Cassie BatesonYou might be wondering what I’m jabbering on about but those are actually all disc golf terms. It’s scored like golf with a par for each ‘hole’. You’re shooting for a basket with chains, though. The point is to walk away from your 18 holes with a score under par. It’s an easy sport to get into, you don’t need to be athletic, not to mention it’s totally free to play! I’ve seen married couples my grandparent’s age out playing – if they can do it, so can you. All you’ve got to do is grab a few discs and go throw.
You can get discs at The Shire and Play It Again sports in Parkersburg/Vienna. They’ll be able to point you in the right direction as far as good discs go. Once you figure out what you’re doing you can delve deeper into the technical aspects and determine which discs fit your throw style (and what those words mean). You can find beginner discs pretty easy and work your way up from there. There are various weights, flight paths and other details that will affect how your disc flies. There are also multiple ‘walk ups’ and throws you can try. If all that sounds difficult I promise it’s not. The first time I went out I was shown how to hold the disc and that was about it. Once that feels a little more natural, you can work on form and technique. I’m still striving for a consistent under par score but I’m having a blast along the way.
There’s definitely a social aspect to disc golf if you are looking for something you can do with friends. You can play with as many friends as you want or go solo. If you’re new to a course, find someone and ask if you can join up and get shown around. Most people will be happy to oblige and chat while you play a round. I’ve actually done this, it’s a great way to figure out a new, confusing course and meet new friends for the day.
Other than the friendliness of almost everyone I’ve met while playing, what surprised me most is the availability in the area. I had no idea we had so many courses relatively close and countless more scattered around. Veteran’s Memorial Park, OVU, Mountwood Monster, and Broughton’s Big Buckeye are the local courses. Veteran’s is my personal favorite. It offers a nice range of shots and enjoyable scenery. I haven’t been to the course at Mountwood yet but I’ve heard it’s a good one.
If you’re looking for a fun sport to try out I highly recommend going out and slinging some plastic. Everyone I’ve met in the community has been so friendly and helpful. There are multiple groups you can join to play with people on the regular and it’s a very budget friendly sport. So if you have a couple of hours to kill go check out your local course! You don’t have to spend a lot to get started and every course is free to play. You’re guaranteed to have fun and meet some new folks.