In the Field

Have I mentioned before that I enjoy my job?  I have a great job, with great people.  Even so, as each work day nears its end, I'm ready to leave and see what sort of fun I can have towards achieving my disc golf goals.

Yesterday, it was one of those rainy, Florida days.  It began with some dreary sprinkles, moved into some pretty heavy rain, and then later the sky cleared.  When 4:00 rolled around, I packed up my computer bag, and headed outside.  What a surprise!

The sky was a beautiful clear blue, with barely a cloud anywhere.  I did not anticipate this at all.  The morning forecast called for mostly rainy skies all day, clearing only later in the evening.  I jumped in my car and began driving towards my home, ready to quickly change into disc golf clothes and see what the afternoon would bring.

I generally have a plan before I get to the disc golf course.  The decision has already been made as to which course I'll play, or which half-course I'll spend time working.  Yesterday was different.  Since the weather was not good during the day, I figured I'd just go home and maybe do some putting or work the weights. When I saw the brilliantly blue skies, I knew that I had to go throw.

What fun it was to get to Bill Frederick Park and just throw my discs. It's called throwing in the field.  I gathered all the extra discs I had into a milk crate, took it to the field and began to throw.  No limits are placed on throws "in the field" because there aren't any trees to avoid, or bushes to shoot around.  Every shot can be an all out shot, with all the power that the thrower can muster.  As I approached the field, I decided that I'd spend the day working on the flick (or forehand) shot.

My go-to shot is a backhand.  It seems more natural and I can get a good bit of power in that throw.  But there are certain times when the preferred shot would be a flick--such as when the previous throw lands just to the right of a big tree, bush, or otherwise overgrown area on the course.  Those who can flick really well, use the flick shot off the tee for a fairway that curves to the right (for right-handed throwers) or to the left (for left-handers).

My flick, however, has mostly been non-existent, and anemic at best.  Many people have tried to teach me, "Throw it like a baseball!" or just, "Throw naturally."  Clearly, I am not naturally athletic.  I have played two tournaments now and one World Championship tournament without ever throwing a flick.  It's time to fix this.  I've been practicing in my front yard, and I'm glad to say that it's time to advance to "the field."  At home, several of my discs have come dangerously close to my neighbor's house, car, or the windows in my own home. This isn't to say that my throw has become that strong, rather my front yard is very limited in size.

I have 26 discs in my crate, and emptied the basket four times throwing them.  I hope no one was watching me because my attempts landed all over the place.  A few were acceptable, but mostly, they were just plain wimpy.  After I threw I went out in the field to throw them back to the starting point, but I'm so inaccurate at this shot that they landed everywhere!  Nevertheless, learning comes with practice.  As a novice disc golfer my backhand shot was not anywhere near accurate, long or strong either.  With practice, it has become much better.  I'm betting that my flick will too.

Still, the afternoon was great fun.  After emptying and refilling my crate four times, I decided to throw the discs in my bag for a while....backhand and all out!  There was a slight breeze that my discs caught just right which helped the discs sail just past my max throwing distance.

I have a new Starlite Mamba and Blizzard Champion Vulcan that I recently received as gifts.  They are lighter weight but still have the same speed and distance as heavier discs.  Watching them fly over the field going, going and still going, is what makes throwing those hunks of plastic so fun.  A friend of mine that I met at Worlds said, it's the kind of shot that keeps you coming back to play -- even if it was preceded by 10 bad throws.

The afternoon was wonderful.  Fresh air, sunshine, and discs flying in the field.  A perfect end to my day.