Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf.
The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and sustainable growth of disc golf. The PDGA is the global governing body of disc golf. The organization promotes the sport through tournament development, course development, rules and competitive standards, media and sponsor relations, and public education and outreach.
Ken "The Champ" Climo is a professional disc golfer considered by some to be the best professional disc golfer of all time. Climo has claimed Twelve PDGA World Championship titles, including nine in as many years from 1990 to 1998.. Harold Duvall, Barry Schultz (2003–2004), Nate Doss, Paul McBeth, Richard Wysocki, and Isaac Robinson are the only other golfers with more than one open world title. In addition to his world titles, Climo has an unequalled record in the United States Disc Golf Championship, holding five titles. Named seven times as the PDGA player of the year, Ken Climo was inducted into the PDGA Hall of Fame in 1995.
Discraft is a manufacturing company producing flying discs for the sports of ultimate, disc golf, and freestyle founded in 1978 in London, Ontario, Canada. In 1979, Jim Kenner and Gail McColl moved to Michigan and started what is now Discraft Inc. The company sells discs to resellers and wholesalers worldwide.
Innova Champion Discs Inc., generally known simply as Innova is an American disc golf brand and manufacturing company. Founded in 1983, it is the largest disc golf disc manufacturer and was among the first companies to produce equipment specifically for disc golf.
Nathan Sexton is an American professional disc golfer currently sponsored by Innova Champion Discs. Among his most notable accomplishments are his 2003 Junior I Boys PDGA World Championship and his 2017 United States Disc Golf Championship win, which is his first PDGA Major title as a professional. He registered as a professional with the PDGA in 2004, but has only been touring full-time since 2013.
Nate Doss is a former professional disc golfer who won three world championships. With his win in 2011, Doss became only the second person with three MPO world championships, after Ken Climo's 12. In addition to his three world championships, Doss became the first Discraft sponsored player to win Disc Golf's other prestigious event, the United States Disc Golf Championship, in 2008. After retiring from the game in 2018 he, along with his wife Valarie Jenkins, began a new career as a brewer, launching Bevel Craft Brewing. Doss also provides live color commentary on the Disc Golf Network.
Barry Schultz is a professional disc golfer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has played disc golf since the early 1980s, and has been a professional since 1992. He is on the Innova Champion Discs Hall of Fame Team. For a number of years, he was one of the most dominant players on tour. From 2003-2009, he held the single season earnings record of $40,896, which was finally surpassed by Nikko Locastro in 2010. He is one of six men to win more than one World Championship. He is also a three time United States Disc Golf Champion, one of only four people who have won the event more than once, the others being Ken Climo, Will Schusterick and Paul McBeth. Schultz additionally holds two Masters World Championships. He and Climo are the only two men to earn both an Open and Masters world title. Schultz was inducted into the PDGA Hall of Fame in 2013.
Nikko Locastro is a professional disc golf player from St. Louis, Missouri. He has been playing the sport professionally since 2006. As of May 2023, Locastro was ranked 54th in the world, and had the 40th highest rating at 1027.
Valarie Jenkins is a professional disc golfer currently living in Bend, Oregon. As of 2016, she was the third ranked female disc golfer in the world. She was around the sport from an early age and grew up in a disc golf family. Her mother, Sharon is a three-time Women’s Masters World Champion and her brother, Avery Jenkins is a former Men's World Champion. She began her professional career in 2003 after placing second in the PDGA Amateur World Championship. She is currently sponsored by Discraft.
Paul McBeth is an American professional disc golfer from Huntington Beach, California. He won the PDGA World Championships four times in a row and again in 2019 and 2022, making him a six-time champion.
Simon Peter Lizotte is a professional disc golfer based in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, United States. Lizotte was born in Bremen, Germany but also holds Canadian citizenship through his father.
Jeremy Koling is a professional disc golfer from Charlotte, North Carolina. He competes on the sport's North American tour: the Disc Golf Pro Tour, and competed on the PDGA National Tour until its last season in 2021. Among his most notable accomplishments are his 2008 PDGA Amateur World Championship win and his 2016 United States Disc Golf Championship win. Koling is the only male player to win the PDGA Amateur World Championships and earn the PDGA Male Rookie of the Year Award in back-to-back years.
Sarah Hokom is an American professional disc golfer. She is a former World Champion and 2-time US Women’s Champion. Hokom is known best for her sidearm drives.
Alex Geisinger is a former American professional disc golfer from Lakeville, Minnesota. He has 26 career professional wins, including the 2014 and 2015 Minnesota Majestic. Geisinger was the 19th ranked player in the PDGA World Rankings at the end of 2016.
Steve Brinster is an American professional disc golfer from Warwick, New York, and United States Disc Golf Champion. He joined the Professional Disc Golf Association in 1996 and became a professional in 1997.
Disc golf is a popular sport in the United States played at the recreational, club, and international competition levels.
Eagle Wynne McMahon is an American professional disc golfer from Boulder, Colorado. He has 53 career wins and is one of the highest rated players in the world. At the end of the 2023 season he was ranked 1st in the world by UDisc.
Andrew Marwede is an American professional disc golfer from Alpena, Michigan, currently competing on the PDGA National Tour and Disc Golf Pro Tour. He Joined the Professional Disc Golf Association in 2015 and became a professional in 2016.
James Conrad is a professional disc golfer from Blacksburg, Virginia, currently competing on the PDGA National Tour, and Disc Golf Pro Tour. He Joined the Professional Disc Golf Association in 2000 and became a professional in 2006. Conrad has won both the PDGA World Championships, in 2021, and the United States Disc Golf Championship, in 2019.
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