Roots of Flight

Join Gabe LaBounty as he seeks out the multitude of untold stories of the early days of Frisbee Golf, and traces those influences to the modern day game of Disc Golf. Produced in conjunction with the Disc Golf Hall of Fame, this podcast is about preserving the spirit and the stories of the pioneers and trailblazers that have given the sport its wings.

Episodes

Episode #5: From Headrick to Smethers -- The Beginnings of the PDGA

June 1, 2021 • 38 min

"Steady" Ed Headrick (PDGA #001) is the founding father of organized disc golf after quitting his executive position at Wham-O in 1976 and founding both the DGA and the PDGA, but little is known about Ted Smethers (PDGA #1159), the man who worked under Headrick and later took the reins of the PDGA to take the pro tour and rules organization to the next level. This talk with Smethers reveals a power struggle between one man ...

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Episode #4: Discs

March 31, 2021 • 49 min

Unlike the disc golf target, golf discs have undergone dramatic changes from the very first Frisbee intentionally thrown at a tree. The most important change was the introduction of the beveled edge in 1983 with Dave Dunipace #987 releasing the Innova Eagle/Aero. Dave and Jeff Homburg #1025, the PDGA technical standards chair, take us through the evolution of the golf disc from the playful catch Frisbee to the wide-wing drivers we ...

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Episode #3: Baskets

February 23, 2021 • 46 min

The disc golf basket target is the most recognizable symbol in the sport. It has largely remained unchanged from its original design in 1976, but there have been several innovations in target technology over the years. Gabe LaBounty talks with Dan "Stork" Roddick #003, Jeff Homburg #1025, Scott Keasey #19655, and Dave Dunipace #987 to trace the evolution of the disc golf target from trees to the modern pole hole.

Logo by Aly...

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Episode #2: Long-Running Tournaments - The Torchbearers

December 17, 2020 • 46 min

Although disc golf has developed through a few twists and turns since being established as a competitive sport, there are tournaments that have been running since before the PDGA was founded. Gabe LaBounty discusses what keeps these events running longer than the sport’s governing body with three bearers of the tournament director torch: Kate Bierman (nee Schwartz) #51615 and Billy Engel #44458, the two most recent TDs of Oklahoma’...

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Episode #1: Disc Golf Origins - Frisbee's Kid Brother

April 17, 2020 • 40 min

Disc golf has come a long way from its origins in the 1960s, but it’s still a young sport at 43 years old. While the pioneer generation of a sport ages, we have a unique opportunity to tell their stories and remember the Roots of Flight.

Jeff Homburg (PDGA #1025, Disc Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2012) gives us a broad overview of how disc golf sprung up in the late 1970s. An Oklahoma founding father, we explore Guts Frisbee, the wind...

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Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Episode #5: From Headrick to Smethers -- The Beginnings of the PDGA

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Episode #4: Discs

Episode #3: Baskets

Episode #2: Long-Running Tournaments - The Torchbearers

Episode #1: Disc Golf Origins - Frisbee's Kid Brother

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Chat About Roots of Flight

Episode #5: From Headrick to Smethers -- The Beginnings of the PDGA

Episode #4: Discs