubs and a golf ball.
The biggest advantage that I found is that it is much harder to lose a Frolf disk than it is to lose a golf ball. So you really only need one disk for the game. The biggest disadvantage was that I couldn’t throw a Frisbee for beans for the first half-hour.
The course is at the local county park, and is laid out much the same as a regular golf course with two major exceptions. One, the holes are much shorter. (No one wants to try to throw a disk more than 70 or 80 yards per hole.) And two, the course for the most part is in the woods. There are no fairways to speak of. You are expected to just play through the trees. Since you pick the disk up to make your next throw, there is no reason to groom the surface of the course.
The “hole” is a metal basket on a pole, set about waist height, with a bunch of dangling chains above it. The chains stop the disk so that you don’t have your putts kicked out when you hit the pole on a long shot. It sounds easy, but if you try to use the chains too much, you find that your second “putt” is often much longer than your first one. A good approach “putt” drops to the ground within 6 feet of the “hole.”
The guys teaching me showed me the three main types of throws; a traditional across the body throw, an outside sidearm throw, and an over-the-head “Hammer” throw. There are times when you want to use each different one, just like using different golf clubs, but darned if I could figure out when. I just stuck with the traditional throw for the first 9-holes. (While I was using an old Frisbee.) And then the sidearm throw for the back-9 when another friend showed up with a real Frolf disk he had picked up at the store for me, on his way to the park.
About the only other thing I can say about the game, is that if you are going to try it out at a local public course, it’s generally free to play. So spend the $9-$10 on a Frolf disk. It’s still a lot less than you would spend for a couple of hours bowling or even 9-holes on a public golf course. And there is a world of difference between how a Frolf disk (which is generally a lot denser and slightly smaller than a regular Frisbee) and a Frisbee are able to handle the course.
All in all, it was a fun time. And it only took about two hours to do the whole 18-hole course. Although, I think my arm will be telling me not to try it again any time in the next couple of days.
:-)
The Jamboree is on! Check out Rocket Jones for details.
Posted by: Ted at October 12, 2004 08:46 PM