In just a few hangovers’ time, the 2026 iteration of the Disc Golf Pro Tour will be upon us – whether we, or they, are ready or not.

It was only a few years ago that we were entranced by a glut of off-season drama that made professional wrestling look grounded in comparison.  Ricky Wysocki in the helicopter.  Pablo suddenly sitting on serious commas in the bank account.  The COVID-boom chimera of Central Coast Disc Golf, Jomez Pro, and Terry Miller all mingling into the mangled mass of the DGPT.  This is a niche sport that was willing to do just about anything to finally crack the mainstream.  It was primed and ready to set aside the pettiest of grudges to accomplish that feat.  (And grudges in disc golf can be pretty damned petty – this is an industry whose base currency is 175 grams of decorated plastic).

By all but the strictest measures of success, the DGPT succeeded.  We watched our van-dwelling heroes on ESPN and CBS Sports.  The PDGA gained more members in a shorter period of time than in any other timeframe in their history.  “Craft” disc manufacturers began popping up from sea to shining sea.

But the disc golf community seems hesitant, obstinate even, in calling this “The Golden Era”, because, deep down inside, we just knew that it wouldn’t last – and certainly not for the length of time necessary to be considered an “era”.  It’s “The COVID Boom”, and it always will be.  Sadly, there’s no telling if a true Golden Era is coming, or if Kenny’s unbeatable run two decades ago is as close as we’ll ever get.  One would have to imagine that the sharp trend toward shorter-form social media content is taking an axe to our attentions spans, and that no forward-looking TV execs are drooling over the idea of putting a slow-moving toy-sport on the air for three-plus hours, per day, over an entire weekend.

It’s sad and safe to say today that “The COVID Boom” has busted.  The gravy train is off the tracks.  The disc golf industry is backsliding a bit.  The signs are all around us.

Clash Discs has slipped off unceremoniously into the night.  Players are moving into places and situations that no one expected. There are well-known pros simply skipping the tour altogether this year. With just two days before the debacle begins, the DGPT still has job openings, and they had to snatch up a fairly controversial big-name sponsor to help keep the lights on.  (You’d think they could keep Terry around if they had lottery levels of cash coming in).

To put the rancid cherry on this already questionable cake, a number of high-profile and beloved on-air personalities have been forced to walk the plank, thrust back into a media ocean laid to waste and consolidated to death by their now-former employer.  Outright vile, when you think about it.

This year’s Disc Golf Pro Tour is going to happen, sure, but will it resemble any of its previous iterations?  Can it hold itself to the same standard as last year, or are we just a few bad hires away from the return of wrinkled bedsheet backdrops?

Far be it from us to judge a book by its cover, or a sport by its iffy industry.  There will still be golf played amidst these shakeups and shortcomings, and the product out on the course has the potential to keep us engaged – perhaps even on two fronts as the Go Throw Tour continues on into its second year with an impressive bevy of competitive players in tow.

But first, we travel to Brooksville, Florida for the Supreme Flight Open, first stop of the DGPT Tour, taking place at Olympus Disc Golf Course – the one owned by Pablo and his buddy Dylan Cease. You know him from sports.

A rainy Friday is on deck, with the potential for some dramatic fog shots during the early rounds on Saturday.  Typical Florida February temps – shorts and a little sweat during the day, hoody and sandals around the campfire during the aprés competition decompression.  It’s golf weather, thank god.  And not a minute too soon.

The event, and the newly tweaked course, have only hosted one pro-tour event thus far – last year’s Supreme Flight Open – so we don’t have a whole lot of data to extrapolate.  Our half-useless predictions will be more like 80% useless.

Course owner Paul McBeth had a podium finish last year, but still 7 strokes back from the winner, Ezra Robinson.  The argument could be made that PMcB has home-field advantage, of course but this is a man one year older than he was at the start of last year, with much of that 12 months spent juggling fatherhood, an international foundation, and the rigors of being a professional athlete at 35 years of youth.

Ezra could easily repeat, and any number of young guns could crack the code and start lacing this place.  But there is something interesting to be said for the way things shook out last year:  There are a lot of veteran names in the top twenty.  Ricky, Cale, Chris, Eagle, Vinny, Simon.  This is a course of lengthy pedigree, and the sheer number of times that these longtime touring pros have stepped onto those tee pads is going to be a factor.  Also, we can’t discount experience’s dulling effect on nerves.  This is the first event of the year, first time in front of the cameras again. The yips are far more frequent a young man’s affliction than an old head’s headache.  Take a deep breath, children.

As for the ladies, perhaps the most pertinent aberration for 2026 is the absence of Kristin Lätt (née Tattar) whose unfettered pwning of the FPO field was perhaps a once-in-a-generation occurrence.  Her run up to her retirement was dominant.  Devastating.  Diabolical.  Without the Estonian Empress there to chase, the identity of FPO’s top dog is still a mystery.  Kat Mertsch could be her, if she can find some consistency weekend to weekend.  Hanna Hyunh seems poised for a big season.  Missy Gannon and Holyn Handley are always threats, and the same veteran-populated top twenty exists in the data from last year’s event – albeit with a caveat:  Distance.  A look at last year shows us that experience is useful for cracking the top twenty, but not necessarily the top ten.  Look for Ella Hansen to threaten again, especially without Eveliina Salonen in the mix.

No matter how things shake out over the next few days, remember this:  Spring has sprung, Daylight Savings Time is just over the horizon, and professional disc golf is so back.