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.
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.
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.
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.
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