Hondo Thompson speaking with the author.
DART CLUB continued from 23“ When I said,‘ Do you know anything about the game?’ He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a set of darts. We’ ve been friends ever since.”
Wertz said for some people spending time with friends is more important than the game.
“ It’ s a social thing. It really is,” he said as he recently stood near one of the dart boards, waiting for his turn during warmups before the tournament.
He said he also likes the sport because of its popularity and transportability. Playing darts can be an inexpensive activity, even in public places, such as a bar, where you might just buy a couple of beers or a snack. Wertz said people also throw darts at home, in a basement or garage, and some even take a dartboard with them on vacation. He has hung a dartboard on a tree, he said.
Some club members throw darts a lot more often than just Tuesdays.
“ Some people are more competitive than others,” Wertz said.
Some of the members play online against people from all around the world, by pointing their phone at the board. He knows people who play at 2 a. m. against European opponents.
Thompson said some people swear by certain kinds of darts, much like anglers believe a certain lure gives them an advantage over competitors— or the fish.
“ You talk to some of the people here, they’ ll tell you what the percentage of tungsten is in their darts … and how long the point is,” he said. Thompson is one of those people.“ I throw a 24-gram Harrows Black Ice that’ s 90 % tungsten with a( 26)-millimeter point and rotating standard flights,” he said.“ Is that the best? No, it’ s just what I like.” Some people spend $ 150 on a set of darts, but others buy a $ 30 bucket with 30 darts in them.“ You can play with any set of darts and win,”
Thompson said. The sport also gains fans because of the obtuse learning curve, he said.
“ It takes 15 minutes to learn it, and your lifetime to get good at it,” Thompson said.“ You’ re never as good as you can be.”
He said he always tells beginners that it doesn’ t matter how they stand or rock or pivot or hold the dart or throw it— so long as they do it the same way every time.
“ And I guarantee you 30 minutes from now, you’ re going to be a lot better than you are right now. And that’ s always true.”
And eventually, if you work really hard at it and stick with it, you might score a triple 20, followed by a triple 20 and another triple 20. That score, of 180 points, is somewhat equivalent to a hole in one in golf.
Thompson said he’ s scored a 180 three times in the last nine years, including twice in front of other people. The first time, he took a photo of the three darts on the board. He still uses that photo as the screensaver on his phone.
Ultimately, though, Thompson said, the Muddy Boots Darts Club gains its importance not from athletic performance but from camaraderie.
“ This is a fantastic club because it has fantastic people,” he said.“ And I think people come here because they like each other.” •
24 Our Brown County • March / April 2025