Disc Golf Hijinks at the Airport

[bazillion]

What's really funny is when I reported to jury duty at the Los Angeles County Courthouse and walked through the scanner with a disc in my bag (just in case) and they didn't say boo.

I mean, in a courthouse that very well could turn into a deadly weapon, right? But no, even when I pointed it out to the guy it was like :total disinterest:

:wall:

 

[DJ Troll]

I recently flew from Dallas to NC and was really nervous cause I had my golden retriever in my bag but they didn't even stop me or search my bag. Needless to say, I was relieved.

 

[apdrvya]

you put a large dog in your bag? :hfive:

 

[Coast]

Never thought about this before. Flying for the first time with my disc this next week and now I know what to expect. Might of caught me off guard with the whole you have metal showing up in your bag.

 

[Flick Maniac]

I used to work at airport security. The X-ray only shows the density of materials presented to it. And it works at a certain angle. So, when hit at a certain angle (edge-to-edge and not through the thinnest bit, i.e. flight plate) it will look as if there's something inside that has super high density (just like metal would have) and the profile that looks like a disc seen from the side. That's just one disc.

The density reading on the screen also easily maxes out if there's a lot of medium dense material on top of each other, so if there's a stack of 10 or more of plastic discs, the image will look very 'dark'. That is a cause for closer scrutiny, if only to make sure there's nothing more in the stack that did not appear clearly on the screen because the density had maxed out.

Wow, TL;DR for sure.

Shorter version, discs only have the same density readings that metal has, if scanned at a certain angle or if there's a lot of them.

 

[Midnightbiker]

Great stories

 

[koogs]

My son and I have flown 3 times now since I started playing, and we've never been stopped or questioned at Milwaukee, Vegas, or Phoenix.:thmbup:

 

[jsun3thousand]

the tsa employees at kansas international airport are well aware of disc golf. i flew out of kansas city to chicago in the summer of 2010 and one of the security guards near the x-ray machine saw me put my golf bag on the belt and walked over to the x-ray machine to see my discs get x-rayed and to tell the guy manning the x-ray machine what the circle things were. the guy that walked over said that x-rayed discs all look different and very interesting. i guess it has something to do with metal salts and other additives used make the discs heavier and the density and thickness of the plastic.

the first time i traveled with discs i just stuck them in my checked bag. when i opened my bag, my clothes looked different then i how i had packed them and there was a little love note from the tsa informing me that my bag had been searched. not sure if the discs prompted the search but it was the first time my checked luggage had been searched.

 

[Dsplayname]

Just fit a nice, rough-cutting, circular saw blade into the underside of one of your discs. It should make going through security a lot less boring.

 

[NothinButChing]

disc hijinks in hotels on road trips in airports wherever

 

[Zach-R.]

I just went through Charolette , Denver, Honolulu, and Hilo with no problems at all. If you can try to look at the discs while they x ray them, they do look cool. I wanted to use my bag as my personal carry on, so I took some discs out and put them in my checked bag. I had no problems with that either, my checked bag seemed to not have been molested by TSA.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I havn't been on a plane in 2000. Back then , you could use small locks to lock the zippers together on your checked bags. Is that still allowed?

 

[Dadio]

Was traveling By Greyhound from Seattle to Spokane this spring. In Seattle they had started doing checks of bags carried into passenger compartment(1st time I've seen that). Guy came to line to board bus with nice bag and 8 to 12 discs. Security gal said she had to check bag. He got flustered, dug in bag for a bit, picked up everything, and exited station never to be seen again. Not terribly surprised considering the # of 'recreational' players but talk about obvious. Will give the sport a bad name.

 

[dreadlock86]

I havn't been on a plane in 2000. Back then , you could use small locks to lock the zippers together on your checked bags. Is that still allowed?

no, you can't do that anymore. my stuff is always rearranged whenever i open up my suitcase after a flight. i used to just stuff 4-5 discs in my suitcase but now i just bring my whole bag.

gonna be heading off to rochester next week, i hope they don't give me any guff!



speaking of possibly prohibited items getting through security, i never go anywhere without my guitar. i always have in my case nail clippers, wire clippers, a glass nail file and a metal nail file. never been asked about it once. hell, even the extra pack of strings i keep in there could kill someone. that's one of the reasons i think airport security is so ridiculous, anything could be a weapon. what next, no pens and pencils?

 

[Fishy]

speaking of possibly prohibited items getting through security, i never go anywhere without my guitar. i always have in my case nail clippers, wire clippers, a glass nail file and a metal nail file. never been asked about it once. hell, even the extra pack of strings i keep in there could kill someone. that's one of the reasons i think airport security is so ridiculous, anything could be a weapon. what next, no pens and pencils?

I had to check my McDermott pool cue, when I tried to carry it on I was told it could be used as a weapon, the security guard was not impressed when I said I'd beat someone to death with my bare hands before I would use my $600 pool cue as a club.. I've seen people carry oversize tennis bags, but made a some team check their hockey sticks. I can't imagine trying to swing a hockey stick in that small area. not a lot of common sense in the TSA.

 

[Midnightbiker]

I had to check my McDermott pool cue, when I tried to carry it on I was told it could be used as a weapon, the security guard was not impressed when I said I'd beat someone to death with my bare hands before I would use my $600 pool cue as a club.. I've seen people carry oversize tennis bags, but made a some team check their hockey sticks. I can't imagine trying to swing a hockey stick in that small area. not a lot of common sense in the TSA.

Does a $600 pool cue make you shoot any better than a $100 pool cue, or is it just a show off thing?

 

[Rocaholic74]

Well.....now that the thread was hijacked into pool talk...LOL

There is a big difference in pool sticks...better wood = less warping and bending of the wood after long periods of use...plus if you bought a $600 pool cue...then you obviously bought another cue for breaking so you wouldn't damage the more expensive cue....McDemott cues are awesome...I myself have two Meucci's and a Pechauer. Haven't played pool in ages but they're still beautiful to look at and use every now and then..

Now does that make you shoot better...NO....it's all about the "shooter" but it doesn't hurt to have good equipment....it's the equivalent to playing disc golf with a lid or a true disc...playing ball golf with a persimmon driver or a titanium driver..

 

[Rocaholic74]

I think it would be hilarious if someone made a movie or short skit of guys playing disc golf in an airport... they brought in a bunch of baskets to an airport and set up a little course....have the TSA guys chasing you through the airport while trowing your discs and trying to make your next throw....Throwing off of one level of the airport to the lower level... maybe from the top of the parking garage, through the main doors, up the escalator and put the basket on the other side of the metal detectors...putt has to go through the metal detector... one hole would be down the runway with the planes as obstacles....basket on the wing of another plane parked at a window...

 

[Midnightbiker]

I think it would be hilarious if someone made a movie or short skit of guys playing disc golf in an airport... they brought in a bunch of baskets to an airport and set up a little course....have the TSA guys chasing you through the airport while trowing your discs and trying to make your next throw....Throwing off of one level of the airport to the lower level... maybe from the top of the parking garage, through the main doors, up the escalator and put the basket on the other side of the metal detectors...putt has to go through the metal detector... one hole would be down the runway with the planes as obstacles....basket on the wing of another plane parked at a window...

I bet with a Mach Lite, and a few putters, you could pull that off

 

[Fishy]

Does a $600 pool cue make you shoot any better than a $100 pool cue, or is it just a show off thing?

Surprisingly it does feel like butter, but it helps my pool game not at all, I was given it by a friend years ago before he passed. Trying to tell the TSA something has sentimental value and you wouldn't hit someone with it is actually about as convincing to them as saying it is monetarily valuable, they don't much care. I haven't used it but a handful of times since he died, but it was one thing I wanted to move on the plane when I came back to Colorado from Michigan. He could have given me a $25 stick from Walmart and I'd probably treat it the same.