Photo of the late wood-carved basket at Grandview Park.

As a young sport, disc golf hasn’t had to deal with the passing of many of its founding fathers, it’s legends if you will. For that we are thankful, but it certainly makes it more difficult to manage when it does happen. Tim Selinkse #2026 serves as perhaps the greatest example. Tim devoted his life to the growth of disc golf, first with a career at Wham-O and eventually as one of the founders of Innova Champion Discs. It wasn’t Tim’s passion for disc golf that set him apart, however, it was his warm, loveable persona.

After a hard-fought 8-month long battle against Langerhans' Cell Histiocytosis, Tim passed away in the early morning hours of August 14th, 2009, just four days after his 50th birthday. The news spread quickly, emotionally crushing the disc golf world. 

"As the voice and face of Innova over the years, Tim’s affability gave Innova a warm, friendly persona that will be very difficult to replace. The Frisbee family will miss him. Disc Golf will miss him. We were all richer for having known him. We will all be poorer for his passing."

Brian Graham - Farewell Tim

On that sad day, one of Tim’s good friends, then 2X World Champion Barry Schultz #6840 was preparing for the opening round of the 2009 Vibram Open at Maple Hill.

“He pretty much won the event that day. No one was going to catch him”, said TD Steve Dodge, now known as the Director of the Disc Golf Pro Tour. Barry’s round of 49 was not only six better than the best score that afternoon, it was also the first and only round he's ever thrown rated at 1100 or higher. Barry went on to win the event two days later by seven. It was an emotional weekend, one that made it hard to hold back the tears after Barry tapped in for the win on the 18th.

Video by PrimeDiscs, 2009.

Now, eight years later, Barry is coming off a recent win at the inaugural PDGA Pro Masters Disc Golf World Championships looking to take home the title as the Tim Selinke US Masters Champion for the sixth time.

The 2017 Tim Selinske US Masters Championships takes place from Friday-Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, known by many as one of the best disc golf cities in the United States. The 330 competitors here in Des Moines are split between 11 divisions of Pros and Ams and will be competing on five different Des Moines-area courses.

The opening round(s) of day one is right around the corner. Be sure to follow along with the scores, updates, photos, and videos on pdgalive.com all weekend!