MANDO'S DISC GOLF PRO SHOP

Troy's Work Table has been trying to find low-impact activities that involve a lot of walking. This is partly to address some lower back issues, partly to get some exercise, and partly to shed a few unwanted pounds. Therefore, TWT has been doing a lot of walking. But TWT also wanted to try out disc golf to see if walking could be paired with an activity that would "jazz it up" a bit.

So, the child and I found ourselves in downtown Auburn at Mando's Disc Golf Pro Shop. I had visited their website prior to heading down, but I wasn't sure what to expect.

When we arrived, the place was filled with young men in their twenties and thirties. I was easily the oldest person there. The child and I poked around through display rack after display rack of brightly colored plastic discs. There were discs of many colors—blue, lavender, crimson, orange, pink, green, yellow, off-white. Some were opaque; some were translucent. There were discs of many different plastics. Some were more flexible, some less so; some had more grip, feeling rubbery, and some had less grip, feeling harder.

I was overwhelmed.

The owner sensed this, came over, introduced herself as Mary, and asked how she could help me. I told her that I wanted to try out disc golf, but didn't quite know where to start. She said that she could definitely set me up with my first disc.

Mary wandered about the racks. She selected about ten discs and handed me the stack. She pointed to a disc golf basket in the back corner of the store and told me to start throwing the discs at it to see which of them felt the best to me. I threw the discs. She asked me which one felt the best both in my hand and upon throwing it. I told her the red one. She grabbed two more discs and had me throw them. Was the red one still the best? Yes. She told me that was my new disc. I could now go try disc golf and if I didn't like it then I was only out eight dollars.

I purchased my Innova DX Stingray multipurpose/mid-range disc, along with a Ching Juju mini-disc for the child to throw around. I thanked Mary for her help and the child and I headed off to the White River disc golf course at Auburn's Game Farm Wilderness Park.