According to UDisc I played 108 rounds of disc golf, up from 100 rounds in 2023. This is somewhat impressive because I didn’t play between July 25th and August 25th because I had arthroscopic knee surgery at the end of July. I finished the year with 286 birdies, 946 pars, 270 bogeys, 61 double bogeys, and 6 triple-or-worse bogeys.

At the end of this year, UDisc announced their own ratings system. I currently have a “193 Everyday Rating” and a “199 Competition Rating”. I played courses in BC, Florida, and Japan.

Over Canada Day long weekend, I played in the BC Open for the first time and finished significantly better than I predicted! I played in the MA40 (Mixed Amateur 40+ age protected) division. My goal was to “not finish last”, as I finished second-to-last in the previous tournament I played in (in Lumby, BC), but I actually finished 28th out of 51 competitors! In October I played in the Penticton Club Championships, where I finished 2nd in MA40, 1 stroke away from forcing a playoff. That was very exciting. In previous years, I played very poorly in the Club Championship. I think I’ve finally gotten over the nervousness associated with playing a competitive round.

I don’t have any specific plans this year for tournaments, but I would like to play in the BC Open again, that was a lot of fun.

My Game

My putt got worse overall, while my distance improved slightly and my overall accuracy improved significantly. I bought very few discs this year compared to previous years, and stuck with just about the same bag all year. My favourite new disc released in 2024 is the MVP Detour. I also got a TechDisc and a practice net. I look forward to using them a lot in 2025 to learn more about and improve my form!

The Professional Realm

I’m a fan! I wonder if 2024 was the apex of the sport, and I worry about its future, like I do about our general existence. This economy has the pro tour teetering on the edge. Many pros, even promising ones, have lost their sponsorship contracts, and those covering the sport expect the tour’s cohort will be noticeably smaller in 2025. The timing of this year’s World Championships in Finland is interesting; the sport’s popularity is rising in Europe, and European players are steadily climbing the professional ranks. The new Go Throw Tour is an interesting development; the timing seems perfect, and possibly just what the DGPT needs, a shot in the arm to focus them on what’s most important.

I feel bad for the players who were on the cusp of being able to enjoy what the expansion of the sport could have offered them just to see the rug pulled out from under them, and I hope we can see further expansion of this sport very soon. I’ll continue to be a fan, and hope to play just as much if not more in 2025.