The 2009 Season has undoubtedly been my best year ever, and it keeps on getting better. I played in 32 PDGA Sanctioned Tournaments with 23 top 5 finishes and 8 wins (25% Winning Percentage), including winning my first World Title at the 2009 Professional Disc Golf World Championships in Kansas City, KS/MO. I won the US Doubles Championships with my good friend David Feldberg the weekend before the USDGC to become the 2009 United States Doubles Champions. I also won 3 Supertour Events at the High Plains Challenge, the Pittsburgh Flying Disc Open and a repeat win at the Veterans Park Open. I had 9 2nd Place finishes and kept my cash streak alive by cashing in every tournament that I played in the 2009 Season.

This year’s World Championships were incredible. It was the World Championships that I have been waiting nearly a decade for because Kansas City has some of the best courses in the country. It was my time to show the world what I was capable of, and I did just that. This year’s World Title was made extra special because I won alongside my sister, Valarie, and we became the first siblings ever to win World Titles. And better yet, we did it the very same year with our parents in attendance. I have wanted to win Worlds ever since I started playing when I was 7 years old. The World Title is something that can never be taken from me and I plan to continue to be a great ambassador of the sport. It was truly an amazing moment in my life!!!

I also had the chance to travel to Europe this Summer to play the Tali Open in Helsinki, Finland, my 3rd European Open in Tampere, Finland, and the Croydon Cyclone in London, United Kingdom. Team USA, consisting of Nate Doss, David Feldberg, Ken Climo, Valarie Jenkins, Carrie Berloger and myself, won our 3rd consecutive Presidents Cup Trophy against a strong Team Europe.

I finished in the Top 10 in all Majors throughout the Year with a 1st at the World Championships, 9th at the European Open and 10th at the United States Disc Golf Championships. Those finishes extended my Career Top 10 Finishes to 18 in 29 Major Events as these tournaments get more and more competitive every year. This 2010 Season is going to be a big year for the PDGA Major Events as I will be defending my World Title in Crown Point, IN this summer.

As far as other stats, I shot 8 course records including an opening round at Blue Valley (11,049 ft) shooting a 53 (1079 rating) to start off the World Championships, besting the old course record by 4 strokes. I shot some amazing Sunday course records of 54 (1069 rating) to best the previous record by 3 strokes at the Tali Open in Helsinki, Finland, and a 53 (1066 rating) on the Knob Hill long to long layout to come from behind to win at the Pittsburgh Flying Disc Open. I also shot Course Records in 3 consecutive weeks that resulted in a 3-win Tri-fecta at the Lilac City Open, the Zoo Town Open and the High Plains Challenge, which included back to back course record rounds of 50 (1049 rating) at the Pessimist and a 47 (1053 rating) at the Optimist courses in Fort Morgan, CO. The 1090 Final Round Rating at the 2007 Memorial still remains my highest rated round in my career.

I also won 3 Long Drive Distance Contests and set a few Distance Records in the process. I won the Minnesota Majestic and Vibram Open Distance contests, along with setting the Minnesota State SuperClass (Large Frisbee) Distance Record at 96.11 M (315′4″). I also set the United Kingdom Distance Record at (198 yds) 594 ft and the Japanese Distance Record at 183.08 M (600′ 8″) en route to winning the 1st Annual Iron Arm Distance Challenge in Miramisoma City, Japan this past December.

I finished the year winning one-fourth of my events played and claiming $30,232 (2nd in PDGA Cash for the 2nd year in a row) in earnings. I played tournaments worldwide and repeated as the points leader winning 2009 PDGA Points Title with 19,915 points. I am currently ranked 4th in the World with a 1029 Player Rating, which ranks at 10th in PDGA Ratings as I enter in o the 2010 disc golf season.

In the off-season, I made the move from Eugene, OR to Santa Cruz, CA as I needed a change of scenery and some better winter weather. I had lived in Oregon for 7 years and continued to live there after graduating from the University of Oregon in 2007. It was a great place to live while I was there,but after graduating there wasn’t much still keeping me there. Plus, the weather during my off-season was too rainy during the winter months. I love everything about Oregon, and in my opinion, it is still one of the best states in the country for what it has to offer: the outdoors and great summer weather.

At the end of November, I packed up all of my stuff and made the move down south to Santa Cruz for the next step in my long life; a change that I needed at the time, a change for the better. I moved into a small house with my sister Valarie and good friend Nate Doss, making for an easy transition to a new environment, living less than a mile from the ocean. A house full of World Champions; I lived with David Feldberg for 7 years previous to this but this has to be the most World Titles sharing the same household.

This surf city is incredible; it has amazing winter weather that only gets better throughout the Spring into Summer. It has a good Disc Golf community and history with the World Class Disc Golf Course – DeLaveaga DGC. It has been called “Frisbee Town, USA” and they definitely live up to the name with their unbelievable interest in Disc Golf, Ultimate, Freestyle and Overall Disc Games along with the new development of the Santa Cruz County Disc Golf League to promote High School Disc Golf. This is the place where I needed to be and I am grateful that I am able to live in paradise; nothing compares to the West Coast.

New Year’s Eve – Twin Lakes Beach – Santa Cruz, CA

I also did lots of Off-Season training this past winter and at this point I am proud to say that I am in the best shape of my life. I concentrated most of my training to heavy weights and the P90X Program, which involves a lot of body weight exercises, jump training and stretching. It has made me stronger and more flexible than ever before, because Disc Golf is an athletic sport and it pays off to train hard in the off-season. I also included a bit of running and bike riding to add a cardio component to really get in shape. It will definitely pay off as the season progresses, as I become more reliant on stamina, strength and endurance. As the competition in this game increases, it helps to stay in good shape to stay ahead of the rest.

I also recently acquired my first Signature Series Disc from Innova – one of my favorite drivers – the Avery Jenkins Star Destroyer. I am proud to receive such an honor of having my own disc, it has been a goal of mine forever. They are scheduled to be produced in the Spring sometime around late April and early May. Trust me, I will be sure to send notification when they are to be released and in full production.

In the 2010 Season, I plan to travel and play more than ever, and have scheduled to play around 30+ tournaments across the US, Japan and Europe. I might also make the trip to the Australian National Championships this year; it might finally happen and it will be my first time to visit that country and continent. It is bound to be an amazing year and it will be great to share the passion I have as I will be representing the sport more than ever before. As the current and reigning World Champion, I now realize my responsibility to my title and the sport. It is hard to get to the top, but even harder to stay at the top and I intend on being at the top for a long time to come. I am looking for another Major Win this season and fully intend on defending my World Title with everything that I have this year.

Thanks to all my friends, family and travel companions throughout the year that have made my world travels possible and my disc golf dreams a reality. Here’s to an amazing 2010 season!!!

a>Photo by Mike Jenneman

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The MILO Disc Golf Shoe by KEEN set to release on November 20th, 2009.

Only available for sale online at www.KEENFootwear.com – $110

A variety of Disc Golfers have tested the MILO in all weather conditions. It provides excellent grip properties, asymmetrical lacing and reinforced toe bumper. Perfect for all weather and all terrain.

- KEEN DRY Waterproof Membrane
- Anti-Bunch Asymmetrical Flex Lace System
- S3 Heel Support Structure
- Multi-Directional 3 MM Lug Outsole for Traction
- Removable Metatomical Tri-Density Footbed

KEEN has been a generous sponsor to the Master’s Cup and Beaver State Fling Disc Golf National Tour Events, as well a Major sponsor to this year’s United States Disc Golf Championships. They want to see the sport of Disc Golf grow in popularity and increase the number of players worldwide.

Please help support the companies that help to support Disc Golf!!!!!!!!!!

“By far the Best Disc Golf Shoe that I have ever played in. They are extremely comfortable, provide great traction and keep your feet dry all day long. These shoes are the Real Deal!!!!!” – Avery Jenkins #7495, 2009 Disc Golf World Champion

Disc Golf has a Pro Tour, and Momentum
By Jack McCluskey

LEICESTER, Mass. — In many ways, Avery Jenkins and disc golf have grown up together.

His parents picked up the sport in the ’80s, planned family vacations to places where they could catch a tournament on the weekends and bought disc golf baskets for the backyard. Now Jenkins, 31, is closing in on his 10th year of traveling on the pro disc golf tour, making a living playing the sport.

Jack McCluskey
Instead of using a club, just pull your arm back and let ‘er rip.
“[Most] kids grow up playing basketball in the backyard,” Jenkins said. “I was in the backyard shooting at disc golf baskets.”

This past weekend, Jenkins and his sister, Valarie, were two of 177 pros entered in the Vibram Open, the final stop on the Professional Disc Golf Association National Tour. With a total payout of almost $50,000, the Vibram Open is also one of the richest tournaments in disc golf. As defending champions, Avery and Valarie stood to pocket $2,500 and $1,500, respectively, if they could pull off repeats in Leicester.

So although it was the middle of August, this Christmas tree farm — the Maple Hill course is closed from Thanksgiving to Christmas so that people can cut and cart their own trees — was bustling with activity. With the mercury climbing close to 90 degrees, and the sky high and cloudless, a group of about 20 people gathered at the top of a hill and waited for the clock to strike noon.

Standing on the crest of the hill, backs to the trees lining the road, the spectators watched a red disc zip over rows of still-young pine trees and a green swath of grass sloping down the hill toward a medium-sized, lily-pad-dotted pond. They murmured approvingly as the disc settled softly onto the ground on the far side of the pond, just inside an overgrown, rutted cart path, in a landing zone marked with wood chips.

It was a fine first shot for the man in the lime green shirt, Barry Schultz, who came into the final day of the three-round tournament at an astounding 18 under par. Schultz shot a 49 on the first day of play at the par-62 course, breaking the year-old course record of 51 set by, surprise surprise, Avery Jenkins. And he would go on to win the tournament in a runaway, finishing with a 25-under 161, 7 shots ahead of the rest of the field.

His second shot would take him past the cart path, over more rows of young pines and into some open space lined with wood chips just before the tree-line proper. Past that open space was a square swatch that had been cleared from the full-grown woods and boxed in with planking.

In the center of that swatch stood the pin, complete with a blue cloth flag with a white number 1 on it, flapping in the breeze. The only difference between this and a traditional golf pin is, on the pole hangs a metal basket, and hanging above the basket are a number of metal chains. This is the first disc golf basket, or Pole Hole. And it stood a mere 760 feet away from the tee box.

For Schultz and the other top pros teeing off on the final card at noon, the distance isn’t the hard part. A good driver will take care of the distance. It’s making a good shot, avoiding the rows of trees, setting up a makable putt and, maybe most of all, keeping dry.

After all, this is disc golf. And as Schultz said, holding up a driver disc, “Throw this in the water, you just lost your driver.”

Not your father’s Frisbee
Rules and history
Rules
As its name implies, disc golf pretty closely follows the rules of golf. The object of the game is to throw the disc into the basket in as few throws as possible. Each throw is made from where the disc came to rest on the previous throw; if the previous throw landed out of bounds (in the woods, water or in a snap trap), a penalty will be assessed and the next throw will come from a drop spot. The player with the lowest score wins.

History
There is no exact date, time or place for the first disc golf game. What is certain is that the Frisbee, a federally registered trademark plastic flying disc made by WHAM-O Inc., was developed in 1958. In 1965, George Sappenfeld is credited with holding one of the first Frisbee golf tournaments, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Eleven years later, Ed Headrick created the Disc Golf Association Company to manufacture discs and other equipment, notably the first target to use chains and a basket, which he trademarked the Disc Pole Hole. That same year, 1976, the Professional Disc Golf Association was formed, and the modern era of disc golf unofficially began.
– Jack McCluskey

Although for many the phrase “disc golf” may conjure up images of long-haired hippies in tie-dyed T-shirts tossing floppy Frisbees off trees or telephone poles, the truth couldn’t be more different.

First of all, there’s a big difference between your father’s Frisbee and the discs used by competitive players. Discs are smaller in diameter and denser in composition, and have different aerodynamics — they fly faster and farther than Frisbees and, thanks to advances in manufacturing techniques, hold their flight characteristics better after impact with a wall or tree or telephone pole.

Although there are hundreds of colors and styles of Frisbees, they all do virtually the same thing in the air. Discs can be made so that they do very different things in the air. Some are sharper, heavier; these are drivers. Some are more rounded, smaller; these are putters.

Next, consider the people throwing the discs. Although there is sure to be some long hair involved and although there may even be some hippies, there also are doctors and lawyers, teachers and plastics engineers, people from all walks of life. And the elite-level players are just that: elite. Don’t think you can stumble out of bed onto a disc golf course and hang with Schultz, Jenkins & Co.

Throwing a Frisbee may be easy, but throwing a disc down a hill, over a stand of trees and a pond and into position to make a second approach shot at a green box set inside the tree line of a woods is not.

And although not all courses are set up like Leicester’s Maple Hill course, the concept is the same. Frisbees are a hobby; disc golf is a sport.

From the ground, through the air … into chains?
Although the majority of the action in a disc golf tourney takes place in the air, the efforts to grow disc golf as a sport are taking place on the ground.

“Disc golf is really a grassroots sport,” said Brian Graham, executive director of the Professional Disc Golf Association, the sport’s international governing body. “It grew up around the world by the hard work of volunteers.”

By and large, volunteers still do the vast majority of the work. The PDGA has only five full-time employees and three consultants, but “hundreds and hundreds of volunteers.”

Need a caddie?
To have a caddie, or not to have a caddie?

Just like traditional golfers, professional disc golfers can have caddies to carry their gear during events. Unlike traditional golf, though, not many pros choose to do so on a regular basis.

If that’s the rule, disc golf professor Dave Feldberg is the exception. “I’m the player who carries the most discs,” Feldberg said. “I carry between 30 and 40 discs. I’m also the only player who consistently has a caddie.”

Feldberg pays his caddies 10 percent of what he wins, which is a lot considering pro disc golfers don’t always win a lot. But Feldberg says it’s worth it, and not just because it’s nice to have someone else carrying the bulk of the weight. “I don’t need advice,” Feldberg said. “I just need someone to rattle ideas off of. Someone to pump me up or calm me down.”

Avery Jenkins, the 2009 world champion, said Feldberg, a good friend, carries way more than anyone in the pro ranks. “I can make just about any disc do what I want,” Jenkins said. “So I only carry 20 to 22 discs.”

Jenkins said he generally doesn’t use a caddie but admitted that sometimes it’s nice to have one. “I carried my own the entire world championships until the final holes, then I had my dad carry them for me,” Jenkins said. It probably didn’t hurt that his father has played disc golf himself since the ’80s.

Even in a singular sport, sometimes it’s nice to have someone carrying part of the burden — and sharing in the spoils.
– Jack McCluskey

“We have 40,000 lifetime members in 28 countries,” Graham said. “Just about anywhere you go in the country where there’s a course or a tournament, there are PDGA members and disc players willing to help.”

Although the PDGA has been around since 1976, and disc golf itself has been around since long before that (although no one is sure exactly when or where the first disc golf game occurred), Graham says there’s still room to grow.

When the PDGA was founded, there was one dedicated disc golf course in the world. By 1980, there were 60. By 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 2,748. In 2007, there were 11,943 PDGA members. A year later, that number had increased almost 9 percent to 12,980. The PDGA Tour has grown at an even higher rate, with events jumping 16.7 percent from 852 in ‘07 to 994 in ‘08, and total purses increasing from $1.7 million in ‘07 to just more than $2 million in ‘08.

But all that growth didn’t happen overnight. There have been delays and missteps along the way.

“We kinda made the same mistake that soccer did,” Graham said. “We started with a top-down approach.” Much like the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos trying to sell Americans on the game by signing Pelé back in the 1970s, disc golf tried to market its pros before it was even sure anyone would want to watch them.

“There was a pro tour before people even knew what disc golf was,” Graham said.

So now Graham and the PDGA are taking disc golf to schools. A pro disc golfer named Jay “Yeti” Reading explained one such initiative, called Educational Disc Golf Experience, or E.D.G.E.

“It’s a complete curriculum for Grades 3 through 12,” Yeti said at the Vibram Open, where he won the putting contest. “We give you everything you need to learn the techniques and play the game.

“We’re impacting an amazing number of kids right now. Our country is battling an epidemic of childhood obesity, and we think disc golf is a lifetime activity that can help kids develop a healthy lifestyle.”

After the tournament was over, Yeti, who has played disc golf professionally for the past 10 years, was flying to Texas to introduce the sport to 50,000 more schoolkids.

And, it’s possible that a student who learns about disc golf from Yeti in Texas goes to college and studies the sport with one of the top players in the world. That’s because Dave Feldberg, a former world champion and still a topflight disc golfer, teaches a for-credit class on disc golf at the University of Oregon.

“Disc golf is golf for the next generation,” Feldberg said a day after finishing tied for sixth at the Vibram Open, shooting an 11-under 175, for which he received a check for $862. “It takes less time, less money, less land, less stress. Today’s athlete? They’re not wanting to put on dress slacks and traditional golf gear to go enjoy themselves with their buddies.”

“I was like a catfish, dude, swallowed it whole”
Billy Crump is nothing if not a salesman.

“I drove 15 hours one way to be here,” Crump said. “I’m not getting paid. Just to talk, because it had to be done.”

Crump is providing live blow-by-blow coverage of the tournament via webcast on the Open’s Web site. “I’ll talk for five and a half hours straight,” Crump said. When he introduced himself, Crump said, “I’m the Nature Boy, and I can talk.”

Jack McCluskey
Looks like a tricky shot, doesn’t it?
Nature Boy’s story is a familiar one among the disc golf community. Some friends dragged him to a disc golf course several years ago, and he promptly failed miserably and declared the game “the stupidest thing I’ve seen in my life.” Then he went back and played again and, as he put it, “I was like a catfish, dude, swallowed it whole.”

His pro career, to hear him tell it, was not exactly a huge financial success. His first year on tour, he made $200 and kept at it only because the guys he was traveling with were doing significantly better. They made sure he had enough to eat and enough for the entry fee to that weekend’s tournament.

“I always said, ‘One day I’ll quit playing and just cover you guys,’” Crump said, adding proudly, “I’ve been called the Jim Nantz of disc golf.”

Although he doesn’t seem to have an official title or position with the PDGA, Crump acts as a one-man promotional department. He is a broadcaster, producer, ad salesman, marketing consultant and media director. “We all say we’re on the precipice,” Crump said, hoping this latest shove will push disc golf off the cliff and into the mainstream.

He’s not the only one selling the sport, however. Not by a long shot.

“We all say, ‘It’s gonna be huge in three to five years,’” Avery Jenkins said. “We’ve been saying that for years.”

Vibram Open tournament director Steve Dodge said the disc golf community has debated what to call the kind of golf they play in the PGA. “I think we settled on ‘conventional,’ but you know that only works if ball golf is more popular,” Dodge said. “Who’s to say in 20 years this isn’t conventional golf?”

Disc golf’s Golden Bear
Ken Climo is to disc golf what Jack Nicklaus is to traditional ball golf.

“When people try to compare me to Tiger, I say, ‘Tiger hasn’t broken the records yet,’” Climo, 41, said by phone from his home in Clearwater, Fla. “I think I’m the Jack. I’ve got the records, and somebody’s gotta come get ‘em.”

The records Climo was referring to include total tour wins (he has 220 and counting) and world championships (12, including nine in a row from 1990 to 1998). He also might own the record for reverential references by contemporaries and competitors.

Jenkins, who won the 2009 world championship in Kansas City earlier this month, said he grew up idolizing Climo. Dave Feldberg was in awe of Climo’s accomplishments, noting that no one is even close to Climo in total majors; Feldberg said he and Barry Schultz are probably closest at five apiece. Crump called him “a living legend” and pointed out a picture of Climo throwing a disc on the side of an Innova Disc Golf van parked at the Vibram Open.

Video game disc golf
Disc golfers rejoice! EA Sports has added a disc golf feature to the Nintendo Wii version of “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10.”

“Welcome to Disc Golf!” the demo screen on the EA Sports Web site reads, above a computer rendering of a blue disc with “EA Sports driver” written on it. “Are you ready to play one of the fastest growing sports in America?! Disc Golf is very similar to regular golf. The goal is to get the disc in the basket in the least amount of throws. Play on all courses. Have fun!”

Using all the courses from the normal game, players will be able to play the courses using discs instead of clubs and balls. Legendary disc golfer Ken Climo says it’s an exciting advance for the sport. “You can play Pebble Beach with a disc,” Climo said. “That’s gonna give our sport a lot of exposure.”

Will being featured in Tiger’s newest video game be the push disc golf needs to hit the mainstream? Not so fast. After all, the disc golf option is on only one video game console. “It’s baby steps,” Climo continued. “It’s gonna come, it’s just gonna take a while. Ball golf is 400 years old, that’s what I keep telling people. As a sport, disc golf is just more than 30 years old, that’s not very old. We’re basically just coming out of our adolescence.”

If adolescents with Wiis buy enough copies of “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10″ and play enough of the disc golf option, maybe the sport will enjoy another growth spurt. Only time will tell.
– Jack McCluskey

Other pros have sponsors, but Climo has his own line of discs. That didn’t come easily, though. Climo didn’t get his current deal with Innova until after he’d won his seventh straight world championship.

“I don’t know what took them so long,” he said, then laughed.

Under the terms of the deal, Climo gets a quarter per disc sold in addition to a monthly paycheck. “It started out at a little less than $1,000 a month, maybe a little over $1,000 in the summertime when sales are good,” Climo said. “Now I’ll get checks for around $4,000 a month in the summertime.”

Although that might not sound like much, it’s more than any pro disc golfer has gotten before. For the most part, sponsors still are making deals with players mostly for merchandise. They are small companies such as bottled-water distributor Brazilian Springs — a proud sponsor of the Vibram Open.

“For the most part, we’ve been successful on the regional level,” said Graham, the PDGA executive director. “Though we do have one large company interested in us, asking lots of questions.”

The one-man disc golf salesman extraordinaire, Crump said he’s been told “no” by more companies than he can remember. But, like most things in disc golf, there has been gradual progress.

“Our sport is where traditional golf was in the ’30s and ’40s,” Graham said. “Those guys lived out of the trunks of their cars, driving from tournament to tournament and barely making it.”

It wasn’t always possible to make a living playing disc golf.

In the beginning of his career, Climo built houses during the week and won tournaments on the weekend. Graham was a civil engineering designer for 23 years before being hired as PDGA executive director in 2007. Schultz was a plastics engineer back home in Wisconsin before he went pro full time. Sarah Stanhope, who won the women’s division at the Vibram Open with a 9-over 191, is a high school science teacher in Greenville, S.C.

But the success of pros such as Climo has helped pave the way for players such as Avery and Valarie Jenkins, Feldberg and Schultz to make a living off disc golf.

“We’re playing for more money. There are more sponsors,” Avery Jenkins said. “When I started traveling in 2001, we were in a ‘71 Winnebago that got five miles to the gallon. We were making just enough to get from weekend to weekend.

“Now we’re not fretting about making it to the next weekend.”

Valarie agreed: “We’re not buying houses or nice cars, but it gets us along.” The Jenkinses have traded up from the Winnebago to a Ford Tioga motor home, complete with three beds, air conditioning and even a flat-screen TV hooked up to an Xbox and a Nintendo Wii.

“Now we get about double [the mileage], 10 miles a gallon,” Jenkins said.

To hear most members of the disc golf community tell it, someday soon they’ll be doubled in number. After all, they’re right there on the precipice. All they need is that final push, one more toss. Then disc golf will really be airborne.

Jack McCluskey is an editor at ESPN.com.

Check out the entire Article on ESPN.com – Disc Golf has a Pro Tour, and Momentum

Avery and Valarie Jenkins came to DGU with a desire to compete against one another fairly. This season Avery and Val will compete head-to-head through the use of the DGU Handicapping system to see who can best the other.

Think YOU can take ‘em? Log in and find out! After each event, just click on the course name to see your projected score for the course being played.

Battle Jenkins – Avery vs. Val

The New Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 has a new Disc Golf feature that allows you to throw on the greatest traditional golf courses in the world.

Watch the Video! Wii Disc Golf – Put Down the Clubs!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

The opener reads: “Are you ready to play one of the fastest growing sports in America?! Disc Golf is very similar to regular golf. The goal is to get the disc in the basket in the least amount of throws. Play all of the courses. Have fun!”

The game is set to release in stores on June 16th.

This is going to be huge for our sport when the Millions of players that buy Tiger Woods Video Games get the chance to play a Disc Golf Video Game.

The Team Jenkins Disc Golf Documentary was set to begin filming the weekend of April 4, so our family made plans to fly down to Houston, TX where Director Rob Engle has a large production studio where he works. It actually happens to be the largest production studio in Houston. Val and I were flying in from Atlanta, GA where we played the Atlanta Open National Tour Event the previous weekend and my parents, Sharon and Leroy, were traveling from the cold winter weather of Ohio. It all seemed to work out as the Texas States Disc Golf Championships was taking place that weekend along with the initial start to the filming of our documentary.

This whole idea for a Disc Golf documentary was started by Rob Engle when he was trying to pursue making a film that granted greater exposure to the sport. But much like everyone else that has attempted to makea film telling the history of Disc Golf from the beginning, it seemed a little cut and dry to just produce a film about the timeline and future of Disc Golf. He wanted a story and a plot that would intrigue viewers that had no knowledge of the game and have them understand why we love this sport so much. He approached his good friend Neal Dambra about his idea over a year ago, and Neal mentioned that his doubles partner Leroy has an entire family that plays. And thus Team Jenkins became the story line for his documentary that he was looking for. He met up with us at the World Championships in Kalamazoo, MI and explained to us his grand idea to have a film that portrayed the “family friendly” sport of Disc Golf by highlighting how we all started this great game. He captured some great tournament footage throughout the week and later produced an youtube teaser to really get us interested into what was to come – he is doing the entire film in HD quality.

We all met up in Houston on Wednesday and played some practice rounds as a family to get a feel for the courses before the tournament. On Thursday we all arrived at the Tom Bass course and were greeted with 30-35 mph winds to start the first day of filming. Rob Engle is the director of the film, with Patrick Brogdon on Audio and Humberto Jaime working the HD camera. Rob had Innova Champion Discs Inc. deliver a United States Disc Golf Championship basket to Houston for us to use during the action shots of the documentary. We set the basket up in certain locations on the course and each of us did individual putting and driving sessions in some extremely windy conditions. We did some really cool putting and driving shots on the side hill of the Wilmont course with an amphitheater in the background. We spent a majority of the day capturing lots of different views and perspectives, giving Rob lots of footage to work with for the documentary.

The tournament started on a windy Saturday morning on the Tourney course which seemed to be the most difficult of the 3 courses that we played for the weekend. Rob had mic’d and follow around my mother, Sharon, and Valarie for the first round. Matt Orum played an amazing first round shooting a 52 – besting the next best score by 4 strokes. I played really tentatively and made too many mistakes in the wind to shoot a 58, 6 strokes off the lead. I was mic’d for the second round and played a lot more confidently, shooting a 50 with a few mistakes on some of the easier holes to remain 6 strokes off the lead to Matt Orum, who shot a 50 as well. It was going to be a battle going into Sunday as we faced the longer 24-hole layout on the Wilmont course.

I was on the attack on Sunday knowing that I could make up some ground on the lead card and possibly close the gap on first to win the tournament. It was as windy as it had been the majority of the weekend and never let up the entire round. I parked the 1st hole for birdie to start things off but made a misread on the 2nd hole as my disc kicked off a tree in the fairway and when flying OB in the creek to the left. I was left with nothing but a layup and an automatic 5 to start the round. I knew at that point that there were lots of holes left and I could still do what I set out to do when this all started. I began playing super aggressive in the wind, trying to score and catch up as I kept continuous watch of the lead card to get a feel on how they were playing. I made some misreads later in the round on some routine upshots leaving myself 25-30′ footers that I missed due to some crazy swirling winds. I continued to play out the round even though things did not seem to be going my way. We approached the last and final hole of the tournament, it was a 500′ shot from one end of the pond to the other with a generous right to left crossing tailwind. I stepped up to the tee with only the intention of going for the pin and nothing else. I bombed my bright yellow Pro Destroyer way wide to the right, all hyzer angle. It came in spike hyzer 15′ short of the basket and closer than anyone all day long, Parked!! I tapped in for birdie to finish the tournament with a 76 the final round as we waited for the lead card’s scores to come in. It turns out that Matty O played another great round, shooting 76 to hold on the win and I finished in a tie for 2nd with Mike Olse. Val also had a tough weekend as she battled it out with Des Reading, and Val ended up finishing 2nd as well. My mother came in 3rd and my father came in 7th. All in all, a great Texas States Disc Golf Championship as always. The tournament director Chuck Conaway and staff really put on a quality event this year. Congrats!

We made arrangements to meet up at the studio on Monday morning to continue shooting the film, it actually turns out that we did not get to the studio until around 12 pm because we were really worn out from the windy weekend of golf. We got all set up as the studio crew (Humberto, Patrick and Rob) got the stage ready for the family interviews. Our first shoot was set up as a group interview as we were all sat in a makeup living room setting with all of us sitting on the couch or chairs. Rob had us start to describe the how it all began, with details from when my parents first met all the way until their involvement with disc golf to until Val and I started playing professionally. The interview process and questions were a lot more in depth than I initially thought, but my parents were coming up with stories that even I have never heard. It was a great family interaction interview that is sure to look great in the film.

Next we then separated to do individual interviews and question sessions, and as the night grew later we began to tire. I had Val and the parents go first, as I wanted to be the last interview of the night. I also wanted to get in a quick nap on the couch while I had the chance, only to be awaken because I was snoring and they could supposedly hear it during the interviews. So I had Val make up some cappuccinos before I was ready to be interviewed. We stayed at the studio until 3:30 am to make sure that we had collected enough footage for the day, knowing that we would be available throughout the summer and into USDGC for more player interviews and live action footage.

Val and I returned to the studio the next day to do some more action shots – this time in front of the huge white seamless backdrop. We did a variety of poses and throws, from putting to upshots to jump-putts to full drives. We even did some 360-turnaround drives that will look great in the slow-motion footage. Rob got really creative with the artistic style of pulling out on many of the full-frame action shots and poses. Over the week he had collected and compiled over 25+ hours of footage including interviews and lots of tournament coverage. I can’t wait to see what it all looks like when it is all edited down into the trailer just before gearing up for the final project. This documentary will release at a few film festivals early next year and the final goal is to have this documentary air on National TV.

He will also have lots more footage to add throughout the season with lots of player interviews at the USDGC and our home tournament, Roscoe’s Revenge, this coming July 4th weekend. Thanks to all that are making this production possible. I will keep everyone posted on the exciting news from the Team Jenkins Disc Golf Documentary.

What a year! 2008 has gone down as my most successful disc golf season to date. I played in 28 PDGA Tournaments with 20 top 5’s and 9 wins (32% Winning Percentage), including 2 National Tour Wins at The Greater Tulsa Open and The Vibram Open and 5 Supertour Wins including an A-Tier Trifecta to finish off the year down South at the Corpus Christi Open, Oklahoma Open and Veterans Park Open. I kept my cash streak alive cashing in every tournament I played in 2008.

I have played more tournaments in one full season (46 tournaments in 2002), but this year I traveled more tour miles than any other year, accruing 80,000+ travel miles throughout the 2008 disc golf season (trust me it took some time to add up all of those miles). The distance I traveled is comparable to circling the planet 3.2 times with an average of 216 miles a day for the entire year. And that statistic doesn’t even take into account all the miles I walked on the golf course week in and week out. I calculated that I flew 60K by plane including some huge trips to Japanese and European Majors. The other 20K consisted of ground miles that I collected from driving the Tioga back and forth across the country including multiple trips with various friends to many tournaments throughout the year. I have never heard of travel miles throughout a disc golf season that compare to those numbers, please let me know if you have ever heard of anything comparable. For my efforts I led the PDGA Tour Points for the 2008 season.

I set my personal longest recorded throw at 695 feet (212 Meters) at the Big D in the Desert in Primm, NV this past April. I later tied my personal distance record of 695 feet at the World Disc Games Overall Event at the field of UCSC in Santa Cruz, CA this past July. I got to see my sister, Valarie, set the Women’s World Distance Record at 485 feet (148 Meters) – it was an amazing throw in the hot California desert. I also threw my longest non-official distance throw of 840+ feet in practice the afternoon before the actual Distance Competition the following day. With that throw and with many throws since, I now feel that I have a legitimate shot at breaking the World Distance Record at Big D in the Desert in 2010.

As far as other stats, I shot 6 Course Records including some huge rounds during my biggest tournaments of the year. I shot some scorching 2nd rounds at both The United States Disc Golf Championship and The Vibram Open to post 1085 rated rounds. I continue to get closer and closer to winning the prestigious USDGC, and I am confident that it will soon be mine. My highest rated round was my final round at the 2007 Memorial with a 1090 round rating to finish the tournament, which is still my highest rated round in my career to date.

I finished the year winning one-third of my events played and claiming $32,345 (2nd in PDGA Cash) in earnings. I played tournaments worldwide and claimed my first 2008 PDGA Points Title with 20,573 points. I remain to be currently ranked 4th in the World with a 1030 Player Rating which ranks at 10th in PDGA Ratings as I enter in to the 2009 disc golf season.

Full 2008 Tour Stats: Click Here

I got to witness my Sister, Valarie, and my best friend, Dave Feldberg, win World Titles this year in Kalamazoo, MI this past August. I also witnessed first–hand as my other best friend Nate Doss, held me off to claim his first USDGC Title. It was great to be a part of it all and very inspirational to see drive and hard work finally pay off. It makes my desire and passion to fulfill my biggest goals increase as I now see it as being very possible as year after year I have gotten closer to winning another Big PDGA Major. Now I want a Worlds and USDGC title more than ever.

Thanks to all my friends, family and travel companions throughout the year that have made my world travels possible and my disc golf dreams a reality. Here’s to an amazing 2009 season!

So this is the youtube video Trailer for the “Team Jenkins – First Family of Disc Golf” Documentary due to release the Spring/Summer of 2010.

Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2E2DRkMGx4

This is documentary that will expose the family friendly sport of Disc Golf along with lots of footage of the PDGA Professional National Tour throughout the summer.

Be sure to stay tuned………………………………………900 Hits/Views and Counting!!!!

Please let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Welcome to my Official Website! Thanks for stopping by. I am very excited to launch this site, it was a huge undertaking that has definitely been a long time coming. Be sure to check back often as I plan to post all of my latest pictures, videos and stats from my life on the road as a professional disc golfer. I will be updating this website throughout the season to keep you posted on all the greatest news from the disc golf tour. I will also be posting blogs periodically telling of the amazing tournaments that I play and dispatches from my travels around the world.

I may be contacted either through comments left on my posts or by emailing me directly at AveryJenkins@AveryJenkins7495.com. I will do my best to answer all questions and comments.

Blog Post Coming 2/17/09: 2008 Year in Review.

Come back soon and expect even greater things from me this 2009 season!

Tune in at 8:00pm EST on Tue. Dec. 16th and 18th for Disc Golf Network coverage of the Tupelo Bay Open brought to you by Innova Discs and Revolution Bags.

The 2008 Tupelo Bay Open was contested on Dec. 13-14, 2008 in Myrtle Beach, SC and the Disc Golf Network was there to capture all of the action for PDGA TV. Tune in to PDGA.com on December 16th & 18th at 8:00pm and 11:00pm EST for full coverage of the event brought to you by Innova Champion Discs, Revolution Disc Golf Bags, and ClashDVD.com.

Each year, the Tupelo Bay Open provides a top notch ball golf style disc golf course event in a beautiful and professional setting. Year round the Tupelo Bay Resort has a short 9 hole pay-to-play course at the entrance to the park, but it doesn’t compare to the experience that the Tupelo Bay Open course provides.

Now in it’s fourth year, this tourney has been won by the likes of Barry Schultz (2005) and Brian Schweberger (2006-2007). Avery Jenkins will make the trip to the carolina coast this year in a bid to overpower the competition and win his first Tupelo title. Check out the video promo below and be sure to check back to PDGA.com on Tuesday, Dec. 16th for full video coverage of the event. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy disc golf as it was meant to be, straight from the Grand Strand.

Video Links:

Day 1

Day 2

Be sure to check​ out this first​ of its kind Promo​ Disc Golf Video​ Cover​age and look forwa​rd to more tournaments/event​s being​ cover​ed during next years​ tour seaso​n.

Enjoy​!

12/16/08