Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

Golf has never been my best game. In fact, it would be fair to say I am terrible at it.

But one thing I have always enjoyed about golfing is walking along the course. I love the long expanses of green and smell of freshly mown grass. Particularly in the early morning, there is a feeling of calm and peace about a golf course. It’s a controlled wilderness, with a hint of the natural environment to either side of the fairway, but a clear, easy path to walk. The manicured nature of the environment has always appealed to me. It has all the beauty of a city park, but none of the crowds.

So when John and his buddies invited me to accompany them to watch their game of disc golf, I jumped at the chance.

What is disc golf, you ask? Until a couple of months ago, I had never heard of it. Basically, it’s a golf course that you play with discs instead of golf clubs and balls.

Remember that little toy frisbee from your childhood? It grew up over the years. Now the discs are sleek and sophisticated, with all kinds of minor variations that affect speed, curve, and distance. Disc golfers carry an over-the-shoulder bag with different discs in them, just as traditional golfers do with their clubs. There is even a disc putter.

The disc golf course where John and his friends play resembles a traditional golf course. It has nine holes and a platform at the start of each hole. It is much smaller than a traditional course. That makes sense, because discs, no matter how sophisticated, do not travel as far as golf balls. The “hole” is also different. It is an upright stand with a basket to catch the disc.

The players start by throwing a disc designed for distance. They then walk to the place where the disc landed and throw the next disc. For that second throw, they can either use the same disc or pull a different one out from their bag. They choose which disc to use depending on the layout of the course in front of them. After that throw lands, they walk to that landing spot to throw the third disc and keep going in that fashion until they put a disc into the hole. They count strokes just as you do in traditional golf.

While I found the whole sport of disc golf fascinating, the biggest surprise for me was the nature of the course itself. It did not have green, manicured lawns and long straight fairways. The environment was far more rustic and untouched. There were hills and trees in the way that the discs had to curve around. At times, the players had to walk through tall grass to find where their disc landed. While there was a dirt road through the park, it was not specifically designed to follow the disc golf course.

As I was walking the course, I realized something about my walking preferences. The rustic nature of the disc golf course made it seem less peaceful and calm to me than a traditional course. As much as I love hiking through unspoiled wilderness, I guess I am a girl of the suburbs at heart. A clear path through manicured greenery will always make me feel more calm and at peace than trapsing through tall grass.

In case you are wondering: No, I do not plan to start playing disc golf with John and his friends. I am certain I would be every bit as bad at that type of golf as I was with the original game. But I had a great time walking the course with the group, and I plan to walk with them again in the future.

-Susan 9/5/2025