Since we’re still battling a seemingly never-ending recession, I thought I’d take a few minutes to go over some sports that can be done right here in Newport Beach, in which the equipment won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
Newport is all about fun, social games that can be played with two people or 10. A little creativity can go a long way and can keep you entertained for hours. Some of these games simply require a trip to Target or Play It Again Sports, and some, a trip to Home Depot to build it yourself. Either way, they’ll be cheaper than $50 rounds of golf or a $400 surfboard.
The first sport is sort of a mash up, or combination game called Frisbee golf, or frolf if you don’t mind sounding ridiculous. I played this game for years and it can be enjoyed by anybody that can throw a Frisbee. Everybody has their own disc, and you can basically make up the course as you go, or pre-plan the course beforehand.
For example, say you walk over to the beach and pick out the lifeguard stand that’s 150 yards away as the first hole. That distance would probably be a par-3, so everybody takes turns throwing, and you count how many throws it takes you to hit the tower. Then, you could pick the bike rack 300 yards away for a long par-5, or the trash dumpster 75 yards away for a tricky par-2.
Basically, Frisbee golf costs you around $10 per player, and once you have a disc, you can play forever, unless you let loose a roof shot.
Another fun game that’s similar in nature is bocce ball, which is a bit like curling, lawn bowling, and shuffleboard in that you’re trying to throw small, heavy balls in the air and land them as close to a smaller target ball as possible. You can buy sets for as little as $20 and the sets usually provide enough balls for four players.
Similarly, the ladder game, where you throw small lengths of rope with balls at each end at a ladder configuration and try to loop the rope around it, can sell for around $30.
Some “do-it-yourself” games that are terrific and can be built from scratch with material costs as little as $25 are cornhole and washers.
Cornhole is the game where you try to throw beanbags into slanted wood platforms with small openings. Check out http://www.cornholecornhole.com/cornhole-plans to view and download plans to make your own set – you can even paint it with custom colors or designs.
Washers is another of these type of games, much like horseshoes (another inexpensive game), where heavy washers are thrown into wood boxes and points are given for makes as well as leaners.
Granted, these simple sports aren’t as grand or as technologically complicated as others, but they’ll give you hours of entertainment and are great to play on the front lawn or take out on the sand.
