Night Rounds – Reviews on glow sticks, LED Lights, and Glow plastic
Posted by alphagenerator
With the impending time change, night golf will be our only option if you work traditional hours. I have used mini glow sticks, flashing led lights, and glow discs as my test subjects for when day light savings goes into effect. The mini glow sticks work fairly well if disc is almost clear. Any slight tinting of the plastic will drastically reduce the visibility of the low powered mini glow sticks. I’ll give it a 2 on a scale of 5.
The flashing LED lights have been my staple for the past year. They are roughly $2.50 ea and give roughly 12 hours of use. These are the best option of the 3 test subjects. They are the heaviest of the addon options but they work well in all lighting scenarios (ie low sunlight, dusk, and completely dark). The newly redesign 2 alternating color lights that emit a combination of Blue/Red, Blue/Green, Red/Green colors for very easy identification from a far. Dynamic Discs seem to be the main supplier of this particular light setup. I barely notice the LED taped to my discs, but I don’t try any crazy hyzer flip shots at night, much. I highly recommend these particular models and give them an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5. I’ve dinged the 5.0 rating for the weight weenies out there. =)
Lastly I have tested the Innova CFR glow discs, Innova Pro Glow, and the GatewaySuper Glow plastics. one of the problems with glow plastic is that not all the names are available in glow. Innova probably has the largest selection of glow plastic but its still limited compared with their full product offering. The less translucent discs seem to hold a glow longer than the more translucent. That being said the Innova Pro and Gateway Super Glow outlasted the Innova CFR’s. All glow plastic seems best suited for near zero visibility. Any close street lamps will drastically reduce your night vision and the perceived glow from the discs. LED Blacklight flashlights tend to be the best option for charging this plastics in between rounds. I picked one up off ebay for around $13 shipped. My rating for the glow plastics is 3.5 out of 5 mainly due to the limited disc option in glow plastic and the fact most of my dg gets played around dusk and street lamps. All the above plastics are perfectly suited normal daytime use, as the Innova CFR plastic has excellent durability. Hope this helps someone!
Below is picture of a fresh charge on the 3 plastics in a completely dark room. They are visible for 10-15 minutes in a zero light area.
Jeremiah
Grip-and-Rip.com
Wanna go to Indigo?
Posted by mojoe4u
I haven’t posted in a while due to the fact that other than league night on Wednesdays at George Ward, I haven’t played that many different courses lately. This post is long overdue for the course and this could be a blessing in disguise that I’ve waited such a long time to recollect my experiences in a nutshell. On my first two trips to this park I was accompanied by Tony Sanders – props to him for giving me valuable insight into a straighter drive with added distance.
The course = brutally awesome
The park = sketch
Highlights
- Coming together quickly for such a new course due to the efforts of volunteers associated with DGB – great job guys!
- Great layout with an intimidating first hole
- Very scenic hike – can even catch a glimpse of a rusted out car hull from the 50’s
- Tee pads are poured concrete
- For such a heavily wooded area, poison ivy is contained to the perimeter
- Gate at front entrance – doesn’t go anywhere but looks cool
- Amateur and pro pads – diggin’ this even though not playing pro pads
Sketch/This sucks/Why is this happening to me
- Got into chiggers – left and right legs from knee down covered
- Weird hiker on course
- Called a friend in the medical industry about the empty packets I found on the course and apparently it is similar to methadone – sketch
- Stung on right jaw bone by yellow jacket on hole #18
- No trash cans on course or parking lot area
- Slow drive bys in parking lot
- Found a shoe and backpack off gully on right side of #1 – don’t need a ‘Stand By Me’ moment
- Pulled tick off stomach and got a slight infection on the area it attached
- People sitting and/or sleeping in their cars at park entrance – because I normally like to pull my vehicle into a city park’s parking lot to catch a little shut-eye
- Traffic coming in and out of Lake Heather’s gated access for boats
Keep in mind that for beginners looking to have an enriching first time to play disc golf, this is not the place for such an experience. Out of the local courses, George Ward is still the best place to take people new to the sport due to: chill folks playing, easy walk, not difficult keeping up with your disc and most importantly, Tom is there. For those that haven’t met Tom, you are definitely missing out on affordable merchandise (discs, accessories, etc.) and solid advice.
Four of the Dogleg crew (including myself) returned from Denver this past Monday. Stay posted for some stories on this adventure.
Joe
Innova Competition Bag with BackSaver-straps
Posted by alphagenerator
I have a slightly used Innova Competition DG Bag with straps $60.
Call or text if interested
Jeremiah
205-300-31eight9
B’ham Play
Posted by randomtiz
Hey guys! Gees has it been like a decade since we posted last. I know we’ve all been extremely busy; its been crazy here. But just wanted to let you guys know–more than likely–I’ll be in town this coming weekend (Sept. 23-25). I was wanting to know if any of you guys want to get up to play a few rounds. Possibly some Birmingham courses or if there’s another area you recommend. Let me know you guys thoughts.
-jt
Afternoon Delight
Posted by mojoe4u
Friday afternoon, sun blazing, disc golf tee time steadily approaching and off I go in the ‘Russian Tank’ bound for an eatery downtown to meet up with the rest of the crew. Would anyone at the delicatessen notice the guy walking in with a backpack rattling with various accoutrements and attired in a sweat-soaked shirt? Before I could give this much more thought, I became a spectator to the new marketing strategy of a homeless gent that decided to slap the side of an SUV while it was backing up (pretty sure this didn’t pan out for him) and also saw an anti-death rally at 5 Points that featured a person tied to a cross. Should I take these events as some sort of omen? I was soon able to enjoy an awesome sandwich that eventually caught up with me (not too awesome 45 minutes later) that made me sound like a gristmill thundering it’s way from hole to hole. Mix that in with some wine and apparently that was the secret to my success for the day.
Greg Carter Memorial DGC was the latest of the courses to conquer. It’s around half a mile away for Poison Oak Gulch (John LeMaster DGC) and for anyone that has a can-do attitude and a pocket full of dreams, both courses can be played in a matter of hours with a driving time of less than 2 minutes. Sweet action. This was my 5th time to play and first time to play this course. While there is a bit of poison oak beginning with #7 thru #16 (excluding #’s 12 & 13), it is in no shape or fashion a disaster area like the other course (still carrying Benadryl cream and a grudge from weekend prior). #’s 14 thru 17 are hazardous – the road is precariously close to the holes, so watch for traffic.
I had my longest putt (between 60 – 70 feet) and also my longest drive (unfortunately onto neighboring baseball field). I am still using one of my Carson Classics (Pig) as my putter and the Dragon has been a champ on the drives. I observed possibly the longest drive with a Beast by Stephen – 3 to 4 football field lengths at a 45º degree angle straight into the woods; the Beast was never heard from again. The results of the game are as follows: J.T. in the lead, Jeremiah in second and I tied for third with Stephen.
Had a great time and hope to see the rest of the crew soon.
– joe
Cahaba Flow, Pints to Go and Suited-up Joe
Posted by randomtiz
John LeMaster Hole #2 - Death Rocks
Ahh man what a weekend! So yet again, another big disc golf weekend. This time, Birmingham for Tim’s wedding. I want to thank Robin (you’re awesome) for allowing Tim to make it out to play disc golf the day after the wedding. So Sunday it is and all the guys from the bachelor party are in town ready to play. We had a couple of hours to kill before the Talladega race ended and before Jason had to catch his flight. So why not a round of disc golf, right? Great choice.
This was the first time I’ve played at the John LeMaster’s DGC and only the second course I’ve played in Birmingham. After throwing my disc into the Cahaba on Hole #1 and tripping over huge boulders and being approached by a feral cat on Hole #2, I was beginning to rethink what the heck I doing here. Then I took a drink of my Imperial Red and realized I was here with a great group of guys and what an adventure this was about to be.
John LeMaster DGC has some intensely, traverse fairways and tight spots. The majority of the pin locations are visible as straight shots from the tee box. However, welcome to big fields full of tall, unforgiving trees. There’s a few holes that are extremely tight and narrow with lots of hungry foliage and what seemed like, booby-trapped mine fields full of sharp, jagged rocks and empty creek beds. When searching for your misguided disc here, be sure to watch your footing as there are many sharp rocks and big drop-offs down to creek beds–not to mention the poison oak flooded down several of the wooded fairways.
This course is very challenging and a great choice for anyone looking to step it up to the next level. This course also has a few interesting pin locations–such as a long dogleg hole with a pin set back on a narrow trail in a shrubbery ‘cave’. This course also has pretty high grass. I’m not sure how often it gets cut, but can be difficult to find your disc after a long throw or either after ricocheting one off 3 trees. I would certainly like to come back and play this course again, and to finish it for that matter. We ended after 11 in order to get Jason back to the airport in time for his flight.
Great weekend you guys! We must do this again; another day, another city, another course.
LeMaster Tip: *Bring extra discs. Use neon ones. Good luck; you’ll need it.
-JT
Our group (L to R), Jason, Tim, Joe, Stephen and myself (not pictured)
