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Saturday February 28, 2009
It is on rare occasion that I discover a new sport much less one that I’ve never heard of with a fervent and dedicated following the likes of Frisbee-golf. Mrs. Beertender and I loaded the boys in the van this afternoon and headed up to Franklin Roosevelt State Park in Yorktown Heights to check out Bill Newman’s Ice Bowl, an annual tournament dedicated to the faithful of this strange hybrid competition.
We arrived just after lunch and found a large crowd of folks, each carrying their own sport bags full of Frisbee gear and in the midst of being dispatched to their respective holes by Mr. Bill. There was a nice cache’ of beer from Stone, Southampton and Captain Lawrence, somewhat depleted, so my first impression was that I would like this game, a lot. I hooked the missus up with some ice cream and myself with a bottle of Stone Ruination and then wandered out to embed myself with the first foursome I could find. “The game is played just like ball golf, but with Frisbees” Bill says, and watching the first crew t-off I can see how the game is just like “ball golf”, just like he says, never realizing it was called “ball golf” and not just golf.
The first hole that I came upon (which I think was actually the second hole) was about a three hundred foot par 3. There was a mat on the ground from which the players launched their first shot and I watched as they carefully chose their Frisbees, wiped them down and then tested the wind with some dry leaves that they picked up from the ground. These guys were serious and the first gentlemen to go reprimanded me for standing where he could see me as he readied his shot. After I move he proceeded to slice that shot right into a tree that was about 100 feet away, glancing back at me in disgust. Luckily, there was another group off in the distant woods, so I thanked the first group for their patience and beat feet towards the second with my newly discovered Frisbee-golf etiquette in tow.
The game is played just like the real thing, with spot markers, furthest away shoots first etc., but with a metal cage that catches the Frisbee instead of a hole. The object is to get the Frisbee into the cage with the least amount of tosses and the lowest score overall wins the tourney. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to stick around to see who won because it was a bit blustery, the boys were restless and my lady was freezing her ass off, so we headed out.
I can see that Frisbee-golf would be a whole lot of fun and I’ll be looking forward to the summer circuit, the Sun Bowl maybe. Franklin Roosevelt State Park is beautiful and has a dedicated Frisbee-golf course year round.
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