Catch all the shots as they happen in the final Pro rounds at the 2023 Vic Open. ADG and Disc Golf Victoria are trying something new to bring live coverage of the event to viewers everywhere on Tuesday 25^th April. Live Streaming kicks off at 9am AEST with the FPO lead card followed at 12pm AEST with MPO.  You can catch the action on our Facebook and YouTube channel. The stream will also be available to view after the event.

Join us in celebrating the 2022 ADG Tour champions

Tuesday 17th January 2023 at 8pm AEDT.

https://uonewcastle.zoom.us/j/84759446048…

Zoom Meeting ID: 84759446048

Password: 352888

Towards the end of 2021 ADG implemented a new structure for (ADG) sanctioned events, to meet the demands of the ongoing growth in our sport and to start a transition to a more mature competitions structure. Perhaps the biggest change for 2022 was the introduction of a single State Major, as each states’ pinnacle annual event. With this came a prestige step-up and additional player capacity requirements. The TDs rose to the challenge with capacity, organisation, communications and event presentation taken to (very) impressive new levels.

Here’s a shout out to the TD’s and Assistants for the six State Majors this year, each one a stand-out landmark event – we thank and applaud your amazing work:

– Tom Rugg for The Sizzler – ACT
– Matt Green for The Two Heads Open – TAS
– Patrick Thorpe and Matt Hill for The Vic Open – VIC
– Reece (and Keenan) Vellios for The Perth Open – WA
– Sharon and Kevin Costa for the NSW Open – NSW
– Michelle Schulz and Ryan Nicholson for Eruption 2022 – SA

And the TDs for the two Australian Disc Golf Championships events held this year. Years of planning and work was put it by these TDs and the large teams of volunteers – the ‘next level’ was smashed and we thank you.

– Patty Robinson and Andrew Ferguson – 2021 Australian Disc Golf Championships, Inverleigh – VIC

– Adam Lowe and Patrick Ferris Jr – 2022 Australian Disc Golf Championships – Tunnel Ridge Ranch, Landsborough – QLD

Let’s also celebrate the TDs that took-on more than one event his year.
– TD for one event and Assistant TD for one event – Charl Du Plessis, Matt Hill, Paul Noesen, Tom Rugg
– TD for two events – Aaron Moreton, David Heath, Jackson Adams, John Schlobohm, Johnathan ‘JJ’ Johnas, Matt Green, Patrick Thorpe, Patrick Willson, Phil Tweed.
– TD for two events and Assistant TD for one – Matthew Wallis Priit Koiv, Kevin Costa, Michelle Schulz, Ryan Nicholson, Ken Summers.
– TD for three events – Brett Chambers, Connor Donnelly, Jonathan Dragt, Sam Rubock
– TD for five events and Assistant TD for one – Jeff Brunsting

Last year ten new TDs were certified through the ADG Mentoring programme. Congratulations and thanks for stepping up to:
– Jordan Wheeler – WA
– Patrick Willson – WA
– Brian Clevenger – QLD
– Jason Vidot – QLD
– Sean Gottschling – TAS
– Nathan Thomas – QLD
– Janet Ford Adams – VIC
– Julie O’Donoghue – WA
– Leroy Sharrock-VIC
– Peter Barry – VIC
And extra special thanks to the experienced TDs who mentored them through the process.

And the many more TD’s and Assistant TDs who gave up their time this year to facilitate our competitive play, you are truly appreciated:
Oliver Mundy-Castle, Mike Spangenberg, Michael Van der Linden, Nathan Thomas, Brittini Ramsey, Jason Browne, Rhys Kruger, Scott Ryan, Lisa Wallis, Emilie Cameron, Sue Summers, Dale McFarlane, Hayden McPherson, Chris Hart, Andrew Stanley, Jason McCormick, Todd Chapman, Leroy Sharrock, Robert Lambert, Simon Tanner, Curtis King, Clayton Beck, Sam Ockerby, Allen Brunsting, Kairi Koobakene, Kris Kohout, Carey Edwards, Joseph Doran, Ashley Gabe, Chris Barr, Keron Redman, Peter Barry, Trent Pease, Wade O’Shannessy.

The work of the TDs for each event is varied and all-encompassing. From access permissions to marketing, merch, registrations, comms, admin, course prep and set-up, sponsorships, prizes, trophies, reporting and even catering! It’s a labour of love for sure, but a huge amount of work none-the-less, and we thank and applaud every one of you that has made an event, big or small, possible this year.

Don’t forget to thank your TD after each event, and maybe for 2023…..have a chat with an experienced TD about what it involves and have a think about whether you might be able to be Assistant TD or TD for an event in 2023?

Did you know that there’s now 101 courses installed in Australia, that ADG has now nearly 3,200 registered members and that in 2022 1,018 individuals played in ADG sanctioned events?

Stats, stories and more about the biggest year that disc golf in Australia has seen, and also a run down of the event structure changes for 2023.

View or download your copy here

513 Disc Golfers across the country joined together last weekend. They played 15 events, all linked together by the PDGA ratings system, for the 3rd Aussie Disc Golf Day . The disc design this year was created by Western Australian Koreng Noongar artist, Robin Keen. We named it the Waalitj, which is the Noongar world for eagle. The design signifies a great gathering of people, with the Waalitj, who is the protector of the earth (boodjar) and sky (gudjyt), watching over us all. $1 for every Waalitj will be donated to the Waalitj Foundation, which works to provide educational and vocational opportunities for indigenous youth.

Congratulations to all of our winners from across the country.

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along to make your voice heard. For Disc Golfers in Australia that time is now. The Australian Flying Disc Association (AFDA), are embarking on a new strategic plan in 2023 and part of that planning process involves taking the pulse of all flying disc sports in Australia through this survey.

AFDA Survey

AFDA are our representative body in Australia and the decisions that arise in this plan will, one way or the other, have a huge impact on Australian Disc Golf; especially in areas like coaching, school programs and development. 10-minutes of your time to complete this survey and let AFDA know you are a disc golfer will quite possibly be the best thing you could do for our sport this year.

A photographers view of Crater Lakes Disc Golf Park in Mount Gambier.

Compared to that game they play with sticks, a Disc Golf course can be installed almost anywhere. In Australia we have courses in public parks, on private bush blocks, along riverside gardens, in the deep forest, and on rocky mountains. Courses can sometimes be in untidy, scrubby bits of land that aren’t used for anything else and that only a disc golfer can love. But sometimes they are in the most beautiful places imaginable. Crater Lakes Disc Golf Park in Mount Gambier is most certainly in the latter category. Set on the crater of a dormant volcano that last erupted 6000 years ago: a place the Boandik people called ereng balam – home of the eagle hawk – a round of disc golf here will have you throwing off high ridges over lakes, along lush green fairways lined with giant weeping willows and through tunnels of natural bush.

The Mount Gambier Disc Golf Cub recently held ‘The Eruption’, and ADG major tournament at crater lakes, and among the action shots taken over the weekend we managed to collect some pictures of the stunning landscape in ‘the volcano’.

The ADG AGM will be held online on Thurs 8^th Dec 2022 at 8pm AEDT.

Further details can be found here

The AGM is a great opportunity to ask questions of the board, provide feedback and discuss what disc golf in Australia should look like in 2023.

At the meeting we will be electing the ADG board for 2023. This year we are making some changes to how the board is structured. This change will allow more people to be involved and help the board to achieve more through the creation of sub-committees with specific roles.

If you are interested in nominating for a position on the ADG board, Tournament committee or State Representative Body please complete this form by 5.00pm Thursday 10th November. You can find out more about these positions  here. If there is someone you think should apply please let them know you will support their application. We welcome applicants from diverse gender and cultural backgrounds.

Paul Arden – Director of Competitions and PDGA Liaison

A founder and still the longest-serving board member of ADG, Paul Arden is the mastermind behind the ADG Tour and has been instrumental in the development of governance in the sport since the mid-noughties. Let’s hear from Paul

Q: How long have you played (DG) and how did you get introduced to the sport?
A: About 17 years since 2005. A friend found out about Disc Golf through VFDA (Victorian Flying Disc Association) and we played their object/lamppost course in the Fitzroy Gardens. A bit of Googling and we quickly found the now removed basket course on the Whittlesea Golf Club course, hooked ever since. First real disc, Innova XD.

Q: What is your favourite place to play in Australia and why?
A: Likely a tie between Poimena and Crater Lakes as the most beautiful and enjoyable. Closer to home I love Stony Creek Disc Golf Course because it’s less than 15 minutes from home and I can just empty my bag over and over going for aces.

Q: How did you come to be on the ADG Board? and what are the responsibilities of your position?
A: I was one of the founding board members of ADG, at a time where if you wanted to play Disc Golf you had to have a hand in organising things. I have been Director of Competitions and responsible for the ADG Tour since then.

Q: Look ahead five years – what is your vision for disc golf in Australia?
A: More courses, more tournaments, more players! The last two years has seen amazing growth of the sport to the point where we now have the ‘nice-to-have’ problems we talked about 15 years ago. Now we need to start working on ways to accommodate the huge demand for Disc Golf in Australia.

Q: Do you have any tips or advice for people thinking of getting involved in the admin/management side of disc golf?
A: Focus. Select an area you believe you can make a valuable contribution to and focus on that. There is a diverse set of requirements and more than likely there will be a way you can contribute, whether at a local level or nationally.

Thanks Paul

For a more detailed account of Paul’s life in Disc Golf have a look at the fireside chat interview we did in 2019 https://new.australiandiscgolf.com/paul-arden-a-chat…/

Who’s the best in the land?

There has been a shuffling of the card deck in the MPO division in Australia in the last couple of years. Some have been developing their games in isolation, some have gained overseas experience while others have switched in from Ultimate and brought their advanced throwing skills with them. So, coming into the business end of the ADG tour we are all wondering ‘who is the best MPO player in the land?’ Well, we are about to find out. Over the next couple of months, most of the MPO players who have been ‘in the conversation’ for this title, will be teeing off against each other in the NSW Open in Molong, The Eruption in Mount Gambier and the Australian Disc Golf Championships in the Sunshine Coast.

Here’s some of our contenders.

Luke Bayne

If Bayney continues at the same rate of improvement as the last couple of years, where he’s gone from novice, to MPO and then solid international performances, then it’s game over. But it’s called an improvement curve, not an improvement line, for a reason, and maybe he’s coming to the shallower part of his. Nevertheless, it’s been a wild ride for the former Ulti player from Brisbane: after finishing second in the Sizzler and the Aussie Champs, he won the Vic Open, the Yeronga memorial and the Pine Rivers Open before jumping on a plane to play the European Open, the WFDF team Worlds, The Estonian Open and the Pro Worlds. After all that tough competition and experience he’ll be battle hardened and carved out of wood. He’ll be in Molong, The Volcano and at the Sunny Coast as well as playing the lead-up, River City Ruckus in Queensland.

Dylan Feldman

Our reigning national champ has put together an impressive year with six wins, one of those being the big enchilada. He is also yet to get his feet dirty come the time to stand on podiums. Dylan is another one whose game is still in its growth phase so even in the six-month time lapse since the February nationals he will quite likely have improved. He’ll be playing the NSW Open, The Eruption and the Nationals.

Patty Robinson

It’s been a quiet couple of years for the three times Aussie and one time New Zealand champ. Covid, a growing professional career and becoming a dad have taken his focus off the game slightly, as has an elbow injury that has restricted his ability to throw forehand shots.  He had an uncharacteristic 18^th placing in the February Nationals that must have had him asking the other guys on the 5^th card ‘so what you all talk about back here anyway?’ His showing in Inverleigh no doubt had something to do with him being a TD of the big show as well. But Patty has still had a pretty solid year with a second place in the Two Heads, a win in Mt Baw Baw, fourth in the Vic Open and second in the South Aussie Open. He’s signed up for The NSW Open, The Eruption and the Nationals and it seems that elbow is starting to feel a little better. It’ll need to be if he wants to shut down this revolution in Aussie MPO.  

Blake Houston

The little kid from Perth is not so little anymore and has dominated the scene on his side of the land, only stepping off the podium recently at the Alex Rebooted tournament. He won the big one, the Perth Open over a strong local MPO field and had other wins in the Mundilorian and the Hermit Kingdom Open. He won the Eruption last year and is returning to the volcano in October as well as heading out to Molong earlier that month, plus he’ll be in the Sunshine Coast in November.

David Perry

After third in the Aussie Champs and fifth at the Vic Open, the Victorian peeled off four wins before jumping on the plane to Estonia and doing Australia proud at the WFDF Team Worlds. Top level match play competition steels the mind like nothing else so, like all players who have returned from overseas, expect the David Perry who has returned home to be a much tougher competitor than the one who left. He’ll be in Molong, at the Eruption and in the Sunshine Coast in November.

Jordan Wheeler

Jordy’s been quiet lately. He’s left the US tour van life and is carving a different path with disc golf no longer on the centre screen. The lefty has only played 4 tournaments with year with a win at the Red Tail Open early on, a forgettable performance at the Fantasy Park Open, a win at the Rob Hancock Memorial and finishing second to Blake Houston in his only ADG major for the year, the Perth Open. But taking the time off work and travelling to the Sunshine Coast isn’t a small commitment from WA, so we can expect a well prepared and switched-on Jody at Tunnel Ridge ranch for the nationals. He’s a seasoned, experienced pro who with plenty of lead card experience in the ADGC.

Chris Hill

Chilly is focussing just on the Nationals at this end of the year and has competed sparingly over the last couple of years. But he’s another one that will have come back from the WFDF Team World forever changed by the experience and, on his day, can match it with anyone. He’s had 8 wins in two years that have included one win and one podium in majors. He’s also had a recent win at the Dubbo Charge.  

Jade Brady

From the ACT, Jade Brady has had a solid competitive year and some big showings in the big events. He followed up a tope 10 place at the February Nationals with a close second at the Vic Open with a host of other podium finishes and wins in the Jesmond Jam and the Queensland Open in Townsville. He was still a but of an unknown at the Vic Open but nobody is saying ‘who the hell is Jade Brady?’ anymore.

Tim Bohan

The recently crowned King of Salisbury is another who played some international disc golf this year and come back with a hard stare minus a few rough edges knocked off his game. Tim has played a lot this year, including the Am worlds and the Am USDGC, he’s only had to slum it with the great unwashed off the podium five times out of 16 events played. Plus, for those of you who like to use recent form as a guide when you are making your predictions, his highness has just won three tournaments in a row.  

Austin D’Alessandro

After winning his home major, The Sizzler, in the ACT in February, Austin has out together a solid year, with three podium finishes, top ten placings in the February Nationals and the Vic Open and rounded it out with a win at the WGE Sydney event. He’ll be in Molong, at the volcano and in the Sunshine Coast this year, plus is heading over for the NZ championships in March next year. That’s not the schedule of someone who’s indifferent about his performances and, after only his second year in MPO, Austin is another player in the steep part of his improvement curve.

Aaron Moreton

Another one of our Sugar Gliders, the Aussie Disc Golf Team that did so well at the WFDF Team Worlds, Aaron Moreton had deepened his connection and commitment to the game in the lead up to competing in Estonia and will no doubt have been made a better player for the experience. He’s saving himself for the Nationals in November though, so we won’t get a read on his form until then.