Gagne nearly crowned KING OF THE LAKE

I got a call last April from Nick. He told me that he wasn't available to play in the upcoming NEFA Team Challenge Finals... he had to work. I said work... you're 17 yrs. old, why are you working? Little did we know that in a few short months, Nick would be staring a NT victory square in the face. The story of how a starry-eyed kid from rural Maine shot the hot 1st round, slept on the lead going into the final round on Sunday, and came within 2 throws of a PDGA National Tour event victory awaits.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/61921

Gagne took dead aim at a NT Title on the shores of picturesque Lake Tahoe

10Down Disc Golf: Aiight...I gotta ask right off the bat... What did it feel like shooting the hot 1st rnd and then sleeping on the lead going into the Final rnd?

Nick G.: It was sick shooting hot rnd at Tahoe Vista. I really liked that course, lots of clean lines and birdie opportunities. Didn't miss a putt that rnd, it was a great start to the event and gave me lots of confidence. We played Turtle Rock in the morning on Saturday, which was my 2nd favorite, although it was a bit rough. Zephyr Cove had mad elevation changes on every hole. I threw a lot Wraiths, Beasts, beat Destroyers off the tee and Rocs for placement.

courtesy of PDGA Tour

(left to right) Shasta Criss, Ricky Wysoki, Devan Owens & Nick

Nick G.: I gotta say there is a different level of stress being the leader the whole weekend. Lead card on Sunday was sweet, though. Not just because I didn't shoot well, but Bijou Park my least favorite of the four courses. There was a definite lack of fairways. I got off to a slow final rnd start with the huge crowd watching our every move, but got used to it by the back nine and got back to within a few shots.

Bijou Community Park - Hole 18

10Down Disc Golf: Share with us a highlight from your final rnd.

Nick G.: One of the highlights of the final rnd was here on Hole 18. I carded a 2 while the rest of the card all got 4s. I really wanted the NT title, but it wasn't my time. Hopefully next time.

courtesy of PDGA Tour

Nick holding hardware and a $740 check

10Down Disc Golf: What did you do to celebrate your weekend's efforts?

Nick G.: Hit up all the casinos. Lots of famous people where in town for the American Century Celebrity Golf Championships. Michael Jordan, Ray Allen & Aaron Rodgers and a bunch more, so that was pretty cool.

Hangin at the surf of San Fran

10Down Disc Golf: What are you up to this week?

Nick G.: This week I'm chillin on the beaches in San Francisco. I played a league at the safari course last night. Shot -14 in Random Dubz, took first and split $120. I'm playing San Francisco safari this week, We'll see how that goes...

Nick Gagne's DG Tour vol. 2

Verdugo Hills, CA DG course

Nick has been soakin up the Cali sun since we last caught up with him.

10Down Disc Golf: What's been crackN in Cali?

Nick G.: Well... I played Canon Ball Run, a three day, three course, C-tier event last weekend.

Played a solid weekend of DG. My game felt pretty comfortable. I'd like to thank the Tulas for letting me stay with them for this event. They are great people.

Nick grabbed third place and tied 1031 rated and event winner Steve Rico for low 3rd round honors with a 68.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/72050

10Down Disc Golf: Who are you traveling with now?

Nick G.: I've been traveling with Ricky Wysoki, 2010 PDGA Rookie of the Year who is from Medina, OH, Catrina Allen from Phoenix, AZ and Carman Grisham from Winfield, MO. It's been real cool having good people to hang with so far. They have helped me out a lot.

The iconic Hollywood Sign

Nick G.: After Canon Ball we had a few days off so of course we had to go to Hollywood. Hollywood was cool. We went to the Hollywood Sign and took some pictures.

Hard Rock Cafe on Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

Nick G.: Then we went down to Hollywood Blvd. It was crazy down there. Mad limos pulling up to the clubs and stuff. We saw the sidewalks with all the stars on them and the famous Chinese theater.

Roosevelt Hotel (left) home of 1st Academy Awards in 1929

I would suspect that the atmosphere Nick experienced on Hollywood Blvd. was a little different than that of downtown Sidney, Me on a normal saturday night.

10Down Disc Golf: With the recent ratings update you are now rated 1001. What's your reaction to becoming a 1000-rated player?

Nick G.: My goal was to come on tour and by the end of the year become 1010 rated or higher. Being 1000 rated looks good. And feels good. A lot of sponsoring companies look to see if you are 1000 rated and I'm definitely excited about that.

10Down Disc Golf: Describe a typical day for you right now?

Nick G.: A typical day for me is either playing some DG, checkin out scenery, goin swimming at lakes and pools or maybe some fishing. I've been shopping at some stores and catching plenty of sun. Pretty much living the life, at least for me.

10Down Disc Golf: What is next for you?

Nick G.: Right now I'm in Lake Tahoe, CA getting ready for the KING of the LAKE PDGA NT event this weekend. I'm here practicing the courses. We are staying in the Super 8, which is the host hotel for the event. The air is crazy here. You throw a roadrunner and it flies like a stable destroyer because the air is so thin and we are at such elevation. It's definitely taking a few adjustments.

Lake Tahoe

(left to right) Steve Mills, Ricky Wysoki, Nick, and Tommy Eckman

Follow Nick's performance at the King of the Lake event.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/61921

Keep the discs flying straight and the stories coming.

Make sure to check back for the KOL recap.

Nick Gagne's DG Tour vol.1

Nick Gagne - Hole 1 Vibram Open 2010

After back to back wins at local Maine Disc Golf events (DDGC and Troll Valley)

Nick Gagne, a recent Messalonskee High School graduate

packed his bags in the middle of June and headed out on the PDGA tour.

This is the first documented installment of his adventure.

Putting at Lavallee Links Fall 2010

I recently caught up with Nick while he had some down time

before heading to Pier Park's weekly league in Oregon.

10Down Disc Golf: What kind of expectations did you have as you began your DG tour?

Nick G.: Try to shoot 1020 rated rounds, learn new courses and play against the best DGers in the world.

Nick has done just that.

His first tournament stop came in Twin Cities, MN at the Minnesota Majestic

a PDGA A-tier, with 192 players and over $11,000 in prize money.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/67419/Open

He had a few stumbles during rnd 1, but played strong enough on the weekend

to take 5th place and $600 while competing in a field that included

Nikko Locastro, Cale Leiviska, Bradley Williams, and Paul Ulibarri,

some of the elite DGers in the world.

Pit stop in Montana

10Down Disc Golf: Off da course, where are some of the places you've visit so far in your travels?

Nick G.: Well...I been to Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon & California.

10Down Disc Golf: What have been some travel highlights?

Nick G.: I've visited Yellow Stone National Park which was amazing. Seeing beautiful views everywhere with so many different wild animals walking freely. We saw 20 ft snowbanks in the middle of June. But being able to throw a roc off a cliff and watch it go for a mile and see it flip and hyzer about 6 times in that one flight, was pretty cool.

Nick has also made stops at Mt. Hood (pictured above) and Mt. St. Helens

Nick's second tournament for was the Beaver State Fling in Estacada, Oregon.

This was a PDGA National Tour event with 150 players and close to $40,000 in prize money.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/61922/Open

Nick G.: I didn't feel like I played up to my standards at BSF.

The course had some shots that I didn't have in my bag, but I'm learning a lot.

He finished 26th and took home $430 for his efforts.

At his most recent event,

the PDGA A-tier Fort Steilacoom Open in Lakewood, Washington

Nick felt like he really had a shot at crackin the top 3.

Although he fell a few strokes short of that,

he finished a very respectable 5th to take home $330.

http://www.pdga.com/tournament_results/62467

Nick G.: Obviously competition is always tough on tour cause your playing against the best. You gotta maintain focus at all times on the course. Watching most of the competition execute throw after throw, you just gotta trust your talents and make your throws. The courses out here are much larger and different from the east. Discs fly a little farther and tend to be a little more stable. It takes a little getting used to.

10Down Disc Golf: What do you feel is the most important thing for you to concentrate on while touring?

Nick G.: For me it's getting in enough practice on all these new tournament courses.

10Down Disc Golf: What advice would you give someone that wanted to get out here with you?

Nick G.: Well... you'll need discs, clothes, money, friends & places to stay. You need to play your practice rounds seriously. If you really want to compete you need to work on learning good form and throwing accurate shots.

Shores of the Pacific Ocean in Washington State

Coming up on a month on the road, Nick has seen and done quite bit already.

Keep checking back periodically as we catch up with Nick and his journeys on the PDGA tour.