The desert air
Disc golf is like regular golf but wild, and with a frisbee. On many courses there are no manicured greens, $100,000 annual water bills, or trespassing laws. Here in Washington most courses are free, and disc golfers intermingle with hikers and walkers. That’s not to say fancy disc golf resorts don’t exist (I’ve been to one), but by and large, disc golf is untamed.
For me that’s the fun thing about the game. Each course blends in with the natural terrain. I’ve been to densely wooded courses in Western Washington, boggy courses along the river in Wisconsin, and dry courses in Central Oregon. The discs are just there to add a little excitement to the nature walk.
I was super stoked to disc golf with Saguaro cactuses when I visited my friend Carl in Phoenix. We played at Papago, or Moeur Park. Technically it’s in Tempe, east of Phoenix and home of the Arizona State Sun Devils. Both cities are in the Sonoran Desert, which explain the Saguaros. This also makes the disc golfing hot. We went during September, and the mercury was pushing over 100 F.
Lost discs pose bigger risks here
In addition to the occasional cactus, there is a creek running through the course. Or is it a canal? That would depend on whether it is manmade, and I don’t have the energy to research that. One of my discs did come perilously close to being swept away, but it survived. It’s often a misunderstanding that deserts have little in the way of flowing water. The Sonoran surely has plenty, given that its rivers support a metropolis like Phoenix. However, it doesn’t rain much, and the river water originates from snow melt in faraway mountains.
Now, any disc golf outing usually features at least one disc thrown into a tree. Often, it’s the tree one is specifically aiming not to hit. Papago presents the rare opportunity to toss a disc into a cactus. Legend has it that a disc thrown hard enough, and at the right angle, will slice the cactus in two. If of course, the thrower has a rocket launcher to propel it forward. Unfortunately, our discs never strayed in the direction of the Saguaros. I think the real hazard is not to the cactus, but to the person that risks falling into the needles when they go to retrieve it.
One of my goals when visiting Phoenix was to poke a cactus, without getting poked myself. It’s not as easy a feat as it sounds. Some cacti are so dense with spikes that it is impossible. Others are possible, but the small spikes hiding amongst the long spikes make it tricky. In any case, I stuck my finger through the sharp menaces and successfully poked a Saguaro. I don’t remember if it was at Papago, but it could have been. Hopefully the cacti never poke back. True story, a man in Arizona once died after he shot a Saguaro, causing its arm to fall and crush/impale him.
