Spinout

Don’t call it “Frisbee golf.” The correct term is “disc golf.”

So says T.J. Tremmel, proprietor of Tremmel T-shirts on Lower Greenville, a local vocal promoter of the sport and a man who understands copyright law. Disc golf, only 10 years old, is an organized, bona-fide sport that is taking Dallas by storm. Those intense-looking young men and women in cut-offs you see throwing Frisbees in public parks aren’t neccesarily just whiling away balmy afternoons-some are competing with the ruthless determination of a new-style Lanny Wadkins. And, like Wadkins, some may be playing for prize money.

If you don’t feel like trekking down to the disc golf course, you can play just about anywhere on your own. Take a Frisbee, or any other kind of flying disc, and make your own course, using trees, poles or buildings as targets. As in traditional golf, add your number of throws and aim for a low score. To add to the challenge, choose a line of approach that uses obstacles and hazards.

If you’re ready for something more competitive, here’s the line on “official” disc golf. The game is a study in contrasts, combining the frustrations of traditional golf (the country club variety) with laid-back, Sunday afternoon Frisbee throwing.

From a given starting point, players attempt to land their discs in the baskets of 6-foot “pole holes” 50 to 130 yards away. Disc golfers try to avoid obstacles and land discs in the baskets in the fewest possible tosses.

There’s an 18-hole championship course at Skyline Park in Dallas, and nine-hole courses at Shawnee Park in Piano and Fritz Park in Irving. Another nine-hole course is under construction this summer in Carrollton. There are no green fees at any of these courses. Proponents of disc golf are pushing to get two more 18-hole courses built in Dallas-one each at Samuell and Reverchon parks. During open-mike period at a recent City Council meeting, disc golfers set up a portable pole hole in the council chamber, and Councilwoman Annette Strauss, who has not yet tossed her hat into the ring for the 1987 Dallas mayoral race, tossed her disc into the pole hole on her first try at a distance of 20 feet, the only council member to make a hole-in-one.

Discs, which Tremmel sells in his shop, are specially weighted for the sport and cost between $6 and $8.

On July 6, Wham-O will sponsor a Frisbee festival at Bachman Lake featuring all disc sports.

What’s the appeal of disc golf? “It’s low-cost relaxation,” says Tremmel, “a great way to get away from it all.” Sounds like golf golf, and the similarity to that great sport doesn’t end there. Says Tremmel, “A lot of business is transacted on the disc golf course.”