FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2018 27 SPECIALIZING IN CARGO VANS Celebrating 4 years in Scugog STRAIGHT FORWARD AUTO SERVICE Making clients happy for 23 years! 2871 Hwy 7A, Blackstock • 905-986-5252 straightforwardauto@hotmail.com Curving a throw, just like a pur- poseful hook or fade in ball-golf, can help to avoid hazards. “Therearewaterhazards,andsome holes dog-leg as much as 90 degrees. There’s also one challenge specific to disc golf, which requires players to go around an object like a tree on either the left or right side. So you need to curve some throws to account for all those situations, as well as, of course, weather conditions like wind.” Ten metres from the basket is termed The Circle. The less aerody- namic putter will replace the driver or approach-disc, and “running up” before throwing is no longer allowed. The metal basket, approximately a 3-foot span attached to a “pole-hole,” is oriented horizontally, and to com- plete the hole, a player’s disc must rest entirely inside. Reid says a round of disc golf is great exercise. “The walking distance isn’t as long as a ball-golf course, but steep hills are part of the course design. So those will give you a good workout.” And is there a “19th hole” on a disc golf course? I ask. Reid chuckles. “You bet!” he replies. “Disc golf is a very social game, and there’s a lot of camaderie among players.” Disc golf, he adds, is a twelve- month-a-year sport. “When I first started, you couldn’t do that, because the discs were plastic and they’d break in the cold. But nowadays, they’re made from a com- posite material which isn’t affected by weather.” Reid’s own involvement, now dec- ades old, places him among Ontario’s pioneering players. “I joined the Professional Disc Golfers Association (PDGA) when I started to play in tournaments,” he explains. “They give you a member number, and mine was #2548. That makes me what other players refer to as a ‘four-digit guy,’ and I get asked about my history.” Currently, PDGA membership numbers well in excess of 100,000, a trend which excites Reid. “It’s an exploding sport,” he says. “AndI’mverypleasedthatCartwright Sports & Recreation have made the Fields into a course. I’m sure that once people try it, they’ll love disc golf just like I do.” Tee times, anyone? By Scott Mercer, Focus on Scugog The art of disc throwing, as Darrell Bankes demonstrates.