I was made for disc golfing.

I hadn't played, but I could feel it.

Heck, I had gotten pretty good at throwing Frisbees during my childhood.

My chance to justify my confidence came earlier this month, when I met disc golf pro Gregg Barsby at Western Gateway Park in Penn Valley for an instructional morning on the course.

Barsby got things going on the first hole with a toss that soared out of sight behind the trees, then I selected my disc from the three he had given me. After he showed me the basics of footwork and holding the disc, I let 'er fly.

I tried, anyway. I could've been throwing a leaf off one of the oak trees for how well the thing followed its intended path. With a (disagreeable) mind of its own, the disc hit the dirt about 40 feet away.

Mulligan.

Right then, an epiphany: Disc golfing's not so easy.

Barsby, a 19-year-old who lives in Grass Valley, began playing when he was six years old. Disc golfing looked pretty dang easy when he was playing.

Any time I asked him how he delivered such long, accurate throws - as he did hole after hole - he'd tell me, "I've been playing for 13 years."

Now sponsored by disc-manufacturing-giant Discraft, Barsby's starting his 14th year shortly, with his 20th birthday Feb. 15. The first event on the Professional Disc Golf Association Tour in which he'll compete is The Memorial in Scottsdale, Az. Barsby's mission is to turn this season into one that provides enough money to support himself.

"It's weird," said Barsby, a 2005 Nevada Union graduate. "I fly across the country to throw a little Frisbee. I just hope some money starts coming in, so I can make a decent living."

The most Barsby has won from a tournament is $3,700, which he pocketed last season after a second-place tie at the Nov. 19 Players Cup in Crystal River, Fla. His disc golf income, however, is supplemented with a part-time job at Oak Market in Grass Valley. But, come the start of this season, he'll be devoting more time than ever to the PDGA Tour, including a four-month, cross-country trip in an RV.

Barsby guesses he made a little more than $10,000 from disc golfing last season. He'll need an annual income of closer to $30,000 to be able to support himself with disc golf alone, he says.

"My skills are getting better," he said. "I think I can make that sooner or later."

After seeing him play, that doesn't seem so far fetched.

Put Barsby at one end of a football field, and watch him throw. He'll land the disc within 10 feet of the goal post, if that's his target.

He can teach, too.

I stopped keeping score after the first hole, when he birdied and I quadruple-bogeyed. But I did improve, as Barsby revealed with comments like "I've seen new players do worse," and "You're not completely screwed over."

By the end of nine holes, Barsby's tricks took my quadruple bogeys down to bogeys (even a couple pars!).

Barsby's success and ability to teach are results of hours spent on the course just about every day. He pays a price, though.

"I've never been in a relationship," he said. "This is my relationship. You know how it is: Girls always want the attention."

About 100 other disc golfers around the county hit the courses as often as Barsby, he said, with an estimated 1,000 casual players.

Western Nevada County features two 18-hole courses: one at Western Gateway Park and one at Condon Park in Grass Valley.

Condon Park is where a 6-year-old Barsby discovered disc golf.

Literally.

"I was riding my bike in Condon when I found a disc in a creek," he said. "I asked a guy what it was. ... He told me there was a course there."

Barsby started his career by teaching himself, and now he's teaching others (not just me). To arrange a lesson, call 277-4185.

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To contact Sports Writer Jeff Miller, e-mail jeffm@theunion.com or call 477-4247.

What's disc golf?

Disc golf is like traditional golf with these differences:

n Instead of hitting golf balls, disc golfers throw small, Frisbee-like discs.

n Instead of holes in the ground, discs are thrown into elevated baskets.

n Playing disc golf, generally, is free.