Dartoid's Columns: The Full Archive

Guest Columns: Toeing the Oche with the Old Dart Coach Howie Reed

May 1, 1996
Column 11
Johannesburg, South Africa

Over the past week I have experienced some of the best Southern Africa has to offer. I have followed elephant families in South Africa's Addo National Park, drifted in mekoro deep into Botswana's Okavango swamps and even white-water rafted the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe -- but all I have been able to find in the "darts department" is an electronic board in a bar in Johannesburg. And it sucked big time!

When it comes to darts I have but a few principles:

- I throw only my darts (Hammerhead GT's -- 24 grams)
- I drink only when I'm finished throwing; and
- I never, ever, throw anything but steel tip darts.

In Johannesburg I broke all my rules. Usually I only break the second one.

Just west of the city in a town called Randburg is a little Irish pub called McGinty's (Republic Road -- on the waterfront). After scouring the city of Johannesburg for a place -- any place -- with a legitimate dart set up I gave up and headed here.

What I found was an electronic dart board with a broken light and a broken scoreboard. I was given a set of soft tip bar darts with mangled tips. If this wasn't all bad enough the machine ate two rand coins and required four rand for a game, which at the current exchange is more than a dollar.

So, I tossed a few of my crooked darts. I watched most of them come flying back at me. I ordered the recommended local brew (Castle Draft) which arrived twenty minutes later and tasted like peanuts.

Suffice it to say I left McGinty's a half hour after walking in the door.

From the Field,

Dartoid

Copyright © by Dartoids World All Rights Reserved.

Published on: 1996-05-01

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Important! Why do I have to do this?

You have 32 points left and to win you must beat your opponent to zero. But you MUST hit a double to get to zero exactly, or risk losing your opportunity at the win.

What do you need to aim for? Double 1 Double 2 Double 3 Double 4 Double 5 Double 6 Double 7 Double 8 Double 9 Double 10 Double 11 Double 12 Double 13 Double 14 Double 15 Double 16 Double 17 Double 18 Double 19 Double 20 Double Bull

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