Who Plays Disc Golf (1 Viewer)

[Chris Hovanic]

Just started playing this sport. Most of the courses here in Oregon are still pretty wet.

I have been playing with Innova discs. And have played CHAMPOEG STATE HERITAGE AREA and PIER PARK in Portland.

Where do you play and what discs do you use?

 

[Dave Smith]

Been playing off and on for about three years now. It's great to watch your scores improve as you get more experience. A bunch of us from work often play at lunchtime if the weather's good (which is usually is from April to October!)

I usually play at Zilker Park in central Austin, but the baskets are gone right now. Two were stolen within a week of each other, and the parks department took the rest away until they can find a way to secure them :frowning:

In all the time I've been playing, I've only seen one hole-in-one, and it was my friend who got it, the bastard

 

[Eric Alderson]

I play the Huntington Beach course in CA mostly. It is supposedly the 2nd oldest course in the world. There is a great course in La Mirada, CA that is 27 holes. It's a bit of a drive from my house, but it's well worth it.

 

[Adam Krogul]

wow, i didnt expect to see this thread in here...

anyways ive been playing for about 2 years now, here in the chicagoland/northwest indiana area there are about 8~10 courses. It seems that my game has improved from the begining but i dont think im close to my best. i dont know the differences in disks, i really cant throw a right hook (hyzer?), and it pisses me off to see these guys on the course throwing twice my distance. now i consider myself pretty athletic and have very good arm strentgh. probably could get a football 60 yards down field but when it comes to disks i dont see how you can par 3 a 550 ft hole. does anyone have any pointers on how to throw a right hook, or even get some more distance on my throw?

as far as disks the i have 10 in my bag, all different weights, most of them being innova disc. 2 putters, 1 left hook disk, and the rest drivers.

 

[Chris Hovanic]

I've been practicing my side arm throw. I can get it about twice as far as throwing regular. Still practicing

Adam you should pick up a disc that will go to the right making it alitte easier check out this chart for breakdowns of most discs DISC CHART

Great to see a few of us play. Such a fun relaxing game

 

[Adam Krogul]

hey chris have you tried the "tomahawk" throw? its a complete overhand throw one in which the disk will flip in mid air and then break left slightly (depends on the disk). it's very useful to shoot over trees and get out of the rough,(some how ive been getting very good at this throw). Try it out if you haven't; it requires alot of arm strength to throw far, but its a wonderful "omg wtf do i do now shot"

 

[Chris Hovanic]

I have not tried that shot yet... but I do have to make that "omg wtf do I do now shot" at least 5 times every time I play :b

Another fav of mine is the roller... not so good right now with the super wet courses but when it drys up.... roll your way to the basket

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

I've been playing for about seven or eight years now. It's by far my favorite pastime. It's free, you can drink, and it's outside! Anyway, I love the sport, and I also love playing new courses when I'm in new areas. I even go by myself.

Adam, Chris, a few pointers:

As a right-handed regular throw, a "hyzer" always ends up going left at the end. An "Anhyzer" ends up going right and can best be achieved with the angle of release for a right-hander. Hold your disk out at arm's length, and tilt the left side up about 5°. Hold the disk shoulder high. Now that's the release point you want for a perfect "S" shot with a slightly overstable disk. Left-handers and right-handed fore-armer's don't have this problem. Their disks end up going right at the end all the time.

Tweaking the angle of release is where it gets tricky. A little bit of angle goes a long way.

 

[Bill Griffith]

Disc Golf Rocks!!

I love this game.

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Scott... thanks for the tip.

 

[Tim Morton]

we used to play frisbee golf 25 years ago when i was stationed in San Diego. Man, does THAT make me sound old...

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Tim - sounds like you need to pick up a couple of discs and head over to Hope A. Davey Park.

Might make ya feel a little younger

 

[Mike__D]

My buddies and I used to play ALL the time back in college (Drexel) at Sedgley Woods. My friend also had a basket in the back yard, so we practiced all the time. I use to be pretty good...

Such a fun relaxing game

You got that right, especially when we hit hole 12 (we usually started with back 9 first), which was away from the road and deeper in the woods

I have since grauduated to regular golf, in which I really suck.

Mike D.

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

especially when we hit hole 12 (we usually started with back 9 first), which was away from the road and deeper in the woods

Ah, yes. The other great part of disc golf. The bowl holes.

 

[Greg_R]

does anyone have any pointers on how to throw a right hook, or even get some more distance on my throw?

It is 80% technique and %20 strength. There are 5ft. tall women who can throw over 400ft. Here's some tips that really helped me (assuming right handed backhand):

- Learn to explode through the throw. Most new players run up to the tee and plant their foot (loosing all momentum).
- Work on a three step approach. Step with your right, bring your left in behind it, and step again with your right (exploding off your left). You should release right before your left foot leaves the ground. Once this works you can work on more of a run-up. Note that this is the opposite of throwing a ball!
- A lot your power will come from your left leg. I found that pushing off my left toe at the moment of release (thus snapping my waist around) made a huge difference.
- Go to a tournament and watch the top pros in your area play.
- Practice a flat release. A lot of people 'rainbow' instead of pulling the disc directly through on the throwing motion (elbow should bend!). You should not see the top or the bottom of the disc on a standard drive.
- Some players like to reach way back so they can accelerate the disc over the longest distance. Others feel that doing that gets them off balance. (choose what works best for you)
- Work on accuracy. A 300ft accurate drive is way better than an inaccurate 400ft drive!
- For hyzers (right to left) open up your stance slightly and use a more stable disc.
- For anhyzers (left to right or at the extreme, rollers) close up your stance and use a less stable disc. A disc will become less stable as it gets roughed up...


Chris,
I live in Beaverton and play a few times a week when the courses dry out. Champoeg is a great course for beginners (fairly open, hard to loose a disc). I like Dabney (near Troutdale) as a challenging and well maintained course. McIver and Timber Parks (near Estacada) also have nice courses (McIver is the easier of the two). Check out www.odsa.com for course listings and a helpful forum (there are a lot of small courses in the city).

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Plan on playing McIver and Timber park and Dbney... Have you played Pier yet? Pretty nice works its way through a stand of tall fir trees. would be a great course for a hot day

 

[Lary Larson]

First round of the season tomorrow at Elver! Cannot wait!

PDGA has a good course directory if anyone's interested.

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

Lary,

Have you played Heistand or the pay to play course NE of you? I have to say the Heistand is much more enjoyable than Elver. What do you think about the pay to play?

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Im not in favor of pay to play courses... Though I do spend $50.00 every two years for a Oregon State Park Pass for my two cars.... I guess thats pay to play!

I understand that it takes money to keep up a course that is why I try to pick up trash as I play... help keep everything nice so my $50.00 park pass does not turn into a $100.00 park pass.

 

[Lary Larson]

Scott,

I haven't played Heistand yet. Elver is a 2 minute walk from my condo and I really enjoy the variety of terrain (excuses, excuses). Maybe ignorance is bliss, huh?

I have played the pay-to-play course (Token Creek) - I thought it was a bit bland, but had some cool features like terraced pin placements. Nicely kept up, too, but the mosquitos were atrocious. I don't really mind the pay-to-play concept as long as the money goes back into the course - it's also nice not to have to wait 10 minutes to tee off at each hole like Elver can get.

Baraboo is the only other course I've played and is my favorite. I've only played it a few times, but it's been a blast each time. Really interesting holes.