Disc golf team finds success in competition

Kids grew up throwing Frisbees to one another and never knew the use of the silver chain baskets in public parks. Some of those peaked curiosity and now play on the Texas Tech disc golf team, which won the state championship and has been invited to the national tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in the spring.

Ray De Leon, a senior mechanical engineering major from Big Spring, said he played golf for years, grew an interest in disc golf around Christmas prior to transferring to Tech in 2016 and started playing between the three disc courses in his hometown before joining the Tech disc golf team.

De Leon said golf needs different clubs when shooting, and similarly, disc golf requires different Frisbees. He said the Frisbees have distinctive flight characteristics, with a blunter nose for shorter shots and sharper noses for distance.

“I think disc golf offers something new to an individual looking for something different,” he said. “I have an engineering background so learning and seeing the physics behind it was cool for me. It’s a challenge of understanding the technique and form to get a disc to do what you want.”

When De Leon joined the club at Tech, there was not a disc golf course at Urbanovsky Park yet, so he said their practices consisted of throwing Frisbees down one end of the John Walker Soccer Complex, collecting and throwing them back. Then, on weekends, the team would meet at a local park and compete in organized rounds.

“We used that to keep a little competitiveness involved, so we had something to work towards as far as developing our games,” he said. “It was challenging, but now we do have the rec course. That has given us another avenue to stretch out and get more course field. With all the new tree planting, it has definitely made the course more challenging than what it was when it first was developed.”

With a revamping in leadership positions, De Leon has been president since the spring 2018 semester, running on his thoughts of building the team and making the club better.

“I enjoyed the camaraderie that was developed from that,” he said. “I wanted to try to do something that would help just take us to a new level. I wanted to put it in a better place than how it was when I came.”

De Leon said he communicates with the recreational center to make sure they are in good standing, and most importantly, organizing the trip to the state and possible national tournament.

With 10-12 very active members, De Leon said they hosted a tryout at the beginning of the fall semester, judging on putting and upshot analysis. From there, eight players were chosen and split between two teams of four – Team Red and Team Black.

From Oct. 27-28, the Texas Collegiate Disc Golf Championship was hosted in San Marcos. Tech’s Team Red won the championship and has an official spot to compete in the national tournament.

Jack Helgerson, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from The Woodlands, played on Team Red and placed second individually in the tournament.

Helgerson said the disc golf environment, especially the course on campus, was one of the factors in deciding to attend Tech. Although he had not played disc golf for a couple years in high school, Helgerson said he attended tryouts, made the team and has built friendships around a passion for disc golf.

With placing fourth in the state championship last year, Helgerson said most of the schools that were ahead of them had graduating seniors, and their team strived this year due to their team age and excitement for the sport.

“It’s arguably one of the most competitive in the nation,” he said. “We just attacked at the right time, and we had a really young team.”

Jamie Kemp, the program coordinator for intramurals, is the faculty advisor for the disc golf team. Although he is new to the position, De Leon said Kemp is experienced in disc golf and played competitively across state boundaries, so the team knew he would be a great advisor.

As a professional disc golfer and playing 2-3 times a week, Kemp said he tries to offer the best advice to the team as possible.

“I was a young player,” he said. “I am able to provide them with some experience and guidance towards what it means to be on the Tech disc golf team. I think that’s important to not only represent disc golf as a sport, but also representing Texas Tech.”

Team Red advanced to the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championship April 3-6, 2019, in Augusta, Georgia.

“Augusta also hosts the Masters for golf, so that’s a very prestige course and tournament,” Kemp said. “I have played those courses. I’ve been trying to talk to them about it as much as I can. I know they’re going to go out there about a week prior to the event actually starting to get to play the courses and get familiarized with the scene.”

One of the biggest obstacles, Kemp said, is affording the trip. As the first time Tech disc golf has been invited to the national tournament, Kemp said they are trying to gather ideas on the best way to fundraise for the team.

“I think it’s very important for us as a community, not just Texas Tech, to help these students out as much as we can,” Kemp said. “I’m really excited for them. It’s such an incredible opportunity to get to go represent Texas Tech and be apart of this tournament. I think they’re going to do great.“

The team hosts practices every Wednesday, dependent on weather, and welcomes any student who has an interest in disc golf or is willing to learn.

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