The Dynamic Discs Open, formally the Glass Blown Open, is for many of us the pinnacle of a disc golf destination. For the pros, it’s just another stop on the tour, but for an amateur like me? It’s a dream vacation. My wife and I have been planning for over two years to make this trip a reality, and this year, we made it happen. We took an entire 11 days too; all the practice rounds, all the flex starts, all the mini golf games, the block parties, the disc releases, all of it! We wanted to entire experience, and we got every moment. Here is my accounting of the week, highlighting sights, sounds, experiences, and overall thoughts on this epic event. I’m not going to break down everything we did, as that would be like reading a boring diary. I do want to talk about our general experiences, with some fun anecdotes thrown in. Much like when you visit Disneyland, you go for the entire experience, and Emporia was no different.

First, we chose to split the 10-hour drive time in half, heading to Des Moines from Crystal Lake, spending the night, and then heading south to Emporia. We know how lucky that is; our friends Valerie and Shelby drove 17.5 hours from Savannah, GA to get there, and many others drove from every corner of the nation to play this event. Upon arrival, everything seemed…underwhelming. In my mind I had this image that there would be a huge neon sign welcoming all disc golfers, and that the entire town would be waiting with open arms to greet us. I’ve seen the commercials for Dynamic Discs, and it seemed to me that Emporia was just one street, all dedicated to disc golf. Emporia is, for all intents and purposes, a very small town. But once we checked in to our hotel and started exploring, the signs started to show themselves. We were in disc golf mecca, and things were just getting started.

After a quick check in to the hotel, our first stop was a casual round at Peter Pan Park, a course we’d both be playing in the A-tier later that week. Then we played a couple flex starts, just to boost our ratings, and to prepare for the big event at the end of the week. We were here to play all the disc golf, so why not start early? There is so much to say about all the golf in Emporia, but to summarize, there is plenty to choose from and there is something for every skill level. Our favorite was hands down Peter Pan, but our least favorite had to be Clover Cliff Ranch. The property was amazing, and the design was top notch, but when we got there, the winds were upwards of 40 mph, and it made the experience maddening. Maybe next time the wind will cooperate, but until then, this has the be at the bottom of our list. During the event, the Municipal courses presented their fair share of challenges, and the wind certainly didn’t help. Set way out of town in what can be described as farmland, the Municipal courses allowed the wind to really dictate the tone of the tournament.

On the first two days, we played a couple flex starts, and we both played well. We earned some funny money and felt confident going into the A-tier later that week. Little did we know how challenging that endeavor would be. We had heard about ‘the winds of Kansas’ but until experiencing the phenomenon, it is hard to describe. This year, Emporia was ready to give us all her best. On average, the wind held steady at something like 15-25 mph, with gusts up to 40-45 mph. I’ve played in wind, but nothing like a consistent 25 mph wind, that always seemed to be swirling and blowing right in your face at the most critical moment of your throw. My wife and I had both actively gone out and practiced in the wind to prepare for this event, but it wasn’t enough. Every single throw came with an extra sense of doubt, and I was second guessing every disc choice I made. On the first day of the event, I shot +11 and finished in 66th place (MA3, 95 players), and I was devastated. I had illusions of grandeur that I would be up in the top five at the end of each day, and my performance was a harsh wakeup call that this tournament was not going to be easy. Over the next two rounds I fought back and finished tied for 14th place, a huge accomplishment, and one that I am proud of.

As for eating, there was no shortage of options. On day one we stopped by Radius Brewing Company, a place that is a huge supporter of the disc golf scene in Emporia. We sat at the bar, and the first thing I saw was several boxes of Radius stamped discs, and we picked up an Emac Truth and a Trespass. The staff there was super cool, and they made us feel like we were locals. The food was amazing, and the beer was of the highest quality. They even had a brew made just for the event. How cool is that? Radius really exemplified the spirit of support from the community, something that rang true for our entire visit to Emporia. Every single place we went to we were met with locals that were so welcoming and eager to greet us: Bobby D’s BBQ, Radius Brewing Company, Casa Ramos, and many more venues all welcomed us with open arms. During the DGPT event, we were able to watch the live coverage just about every place we visited. Emporia made us feel like disc golf was part of everyday life, and we loved it. It felt like disc golf was as common as football, and that is a special feeling.

The winds: The winds of Kansas are the stuff of legends, and until you’ve gone out there and experienced it yourself, you’ll never know. Kansas was ready for us this year, and blasted us with consistent winds around 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 just about every single day except Sunday.

The pros: One of the best things about disc golf is the accessibility of the pros. And this is most apparent at the DDO. I was in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart when I just randomly ran into Jonathan and Johannes from Latitude 64 They were so nice and friendly, and this was just one of many run ins with the pros. To paraphrase what Jeremy Koling said on the Jomez Pro coverage; the percentage of running into a pro is highest in Emporia. We saw Paul McBeth, Zach Melton, Connor O’Reilly, Sarah Hokom, Chris Zagone, Chris Clemons, Philo Brathwaite, and many more. Want to meet your heroes? Head to Emporia!

The staff: The massive amount of collaboration and planning to host an event of this magnitude cannot be expressed adequately in words. And until you experience it, you cannot appreciate what this team does to make this event a reality. At every turn, there was a volunteer there to greet you, to guide you and to make you feel welcome. These people came from across the county to participate in making this event run smoothly. I met the owner of The Nati Disc Golf in Cincinnati, guys that run their local disc golf leagues in various states, and many more. The sheer amount of coordination is a testament to the commitment of this community to make the DDO an absolute memorable experience. To the entire team, thank you for your hard work.

In the end it’s simple: if you love disc golf, then you must come to Emporia, there’s nothing like it, and until you’ve experienced it, you’ll never know how special it is to be there. Mark your calendars, save your PTO, and get your finances in order and make it down to Kansas so you can experience the best disc golf adventure of a lifetime.

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