Folfing the Phantom
As I’m working on promoting Helena to a larger audience, I have to remind myself that I need to break out of what I do every day and explore all the awesome things that Helena has to offer. More often than not, most of what I do in Helena are things that I can do with my two boys. Fortunately, I have a really cool job that forces me to go outside of my norm.
As I was looking at what to feature in the outdoors section of 24 Hours in Helena, I noticed that I’ve never really looked at folfing. And, the Helena area has a few folf courses so I’d better get on it.
So what is folfing? “Short for Frisbee Golf, a game played following the same rules as golf, but using specialized frisbees or ‘folf discs’ instead of clubs and balls, and posts or baskets as targets instead of holes. Folf is far better than golfing because the equipment is cheaper, most courses are free, and you don’t have to wear silly outfits. Also known as disc golf.”
I’ve played folf before. When I worked in Yellowstone National Park, Canyon had a very rustic folf course and I’ve also played a few times with my husband on a course that he created. I’m not all that great, but folf is a wonderful chance to get out hike around in the mountains. For our “date night”, we headed out to the South Hills’ Phantom Course to play a game of folf.
To get to the course, take the South Hills exit. Turn right onto Saddle Drive at the round-about. There’s a large parking area near Mendocino Drive. I live in the South Hills and it usually seems that there are at least a couple cars in the folf lot. The course is opposite of the parking lot, on the south side of Saddle Drive.
The first hole is pretty easy to find and the other holes wind through the area from there – going up and down the hill – so you get a good workout and a beautiful view. I recommend that you plan to walk ahead and scout out the posts – they are tough to see from the “tee”. I was glad that my husband had done the course before. And still, we did have to ask some other players where one hole was located. The Base Camp (outdoor store in Helena) does have a great map online of this course and others in Montana that you can download and print before you go - probably one of those things I should have looked into before I got out there!
We did talk to a couple people on the course who just moved to Helena a couple of years ago. One thing that they mentioned is that folf in Montana is different than in other areas because there are so many trees “in the way”. There is not often a clear shot to the hole. So, I guess if you’re coming from another community this is an obstacle you should be aware of.
You can pick up your folf disk right here in Helena at Bob Wards (3323 Dredge Drive, phone 406.443.2138) or at the Base Camp (5 W. Broadway, Downtown Helena, 406.443.5360). You’ll find that there are all sorts of disks that you can invest in – drivers, mid-range, putters. You can make the sport as affordable or as expensive as you’d like! But, it is easy to keep in cheap.
Helena looks forward to hosting your folf experience. Check out the South Hill’s Phantom Disk Folf Course or talk to the staff at the sporting goods stores. I’m sure they’d be happy to recommend their favorite course in town.
