I needed to head to Orlando, Florida this week, to participate in the 46th ASBDC Annual Conference as a part of my work with the Oregon Small Business Development Center Network. But while my colleague, Gayle Goldstone, needed to spend all of today in training sessions? The conference for me didn’t really start until later in the afternoon. So I called up “PDGA #1602,” Gregg Hosfeld, who I have spoken with as a part of the Course Development Committee with the Disc Golf Foundation for many years, but who I have never had the opportunity to share any fairways with. Seeing if he might be available to throw a round or two.
Gregg is a legend in disc golf circles. He has 142 career sanctioned event wins to his name, including:
1987 World Champion
2008 & 2010 Grandmasters World Champion
2009-2012 Grandmasters US Champion
1995 Masters 150 class World Champion
Gregg was also a PDGA Hall of Fame Inductee in 1998. And specific to disc golf course collecting? Gregg was tied for the first player in the history of the sport of disc golf to reach 1,000 unique courses played (along with Ben Calhoun, son of PDGA legend Terry Calhoun). Gregg operates World Champion Disc Golf Design, his course design company based in Orlando.
As luck would have it, Gregg had time to show me around Bill Frederick Park – Turkey Lake, and Bill Frederick Park – T2: The Turkeynator, this morning! I had played both courses on a previous trip to Orlando. But I never had the chance to play the course with a disc golf Hall of Famer, as well as the designer of “The Turkeynator.” 🙂 Picking Gregg’s brain a bit as a course designer, as well as helping with a bit of course maintenance. Pulling dozens of invasive plants as we made our way around the courses.
We started our morning on “T2.” Gregg is a professional entertainer, in addition to being a very talented disc golfer and course designer. Here he is on David Letterman back in the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW_I0Rt06uo So he couldn’t resist trying out a bit of material on me. 🙂 I was trying to give a little humor back, but I’m an amateur. You know…like my disc golf playing ability. Thank you, folks…I’ll be here all week!
It was Gregg, his series of health issues, and a full complement of Innova discs versus me, my series of health issues, no world titles, and two DGA ProLine Squalls. Naturally, I had the competitive advantage with those Squalls…LOL! But somehow, Gregg managed to beat me by a total of seven shots?! I know, I know…everyone reading this is as surprised as I am. I blame it on “operator error.” And 90-degree heat along with tropical humidity. And “the sun being in my eyes.” And excuses I haven’t even thought of yet. And…
In all seriousness? I never expected to be close to Gregg on the scorecard. Playing a world champ on one of his home courses, with two of my favorite midrange discs? Although I did manage to shoot a respectable -8 (52). And if I wouldn’t have hit a tree and kicked OB wet on Hole 16? I might have had a chance at turning a putt for bogey into a deuce try. Thank goodness I wasn’t dragged into the lake by an alligator, getting my disc back. 🙂
What a fun morning, and a special memory! Gregg and I played a total of 27 holes before he needed to run me back to my conference hotel (we threw nine more holes on Bill Frederick Park – Turkey Lake too). Thanks for taking part of your morning to help me cross an item off my disc golf bucket list, Gregg! 🙂 Playing with a legend. A player who started all this craziness that is called disc golf course collecting.
Magic Number = -74 (2,074 Courses Played)
Derek Tonn is a member of the DGA’s Ambassador Team. His company, Mapformation, LLC, has been DGA’s partner in the development of disc golf tee signage since 2012. The longer our two companies have worked together, and the more Derek has gotten to know all the great folks at DGA, the more he has wanted to formally sing the company’s praises. The more he has realized that “Steady” Ed’s (the father of disc golf and the modern-day Frisbee) vision for the sport and his company perfectly describes his own interests and priorities related to disc golf, and the more Derek has recently been encouraged to share his story.