Frolf. The definition of unadulturated fun. Enjoyable, unique, liberating, inexpensive, and most importantly, doable, for all ages, shapes, sizes, and skill-levels, in fields, forests, mountains, and valleys, when it's sunny, raining, windy, or calm (frolf-gods willing). Also known as disc golf or FRisbee gOLF, frolf is essentially a golf/frisbee hybrid in which the player's goal is to get a disc into a basket via a series of throws (or one throw, also known as an ace: the golf-equivalent of a hole-in-one).
There are 9- and 18-hole courses, each hole having a tee-off (often with a running-start area), and a basket which is usually anywhere between 150 and 1000 feet away from the tee. Many courses offer holes with a variety of terrain - fields and mildly-wooded forest being the most common. Each hole has it's own par, as is the case in golf. One major difference between frolf and golf however, is that most frolf courses are FREE (87% of courses in the States, according to Wikipedia).
Before, I mentioned a "series of throws" is used to get the disc into the basket. There are several throws you can employ, based on what the terrain is like and how far away the hole is. The three main throws are tomahawk, side-arm, and back-hand. The tomahawk is an over-the-head throw, the side-arm is with your forearm facing towards where you are throwing, and the back-hand is how most people tend to throw a normal frisbee. I will post videos of these in the future.
Additionally, there are different types of discs you can use. Frolf discs are smaller and thinner than normal frisbees, but weigh about the same (usually around 170 grams). There are drivers, mid-range discs, and putters. You can play with only one, or all three, using each disc for what it's best suited for (more on this later). You can get a new disc for under ten bucks, used go for about four dollars.
I'm starting this blog as a place for people to post scores from around local courses in the area of Blacksburg, VA, or that's the plan at least. I also plan on putting some detailed stats up regarding each hole from the courses around Virginia Tech, as it's hard (if possible) to find that information online as of now. Happy Frolfing!
