The Winter Challenge

This just in: the winter might not be the best time for disc golf.

Yeah, no kidding. It also doesn't help when you start a disc golf blog in the late fall. However, there are certain ways around issues like this. And thus, the winter challenge is born.

For 13 weeks, beginning with this week, I strive to play one round of disc golf every week. I have done extensive research, determining which courses are open for the winter in northern Illinois. Thankfully, most courses seem to be open at this time of the year. One nice, yet, uninformed lady with the Buffalo Grove Park District informed me that the baskets are removed from their two courses, however, the courses are still open for rounds of disc golf. Somebody needs to get Kristy Vik, Director of Facilities and Programs, out on a disc golf course so she can figure out how this works.

It will certainly be difficult to play more wooded courses, however, I certainly have a few in mind that would be good for winter disc golf. Randall Oaks in West Dundee, Prairie Park in DeKalb, and Sunny Hill in Streamwood are three good examples of this. The main goals will be don't lose a disc and don't die, and those are definitely listed in order of importance. I think that I have hedged my bets against death, as I've aquired the finest in moderately/cheaply priced winter gear. There should be no way an ounce of water touches my skin (save for some kind of incident involving thin ice). Losing a disc, however, might be more problematic.

Many questions remain unanswered: what kind of awesome guests will join me? How will these discs act in the cold air? Will brining a shovel to clear tee-pads make me a point of ridicule? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? These next 13 weeks will be arduous and likely death-defying, but there's one thing I can be almost certain of...

It will be cold: very, very cold.