The 1999 disc golf season has come to a close. After more than 33,000 miles, 113 different courses, and an average of 20 rounds per week, Todd Branch and Al Schack are taking a well-deserved rest from the rigors of touring.
It was an exciting year, and the first disc golf tour to be publicly chronicled by a player, which was followed every week by thousands of golfers who toured vicariously through Todd’s online updates. We sat down with Todd to summarize and reflect on the duo’s 1999 adventures.
"I didn’t know what to expect when we first started out in April,” he said. "One thing for sure, I didn’t think driving the Winnie would be as tough as it was!” The vehicle was continuously buffeted by winds and passing trucks, making steering a constant challenge. Add to that the occasional crazy driver to contend with and the inherent threat of breakdown that comes with traveling long distances in a 1973 Winnebago. "When you’re driving a rig like that, you’ve got to concentrate all the time.” The pair managed to criss-cross the U.S. all season without any serious breakdowns or accidents.
Of all their experiences, through the victories and defeats, good weather and bad, there was always one constant that kept their spirits high: the disc golf family.
"Most disc golfers are very kind and generous,” Todd said. "We thought we’d do more camping and spend more time by ourselves, but we almost always ended up staying in people’s homes or out in the backyard. They’d let us hook up our electricity, feed us... they really took care of us.”
"The people we met were accommodating in a less sterile sense of the word. Their kindness wasn’t given out of obligation, but genuine caring.” Todd and Al found themselves immediately accepted wherever they went, and began to understand what the phrase "frisbee family” truly means. "It’s like a big club, and everyone in the club is cool. In this cynical world we live in, I was surprised how warm and trusting complete strangers can be. We’d be staying at someone’s house, they’d go to work in the morning and leave us the house key, even though we’d only just met the day before.”
While it might be easy to make friends on the road, how easy was it to keep relations stable within the tight confines of the Winnie? No problem there, says Todd. "Al and I hardly ever had an argument, and never raised our voices to each other. The only thing we disagree on is map directions!” Needless to say, the pair spent more than a few hours taking the "less than ideal route” to various destinations.
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