An increasing amount of frisbees can be seen gliding throughout campus every day of the year, but this spring there are perhaps a few more discs flying through the air than usual.
Intramural frolf, a new spring sport, has simple rules, according to senior Luke Sanford, the current frolf record-holder “You basically just throw,” he said.
However, there are some logistics to the game. Similar to regular golf, the goal of frolf is to throw a frisbee from the tee to the “hole”, which may be a tree or a rock, in as few throws as possible. The player throws from where their disc lands, and they keep track of the total number of times they throw per hole.
To become a master at the sport requires hours of practice and skills such as distance, accuracy, different types of throws, experience and creativity. Frolfers are beginning to discover new ways to go around obstacles that have decreased their score.
“Some people like to roll the Frisbee instead of throwing it because it can be more reliable over long distances,” said junior Todd Sigley, a frolfer and member of the Intramural Committee.
Sanford knows many other hidden secrets to reducing one’s score.
“If you eat out of the trash can by the Prentiss bridge, one point is subtracted from your score,” he said, “But you have to eat the whole object.” There are also certain obstacles to avoid on the course.
“If you hit a person or a car, or land your frisbee on a roof or in Lakum Duckum, you get one point added to your score,” Sanford said. “And the hardest hole is the flag pole by the tennis courts. The hole goes from the archway at the Asian Garden to the pole, and you have to throw over Lakum Duckum.”
Sophomore Bridger Root, who has been playing frolf since he came to Whitman and averages about one game per week, also discourages beginners from landing on these obstacles.
“Throwing a wet disc really sucks,” he said. “Also, don’t get angry; anger, fear and aggression lead to the dark side, the dark side being trees, roofs, ponds and Star Destroyers.”
According to Sanford, one of the biggest obstacles of all is dealing with the changes the Sherwood Renovation has made. While there used to be two holes through the middle of the courtyard, the course now goes down Boyer to the side lawn of Cordiner, across the rugby field, joining up with the original course near the science building.
“It changed the course pretty significantly,” Sanford said. “It got rid of the two best holes. They put up two more holes, which are interesting but not nearly as good.”
“The best hole used to be the one through Sherwood, but that one doesn’t exist right now,” Root said.”My personal favorites would probably be the flagpole and the lightpole outside Prentiss.”
There are 11 teams total playing IM frolf at Whitman with no divisions between skill level. Each group consists of two teams of three; six people play together at a time. Whether it be midnight or in the middle of the weekday, two teams will play a round together, and the lowest score wins.
Scoring is both similar and very different than golf. One score under par is a birdie, two under par is an eagle, three under par is an albatross and four under par is a pterodactyl.
After each team plays six games, the team with the lowest net score wins and receive the coveted blue t-shirts.
However, any dedicated frolfer will say that it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose. It is all about the love of the game.
“I love being able to get outside with some friends and have an entertaining and delightful time,” Root said. “Not only is it fun to compete, but it is fun to see the ridiculous things that people end up doing to try and get Frisbees down from places.”
Still, it is unclear as of now who will claim the prize. With two first-year teams, a couple senior groups, and many veterans anyone could be the first IM frolf champion.
