Fifty years ago, the roots of disc golf were spreading ... fast.
It was the summer of 1976, and “Steady” Ed Headrick was sending out letters while collecting scraps of paper with names and addresses to start the Professional Disc Golf Association.
Five decades later, the humble beginnings of small and passionate groups of players have grown into a global community of competitive athletes, builders, advocates, and fans.
To celebrate the grassroots origins and the same passion that has turned disc golf into a global sport, the 2026 PDGA Member Disc lineup reflects on how disc golf found its groove.
The first course: Oak Grove celebrated 50 years with a Golden Jubilee in December 2025. Photos: Danny Voss / PDGA
Where It All Began
On the first cool weekend of December, as soft light filtered through the sycamores of Pasadena’s Hahamonga Watershed Park, people began drifting into a place many of them had never truly left.
Some traveled hundreds of miles. Some lived just down the street. Some had been throwing plastic here for half a century. Others had never played a PDGA event until this weekend.
But all of them came home.
For three days—December 5–7, 2025—the birthplace of disc golf became a living scrapbook. A reunion. A love letter. A promise.
Here's how we brought to life what we believe is the first PDGA-sanctioned disc golf tournament within the National Park System—The Artillery Ace Disc Golf Tournament at Fort Pulaski National Monument. We hope our journey helps others do the same.
The disc golf competition at the 12th International World Games reached its climax on Sunday with the placement and medal matches in what proved to be an epic, MPO/FPO Mixed Doubles formatted, competition.
In the Gold Medal match, the USA team of “Missy Gannon Buhr” jumped out to a 4-hole lead after 4 and cruised to the top of the podium, besting Finland’s Eveliina Salonen and Nestori Tukhanen, 5 and 3.
More than 800 student athletes representing colleges from around the world have descended on Rock Hill, South Carolina for the 2025 College Disc Golf National Championships.
It's the largest Natty in history and first PDGA Major of 2025.
The action kicks off Wednesday in Rock Hill as the competitors take on a format of singles and doubles action. They'll see iconic holes in the Winthrop Arena, which features Lakeside and Meadows courses, as well as be challenged at Camp Canaan and Westminster Park.
Ohn Scoggins capped off one of the most dominant tournament showings in PDGA history to start things off and an emotional roar from Niklas Anttila ended another thrilling stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour at the Open at Austin presented by Flight Factory.
On hiatus since 2019, the PDGA is excited to announce a relaunch of the Official Disc Golf World Rankings (ODGWR) with a new calculation system devised by the PDGA team in collaboration with Mark Broadie and Dylan Bierne of SportEdge. Broadie was a developer of the current formula utilized in the Official World Golf Ranking which are used by professional golf tours around the world, including the PGA Tour.
Doug Bjerkaas is driven by making an impact. When he received the call to join the PDGA last year as Director of Operations, he had already demonstrated his long-standing commitment to growing disc golf. Whether he was designing and installing courses, founding the Rocky Mountain Women’s Disc Golf Championships or working for Dynamic Discs, Doug’s career has been noteworthy. His skill as a tournament director for numerous events, including several Elite Series and World Championships, won him the 2016 Brent Hambrick TD of the Year Award. It is this hard work and dedication over the years that has given him an intuitive understanding of what it takes for this sport to flourish.
StatMando – the brand, the data, the engaging posts, and the people behind them – are now part of the PDGA family.
For many disc golf fans, StatMando’s data analysis and insight has enhanced the experience of following the world’s top professional disc golfers competing on the Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) and at PDGA Majors. This exciting acquisition ensures the continuation of those touchpoints – and of the StatMando brand – while bringing plans for new digital tools and experiences to the PDGA membership at large.
It started with an inspiring and breakout performance from Aaron Gossage, but also through a putt that he worked on throughout the week, a lingering injury and naysayers that suggested that he had fallen off.
This is the last article in a three-part series celebrating the pageant and history of the PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Special thanks to Andrew “Big Dog” Sweeton and Mike Downes for contributions to this story. Above: The joy of a champion – Paige Bjerkaas-Shue, 2018.
The first article in this Pro Worlds History series provided a few summary details about the world championships in the 1980s – an era that predates the lives of many passionate disc golf players and fans, including much of the millennial generation.
This is the second in a three-part series celebrating the pageant and history of the PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Special thanks to Brian Hoeniger for contributions to this story. Pictured above: Ken Climo in "Disc Golf World News," 1991.
As the calendar turned from the 1980s to the 1990s, Zach Morris and the other kids at Bayside High became high schoolers, garage bands from Seattle achieved superstar status they pretended they weren’t interested in, and disc golf proved its staying power across North America, regions of Europe and a few Asia-Pacific countries.
This is the first in a three-part series celebrating the pageant and history of the PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Special thanks to Joe Feidt for contributions to this story. Pictured Above: John Ahart in 1988.
There are several methods for trying to identify various “chapters” in professional disc golf history. One could simply examine the sport by decade – the 1980s, 1990s, and so on. Or, one could identify “eras” dominated by certain players. One might even look at major milestones in equipment development, or in the PDGA’s structure, to find the benchmarks for the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
At tonight’s US Women’s Disc Golf Championships Players Meeting, surrounded by the largest women-only field of competitors in the history of the sport, two of the most cherished representatives and volunteers of disc golf, Bill and Mary Ann Wallis, known by most as simply “Old Man and Mom” became PDGA Eagle Club members. An Eagle Club membership typically means a donation of $2000 or more to the PDGA but in the case of Mom and Old Man, no amount of money was needed, nor would it have ever been accepted.
Just to put it into perspective, an honorary Eagle Club membership has only been awarded a few times in PDGA history, the most notable being “Steady” Ed Headrick, PDGA member #001.
Whether you’re a year-round competitive disc golf addict or a casual once-a-month type of player, you’ve probably heard someone mention an “Ice Bowl”. But what is an Ice Bowl exactly? At first glance one might think it’s just a common name for a disc golf tournament that takes place in the heart of winter. And that wouldn’t be an inaccurate observation by any means. However, Ice Bowls are much more than just a good time on a course in the frigid cold (or not so cold, depending on the region).
