Philly wins NSL Hope’s Cup Championship

On a cold November morning near Lake Chautauqua, NY, 10 Members of Philly Stones League gathered for the Hope’s Cup; a 2 day, 5 round team stones event. PSL members would take on SC Finger Lakes in 5 rounds spread across two courses and 5 different playing formats. The formats include Standard 2v2 Stones, 2v2 Matchplay, 4v4 Standard, 4v4 Matchplay and 3-Ball Singles. Each win earned you points, and the first team to 15 Points was the winner.

A frozen morning at Brewer’s Hallow- Southern Tier Brewery.

Round 1: Match Play- Federated Tracts- Hope’s Windows


Philly Started strong with a win in the first match and a surprising push in the second before dropping the next 2 games. Game 5 featured the best matchup of the Round with Harry Cusick and Bobby Bardsley of PSL vs Chris Kinka and Erik Johnson of FLX. The power team from Philly was victorious to tie up round 1. PSL secured an easy victory in the final game.
PSL-3.5
FLX- 2.5

Round 2: 4v4 Standard- Federated Tracts- Hope’s Windows


Round 2 was saw the most lopsided victories of the entire weekend. FLX took match 1 by a landslide followed but Philly doing the exact same in match 2. Match 3 was close until Philly took advantage of an error by FLX to go up heading into 5. Playing conservative backfired after 3 straight poor throws left Philly with only 1 stone to FLX’s 3. Ignoring the safe play, JY Halpin of Philly dropped his stone within 18 inched to put the pressure on FLX. An excellent throw game FLX the point, but needing a 6, they were forced at Halpin’s stone. An excellent knockout by Peyton Sivak almost made it happen, but his stone ended in the water, and the last chance for Finger Lakes in round 2.
PSL- 7.5
FLX- 4.5

Round 3: 2v2 Standard- Brewer’s Hallow- Southern Tier Brewery


With Philly up 3 points this early, FLX needed some wins. Starting off 1-2 in the first 3 games, FLX’s heavy back end player matches proved the right move as they took the next 3 including an epic game 6. Facing the power group of Harry Cusick and Bobby Bardsley from round 1 FLX threw 1st round draft pick and assistant Captain Lake Sivak and Brandon West. After a slow start for PHL, they battled back within striking distance on the 5th landing, an errant throw left Philly down to their last stone. Needing a reset- Cusick knocked the mark out from 18 feet away. The miracle comeback wasn’t ready to show yet, as Sivak and West kept the pressure down to win the next throw.
PSL- 9.5
FLX- 8.5

End of Day 1.

Round 4: 4v4 Match Play- Brewer’s Hallow- Southern Tier Brewery


Round 4’s 4v4 was much closer then Round 2. Match 1 featured some of the hottest players of the tournament all facing off and resulting an push. FLX stacked the deck in Match 2 looking for an easy win. A literal David and Goliath match featuring Philly’s youngest- Luke Wilk and Thomas Kinka partnered with Veteran Sean Smiley and 2021 PSL MVP Mark D’Alfonso. The Philly team battled hard and took the much higher ranked FLX team all the way to the 5th landing before falling just short. PSL rebounded with a much needed victory in Match 3 to stop the point bleeding.
PSL- 12.5
FLX- 11.5

Round 5: Singles (3-ball)- Brewer’s Hallow- Southern Tier Brewery


The weekend’s final round had 11 singles matches. The Chess match of player match-ups was highly debated when FLX chose to go with a back heavy line up- saving team’s top 2 players for 9th and 11th. With Philly only needing 5 wins to close it out, they might not even have a chance to play. After Bobby Bardsley continued his excellent weekend with a win in Match 1, it started to look like the gamble paid off. FLX won 5 of the next 7 including a major upset by FLX’s Wyatt Perry.

Game 9 featured 2 of the weekends top players with Lake Sivak facing Ryan Kinka. Kinka controlled the entire match, holding Sivak to 1 point until an unforced error gave Sivak a drop 5 pointer. Sivak carried the lead until the last stone of the match, and Kinka was able to score on a 30 footer downhill to earn the push.

PSL- 13.75
FLX- 13.75

Game 10 featured a heavily favorited Nate Priester (3-0-1) of PSL vs Rob DeBois (0-3-1) of FLX. Rob was able to shock the crowd and get out to a 9-0 lead. Priester was able to settle down, with a huge knockout and then scoring multiples on X to cut the lead in half. Riding the emotions of the crowd it looked like the fantasy win was going to fold around them, but Debois had other plans. Two great throws into the landing on 4 gave him the cushion he needed to hold on for the upset win.

PSL- 13.75
FLX- 14.75

Game 11 and final match of the event featured Erik “EJ” Johnson, FLX’s top player Vs John Janick a Veteran and Stones Founder who came out of semi-retirement for the event. Before the round, Janick requested the matchup. ” EJ is throwing lights out…. but if I throw my best game, I think I can beat him.” Janick was throwing great, but EJ was borderline unbeatable taking a 8-0 lead after 3. Janick tried to slow the game down on the 4th stretch, but EJ was having nothing to with it and knocked out the mark. Going straight from Base to landing, EJ landed the mark. With his first throw, his stone hit a tree and bounced harmlessly out of bounds. Making the safe choice, EJ attempted to lay up in a bunker but missed, and the stone bounded into the water. This was the opening Janick needed. He dropped for 5 points and was only down 3. Janick then went to X and scored 4- completing the comeback. 2 rounds later.. Janick was able to hit the landing of 5 from the 2nd stretch and put his final stone in play. After 3 impossible attempts to knock out the mark, one of the greatest matches in stones was complete.

PSL-14.75
FLX-14.75

After the completion of 5 rounds and 29 Stones matches, no team managed to get to 15 points. A SUDDEN DEATH match was to determine the winner. Both teams chose their top players to go head to head, Nate Priester and Ryan Kinka for Philly and Lake Sivak and Erik Johnson for FLX. After 3 stretches, this game looked identical to the last, FLX had the lead 8-1 after 3 stretches.

Lake Sivak went from Base to Landing on 4- the shot that doomed EJ. This time, Lake put his first one in the bunker- 20 inches away. Kinka’s first one went long, but Priester was able to land inside Sivak. 2 more stones by EJ and Sivak couldn’t beat it but with his last stone, EJ got redemption and knocked out Priester’s stone to lay 2. With the final stone, Kinka dropped it to 2 inches for 1 point.

Trailing 8-2 Philly had to to X. Priester’s first attempt was long, but managed to establish with his final mark throw. He then placed his first stone within 3 inches. Sivaks first attempt was on line, but long, and bounced hard off the rocks into the water. FLX remaining 2 stones couldn’t find their mark. The door was open for Philly. Kinka’s first stone was right on target, kissing the mark. The elusive “12” was not to be had though, both remaining Philly stones bounced harmlessly away.

Now only leading 8-6 in a game eerily similar to the last, EJ didn’t risk the final tough throw to 5 landing and decided to lay up on 4th’s bunker. After establishing close it was back to team Philly. Kinka’s first stone was on target and took the establishment. Sivak with room above the mark dropped it on top to flip the side yet again. Priester continued his precision play and knocked both Sivak and the mark. The mark ended up on the 5th stretch and Sivak’s dislodged stone stayed in play. With the mark on the crest of the 5th, there was almost no way to get close. Kinka threw a perfect touch low rolling stone that went through the 4th and the OB channel, but took the hill on 5 and rolled back into play, earning the establishment. With the need to be aggressive, FLX tried both long and short, but were unable to keep either of their final stones in play. Priester followed Kinka’s play with the touch low roller but this time, his stone bumped Sivak’s as it rolled back into play, knocking it out and securing 3 points for PHL.

The comeback was complete, leading 9-8 and needing to win by 2, all Philly needed was to control the next round. Kinka went straight to landing and DEEP. The mark ended only 6-8 inches from the back and on the crest of a hill. The following establishment was well played. Short, safe and slightly to the left but plenty close enough to force FLX’s players hands. FLX’s first 2 stones fell short then long OB, when Sivak stepped up and threw a high arching gem and landed 8 inches short of Kinka’s establishment and rolled forward to take it. The joy was short lived though when Priester stepped up with a similar shot that rolled inside. It was down to the final stone. Erik Johnson, FLX’s strongest player all weekend stood at the spot. As he released the the final stone of the tournament the air was silent, it hit and rolled out of bounds. The event was over.

PHL- 15.25
FLX- 14.75

Philly Stones lifts the Hope’s Cup

The Top 5 Base Throws I’ve played.

Ryan Kinka

Private Course in Port Hope, On, Canada.

There are a lot of different Stones Courses around and I have played most of them. Some of these courses were carved naturally by nature, while others were designed by man. The one unalienating truth about Stones is the earth is your course and you can play the game where ever you choose. Every course has its charm and I think you would be hard pressed to call out “the best” overall course in the world. I’m going to take a few weeks to try and document what are my Top “Features” of courses I have played. These lists are by no means all encompassing, just one Stoner’s favorite parts of the game he loves.

#5- Second Stretch- Original Private West Chester, PA Course

Construction of 2nd Stretch in 2012.

The first full permanent course built in the Philadelphia Area was on a private property in West Chester in 2012. The second Stretch was the first one designed. An uphill dogleg left that sloped hard at the corner this base throw was always interesting. Due to the Tree cover, you had to keep the throws low but with enough to get up the slope. With the right speed it would make the turn and roll down toward the landing. A redesign in 2014 added play to the right of a large tree- away from the natural movement of the stretch. This base throw was used in our first “How to Play Video” in 2015. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3bVmS8_hzg)

#4- Fifth Stretch- The Grove- East Goshen Park- West Chester, PA

Looking backwards toward the base of The Grove’s 5th.

The final Stretch at East Goshen has some of the most options available from a base. The first 15 feet the stretch has plenty of action with a nice slope and water if you go too long. It then turns 90 degrees to the left giving the base throw a full carry with multiple trees and targets. For the brave- the small elevated landing is reachable with a throw through multiple trees but it requires an impressive throw to close it out. This throw especially on the final stretch is 100% risk vs reward.

#3- Second Stretch- Brewer’s Hollow- Southern Tier Brewery- NY

View from the Base- Brewer’s Hollow 2nd.

Obviously the prettiest course ever built, Brewer’s Hollow has some amazing stonework as you can see. The 2nd Stretch has not only the best base throw, but is the best stretch overall. Standing at the base of the hill you are handed four major uphill throw choices. Two to the left side, protected by water if you go long and two to the right side with a stone wall that drops off to OB. This throw is as intimidating as they come and well designed. Plenty of games can be won or lost early here.

#2- First Stretch- Boxer’s Trail- Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA

Early design of Boxer’s Trail 1st.

The first stretch was one of the first breaks from traditional design with actual trees in the middle of it and some 15-20 feet wide in certain parts. Before this, stretches would tend to be only 3-4 feet wide. This elevated Base between two trees gave you an inspiring look over the entire Boxer’s Trail course. The downhill throw also allowed for a variety of distance plays, and a stone could end up at the bottom of this stretch some 150+ feet away. Easy to play, but difficult to master, it is a perfect blend for new and pro level players.

#1 First Stretch- River Course – Port Hope, ON Canada

The River Course- 1st

My best base throw may not be the most technical, or the most intimating, but the feeling you when you stand there looking down the stretch is what Stones is all about. This private property rests on over 100 acres of “unspoiled” Canadian wilderness actually has 2 courses, The River Course and The Woods Course. You enter the course area by walking down a valley that has been carved by a stream over a millennia. The First base rests just 8 feet from a cliff to the stream below. The stretch is covered in moss, pine needles and forest loam yet rolls as smooth as a PGA golf green. The options here are almost endless depending on how aggressive you wish to be taking on the water on the right. No man could ever create this, this was created, destroyed and created again by mother nature and THAT is the Stones at its finest.

Stones for All Ages

A game for everyone…In 2014, Roy Weidner stepped out onto the Brewer’s Hollow stones course at Southern Tier Brewery and became the oldest player to ever win a regulation stones match at the age of 81. On Sunday July 18 2021, at East Goshen Park, after a last minute cancellation left us a player short, 5 year old Dominic Cusick stepped out onto The Grove to play with his father. After losing their first tournament match on the final throw, Dominic and his father Harry pulled off the victory in their second one, making Dom the youngest to ever do so. An 81 year old and a 5 year old = Stones for all.
poison ivy and virginia creeper

Plants of the Fairmount Park Stones Course

[PHOTO: Leaves of three, let them be–harmless Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia, orange arrow) and poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, red arrow) are both abundant at the Fairmount Stones course.]

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On May 11, we conducted an informal plant identification walk of the East Fairmount Park Stones course, led by David Hewitt from University of Pennsylvania/Academy of Natural Sciences/Philadelphia Botanical Club. We observed the following species:

11 May 2016; David Hewitt, John Janick, Jason Mifflin

Viburnum dentatum
Lonicera japonica
Lonicera mackii
Acer platanoides
Allaria petiolata
Hedera helix
Parthenocissus quinequefolia
Aralia spinosa
Alianthus altissima
Fagus grandifolia
Toicodendron radicans
Rubus phoenecolasius
Ornighogalum umbellatum
Ageratina altissima
Vinca major
Ilex opaca
Celastrus orbiculatus
Glechoma hederacea
Galium aparine
Platanus x acerifolia
Plantigo major
Poa pratensis
Taraxacum officinale
Dactylis glomerata
Stellaria media
Rubus allegheniensis
Calystegia sepium
Phytolacca americana
Prunus serotina
Polygonum aviculare
Rumex crispus
Arctium lappa
Liriodendron tulipifera
Pinus strobus
Veronica filiformis
Persicaria virginiana
Malus spp.
Fraxinus americana
Carya spp.
Eupatorium serotinum
Lindera benzoin
Acer pseudoplatanus
Ficaria verna
Rhammus cathartica
Allium ursinum
Philadelphus coronaries
Paulownia tomentosa

norway maple monoculture

More Than A Game: Promoting Environmental Stewardship

The game of Stones can be played anywhere – from backyards to the beach, and even indoors (coming soon), but perhaps the best place to enjoy everything the game has to offer is in the woods.

After being chosen as a finalist in the Commission on Parks and Recreation’s Pitch Your Passion Philly contest, we set out with PP&R to find an appropriate site. The first site considered was a Stones course dream – forest canopy, plenty of room, a stream for water hazards, and rolling topography. Outside of gameplay, however, there were other factors to consider.

bittersweet vines
Oriental bittersweet vines extend into the canopy at the first proposed site

Sure, there was plenty of trash to remove and invasive vines to pull, but cleaning up any “unused” site isn’t always a good idea, especially for it’s inhabitants: wildlife. A quick survey revealed a healthy population of native oaks, maples, ash, and hickory, all key to a healthy bird population. The soggy seeps near the stream provided ideal habitat for salamanders and other amphibians, as did the stream. While it would have helped to remove the invasive bittersweet and honeysuckle vines creeping up into the canopy, the increased foot traffic (from the hundreds of people we expect to use the course on a regular basis!) would most likely have a negative impact to this mostly undisturbed habitat. Litter can be cleaned up in a day. Invasive vines can be managed with volunteers, but erosion and soil compaction from daily use aren’t easy obstacles to overcome.

In the end, we needed to find another home. In big cities like Phladelphia, habitats like this site, lacking shared borders with homes, businesses, or major roadways, are becoming increasingly rare, so while this spot would’ve made for a great private Stones course, the negatives of impact outweighed the potential for a course.

Fast-forward another week and we were visiting proposed site #2 – another “unused” woodlot, this time between the Boxer’s trail and Mt. Pleasant Drive. At first glance, it might seem like another trip back to the drawing board was coming as we looked over the endless yellow swath of fall foliage. With no other colors from the typical fall color palette to be found, we were looking at, in essence, a Norway Maple monoculture.

norway maple leaf
Acer platanoides (Norway maple) leaf

Introduced to Philadelphia by John Bartram in 1756, after bringing seedlings from London, the Norway maple soon became a popular tree for municipal plantings. An aggressive invasive species that shades out native tree saplings, shrubs, and plants, it can be distinguished from native maples by leaf characteristics, color, and the milky sap it leaks when twigs are torn. Norway maple germinates readily, and it’s winged fruits are spread by the wind. Reaching 60-80’ at maturity, the Fairmount Park Stones course is a perfect example of how quickly they can take over if left unmanaged.

Working with Parks & Rec, we’ve held four workdays so far this year. At the course entrance, what was once a degraded forest edge dominated by devil’s walking stick, Ailanthus, Asian honeysuckle and bittersweet, multiflora rose, and English ivy, is now mostly cleared, thanks to volunteers willing to cut, prune, pull, and learn something new along the way. In the near future, we hope to continue the momentum by planting native species in place of what we removed, and to help insure the success of existing native plant communities by eliminating competition from invasive species.

stones land stewardship
Invasive vines and devil’s walking stick dominate the forest edge

Aside from being an awesome game, Stones is a vehicle for environmental stewardship – a big part of what we hope to do. We accomplished a lot in just four weekends with a handful of people. With any luck, the game’s popularity will grow once people finally get a chance to play on a public course this season. Imagine what we could do with 100 dedicated volunteers putting in volunteer hours each year to fulfill their league membership requirements!

removing invasive vines
Volunteers remove invasive vines at our first maintenance day in 2015

In Philadelphia, the health of our parks is dependent in large part to citizen involvement. If we can get people outside to play a game that brings awareness to the issues surrounding our natural areas, I believe we can have a tremendous impact… and have fun while we do it.

backyard stones course lawn

How To: Build A Backyard Stones Course

You don’t always need to come out to a public course if you wish to play or practice the game of Stones. Some of the best courses are made in backyards. Whether you have a two acre wooded lot, a small city lawn, or somewhere in between, the principles of building a course are the same.  If you follow a few key steps and have some imagination, you will be able to hone your skills at home.

Let’s first address what you’ll need:

  1. Stones—Self-explanatory. It would be difficult to play without them.
  1. Rake—Whether you’re working with grass, dirt, woods, beach, or any combination of the above, you’ll need to clean up the area.
  1. Borders—Every stretch will need to have borders. What you decide to make them out of is entirely up to you. Most borders are made with natural materials: logs, branches, trees, or rocks, but if you don’t have any of these available, be creative. People have used water, marking paint, dug trenches, or simply raked the leaves to the side and used them to indicate the boundary. No matter what material you choose, it’s imperative to make sure you can identify if a stone is in or out.

We have our items ready, so now let’s go build a course. An official Stones course has five stretches and one x-hole. This doesn’t mean your home course has to be the same. If you’re pressed for space, it would be better to make two or three well-designed stretches than to squeeze in five that were poorly-planned. One backyard Stones course in Mount Airy has three stretches—you just play stretches one, two, and three first, and then play three and two backwards. The key is to be creative and use what the land gives you.

Planning your course layout is typically the most difficult step. Walk your entire area and pick out certain features that you would like to include. The things you’re looking for are elevation changes, clusters or lines of trees, tree roots, fallen trees, natural depressions, flower beds, rocks, or anything that would make an interesting field of play. If your area is lacking interest, don’t be afraid to make your own. A simple rock wall or a cluster of branches can lead to interesting areas, even on the flattest surfaces.

Once you have your Points of Interest or (POI) identified, you can began laying out your course. Pick which POIs will be landings and work backwards. Remember, what makes a good Stones course is diversity. To achieve diversity, use length and width and POIs to make sure each stretch differs from the next. Add your borders and you are ready to go.

The last step is the most fun. Play your backyard Stones course. No layout is perfect right away. Try different things, and if you find it’s too difficult to establish a stone in some areas or if stretches are always played the same way, don’t be afraid to change it up. You’ll be surprised how changing the location of a border, or adding a log, will change how a course is played.

Good luck, and feel free to contact us with questions about building your Stones course. We’ll be glad to help!

custom stones iceman top gun

Tagging: How To Customize Your Stones Set

Currently, stones can be purchased in sets that come in black, white, red, or blue. However, with a couple cans of spray paint and a little creativity, the sky’s the limit as far as what you can do with the appearance of your stones.

It all began in 2013, when Sean Smiley, an Irish-American, painted shamrocks on the side of his balls. They weren’t pretty, but this primitive paint job started a bit of a trend, and later paint jobs became much more technical and of increasingly better quality. In 2014, while headed to Toronto, Ontario, for the yearly Canada Open, Ryan Kinka felt so obliged as to spray paint his stones like the American flag. With one set of four painted with the red and white stripes and the other set blue with white stars, his team was prepared to represent the US while north of the border. The next year, when Philadelphians and co-founders of Stones, Chris Kinka and John Janick headed to New York to face off against the other founders of the game, they entered as the enemy, and only stones painted as Death Stars would do. Now, Stones veteran, Tommy “Iceman” Pendergast, has his set painted like the helmet of his Top Gun namesake and others are experimenting with skulls, and playing dice.

It’s relatively easy to do. Once a set of stones is weathered from a season or so of use, lightly sand them down and fill all large nicks with bumper repair. Then, choose your colors of spray paint. (We have found that Rust-Oleum Ultra Cover Paint and Primer works the best.)  After selecting the base coat color, spray the stones with three coats, allowing adequate drying time between coats. Next, tape off the stones in whatever design you choose and spray them with three coats of your second color choice. Repeat this step for however many colors you choose. Once satisfied with the appearance of your stones, remove tape and apply 4-5 coats of high gloss Rust-Oleum clear coat to complete the project.

As Stones spreads throughout Philadelphia, we are excited to see what ball tagging ideas surface. We envision designs that represent different neighborhoods, different streets, city landmarks, Philly Sports teams… who knows? The stones are in your court. Legal graffiti. Spray away.

Size Matters: Philly Stones

Size Matters

Does size matter? In certain circumstances, this is a hotly-debated question. In the game of Stones, not so much. In your bucket sits four stones: one at 90 millimeters in diameter, two at 100 millimeters and one at 110 millimeters. While the difference is subtle, size definitely does matter. During each round of play, two of your four stones are thrown. Which two you choose could result in the difference between scoring 6 points or watching your opponent do so. Choose wisely.

All things being fairly equal (a semi-level playing field, no low hanging branches etc.) it is probably best to throw your two 100mm stones as often as possible to get fully accustomed to their size and weight. These are your “go to” stones and in most cases do quite well. Also, unless there is some strange circumstance where you would throw a big (110 mm) and a small (90mm) as your two stones (very rarely advisable) , you will have to throw at least one 100 mm stone each and every round. Knowing this stone well will be of great service to you. With beginners, it is recommended to throw 100 mm stones exclusively for a few games until you have a solid handle. Only then are you ready to go next level.

The game of Stones does not always follow the ways of our modern world. Big is not always better, and there are plenty of times when you really must go small. Because this game is often played within tight spaces, sometimes the 90 mm stone is the only one that will fit. Skinny pockets between rocks or a sliver of a space between tree roots may be the best play and in these instances–that is when the 90 needs to come out of your bag. There may also be situations where a number of your opponents’ stones are clustered around the target stone (the mark) but a few inches of space remain, or the opponent’s stone sits a few inches away from a boulder and you literally need to stick your stone between a rock and a hard place. These are the obvious examples of when the 90 mm stone is your best bet. However, there are much more subtle and harder to notice instances when the 90 is best as well. These occasions will take time and plenty of practice to identify. They have everything to do with slope. A heavier ball will travel much farther on a downward slope than a lighter one. If the mark stops midway down a decline or is perched just at the top of a small hill, the light 90 may give you your best chance to stick your ball in close proximity the mark. It also has the best chance of getting stopped in its tracks by a twig or pebble on such precarious shots. The 90 mm stone is a special one, but you should also recognize its limitations. Stones is a game of high contact. Stones are always intentionally striking stones.   When this occurs, the smaller the ball the worse it will fair and the farther it will get knocked away.

Stones: Size MattersSo concerning stone to stone contact, a critical element of the game, the bigger the stone the better. The 110 mm stone is your “bomb” or your “wall.” If a cluster of opponents’ stones surround the mark with no room for you to penetrate, and you have one stone remaining, you just might want to blow the whole thing up by dropping your large, heavy 110 on the whole cluster. The sheer size of these stones makes them challenging to move as well. They are useful early in rounds to create virtually immovable barriers between the mark and your opponent. These monsters also fair well when thrown through heavy grasses or light tree branches. While smaller stones may not get through, these guys generally clear their own path. Much like the 90, the 110 is not perfect. Their size can make them a bit more unwieldy, so expect a slight reduction in accuracy when they leave your hand.

When the hard decision to choose the right stone needs to be made, recognize that it is not rocket science. This is a basic game that follows the most basic laws of physics. Remain logical and your stones will take good care of you.

Philly Stones Fairmount Park Course

December 12 Volunteer Day in Fairmount Park

The first public Stones course is coming to Philly in 2016! Thanks to the Philadelphia Commission on Parks and Recreation’s Pitch Your Passion Philly contest, we’ve been given the go-ahead to construct a course in a wooded area near The Boxers Trail in Fairmount Park.

The first step will be clearing the area of invasive shrubs and vines, including Oriental bittersweet, Asian honeysuckle, and multiflora rose. If you’d like to be a part of building something special, please consider joining us from 10:00 AM – 12:00 noon on December 12, 2015. Email us at info@phillystones.com for details if you’re interested in lending a hand!

Stones Philly Open 2010

The Three-Headed Monster – An Essay on Stones, By Chris Kinka

We play games. Whether it is strictly for entertainment purposes, to pad one’s ego by winning, or to fill time, we all play games. These games we play come in every shape and size. We play them by ourselves, against another, in pairs against other pairs, or with groups of people against another group. We play them inside or outside. Some involve gross physical movement while others are relatively sedentary affairs. Some are more of a mental challenge, some more physical, and most are some combination of both. Games, in all of their varieties, are as much a part of the human experience as anything else. To be human is to play them.

With all that could possibly constitute a game, it seems that there must be something that is in opposition to the player. This could be another player, it could be the puzzle itself that needs to be solved, or it could be one’s own mind. For instance, in chess, a player is trying to outwit his/her opponent. The opponent serves as one point of opposition. There is another though. If the player’s chess opponent seems to be a superior, the player must not allow themselves to be intimidated. They have a mental battle going on against both the opponent and against themselves. The same can be said of the reverse scenario. If the player’s chess opponent is deemed inferior, then it is easy for the player to let down their guard, play too relaxed, and then make a costly error. Chess is a game against two opponents simultaneously.

Then there is golf, a game that is equally as much of a mental challenge as it is a physical. In both, the opposition is still just one’s self. The self is the first point of opposition. Then, there is the golf course itself, with its rolling hills, thick fringe grasses, water hazards, sand traps, and sloping greens. A player may be in control of themselves, but a given course may prove too mighty of a challenge. These are a golfer’s two opponents. Now golfers may say that they are in constant competition with the other golfers in their round. This is true, in a way, but not directly. A golfer may play well, conquer a course and lose a round to another who played better. In this case, they lost to their opponent, but the opponent did not directly affect their round. The opponent did not knock the player’s golf ball away or stand in the player’s way, obstructing his/her vision. If the opponent’s masterful play affected the player’s round, it was that the player let it get to their head and they lost their own mental battle.

Most team sports such as football pit groups of players against another group both physically and mentally. This type of opposition is apparent, as players on both teams are engaged with each other physically and affect each others’ physical movements. This is also a mental game, as players are often battling with themselves, specifically after mistakes are made. One mistake often leads to another as they begin to “overthink.” The field, however, is flat, with uniform boundaries and a fairly uniform playing surface. This typically does not serve as much of an obstacle. This can change when mother nature gets involved. Strong winds, heavy rains and snow can quickly turn a benign playing surface into a fierce point of opposition. On days like this, players of these types of games clearly face three distinct opponents, but this is a special circumstance. It is not everyday that the football player faces the three-headed monster.

This brings us to the game of Stones. Once you play it, it becomes quite clear that the three-headed monster is staring you down every single game. Much like other games, it is critical that players keep their mental edge and confidence. A few bad throws and confidence can dwindle. The issue with stones is that even a strong throw that hits right where a player is aiming can become worthless as either the course does something nasty with it or the opponent does. The courses, as obstacle-laden as any golf course, can prove to be a ruthless opponent. Its steep slopes and unpredictable surfaces can quickly take a throw that appears on target and send it well off course and into the bottom of a body of water. Hanging tree branches and uneven footing constantly force players to throw in ways that are unnatural. Boulders, tree trunks and other visual obstructions make certain throws a mere guessing game. While players may enter a game as confident as could be, the course itself could quickly steal it. Then, of course, there are times when one believes that they have conquered their own mind and the course. They have thrown a perfect ball that even a great distance away is kissing (touching) the mark. In golf, this is equivalent to the tee shot on a par 3 that comes to rest at the edge of the cup. The throw seems perfect, but in this game, the monster can rear its third ugly head. After a player’s masterful shot, their opponent can throw one better, striking the player’s ball with their own, dislodging it from its spot and sending it well out of play. Right when a player thinks he/she has slain two of the heads, the third appears and conquers the player.

Imagine golf where your perfect approach shot could be knocked away by your opponent. Imagine football played on a field of stones, hills, and valleys. The three headed monster does not exist in most games. It does however, in Stones.