Night disc golf in the park is a shot in the dark

Imagine playing disc golf as night spreads throughout a woodland park, with deep and then deeper darkness transforming every little glimmer into a beacon.

Fling your flying disc into the air. See yourself poised in that moment just beyond release, watching your disc vanish as it flies away. Dude, where’s my disc? It would be smart to use a glow-in-the dark disc during the Glow in the Dark disc golf tournament Friday in Little Rock’s Hindman Park.

Play will begin at 8 p.m. with a shotgun start. But even with sunset long past (7:18 p.m.) and twilight’s faint illumination fading (civil twilight’s at 7:43), hitting the chain-link basket goals will not be a shot in the dark, says organizer Doug Trantham.

The shotgun start will work the way such things do in the game that’s played with sticks and balls: Players will spread across the course, each at a tee for one of the park’s nine holes. “I’ll blow a horn, and everybody starts at the same time,” he says.

With several players aiming for the same goal, how will you be able to tell which glowing circle is your disc?

“They usually write their name on the underside of it with a Sharpie marker,” Trantham says.

Don’t have a disc that glows? Gear for playing disc golf after dark will be on sale at the park pavilion, and, yes, he’ll have a marker on hand so you can brand yours.

But Trantham says players should take their own flashlights.

Playing in the dark “evens the field,” he says.

Trantham thinks using this tournament for your first experience of the game would be a great idea “because it’s not a super-serious competition. Everybody goes out, we get in big groups and we play. You can’t see the basket anyway — I mean, you can and you can’t. You only see the stick. So you throw your disc at the stick and hope you make it.”

Registration, which costs $20, will be accepted from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. There will be All-pro and All-amateur divisions and cash prizes.

“This is a fundraiser for my National Players Challenge Championship, which is at the end of May,” he notes. “Half of the entry fee will go toward that, and the other half will be paid out to the top 33 percent of the field.

“If there’s only three people in one division, then winner takes all. If there are four people, then I’ll pay out two places.”

The National Players Championship will be May 26 and 27 in Russellville.

More information is available by calling, texting or e-mailing Trantham at (501) 837-8878 or npctour@live.com.

Fly to fish

The Arkansas Fly Fishers club will offer “Fly Fishing 101,” a free chance to learn the basics of the sport, from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Witt Stephens Nature Center in downtown Little Rock.

The class will be taught by club members who have vast experience with tricking fish into trying to eat feathers and colorful little wads of fabric.

Designed for beginners, and especially for beginners who are women, the class is meant to make it easier to decide what equipment matters before you spend money. How much do you really need to invest in the rod, reels, lines, hip-waders ... ?

Students will also learn about casting, how to tie a fly (the aforementioned little bits of feathers and so forth) and how to find fish when you don’t have a clue — in other words, how to hire a fishing guide.

The center is at 602 President Clinton Ave. More information is at arkansasflyfishers.com.

Ride to fish

Here’s a question for you fishy people: Have you found a safe way to rig a bicycle to carry fishing gear to and from your fishing spot? Pole, tackle box, creel or bucket ... how do you attach all of it so your hands will remain free while you ride?

Also — and this seems to be the biggest issue — how do you carry your bucket of fish home?

Those who have figured out how to bike to fish can share their expertise with Activestyle by emailing cstorey@arkansasonline.com.