Frolf Ligonier

Timberlink Golf Course in Ligonier, PA gets into SW PA's Disc Golf game with it's unique 18 hole (basket?) experience.



I recently frolfed the course and took some pictures. It's a fun course depending on your level of experience, and in this case the "word" experience goes beyond mere game play. I've been frolfing for a decade, and I've played some challenging courses which Timberlink is not, but I had enough fun to consider hitting the place up again before the end of the season.



The course winds it's way around the timeless Timberlink par 3 golf course, playing in the rough. Distances range from 70 to 210 feet, so you know it's not a long course, however the targets are often positioned in challenging locations, and the course is so well maintained that you would need to be seriously "out of it" to be able to lose a disc. Very little undergrowth.





One of the things you should know before going to Timberlink is that it is a privately owned business and therefore charges a green fee of eight dollars. Seems like a lot of money when that same amount can haul four people up to Moraine State Park, until you consider they allow opened containers and have cup holders on the Golf Carts.



Cart rental is probably the main reason to play this course. It's not something a person is used to while frolfing, and adds a level of challenge to the concentration aspect of the game. It can be seriously distracting to drive around in a golf car when you're not used to it because those things are fun. Its an extra $14 for the rental, but it makes the outing feel like more of an occasion.

The only real complaint one could have about the course concerns the targets themselves. I guess I'm not a big fan of the Designer Pro, finding the action to be too far removed from the Mach 3 found in just about every other course I have played thus far. Plus these things could use some new chains. Smacking these rusty dogs with a speedy disc doesn't produce the same satisfying crash that we're used to, in fact it's probably closer to a thud. Any heat leading into the basket will end up only scratching the finish on the disc.



Despite this minor complaint Timberlink frolf ends up being a nice outing, especially when you incorporate other nearby attractions, such as Linn Run State Park, or Ligonier Beach.

Olympic Report 2010

At first I was worried about the raunchy conditions, worries that were almost confirmed by the Men's Snowboard event. Then I realized that it was snowboarding, and that with snowboarding it's totally acceptable for Olympic calibur athletes to be flopping around on the course like drunks. Ah, Snowboarding... snObOardNING.... Skiing ...I'll never get it. Actually, this years Olympic coverage has warmed me up to Women's SNBX, were the athleticism seems to be in spades. Skicross didn't impress me either.

So this time around, Body Miller avoids the Beaster and comes through. I like the man, although I get the feeling he's that guy they're trying to represent in those MCDonald's commercials which claim that Olympic athletes are lining up for McNuggets.

The U.S. Women's Ski Team isn't being hurt so much by a supposed popularity contest as it is being hurt by sculpted eyebrows. I'm also not sure I should feel like I'm eavesdropping, in a reality TV kind of way, when a hopeful faces his/ her event standing, so I just leave the room. The microscope is what is stressing out the athletes.

So far I've enjoyed the coverage and events. Too bad the great conditions are in the east this year. I'll expect to find lots of newbies on the slopes in the coming weeks.