Disc Golf Friends

Its hard to say. Do we take our non-disc golfing friends out for a leisurely (yet frustrating) loop or do we try to contact better players for which we are simply acquaintances? On one hand, you have to be loyal to your closest peeps. An example: One day, at Creve Coeur park in St. Louis I decided to take 4-5 of my closest non-disc golfing friends to the extremely long (about 10,000 feet), yet very flat, park that sits adjacent to one of the largest lakes in the area. Needless to say, on this spring day, it was windy--about 25 mph gusts. Despite the conditions and my mates, I threw well...about -2 playing all the holes as par 3's (even though about 5 holes were long par 4's). However, the round took forever; my friends got frustrated with the wind and quit after 9, and I was discouraged. But the camaraderie made up for my disappointment.

On the filpside. On the other side of the burbs in STL, the other long but not so flat course at Sioux Passage park, I drove out by myself. It was easily a 40 minute drive from where I was living. Pulling up to #1, I ran into some acquaintances I had played a few rounds with here and there in the area--they were a lot better than me--and I had a tremendous round. They taught me things nobody had ever mentioned before--that my arm speed was where I was getting my distance from, but that my footwork and body position was holding me back. That round and advise has stuck with me since that summer day in 2001.

Despite the digression, my point is this: play with both. It is difficult to play with friends who will drag down your game--yet it is important to introduce the game to them--they may become better than you in time. On the other hand, get out and play with complete strangers; don't hesitate to call the guys who run your local leauge and ask for a round; be persistant. Your game will be better for it.

Disc golf is a social game. It involves chatting, laughing, and sighing as a group. Enjoy it with everybody.

[Steve Belliveau]

I learned golf from Climo. He said its our responsibility to share what we,ve learned with others,so I golf with any who ask. I practice in a ball field,nice and quiet.

[Duh]

Good advice!
I've been playing for 8+ years now. My cousins, who only play casually, introduced me to the game. I was so into it, that I started going to the course by myself to practice. One night, I ended up there at the same time as the league players; they recruited me & my game improved immensely from playing with them. Then I rented a house by one of our courses, so I was always out there, playing with different groups, meeting tons of golfers- it's just too much fun! Once, my family took a trip to North Carolina. My parents thought I was nuts for wanting to take my discs, but I insisted. My dad dropped me off at the nearest disc golf course one day; I putted until some people showed up. They had no problem with me jumping in with them. It was awesome!