Night Rounds – Reviews on glow sticks, LED Lights, and Glow plastic
With the impending time change, night golf will be our only option if you work traditional hours. I have used mini glow sticks, flashing led lights, and glow discs as my test subjects for when day light savings goes into effect. The mini glow sticks work fairly well if disc is almost clear. Any slight tinting of the plastic will drastically reduce the visibility of the low powered mini glow sticks. I’ll give it a 2 on a scale of 5.
The flashing LED lights have been my staple for the past year. They are roughly $2.50 ea and give roughly 12 hours of use. These are the best option of the 3 test subjects. They are the heaviest of the addon options but they work well in all lighting scenarios (ie low sunlight, dusk, and completely dark). The newly redesign 2 alternating color lights that emit a combination of Blue/Red, Blue/Green, Red/Green colors for very easy identification from a far. Dynamic Discs seem to be the main supplier of this particular light setup. I barely notice the LED taped to my discs, but I don’t try any crazy hyzer flip shots at night, much. I highly recommend these particular models and give them an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5. I’ve dinged the 5.0 rating for the weight weenies out there. =)
Lastly I have tested the Innova CFR glow discs, Innova Pro Glow, and the GatewaySuper Glow plastics. one of the problems with glow plastic is that not all the names are available in glow. Innova probably has the largest selection of glow plastic but its still limited compared with their full product offering. The less translucent discs seem to hold a glow longer than the more translucent. That being said the Innova Pro and Gateway Super Glow outlasted the Innova CFR’s. All glow plastic seems best suited for near zero visibility. Any close street lamps will drastically reduce your night vision and the perceived glow from the discs. LED Blacklight flashlights tend to be the best option for charging this plastics in between rounds. I picked one up off ebay for around $13 shipped. My rating for the glow plastics is 3.5 out of 5 mainly due to the limited disc option in glow plastic and the fact most of my dg gets played around dusk and street lamps. All the above plastics are perfectly suited normal daytime use, as the Innova CFR plastic has excellent durability. Hope this helps someone!
Below is picture of a fresh charge on the 3 plastics in a completely dark room. They are visible for 10-15 minutes in a zero light area.
Jeremiah
Grip-and-Rip.com
DoglegDiscGolf.com Featured on Go Ham Disc Golf
Yep, exciting! This morning our blog was featured on Go Ham Disc Golf’s weekly YouTube video segment called “This Week in Disc Golf News”. Big John from Go Ham Disc Golf features daily YouTube disc golf reviews, tips and giveaways. I don’t want to spoil too much of his video because I want you to check it out below!
Watch the whole thing through, but Dogleg is featured at about the 2:55 mark. The Dogleg post that Big John is referring to is the one written by our own Dogleg Destin on “The Importance of a Fairway Driver“.
Congrats to Destin and thanks again to Go Ham Disc Golf for choosing one of our articles to be a part of your segment. Be sure to follow Big John on Twitter @GoHamDiscGolf and his YouTube channel at Go Ham Disc Golf!
-jt
The Importance of a Fairway Driver
After reading J.T.’s review of Legacy Park, I thought I would take the trip to Kennesaw and check out the lil’ 9-holer. The course is in a beautiful community that is extremely well maintained, but as you may have already read in previous posts, the course is private to residents and/or their guests.
I LOVED the little course, and it may be my number one favorite course in Georgia so far. BUT… I feel the reason may have been the day I chose to play Legacy. 68 degrees, perfect breeze, leaves falling and squirrels everywhere gathering for winter. It was simply beautiful disc golf or no disc golf.
The best thing about Legacy may be it’s downfall. It is extremely accessible to beginners and is certainly the course that hooks a newbie into the sport, but serious disc golfers may be bored with it’s mainly ace-able holes and lack of diversity on the land.
What this course is PERFECT for is working on your straight game, and I can’t stress enough the importance of a fairway driver. While not as fast as a distance driver, it will go where you put it without a lot of fade.
I throw the Innova TL, and exclusively threw it playing Legacy. I don’t know if I was just having a good day on the course, or the TL is truly amazing. I’m not a hard thrower, so it tends to go just as far as my distance drivers anyway, but it’s placement is reliable.
A lot of players think that throwing a distance driver means getting distance, but what may happen is they under power the disc and it doesn’t go any farther than a mid range would, and the disc dives to the ground where you didn’t want it. I’ve been there.
What I love about a fairway driver is not only how they fly, but how they feel. When I toss the TL, The grip is much more comfortable than a sharp distance driver, and it rips out of my hands with grace.
After having a wonderful day with the TL, I know what my go-to disc is now. The next time you need a straight beautiful drive, reach for your favorite fairway driver.
—
Here are a few pics from beautiful Legacy Park:
Personal Course Record at Legacy
This morning I got a chance to hit the course early with a few friends that were in town. Since time was a factor, we decided upon Legacy Park DGC in Kennesaw (Check out my full review of this course here).
Legacy only has 9 holes so we ended up playing it twice. This a fairly short course with tight fairways that require low straight shots. I’ve maybe played this course 5 or 6 times previously but had never finished under par.
Duke on #9 Basket
The weather’s in the mid 60s, cool breeze blowing and beautiful leaves falling all around. I love playing DG in the Fall. That already makes for a great day.
My first round I couldn’t keep out of the trees and ended up finishing +4…on a 9 hole course, yea I know. As short a course as it is, it took the three of us maybe 45 min to play. With time to spare, we continued for a second round.
This round I was ON it. Several great drives starting out left me in good positions for birdie attempts. On Hole #5, my drive left me about ~50-60 ft out. I tossed my trusty Leopard high and to the left to play its hyzer. The disc ricocheted off a tree (about 15 ft from the basket) down and into the chains, score! I went on and continued a par streak after that bird. Had a great straight drive on Hole #9 that left a 15-footer for birdie. Sunk it. -3! Not only did I beat my course record, but I just crushed my previous round’s score by 7. It’s a good day in Georgia.
-JT
Pocket Putt: Disc Golf App Review
Welcome to another disc golf app review here at @DoglegDiscGolf. This is the second disc golf game app review this week. If you happened to miss the first review this week on iDisc Golf Pro, you can check it out here.
Tonight, we take a look at Pocket Putt disc golf putting game app by DiscGolf2Go.com. Pocket Putt is a laid-back, flick style of disc golf with photorealistic background graphics. It is available in the iTunes store for iPhone, iPad, iPod for $1.99 (Available for Android as well).
Starting Your Round:
Soon as this app loaded, I was little put off by the music. I thought I had downloaded a bowling game instead. Little jazzy maybe? I don’t know, I felt like I was in a lounge or a bowling alley. Anyway, I got a retro vibe from the start, even with their font choice for logo. I will get into graphics here shortly. Ok, let’s start.
From the home screen you have the option to either “Practice” or “Trial”. Let’s begin with Practice. I need to figure out how this game even plays, right? The next screen that advances is my course selection. There are four course selections are The Hills, The Grove, Open Field and The Pond. Ah there’s the button on how to play.
“The Hills” is first on the list, let’s go with that.
Gameplay:
At first glance, I was impressed with the background scenery. Extremely photorealistic, but surprised with what looked like a weird, cutout image of a basket sitting in front. After a couple of flicks, I realized that this game reminded me yet of another game by how you flick (throw) the object and the flight pattern that it took…the classic, Paper Toss. Yes, you throw the disc by sliding your finger up the screen. The further up the screen you go, the harder/further your disc goes. Pretty simple, huh? Way too easy, let me try another.
Next course I tried was the Grove; it says “Medium”. Ah ok, now the basket is maybe 3-4x the distance from me than it was on The Hills basket. After maybe 15 throws later, I finally sink one. But once you find that certain “sweet spot” on your screen of where to release your finger..you’re basically hitting chains everytime. Ok now that I’ve found the spot, too easy. I’m bored. Give me some difficulty! Next…
Let’s back back out and check out this “Trial” mode.
“Open Field” it is. Whoa, the basket’s moved back even further AND NOW wind? Seriously? That’s quite a leap from the “Medium”. Whatever, let’s do this. I also now see three discs that appear in that upper right corner. No instruction anywhere that tells me what that means. I’m guessing I get three misses. I shall throw and find out. First throw…holy crap that wind is strong. That’s more like hurricane wind if I’ve ever seen it. My disc went maybe 50-ft and the wind carried it straight off the side of the screen faster than I could realize what had just happened. Lost one of the discs in the corner, great. Disc down.
The wind not only changes for each shot, but also varies speed while throwing. Frustrating. My next—and last—2 throws were horrendous and my round was immediately over. More Frustrated. I go back in and give it another shot…about 10 more rounds worth; nothing. Now it’s just really pissing me off that the difficulty level changes THAT much from that previous level to this. I don’t want to say it’s impossible to hit one with varying high wind speeds from that far a distance, but it’s sure damn close.
I play a variety of games on my iPhone, so I consider myself to be somewhat well-rounded with different types of gameplay. But the more I played this course, the more frustrated I became. I got fed up with Trial mode and went back to Practice on this course. I felt like the more I threw, the worse I got. I was not making any progress in getting closer or figuring out any type of “sweet spot” to throw at and ring a few. I threw almost 50 times before I actually sank one… How much fun is that? Would you stick it out that long or would you give up? That’s my thought..
To me, Paper Toss is way more entertaining compared to this app. Paper Toss is fun because even the furthest paper basket is still make-able with higher wind speeds with some practice. I don’t know how you’re supposed to score high on this “Open Field” course with winds that strong. I found it near impossible to aim far enough to either side of the vertical screen to play the strong left/right wind directions. I would have liked to see slightly less wind on a closer placed basket (like on The Hills, maybe The Pond).
Graphics:
I give props for the photorealistic, beautiful scenery in the photos. Coming from a graphic designer, I appreciate the level of detail and photography that went into those background. However, I think it falls short on the “clipart”-looking basket with the cheesy black stroke outline around it. What’s up with that? It gives the whole thing this Hanna-Barbera cartoon look with the illustrated basket on top of a 3D realistic background. If they’re going for cartoon, have the whole game in that cartoon look and feel. But don’t mix 2D cartoon foreground elements with 3D backgrounds. It’s a clash of dimensional and spatial realities.
Sounds:
Besides the annoying lounge music on the home screen, I actually really enjoyed the nature sounds and the rattling of the chains when you sink one. I didn’t like hearing the “dink” of metal whenever I hit the side of the basket, but I appreciated the sound effect. Another annoying sound is that that you hear when you miss your third shot in Trial mode. It’s like some kind of horn sound that reminded me of an old arcade game.
Final Thoughts:
When I think disc golf, I think outdoors. Nature’s beauty. The elements. Realism. A rapidly-growing sport that’s evolving with today’s culture. Anything but corny sound effects on menu screens. I’ve noticed this often on a lot on sport games. I just don’t get it. You can’t call this an “arcade” game when you have that much realism and detail in the graphics. I may just be rambling, but if I have to leave you with something…I say, save your $1.99.
TIP: On the longer holes, I’ve found that a good rule of thumb on determining how much speed/distance to put on a throw. If you flick your finger upwards across the screen, stop it (release) about where the wind indicator is. I’ve rung a good bit more when stopping at that height on my screen. =)
-jt
Dogleg Loves Flying Dog
What dog doesn’t like another dog? Hey, we’re dog people.
Another side trip we made on our Denver Mancation this past Labor Day, was a trip to the Flying Dog Denver Tap Room. It was located down a site street a good ways from our hotel. I remember there being construction down that street which eclipsed the view of their signage out front. One of the bartenders must have seen us walk past the main street and came out to holler at us if we were looking for Flying Dog. How did he know? We were very welcomed from the get-go.
The Flying Dog Tap Room environment was very friendly, even dog friendly. It’s a small hole-in-the-wall type of venue, but pretty unique and a chill, laid-back vibe. The bartenders gave us the first round on the house for being out-of-staters, heck yea! They were very thorough in describing their list of available beers on tap and bottle selection.
I’ve always like Flying Dog beer and especially their weird, twisted artwork by famed artist/illustrator Ralph Steadman. You might have heard that name as he’s best known as the illustrator of the works of Hunter S. Thompson. Being an artist and illustrator myself, I can really appreciate the uniqueness and detail he put into all of these label designs. I’ve collected a good bit of these Flying Dog bottles over the years. Here’s a the label for the Gonzo Imperial Porter–that was originally released in Hunter S. Thompson’s honor (wikipedia). It was a great, full-bodied heavy porter that we sampled while we were there.
Then we noticed what looked to be a disc hanging on the wall next to the bar. A little weird I thought at first, so I walked up to catch a better glimpse. It was indeed a disc, an Innova Star Destroyer signed by Avery Jenkins. Whaaaat, awesome!
Just another good reason to stop by the Flying Dog Tap Room next time you’re in the downtown Denver area!
-jt
Mancation 2012: Denver Disc Golf (Part I)
Whew, what a trip!
I’ll start with that. Months in the planning and almost as long to finally get a review up on the blog. This past Labor Day, several of the Dogleg crew flew out to Denver for a guy’s weekend full of local brew tours, good eats, and of course, disc golf.
There is soo much to cover from our trip that it’d take me hours to write up. So I’m breaking this trip review down into two parts to spare you all the details. I’ll sum it up the best I can and try to focus on mostly the disc golf part of it. At the end I will also provide a link to our Dogleg Flickr account so you can see most all of the pics we took from our trip (Special thanks to Jason for submitting his pics and for being the only other one to take a camera).
We had been talking this trip up forever it seemed, but just couldn’t get it all worked out on finding that perfect weekend to go that all of us could make. It’s always nice to get away from your local routine courses, terrain and weather and branch out to something new. Something far away that has very different terrain and weather conditions. Here at Dogleg, all of us share a strong passion for disc golf and (the majority of us) good beer. Where else has an excellent selection of both? Denver, Colorado. Home to several big beer names as well as loads of microbreweries. Not to mention all the disc golf courses!
With so many courses to choose from and so little time, I had to turn to our Twitter friends for Colorado disc golf recommendations. North Colorado Disc Golf (@NoCoDG) shot us back some of their favs which included Johnny Roberts, Badlands and Birds Nest. They also told us we should really go higher up in the mountains and play Beaver Ranch. One minor problem, we lacked a car. The closest course to our downtown hotel was roughly 6 mi away. Too far to walk and about a 45 min bus ride…exactly. We walked most places or either took the bus. Either one, it took forever to get longer distances.
Johnny Roberts DGC (Arvada, CO):
Saturday, we decided upon Johnny Roberts DGC located in Arvada to be our first course of the trip. We checked into renting a car for the day, but everywhere around was rented out. So we took to the ol’ trusty local metro transportation of the bus route. After waiting nearly 20 min for the bus to come to our stop, we were now on a 6 mi journey to Arvada. 45 minutes later, we were to our stop in Arvada.. Don’t get me started on local transportation.
Anyway, after walking a few blocks we come up on the park. Doesn’t look like the best part of town, but heard that we just had to play this course for the history of Colorado disc golf. A couple of people calling it the “granddaddy” of Colorado’s courses. You could tell. The park was crowded and the signage wasn’t real clear of where the start of the course was from walking up to it. Hole #1 you throw across an open field, which seemed a bit dangerous for other people and young ones playing around and running through it. There were a few holes where you threw across the sidewalk, which also seemed a bit dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists. One of my favorites parts of the course early on was the creek that runs through the park. This intertwining–very wide, yet very shallow–creek became a great obstacle through half of the course’s fairways. Several holes had the pin placement fairly close to the edge of the water. I thought this was pretty clever and as it required much more accuracy in laying up on your throws.
Hole #2 Basket next to Ralston Creek
In general, this was a very tight course. It had several very narrow fairways off the tee pad with lots of trees and brush lining the sides. On the holes that had open fairways, you had to deal with pedestrians and young bicyclists crossing by as you were about to launch. I could see where people could get hit often. They had nice, concrete tee pads and decent signs on each hole. The sign’s graphics were a bit weathered, but were designed very well. Each tee pad sign had an actual photo of the fairway, prominent hole number, distance to each pin location, and an overhead graphic of the fairway. Awesome! But, it was a little difficult–once you got to the basket–to figure out where the next hole began.
[Review continued after the jump.]
Joe on Hole #3 Tee Pad
Tim on Hole #6 Tee Pad
Hole #6 was a longer hole and liked to suck discs into the creek off to it’s left. Not only did they roll into the creek, it left an almost impossible clear shot out through the thick brush. Here’s Joe tossing up towards #6’s basket.
Joe for Par on #6
Thanks to the tip from a few fellow locals, that there is no longer a Hole #8. Apparently Hole #8 line of throw used to cross back over Hole #7..all out disc war, right? Throwing towards one another and high speeds of spinning plastic. Hole #7 was neat too as you threw over the bridge down the creek line to a basket way off to the left alongside the sidewalk. Hole #9 was an Ace-able hole for sure. You tee off a slightly elevated pad and toss ~150 ft down to a lower pin placement on the edge of the creek. This is when the sandstorm hit. I mean hit hard! This is some of the hardest wind I have ever played in. The sky got dark and the wind blew furiously. Much of the course alongside the creek is dirt–which was where we were. I have never seen wind pick up dirt and blow it like that. It was ridiculous and you could hardly keep your eyes open but for a few seconds. Dirt, debris and leaves were flying everywhere. The wind storm lasted a good 15 or 20 min as we scurried as fast as we could through the next several holes. The wind in general made it very difficult to get in a good throw. Lots of our throws were picked up by wind changes and taken way off course. Bogeys and Doubles to follow.
Jason looking for his disc in a tree on #18.
The wind stopped, but the holes kept getting harder. More lines along the creek, more mandos, and tighter tee shots. Back 9 I fell apart and finished +7. All in all, I’d like to give this course at least another shot. Too crowded for me, but loved the challenging and technical game that it brings out of one. Not much for the scenery, I was expecting to be surrounded by more firs, pines and aspens..and hilly, mountainous terrain. I wasn’t going to stop at this course to my “Colorado Course”. I am, however, glad we got to play this one–especially to appreciate the history of Colorado Disc Golf.
Course Rating: 7/10
*CLICK HERE FOR PART II – CONIFER PARK @ BEAVER RANCH!
-jt
iDisc Golf Pro: Disc Golf App Review
About a week ago, I put out a tweet on our @DoglegDiscGolf account asking our followers what they would like to see more of on our blog. One of our Twitter friends suggested that they would like to see more disc golf game app reviews and where we see the future of these are going. I thought that was a great idea!
I have downloaded several disc golf games on my iPhone over this past week and have been playing each of them a good bit. These disc golf game app reviews will come in a series. After I have felt like I have played each one long enough to give it a fair review, I will review it on here.
The first one I would like to review is called iDisc Golf Pro by Hypergon Studios. They also have a “Lite” version that’s free if you would like to give it a run first. But honestly, I have a feeling that you will really enjoy this app. It’s really addicting, so I say go ahead and spend the $0.99 for the full “Pro” version. It’s well worth it.
Selecting Your Round:
You can choose between 1 or 2-player modes to start your round. The Pro version has six 18-hole courses that then lets you choose to play the front 9, back 9, all 18, or even just a single hole! I like that. For added difficulty, you can choose either to tee off from the White Tees or the Blues. I really liked the different course selections–everything from your urban course to desert to tropical to snow. It has every climate you can think of. So no matter what type of season it is, you can always be playing the climate of your choice. The six courses to choose from are Johnson Street, Sonora Sands, Tiki Island, Northern Exposure, Lakeside Landing, and Windy Gap.
Gameplay:
After selecting your round type, tees, and course, you are ready to begin son! So you are on tee pad #1, first either tap the fairway overview icon on the left or drag your finger around on the screen to aim your crosshairs in the direction you want to throw. Pay attention to the wind indicator in the upper right-hand corner. Once you have your aim down, hold your finger down on the disc. Then you’ll see these arrows pop up. These arrows show the potential flight path of your disc. To make it go in that direction, simply slide your finger as fast and hard as you can along that same line. The harder and faster you flick your finger, the more power behind your throw.
The lower left shows the par of the hole. The lower right shows what throw you are on. To it’s immediate left is the distance of the hole (and remaining distance to the basket after you throw). Remember you can check your lie at any time, by tapping the fairway overview graphic on the far left side of the screen.
Once you release, the disc will take flight through the air. A distance indicator will appear under the “Player 1” up top tracking your current throw. You do have the ability to hyzer/anhyzer some of your shots around obstacles. One glitch in the game is the “bubble” around some of these tree tops. You might catch yourself trying to throw over some of them and suddenly your disc hits this “bubble” around the top of trees/leaves and falls down to the ground. Also if you try to throw out of bounds, your disc will hit this invisible, vertical “wall” and will drop your disc straight down to the ground.
For your second shot, you might be close enough to the basket that you do not need to throw your driver again. If so, tap the left or right arrows in the middle of the bottom of the screen next to “Driver”. This lets you select either your Midrange or Putter. For this particular game, if you are within 130 ft, I would use the Midrange. If you are within 50 ft, go for the Putter. Remember to adjust your aim and watch the wind as it changes for each throw.
Watch out for water hazards, they will take your A game to the crapper in a heartbeat if you kerplunk a few plastics in the lake. These discs love to roll too, especially on hilly fairways. Keep that in mind when aiming. Try to land it on a flat spot. I had a couple the other day that rolled into the water after tossing upwards to an anthill type green/basket.
Don’t be afraid to go for it from way out. You will miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. What do you have to lose? It’s a game, and an addictive one at that.
Graphics:
This has by far the best graphics/interface that I have seen in a disc golf game app yet. For what it is, at $1, it’s pretty good. The discs skids on ice, tumbles off of boulders, and spins and flips as it hits the ground. Not the most realistic-looking action, but the concept was there—better than just sticking like glue to wherever it might hit. Love the interface, easy to use. Really good job on the graphics, guys! Especially the course loading screens; very cool.
Sounds:
Nice interlude during the main screens. I laughed at some of the sound effects as it hits the water, ice, trees, etc. But you can always appreciate the lovely sounds of those rattlin’ chains.
Quick Summary:
–Don’t waste your time “trying” out the Lite version. BUY THE PRO VERS! You know you want it.
-It’s only $1 for the full Pro version! Get it now!
-BEST disc golf game app I have played.
-Nice graphics and gameplay
-Well designed interface
-Six, very unique courses to choose from with lots of hole options
-Easy learning curve with challenging holes/shots
Back To Basics: Starting From The Hit Backwards
When I first started playing DG, I did what most of us did — I bought a random disc not knowing very much about it, went to a course not knowing how to throw, and ran up the tee-pad with confidence and flailed my arm as fast as I could. Much to my ignorant surprise, I sucked, and if there was a lady’s tee, I’m sure I didn’t go past it.
Early in my DG days I heard the phrase, “Drive for show, Putt for dough.” There’s a lot of truth to that, and that’s how I have structured my game the past 5 years, but you cant win regularly without a well rounded game. I am usually solid at putting and approaching, but haven’t quite mastered the hit of the drive.
Recently I found an excellent video on YouTube that focuses on working from the hit (the acceleration and release at the end of the throw) backwards. It focuses on how very important it is to keep that disc very close to your body, and have an exponential acceleration, if you will… A slow pull across, and a burst of acceleration at the end.
I know this video will help me tremendously with my long game, and I hope it will for you too!
Gwinnett County Open 2012
Any of you guys up for playing the Gwinnett County Open this year? It will take place this coming November 10th and 11th.
I know Stephen had mentioned to me the other day that he and Jeremiah might come up for it. I’m down if they’re in town. Let me know who else. I’d like for several of us to all sign up together and get going on that.
This year it is a 2 day, 4 round, B-Tier PDGA Sanctioned Tournament. Players will play 2 rounds on Saturday at Lenora or Alexander and 2 rounds on Sunday at the other park.
I couldn’t find a whole lot of info for it. But as it comes available, please check back here on our blog, http://www.gwinnettcountyopen.com/ or follow them on Twitter @GCODiscGolf.
- All Juniors divisions: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $20
- Recreational Men/Women:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $35
- Intermediate Men/Women: Â Â Â Â Â Â $50
- Advanced Men/Women/Masters: Â Â $50
- Pro Men/Women/Masters:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $60
-jt
Canton’s Sequoyah Park DGC Weekend Recap
Before the weekend, I thought I would have a lot more to recap from our dg adventures to Sequoyah; but negative. Originally I was supposed to catch up with fellow Doglegger Jeremiah—who was in town—for an early morning round to Sequoyah, but we couldn’t make it happen this time around due to prior engagements. So our Saturday 8am round didn’t happen but I did however manage to make it out there today for a quick 18.
I was off my A-game, big time starting out. I was actually surprised to find how many of the baskets had been moved to the closer pin positions. You would think Oh awesome!, but I think that hurt me even more trying to compensate my throwing power to not go as far. I could not keep a dang drive straight worth a flip. Granted, I had been practicing anhyzer shots and turning my wrist over the past few days and I think that had my timing off a bit. Anyway, my putting was “on” for the most part, but had several terrible drives. Today was my chance to break my course record there of a +5, but I failed short. I’d like to get out there again before they move them back and see if I can beat it again.
I really enjoy Sequoyah Park and it is a park that has definitely grown on me more and more this past year. Being my local course, I look forward to every single trip out there. One of my pet peeves—I know I’ve mentioned several times in my posts—is that I really can’t stand when slower/newbie groups ahead of you don’t ask if you want to play through…especially when I’m playing alone. Anyways, I had to jump around a few times to skip some people but came back and finished them all. Did miss two or three crucial putts for potential birds that hit off the top. I misjudged the weather too and was way too overdressed for the cool.. The sun was beaming and I got dehydrated quick. I’m already ready for a redemption round this week if any of you guys would like to join. Finished a measly +7.
-jt
Great Putting Video ft/ Avery Jenkins
Thanks to our friends at @ATRDiscGolf on Twitter for recommending this Disc Mania putting video to us, featuring Pro Disc Golfer/ World Champ Avery Jenkins. Very high quality video as well as audio. A lot of disc golf videos I’ve seen out there have poor editing, graphics and camera angles in general. Not this video. Well worth the 7+ min watch. This is just the first episode in the series. Looking forward to watching many more. Check it out!
-jt
Barking Orders: Will’s Park Dog Show Fiasco
Let me just start out by saying that “show dog” owners have attitudes. And crabby attitudes at that. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE dogs and have two, but dang! These people are just a different class, period.
I love Will’s Park DGC. But there’s always something going on there. It seems like 80% of the time we play there that there’s an equestrian event going on. At least it’s off to the side and up the hill from The DG course. The worst part is that there’s RV parking that flanks both side of hole 5 and 6. A wary shot to the right on either and you’re denting aluminum siding or whacking The Jones’s in the back of the head. But I digress.
But this trip, a dog show. A dog show in the RV grassy lot on the right side of Hole #5. Since that grassy lot is cleared for the event, that means the cars have to park elsewhere. And where do they park?… they park in the fairway of Hole #5. Wtf. I’m talking like 20+ trees. My first instinct is to play through over and around all these courses, obstacle golf. Tomahawk one high into the high in hope it’ll dive between Beamers into a flat spot. No, better not.. Jimbo has a plan.
Jimbo is a cool guy that we met last time we’d played Wills. Older guy, but he’s hilarious. He was with us that day. He marched up to the dog show and demanded to speak to the person in charge. Jimbo means business. He tracked they guy down and told them the parking problem and asked for everyone parked in the fairway to move. These other ladies became irate and were bitchin up a storm saying they had to permission to park there and why they had to move. So disrespectful to us, other fellow disc golfers and the respect of the course in general. I thought it was hilarious how each dog owner came down one by one and moved their cars off the fairway into another adjacent lot. Finally, for once, it felt good to have some power. There’s no way they had to permission to park in the fairway of a disc golf course. Keep in mind this is Will’s Park, home to many PDGA sanctioned events and office for PDGA member submissions.
After some 20 min they’d all moved and we were clear to finish that hole. Very fun, eventful and good round overall. I love Will’s. My closing thoughts..”People, please respect the disc golf course and the players just as we do others participating in their respective sports/designated areas. There’s enough space for all of us.”
[See photo of Hole #5 fairway and the cars that covered it (prior confronting the head in charge).]
-JT
Weighing ’em in, Titanium (Plastic)
About a month or so ago I was on DGCourseReview.com and saw an ad banner up at the top talking about some new plastic called Titanium from Discraft. Does anyone know anything or have played with this new Titanium plastic? Is it stiffer than their other lines of plastic and/or comparable to Innova’s rigid Champion line of plastic? How about the weight, are they only available in the heavier sizes? I was curious and realized it was one of Discraft’s more premium plastics as it did cost a few extra bucks.
Honestly, I can’t even remember what store’s banner it was that it was advertising. Sounded cool.. but again that’s what I thought when I first heard about Innova’s Blizzard Champions. I still don’t like those. I have one and still don’t see any advantages to it. I can’t keep it out of the tree line because I turn it over every throw.
But, if you’ve hucked some Discraft Titanium plastic, let me know! I may give it a shot.
-jt
Cheers to Deer, a Legacy Park DGC Review
Now with the sun setting earlier than ever it seems, my disc golf adventures are being forced to the weekends. The closest two 18-hole courses from where I work are a mere ~30 minutes away. If I leave work on time, drive a half hour, I maybe have a good 7 holes in before I’m swamped with darkness and straining my eyes following my disc through the air down the fairway…or through the trees. Not worth it, especially when you spend more time looking for your discs in the dark than it did to play the first 5 holes.
But there’s Fall/Winter weekday hope. It’s called Legacy Park and it’s only 10 minutes away from my office. It’s only 9 holes, but it’s a fair course that’s very well maintained and landscaped. Biggest downside is that it’s located in a very nice Kennesaw neighborhood that’s technically only for the residents—unless you tag along with one.
It’s a great course to get in a very quick game after work that requires your short, technical game. Being in Legacy Park, you get a family friendly atmosphere as these 9 holes are laid out along the winding walking trail, nestled in the woods. I’ve played here maybe 5 times and every time I recall seeing at least one deer or more. Last month I played one evening around sunset and counted a total of 7 deer walking through different fairways; pretty cool! Ok, to the hole descriptions..
At Hole #1, there is a large course map sign. Pay attention to this as the course is poorly marked past this point. If you follow the walking trail, it will help you out if you’re looking for the next teepad. But don’t rely solely on this. Each “teepad” is marked by 6″ red pavers that are set in the ground. These are flush with the ground meaning you cannot see them from further than 15′ out or so. Keep your head down and look for the bare spots in the grass areas. More than likely, the pavers are set around that area and the grass is worn out from the disc golfers.
Hole #1 is tricky in that—for me being a lefty—it requires a hard anhyzer down the tree line. You tee off almost under a large overhanging limb and are required to curve it around the trees maybe ~270 ft. to a basket tucked approximately 15 ft. in a small cutout in the woods on the left. My suggestion, throw as far as you can and keep it wide in the fairway closer to the road. This leaves you a more open shot into the tucked pin position. If you hug it around the woods, you’ll more than likely have to throw it back out to the open, then turn around and throw back into the pocket. Another thing I don’t like is none of the teepads have teesigns with par/distance info. This is a fairly short Par 3 course with several Ace-able holes. This course will definitely test your precision and accuracy because most of the holes require tighter, straight shots through narrow fairways and low-hanging limbs.
PROS:
-Really close to work. Great for a quick 30 min. round right after work.
-Never seen it crowded.
-Wildlife! Good bit of deer around towards dusk.
-Several <270' Ace-able hole opportunities. Keep it low and straight!
-Improves your level throwing accuracy
CONS:
-Disc Golf Course for residents only. Find someone that knows somebody that knows somebody that lives there. Call ’em up!
-Only 9 holes
-Half of the hole’s fairways are actually the walking path. Watch out for joggers/walkers coming around the corner ahead of you!
-Course slightly difficult to navigate after Hole #1. Pay attention to course map on Hole #1.
-No teesigns. Pavers hard to see/find in the ground for first timers.
-Hole #9 ends a good ways from Hole #1. Requires a good little walk back to where you started from (where you parked)
-Parallel parking on side of road.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
-Don’t plan a weekend road trip to this course. Definitely play it if you’re local and/or know someone that lives in Legacy Park. Enjoy wildlife, nice landscaping, trickling stream and watch out hucking towards pedestrians!
-jt
Trussville Courses Closure
Clifford Smith
dgb communications coordinator
Urban Atlanta’s Perkerson Park: Course Review
This past weekend I got a chance to play a course down in the city called Perkerson Park with a few friends. I really enjoyed the course layout itself, but as we finished, we each had mixed reviews. I’ll give my review.
I first came across this course a few months ago in a listing on DGCourseReview.com. I was doing a local search trying to figure out what all courses were located within an hour radius of where I live. Perkerson Park came up as one of them and also had one of the highest ratings of any within my radius. So I’m thinking Why haven’t I heard of this place before?. With a rating of a near 4 out of 5 on DGCourseReview, I thought Man, I’ve got check this place out! So, research I did…
Let me preface this by saying I’m not that familiar with all the different suburbs of Atlanta. After reading mixed reviews online, I was curious about where in Atlanta this course was actually located and it’s surroundings. The reviews online talked about how nice the park and the course layout was, but there were several concerns with the people that frequent the park. I even read where someone said that they carry a taser with them to the park…Now I’m thinking Oh gees, do we need to bring something? or yet even play?. We give it a shot. How bad can it be in broad daylight?
We get there a lil earlier than the others and we sit in the first parking lot for about 10 min. There’s a good bit of people around, maybe a reunion or birthday party. From the car, I’m not seeing where the first basket could be. I check the website on my phone and realized I need to be in a different gravel lot. We pull out and around to the next entrance which had the gravel lot. A lot less cars down there. In that first lot, I wouldn’t say I felt unsafe, but indifferent maybe.
So anyway, we get out and you have to walk down the creek about 300′ to the practice basket and trail for Tee #1. They had a really nice large, flat area with a practice basket and large stones marking 10′, 20′, 30′ and 40′ distances to putt from. After a bit of flippin’, we head up the short trail to teepad #1. Hole #1 is pretty sweet to start off the round. Picture this. You’re teeing off from halfway up the hill in a cutout in the trees. You’re roughly 30′ up teeing off over the creek, through the clearing and up the hill on the other side to a basket nearly 360′ away. Nice!
This large creek (trickling stream) bed runs through the park and comes into play for the first four holes and 11 and 18. I love how open and large this park is. There are trees in the open parts, but it’s not dense and the mature trees are spread nicely down/across the fairways for obstacles. After the first 6, you start into the woods where the fairways get tighter as your technical games comes out.
The course consists of mostly longer holes with the shortest only being around 240′ and going to the signature Par 5 Hole #18 at a hella-long 850′! I had a great time and never once felt unsafe once we actually got onto the course past the parking lot areas. I would definitely go back and play again with a group. Either way, I wouldn’t play the course alone. Play in a group.
You can tell how hard the crew works to keep this course up as best as possible. The landscaping, lines, and pin placement is excellent. I know they constantly work every Saturday mornings on the course using all 100% volunteer labor. There’s still lots to be done and they do only have carpet tee pads and temporary signs for now. I’m listing it as a con for now, but I know this park will be Awesome when it’s finally done. =)
PROS:
-Great layout and terrain. Loved the elevation changes and long open fairways.
-Enjoyed the Fall weather/leaves changing color.
-DG Course not crowded at all.
-Excellent balance of open and wooded, tighter fairways. Really tests your skills requiring a variety of shot types.
-Nice park in general! I hope they can keep this park up and going!
CONS:
-Surrounding neighborhood/area
-One of the trashiest courses I’ve played as far as garbage, shopping carts, baby strollers, baby cribs, random clothes lying in the woods/creek beds along the course. The park itself is really nice, don’t get me wrong. Just needs cleaned up in the woods.
-Temp signage; one was missing. I wish they had the Par listed on them. I had to constantly check my internet to see what DGCourseReview.com had each hole listed as.
-Carpet teepads; I know they’re working on getting concrete teepads.
-Hole #14…where is the basket? We couldn’t find it. Threw down fairway through mando, then ended up throwing 90 degree to the right across the creek to basket? Later realized this was Hole #17 basket. Do they share a basket?
-There is a good bit of walking between some baskets to the next teepad. We spent some time trying to find where the next holes were. Better directional arrows would help.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I say, GO PLAY IT! (midday, with some friends)
-jt
Hello Everyone! Want To Build Your Own Quality Basket?
I’m proud to now be apart of Dogleg Disc Golf!
My name is Destin and I’m originally from the Ann Arbor area of Michigan, but currently reside in Marietta, GA for school. I’ve been playing DG for about 5 years, and love every facet of the sport.
Back in 2010 I designed and built my own basket. The cost was less than $100, and the feeling of using your own basket beats buying one any day; and it truly works just as well as a basket at the park.
Below is my original post I put on my own Michigan Blog a couple years ago. I hope everyone can use the information to make their own backyard basket!
It may not be worth it to spend a lot of time making your own basket when nowadays a portable basket is not much more more than the cost of this basket, but I certainly want everyone who views Dog Leg Disc Golf to have this option.
And always remember that all questions are welcome!
Enjoy the Greenleaf Basket! Named after the road it was designed and made on.
Destin
——
– Original post: 2010 –
Continuation of Whats Going On
Theres a few items to add to Jts list.
-New Park in Jasper. More on this after wednesday
-Mango Classic. Full review of b-teir tournament and Blue Angel Park Courses in Pensacola Florida
-Grip and rip group formation
-Custom Shirts And Signs in Jasper Alabama now have discraft disc, and bags in stock.
-A few members who have tournament directors pdga standing. What this is and why you would get it.
-Trussville Alabama dg course’s closed.
-Been asked this question a lot lately, Pdga division breakdown, what each class is and how you are ranked for tournament play.
and theres quite a bit more…
~Stephen
Rapid Fire Post Week
Hello all!
Good grief, we sure owe all of our fans/visitors new content. It has been some time since our last post. And let me tell you, LOTS of good stuff and our disc golf trips/events have happened in the several weeks the blog went silent. I know here at Dogleg, we’ve been extremely busy the past month or two just with our regular lives outside of disc golf. But I can promise you guys, we’re about to start spitting out some new posts here these next two weeks.
You guys deserve it. I know we’re still getting decent traffic in our “down” time, but we want to provide you guys with more content. Fresh content. Last week we brought on a new friend to the Dogleg blog who we’ve gotten a chance to play a few rounds with these past two weeks. Cool dude and loves some disc golf! I’m looking forward to what he can bring to the blog.
I’m going to try my best to write a post a day for a week straight. Yes. So come back and check it out! I also highly encourage you guys–our readers–to comment and let us know what you’d like to read more of. Hey, if you enjoy writing, love disc golf and would like to contribute, please drop us a line at DoglegDG@gmail.com to let us know!
Here’s a snippet of what you might can expect to roll out in the next few days [in no particular order].
-North Jasper Park Inaugural Ace Race Review
-Alpharetta’s Will’s Park Review/Dogshow Fiasco
-Urban Atlanta’s Perkerson Park Review
-Mancation 2012: Denver – Highlights, Reviews and Pics
-Canton’s Sequoyah DG Recap
-Discraft’s Titanium Plastic
-Halloween Tournament
-Kennesaw’s Legacy Park Review
-Advice on Discs
-Disc Trade
& possibly more!
-jt
Dogleg Disc Golf 