COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the best disc golf players in the country calls Ohio home. Brad Schick said he started playing about 30 years ago.  

“So my dad got my brother and I out when we moved to Ohio and it was just a good way to get us out of the house to do something other than play video games or get in trouble,” he said.

Now, Schick plays professionally.

“This year, I was lucky enough to get out to Columbia, Missouri,” Schick said. “It’s the U.S. Masters, which is for the professional level of 40 years and older, and I was able to win that, which was a major, so it was a big accomplishment for me. I’ve won some big tournaments but that was my biggest by far."

Schick said the community is like family. Patrick Gray is also a professional disc golf player in the Dayton area. 

“I began playing back in 2005 when I began school at the University of Toledo,” said Gray. 

Gray began disc golf after trying his hand at golf.

“I used to play regular golf back in high school,” Gray said. “I was terrible at it. It was very expensive and then I was a recreation major and one of the things was going to the local parks and there was this disc golf course so I found out about it, fell in love with it. I was terrible at it when I started but progressively got better.”

Gray said he loves that disc golf is outdoors, it's great exercise and it's free to play at most courses. Schick's favorite part is that you can play alone or with friends.

“You know, a lot of sports take multiple people to play and disc golf is not like that so it’s great,” Schick said. 

Gray also hosts a disc golf podcast called The Understable Podcast. In episode 18, Gray spoke with Schick about his experience winning the 2021 U.S. Masters in Columbia, Missouri. The Understable Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Anchor.