Disc golfers are a weird bunch, man …
For starters, they say “ball golf” on the reg. They also destroy frisbees on purpose. And why? It makes ‘em fly better – duh. Also, no matter how stupid you and I know they are, “disc chargers” exist – this is grounds enough for a mass psychiatric evaluation of our tight-knit community.
Here’s another that’s always been super strange to me:
Disc golfers often “retire” ace or throw-in discs.
I’ve been in the game for a good while, but to this day, I still don’t get it …
In a roundabout way, to retire a disc is to admit that the disc flies too well – that it’s too good at its job. There’s an old adage: “If ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” For the inexplicably retired disc, it’s not broken – far from it, in fact. Yet, its “reward” for immaculate performance?
“Disc purgatory” in a cold storage bin. Or, on a random wall as your home’s newest eyesore.
And with a bunch of strangers’ names on it you’ll soon forget, if that weren’t bad enough …
If I had to guess the reason for this, I’d chalk it up to perceived emotional value, as looney as that sounds. It’s not your grandmother’s locket. It’s not your father’s prized stamp collection, either. Instead, it’s a solid piece of plastic you miraculously made do the thing it’s intended to do …
Heck, I’ll spot you that first ace, “field ace” or timely throw-in – tuck it away for good.
But after that?
Act like you’ve been there before – keep working the most buttery of your discs.
Remember this shot?
What about this one?
Neither’s an ace, but these are easily the two biggest throws in the history of disc golf. So big, your never-seen-a-disc friends have at least heard of them – both were on “SportsCenter.”
And wouldn’t you know it, following each shot, both Philo Brathwaite and James Conrad continued to bag the discs that put their names at the forefront of the sporting world.
At auction, both discs would fetch a pretty penny. And if never sold, The Disc Golf Hall of Fame would certainly be interested in them. Yet, more important than all of that to two cash-strapped disc golfers are the discs that took them months and years to beat-in just right …
They work; their flights are well worth the risk of being lost.
Here’s a novel idea – you’d be wise to do the same.
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Dumb
Thanks!
I think …