Bullseye!
by Rebecca Peters
This week I honed my skills to become an expert ax thrower at The Throwing Post in Arnolds Park! Spoiler! I am still not an expert ax thrower! The Throwing Post is an ax throwing bar on Allen Avenue in Arnolds Park. They have multiple ax throwing lanes, which you can reserve by the hour and have some friendly competition with friends.
Upon arrival I reviewed the safety precautions and signed a liability waiver. I knew I would want some challenging competition, so my Okoboji Tourism sidekick, Laurie, joined me for this adventure! They led us to the Emerson lane and gave us some basic lessons on ax throwing. We should stand behind the black line and take a step as we threw. We could throw with 2 hands for more control, or just one hand. They explained where we should hold our hands on the handle to have optimal rotation as we released the ax. Then they set us loose to give it a try! I tried both methods of throwing, but felt most comfortable throwing with just one hand. After giving us a few more pointers based on how we were throwing, they suggested several games!
Laurie and I decided to play a game called 50-30. We took turns throwing until one of us reached 50 points on the target. If one of us accidentally went over 50, our score went back to 30! A bullseye counts for 6 points & each line out from there went down. I worked my way to 50 points mostly with 2s and 3s, but I got a handful of bullseyes. Fun fact: each time you hit a bullseye you get to ring a bell, so everyone knows how talented you are! Laurie and I played two very competitive games, but I ended up winning both of them! Laurie felt I had an unfair advantage because my ax throw looked very similar to my tennis serve. Maybe years of tennis gave me an advantage. Maybe I’m just better under pressure. Either way, we had fun!
Hear more about this adventure in the Vacation Okoboji podcast!
We left The Throwing Post with smiles on our faces and lots of funny stories from our throwing mishaps. The Throwing Post offers an engaging adventure perfect for a date night, or even a large group of friends! Learn more about The Throwing Post and other adventurous attractions in the Iowa Great Lakes Area at www.VacationOkoboji.com.