Fenton Flanagan throws a disc at the Professional Disc Golf Junior World Championships in July. 

This summer, 11-year-old Fenton Flanagan attended the Professional Disc Golf Association’s (PDGA) World Championships for the first time.

Undeterred by the pressure of playing on a world stage, he walked away a champion in the Junior Worlds doubles division.

“It was an eye-opener to see what the big arena was all about,” said his father, Jamie Flanagan.

Many of the players Fenton was matched with at the championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma were home-schooled and focused on becoming professionals in the sport.

At home in Bend, Fenton is unbothered that few other players on the course are his own age. In fact, meeting new people is one of his favorite aspects of the sport. He watches other players with intention, incorporating what he learns into his signature style.

“He’s never been coached. He’s watched a lot of YouTube videos of his favorite players, and he’s hung out with hundreds of 15 to 70-year-olds playing,” Jamie said.

Fenton practices at least five days a week, sometimes after sunset by car headlights illuminating the baskets in his backyard.

He sets lofty goals for himself. And according to Jamie, he’s achieved most of them. Currently he’s rated at 880 and hopes to achieve 900 by the end of the season. For reference, top PDGA pro players have ratings over 1,000 and amateur men averaged 860 as of 2021.

Fenton’s love for the sport was shaped by Jamie, Doug Campbell, his third-grade teacher at William E. Miller Elementary School and Central Oregon’s myriad disc golf courses.

On Tuesdays, Fenton can often be found at Pine Nursery Disc Golf Course playing in Central Oregon Disc Golf Club’s Bag Tag League. The club hosts educational clinics, leagues and tournaments to appeal to players from the amateur level to the professional, endeavoring to make disc golf accessible to all.

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Forget keeping score

Another player of great influence within the community is Sharon Jenkins. She has advocated for youth and worked tirelessly to improve the course at Seventh Mountain Resort, Jamie said.

Jenkins started a community disc golf group, which included basic skills training for new players. Cam Davis has since picked up the torch of hosting weekly games through Oregon Adventures, a Meetup group.

“Sharon has done an incredible amount of work behind the scenes to improve courses in the area and organizes leagues and tournaments for women and youth,” Davis said.

Peter Straumfjord, a regular player with Oregon Adventures, said his disc was once lodged high in a tree. As he and some of the other players searched for rocks to throw at the disc and loosen it from its stronghold, Jenkins shimmied up the tree and manually freed it.

On Friday, Davis hosted a game at the Skyliner Sports Complex, one of his preferred courses during the winter. The nine-hole course, located next to Cascade Middle School, is seasonal and will close to the public on May 2, according to UDisc.

Davis hosts games as long as the temperature is over 40 degrees, offering a casual environment for players where no one keeps score.

Straumfjord said he enjoys playing with the group because everybody encourages each other, regardless of performance or ability.

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad you are, everybody is patient,” said Maggie Jaeger, another player.

A year-round sport

During the snowy months, the group migrates to lower-elevation courses, such as the Cascades Academy course in Tumalo or the Pine Nursery Disc Golf course. Davis said the group has especially been enjoying the course at Central Oregon Community College, which opened Aug. 30, a decade after one of the area’s original courses closed on the campus.

For those still learning the ropes of the game, Fenton recommends heading to Seventh Mountain Resort if weather permits, as the ease of the course makes it a great place to get started.

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