“Just be the ball, be the ball, be the ball. You’re not being the ball Danny.”
“It’s hard when you’re talking like that.”

Hiring a caddy to carry your golf clubs on an 18-hole championship golf course is nothing new.  But bringing your canine companion along to carry your golf discs for 18 disc golf holes is nothing short of brilliant.  I found this out on Friday when Badger and I played the Alpine Disc Golf Course at Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort just outside Bend, Oregon.

Badger waits in the trees for squirrels to fall from the trees into his Approach Pack.

For Badger’s caddypack, the obvious choice was the Ruff Wear Approach Pack (the Wedge, Drive, and Putter packs were not available.)  Even though Ruff Wear designed this pack for the hiking ‘approach’ to base camp, this pack also worked well for disc golfing.

I brought four discs – a driver, two mid-range discs, and a putter.  Two discs fit in each saddlebag and there was still plenty of room for water, snacks, Badger’s food, and my camera.  The weight didn’t slow him down at all.  He was right by my side at every tee and every putt, just like a caddy should.

Everything you need for 18 disc golf holes fits in the Approach Pack.

The course is in a beautiful location and offers fantastic views of Central Oregon and the southern Cascades.  The course starts at 7500 feet elevation, halfway up the mountain, and winds for 9 holes through lava fields (I wished Badger had worn his Grip Trex boots), then through forest and ski runs for the final 9 holes.  Each hole averages over 300 feet long and generally trends downhill.

Badger was by my side at every tee box, but couldn’t save my errant throws into trees.

It was a fun and successful disc golf adventure.  Though I technically shot 11 over par, my real score was – 2.  That’s minus two discs lost in trees.  But I guess that’s all just part of the game.  Like I said, I’m no Tiger Woods.

Despite a scenic course and an attentive caddy, I still shot 11 over par

Jack, Ricky and Lucy Smile for the Camera (instead of fetch the disc)

With the aerodynamic question solved, we headed down to the Deschutes River to test the buoyancy of several flying discs.  To make sure our toys didn’t litter the tributary and our pants stayed dry, we employed two Golden Retrievers (Lucy and Ricky) and a Husky/Shepherd mix named Jack.

To our surprise, the Golden’s didn’t live up to their job title – Retriever.  Both Goldens and Jack stood chest deep in the water and watched as the first disc floated downstream.  And this isn’t a class IV whitewater section or anything.  It took a solid 5 minutes for the disc to meander out of view.

Lesson learned, and our later tests of retrieval were accomplished in the shallowest sections.  We learned what we could from the buoyancy tests (and watched the dogs get covered in mud).  But we couldn’t get that first disc out of our minds.

We knew that the river flowed through a spillway about a mile downstream.  After loading the soaking, stinking dogs back in the car, we drove to the spillway.  Miraculously we spotted the floating disc about 100 yards upstream, slowly making its way to us.  With the danger of the spillway just below us and the incredible depth and current from our recent Spring runoff, we didn’t feel it was safe to deploy the “retrievers” on this rescue attempt.

Greg felt bad because his Goldens let this disc slip by, so with lightning fast reflexes and a keen mind for ingenuity, he leapt into action.  Greg grabbed a giant stick wedged above the spillway and from the bridge was able to spear the floating disc and bring it to shore.  In one heroic effort, Greg saved our Deschutes River from superfluous debris and lived up to his new job title – Disc Retriever.

With all the playtime and attention, Nellie thought she was still at home dreaming from her Urban Sprawl™ bed.  She was ensconced in flying discs – fabric, rubber, plastic, foam.  A fetch machine’s dream come true!

The real fun for us product geeks was testing the aeronautical engineering of different kinds of discs.  We were testing how surface area, foam thickness (which increases drag), and flexibility affect aerodynamics.

Unstable flight patterns were how we started our day.  Not to get too geeky, but high amounts of airfoil drag found in thicker, softer discs increase the need to center the lift to improve the stability.  Analyzing the airflow over and under the flying disc can lead to better flight.

By the end of the day, we were able to figure out which discs would fly straight and true, leaving Nellie with nothing but smiles.

So he is on bed rest.  But for us, that means one leashed walk around the neighborhood per day.  His normal daily walks involve a couple miles of off-leash rambling through the sage and ponderosas in the open space behind our house.  So I’m not used to handling a leash, save for the Quick Draw™, which Badger wears wrapped around his collar.

Our new on-leash neighborhood jaunts have required the use of the Roamer™ leash, which allows him to investigate as much as possible without putting sprinter pressure on his Achilles.  The problem I’m having is that with all that roaming space and because he is a spaz, he is stepping over the leash on occasion and getting tangled, which requires me to bend down and free him.

Is this a problem that happens to anyone else?  What solutions have you found?  Does it make sense to invent a leash that prevents this from happening?  Is there a product out there that already does this?  Of course training the dog is one option, but did I mention that my dog is a total spaz?