Folf: Outdoor paradise minus the plaid

By Trent Makela / Leader Staff

Some might say that a golfer is just an adult revisiting that old children's classic — "whack that with this." Now, folf (Frisbee golf) has found a family-friendly middle ground between the country club and a toddler with a stick.

Folf — also known as frolf or disc golf - takes its long drives and beautiful views from golfing, but leaves the plaid shirts behind. In fact, folfing's low cost and informality is much more like stick-banging.

Folf is played very similarly to golf — participants "tee off" by throwing their discs towards a "pin" and continue to count subsequent "strokes."

Tee-offs and other long-distance throws are usually performed with three fingers and a motion similar to hitting a forehand with a tennis racket. All bets are off, though, if you're stuck in a bush or behind a tree. Accurate putting requires spreading all five fingers around the back edge of the disc (like holding a pizza pie) and shot-putting it forward.

In folf's case, a pin can be anything solid — a tree, garbage can, etc. — and the objective is to strike the pin with your disc.

Like golf, each person then compares his or her number of strokes to the hole's predetermined "par" number.

"I liked that it was like golf right away — the winner of the last hole tees off first and the furthest from the pin always goes," Polson's Kevin Avison, said. "I've folfed for probably 10 or 12 years since my friend brought me out in Billings. It's a lot cheaper than golf, and it can get just as competitive."

Folf is much cheaper to play than its equipment-heavy namesake. The one-time purchase of a disc, usually costing $5-15, is all that is required to play. A full-sized Frisbee could even be used in a pinch.

Numerous discs, made to hook different directions with varying severity, are often used by avid players.

There are even thick rubber putters available that fly flat and straight toward the pin.

"All you really need is one disc," Polson resident and avid folfer David Rathbun said. "You kind of need to feel throwing out on your own.

Stick to that one disc and try not to get mad when you have a bad throw. Just enjoy being outside and you'll slowly get better at it."

Sporting goods and recreation stores have seen a boom in the sport's popularity in the past decade and generally carry a wide selection of the smaller, heavier folf-specific discs.

"It's kind of embarrassing, but I probably own about 15 discs right now," Avison said. "I've got a couple of putters, approach discs and six or seven drivers I can choose from — depending on the lie. Still, I bet I've given away more discs to first-timers than I've ever owned at once."

Also unlike golf, folf allows for any park, backyard or even a dirt road to be improvised as a new course.

Discs are relatively light, less than a half-pound, and will not damage most obstacles. However, cities such as Helena have banned folfing at night and away from designated courses to prevent damage to vehicles.

Formal courses might appeal to those looking for more of a challenge or a competitive measuring stick. Many pins along these courses are specially made "baskets" that are shaped like bird cages and catch the discs between a series of dangling chains.

The Kerr Dam course south of Polson allows recreational athletes to fill their hunger for blasting down 18 breathtaking water-side fairways at the value-menu price of free. The course's terrain varies between a manicured lawn, timber-filled hill sides and tall grass fields. Pins include numerous baskets, a crudely-fashioned steel gong and simple trees.

"I play at Kerr Dam just about every day," Rathbun said. "It's a pretty prime course — well kept and kind of challenging on some holes."

The baskets on the Kerr Dam course were paid for by Avison, part-owner of the Cove Deli in Polson. Directions, a course map and score cards are available on the deli's website.

"There has been some problems in the past with garbage and vandalism out there," Avison said. "Not all of that can be blamed on folfers, but we're trying to spread a pack-it-in, pack-it-out philosophy. [Pacific Power and Light] has been very nice about letting us use this private land, but they could easily put up a gate."

The Kerr Dam Disc Golf League also invites everyone to join them on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. to play a round. Roughly a dozen players will show up on an average night, and discs can be provided for those without.

There is also a course behind St. Ignatius High School that is ideal for beginners, consisting of baskets with 18 medium-range holes. The course can be played any time outside of school hours.

Folf has actually been played professionally in the United States since 1976.

Today, there are nearly 1,000 recognized courses and roughly three million regular players, including 30,000 members of the Professional Disc Golf Association, according to the group's website.