By Duncan Nixon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna County Parks and Recreation maintains an 18 “hole” disc golf course that is open and free to play at Pleasant Grove. To some extent disc golf is like regular golf but there are obvious differences. In disc golf, as in regular golf, the goal is to finish nine or 18 holes with the lowest score (i.e. the fewest throws). In regular golf the player hits a ball with a club. In disc golf, a Frisbee-like disc is thrown toward an above ground metal cage structure. When the player throws his or her disc into the cage the hole is completed.
Like regular golf, disc golf can be played casually and non-competitively, or it can be played as a serious, highly competitive contest. The most competitive players may carry three discs. One disc for long throws, one disc for middle distance throws and one disc for short throws. Casual players generally use a single disc for the entire round. Official disc golf rules can be found at https://www.pdga.com/rules.
In regular golf, the players hit their first shot from a tee box, in disc golf the first throw is made from a tee pad, a rectangle of pavers. Each hole in disc golf has a par that is usually two or three throws. The disc golf course at Pleasant Grove has two nines that may be played separately or as an eighteen hole contest. As with regular golf on modern courses, the two nines start and end near each other The holes at Pleasant Grove vary from open meadow to wooded. In disc golf, if your first throw goes into the cage it is called an ace and the tradition is that all the players will sign the disc.
Disc golf has its own lingo that borrows terms from regular golf and from other sports. Parks and Recreation official Eric Armentrout has provided a list of terms. A disc throw that goes into the trees is considered to be in jail. A particularly bad throw is, like a particularly bad shot in basketball, known as a brick. An interesting term for being so close that you better not miss is “in the bird sanctuary.” Where your throw lands on the way to the cage is known as your lie. A “nestle” is when the disc goes into the trees. A ”scoobie” throw is when the disc is thrown upside down.
The Parks and Recreation staff is working steadily to maintain and improve the disc golf course. Apparently there are a number of regular disc golf players, but the course is certainly not over used and there is no need to reserve tee times. The course’s first tee pad is located past the athletic fields at Pleasant Grove and it has its own small parking area, established by the Fluvanna Rotary Club.
