With a handful of the sport’s top players headed to Europe for a stint of tournaments and promotional events, it got us thinking about the idea of taking advantage of summer weather and using it to get a little disc golf travel under our belts.
If you have the vacation time from work and the go-ahead from your significant other, which is often the hardest piece of the puzzle, where would you visit to play some of the best disc golf of your life? While the destinations might change, there are a few things you have to consider when it comes to summertime travel.
Jet Lag And Time Zones
We don’t all have the time or money to fly to Europe for the summer, but who says you can’t hop on a plane and end up hours away in a place that’s filled with courses? If you have a hard time sleeping on a plane or can’t seem to get used to time zone changes, make sure to allow time in your schedule to adjust.
Shorter trips might make you want to jam each and every day full of disc golf fun, but give yourself a bit of a buffer on either end to give your body time to catch up. Spend your first day resting and maybe exploring a bit instead of fitting in 3 rounds before the sun goes down. On the same note, don’t land back home late Sunday night and expect to be ready for work the next day.
To Carry On Or To Check?
Even if you aren’t going anywhere that requires competitive play, the whole point of your journey is to play some disc golf, so you’d be in big trouble if the airlines lost your bag. Most touring players that we talk to prefer to carry on their disc golf bag as it contains some of their most prized possessions in the world.
Think about it - can you replace those jeans you bought recently or buy a new toothbrush once you’ve landed at your destination? For sure. Are you able to easily replace your beat in first run fairway driver that Eric McCabe signed six years ago? Not so much.
Make The Most Of It
Let’s be honest - most of us don’t draw the appeal that Paige Pierce or Ricky Wysocki do when traveling to other parts of the world to play disc golf. We’re lucky if someone even recognizes us outside of our own state most of the time. Although you’re not looking for fame or fortune on this trip, it doesn’t hurt to network a bit.
Before you leave, reach out to the disc golf clubs in the area you’re visiting and find out when their weekly events are. See if you can volunteer to be someone’s caddy at a tournament, or try setting up a group of locals to play with you and show you the ropes. As we all know, the disc golf community is large and strong, so reaching out to others will probably result in some unexpectedly great opportunities.
Are you headed anywhere fun for a disc golf trip this summer? Share with us your plans or fill us in on your dream trip in the comments below.
