50 in 50

[dashiellx]

Thought this was pretty cool. (Tried searching as I thought something similar came up on the board a while ago.)

Disc golf enthusiast Larry Clifford Kirk #45472 is planning a new adventure to spread the word of disc golf.

In 2012, Larry traveled to all 50 states, for the second time, to continue his ambassadorship for the sport.

Stories of Kirk's travels surfaced from news sources all over the country: Soldering on for Disc Golf, Disc Golf Player on Cross Country Tour, and Man spreads love of disc golf with U.S. tour are just a few of the articles posted from Kirk's 2012 adventure.

Larry is known for his high energy, dedication, and ambitious goals, so it was no surprise to his family and friends when this year he decided to take his disc golf cross country tour to the next level. Kirk is calling his tour: "50 in 50," which is appropriately named as Kirk's plan is to play disc golf in all 50 states in 50 days.

"I really want to just promote the game of disc golf. I don't know how else to do it but just get out and travel. I'm just one person. I'm trying to get the word of disc golf out, because I'm pretty passionate about it," Kirk says.

Larry is waiting on his orders from the military before setting the official start date for his tour. The one thing he knows for certain is the 50 day tour will overlap with the United States Disc Golf Championship in October.

Larry is currently sponsored by Rip Disc but is looking for more support with his goal of 50 in 50. Please email Larry with questions or sponsorship information. Larry will be posting his journey on his Facebook page as well as his website Soldiering on for Disc Golf.

 

[bradharris]

It seems somebody does a 50 state tour every year.

 

[Dan H.]

Sounds great! I'd love to play a round of disc golf with him!

 

[Cgkdisc]

Of course this is 50 in 50 days. Next adventure will be to do it in the least number of days. Wonder how fast you could do it?

 

[bradharris]

Of course this is 50 in 50 days. Next adventure will be to do it in the least number of days. Wonder how fast you could do it?

Doing it in 50 days certainly does add another level of intrigue. In tight clusters like here in New England, it's certainly feasible that you could get three rounds in three states in a single day.

But out west, even one state a day can be a challenge when you consider drive time and time to actually play.

 

[dashiellx]

Hawaii and Alaska could present some problems to the schedule as well.

 

[bradharris]

Hawaii and Alaska could present some problems to the schedule as well.

This too.

48 in 48 would be a lot easier.

Why not 51 in 51? No DC?

You can easily hit DC on the same day as MD and VA. So adding DC would actually buy him an extra day out west.

 

[dashiellx]

This too.

48 in 48 would be a lot easier.

Why not 51 in 51? No DC?

You can easily hit DC on the same day as MD and VA. So adding DC would actually buy him an extra day out west.

Is there even a course in DC?

 

[Cgkdisc]

Do you call Calvert in DC on a technicality due to proximity? I wonder if his plan is to exactly do one course a day which would make it tougher than getting 2-3 on some days to compensate for the extra travel in some places.

 

[bradharris]

Is there even a course in DC?

I thought Bluemont was in DC, but it looks like that's over the river in VA. That's probably as close as it gets.

How about a Safari course on the National Mall? I'm sure that would go over well...

 

[dashiellx]

Do you call Calvert in DC on a technicality due to proximity?

Personally, I would not. I would think for something like this, each course would need to be within the legal boundaries of the territory.

I thought Bluemont was in DC, but it looks like that's over the river in VA. That's probably as close as it gets.

How about a Safari course on the National Mall? I'm sure that would go over well...

As long as all the discs were black, they'd fit right in with the drones.

 

[Cgkdisc]

He could make up a temp layout on the mall and use a lid to play a round.

 

[JC17393]

Doing it in 50 days certainly does add another level of intrigue. In tight clusters like here in New England, it's certainly feasible that you could get three rounds in three states in a single day.

But out west, even one state a day can be a challenge when you consider drive time and time to actually play.

Depends on where the courses are within the state, I suppose. I remember reading an article about a guy who tried to drive through as many states as he could in a single day. He think he fudged it a bit with driving across a time zone line and maybe doing it when daylight savings ended so as to give himself 26 hours from midnight to midnight, but part of the strategy was just nicking through corners of states on his drive. And of course he started in Maine, which only has one neighboring state and would required doubling back through NH to get out of otherwise. Ah, google found the article.

Larry's strategy will probably be similar, nicking just over the border of states to play a course and move on. If he picks the right lines, he could take the shortest routes across some states and stick to the borders rather than driving through the heart of too many states. Should be interesting to observe how he pulls it off.

 

[Sadjo]

Do the courses need to be all a minimum number of holes? I think one course a day for 50 days in 50 states is more than possible. I'd love to do something like that.

 

[bradharris]

Do the courses need to be all a minimum number of holes? I think one course a day for 50 days in 50 states is more than possible. I'd love to do something like that.

It's certainly possible, although you would almost have to start and end with AK and HI.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

Definitely more than possible, there's plenty of places that you can hit 3 or 4 states a day no problem, I'd be willing to bet I could do 5 or more on the east coast if properly planned out. One state/day would be interesting - I'd have to end/start at Hawai/AKi, so I could spend more time there.

To me it seems like such a waste of time and resources. On a 50 day road trip I expect to play 150+ courses, logistics would require skipping so many great courses for mediocre ones, and likely wouldn't be able to play many leagues or tourneys. Nope, it wouldn't be for me. But I dig it, I'll be paying attention to this guy for sure, good luck man. Have fun.

 

[JC17393]

This has gotten me thinking...I think I would start in Maine. The southernmost 18-hole course is Boom Field. Start at sunup (say 6:00am), play a quick round there (~60 minutes), be on the road to Bellamy Park, arriving by 8am. A round there (again, ~60 minutes) and then you could get to Amesbury Pines by 10am.

So that's 3 courses and 3 states crossed off an it's not even noon. There are three more states with a course within a 3ish hour drive of Amesbury. I think I'd head towards Vermont, and hit Austine to make 4 in a day. I'd end the day by beelining to Rhode Island for the night.

Day 2 would start bright and early at Ninigret Park. From there, I'd head into CT and hit any of the courses right along I-95. The goal would be to hit the NY border by noon with two courses under the belt. Then I'd play FDR or Kisco before moving on to NJ.

There, there's 8 states in two days, building in a good six day cushion for some of the big western states and/or Hawaii and Alaska. No doubt PA/MD/DE/VA could be done in a single day as well, adding another 3 days worth of leeway.

 

[tistoude]

I got to meet Larry at worlds last year during my second round at Renny. He seemed like a super nice guy and I think he makes a great ambassador for disc golf.

I think when people do stuff like this it helps add a little positive spin to the image of disc golf. I wish I had the time and money to do tours like this.

 

[ohtobediscing]

MT/ID/WA/OR can be done in a day also, in mid-summer, though it leaves you a long day's drive to either WY, UT or NV.

 

[scarpfish]

I have done three states in one day before....

Missouri
Illinois
Iowa

Kind of the problem with the "hit the corners" strategy is that you have to make long drives to get to the next series of courses.