Columnist Susan Snyder: Group flips Kerry an endorsement

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004 | 8:08 a.m.

No matter where you plan to pitch your vote in November, you have to admit both camps are starting to look like the Burning Man festival.

President George W. Bush's camp has country singer Toby Keith. Sen. John Kerry's has rocker Bruce Springsteen.

Bush reportedly has snared the support of the Amish. (Two words: No television.)

And Kerry has been endorsed by guys who flip floppy putters.

DiscGolfers for Kerry roll into town this week to show off their skills and campaign for the man they hope to see in the White House.

Their five-day trip will start and end in Santa Barbara, Calif., and include stops in Kingman, Ariz., Grand Canyon National Park and Las Vegas.

"It's five guys going out on a road trip," Andrew Corcoran, one of the golfers coordinating the unofficial campaign tour, said Monday. "This is the first vacation I've had in about two years. But I felt it was time for a change."

The golfers, ranging in age from 24 to 27, say in their press release that their tour is designed to "empower and inspire individuals to become more informed and more active in politics."

"It will forge an active partnership between a loved sport, a lifestyle of desire and the beauty of this great country," they say.

A door-to-door canvasser encouraging people to get out and vote was the catalyst that turned these weekend warriors into political activists, Corcoran said. Arizona and Nevada are close by and key swing states. Both Bush and Kerry will be in Las Vegas on Thursday -- the second time each has been here in six weeks.

Corcoran and his crew will be playing disk golf and rallying support in Kingman that day, before heading to the Grand Canyon on Friday. However, Corcoran said there will be no disks flying over the nation's largest chasm (next to the one growing between the presidential candidates' respective camps).

"It could take a couple of days to get it back," he joked.

Disk golf has become an international sensation, with more than 16,000 players enrolled in the Professional Disc Golf Association. Rules are similar to golf, but the "holes" are basket-like receptacles mounted on posts and placed around a park. The "balls" are plate-shaped disks, which are not to be confused with or referred to as "Frisbees." Ever.

During their visit to Las Vegas on Saturday, the disk golfers will play at either Freedom Park or Mountain Crest. They will decide when they get to town, Corcoran said.

The games will start around noon. Look for the banners and the team's motor home. The golfers also are bringing along a video camera and filming a documentary using spectators' interviews.

"It's kind of a hippie sport. We're thinking the more liberal people are who we'll relate to," Corcoran said. "But you do get all kinds of people out on the courses."

Corcoran works for a national rental car company. His teammates include a pharmaceutical salesman, an event planner, a real estate appraiser and a bartender.

They are aware that not all who turn out will be supporters, but that's OK.

"If people don't want to hear us, they don't have to," Corcoran said. "It's a free country."

And fun to watch.