DeSmith’s backup niche — disc golf
It’s hardly unique for an NHL player to be heavily into golf. In the Penguins dressing room, Justin Schultz is considered the best. A scratch golfer, this summer he traveled to Montana and Chambers Bay in Seattle — site of the 2015 U.S. Open — to play. But disc golf? Yeah, Casey DeSmith stands alone on that one.
In fact, despite several open invitations, DeSmith has yet to convince one of his teammates to go with him to Schenley Park or Moraine State Park, two of DeSmith’s regular tracks.
“A lot of guys in here are soft,” DeSmith said. “They don’t want to go walking around in the woods with me, in the mud. I guess they’re just a little bit coddled. … No, I’m just messing around.”
DeSmith is teasing his teammates, but he takes disc golf seriously. Very seriously.
DeSmith picked up the hobby from his uncle three summers ago and was hooked immediately.
“From the first time I played, I loved it,” DeSmith said. “As soon as I got back to my house, I started watching disc golf on YouTube. I knew I wanted to go play again.
“We went out, and I watched more. Immediately, it was one of those things where I was like, ‘I really want to be good at this.’ Ever since, then I’ve played a lot.”
By a lot, DeSmith means nearly once a day. He has an app on his phone where he tracks his scores and the number of rounds played. He has logged more than 500 rounds over the past two years.
It takes DeSmith around an hour to play a round. Add between 15 and 40 minutes for each additional person depending on their skill level, he said. The minimal time commitment — at least per round — is one of the reasons DeSmith loves it so much.
“That’s the biggest thing with golf: You have to play a lot to be good,” DeSmith said. “I don’t have the time to play real golf a lot or as much as I would need to be good at it.
“Because disc golf doesn’t take as long, I can squeeze it in almost every day that it’s not raining.”
DeSmith does like the athleticism needed to succeed in disc golf, as well as the strategy. He’s neither forehand nor backhand dominant, and that comes in handy while navigating the wooded course.
In the bag DeSmith carries with him are a couple dozen discs with specific functions, the same as golf clubs.
“I’m a terrible putter,” DeSmith said.
Easy accessibility to courses is also big for DeSmith. If he winds up with a lighter day hockeywise, there’s no scrambling to make a tee time. Just get in the car and go.
“I guess it’s a lot like real golf, except it’s free and you can go whenever you want,” DeSmith said.
In case you’re curious, DeSmith — a Rochester, N.H., native — said the disc golf courses around here are tremendous.
His favorite is Moraine, but he also plays Schenley, Deer Lakes in Tarentum and Knob Hill in Wexford.
“They just put in a new one at Cranberry that I haven’t been to yet,” DeSmith said. “I’ve heard that one has some potential.
“As a disc golfer, this is where you want to be. The courses are fantastic.”
This summer, DeSmith played in a Tier A pro tournament: The Pittsburgh Flying Disc Open, where the winner (Nathan Queen of Raleigh, N.C.) won the $920 first prize.
DeSmith finished 35 out of 48 disc golfers. He shot 68-6667 over his three rounds, a total of 201. The highest score to advance to the final was a 188, and Queen posted a 167 over his first three rounds.
“It was my first tournament ever,” DeSmith said. “Most of the people out there were better than me, for sure. They were legitimate pros. My goal was to not come in last, and I didn’t come in last. I was pretty happy with it. I had a blast. It was awesome.”
He was pleased with his preseason, too.
DeSmith concluded the preseason with 15 saves on 17 shots on goal against Columbus. Neither him nor Tristan Jarry really made the Penguins’ decision on a backup a no-doubter.
DeSmith played 116:38 and produced a 4.12 goalsagainst average with an .864 save percentage. Jarry played 120:17 with a 3.99 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.
Despite the ugly numbers, DeSmith said he was happy with how things went — aside from giving a few glove-hand issues.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” DeSmith said of his preseason as a whole. “I was really happy with reading the play, getting in the right positions. Obviously, I have a lot of stuff I need to work on, too. There’s no doubt about it. That’s why it’s early in the year, and I have time to work on that stuff throughout the year. That’s what I need to do, especially on my glove side. Got beat there [Friday]. That’s something I need fixed.”
Coach Mike Sullivan said the Penguins would evaluate the goaltenders’ entire body of work, not just one game.
“We’re going to be forced to have to make a decision,” Sullivan said. “Once again, both Tristan and Casey have been with us for a while. [Goaltending coach Mike Buckley], our coaching staff, our general manager and our hockey ops department have a really good handle on their respective games and where they’re at.
“Really I think it’s more about a body of work than it is a short-term decision based on one game or two games.
“These guys have a body of work with our organization, which is great for us and good for them as well. These will be difficult decisions, but we’re excited about both guys. We think they’re both very capable.”