Roc & Roll Train

Never an easy shot.

“It’s one of my favorite holes, really. It’s got a little bit of everything.”

Until Smitty had said this a few rounds ago, I hadn’t really thought about the 5th hole at Eastway Park being a favorite of mine. As Smitty continued though, it dawned on me that this was really one of the more unique holes in Charlotte, a city with a rich variety of disc golf courses.

The tee pad is elevated relative to the rest of the fairway. There’s a drop-off of about 15 feet to the main fairway, which is split diagonally left-to-right by a creek that is all OB. The pin, however, is on an elevated mound, making it about 5 feet higher than normal. It’s surrounded by a very fast green that will quickly feed your disc into the creek if not thrown carefully. To top it off, there are active train tracks running behind the pin (and by other holes on the course), adding a dramatic tension to the shot.

Throwing a shot at Eastway while the trains are passing by is a small thrill. Disc golf is usually a pretty quiet sport, so when one of these trains rolls by, not only is the engine loud and the horn blowing, but it’s close enough that it makes the ground shake. On the 7th tee especially, you’re not much further than 30 feet from the tracks. It’s the disc golf equivalent of an NFL team playing on the road at a roaring stadium; it’s so loud you can feel it.

This was the 8th disc taken, with many inferior disc going before it.

Earlier in the day, at the Sugaw Creek Am League, I had won a disc that I was surprised hadn’t been picked earlier. I had probably the 8th pick of the lot, but I still got my first choice: a white 180g DX Glow Roc with a purple dual misprint stamp. Excited about the disc, I was throwing it every chance I could, but I knew that it would be a good shot for this hole specifically.

Walking up to the tee pad on Sunday, Smitty and I were commenting on how a good shot on 5 was one of the best feeling shots in disc golf. The 15-20 foot “comfort zone” near the pin is very difficult to hit (and even then you want to be closer to 10 feet). Smitty had been on fire on this hole in recent months, parking a good number of drives.

When we got to the tee pad, we felt the ground rumbling and the horn blowing, which could only mean that a train was about to roll by. Being the nerds we are, we had to get this next shot on video. I pulled out my new Roc, and this shot would be my 5th with the disc:

As you can tell from my shit-eating grin after my shot, that truly is one of the best feelings in disc golf.