disc golf chronicles

Hickory Run Ice Bowl

2007-03-03T08:08:00.000-05:00

This is a little late but I have been busy. I played in the Hickory Run Ice Bowl on 2.10.07. It didn't get over 20* all day and there was about 4" of snow on the ground. For this tourny both Ben and his Dad made it out, Brians first event. My first round was not that great coming in at a 71(conditions were rough). I knew i had a lot of work to do to place. After the 1st round we all got to try out the chili and soup that was on hand for the first ever soup and chilli contest, a great way to warm up. Also Bob Ide from The Great Outdoors was there filming for his tv show which has already aired, was nice to see the exposure. Here are the results from the Ice Bowl
Total Par - 111
Men's Pro Open Division - 20 Players
1) Bob Graham, 53-57-110 …. $180
2) Adam McGahey, 58-53-111 …. $110
3) Michael Bowers, 61-51-112 …. $67 t) Phil Denhardt, 63-49-112 …. $67
5) Paul Wojick, 60-53-113 …. $35 t) Greg Shepherd, 58-55-113 .… $35
7) Scott Howard, 61-53-114 …. $25
8] Richie Klinger, 62-53-115 …. $15 t) Craig Hoch, 56-59-115 …. scored the only Ace, won $57.00
10) Robin Billig, 60-57-117
11) Skip Hummel, 64-54-118 t) Ray R-Man Rogers, 62-56-118
13) Jeff LaGrassa, 63-57-120
14) Okie Mike Padgett, 63-59-122 t) Larry Entz, 62-60-122
16) Steve Kofron, 65-58-123
17) Brian Frederick, 67-56-123
18] Steve Roschel, 65-59-124 t) Carey Holleran, 68-56-124
20) Dave Alarcon, 66-59-125

Men's Advanced Amatuer Division (17 Players)
1) David Martinez, 59-56-115 (won three-way playoff)
2) Vic DeLuca, 60-55,115 t) Steve Frank, 58-57-115
4) Cory Seitzinger, 59-57-116
5) John Michaels, 63-56-119
6) Jordan Bunn, 63-57-120
7) Brig Seitzinger, 61-61-122
8] Bryan Yondolino, 65-58-123
9) Alan Sweeton, 61-64-125
10) Bob Z., 63-63-126
11) Jason Hummel, 63-64-127
12) Carl Fecho, 66-65-131
13) J. Coefer, 71-61-132 t), Gerald Ford, 66-66-132
15) Bill Stosch, 71-66-137
16) Brian Gunkel, 65-DNF t) Stas Marchak, 80-DNF

Women's Amatuer Division - 10 Players
1) Ann Yondolino, 74-64-138
2) Marie Fry, 70-70-140
3) Jeannie Helseth, 74-69-143
4) Mary Pomeran, 76-68-144
5) Marcie Borger, 74-74-148
6) Maureen McErlean, 75-74-149
7) Katie Stash, 83-74-157
8] Alex Calderon, 86-74-160
9) Tammy Manatt, 112-97-209
10) Kristen Marchak, 112-DNF

Men's Intermediate Amatuer Division - 25 Players
1) PA Mike Solt, 64-60-124
2) Stepehen "Canadian" Caffery, 71-59-130
3) Tim Fry, 66-65-131 t) Leon Fountain, 65-66, 131
5) Ben Rapchak, 70-62-132 t) Jason Welliver, 72-60-132 t) John McGinley, 69-63-132 t) Alan Mindas, 71-61-132
9) Mike Carman, 72-61-133
10) Elliott Frisbie, 69-65, 134
11) Chris Kotansky, 75-60-135
12) Pete Dymant, 69-67, 136
13) Mike Bowers, 69-68-137
14) Jeff Manatt, 69-69-138 t) Stu Allen, 73-65-138
16) Joe Kotansky, 76-63-139
17) Jim Kimmel, 72-68-140
18] Jojo Margay, 76-65-141
19) Steve Vindler, 75-68-143
20) Bill Luber, 77-68-145
21) Bob Eberly, 79-69-148
22) Brian Rapchak, 77-74-151
23) Robert Lawson, 81-74-155
24) Bruce Kamala, 88-78-166
25) Matt Frisbie, 87-85-172

Junior Division - 1 Player
1) Shaun Manatt, 87-87-174

1st Annual Hickory Run Chili / Soup Cookoff Challenge
Chili Winner - Ray Rogers - Dead Dog Veal-Pork Chili
Soup Winner - Jeannie Helseth

* Winners received engraved Trophy Disc, case of foamy beverage, mugs.

CTP winners:
Pro - Hole 1 - Phil Denhart
Advanced - Hole 17 - Pimpy (not sure who that is)
Women - Hole 15 - Marci Borger
Intermediate - Hole 7 - JoJo Margay

Closest to the Beverage: Bob Graham

A nice "Friday Off" round at the Park.

2007-03-03T08:04:00.000-05:00

I had off work on Friday since i have to work Saturday so i met up with Ben and his dad and played the bloom course. We played the regular 9 then played the 9 hole layout for the "back 9" that I designed. play was good, still snow on the ground and lots of standing water.
The start of the 2nd round we met up with a guy who now lives in San Diego but is from Bloomsburg so that was cool so see other people out. Towards the end of the round Ben and I found a stray dog running on the ice over the lagoon and shaking really bad so we decided to end our round early and get the dog back to his owners. All in all it was a good day but I was glad when it was over walking through snow takes the energy out of you.

It's Official

2007-01-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

I am now a proud member for the PDGA. I joined mostly because my entry fee goes to a great cause but i also hope to play some PDGA tournaments this year. Here's to a great year of Disc Golf!

It's been a while

2007-01-21T07:56:00.000-05:00

I have been so busy with family, work and playing dg that I have not been updating this like I should. I have played a lot since my last post in sept. Most recently I played in the first lime bluff ice bowl. A great time was had by all the weather was a balmy 45* with a consistent drizzle and lots of mud. Without the rain and mud the ice bowl would have been great but the rain and mud made it memorable. I did ok coming in tied for 4th place and won a disc. In the coming weeks I will be playing a practice round at hickory run for the ice bowl then I will be playing in the ice bowl on 2.10.07.

Here are the results from the 1st annual Lime Bluff Ice Bowl.
Pro
1. Skip Hummel 54 54 108 Trophy/$25 (DONATED BACK TO THE SLH)
2. Bob Ziadie 55 56 111 Trohpy/$15 (DONATED BACK TO THE SLH)
3. Greg Cielosczyk 57 58 115 Trophy
4. Brian Frederick 61 58 119
5. Ryan Laird 58 64 122
6. Brian Frederick 61 58 119
7. Mike Solt Did not play, but helped by buying entry fee
8. Larry Entz Did not play, but helped by buying entry fee

Women/JR-
1. Leni Snyder 64 72 136 Trophy/bag,discs,tee
2. Mary P. 71 72 143 Trophy/discs,tee
3. Kate Stash 76 76 152

1. Shaun Manatt 95 87 182

Int
1. Steve Vindler 64 65 129 Trophy/discs/tee
2. Leon Fountain 68 69 137 discs,tee
3. Bob Eberly 71 72 143
4. Randy Laird 73 75 148
5. Walter Entz 95 93 188

Am
1. Michael Bowers 50 55 105 Trophy/discs, tee
2. Jason Munns 54 57 111 Trophy/discs,tee
3. John Michaels 56 57 113 Trophy/discs,tee
4. Jason Welliver 60 57 117 disc
5. Jason Hummel 59 58 117 disc
6. Steve Roschel 60 58 118
7. Drew Fox 59 61 120
8. Gene Phillips 59 63 122
9. Ben Rapchak 61 63 124
10.Jeff Manatt 63 64 127
11.Alan Mindas Jr. 66 61 127
12.Stuart Allen 65 65 130
13.Will Snyder 65 66 131
14.Ryan Smith 66 70 136
15.Carl Fecho 69 70 139
16.Bryan Bower 70 70 140
17.Zachary Poust 67 76 143
18.Donald Allen 75 71 146

CTP'S PRO-
Skip H./survial bottle,tee,disc

W/JR-
Leni S./disc,tee

AM-
Jason H./tee,disc

All-
Skip H./tee,disc

Most improved rd.-
Shaun Manatt/mp3 player

2003 ROC- Fundraiser Disc Steve Vindler

All money raised was donated to the Son Light House

Hickory run state park

2006-09-11T08:11:00.000-04:00

I actually had time to get up that way and check out the course. Ben and I played 3 rounds there yesterday. Would have stayed for doubles but we were knocked out from the 3 previous rounds. I have to say that the course is amazing. The bearclaws do a great job with keeping the course in great shape and I will be making my way up a lot more often as this is the best course I have yet to play. We did run into Larry as we were leaving and he showed us the hidden hole 3. Here are our scores. Round 1 Jason-60-I should have been under. I left a lot of strokes on the course Ben-61 round 2 Jason-58 Ben-56 round 3 Jason-62 Ben-59

New lowest round score

2006-08-14T21:14:00.000-04:00

Ben and I played at lime bluff on Friday 8.11.06. it was a windy day a little more than usual. We both set out to top our previous best scores of 55 par there is 54. First round Ben scored a 61 and myself a 60. The 2nd round Ben scored a 61 and I came in with a new low round record for Ben and I at 53. I was 2 under going into the 18th hole but I threw ob and took a 4. Was very pleased and can't wait to get back out there again and try to get even lower.

My first tourny

2006-07-25T07:47:00.000-04:00

Ben and I completed in our first tourny on sat 7.22.06 at the Francis e Walter dam near lake harmony, pa. The tournament was a blast with some crazy weather. It rained during the first 2 hours of the first round. Ben and I had never played this course before and went into it blind. We shot 4 over par which we were happy with as our playing partners shot 3 over par. On the 2nd round Ben and I shot 5 over par as we got into a little trouble on some holes. Altogether it was a great time and can't wait to go back for another tourny. There were 8 teams in the am division and we finished 5th. Not to bad.

Taken down once again

2006-07-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was a busy day for myself. I woke at 7:00 am and Ben and I headed out to Hughesville to join Larry in a round at the lime bluff course. I started off very well getting birdies on holes 1 and 2 and both Ben and Larry shot par on each. Hole 3 and 4 I got bogies which should not happen on these holes as they should always be pared. Ben and Larry both had hot front nines with Ben shooting a 29 Larry shooting a 26 and myself shooting a 30. Going into the back nine I knew I had to get some birdies quick if I wanted a chance to back in the race. The birdies did not come, for myself and Larry but Ben birdied the 10th hole. Ben shot a 30, I shot a 31 and Larry also shot a 31 on the back 9 to give me a total of 61, Ben 59 and Larry a 57.

we had to leave by 1:00 to make the party at my parents house for 3:00. We had about 45 minutes until 1:00 so Ben and I decided to play as many holes we could before we had to leave and Larry went back to working on the course. I shot even par on the front 9 and was on track to have my best round ever on that course but time ran out going to the 10th hole and I had to leave the score behind and head back home. We will be back at the course again this Saturday and I hope I can pick up where I left off and shatter Ben's low score of 58 in the process.

Now entering the rebuilding stage

2006-07-07T16:08:00.000-04:00

The flood has passed but has not been forgotten. The park was hit hard but with minimal damage to park amenities. The ground is still soggy and dyed brown from all the mud left over. I am happy to report that all nine baskets and tee boxes were not harmed in the flood but do need to be cleaned up.

the rest of bloomsburg on the other hand did not make out so well. Many residents lost a lot to this flood. Many homes are now in the process of cleaning up the mess and rebuilding. By rebuilding I mean replacing water heaters, installing new carpeting, installing new wall coverings and such things like that. bloomsburg was added to the growing list of counties to receive national disaster relief funds from fema which should help a lot. The members of the local armed forces also gave great effort in providing bloomsburg area with over 10 water buffalos as bloomsburg did not have running water for nearly a week and are still under a water boil advisers.

there has been much debate the last couple years that bloomsburg should install a flood wall. One can only wonder how much damage we would have had if it was installed and I'm sure after the recent flooding the flood wall topic will again be a headline of the town.

The flood of 06

2006-06-29T22:46:00.000-04:00

I am sad to report that bloomsburg and surrounding locations were hit very hard with floods. The town was over 30% covered in water and many family's had to leave their homes behind for higher ground. The next step is cleanup and restore everything as it was. Our disc golf course was also affected and totally covered in water. Here are 2 pictures of the park where the course is located. The first picture is of market st which splits the park. The course is on the left of the road. The 2nd pic is of the 2nd basket(between the pine trees)

One word: SOGGY

2006-06-26T08:57:00.000-04:00

Sunday was the first day of Sunday leagues and of course it had to rain, not just a shower but rain all day long for about 2 inches of rain. I thought well I'll still go down and see if anybody is crazy like myself and still show up. I am happy to say that Justin showed up and we had a great round. Not a person in the park unless you count the 6 kids playing football in the pond like mud puddle. Hopefully the weather is better next Sunday and we get a few more people to show up.

Record breaking round

2006-06-19T22:00:00.000-04:00

After our exciting night of trying to fish disc out of the lagoon we headed home a sipped on a few more beers. The next day we were going to be getting up early to head to hughesville to play a couple rounds. Its was nice weather not to hot,yet, and the wind was calm which is unusual for for hughesville. We threw on some sunscreen and loaded up our water bottles and hit the course. Going into the round I was hoping to shoot better than the last time at this course which was a 64. I ended up with some missed putts that should have been routine and shot a 66. Ben was hoping to shoot under 70 and did just that meeting my lowest round of 64 which was the lowest round shot by either of us to date on this course.

we took a break after the first round and refilled out water bottles. The wind started to kick up and we knew it would have some affect on our game. I was going into this round with the hopes of beating my previous round. Ben was going into this round with his eyes on my record round. Ben started the round off great shooting par on the first 4 holes and shooting a blazing front 9 of 28 and I shot a front 9 of 29. Going into the back 9 we tried to stay focused at the goal at hand and Ben delivered shooting a 30 on the back 9 for a total 58 crushing my previous record of 64. I once again shot a 66. Don't worry though folks I will take back the crown next time we play hughesville and that a promise!

2nd attempt at fishing for disc

2006-06-19T21:42:00.000-04:00

So as usual Ben came down on Friday afternoon for another disc golf weekend. When Ben arrived on Friday we both enjoyed a nice cold beer and planned our attempt to fish some of our disc back out of the lagoon. Our plan was to get a pair of goggles, some duct tape, glow sticks, flashlight, and a ziploc bag. We put the flashlight in the ziploc bag sealed it then duct taped it. We got the glow sticks just In case the flashlight went out. So we go to the park on Friday around 6:00 and play a few rounds until it starts to get a little dark, maybe around 8:30 and decided it was time for Ben to dive in. Ben gets in the water which he said felt quite nice and tried to see into the water by diving under with the flashlight. The water is so murky that he couldn't see anything. So once again we left with nothing.

I sold my first shirt today

2006-06-15T22:30:00.000-04:00

So I checked out my cafepress account today and I sold my first item. It is a onesee that says. "my daddy plays disc golf better than your daddy". Makes me want to design some more shirts. Didn't actually think I would sell anything I just figured I would setup a site since it was free. Woo!!!!

Disc golf flash game

2006-06-15T22:14:00.000-04:00

Check this out. Its a little cheesy but still fun.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/discgolf2003.html

Driving

2006-06-13T21:45:00.000-04:00

Whenever I go play a round it always takes atleast 5 holes to get my drives set right and throw how I should be throwing. Before I throw, like most people, I choose my disc, picture my throw then I start my x step and throw the disc. Then it goes about 175 feet and bombs left. What the heck I did everything like I was suppose to, so I thought. When I do get my throw right I throw well, in the range of 275-300 feet. I just need to practice more on my form and do it the same way everything until it becomes natural.

Speaking of to many disc

2006-06-12T22:52:00.000-04:00

So speaking of too many disc I almost forgot I just place an order with the guy in town who sells disc. I got 3 banger gt's 2 in d plastic and one in esp plastic, a buzz gt, a slipstream driver(not sure if he can get this or not) and a glow roc. Can't wait to get the glow roc to play some night rounds. Sounds like a blast.

Man do I buy to many disc

2006-06-12T22:44:00.000-04:00

After playing this game for about 4 months now I have compiled over 20 disc and for what to only use 6 when I play a round. I think most new frolfers go through this when they start out. I like to try everything to see what I like. I plan to play my bag the way it is for another couple weeks and see what disc I never pull out and get them out of my bag and trade/sell/keep for backups. I started out with dx then went to pro/champion plastics and then 1 star disc. After loosing 2 champion disc I thought to myself, maybe I should play dx for a little while longer until I get more accurate. It gets expensive to purchase a champ disc everytime you loose one. I think when I upgrade to the high end plastic again it will be almost all star or esp, they have a nice feel to them.

Bear claws- a disc golf association

2006-06-12T22:36:00.000-04:00

Here is a great site to check out. These people are very dedicated to the sport of disc golf and help create and maintain disc golf in northeastern Pennsylvania.
http://www.bearclaws.org/forum/

Here are pictures of my local 9 hole course

2006-06-11T21:52:00.000-04:00

Hole 1 is pretty open until you get to the basket. This hole can be hard to play sometimes as a lot of people like to hang out at this field
hole 2 has a low canopy keep it low and you should be home for an easy par.

hole 3 also has a low canopy. Avoid the trees and you should be ok. Sounds easy doesn't it?
hole 4 is not a very long hole and might not look very hard either. Well I can say that there are more than 10 disc in the water at this hole. If your drive is not low and long you can get in a lot of trouble. There is a tree that hangs about 10 over the water and if your disc gets caught up in that you can kiss it goodbye. If you make it across safe and land in the little ravine then you have to get lucky to even have a view at the basket.
hole 5 is a great hole. The teebox is elevated so you can get some mean distance off this hole, just watch out for all the geese crap.
hole 6 is not laid out very well. If you play with the way the teebox is pointing you will never complete the hole. As you can see the teebox is on one end of the pond and the basket is all the way on the other side. We use number 3 teebox and play it to the number 6 basket.

hole 7 is an easy par but a tough birdie. Your drive has to low and accurate for any chance of a birdie.
hole 8 is a pretty easy hole and you have a great chance for a birdie here and almost always a par.

hole 9 is a hard hole because to the left is the Susquehanna river and to the right is ob(the road). After your drive is you are still dry to have to choose if you want to try to throw over a little creek that flows into the river or layup and have no chance for a par.

The article hit newsstand today

2006-06-11T08:02:00.000-04:00

Here is the article I have been talking about.
Disc golf novice just a little teed off
Deceptively simple game takes practice and patience, writer learns at Town Park course

Staring down the hill that overlooks the west end of Bloomsburg Town Park, I calculated I was about 420 feet away from my target disc-golf basket. I factored in the wind, made sure my grip was right and pictured the Frisbee-like flying disc arching gracefully toward its goal.
Then I threw it.
It slammed into a pavilion less than 100 feet away. Seven shots later, I had quintuple bogeyed the hole.
Disc golf, I learned quickly, can be just as frustrating as regular golf. But unlike regular golf, it's cheap. You can play with little more than two $8 flying discs.
The Town Park Improvement Association recently installed a nine-hole course for disc golf that zigzags through the east end of the park. The course cuts between trees, over the lagoon and down to the river bank.
Here are the basics of the game:
ð You start each hole at a tee-off area. In Town Park, those are marked by wooden posts and small boxes filled with mulch.
ð From that tee-off area, you throw a flying disc. They're called discs and not Frisbees because the latter is a trademarked name.
ð You play your next shot from where the disc lands, or where its roll stops.
ð You repeat that until you land your disc in a metal basket with chains hanging above it that takes the place of a golf ball's hole.
According to Professional Disc Golf Association representative John G. Duesler Jr., the motto for the sport drawn up by its founder was "Whoever has the most fun, wins." That's the kind of sport I can get behind, especially when I'm 30 over par.
Easy to understand, tough to play
Disc golf is a simple game to understand, fun to play, but difficult to master.
When I tried to play the course with a regular $1 disc from a dollar store, I scored in the teens and 20s on most holes.
Jason Welliver, 25, of Bloomsburg said it's taken him weeks to learn his way around the course.
Welliver, a senior account executive at a local financial company, has been playing the game for three months, ever since he discovered what the metal baskets in Town Park were. He's now trying to form a league to play on the course.
He has built up a collection of about 20 discs that he — like most serious disc golfers — carries around in a bag slung over his shoulder as he plays the course.
Some discs are meant for short putts, others for long drives. Still others, "I really shouldn't have bought it, but I just like to see it fly," Welliver said.
The discs have awe-inspiring names like Archangel, Dragon and Cheetah, but essentially, they're all round pieces of plastic about 8.5 inches wide with varying degrees of flexibility.
X-misstepping
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Welliver let me borrow a set of his discs, and we played the course.
Before we started, Welliver showed me something called the "X-step." It's a run-up to your first drive that's meant to give you more distance.
The first time I tried it — on the first hole — I looked more like a goose that had gotten into brandy than someone attempting to play a sport. I nearly tripped myself, and then I forgot to throw the disc because I was concentrating on my stepping.
The second time, Welliver suggested I forget about the "X-step" and just take a slow walk-up. I did, and the disc went flying.
30 over par
It was the first of the 59 throws I would take on the par-27 course.
Welliver, who threw a 39, said that over time, you learn to curve your throws around trees and away from water.
I wouldn't mind just learning the latter. In my round Wednesday, I lost two discs in the drink — one to the park's lagoon and one to the Susquehanna River.
But with every shot, I pictured my disc flying straight, and I checked my grip. And while my shots kept curving, they seemed to improve ever so slightly.
By the second-to-last hole, I had gone from quintuple bogies to plain old single bogies. It was enough to make me want to practice, to iron out the flaws in my throw and never to have to watch a disc sink beneath the surface again.
So Friday, I did the most practical thing I could to improve my disc-golf game.

I bought a driver disc that floats.

Peter Kendron can be found during his lunch breaks at Town Park waiting for his driver to float to the side of the lagoon. Call him at 387-1234, ext. 1312, or e-mail him at kendron@pressenterprise.net

Disc golf swag

2006-06-10T22:11:00.000-04:00

There are not many people out there making good apparel for disc golf. Sure there are few but not enough. I have tried my hand a desinging some t-shirts and sell them at http://www.cafepress.com/discgolfswag
check it out!

Fishing disc out of the lagoon

2006-06-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

The course I play has a huge lagoon that comes into play on 2 holes. Hole number 4 being the problem hole of the two. Seems like we loose a disc every round on that hole. So today Ben and I(well Ben) tried to get some of our disc out. We figure there are probably around 1-15 disc in there right now. The water was murky and hard to see. Ben put on his chest waders and went out as far as he could. We only got one disc but I guess that is better than nothing. In a few weeks Ben in going to get some goggles, snorkel and some flippers and dive right in. We hope this works because if not I think the disc will stay in the lagoon forever!. The picture is of Ben fishing for disc.

Article to hit newsstand Sunday

2006-06-09T16:15:00.000-04:00

So the dude writing the news paper article e-mailed me today to let me know the article will hit newsstand on Sunday 6.11.06 check it out!

Interviewed for a news paper article about disc golf

2006-06-07T23:13:00.000-04:00

The sport of disc golf is not popular in my area by any means, but I am trying to change that. My local newspaper The Press Enterprise has a opinion section called 30 seconds. I sent in a little blurb complimenting the Bloomsburg town park on a great job with the course. I then wrote a letter to the president of the town park improvement association in regards to some changes to the course that would benefit everybody. I unfortunately never heard anything from this letter. I then sent in another blurb to 30 seconds about my intentions of starting a disc golf league. I received 2 e-mails and 1 phone call and thought to myself, great maybe I can get people interested in this sport.

A reporter for the press contacted me asking if I would be interested in doing an interview with him about disc golf. I said sure, what better way to get the word out than a little article in the paper? Well turns out it is going to be more like a half page or bigger article which should hit newsstand soon. I will post the article when it hits the press. I then spoke Paul, owner of a golf shop in Bloomsburg about carrying golf disc since the closest place to purchase disc was 45 minutes away. I am happy to announce that Paul now has more then 80 disc in stock.

back to the league. I sent e-mails to the people who e-mailed me and sent text messages to 2 other guys that contacted me about playing in the league informing them that leagues will start on 5.31.06 and everybody should meet at the first teebox. When the day came for our first league night I was excited, I wouldn't wait to see who showed up. Well I am sad to say that only myself and my great friend and playing partner Ben showed and he drove over 40 minutes to get here. To say the least I was disappointed but knew there was a pet and toy parade that day and thought hey maybe they went to that instead. Today was the 2nd week for leagues and was hoping I would have somebody show up but once again NOBODY SHOWS. So I am starting to think I have been wasting my time will all the effort I have put into trying to bring this sport to the area. I do have to admit that is was a bad day to play as the weather was not the greatest. I am going to go to the park every weds at 6:00 for 4 more weeks and we will see what happens. If nobody shows up I will put a lid on the project and just go and play rather than worry about who is showing up for leagues. I believe once the article hits newsstand I will have a lot more people contact me to play in leagues, I sure hope so anyways.

Where disc golf came from.

2006-06-07T22:50:00.000-04:00

An Abbreviated History of Disc Golf, by "Steady" Ed Headrick, the father of Disc Golf and of the modern day Frisbee.

The Discoblus
Disc golf in one form or another has been with us since the beginning of time. The early cavemen in their search for weapons to extend their ability to slay food probably found rocks before clubs. If they could kill something from a safe distance it would be much safer than a club or a sharp stick. Test of skill where a necessary pastime, closest to the target sounds familiar! Flat rocks had a different flight and flew further than round objects, skipping flat stones on the water, throwing shields, Eureka! Then came the discus that Discoblus threw which certainly resembled a Frisbee.

Scaling
In the early steel age sharpened rings where thrown with devastating effect. They flew with accuracy, caused serious injury and looked like the modern Aerobie. Then came the ancient word "scaling" (to throw a thin flat object), so that it's edge cuts through the air. Pie pans, film can lids and toy flying saucers where the recent predecessors of the modern Frisbee which was invented in 1964 by Ed Headrick, US Patent 3,359,678. He also formed the International Frisbee Association which had over 112,000 members by 1972.

Early targets
Since that time Disc Golf evolved from mans natural competitive nature. Early games used targets of trees, trash cans, light poles, chicken wire baskets, pipes, and coeds. The game was formalized when Headrick invented the first Disc Pole Hole, catching devise, consisting of 10 chains hanging in a parabolic shape over an upward opening basket, US Patent 4,039,189, issued 1975

The first course
The first formal Disc Golf Course was designed and installed that same year in Oak Grove Park, (Pasadena, California), by Headrick and was an instant success. He also founded the Professional Disc Golf Association in 1975, which he turned over to the players in 1983.
Currently, Ed has designed over 200 courses. There are almost 1000 Disc Golf Courses in the United States with around 3,000,000 regular players and over 20,000 professional members of the P.D.G.A. There were over 390 sanctioned tournaments this year* culminating in a Worlds Championship held in Charlotte, NC, with 350 participants and a purse of $64,000.00.(*as of 2002. PDGA).

The first catching device
The Disc Pole Hole has evolved consistently since the first Mach I. For the past two decades our products have been established and accepted worldwide as the industry standard for the sport of Disc Golf. All of our hardware is Hot-Dipped Galvanized from head to toe and guaranteed for 20 years against rust and corrosion. To protect your discs, all of our chains are Hot-Dipped Galvanized and hand polished. Accept no copies or imitations. Let he who is without stone, cast the first disc.

Retrospective
Tom Schlueter from DISC GOLF JOURNAL has asked me to write an editorial reflecting upon my 33rd anniversary with the Frisbee, with the sport I love, with my worldwide family and some thoughts about the future. I am both honored and humbled. Over the years literally thousands of people have asked me for an interview and they were freely given. With your indulgence, I'll take you back 33 years and allow you to look to the future from my prospective, through my eyes which by the way border on 20/15.
1964, President Kennedy had been assassinated, I had a good job as VP/GM of a water heater manufacturing company. Pioneer, a nice home, a very understanding and loving wife, three handsome strong boys and a beautiful daughter. I also had several patents and a great desire to develop new products and new marketing techniques. I brought new life to an industry that was still locked up with the dark ages. Sears had blazed the way for what we used to call DTU. Direct To You merchandising, also known as discount stores. My DTU's helped create stores like Builders Emporium, a giant in the LA market and in a way the forerunner to super stores like Builders Emporium all over the country.

Sears and water heaters
My plan was to tap the vast water heater replacement market. Pioneer already had 45% of the new construction business, but that was almost a non profit bidding for jobs. Sears had the cream with the profitable replacement market. Every water heater ever built was built to die in five years, 10 years, or even longer, but die they did, and still do. I built an organization of putty truck plumbers in southern California that could install a water heater within 24 hours and sold the service and my top-of-the-line product to every retail outlet in town and soon sold more product than Sears plus over a million dollars in profitable sales for my company the first year.

Wham-O
Flush with my accomplishments and restless for a new challenge, I took one of my inventions, a hydrofoil water ski to Wham-O, who was not just a toy company but sold sling shots, blow guns, cross bows and throwing knives. Sporting Goods, Right?Wham-O had a large warehouse full of Hula Hoop tubing they were stuck with and they were spending thousands of dollars per month trying to develop a product to use the tubing. It was like a millstone around their neck. I offered to quit my job and take over R & D (marketing) for them for a little more money than the water heater company paid. They said they couldn't afford that much, and I offered to work for free for three months, and if they wanted me after that time they would have to pay me what I required retroactively to the start (creative marketing?) They accepted and my first marketing/R & D project was to haul a warehouse full of useless tubing to a meltdown company.

The Frisbee
Now they were ready to listen to my ideas. In the first three months I developed and filed a mechanical patent (the first by the way) on my version of what a flying saucer ought to look like. During the same period, I formulated the marketing plan and made the first test mold out of an old disc mold that Wham-O had acquired. The greatness of my invention was simplicity, and I quickly learned that there was a hard core of people in their 20's perhaps 100 people in the world, A CULT that were playing with a child's toy, a flying saucer, and loving it. All I did was offer them a "Pro" model, white with a black flame painted ring, a gold foil label that said 108 grams, as if anyone cared, and the Olympic rings upside down. It looked like an early night football, with class, and the saucer cult loved it. Hence my claim to have invented the modern Frisbee.

IFA - International Frisbee Association
I also formed the International Frisbee Association during that time period and started shooting the first real television commercial called "What's a Frisbee."In my spare time, I took a blob of synthetic rubber developed by the tire industry to dissipate the heat generated by the flexing of a tire. This blob had an amazing coefficient of friction and restitution but was not practical for a tire in that it lost all of its friction when the surface was wet. It was difficult to mold, sometimes shattered upon impact, but magically bounced forever. In that first three months, the Modern Frisbee and the Super Ball were both born and became two of the top ten fads in the world. I got the job plus $10 for valuable consideration and licensed my patent on the Modern Frisbee to Wham-O as required by my contract.

The best $10 ever earned
Since that time the Frisbee, made under the teachings of my patent with the "Lines of Headrick", has sold over 200,000,000 a stack to New York and back to California 6.3 times (with end to end). Super Bowl was named after Super Ball and the rest is history, my history. The IFA had over 112,000 members who all shared one thing: the love, the companionship, and the camaraderie of a piece of plastic. I am wealthy beyond my dreams with a family of millions. It was the best $10 I ever earned. I was CEO and sales exceeded 18 million with earnings in the millions. It was with a heavy heart and empty wallet that I left Wham-O.

The first Masters Competition
I rented the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to shoot a television commercial (The first Masters competition), hung the bunting all over the field, bought referee shirts for the football coaches of La Canada High, invited all my Frisbee friends from Hollywood through Goldy Norton and Irv Landers and never shot a picture of the stands, which were of course empty! This event eventually became the Worlds Frisbee Championships held at the Rose Bowl for many years with a max. audience of 50,000 people (estimated by Pasadena Police Department) a marketing mans dream, but beneath it all, a desire to find a game that would become the future of Frisbee when the glamour wore out. I failed. Ultimate, 30 or 40 people playing catch with one Frisbee! Fun, but a ridiculous market. Guts, ten crazy people trying to kill each other again with one disc. Distance, Freestyle, MTA, TRC, nothing worked

A Revelation, ãFrisbee Golfä
Then an amazing revelation, all my buddies, all my staff at Wham-O, and most of my cult members and I were playing the game I was looking for. Frisbee Golf was right under my nose! Great marketing man right? A game where people would throw an expensive Frisbee into the ground every throw on purpose? Wow! What a market potential!It seems so easy, but what could possibly be better than walking through a beautiful park and throwing at trees, drinking fountains, open car windows and an occasional coed? Back to the drawing boards and 56 models later a contraption was born. Shazam! Chain! Like Moses and his cracked rules, chains without black leather and a whip. Chain, indestructible, flexible, a pleasant sound. I wish I had invented it, but chain was my answer. Hence the MACH I, II, III and twenty years of blood, sweat and tears.

On the Eve of the future
Millions of people are now having fun destroying discs playing our game Disc Golf. If you think it was fun recruiting the new members of the PDGA, you're right. I did it by sheer willpower, an understanding wife and secretary, and establishing a personal relationship to 10,000 members. In 1983 I felt that I had done enough for the sport to make it permanent, and I turned it over to the players to run. Great marketing man, Right? Wrong, I missed the point! ALL DISC GOLFERS WANT TO DO IS PLAY GOLF! NOT BE DIRECTORS OF A NEW WORLDWIDE ORGANIZATION. We still have that problem. The Board of Directors at our recent meeting would have much preferred to be playing Disc Golf than listening to this old man pontificate about the future and so would I. So perhaps now you are beginning to see the world through my eyes. We are on the eve of an exponential growth in our sport. As with Super Ball and Frisbee, we have to think big or we won't get big. We need to get some sophisticated management with business ideas and capabilities. They don't need to know our sport, only their job. Then we can all go play. Perhaps the world can find peace through the communication of a piece of plastic and chains, my dream. I wonder what Moses would have thought?

Why I started this blog.

2006-06-07T22:40:00.000-04:00

So my wife,daughter, and good friend Ben were walking at our local town park about 4 months ago and came across this strange looking basket with chains. We later found out that they were used for the sport of disc golf. So Ben and I got curious and we each purchased a disc golf starter set from innova. We started playing the next weekend and have been hooked ever since. I started this blog to share my adventures in the sport of disc golf.