Brendon scores in Golden Gate Park

Today Gia and I had the good fortune to meet up with Brendon (my nephew from San Diego) and Brittany as they competed in a disc golf tournament in Golden Gate Park. The park begins not far from our apartment (5 blocks) but goes on for miles. So we walked and walked until we finally found them on this slightly chilly August day. The tournament is taking place Saturday and Sunday in the midst of the woods on three courses. This was our first chance to experience the interesting sport. Like "ball golf," as Brendon calls it, you compete in 4 or 5-somes and shoot from a tee. Each hole is usually a par 3 and may include throwing through a set of trees or over a lake. There are penalty shots for going out of bounds or into the lake (plus you loose your $20 disc as Brendon did while we watched). There are several divisions including Professional, Advanced and Intermediate. Brendon is one of the best Interemediates but can play in Advanced and Brittany competes highly in the Amatuer Women's group. We were able to visit during their lunch break and catch up while also watching the guys throw at the practice baskets for prizes including Giants tickets, etc. It was pretty amazing and colorful, as each golfer has several discs in there own bag. B and B tell us they collectively have about 200 at home, and I believe they were carrying about 20 each. The atmosphere on the course was somewhat more serious than I thought; I tried not to talk too much (a difficult task) but slipped on a branch once, startling a player, luckily the guy made the "putt" after he stared me down. But off the course, the folks couldn't have been nicer. Real working class guys, it seems. I, for one, am a new fan of disc golf and look for the sport to really take off in years to come. Brendon and Brittany will compete again on Sunday as they try to improve their world rankings.