Rainy Day? I Laugh at You!

Yesterday, I cheated Mother Nature.  When I left work, I glanced at the skies to check my chances of playing some disc golf.  All day we had bands of rain come through the city.  They may have been remnants from Tropical Storm Karen, bringing an ever-changing landscape, sunny, cloudy, heavy rain, cloudy, sunny, and back again.

By the time I got to the disc golf course, dark heavy clouds were approaching from the west.  So, some throwing in the field seemed to be the order of the day.  I worked on flicks (a sidearm throw), which, since I can’t throw a flick very far, were the perfect choice.  Retrieving 26 discs isn’t nearly as daunting as picking up 26 drives.  My flick range is probably 70 feet maximum, and I tend to throw a bit wildly, especially when I first begin, until I start to get in a groove with the unfamiliar throw.

I threw all the discs out, and threw them back to the starting place twice which was just about the amount of time it took for those black clouds to get to the point where they were swirling overhead.  Wisely, I decided to put the milk crate container of discs in my trunk and focus on just two discs, in a grassy area near where I was parked.

Other golfers on the course began heading in for the day as the clouds got denser and the wind began.  I remained outdoors, throwing my two discs back and forth in the grassy area near my car.  At one point, it was obvious that the sky was just about to let loose so I threw one more time.  By the time I got to my disc, down came the rain.  It was a quick run to the car, and I got in just as a huge deluge began.

The sky above me actually seemed less threatening, and farther to the west, there were actually some blue patches.  I decided to wait it out.  It was about 15 minutes from the time when Danny normally gets to the park and I estimated it would take just about that much time for the storm to pass over.  A few minutes later Danny called, figuring that I had left the park by then.  I told him my plan and he decided to stop by to see if the rain was over.

Shortly before I saw his red truck drive up, I got out of the car and returned to that grassy spot nearby and practiced a few more flicks.  When I saw his bright red Ranger approaching, I knew that we would have a great time playing, in spite of the heavy rain just moments before.

We each took a rag from my trunk to wipe our discs before each throw.  When the discs land in sandy soil, it generally doesn’t affect the next throw, unless, of course, it has been raining and the sand is wet.  Then it seems to cling to the disc which easily can affect one’s throw.  Wiping the disc down with a rag before throwing is somewhat annoying.  On the other hand, it is good to practice that habit because if it begins to rain during tournament play, you have to be able to cope with that task in addition to remaining focused on the game.

We decided to stay close to the parking lot and chose several holes that were within range:  1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17 and 18.  That was sort of a weird, random set of holes, but we were never that far away in the event that the rain suddenly returned.

So by the end of the night, I’d been able to practice flicks, practice some long drives, as well as play 11 holes of disc golf.  As I drove from the park, I looked up at the sky and felt as if I cheated Mother Nature.  She had come to spoil my evening, but I worked around it, and had a great time in the process.