Disc Golf Fairmount Park 33rd and Oxford streets All daylight hours, free www.sedgleywoods.org
When 70-year-old Paul Fein, avid discgolfer, told me that "The "Friends of Sedgley Woods Disc Golf Course,' is a party group," I didn't quite believe him. I pictured the club of disc-golfers sitting in someone's living room playing Parcheesi after a day on the course. You can imagine my surprise when he told me that after Thursday and Saturday afternoon matches, the club sits around boozing on the course, then heads over to a local bar until about one in the morning. Doesn't sound too different from a night out at Penn.
Disc golf is played like regular golf, except you throw discs instead of hitting balls, and you aim for a raised basket instead of a hole. The goal is to get the disc (basically a smaller, denser Frisbee) into the basket in the least number of throws. Official rules can be found on the Professional Disk Golfer's Association website at www.pdga.com.
The Sedgley Woods course is beautiful, with the 18 holes spread out in a wooded area. Unfortunately, it's not in the nicest part of town. If you're going to take a cab there, arrange for a pick-up time in advance. It's nearly impossible to just find a cab, and you don't really want to wander around looking.
It's a public park, so you can go any time. The club organizes doubles and tag tournaments on Thursdays and Saturdays. If you go another time, you're going to have to track down a disc of your own. Check out the Sedgley Woods website, www.sedgleywoods.org, for information.
Whether you're an experienced disc golfer, looking for something new to do with your friends or just desperately trying to find something you're good at, check out Sedgley Woods. It's the new mini-golf.
