Jeff_LaG
Jul 01 2008, 11:41 AM
From: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/TWIST01/806290302&imw=Y
<font size=6>Disc fever</font>
<font size=5>Sarah and Liz talk about thrill of sport</font>
BY PATRICIA MONTEMURRI � June 29, 2008
When there's a disc golf tournament anywhere in Michigan, you'll usually find Sarah DeMar and Liz Carr on site and flinging flying discs at flag-marked holes.
They are competitors and colleagues, both professionally sponsored by Discraft, a Wixom-based company which is a leading manufacturer of flying sports discs. The object of the game is to fling discs into baskets, which resemble chain-link teacups and saucers. The courses are one-third the size of golf courses, and a tournament can feature 18 to 27 holes, with 24 holes standard.
Players deal with water hazards, hills and valleys, and their arsenal includes dozens of discs designed for long drives or 20-foot putts.
Check out a disc golf competition and here's what you might hear. If you're in the crowd and overhear "That was some anhyzer Liz threw," it means Liz flung a backhanded shot and made it veer right. Catch word that Sarah let loose with an awesome "hyzer" and that means her backhanded shot flew left.
Here's what else you need to know to fling yourself into a new sport.
The players
SARAH DEMAR, 33, of Novi. When she's not playing disc golf, she's a massage therapist.
LIZ CARR, 23, of Farmington Hills. She sells Discraft discs and she's engaged to Bill (Critter) Phemm, also a disc golfer.
Career highlights
� Sarah was seventh at nationals last year and had 20 first-place finishes. The most she's won at a tournament is $550 for fourth place.
� Liz was a 2007 nominee for Pro Rookie of the Year.
Signature throws
� Sarah is known for precision shots, getting out of a tangle in the woods. "When it looks like it's really difficult, I'm known for my snap," says Sarah.
� Liz is known for her distance. She had the world's distance record as an amateur -- throwing a disc 333 feet at a tournament in Peoria, Ill., in 2006.
Holes-in-one
� Sarah has had four, one recently at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter.
� Liz has two, "both on very short holes," she says.
Head-to-head
� At the Disc Girls Gone Wild event in mid-June in Lansing, Sarah finished third, with scores of 50 and 57 over two rounds, winning $180.
� Liz finished second with 56 and 49, winning $250 and losing only to Canadian Elaine King, one of the world's best.
Equipment
� Sarah has eight to 10 in her bag, but if she's worried about losing a disc over a water hazard, she packs a dozen.
� Liz's staple stash is a dozen discs.
Satisfaction
� Sarah says: "It really is a thing of beauty when you snap a Frisbee right and it follows a line and it goes far," says Sarah. "Something about the flight of a disc is a beautiful thing to watch."
� Liz says: "It gives me an outlet to be athletic ... to be competitive. I've made so many new friends in this sport. I don't think I've met a disc golfer who's a bad person. They all seem to be mild-mannered and kind."
<font size=6>Disc fever</font>
<font size=5>Sarah and Liz talk about thrill of sport</font>
BY PATRICIA MONTEMURRI � June 29, 2008
When there's a disc golf tournament anywhere in Michigan, you'll usually find Sarah DeMar and Liz Carr on site and flinging flying discs at flag-marked holes.
They are competitors and colleagues, both professionally sponsored by Discraft, a Wixom-based company which is a leading manufacturer of flying sports discs. The object of the game is to fling discs into baskets, which resemble chain-link teacups and saucers. The courses are one-third the size of golf courses, and a tournament can feature 18 to 27 holes, with 24 holes standard.
Players deal with water hazards, hills and valleys, and their arsenal includes dozens of discs designed for long drives or 20-foot putts.
Check out a disc golf competition and here's what you might hear. If you're in the crowd and overhear "That was some anhyzer Liz threw," it means Liz flung a backhanded shot and made it veer right. Catch word that Sarah let loose with an awesome "hyzer" and that means her backhanded shot flew left.
Here's what else you need to know to fling yourself into a new sport.
The players
SARAH DEMAR, 33, of Novi. When she's not playing disc golf, she's a massage therapist.
LIZ CARR, 23, of Farmington Hills. She sells Discraft discs and she's engaged to Bill (Critter) Phemm, also a disc golfer.
Career highlights
� Sarah was seventh at nationals last year and had 20 first-place finishes. The most she's won at a tournament is $550 for fourth place.
� Liz was a 2007 nominee for Pro Rookie of the Year.
Signature throws
� Sarah is known for precision shots, getting out of a tangle in the woods. "When it looks like it's really difficult, I'm known for my snap," says Sarah.
� Liz is known for her distance. She had the world's distance record as an amateur -- throwing a disc 333 feet at a tournament in Peoria, Ill., in 2006.
Holes-in-one
� Sarah has had four, one recently at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter.
� Liz has two, "both on very short holes," she says.
Head-to-head
� At the Disc Girls Gone Wild event in mid-June in Lansing, Sarah finished third, with scores of 50 and 57 over two rounds, winning $180.
� Liz finished second with 56 and 49, winning $250 and losing only to Canadian Elaine King, one of the world's best.
Equipment
� Sarah has eight to 10 in her bag, but if she's worried about losing a disc over a water hazard, she packs a dozen.
� Liz's staple stash is a dozen discs.
Satisfaction
� Sarah says: "It really is a thing of beauty when you snap a Frisbee right and it follows a line and it goes far," says Sarah. "Something about the flight of a disc is a beautiful thing to watch."
� Liz says: "It gives me an outlet to be athletic ... to be competitive. I've made so many new friends in this sport. I don't think I've met a disc golfer who's a bad person. They all seem to be mild-mannered and kind."