News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Jeff Heider of Seaside tees off at the Oregon Series tournament.
The golfer steps up to the tee, a rubber pad among a carpet of pine needles on the forest floor. His eyes hone in intently on the steel basket some 60 yards ahead, screened by a thicket of ponderosa pines.
His arm sweeps like a hunting cat's tail slowly back and forth, fingers curled around the rim of a plastic disc, as he gauges distance and curve, and calculates the flight impact of a light breeze and drizzle.
Two shuffle steps forward and the arm whips around. The disc hurtles out into the forest, turning on edge, clipping the bark of a tree, hits the duff and rolls a few feet before tipping over to lie like a neon green saucer in the dirt.
The golfer shakes his head as his fellows commiserate. It was a difficult tee shot; he did about as well as anyone else. The golfers trudge forward to take their next shots, eventually moving in to putt, the chains of the basket jingling as the plastic discs slap home.
This scene played out over and over on Sunday afternoon as Oregon Disc Golf hosted a major tournament at the Sisters disc golf course on the grounds of Sisters High School.
Sunday's tourney, played out in a steady rain and occasional gusty winds, was one of seven in a series of pro-am tournaments staged across Oregon called 2008 Oregon Series.
"It's probably one of the most premier tournaments in the States," said Oregon Series Coordinator Teresa Bellinger. "The amateurs play for prizes; the pros play for cash."
Golfers move from "hole" to "hole" on the 18-hole course, bag of discs over one shoulder. Just as in the parent sport, there's a different "club" for every circumstance.
Golfers select discs of different sizes and weight for different shots - larger, heavier discs for drives, smaller discs for putts. The different sizes and weights behave differently and different throws are developed to bend shots around obstacles.
Mike Ruzicka was the tournament organizer for Sunday's event, which included 198 players. He noted that the traditionally male-dominated sport is attracting a growing number of women to tournament play.
"Oregon probably has the biggest number of women players of anybody for amateurs," he said.
Players came to Sisters from all over the state - Corvallis, Eugene, Seaside.
The weather wasn't very cooperative, but the ethic of disc golfers doesn't allow for complaining about the weather. They play no matter what. The heavily timbered course made for challenging shots, but there wasn't any complaining about that, either.
"That's the point," said Oregon Disc Golf Board member Todd andrews. "You've got to play with what nature gives you."
Jeff Heider of Seaside loves the sport.
"It's a lot cheaper than golf," he said. "We're out here having a great time. (We) play in any weather. Just trying to keep that lightning away; that'd be good."
Heider says he plays in as many tournaments as he can, "but work gets in the way of fun; you know how that is."
Work was far from anyone's mind on Sunday and fun was the order of the day.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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