ESCAPE the ORDINARY
Let your true Viking come out at Molly’s Hatchet
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and
— Abraham Lincoln
By Jen Wead
AAxe Throwing is quic
quickly becoming a favorite past time of
blow off some steam and do something
Americans who want to
thing different. Wikipe
in which the competitor
Wikipedia says, “Axe throwing is a sport
throws an axe at a target, attempting
to hit the bulls eye as near as possible. Axe throwing is
an event in most lumberjack competitions. Today there are
dart throwing, as well as opportunities at festivals and some
theme parks.”
Let’s face it, people have been throwing axes at stuff since
people have had axes. Warriors from the Franks in the early
Middle Ages, to the Algonquians with their sharpened tomahawks
have used axes as
effective weapons against
their enemies.
Thankfully people
throw axes for sport instead
of war now a days. Although
Axe throwing has
been a fad in Canada since
really just started to catch
former bartender Matt Wilson
fell in love with axe
throwing on a camping trip
and brought the sport to his
own back yard, eventually
forming The Backyard Axe
-
dependent axe throwing arenas have been slowly popping
World Axe Throwing League (WATL) and the National Axe
Throwing League (NATL) in an effort to unite independent
axe throwing venues. Wilson essentially created modern
league throwing thanks to that initial backyard league.
Stars like Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lawrence, Jason Ma-
States now. Locally, we have a new, independent axe throwing
venue called Molly’s Hatchet, which recently opened in
-
ing father, Wilson, locals Becky and Chris Murphy also fell in
love with axe throwing while on vacation about a year ago. It
was on a camping trip a few months later that they knew they
were onto something. On that trip, Chris found an axe and a
around throwing axes for many hours. Everyone had such a
great time. Their love for the sport grew into the idea of bringing
it back to their little hometown.
They found a perfect location in a historic building on the
Main Street (5th Avenue) of Zephyrhills. They quickly developed
their plan for Molly’s Hatchet and the two set to work
creating league regulated lanes and targets, in a safe, but cool
environment. When you walk in, you are instantly greeted
by someone from the team, who registers each guest and
gives them a little lesson on how to throw and how to play.
The Murphys have used beautiful cross cuts of wood and
rough decor to make a truly unique place for friends to gather
and blow off steam. Each throwing lane has two targets and
whether you come alone or with a group, they ease you into
TAMPA BAY’S BEST AXE-THROWING EXPERIENCE NOW OPEN!
Open Thursday thru Sunday
38428 5th Ave, Zephyrhills, FL 33542
813.652.7159
www.mollyshatchet.com
24 •JUNE 2019 813.682.9364 FLORIDA WOMEN MAGAZINE
/www.mollyshatchet.com