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When defining the “Spirit of Disc Golf,” one needs look no further than to Norman Eckstein. Norm is the most dedicated disc golfer I know, as well as an exemplary advocate of the sport and a gentleman in every sense of the word. Norm was a key player in establishing the Druid Hill Disc Golf Course 27 years ago, and his enthusiasm and contributions have continued unabated to this day. Norm was the principal designer and key player in making Baltimore’s Lake Montebello Disc Golf Courses a reality in 2011, and he is front-and-center again in the effort to bring the Hillway Disc Golf Course and the expansion of the X-Holes Disc Golf Course, both in Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park, to fruition.
Norm can be found at the Druid Hill Disc Golf Course nearly every day, managing the growing job of returning “found” discs to their owners, picking up trash and debris and dispensing his disc golf knowledge and anecdotes to the many “newbies” who visit the course. Norm says that, whenever he sees new players or first-timers at Druid Hill who don’t know their way around, he gets “an itch that I just have to scratch,” as he offers his help in the art of throwing a disc or in navigating the course.
In between, Norm has weathered more than his share of physical ailments, including a hip replacement, which would have deterred many from ever playing the game again. A favorite personal anecdote of Norm’s relates how a disc golf injury led to a physical exam that identified a previously-unknown cancerous tumor, which was successfully treated. When describing that experience Norm says, “I can truly say that disc golf saved my life.”
Norman Eckstein carries and dispenses the “Spirit of Disc Golf” with him every day and is the true embodiment of the term. It is my privilege to know him and to offer this glimpse into his life.
R. C. L. Olson
Norm can be found at the Druid Hill Disc Golf Course nearly every day, managing the growing job of returning “found” discs to their owners, picking up trash and debris and dispensing his disc golf knowledge and anecdotes to the many “newbies” who visit the course. Norm says that, whenever he sees new players or first-timers at Druid Hill who don’t know their way around, he gets “an itch that I just have to scratch,” as he offers his help in the art of throwing a disc or in navigating the course.
In between, Norm has weathered more than his share of physical ailments, including a hip replacement, which would have deterred many from ever playing the game again. A favorite personal anecdote of Norm’s relates how a disc golf injury led to a physical exam that identified a previously-unknown cancerous tumor, which was successfully treated. When describing that experience Norm says, “I can truly say that disc golf saved my life.”
Norman Eckstein carries and dispenses the “Spirit of Disc Golf” with him every day and is the true embodiment of the term. It is my privilege to know him and to offer this glimpse into his life.
R. C. L. Olson
