disc golf | Piss and Moan

Backing out

Posted on April 24, 2023 by backuphill

A few years ago I startedd playing disc golf as a way to get outta the house and do some walking. It was right before the global flu took hold so I played right through it. It’s now been a couple years and the buddy that I get out on the course with has now invited a couple other guys to join us and learn the game too. I like them all and generally have no complaints about them.

That aside, one of the guys that is now included in the group is getting the reputation for backing out and it’s rather annoying.

He is invited to hang out on the course with us or he even initiates and invites us to hang out with him to play. Plans are typically set to meet at a time and course and people are looking forward to it.

Then he backs out.

He usually uses the excuse that he worked all day and is too tired. OK, I get it and an ocassional instance would be one thing. We all work and obviously that can be a deciding factor but out of 10 invites he uses this as an excuse six times. If you are tired or think it will be a deciding factor for you, don’t say your are going to go. Just don’t commit.

Sometimes he uses his small child and even his wife as an excuse to back out. Again, this is understandable, but again it can also be something that can be decided before committing to meet.

Anyway, what would you do? Keep inviting or accepting invites knowing he most likely will not follow through, or do you drop him and not invite him any longer?

Disc disc

Posted on October 1, 2020 by backuphill

OK, I am about to complain about something I am still learning and haven’t a lot of knowledge on, but that’s what this blog is for – complaining, or pissing and moaning.

What is the topic of the day? Disc Golf.

Over the last several months I have had the chance to play disc golf with a buddy. He was looking for someone to go with him and I had done it a couple times while in college and I knew there were a few places here locally to go and play, so I said yes.

And I had a lot of fun!

Of course, there is a learning curve with this sport and I am a little short on technique (as well as just being short) but I had fun nonetheless. So much so, that I bought my own set of beginner discs. There is skill in trying to throw a disc accurately and for distance. Something I am gonna have to spend time learning to do.

Anyway, my buddy took me to a local course that is relatively open. I guess in the disc golf circles, this would be considered a good “beginner’s course.” Yes, there are some trees and other obstacles on the course, but not in a way that would make it overly challenging or accessible.

Now the complaint…yesterday, my buddy took me to a course across the river. He said it was a more difficult course. And it was! It was full of trees. Everywhere! The best example for how many trees there were, think of playing frisbee in a cemetery, where every 7th headstone was a tree. Yeah, that’s a lot of obstacle to play around. No good sight lines. No straight shots.

Anyway, I fared alright considering it was my first time there but I still lost (yes, I am competitive). I got to looking last night at the stats for the two course: both are a par 54 course with a total difference in distance of 121 feet (5193 to 5072). My complaint here is the par for the course.

How can a course with very few straight shots and trees over the entire course still be a par 54, the same as a course with much fewer trees? Who rates these things and decides the par? Obviously, trees add to the challenge but that should also increase the par, shouldn’t it?

Again, I am learning this sport. I don’t know how these things work. I just kinda felt like I played the course better than my score would reflect. Truth is, though I complain, I still had fun! That’s important right?

Well, and winning too. But fun is most important…or so I have been told…

Old sport

Posted on August 25, 2020 by backuphill

Over the weekend I tried a sport/game (whatever you wanna classify it as) that I hadn’t really done since college. It’s a novel sport, as in it doesn’t enjoy widespread popularity but is becoming more and more popular. How do I know? Well, you are probably seeing these weird contraptions show up in public parks – a wire and chain basket on a pole.

Disc golf.

I had a friend in college who was an avid disc golf fan and he always managed to get a group of us out to go play with him. It was fun, but I wasn’t sure at the time that I really liked it.

I liked actual golf better. Let’s just say that.

Anyway, I had a friend invite me out for a round of disc golf over the weekend. I hadn’t really considered it, even though I am seeing those baskets all over the place now. So, I said yes.

We met at the park. There is a learning curve and technique to the game. But, I had fun. And it got me off the couch and outta the house. A win-win.

What I didn’t realize would happen is that I am an OLD sport, meaning that I am really sore today (two days after the fact). My arm and shoulder are not used to that motion and I am fully aware of those parts of my body today as they scream at me even while moving my arm to type.

Old.

The reality of being able to recover quickly from activity just isn’t the case any more. I miss those days. But, it’s reality today.

I am sport, just an old sport.