Who’s the GOAT of Disc Golf?
Disc golf is a sport that has exploded in popularity in recent years. Fueled by the pandemic and ever growing media coverage the sport has seen a huge surge. The game is similar to traditional golf, but instead of hitting a ball with a club, players throw a disc or frisbee (don’t say frisbee) towards a target.
Like any sport, disc golf has its legends, and we often debate who the best disc golfer of all time is. In this blog post, we will explore some of the top contenders and make a case for who we believe is the best disc golfer of all time.
Ken Climo
Better get your hay out cause we are starting with a GOAT. One of the most famous and successful disc golfers of all time is Ken Climo, also known as “The Champ.” Climo has won a total of 12 PDGA World Championships, which is the most of any player in history. He also holds the record for the most consecutive PDGA World Championships, winning nine in a row from 1990 to 1998.
Get this guy a trophy case will ya. I mean what hasn’t he won. Climo’s skills on the course have made him a legend in the sport, and many consider him to be the greatest disc golfer of all time. The only thing I feel you could take away from him is that the sport was kind of at it’s coming of age and the courses and competition aren’t quite the same as today.
Either way he has been my idol for 30 years in the sport and will continue to hold that spot….. and most of the trophies.
Paul McBeth
MCBEAST! Hey man, world championships just come too easy for this guy. The, (count with me now) 1,2,3,4,5,6 time world champion has not finished outside of the top 2 in the last 10 years! He is an absolute killer on the course who is known for his accuracy and skill under pressure.
If it’s there to be won you better keep your eye on McBeth because I can assure you if he’s not leading, he is working his way up the leaderboard. He’s proven too many times that, YOU ARE NOT SAFE!
There is no question that his dominance in the last 10 years will put him in the hall of fame and forever make him a point of contention in the argument of who is the greatest of all time.
Ricky Wysocki
There is no way we can leave Mr. Wysocki out of this discussion. Ricky has won two world titles, a disc golf world tour points championship, two national tour series championships, three Disc Golf Pro Tour points championships, finished 2nd at the USDGC three times, a rookie of the year and four time male player of the year recipient.
When he is on he is practically unbeatable. I think most fans of the sport would agree there is not better scrambler period. With the difficulty of pro tour courses rapidly increasing, that is a huge advantage. Unfortunately in last couple seasons his battle with Lyme disease has kept him out of a few tournaments and off the leaderboard, but there isn’t a stronger competitor out there.
He literally leaves it all out on the course and if he can play he will, sometimes to his own detriment . I would love to have seen a fully healthy Ricky the last couple seasons because I think he would have added a couple more world titles to that resume.
Calvin Heimburg
Vinny! I honestly don’t think there is hotter more consistent disc golfer in the game right now. There is a reason he is currently the top rated golfer in the world. Calvin has 3 wins already and it’s only the beginning of the season.
Other than his 16th place finish at the Champions Cup, he hasn’t finished outside the top 4 in every event he’s played. He is on a tear, and I couldn’t be happier for the guy. Being one of the players I really started cheering for when I came back in to the sport a few years ago.
Cool, calm and collected doesn’t even begin to describe his style. He has less emotions on the course than Belichick. If he continues playing the way he is I promise you we’ll be adding some world championships to is name and he will remain in this conversation for a long time
Barry Schultz and Nathan Doss
We aren’t going anywhere without talking about these two. First we’ll start with “The other champ” or as I like to refer to him as Schultzy!!! One of the early dominating players, he is one of 6 that has won a world title more than once, and back to back in 03′ and 04′.
He also has two Masters world titles, and won the United States Disc Golf Championship three times being one of 4 to win it multiple times. Schultz and Climo are the only two players to have Open and Masters world championship titles.
Nate Doss, this man hits dingers. I mean this was the first guys since Climo to have won the world title more than twice, winning it in 05′, 07′, and 11′. He took that little break in between is world titles to win the USDGC in 08′. Cause that’s an easy task. If you don’t have Nate in your greatest of all time list you should definitely reevaluate your list.
Who do you think is the GOAT?
With courses getting longer, tighter and more unforgiving than ever before, I don’t see this debate being put to rest anytime soon. All these guys have a reason to be in this discussion.
So who do I think is the GOAT? Personally the 12x will always be my champ. Who is yours?
Maybe it’ll be you one day…… Nah! we’re all bums I tell ya!
