It's all about spin

LURKING, THE BASKETS MOCKED ME:: This is “Pole Hole” No. 5—out of 27—at Waller Park. The trees aren’t always not in the way. Credit: PHOTO BY NICHOLAS WALTER

I have a confession to make: Though I’ve lived in Santa Maria for more than 10 years, until recently I’d never played disc golf at Waller Park. After finding out that the Professional Disc Golf Association will be hosting the Santa Maria Open at Waller and Preisker parks on July 18 and 19, I decided to see if I could be a contender.

Armed with an over inflated sense of self-confidence and a couple of discs—I got mine at Big 5, but you can pick them up used at Play it Again Sports for $5 to $10—I headed to Waller.

First impression? Total. Inadequacy. Here I was with just my driver and putter, watching guys shoulder bags full of 15 different discs. One player had a combination disc bag/chair/mp3 player thing.

“Fine,” I thought to myself. “I may not have all the toys, but I know how to throw a Frisbee!”

GIVE IT A WHIRL: Santa Maria offers disc golf classes that start July 18. Call the city or check out the Youth and Teen Sports section of the City Recreation Guide. Alternatively, everyone is invited to Waller Park the first Sunday of each month. Whether you’re a new player looking to learn the basics or an old hand looking for tips to improve your game, experienced players will be on hand to offer advice. For more information about the Professional Disc Golf Association, visit pdga.com.

Yeah, about that.

I let a few groups go before me at the first hole. I told them I was waiting for friends. (It sounded better than, “I’m not quite sure what the hell I’m doing here.”)

Watching the other golfers, I realized that throwing a disc golf driver is less like throwing a Frisbee with friends and more like trying to bring down a wildebeest on the run.

If you’ve never seen a disc golf driver up close, allow me to describe one: It’s not unlike something you’d see being flung in lieu of ninja stars in a Bruce Lee flick. It’s dense plastic with a sharp edge, and you wouldn’t want to try catching one of these suckers.

USE THE RIGHT TERMS: • Stable Driver: When you throw with a traditional backhanded toss and the disc goes straight. • Overstable: When the disc arcs from right to left—a necessary move thanks to the vicious placement of trees directly between the tee and basket on some holes. • Understable: When the disc arcs from left to right. • Pole Hole: The baskets you’re aiming for. The disc has to land in the basket—just touching doesn’t count.

Whereas I was ready for the tried-and-true backhanded Frisbee toss, just about everyone I watched did some variation of the … reverse backhand? Think of it more like throwing a boomerang.

Not wanting to look out of place, I stepped up to the tee, whipped my arm back, then snapped it forward. The disc flew off, though at not quite a right angle to the direction I was aiming.

Whoops.

After that first attempt, I stuck to the traditional Frisbee-esque backhanded tosses, and had a very enjoyable afternoon exploring Waller Park’s 27 holes. We’re not going to talk about my score at the end.

Wanting a more experienced perspective, I got in contact with the PDGA course promoter, Bob McNally.

“Disc golf is a fun and inexpensive sport,” he said. “There’s no tee times or course fees, and you can get started for around $30 in discs.”

McNally added that anyone interested in the upcoming PDGA open at Waller and Preisker parks can check out the info board at Waller Park, which also includes course maps and information about disc golf in general.

Staff Writer Nicholas Walter hopes one day to have his very own disc bag/chair/mp3 thingy. Send buying tips to nwalter
@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Jul 9-16, 2009.