Chains, Baskets, and Golf?

         Tommy burst through his bedroom door and did a flying leap onto the bed.

         "They're here, Ben!" he exclaimed while tearing open a package.

         "What are 'they'?" Ben asked, curiously watching Tommy. He thought his buddy had gone completely mad.

         "My new discs. I ordered a putter and a driver," Tommy said. "They're for playing disc golf."

         Ben laughed. “How do you play golf with Frisbees?”

         Tommy showed him one of the discs. “See, it’s much heavier than a regular Frisbee. If you throw it really hard you can get some good distance. Let’s go play a round.”

         On the way to the park, Tommy explained the basic idea of the game. “You use the same rules for regular golf, only you’re throwing discs instead of hitting a ball. Those baskets are the ‘holes’,” he said, pointing out one to Ben.

         “The object is to get your discs into the baskets in as few throws as possible. See those chains hanging down on the tops of the baskets? They’re sort of like nets to catch the disc and drop it into the baskets.

         "There are usually eighteen holes on a course,” Tommy said as they got to the first hole. “Make sure you don’t distract others while they are throwing.”

         The boys watched as two older boys teed off. Ben studied the way they took several steps before hurling their discs.

         They flipped a disc, printed side being heads, to see who would go first. After that, whoever scored lower on the previous hole would go first.

         “It takes some practice to get your foot in the right place to get the most distance out of your throw,” said Tommy.

         Ben watched with growing interest as Tommy stepped up to the concrete tee. Tommy gripped the disc with his pointer finger around the edge of the disc, his thumb on top, and his other three fingers curled underneath. Tommy then wrapped his arm around the disc. After taking a few steps and stopping just short of the tee line, he launched it at an angle with all of his might. After releasing his disc, he stepped across the line onto the dirt. The disc curved around a tree and landed on the bank of a pond.

         “Wow!” exclaimed Ben. “It really went far. What does it mean when it lands in the pond?"

         “If it lands in the water, then you take one of these marker discs and put it at the spot where it went in and you have to take a penalty stroke. Plus, they sink and you lose your disc. If it lands on the edge, like mine did, then it’s in bounds.”

         Ben instantly liked this game. Now it was his turn. He walked up to the tee, giving himself some room to take steps the way that Tommy and the other boys had. His palms were sweaty and he was suddenly aware of the hot afternoon sun. He closed his eyes to concentrate and breathed deeply. When he opened them, he took the steps up to the line and threw the disc with all his energy. He watched the direction of the disc and exclaimed, “Oh, no!” He hadn’t let go in time, and the disc landed in the bushes.

         “Well, that’s not a bad first try,” said Tommy. He went on to explain another rule. “If the disc lands in a tree and is less than two meters from the ground, start from that spot on the ground. If it’s higher, it will cost you a penalty stroke.”

         They started the next throw from where the disc had previously landed. Ben paid close attention to Tommy’s technique and form. As a result, his next throw was more successful. He managed to lob it about fifteen meters. That particular hole was supposed to take four throws (called a Par four.) It took him seven throws to make it, but Ben was thrilled to have learned a new game.

         After the eighteenth hole, the boys were tired but glad they had gotten out of the house. Ben had been saving his allowance for two months, and now he knew exactly what he would buy with it.

         He asked Tommy, “Where do you get your discs?”

         "Some sports shops carry them, but mostly I order them online. Just Google 'disc golf,' and you can pull up all kinds of information about the game and how to request supplies. Of course, you have to get your parents to use their credit card to buy them,” Tommy responded.

         Ben said goodbye, and thanked Tommy for the awesome day. Smiling, he walked home with a brand new hobby.