When was the first time you picked up a disc, and who were you with?
I first played the sport in 2003. A group of friends were making a trip from our hometown, Columbus, Ohio to Clearwater, Florida specifically to play disc golf. At the time I had never even heard of disc golf, but I decided to tag along anyway. When we arrived the first stop was at the Clearwater Disc Golf Store, where I purchased my first discs, a 162g Champion Leopard (the pearly stuff, old school), a protostar (wasn’t called that back then) DX Cheetah, a DX Eagle, a DX Spider, and a 11x Champion (CE) Aviar. The rest as they say is history, I’ve been playing ever since.
Sidenote: I really wish my dog didn’t chew up that Aviar
Do you prefer wooded technical courses, open long distance courses, or something in between?
Depends on the day, haha. No, but I prefer wooded, technical courses. I feel like they even the playing field for more players to compete.
What is your most memorable competitive disc golf round or moment?
It would have to either be the 4th round of the 2016 Amateur World Championships, or the final round of the 2016 Amateur Championships at Bowling Green. They were two of my highest rated rounds ever recorded at 945 and 939. For both of these rounds I felt everything finally coming together all at the same time. Those rounds are few and far between but you always remember them when they happen.
Photo credit: Tony Brunner
Do you think there will be a day when there is a tour for women’s disc golf tournaments that has enough stops on it with big enough payouts that touring can be a viable profession for women?
Absolutely. With more and more female-only events on schedule each year it’s only a matter of time. I feel like we, as women, need to make getting a women’s only tour a priority. We cannot continue to pay the same entry fees and spend just as much on travel as our male counterparts and only get paid, sometimes as low as, a third of the money/plastic as they do. Eventually it just doesn’t make sense financially and women will either return to playing locally, or even just casually, or worse give up the sport altogether. I certainly hope to see a tour for women only in the very near future and hope to be a part of it all.
Kristy at Disc Girls Gone Wild 2014. Disc Girls Gone Wild is one of the longest running women’s only tournaments, and a critical event in building women’s disc golf.
Forehand or Backhand?
Why not both?
If you had to provide 3 tips for someone who has been playing disc golf less than a year what would they be?
- Find someone that is better than you and play with them as often as you can.
- Shoot for par. If you shoot for par, the birdies won’t be far behind.
- Have fun. The one thing that I have always told Miquiath (#76557), most folks that know me from tournaments know him, is that not everyone remembers who wins every tournament, but they do remember the great people that they want to play with again, and the people that they do not. Always try to be that person that people want to be on a card with.
Following tip #3 having fun with friends!
If you could have an official beer of disc golf what would it be?
Staghorn Octoberfest by New Glarus Brewing from the great state of Wisconsin, wouldn’t mind if a six pack made its way down to Ohio sometime this summer, wink wink.
We’ll deliver some Staghorn if we can Kristy!
Top 3 courses you have played?
Coyote Point DGC @ Lake Casitas, Ventura, CA:
Coyote Point photo courtesy DG Course Review
Idlewild DGC, Burlington, KY:
- Idlewild photo courtesy DG Course Review
Legacy Trails DGC, Eagle Springs, NC
Legacy Trails photo courtesy of DG Course Review
Have you figured out how to get a hologram of yourself yet so you can attend all the disc golf tournaments you want?
No, but I have a team of scientists working around the clock.
Kristy’s team of scientists;)
You finished 2nd at the 2016 Amatuer Worlds in Madison, WI in the FA1 division, your 4th round you shot an impressive super hot 945 rated round, did you know your round was super hot when it was happening?
I knew it was good, it felt great, but I had no idea I was about to shoot the highest rated round of my career. As I said above it was definitely one of the most memorable rounds I’ve played to date and gave me a glance at what I know I can accomplish in the future.
BONUS: Watch Kristy in action at the final 9 of the 2016 Amateur World Championships: