By Dave Kynaston

PDGA #24666
Playing Division: MPO
Current Rating: 947

Noisy only by name, he’s cool, calm and collected when out on the course. Following an impressive MPO win at WA’s inaugural ‘The Mundilorian’, Paul’s diverse and artful shot-making saw him fight back in round two to take second place at the 2021 Perth Open.

Let’s hear from Mr Paul Noesen.

Q: What are your strengths as a player?

A: I feel my strengths are that I have many tools to work with; forehand, backhand, tomahawk, thumber, rollers…..there aren’t many shots I can’t utilise.

Q: What is your best or favourite competition result to date?

A: Gentlemen’s Club Challenge in 2010 playing MA1, I took second place on very little sleep and the top 3 received automatic invites to the National Amateur Disc Golf Championship which was amazing to experience.

Q: What are your disc golfing ambitions and plans for the next two or three years?

A: I want to continue to develop a very consistent and dangerous putt, bring my rating up and attend Masters Worlds in the United States.

Q: Can you share a top form tip or something that substantially helped you improve your play.

A: The biggest thing that has helped me is to worry about what I’m doing and not how others are shooting. Don’t get angry at a mistake, think about what you can focus on or change to help correct it for future throws/events.

Q: What top pro player do you look up to and why?

A ; Calvin Heimberg – He is as cool as it comes, very focused and enjoys playing the game.

Q: What is your favourite disc in your bag right now and what do you use it for?

A: Favourite disc at the moment is the Axiom Tantrum; this disc is a go to for distance backhand and forehand. It’s also very comfortable and easy for me to control.

Thanks Noisy!

By Dave Kynaston

For this hard-throwing MPO player from NSW his competition stats say it all.  In his last 11 (PDGA sanctioned) competitions he’s won 8 and he’s has finished second in the other three!  He’s currently Australia’s 2^nd highest rated player at 983. Look out for him at the Australian Disc Golf Championships at Inverleigh this year, bringing you Mr Chris Hill.

Playing Division: MPO
Current Rating: 983
Predominant throw: Right Hand Back Hand

Sponsor: Kastaplast

Q: What are your strengths as a player?

A: My backhand drive is my strength. I can throw 130m with good control in most weather conditions which allows me plenty of chances to make birdies.

Q: What is your best or favourite competition result to date?

A: My first and highest rated tournament was the 2012 Jesmond Jam when I shot a 1012 rated tournament to take out the MPO division by 4 shots. My favourite and most recent tournament was again the Jesmond Jam. This time after throwing Kastaplast for only 3 weeks I was able to beat a good friend and fierce competitor Jonathan “JJ” Jonas in a play off to win in a nail-biting finish.

Q: What are your disc golfing ambitions and plans for the next two or three years?

A: My biggest goal is to win the Australian Disc Golf Championships. I figure my best chance is to do this in the next few years as the number of disc golfers and talent in Australia seems to be exploding! Having a player rating of 1000 would also be pretty cool.

Q: Can you share a top form tip or something that substantially helped you improve your play.   

A: Form is not a big focus of mine. I think its far more important to just get out and throw bucket loads. If you throw hard in the field and practice plenty of putts, then whatever form you develop, you will gain confidence with it and will be able to execute your shots in tournaments.

Q: What top pro player do you look up to and why? 

A ; I am definitely team McBeth. He has the full range of shots and always plays his best in the critical moments. Looking forward to watching Paul win his 6^th World Championships very shortly!

Q: What is your favourite disc in your bag right now and what do you use it for?

A: The Rask for sure! It’s a stable 14 speed distance driver that even comes with a bonus inner rim. It cuts through the air like nothing else and gives me the confidence to rip it down even the narrowest of fairways.

Thanks Chilly!

Sydney Disc Golf is proud to announce the opening of it’s second Public Disc Golf Course based in North Ryde Common! We have been working on this project for a few months now and are very happy to have it available towards the end of June! We will be using this course for social days and weekly doubles events. It will have 9 permanent baskets with 18 tee pads, and signage for each hole. It’s a nice quiet park that doesn’t get much use that will test your skills with lines navigating around trees. City of Ryde council have helped set this up and we can’t thank them enough. We will be having a social day on (link below) which will be used to fundraise for the new course, so please try and come down for the day and let’s try and make this our biggest Social Day ever! Here is the GoFundMe link: https://gofund.me/48bba555 Your donation will count as the entry fee so please give generously, and there are still 7 more holes that we need to fill to be sponsored. There is also more information in the GoFundMe!

https://www.facebook.com/events/264215415484207

We launched the Grants Program in 2015. Since its inception, ADG has provided financial assistance towards the installation of multiple courses across the country as well as supporting school programs and community events.

We are making some changes to the Grants Program for 2021.

Applications will now be accepted throughout the year. The ADG Board will review applications bi-annually in February and August of each year.

If you have an idea or opportunity that needs financial assistance from the ADG, you can find more information as well as the grant application on our dedicated Grants Program page.

By David Kynaston

Next up in our series of player profiles is the talented MPO player from Victoria who throws from both hands and has a (right hand) sidearm game that most in Australia can only dream of.  Bringing you Mr Ryan Budge.

Playing Division: MPO

Current Rating: 976

Sponsor: Innova Discs

Predominant throw: Right Hand Forehand

Q: What are your strengths as a player?

A: My biggest strengths would be my forehand power and control. It’s great to have distance, but being able to shape almost any forehand line would be my greatest strength.

Q: What is your best or favourite competition result to date?

A: I would say my 3^rd place finish at the 2019 ADGC. It was such an enjoyable trip and to play at one of Australia’s best courses in Mt. Gambier was definitely a highlight.

Q: What are your disc golfing ambitions and plans for the next two or three years?

A: I want to keep pushing not only my game further, but that of newer players and to continue the growth of the sport. Would also love to travel overseas and play some big competitions.

Q: Can you share a top form tip or something that substantially helped you improve your play.   

A: Improve your weaknesses, perfect your strengths. Majority of the time in tournament play or pressure situations you will fall back on the shots that are your strengths, so don’t forget to work on them as well. A forehand specific tip would be to learn to throw understable discs. Many people (myself included) start learning with overstable discs. You’ll be surprised by some of the lines and distances you can throw by doing this.

Q: What top pro player do you look up to and why? 

A: Probably would have to be Nate Sexton. Not only for his silky forehand skills, but I admire the way he breaks down a course and plays smart golf.

Q: What is your favourite disc in your bag right now and what do you use it for?

A: Hard to go past a Sexton Firebird. Has a great feel in the hand, go-to forehand disc, is reliable, works on multiple lines and as a bonus they look great!

Thanks Ryan!

By Emilie Cameron

It was 10 years ago today that our Jesmond course went in the ground. In 2010, freshly returned from the USA with a practice basket and large box of discs, JJ and Em went searching for a good location for a course. Working with the local council we looked at parks across the area settling on Jesmond Park. Object golf had long been played in Jesmond park by ultimate players so it was a natural place for the first proper disc golf course in the area. Using temp baskets the course layout was discussed, tested, redesigned and tested again. With a grant from the council and money from AFDA and ADG we purchased baskets and supplies.

Then on May 21st 2011 Neil, JJ and Em with help from Adam, Peter, Candice and Bob did the hard work of digging and installing it all.The course has had a few changes over the years. Bricks marked the tee signs until proper tee signs and a course map were added in 2012.

Gold and Black tees were added for tournaments and tweaks were made when random fences appeared around trees. Bigger changes are coming with a freeway due to be built through the park. Though we have been saying this since 2016.

The previous code of conduct document written for Australian Disc Golf was created before the social media age. It has been due for revision for some time. After seeking input from our members, much discussion on the ADG Board and many drafts, we voted in our new Respect Agreement on Thursday May 6th.

In it we define the standard of respect that you need to show the game, other ADG members, the environment we play in and the community we play among, in order to retain your ADG membership. We’ve grown to over 3000 members in the past decade and this time has shown that all but very few people instinctively understand and comply with what is essentially a common sense set of guidelines. Guidelines outlining expected behavior that is no different to any other community, social or corporate setting.

As our numbers grow though, we may find times when we need to show some cultural leadership on respect. Because respect is part of the glue that holds our growing social movement together. This is our respect agreement.

Congratulations to Sue Summers for passing her assessment and becoming our latest ADG accredited Tournament Director. Mentoring her through the process of running the ‘Run The Chains’ event – The first women’s-only event to be run in Australia and the largest turnout of women in the PDGA Women’s Global Event this weekend in Australia – was Kris Kohout.

If Hootie isn’t the most experienced tournament director in Australia then he’s certainly in the conversation. He is most definitely the most experienced TD mentor though, with two students now successfully running events under his guidance.

‘I saw how easy all you guys made it look so I thought it’d be a breeze – but bloody hell!’ An un-named source quoted Sue as saying this week. By all accounts she ran the event like a charm though and has paved the way for more women’s only events to come.

You can find out more about the Tournament Director Mentoring Program here.

by David Kynaston.

Over the coming months and maybe beyond, we will be featuring regular player profile posts to bring you some insights into the minds and disc golf life of our nation’s top pro players. To kick this off we sent our questions to Mr Jordy Wheeler, who has been tearing it up in the WA events so far in 2021.

Name: Jordan (Jordy) Wheeler

PDGA #63995

Current Rating: 975

Playing Division: MPO

Predominant throw: Lefty backhand

Sponsors: RPM Discs, Disc Connection

What are your strengths as a player?

My biggest strength in recent years has been my ability to let go of bad/unlucky execution, in turn, I’m more present for each throw. My strengths when it comes to skills would be a consistent driving and putter approach game.

What is your best or favourite competition result to date?

My best result and my favorite win would be The 2019 Rock Cities Open. Also coming second at the 2019 Australian Disc Golf Championships. Although I fell short of the win it was an awesome competition.

What are your disc golfing ambitions and plans for the next two or three years?

Enjoy the ride, help where I can, play disc golf, hang out with great people, and take the least amount of throws in competitions.

Can you share a top form tip or something that substantially helped you improve your play?

Really my top tip for improvement would be to film yourself and then compare your form with somebody with better form, spot the differences and try what they do.

How did you first get into disc golf?

A great friend went to Queenstown NZ and played on the Queenstown Gardens course, came back and told us about it. The Rob Hancock Memorial Course was just down the road from my home so we grabbed some bucket lids out of the shed and headed down for my first round. What was born from a friendly competition with friends, slowly escalated to league days and then tournaments.

What top pro player do you look up to and why?

James Conrad for his disc golf game and his outlook on life. He stands for a lot of things I believe in and can beautifully control those discs.

Your favourite disc in your bag right now?

RPM – Atomic Ruru

Thanks Jordy!

A picture of Australia isn’t complete until you’ve been to one of the gold boom towns. Ballarat, Bendigo, Kalgoorlie, Southern Cross, Bathurst and Orange are just a few; all inland and all places that fermented the hard working larrikin spirit, with a healthy lack of deference to authority which is a big part of the Aussie character.

The civil disobedience of the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat in 1854 was largely a protest against taxation without representation and the beginning of the end of colonial rule in Australia. Many say it was the birthplace of Australian democracy and it was crucial event in our countries history.

The sell out of 108 competitors for this weekends Vic Open in Ballarat is, in some ways, a celebration of that same spirit. It’s not that long ago that the Victorian disc golf scene depended on a few dedicated volunteers carting portable baskets around from park to park for tournaments. The boom we are witnessing now is due in no small part to their efforts; and this weekend its all taking place in a boom town.

You can follow the event here and here.

For more information on disc golf in Ballarat click here.