Peter McBride is REALLY good at disc golf. By Owen Main

As it sometimes gets in the Spring, Laguna Lake Park was so freaking windy. Clutching my three cheap frisbees (discs) I had bought earlier at Big-5, I trudged up to the professional, knowing I was about to go to school.

Peter McBride still does go to school — high school, in fact. He stands under six feet tall and wouldn’t be more than a welterweight if he boxed. His bag – a backpack with over 20 discs, seems bigger than he is, though he carries it easily and is sponsored by the bag’s label. A San Luis Obispo High School student and native of SLO, McBride has emerged in the past year as one of the best young disc golf players in the country.

After winning three top-level amateur events over the past year or so, he participated in the “Steady” Ed Memorial Masters Cup, finishing in 12th place — ahead of at least two former world champions. The high finish encouraged him enough to take the prize money and officially become a professional.

Already signed up for several pro tournaments next year, the high school junior will enroll in independent study to avoid getting behind in his school work.

So, I played a round with the kid. As his “shots” curved just the right way nearly every time, mine went awry. Nearly every time. There was one shot that looked good, but a tree branch came out of nowhere to crush my hopes of a great shot. McBride was nice — blaming my errant throws on either the wind or my discs. It was much like a golfer blaming his clubs or the ball,  and something told me that he could have made my starter-set of discs curve any way he wanted.

In a lot of ways, disc golf seems kind of like golf (disc golfers call golf “ball golf”). In “ball golf,” most players who play a lot can make a few really good shots in a round. But the ones who make mostly great shots are the people who can make money doing it. Other things are similar about the two types of golf — swearing (by me, not him), having a good walk spoiled by a bad shot, and a chance to get outside for an extended period of time. I enjoyed disc golf and will definitely play again sometime. Here’s a link to a local disc golf group, the SLO Throwers.

McBride and I talked about where he wants to go, what he’s up to, and what it would be like to have a Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) event here in San Luis Obispo. It’s a quick podcast (only about 18 minutes) and I hope you enjoy it.