Frolf

Anyone has visited Carleton (especially during the spring), will probably have seen a fair amount of Frisbees flying around. Often, that’s going to be on the bald spot, the mini bald spot, or some other patch of grass. But some of you might have also noticed from time to time groups of people either on sidewalks, ledges, or in the bushes, not playing catch but trying to hit random objects with Frisbees. At Carleton, one of the preferred activities of the Ultimate community is a game called Frolf (Frisbee golf), where we do just what I have described. It’s like disc golf, except you use an Ultimate disc instead of disc golf discs, and not all of the holes are baskets. Throughout campus there is a course laid out with specific objects that must be hit, such as lampposts, grills, and even a real disc golf basket.

The course goes around most of the campus, starting at Sayles-Hill Campus Center, and leading past the chapel and the Cassat dorm to the Watson dorm on the far side of campus. From there you go further around until you are near Lyman Lakes, at which point you slowly begin making your way back to the West side of campus, passing the Language and Dining Center, the Libe, and finally arriving back at Sayles. It can actually be a pretty good way to see all of Carleton, which I realized when I first frolfed as a prospie along with two other prospies and a Carl who has since graduated. Unsurprisingly, I was not very good, but none of us were for that round, so it was no big deal. However, since coming to Carleton, I began to frolf multiple times a term (although I’m still not very good, not sure what’s going on there).

But while frolf is a much less intense activity than actually playing Ultimate, it is not without risks, except that in frolf, it’s the disc that is in the most danger. The combination of trees, buildings, and bodies of water that can be found throughout the course means that you are always one bad throw away from losing you disc forever. And I would know, I have lost two Frisbees to frolf since coming to Carleton. One is currently on to of Cowling Gymnasium, which I tried, and failed, as have many others, to throw over. The other disc I lost just flew into a bunch of trees and was never seen again. I don’t know if it got stuck in one of them or lost in the brush, but considering this happened in my Freshman Fall, I am not confident about ever recovering it (side note: if you happen to find a Frisbee with a design on it that looks like the flag of Colorado, my email is gallagherd@carleton.edu). But despite the potential risks to my Frisbees, frolf is one of my favorite things to do with my teammates, and you should definitely try it out if you have the chance!

David is a sophomore from New York City who had an unexpectedly hard time finding a picture of himself to add to this biography. He is leaning towards Philosophy as a major, but we will see if that is still the case come Spring. When not being inept at using a computer, he enjoys writing and playing Ultimate Frisbee. Check back in the coming weeks to see if he ever finds more pictures of himself, amongst other adventures. Read on to meet the rest of our bloggers.