Disc golfers gathering inside Acorn Park’s warming house Sunday morning were just too strange a sight for Sue Gibson, an avid hockey player.
“Would someone explain to these crazy people that it’s not summer … that it’s hockey season?” the 48-year-old Roseville resident said, then laughed before heading for the park’s ice rink.
Despite snow and temperatures in the midteens, 80 disc golfers gathered at the Roseville park to play in the fourth annual Fairway Freezer Ice Bowl, an event that raises money for Keystone Community Services’ food shelves.
Event organizer Mike Snelson said the Fairway Freezer is one of about 200 “Ice Bowls” that will be held across the United States and in Canada and Europe this month and next, with the collective goal of raising $275,000 for local charities.
Snelson said that, on average, proceeds from the Roseville event total about $600 each year for the nonprofit human services agency that helps people in St. Paul’s Midway and North End neighborhoods and in Little Canada, Roseville and Vadnais Heights. This year’s event raised $1,000.
Snelson, who owns Fairway Flyerz Disc Golf Outfitter in Little Canada and has designed a handful of disc golf courses in the Twin Cities, said most of those who paid $25 to play Sunday are diehard enthusiasts who compete in leagues and sanctioned events across the state all year.
“These guys are just looking for a good time in the winter and want to raise money for a good cause,” said Snelson, 50, of Andover.
That would best describe Rich Snyder’s group. Members made up the rules as they trudged along the 18-hole course. On the sixth hole, Snyder and his five friends threw from the tee box with their eyes shut. They dropped their pants — exposing long underwear — while putting on Hole 9.
“We’re just a bunch of disc golf junkies out here for some fun,” said Snyder, 48, of South Minneapolis, puffing on a cigar.
Disc golf is similar to golf in procedure, pace and psychology, Snelson said. Instead of clubs and balls, players use golf discs, which are smaller, heavier and aerodynamically superior to the Frisbees used for playing catch, and aim at steel baskets about 2 feet off the ground.
Minnesota is at the forefront of the sport’s steady growth, measured by the number of new courses.
The Professional Disc Golf Association recognizes 136 courses in Minnesota — only Iowa and Texas have more — and more than 2,300 nationwide. A decade ago, there were fewer than 450 courses throughout the country.
Playing in the winter has its advantages, said Chris Cook, Snyder’s friend. For instance, bare trees allow for better sightlines, he said.
“The game is much easier without leaves getting in the way,” said Cook, 27, of Inver Grove Heights.
But mostly, winter brings challenges, players said.
“Of course, you have to watch for ice before you throw,” Snyder said. “Safety first.”
Dave Becchetti, who played alongside his wife, Donna, and two others the couple had just met, said the discs don’t fly as far in the winter, because they get stiff from the cold.
And losing a disc in deep snow does happen occasionally, even though they’re brightly colored, he said.
“In the winter, you leave your prized discs at home,” said Becchetti, 58, of New Brighton, moments before launching his disc more than 240 feet from the first tee box.
And then there are the harsh temperatures.
Cook recalled playing in an Ice Bowl in St. Cloud last year when the temperature dipped to 18 degrees below zero.
“Oh, this is like heaven out here,” he said of Sunday’s temperature.
Despite the frigid weather, the St. Cloud event raised more than $21,000 for two food shelves, making it the leading fundraiser among more than 225 Ice Bowls played last year across the United States, Canada and Europe, Snelson said.
Harsh weather, he said, will never cancel an Ice Bowl, which carries the motto, “No wimps, no whiners.”
Nick Ferraro can be reached at 651-228-2173.
IF YOU GO
The St. Paul Winter Carnival Disc Sports Festival and Ice Bowl is scheduled for Jan. 24-25 at Como Park. Proceeds will benefit Second Harvest Heartland. To sign up, call Charles Hutchinson at Gotta Go, Gotta Throw at 763-593-7690 or e-mail: charlie@gottagogottathrow.com.
Copyright 2009 Pioneer Press
