I started following professional disc golf back in 2014 …
Things were WAY different back then.
For starters, StatMando didn’t exist – this sucked for bloggers. And while social media was far from its infancy, the crowded, high-engagement disc golf communities you find on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook weren’t close to what they are today – it was a simpler time.
There was also no Disc Golf Pro Tour. If you wanted to watch MPO and FPO coverage, you took to YouTube the following day to see what JomezPro or Central Coast Disc Golf had put out. And come October, USDGC action at Winthrop Gold was filmed by SpinTV – totally random.
Also, McFlySoHigh …
THIS is what I’m talking about.
More than the at-home viewing experience, however, it was the big-name players of the day I remember most fondly. Of course, a few members of the old guard are still around. Some keep shredding, too: Paul McBeth, Ricky Wysocki, Simon Lizotte and Nikko Locastro, for example.
Others, though capable of the occasional rock-solid outing, aren’t doing near as much Pro Tour damage: K.J. Nybo, Seppo Paju, Nate Sexton, Paul Ulibarri, Cale Leiviska, Gregg Barsby, Jeremy Koling, Michael Johansen, etc. Heck, Philo Brathwaite rarely competes anymore.
My point is this …
Disc golf’s power structure is changing – and fast.
Last week’s USDGC was largely a two-horse race between Gannon Buhr and Niklas Anttila. Buhr’s 17 and enrolled in high school. Anttila’s a baby-faced 21-year-old fresh out of Finland. Much like you, I was waiting on the magnitude of the stage to get to Buhr and Anttila. I mean, McBeth, Wysocki, Heimburg and Orum: THESE were the Clydesdales chasing them down …
They paid ‘em no mind.
Buhr’s eventual tourney takedown makes him:
- Feat No. 1 – The youngest player to win USDGC.
- Feat No. 2 – The second player to win USDGC in their second attempt.
- Feat No. 3 – The fourth player to win both a Junior- and MPO-level major.
- Feat No. 4 – The seventh player to mount a final-round comeback at USDGC.
Let’s not get nutty, though …
Without a doubt, McBeth, Wysocki, Heimburg and Dickerson are the top names to watch most closely come tournament time. But in addition to Buhr and Anttila, Kyle Klein, Anthony Barela, Linus Carlsson and Cole Redalen aren’t far from hitting their competitive strides, either. And if you can believe it, Eagle McMahon’s only 24 years old – the best is yet to come from him.
The D.G. hierarchy of yesteryear is bound to topple …
And sooner than you think.
Have anything to add? Take to Twitter to let us know – we’ll actually (for real) get back to you.
Editor’s Suggestions:
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