Any time the human body is required to make unnatural movements, awkwardness is on the table. Spend enough time in the sport, and you’ll find the following: Disc golf is no different.
Ugly form, horrific huckfaces and even the occasional “barking spider” during an all-out backhand bomb are a few of my personal favorites. The most awkward of ‘em all, though?
That one’s easy …
Fans clapping when they shouldn’t.
Or more painful, half-heartedly clapping out of a sense of guilt, because they’re struggling to get an accurate read of the situation and what social mores require of them. Perhaps there are worse, more face-reddening happenings out on the disc golf course, but this one occurs on the regular.
Confused?
Allow me to explain.
This is an in-person thing. I’m referring to fans at Pro Tour events. This can happen after any throw during a round, but it’s most awkward on the feature or lead card’s first hole. The gallery’s big. Excitement levels are high. Fans can’t wait to watch 18 holes of world-class disc golf.
In a cringe-worthy world, here’s how it plays out:
- Four to a card, the first guy throws a respectable shot. Golf claps all around.
- The second guy pipes one straight down the fairway. He gets full-blown applause.
- The third guy does the same, but with more distance. Queue the hooting and hollering.
The fourth guy, though?
First available.
Worked into a frenzy, nobody really knows how to respond …
The result?
Silence.
Eventually, a few charity claps emerge – that’s about as good as anybody can muster.
Here’s the real-life version of the above during the semi-final round of the 2022 Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship in Charlotte with Matthew Orum playing the unfortunate role of the guy left with egg on his face. Admittedly, Joel Freeman gets lucky off the tee. Still, he’s met with fanfare.
Then, not only does Matty-O line up a first-throw shank-job, but adding insult to injury, his disc ricochets off a tree and smacks a spectator in the shoulder. Per the aforementioned formula, there’s a painful silence followed by a hush of scattered claps from nearby do-gooders.
Then, randomly, some dude yells:
“Roll Tide!”
This man’s wit knows no bounds.
See (and hear) for yourself:
This is awkward for two reasons.
First, nobody wants to be a jerk, but the shot was trash – it’d be wrong to celebrate it. Fans can’t be expected to applaud bad shots, no matter how much of a tool they might look like to others.
Second, comprised largely of poor to mediocre disc golfers, the gallery’s unexpectedly tasked with judging the quality of a shot. Some are obviously awesome; others are obviously awful.
But where IS the line, exactly?
Tough call.
And an awkward one, at that.
No, this isn’t that big of a deal, as if anything in disc golf is. And in the giant scheme of uber-embarrassing moments, this one’s not all that bad, either. If you haven’t noticed this in the past, though, from here on out, watch for it. Without fail, every time, it’ll make your skin crawl.
Jeepers creepers.
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