Disc golf is a good walk through the woods that is anything but spoiled

By Tim Goodwin - Aug 12, 2014 | 0 comments

Discs, which are a fairly important part of disc golf. You can get everything you need in the Top O’ The Hill pro shop.

Sweet logo, y’all.

Marty Vaughn, owner of Top O’ The Hill, gives Tim some instructions on a proper flick shot. So did the instructions take? Well, if not injuring oneself or any nearby wildlife counts as a yes, then yes!

Tim flings a putt toward the basket on one of the first holes at Top O’ The Hill. If you listen closely, you can almost hear it clanging into the chains (it didn’t, though).

So I’m standing in the middle of the woods, unsure of what to do next.

No, I’m not lost, thankfully, or being followed by a bear cub who thinks of me either as a father figure or a tasty snack, but rather faced with a difficult shot on the second hole at Top O’ the Hill Disc Golf in Canterbury.

There are two trees in front of me, with just a little window to send the small disc flying through. If I want to go toward the chain linked basket, it’s my only option. Plus all the other trees in just about every other direction make a semi-safe shot almost as difficult. I guess that’s what happens when the disc lands in a spot it’s not supposed to.

But with a perfectly placed toss I split the trees and land safely back in the fairway. The next shot isn’t nearly as nice. But that’s just the life of a disc golfer, especially one who is on the course for the first time and really has no idea what to do.

“YouTube is a good place to get an idea of what’s going on with disc golf,” said course owner Marty Vaughn.

Due to our hectic schedule that includes writing stories, taking pictures, answering fan mail and planning our sitcom spin-off, Keith and I only played the first four holes and then the 18th. Keith had actually played the course before, so this wasn’t his first rodeo, but we both had the added bonus of being joined by Vaughn. We learned about things like grip lock – when you hold on to the disc too long and it basically goes sideways – and treejection, when a tree delivers a not-so-great ricochet on one of your throws. And yes, I learned about both because they happened to me.

“This course is very technical. It’s rated No. 1 in the state,” Vaughn said. “You really have to throw well here.”

There’s also something called tree love, which is when you get a good bounce, but I’m still waiting to see that in action. Maybe next time.

“We pride ourselves on teaching people how to play,” Vaughn said before our abbreviated round. “I give tips. I’ll show you whatever you’re willing to listen to me tell you about.”

Vaughn once shot a 55, good enough for seven under par, but that’s not even the course record – which stands at 49.

Vaughn carries a backpack around the course with just about any disc you can imagine, actually around 20 to be semi-exact. (Note: I had no idea there were so many discs. Did you know they make drivers and putters in disc form?)

But before we took to the course, Vaughn said a newcomer to the sport only needs two – a midrange and a putter. Drivers, like in traditional golf, can be quite tricky. So we took his advice and used just the two discs, and was it ever a lot easier to get around the course without carrying a bag of clubs.

“A putter is the key to the game,” Vaughn said. “You can drive up there in one shot, but if you have to take three putts, that’s not helping you.”

We didn’t keep score, although I was putting for birdie on hole one and finished with a par. Unfortunately, the others didn’t turn out that well. But from what I could gather, disc golf is just supposed to be a good time for an affordable price. It’s only $5 for a round and $8 to play as much as you want in a given day. Season passes are also available.

It’s one of those games you have to try to appreciate. And there’s very little cost involved. Vaughn has a table of loaner discs to use if you want to give it a try before dropping anywhere from $8 to $30 on a disc. But if you are looking for some new flashy colored circles to throw around, there’s a fully-stocked pro shop that opened in the spring.

“I wanted a one-stop shop,” Vaughn said. “To make sure people got discs for a good deal.”

And believe it or not, Top O’ the Hill is open year round, no matter how much snow we get.

So get out there and give it a toss. Like me, you soon might be thinking about picking up your own set of discs.