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Outdoor Wisconsin host Dan Small welcomes you to his special on-line sanctuary. Join Dan as he shoots his best round of golf ever.  Awards Highlights
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Theme9/22/98 Tiger in the Woodsby Dan Small
Yes, I said arrow. Did I mention I was playing archery golf? And while my score and that 310-yard drive would put me in a league with Tiger and Vijay in club-and-ball golf, in the archery variety, those are mediocre numbers.
When I shoot at a buck this fall, you can bet I’ll visualize a little plastic ball right where I want my arrow to hit. I just hope I remember not to yell "Timber!" before I let fly. ©2000 Milwaukee Public Television
July 29, '98: Yo! Stinky?! Is That
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Last week, while the Dow was
plummeting and Clinton was squirming, I shot my best golf
score ever - a legitimate 62 for 18 holes. I chipped
in from 20 and 30 yards on the first two holes and launched
a 310-yard drive on the 350-yard 9th hole, carding a 27 for
the front nine. My score slipped on the longer back nine,
but I still drove all but two fairways and managed to hang
on for a 35. My luckiest shot of the day came on the steep
downhill 123-yard 13th hole, where my drive overshot the
green and lodged head-high in a white pine 20 yards behind
the pin. Course rules allowed me to pull my arrow out of the
trunk and shoot from a bow length away from the obstacle. I
chipped to within a yard and made the putt.
A verbal description of this
game does not do it justice, but I’ll try. As in golf, you
play 18 holes of different lengths over varying terrain. For
"drives," you shoot a lightweight "flight" arrow. For
approach shots and "putts," you go with a heavier arrow with
oversized fletching and a "digger" point that keeps it from
skipping. I used a flu-flu arrow tipped with a masonry nail.
The "hole" is a four-inch plastic ball perched on a wire
stand six inches off the ground. You must either pierce the
ball or knock it off the stand. As in golf, every shot
counts. Some archers use specialized periscope sights, while
others modify hunting sights or mark their lower limb for
long shots. In the interest of safety, you must wait until
the party ahead of you moves to the next hole to tee off. If
a shot strays toward another golfer, instead of "Fore!" you
yell "Timber!" (because early flight arrows were made of
cedar) When I asked about the size of the target, I was told
"It’s about the size of a deer heart." With shots at varying
ranges, it’s great practice for hunting.
I played the North Fond du
Lac Archery Club course near Mt. Morris in Waushara County
with club members Ralph Scheffler, Dick Voight, Paul
Petrykowski and Grant Whiffen. Grant, who took me carp
shooting in June, has been trying to get me to play archery
golf for years. Now I’m sorry I waited so long because the
game is a gas and I’m hooked. This is the only 18-hole
course in the state, with holes ranging from 100 to 350
yards. There are two dogleg holes and one where you must
shoot 178 yards over a steep, wooded ravine to a small
perched "green." You won’t break too many arrows on rocks in
this sandy country, but the fairways are narrow, so an
errant aim or a stiff sidewind can cause a long "drive" to
drift into the waiting woods that border every hole. An
expert at this game can play most holes in two shots, as I
luckily did the first two. A hole-in-one is possible. Ralph
has shot 11 holes-in-one in tournament play, and another
member has 20 of them.We didn’t see any that day, but
Ralph’s tee shot on the 256-yard 18th hole landed less than
a foot from the ball. He was within 10 feet on at least half
the holes, many of them a yard or less, and only needed
three shots on the two doglegs and the 350-yard 9th. Ralph
carded a 39, which puts my 62 in perspective.
The course closes this
weekend, but reopens in spring, with organized shoots in
May, June and July and open shooting any time. There is no
fee, but donations are encouraged.