The PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships are underway in Milford, Michigan, marking the fourth time the event has been held in the state and the tournament's 44th edition overall.
Nearly 300 athletes representing 26 countries are competing at Kensington Metro Park this weekend, with tournament organizers expecting close to 10,000 spectators. Nearly one-third of the field is made up of women, with about 92 female competitors taking part. More information about the event is available at detroit26.com.
Watch Faraz Javed's report below:
Among the athletes is 15-year-old Grand Rapids native Kaidin Bell, a three-time junior world champion.
"The ability to meet new people from all over the world, traveling to different states and sometimes new countries too. It just, it's crazy," Bell said.
Bell said competing close to home carries its own significance.
"It feels great that a tournament this huge is like in Michigan, like in an area so close to my city. It's crazy how our state's being represented in a way like this," Bell said.
Seven-time world putting champion Jay Reading points to the sport's rapid growth as the driving force behind events of this scale.
"There was only 700 courses in the entire world when I became a PDGA member in 1999. There are well over 15,000 courses, including 13,000 right here in the United States," Reading said.
Reading, a former physical education teacher, is now working to bring disc golf into schools through his foundation, the Educational Disc Golf Experience, which introduces the sport to young athletes through programs across the country.
"So we've started a foundation for disc golf into schools. We're celebrating 25 years next year. We've introduced this great lifetime activity to over five million kids and over 325 permanent courses actually on school campuses," Reading said.
Reading said the sport's accessibility is a key part of its appeal.
"Disc golf, everybody can be successful at it. So what I saw was a lot of kids that actually had athletic ability but really didn't understand individual sports," Reading said.
More information about the Educational Disc Golf Experience is available at edgediscgolf.org.
Tournament Director Nate Heinold said events like the World Championships offer young players a rare and meaningful opportunity.
"This is the disc golfers' one event a year that's their Olympics. They get to come here, compete in front of 10,000 people, and be crowned a world champion. It's life-changing," Heinold said.
Heinold also addressed how disc golf differs from traditional golf.
"Disc golf takes less time, it's better exercise, it's cheaper, it's easier to learn. And so they're very different sports, but the goal is still get an object, in this case a flying disc, into the target, which is not a hole, it's a basket with chains and as few throws as possible," Heinold said.
Reading echoed the state's deep connection to the sport.
"Michigan's always been a strong state for disc golf. You guys love your outdoor recreation. Winters are harsh, but we play disc golf in the winter as well," Reading said.
Bell said the sport's momentum shows no signs of slowing.
"Just keep teaching new people. I mean, eventually, the sport's going to keep on growing. I mean, we're already at 300,000 PDGA numbers so far, and it's still growing. Like, who knows? It's crazy," Bell said.
The PDGA Pro World Championships wrap up Sunday at Kensington Metro Park in Milford.
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