By Michael Williams.
I was first introduced to disc golf by my older brother. It started out simple enough. We had a traditional “boys weekend” planned at our friend’s trailer. They asked if I wanted to join them for a round before we hit camp. I didn’t even know this was a thing, but it didn’t really matter what they had asked me to do – a chance to spend some extra hours with my big brother? I was in.
To my genuine surprise, I fell instantly in love with the game! As a guy pushing 50 with a career and two teenage children, traditional golf and the other organised sports I used to play no longer seemed justifiable for the chunk of time they take up in your life. I took up distance running as a means to stay active, and fill that competitive side of me. It allowed me to be on my own schedule so it would not interfere with family life, and maybe, just maybe the kids would want to run with me also so we could have that special bonding time.
Turns out running for hours on end is just not for everyone! They didn’t seem to get the same enjoyment out of it as I did. But this disc golf thing. Heck we all grew up playing Frisbee. Maybe this could be the one that brings us all together.
The discs are relatively inexpensive, most places you play are in public spaces and free, and it does not take up much of your day to go throw a quick nine. A little research found that my daughters high school had a simple nine hole course winding around the athletic fields and the school. So we packed up the few discs that I had acquired on a Sunday morning and set out to introduce disc golf to my daughter and her older brother. It worked!
Now most Sundays through the summer you can find the three of us taking some time to throw nine or eighteen. And it’s not me dragging them kicking and screaming, they are asking me if we can go play! We set up a net in the basement so we can continue to improve during the winter months.
They really just enjoy it, but each have different motivations. My daughter likes to go out to just throw the disc, improving with each outing, but not keeping score…..oh and most importantly, to chirp at her older brother on any missed shot! My son, who took to the sport naturally, likes to be competitive and keep score, believing that someday he may actually beat me (it’s close and I know that day is coming, but that’s where his little sister’s chirping comes in handy).
Whatever the motivations, we are out there together as a family, no electronics distracting us, just fresh air and exercise. I will always be grateful that we found this simple, yet challenging fun game that allows me to create such wonderful memories with my children.
– Michael Williams is an original Flyboy Canada Team Member who is devoted to Disc Golf development in Canada with a membership status of Platinum.