Player bio
- Team Level: Ambassador
- Division: Amateur
- Rating: 922
- HomeTown: Princeton, Minnesota
- Home Course: "Homeless," Looking for a new home (course)
- Playing Since: 1978
About derek
I am a 50-year old husband and father or two daughters (19 and 16), and run my own mapping business (www.mapformation.com). I also have a “side hustle,” counseling entrepreneurs and small business owners with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC). I was first introduced to the sport of “Frisbee golf” in 1978, when a pastor came to our rural Minnesota church from Southern California and told us about how he saw people playing “golf” with Frisbees, aiming at fence posts and trees…which made us promptly create an object course on our church grounds. I’ve been playing ever since, though only seriously since the mid-2000s.
5 Favorite courses
- Maple Hill
- Chain's Edge
- Blue Ribbon Pines
- DeLaveaga
- Idlewild
5 favorite discs
- ProLine Squall
- ProLine Undertow
- ProLine Tempest
- ProLine Pipeline
- DL Steady BL
Strongest part of your game? What needs work?
Hands down, my mid-range/approach shots are the best part of my game. So good, in fact, that the worst part of my game continues to be putting. Because if I am inside ~175-200 feet with a decent line to the basket, I am usually close enough to not need to sweat my putt. Though when I am putting from 20-30+ feet, I miss far too many putts for a player with my level of experience. But when I have time to play? I want to PLAY…not just practice. And being a great putter requires a LOT of practice.
Best tip for a new player?
Don’t take yourself or your game too seriously! Have fun! You’re playing to have fun, make (or at least spend time with) friends, and burn a few calories. And that is FAR more important than a 3-4 digit number (rating) next to your name…or where you place in leagues and tournaments! That, and work your short game first. Get very good at putting and in your mid-range/approach game before worrying as much about developing distance off the tee. Everyone wants to throw long bombs off the tee right away! But having a strong short game will save you FAR more shots per round than having a big arm.
In the Bag
- 1X DL Steady BL
- 2X ProLine Squall
- 2X ProLine Pipeline
- 2x ProLine Banzai
- 2X ProLine Hurricane
- 2X ProLine Undertow
- 2X ProLine Tempests
- 1X BlowFly 2
- 5-6 DGA discs I'm "learning"
