Hooked on Disc Golf

One throw.
That's all it took for Casey DeSmith to get hooked on disc golf a few years back, after his uncle stumbled across a YouTube video of professionals playing the sport at an event and suggested they try it out.

So the two of them got online, found a store that sold golf discs, and then took their new equipment to a course in their native New Hampshire.
"I threw one throw - which actually, looking back on it, it was shockingly good for my first throw ever (laughs) - and I was like, wow, this is really cool, I want to be good at this," DeSmith said. "I was kind of hooked right away. So that's kind of how I got started."
Disc golf has since become one of DeSmith's biggest passions outside of hockey, as the Penguins netminder spends much of his free time on the course when he's not at the rink. While he mostly does it recreationally, DeSmith is also registered with the Professional Disc Golfers Association (PDGA) so that he can play in tournaments.
"As a sport, it's kind of perfect for me in the sense that I love being outside," said DeSmith, who posts videos of him playing on his Instagram account (@cdesmith1). "It's really relaxing, just kind of walking around the woods either by yourself or with a buddy, which I just love. I love enjoying the outdoors."
Disc golf is played much like golf, except players use a flying disc instead of a ball and clubs. A golf disc is like a Frisbee, but is designed to cut through the air more efficiently.
"I think the coolest thing about disc golf is that all the discs do different things based on whether it's a putter, a mid-range, or a driver," DeSmith said. "If you're a good player, you can really throw any shot that you want. You can start it on any angle and make it do certain things. So there's a lot that goes into it, and it's a lot more complicated than people think."
DeSmith has a backpack filled with about 25 different discs, saying that his friends like to tease him since they are mostly Penguins colors. He is able to get creative with the designs like he does with his goalie equipment, and has even received a couple of customized discs as gifts.
"When I was with Wilkes-Barre, we were down playing the Texas Stars and a fan came up to me and gave me a disc with a big Penguin on it," DeSmith said. "It's in my bag still, and I love that disc. I use it all the time. Then I got one from my dad for Christmas that was yellow with a black No. 1 on it. I like that disc a lot."
Disc golf has the same objective as golf, which is completing each hole in the fewest strokes - or, in the case of disc golf, fewest throws. A disc golf hole begins from a tee area and ends at a target, the most common of which is an elevated metal basket. As a player progresses down the fairway, they have to make each consecutive throw from the spot where the previous throw landed.
"I like being competitive with myself," DeSmith said. "It's kind of like golf in that regard where you're playing against the course. You're playing against whatever you shot last round. You're trying to beat that, just trying to make good shots."
But unlike golf, disc golf doesn't take quite as long to play.
"It's not like a regular golf round where you're out there for four hours just grinding away, and if you get stuck behind some slow players or whatever, your whole day is gone," DeSmith said with a laugh.
"If I'm by myself, I can bang it out around in about an hour and 15 minutes, hour and a half, just kind of get in and get out. Get a little bit of a walk in, a little bit of a sweat and have a good time."
And what's nice is that an organized game of disc golf doesn't require an official course. Players can go to virtually any uncrowded open space and turn it into a disc golf course of their own, just like DeSmith did in the Toronto bubble last August during the 2020 Qualifying Round against Montreal.
He and former Penguins goaltender Emil Larmi were able to toss discs around at BMO Field, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
"There was plenty of room," DeSmith said. "My favorite part was throwing off the stands. It's very rare that you get to throw from 300, 400 feet in the air down. That was something different."
But for the most part, DeSmith does stick to established courses. He went on a disc golf trip in August with his best friend since childhood, Ian Graham, where they played three well-known courses in New England: one called Maple Hill in Wooster, Massachusetts; and two that are side-by-side in Smuggler's Notch, Vermont.
When he is in Pittsburgh, DeSmith is fortunate enough to have some great courses to choose from. For two years in a row, he has played in the Professional Pittsburgh Flying Disc Open at Moraine State Park, an annual tournament which takes place this month.
"Pittsburgh is one of the best cities in the country as far as disc golf courses is concerned, so I'm pretty lucky," DeSmith said.
He is constantly trying to recruit his teammates to join him, to varying degrees of success. DeSmith said he's looking forward to having Dominik Simon back in the Penguins organization, as the forward was a natural the first time he went out. However, DeSmith can't say the same for Teddy Blueger.
"Someone who was a disaster, and I hope everybody gives him grief, is Teddy Blueger," DeSmith joked. "He was not a fan. And to this day, he makes fun of me all the time for playing disc golf. I just like to tell him it's because he was terrible and he's not a good athlete (laughs)."
All jokes aside, disc golf is designed to be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels, and DeSmith is always happy to have companions out on the course - as you never know who else might get hooked by just one throw.
"I drag whoever I can to come along with me and experience it and give a couple pointers here and there," DeSmith said. "Overall, I try and go with other people as much as I can, but I also enjoy going by myself. It's pretty relaxing as well."