“ On a Saturday night at 9:30 , when I walked in , I was more interested in the crowd that was in this establishment than I was throwing axes ,” John Waddle said . “ In my head , I was thinking , ‘ This is a money-maker . We need to bring this to Somerset .’”
So the group started looking for buildings in the Pulaski area , and quickly found the old Top Notch building at Tradewind .
They remodeled the building themselves , and put together what was needed for the axe-throwing lanes . That includes the backboards with the bullseyes , which become the target . Those boards need to be replaced every so often , the
Waddles said .
“ On heavy use , we can get about a month on one side of the board before we have to flip them over to the other side ,” John Waddle said .
His wife added that it depends on who is using those boards . A group of college-age men , for example , means that a board might be torn up in one night .
Visitors who want to throw axes get teamed up with a “ pit boss ,” who will show them how to play , instruct them on the safety rules , and stay with them until the session is over .
John Waddle noted that if someone has trouble “ sticking the axe ,” if they pay attention to the pit boss , 99 percent of the time they can walk out of there sticking it .
There are different games people can play with the axes . The default is a 10-round game , similar to bowling , where each person tries to score as many points as possible . But there are also options to play games like Horse , King of the Mountain , or “ Humans vs . Zombies .”
John Waddle said that game requires at least four people to play , and it runs like this : The scores start at zero . Zombies ’ throws count negative points , and humans ’ count positive points . So if a human scores a 3 and a zombie scores a -4 , the overall score is a -1 . The first team to 15 points ( positive or negative ) wins .
And so far , the axe thing has not only been popular , it ’ s been safe , John Waddle said .
“ Knock on wood , we ’ ve not had any bad reviews . As far as accidents are concerned , again , knock on wood , we ’ ve not had any . The biggest thing you will experience there as far as an accident is a splinter ,” he said .
There are other things to do while waiting for the axe lanes . Guests can play a round of darts , play a game of pool , or even test their strength on the punching game , as owner Patrick Stephens pointed out .
“ The person who installed the punching machine set the record , and nobody ’ s come close ,” he said . “ So we ’ ve started offering a prize … a free t-shirt if someone breaks the record . I think the closest I ’ ve seen somebody come to it is 735 , and the record is 782 .”
The axe lanes are World Axe Throwing League ( WATL ) certified , Sara Waddle said , and John Waddle added that they are getting ready to start an axe league .
“ We actually have a local 13-year-old who is a professional axe thrower who will be going to Colorado for a tournament
Patrick Stephens , one of the owners of Jack ’ s Axes , shows off the dart boards .
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JUNE 2024 SEKY - Southeast Kentucky Life • 23