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Disc golf info

By KELLIE DIXON, Times Staff Writer
Published August 28, 2007

The name

Often called Frisbee golf or frolf (a combination of Frisbee and traditional golf), the sport typically just goes by disc golf because discs are used, not Frisbees.

The game

Mix your golfing know-how with your disc-tossing skills. In disc golf the rules basically are the same as traditional golf. But instead of smacking a ball with a club, you're launching a disc - from the tee pad to the hole. There still is a hole, but it's not in the ground like a cup. It's a raised metal basket called a Pole Hole. A perfect putt in disc golf is a toss that lands the disc in the basket.

The disc

Since the 1970s, when the sport formally was adopted, the disc has evolved. Players carry as few or many as they want during tournaments. Many are backups. The discs vary in purpose (driver or putter for instance), weight, height, thickness, flexibility and so on.

The players can use a variety of discs on the course. There are no rules on how to throw it, either. The Professional Disc Golf Association states that a player can use his or her foot.

But be careful. Technique is more important than strength. Professional Scott Scholten, who lives in Clearwater, said the game is as simple as tossing a Frisbee. "If you're good at snapping a towel, you will have better distance," Scholten said. "(The discs) require snap not power."

The basket

It's not a bird feeder, squirrel funhouse, towel rack or a bizarre grill, although Scholten said he has seen folks try to cook a meal on it. "We had to skip a hole for one day (in Orlando) because they hung chickens from the basket and put coals on the ground," Scholten said.

The elevated metal basket has chains that surround the hole. The chains help secure the disc in the basket.

The course

Disc golf tournaments can borrow traditional golf courses, although strictly disc golf courses exist.

There are ones in Hudson (Word of Life), Floral City (Floral Park) and Clearwater (NE Coachman and Cliff Stephens). Hazards - lakes, trees, alligators - also are a part of the course, but disc golf courses lack sand traps.

 Learn more

Professional Disc Golf Association - www.pdga.com

Fabulous Florida Tour -www.fabflatour.org

[Last modified August 27, 2007, 19:22:35]