Sweet Bottle of Bang: Disc Golf

In an effort to gain some physicality back after the surgery to repair my ruptured Achilles (and after ONLY a few visits with physical therapy) I decided to try my hand and foot at the game of disc golf. Like ball golf or regular golf, the goal of each hole is to make your disc into a basket in the least amount of throws and end the game with the lowest total score amongst competitors.

In high school after a shitastic cornea transplant, I was left on the sidelines of the football field when my doctors thought it would be in my best interest to reduce and cutout all full contact sports. A few of my friends were on the (Ball) golf team so with the suggestion of my doctors, disappointment and lack of complete motivation I got together some basic clubs and tried golf. I was a hyper teen, I could go from coma to sugar overdose quicker than a sneeze, I lacked patience and focus. My golf career lasted maybe a month, the only good drives I had were when I shouldn’t have been driving. I remember one day we were playing Riverside and there were some guys ahead of us who were moving pretty slow, my buddies knew I had nothing for a drive so suggested that I tee off (It didn’t matter anyway). Well, I cracked into the ball with punishing force, I watched it as it screamed off the club, my friends voices yelled too –“FORE!”- as the ball approached the group ahead of us. It was AWESOME! The ball ricocheted and pin-balled around their golf cart as they were loading up. That was my first best-drive but not the last of the kind. Haha.

Alright, this post is about Disc Golf not the silly nicker wearing ball golf. What I like about disc golf is its availability and cheapness, not to mention it’s attractiveness to beginners and seasoned vets. Just about anyone of any level can play with no prior skill, practice or expensive equipment. Also, it’s another reason to get up and enjoy fresh air, the outdoors and competition with friends.

Disc golf has been, ehh, somewhat in my life for as long as I remember. While I’ve never actually played until recently, my stepfather has been a rabid competitor for years so I’ve heard terms and stories of his victories and losses. Lucky for me too, is the fact that when I rang him, letting him know that I was invited to play and asked him if he had a simple set-up I could borrow, he said yes. When I showed up to get my gear, he really hooked me up. He gave me a disc bag, a few discs –which included drivers, mid-rangers & putters- he also gave me a sweet-ass practice basket which I’ve recently started bringing to work to get 15 minute practices in here-and-there.

"Work Break"

Brushy Creek - Hole 3 - Par 4

If you ask me, I should have started playing this long ago, maybe in high school instead of ball golf. I’m not bragging but I ain’t gonna lie, I’d probably be pro by now. Hey, I’m just saying. I’m not that good but I’m not at all close to bad and I keep getting better. Disc golf is a great game, I’ve only played 9 times and each time is a new experience and the time in between playing all I want to do is play… So far, throwing disc is the closest I’ve felt to being a kid again. I just want to play.

Brushy Creek - Hole 7 - Par 3. Birdie!

Today marks the 8 month anniversary of my surgery to repair my ruptured Achilles. At the end of January I began playing disc golf, a game I highly recommend to almost anyone recovering from an Achilles injury. The game isn’t violently demanding on the body, you’ll begin to stretch and bend your ankle on uneven ground, all while playing a fun game with friends and family, outdoors and gaining back confidence in your physical ability and range of motion.