Promoting the sport

[pickax]

Monday my girls had their field day at school. I volunteered for the day and brought out my Chainstar and we created a putting contest as one of the stations. It was great watching the kids and hearing them say "This is a lot of fun." Probably exposed over 100 kids to the sport. The line was never empty. One of the other volunteer parents told me later that their son could not stop talking about it at dinner that night.

I have to say I'm proud of my fifth grader as she was banging the putts in. She also had some great advice to the other kids trying it out:  "You have to throw it like you mean it."

[mirth]

I'll be introducing my cub scout den to disc golf early next month. It should be pretty wild trying to steer ~14 kids around the course in Grayslake!

[CEValkyrie]

Stan & I went out to Fremont School in Mundelein on 4-29 and 5-21. They have recently installed a 9 hole beginner course. We had a total of 13 periods with us seeing easily over 1200 kids from 1st thru 5th grade.

Jason and Rich were at Copeland Manor School in Libertyville on 5-21 doing a demo at their exploration day.

[Steven Jacobs]

Got to get them while they're young.  I know from expirience 

[CEValkyrie]

Got to get them while they're young.  I know from expirience 

That just reminded me. I gave a brief throwing clinic to the Warren HS Frolf Club.
http://www.wths.net/sites/index.php?action=display&id=1457

[tree]

Cool

[Sr.]

You wouldn't believe the amount of people at my YMCA who never heard of the sport disc golf. That has changed lately with the help of some communication. Posted a flyer for free lessons there and now I'm taking a group of elderly out for a day of fun. Should be real interesting. The last Cub Scout group we introduced the game to had a den mother that was more into the game  than the kids. Couldn't get her off the tee box. lol

[Tom McManus]

You wouldn't believe the amount of people at my YMCA who never heard of the sport disc golf. That has changed lately with the help of some communication. Posted a flyer for free lessons there and now I'm taking a group of elderly out for a day of fun. Should be real interesting. The last Cub Scout group we introduced the game to had a den mother that was more into the game  than the kids. Couldn't get her off the tee box. lol

Great job Sr.

[Jon Brakel]

One day I was playing a round at Adler with Bruce back when we played with frisbees and called it frisbee golf because we didn't know of anything else. This was early eighties before I had my driver's license. This guy walks up to us and starts talking about "disc" golf and shows us these golf specific discs that were smaller and heavier than our frisbees. So, he threw some on old hole number one, getting all of them down by the basket. With the frisbees it took me at least two throws to get any where near the basket. So, I bought one from him and proceeded to throw a really sharp hyser into the woods! He helped us look and once we found it he showed me how to throw it more level than a frisbee. He then played the first four holes with us (it made a loop back to the parking lot by what is now tee one) giving me tips along the way. It changed my life.

That guy's name is Tom McManus.

[pdga#7648]

now that is very cool. Way to go Tom!

[Tom McManus]

One day I was playing a round at Adler with Bruce back when we played with frisbees and called it frisbee golf because we didn't know of anything else. This was early eighties before I had my driver's license. This guy walks up to us and starts talking about "disc" golf and shows us these golf specific discs that were smaller and heavier than our frisbees. So, he threw some on old hole number one, getting all of them down by the basket. With the frisbees it took me at least two throws to get any where near the basket. So, I bought one from him and proceeded to throw a really sharp hyser into the woods! He helped us look and once we found it he showed me how to throw it more level than a frisbee. He then played the first four holes with us (it made a loop back to the parking lot by what is now tee one) giving me tips along the way. It changed my life.

That guy's name is Tom McManus.

Thanks Jon. That means a lot to me.  You have done the same thing 10 fold.

[Bruce Brakel]

And I'm still bitter.     I was broke that day and Jon wouldn't spot me $5 to get a golf disc of my own.  For the rest of the summer Jon kicked my ass throwing his Cruiser or Aero or whatever it was versus me with the 180 gram frisbee. 

[Jon Brakel]

And I'm still bitter.     I was broke that day and Jon wouldn't spot me $5 to get a golf disc of my own.  For the rest of the summer Jon kicked my ass throwing his Cruiser or Aero or whatever it was versus me with the 180 gram frisbee. 

You still have trouble remembering this story Bruce. You had all the money. I didn't have any money with me but I had some at home. You loaned me the money to buy the disc but you didn't want to buy one for yourself. We had Tom's phone number. Since he was the only guy around selling discs and there was no internet, he had put his phone number on the disc. I don't remember if it was part of the stamp or just written on it. You were going to call Tom and arrange to buy another one after I had beaten you every round since I got the disc but then I threw it in the river. Neither one of us had thought to write the number down. Fortunately not too long after that a couple of guys started selling discs in the parking lot. You and I both picked up an Aero and fair rounds were once again contested between us!

[Steven Jacobs]

One day I was playing a round at Adler with Bruce back when we played with frisbees and called it frisbee golf because we didn't know of anything else. This was early eighties before I had my driver's license. This guy walks up to us and starts talking about "disc" golf and shows us these golf specific discs that were smaller and heavier than our frisbees. So, he threw some on old hole number one, getting all of them down by the basket. With the frisbees it took me at least two throws to get any where near the basket. So, I bought one from him and proceeded to throw a really sharp hyser into the woods! He helped us look and once we found it he showed me how to throw it more level than a frisbee. He then played the first four holes with us (it made a loop back to the parking lot by what is now tee one) giving me tips along the way. It changed my life.

That guy's name is Tom McManus.

That is awsome.  Way 2 go Tom!

[OvEr HaNd AsSaSiN]

alot of people dont know but tom's pdga number is actually in the negatives hes so old. Just kidding tom is the man.

[Jon Brakel]

One day I was playing a round at Adler with Bruce back when we played with frisbees and called it frisbee golf because we didn't know of anything else. This was early eighties before I had my driver's license. This guy walks up to us and starts talking about "disc" golf and shows us these golf specific discs that were smaller and heavier than our frisbees. So, he threw some on old hole number one, getting all of them down by the basket. With the frisbees it took me at least two throws to get any where near the basket. So, I bought one from him and proceeded to throw a really sharp hyser into the woods! He helped us look and once we found it he showed me how to throw it more level than a frisbee. He then played the first four holes with us (it made a loop back to the parking lot by what is now tee one) giving me tips along the way. It changed my life.

That guy's name is Tom McManus.

Thanks Jon. That means a lot to me.  You have done the same thing 10 fold.

I don't know that I've done anything more than you Tom, but I try to promote the sport when I can.

The thing that I find the most amazing is that Tom and my paths didn't cross again until 20 years later!

[Bruce Brakel]

Well, I remembered the part about you beating me all the time with the disc.   And I remembered someone was broke and someone was too cheap to buy me a disc!  

I truly do not remember that it was Tom who sold you the disc and that he played a few holes with us.  I thought the dude who sold us the disc was was bail jumping for Florida and that's why we never bought another disc from him.  That must have been another occasion.

False memory is a symptom of hippocampus brain damage.  I got enough false memories to write a fictional autobiography.

[damonshort]

I truly do not remember that it was Tom who sold you the disc and that he played a few holes with us.  I thought the dude who sold us the disc was was bail jumping for Florida and that's why we never bought another disc from him.  That must have been another occasion.

sure sounds like McManus to me.

I just figured I'd beat Michler to this.....

[Jon Brakel]

I thought the dude who sold us the disc was was bail jumping for Florida and that's why we never bought another disc from him.  That must have been another occasion.

I think the bail jumper we met at a course in Michigan. Maybe one of the courses near The Museum?

I hadn't thought about the first golf disc that I ever threw until we were talking about such things at a club meeting a few years back. I had memorized the name on the disc when I was using it but that memory was in a dusty old file some where in the back of my mind. However, as I told the story of how I came to throw my first disc it brought back a bunch of those memories. Tom was there and we both came to the realization that he was the guy who put that first golf disc in my hand.