Frolf

There are many of you out there who couldn’t care less for the game of golf. But who doesn’t like Frisbee? Golf is frustrating whereas Frisbee is somewhat relaxing and laid-back. Thanks to some people who wanted to make golf less nerve-wracking and Frisbee more challenging, we can enjoy the sport of Frolf, otherwise known as disc golf or Frisbee golf. The really cool thing about Frolf is you can play it virtually anywhere. As long as there is something to hit, you’ve got a target. If you are new to the sport, you may want to focus on the broad side of a barn for starters.
Frolf actually introduces a new type of sporting equipment, which is very similar to a regular Frisbee in design (flat and round), but differs in weight and size. The discs are typically smaller and much heavier, making them ideal for throwing long distances. Another similarity between the two is the outrageous colors that they are available in: bright pink, sparkly clear, eye-searing blue (makes your disc easier to spot after you completely missed the mark and it flew into a blackberry bush). A normal Frisbee tends to wobble quite a bit even when an experienced Frisbee player throws one, but a Frolf disc, because of its dimensions, is much more accurate and easy to control. There are also different types of discs, much like golf clubs – each is designed for a specific purpose: long distance, putting, all-rounder, etc.
As previously mentioned, Frolf is a very portable sport. You can go to the park and simply pick out a tree as your target. For more of a challenge, you could pick out a specific part of the tree, like the part that is most likely to trap your disc so you will have to climb the tree in order to retrieve your disc. Makes the game much more fun. Trust me. Plus, you get a little extra exercise. Trees make good targets, but moving targets, such as people or their dogs, are much more challenging and unsurprisingly add an exciting element of danger to the whole sport.
Another Frolf danger factor is losing your disc, which is what makes golf so frustrating, but at least the discs in Frolf are easy to spot because of their coloring and size. My little brother, Jonny, and I were playing disc golf in Liberty Park a while back and Jonny decided to prove his superior Frolf skills by launching his disc as high as he could into the air. Unfortunately, we were standing near Tracy Aviary’s perimeter fence and his disc, although well-thrown high into the air, did not fly straight and it banked toward the bird refuge. After narrowly missing a flamingo’s scrawny neck, the disc came to rest on the Aviary’s cement pathway. And there it sat, in all of its blinding yellow glory, literally four feet away from us. We considered hopping the 10-foot fence, but decided against that. Luckily the nice person at the ticket booth allowed us to retrieve it at no charge.
Disc golf is great for families as well as the single player. If you want a more formal Frolf experience, Utah has plenty of disc golf courses for your enjoyment. Most of them are free to play. The courses usually have metal “baskets” that you aim for, instead of you having to pick out a target, so it makes the game feel a little more professional.
If it ever stops raining/snowing, you can soon go Frolfing without worrying about disappearing in your local park/swamp. Enjoy the game and make sure to duck often!