New 2013 Minnesota Winter Thread - MSP Minneapolis St. Paul MN Tips Courses Discs

[MNThrower]

Hey everyone. I have searched around a lot so I am feeling mildly prepared and really stoked to play some rounds this winter. I'll throw out some of what I know as well as a few questions I have. If anyone else in the area has questions related to this feel free to jump in and ask here. It'd be cool to have a thread full of info on this.

So first of all I am wondering about courses that leave pins in and are friendly about disc golfing in the off season. Looking at other threads I've come up with these:
-Acorn
-Valley
-Kaposia
-BRP

Does anyone know if Highland in St. Paul will keep pins in? I'll shovel off tee's occasionally - I live just a mile or so away.

Clothing:
I'll get some waterproof/warm socks, long johns, wear my snowboard hat and pants, Hoodies/Underarmor/Coat depending on weather, and some gloves to take on and off. Maybe a hand-warmer for the throwing hand.

Any suggestions for cheap-ish footwear? I'll likely only get a half dozen to a dozen or so rounds in so I don't want to break the bank. But proper footwear is always beneficial especially in a MN winter!

Discs
I've got a couple orange discs I think I'll mainly use. I might also pick up a few more from GGGT around Black Friday if they have a sale. Thinking I'll try an FLX or ESP Buzzz and a couple other Pro discs (they seem to be pretty gummy). Any other recommendations? I'd like to keep it really simple with something like the below:
1x Orange Pro Wraith
1x Orange Dx Teebird
1x Orange ESP or FLX Buzzz
1x Black Dx Aviar

Extras
Towels. Hand warmers. Flask. Extra socks and shoes. Any other recommendations? Couple of glow stick things in case it's getting dark maybe.

Travel
Des Moines seems like a fairly close trip with some decent weather (maybe 3.5 hours away?). So does Kansas City (I've made it down there in 6.5 hours before). Anywhere else that would be a bit warmer on average and include some fun courses?

Does St. Cloud have a serious winter scene? I could see a couple courses up there being really fun and I know I saw a video on here of a few guys playing in some sleet/snow already this year. Sportsman's Hill on the way up there is pretty short, fun, and maybe a great courses in the winter if they keep pins in.

 

[HeavyCritters]

-Acorn
-Valley
-Kaposia
-BRP

Acorn and Kaposia are your best bet for winter golf. I lived in the Cities from December 2010 - April of 2013 and play a TON of winter disc golf at the two courses above.

After the first decent accumulations, it takes a while for the winter golfers to tamp the snow down by playing, but after that, it's gravy.

Acorn especially seems to be well used in the winter.

As for any other suggestions: I played when there was two feet of snow on the ground and taped thin strips of Christmas ribbon (about 12" to 18") to my discs so if they went in at an angle the ribbon was visible out of the snow.

I never lost a disc. :thmbup:

Have fun! I miss those courses every day.

 

[yangs1]

I'm usually good with a Thermal Fit, tee shirt over that, a hoodie and insulated windbreaker. I wear a couple of pairs of socks and some hiking boots. I've never had to use hand warmers. After a few holes my throwing hand adjusts to the cold. I usually keep a dry towel in my pocket and just cover my hand with this in between throws. Your body heat will keep the towel warm.

Plymouth Creek is another good winter course. It gets tamped down pretty quickly.

For my Winter bag this year I'm going almost exclusively DX. Good grip and won't be so bummed out if I were to lose one.

 

[thrembo]

 

[HeavyCritters]

]I'm usually good with a Thermal Fit, tee shirt over that, a hoodie and insulated windbreaker. I wear a couple of pairs of socks and some hiking boots.[/B] I've never had to use hand warmers. After a few holes my throwing hand adjusts to the cold. I usually keep a dry towel in my pocket and just cover my hand with this in between throws. Your body heat will keep the towel warm.

Plymouth Creek is another good winter course. It gets tamped down pretty quickly.

For my Winter bag this year I'm going almost exclusively DX. Good grip and won't be so bummed out if I were to lose one.

I'm about the same for clothing. Two pairs of socks and hiking boots are perfect to keep feet warm and dry.

I do use hand warmers just to get started (20 for $6 at Walmart), but my hands usually warm up after 5 or 6 holes.

DX is definitely the best choice for winter golf for the reasons stated above.

I'm glad this thread was started. I LOVE winter disc golf.

:hfive:

 

[Guurn]

Wool socks, enough about that. BRP is always in great shape.

 

[djschnabel]

I started playing year round about 4-5 years ago. I wear a glove on my left hand, and I carry a "Muff", the things that NFL QB's wear for my right hand. I've played in below 0 air temp (-20 windchill) with no issues.

 

[Monkeypaws]

Wow, your list includes the 3 courses I've played up there. Love the Valley and Acorn. I will likely be trying Kaposia again around Thanksgiving.

BRP will be for sunnier days.

 

[HeavyCritters]

Wow, your list includes the 3 courses I've played up there. Love the Valley and Acorn. I will likely be trying Kaposia again around Thanksgiving.

BRP will be for sunnier days.

BRP plows their fairways in the winter. :thmbup:

Keep a good eye on those discs at Kaposia over Thanksgiving, the ground cover of leaves is not your friend.

And have fun. I'm jealous.

 

[HiFi]

You are going to want to do something like attach ribbons to your disc. The problem my friends and I had wasn't winter clothing and the cold, it was the fact that a disc can disappear right before your eyes in snow that isn't all that deep, and even on shorter shots in the 250ft range. I only lost one last winter, but too much of our time was spent combing the snow to find our discs.

Idk that I will be playing any winter rounds this year because of that reason alone.

 

[TheTeesh]

I played with a guy last winter and instead of ribbon he used chalk. He just wiped it around the edge of the disc. After he threw it showed where the disc hit. He of course used a bright color chalk and seemed to work pretty good for him.
Acorn is always good to play in the winter. Enough people play where it'll get packed down and some good trails get made.

 

[MNThrower]

I didn't even think about attaching ribbons to the discs. Sort of odd but makes sense since they get buried so easily.

Dx discs it is. I'll have to buy a bunch of x-outs at GGGT coming up here. Orange I think. Only orange.

 

[HeavyCritters]

I played with a guy last winter and instead of ribbon he used chalk. He just wiped it around the edge of the disc. After he threw it showed where the disc hit. He of course used a bright color chalk and seemed to work pretty good for him.
Acorn is always good to play in the winter. Enough people play where it'll get packed down and some good trails get made.

I saw the chalk marks a lot on the first 3 holes at Kaposia last winter.

I like the idea, I just think you'd still spend more time digging in the snow than needed. With ribbon, you can just grab the ribbon and bring the disc up from the snow. Eliminates cold hands. :thmbup:

 

[HeavyCritters]

I didn't even think about attaching ribbons to the discs. Sort of odd but makes sense since they get buried so easily.

Dx discs it is. I'll have to buy a bunch of x-outs at GGGT coming up here. Orange I think. Only orange.

Hot pink is always a winner, too. I think that's harder to come by in DX plastic, though.

 

[smarkquart]

Every form of marking your discs is going to have a pro and con. For example:

Ribbon - Pro: When they slice in, the ribbon is the last to follow into the snow. You can use colors that are easiest for your eyes to see. Con: Longer or fatter ribbon alters the discs flight, albeit not much, and on rare occasions can grab your finger and give you a ribbon slice.

Chalk - Pro: Does not alter the discs flight. Again, you can use colors of your choice. Con: You need to constantly reapply to best effect. There are some entry angles where the chalk is not going to mark the snow.

DX - Pro: Easy to walk away from if you do not want to spend too much time looking. Better grip. Inexpensive to replace. Con: Creates the habit of just walking away from discs. Can eventually become expensive. One less disc you can throw during that round.

Old Fashion Looking - Pro: No fuss, no muss to prepare to play. You get used to identifying marks in the snow where discs have landed. You get a better understanding of a disc's trajectory. Trains you to be a better spotter. Con: Most likely going to lose a disc and thus will most likely take time away from playing.



I usually stick to just a few courses during the winter. This is mainly because I am relegated to playing Saturday because of the shortened days, but there are some courses more suited for winter play than others.

Plymouth - I have played it a million times, so I know what alleys, power, and angles I need to stay in the fairway. Plus the courses is heavily played so traffic beats down a lot of snow.

Acorn - I will hit this up if I have spotters. There are only a few bad spots where you could possibly lose a disc. Having an extra pair of eyes will definitely cut down on searching time.

BRP - Course is second to none because Ray takes care of his course. The fairways are always matted down so a disc cannot slice into the snow. The tee pads are always shuffled. Due to traffic, often the rough is matted down by traffic, but super horrendous shots will still find fresh snow that way it could be easy to see those tell-tale signs of a disc slicing in.

Eagle's Edge - It is a short enough course where you should never lose sight of your disc. Plus, there are not big throws.

 

[Anon]

None of the courses up here in ND really get played enough in the winter months to get nice and "packed out." Ribbon seems to be absolutely key.

That and layers. Lots and lots of layers. Surprising how warm it can actually get in the winter when the sun gets out and there isn't much wind.

 

[RyanisCorriganis]

St. Cloud doesn't really have a "scene", but there is disc golf to be played. Millstream gets teepads shoveled because of a couple devout locals and Sportsmans Hill league has plans of going through the winter. If you plan to come play up here be prepared to trudge through fresh snow. I would guess that many of the courses I haven't mentioned won't be shown any love over the winter.

 

[MNThrower]

So I have gone nearly two weeks without throwing a round and am absolutely jonesin' to get out.

Thinking i'll have to give it a shot tomorrow - this will be my first real round in the snow.

Does anyone have a picture of the ribbon applied to their disc? I'm thinking about just cutting maybe 3 foot lengths, taping 2 of them to the disc and seeing what happens. Any other tips on this method? Should I apply the ribbons to the top of the disc?

 

[juju]

Twin Cities Winter Events Calendar:

http://tinyurl.com/tcdgleagues

 

[Aim For The Chains]

https://www.facebook.com/notes/aim-...disc-golf-dont-lose-your-disc/203647942981694