Playing disc golf in the Fall always presents some challenges. While you can follow your drives a lot farther in the air, things can get a bit hairy with all of the leaves on the ground. Losing a disc in a heavily wooded course like Etowah is never really a surprise, but when Dave couldn't find his disc on the first hole, I figured it was going to be a long day.
As we retraced our steps, recreating the flight of the drive mentally, we were thinking the same thing, "How could we lose this disc on the FIRST HOLE!" As the six of us walked up and down the fairway, Dave's youngest seemed like he didn't understand what we were doing.
Dave: "Did you see my disc?"
Archer: "Yes"
Dave: "Where?"
Archer: "I buried it."
And so it began.
It wasn't what you would call a "pretty" day, overcast, in the mid 50s. But that actually makes for some great disc golf weather. As an added bonus, this kind of weather means we had the course mostly to ourselves. But we brought a crowd, Dave and two of his little dudes (Hudson and Archer), myself, Jackson, Ella, and, of course, Mulligan.
If you've never experienced Etowah, it's a hilly, wooded course right outside of Cartersville, GA. It's relatively new, just opened 2017. Most of the holes are secluded from all but the most adventurous pedestrians. This is not a course review, but I highly recommend taking the trip up there.
We got a later start (sorry Dave), so we knew we had to hurry. Not only would daylight start fading quickly ( and you don't want to be throwing in low-light at Etowah ), but Dave's kids being little, they can only hang for so long. Fortunately, as I mentioned, the weather was perfect for a fast dash round. Unfortunately, I managed to sling some drives out of view. And in the Fall, that means searching for what seems like forever. When will I invest in some bright pink discs?
I was concerned that Mulligan might not be able to handle such a big, rugged course. He's only been back to golfing four times since his injury two years ago, but he hung like a champ! The cooler temperatures certainly help. He needed some help up the "stairs" after hole 9, but that was it. By the time we got to 15, I think he was ready to call it quits, but he's always much happier following me around than being stuck in the car.
There was only one other casualty that day. Jackson, ever the teen, managed to fall between some downed trees. The ridiculous part is that he actually had no reason to be climbing on the trees. Other than it was just fun.
Watch Dave's nice drive on 7.
Try to stay on the pad next time :)