Player Profile: Bone Beaupre
This year I will continue to search around the world for cool people doing cool things in disc golf. I asked on my Facebook page for some nominations of people that qualify, and the first name that came up was Bone Beaupre. I didn’t know much about this man and what he’s doing, but after learning about his accolades, I knew his was a story worth sharing.
Disc golf bring people from every facet of life and society together, which is one of the many reasons I love this game. Bone gets his name from his previous sport, boxing. He was known at the Bone Krusher, and later he just became simply ‘Bone’. He has long since retired, and at the young age of 42, now focuses all his energy into disc golf in his local community in Galivants Ferry, South Carolina.
Bone says, “Boxing is a hard subject to discuss for me. I spent most my life fighting and boxing. I went from teaching kids in gyms as a volunteer to fighting in local events on the weekends.” He even represented Everlast in 2004, but he, “Had to get out due to injuries later in life. A few concussions later and now I’m here playing disc golf every day.” Disc golf is not nearly as hard on the body, and for Bone, he likes the similarities between Boxing and Disc Golf. Bone says, “In disc golf, I’m out here on my own and nobody is helping in my decisions. Honestly, it’s just as mentally challenging as boxing. You must stay focused and be positive or you’ll end up losing or worse.” Bone certainly has mixed emotions when contemplating his past career in boxing. “My best years are back then but I’m unable to pursue my love of boxing anymore. Disc golf has certainly filled that void. It has been my savior”, he says. I think many of us can relate to this feeling; I gave up basketball because my knees were too old.
Next, he shared with me on how he discovered disc golf. Bone says, “My best friend Chad “The Banshee” Miller introduced this sport to me in 1996 in Dubuque, IA. Since then, we have traveled to play and fell in love with the sport.” Bone pre-dates the most recent player boom over the last few years, and his playing style reflects the old-school disc golf philosophy. In the early years, Bone only threw ‘thumbers’. He recalls, “I threw thumbers for ten years, and early on I had the pleasure of watching and learning from one of the greats, Matt Dollar. He gave me some throwing tips, and I began to throw backhand.” This became his dominant strength until he suffered from some back injuries. “Now I’m more of a forehand player but still have all the skills from previous years’ experience”, he says. “I’m known for my ‘old man’ golf style: smooth and steady!” Bone plays mostly MA40 these days but has been known to dabble in the MP40 divisions, “but only when they offer one round per day, it’s easier on my body and it’s more in line with my playing style”, Bone says. “I’m not as competitive as in previous years, but I did get my fair share of wins.”
It's incredible that Bone even has any time to play in events, because he is constantly running them. In 2022 he and his crew ran over 40 PDGA sanctioned events as the President of the Horry County Disc Golf Club. “It was definitely a wild ride!”, Bone says. This year Bone plans of doing more to help grow the sport by, “Focusing more on the youth and seniors getting involved. All I expect from this year is a lot of smiles”, he says. And he will continue with his efforts to build more courses in his region. He is already responsible for the design and/or install of many courses in his area. Sherwood Forest Park and Waccamaw River Park are some of his oldest. Most recently he helped install Smith Jones Park. But his personal favorite is the 9-hole course he installed at Socastee High School. Bone says, “This one was huge because nobody here has done anything for the schools or students.” Bone also accomplished this with zero funds and no other help, it was 100% his labor of love that made that course possible. “Community growth is a big focus for me and I’m going to spend my time doing just that”, Bone says.
All of this is very impressive, but Bone really shines when you learn this next fact. While doing all of this, he still finds time to play disc golf every single day. At the time of writing this, Bone has played 1,101 days straight! I don’t know if anybody is tracking this, but I’m guessing this must be some kind of world record. His goal is to reach the 1,250-day mark and then surpass it. Bone says he’s even got some old school videos on YouTube of him playing in tornadoes and hurricanes. Now that is dedication!
With so many accomplishments it is natural that Bone has acquired many sponsorships for his efforts. Companies like DryvBags, Team Focus Disc Golf, Air Wolf Athletics, Wild Discs and Discmania. “I’m not officially sponsored by Discmania, but they sure do back me up on all of the events and clinics I run,” Bone says. “One day maybe if I play my cards right, I’ll be rocking the shield and sword.”
A man who has done so much is still able to find new goals and challenges. For example, Bone says, “I’ve played in just about every event around here, but if I had the time I would play in William Hill’s Holiday Tournament Series in Jacksonville, NC. It is a series of around seven events hosted by William hill, a standup guy who has always put the players first at his events. He is truly the standard by which all TDs should be held to. That event would be a dream goal for me in 2023 and beyond.”
It only seems appropriate to ask a man with such a rich and fulfilling history about some advice for any new players. Bone says, “Start throwing with your putters first. Forget the driver and focus on placement. I teach kids and seniors and the first thing I try to teach them is accuracy. Straight and smooth will get you from A to B. Par each hole before you move forward. And most of all you need to smile! They are always required!” Wise words indeed.
If you live in the Southeast Region, you may already have played in an event ran by Bone and his team. If you haven’t, or if you are in the area, be sure to check out the club’s calendar, chances are there will some fun event that you can join. Thank you Bone, keep up your amazing work, and smashing chains every day.
