Five or six years ago, I got my cousin into disc golf.
He and I are roughly the same age, so growing up, during family stuff, we’d do everything together. When I moved out to Utah for college after living in Argentina for a couple of years post-high school, it only made sense we’d hook back up for more mature forms of hijinx.
You know …
Disc golf.
* Note: Seriously, though, this is Utah – so that’s about as “mature” as it gets.
Anyway, after I’d forced him to throw a few rounds with me, he finally “got it.” Before long, we found ourselves at Birdcage Disc Golf, outfitting him with a bag and discs of his own. Well, in addition to the gear I’d given him to nudge him in the right direction with this whole hobby.
Again, he already had some discs, but to help round out his growing bag, along with the sales clerk, I shared a few molds with him that I felt would work best for his developing game.
The usual suspects:
These kinds of fliers.
However, when his eye caught hold of a certain ESP Nuke with the old-school, gas-mask design hot-stamped beautifully atop the flight plate, it was love at first sight. I knew how it’d fly for him. The shop’s employee knew how it’d fly for him. And wouldn’t you know it …
That’s exactly how it flew for him.
Ungodly beef.
The reason for such an ill-advised purchase?
To quote my doomed cousin:
“It’s Tar-Heel blue. I’m buying it. I’ll figure it out later.”
Spoiler alert …
He didn’t.
In fact, after trying to “figure it out” on the course for a couple of rounds, he became so discouraged by the entire process, he ultimately decided disc golf wasn’t for him. Eventually, that baby-blue Nuke would be mine. Far too much disc for me, I sold it to Play-It-Again …
Kismet.
Hear me out …
Without a doubt, color IS a factor you should consider when buying discs either online or in-person. But it’s a small one. Weightier elements include things like feel, skill level, style of play, parting-line height, blatant holes in your bag and dare I say it, even flight numbers …
THIS is the stuff that matters most.
I don’t care how much time you’ve got under your belt as a disc golfer: Pretty, color-coordinated frisbees are better for hanging on the wall in your office than executing tight lines on the course.
And you know which discs are good for decor?
None of them.
Buy what flies right.
And then be done with it.
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I’m general, I didn’t disagree. However, as a colorblind individual, cookie actually makes a huge difference to me, especially as a not-so-great golfer. When I throw into the rough, which happens quite often, especially after “doinking” off a tree, I find anything that isn’t day glow yellow or blue very hard to find. Red, pink, or black … might as well be camouflage.
The weight and the disc characteristics make a lot more of a difference to me, I absolutely agree. Those are my primary search characteristics. However, I don’t buy it if I can’t find it again. I’ve learned that through too many lost discs.
Jamie, I’ve got to give it to you, man …
I did NOT take into account colorblind disc golfers when writing this.
I have to think that’s a small slice of the greater disc golf population, but still …
If you’re colorblind, color would be a BIG deal.
I can understand that 🙂
My thoughts on this too, haha! Didn’t realize how colorblind I was with those same colors until I started disc golfing. I’ll walk right by a red disc on the ground in lush green grass. Needless to say I’ve phased out most of those colors but sometimes still resort to looking for a circle rather than a specific color.