Poetpalooza Indian Springs Blue Heron Disc Golf

How did we get here? Blue duct tape, PVC pipe? That's hole 3, of the trajestic (tragic majesty) Indian Springs D golf course, Trafalgar, IN, wherein Disc Golf Review gives it a 3.2 disc rating, wherein Disc Golf Review is conniving and treacherous (like all Internet reviews [the bastards give quirky Old Farm a 2.8]), wherein this course is built on an ignored and scraggly 9 hole ball course, wherein the pins and baskets (or whatever they are) are just planted in the fairways with no consideration to D golf, wherein you huck the disc, wherein monotony, wherein tedium, wherein sometimes over 1400 feet (hole 4), wherein you walk, wherein you walk some more, wherein I suppose it's cool to see a disc juxtaposed on a green, wherein I suppose.

I could mention the old guy who runs the place fell off the deck and busted up his ankle while we were there ("Guys, you caught me on the wrong day"), but I'm sort of done with Indian Springs. (I do hope his ankle is OK--it looked very much not OK. His son came along and took him to the doctor.) There were no springs at Indian Springs. The whole place was hot and unnerving, sort of like those moments right before you are about to go on stage at a poetry festival in Madison, IN, and you have no idea what you'll read...

But earlier in the day, Mark and I did indeed play disc golf. (Matt met us at the poetry festival...)

Hi! Would you guys like to hear me talk about the moon and pomegranates and tendrils and birds and gossamer wings? No? OK, good, fuck the poetry. Let's move onto an actual disc golf course.

Enter the Blue Heron. 

Franklin, IN. Water, water everywhere...been a while since I've played a real "water" course. Maybe since my GR days, good old Riverside.  

Right behind this basket is a soupy, dank pond full of fishing line, glass, condoms, geese shit. I've waded into it many, many times. Back in the day.

Onto Blue Heron, where you are immediately introduced to water, a short hole one, with a lake directly behind, and the basket ingeniously placed on the crown of a rise. Thus errant shots roll or skip out. Into the water. Mark and I walk up to tee one with RUST. We haven't been playing disc, due to work and winter and life. But today is sunny and warm, the day is good, and anyway Mark birdies this hole every time we play (X2). I bogey every time we play. Here is the hole:

Here is my disc:

The front 9 meanders through fields and brushy woodlots, with occasional water holes thrown in, many of them risk/reward and fun to play. Though this is a public park, some of the actual lakes border a private suburb, and they don't seem that disc friendly:

Seems like you have the right to retrieve a disc, but whatever.

I found the back 9 is where the course really shined. Impressive design, well aware of the wind and shot-sculpting. Most likely designed by someone who knows the sport. Also: lakes, rivers, and an actual blue heron.

Yep, that's a heron.

Here is a seemingly innocuous hole 9, under 200 feet, but note the wood-line and OB directly behind.

Mark and I had to play over massive exposure--often 90% of the disc flight was OVER open water. Many of the holes were "thought" holes. What to do?

Check out hole 12! Get your head around this hole, 324 feet, but wait. Click on the pic and blow this up. You have several bad options. Attempt a bomb right at the hole, but that won't work. Huge, grabby trees on your right eliminate the hyzer and it's too far, really, and everything bleeds to the lake. Oh, as you can see, there's no real fairway, either. It does open up on the right, past those trees and that's where I played to, with a forehand. Mark? Um, he left a disc for the herons.

After 12, things enter a river bottom and get very technical. River bottoms are great, since they have massive trees and all those weird flood things, brambles, horizontal tree clumps, mounds, holes, weird rolls.

Also dogs in the fairway and oblivious dog owners, but I won't focus on the negatives, because Blue Heron is a good course. I would return, and you should visit. I really appreciated the water, the shot-making required, the way most holes were set up for an errant shot to find trouble. There was disc-thought to the course, always greatly appreciated.

A fine day.

As for scores? I'm sure you jags are curious. Both rounds, Mark and I tied.