Player Profile: Nicki Gernot

Showing Nicki Fel-Pro RRR in Cary, IL

We all love this sport, and that’s why you’re here reading this blog. One of the great things about this game is all the wonderful people we meet along the way. One of those people, for me and many others, is Nicki Gernot. She’s a force in her local scene, and I was able to catch up with her to play a round and talk about her story.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Nicki is a true ‘heartlander’ and is very much an outdoors person. Hiking and fishing are some of her favorite activities. But she is also a veteran to the game and started playing disc golf way back in the summer of 2001. She jokes “I’ve played disc golf longer than I’ve had a cell phone.” She is also a kindergarten teacher in the East Aurora, IL area. Her local course is Eagle Ridge in Oswego, IL. Her working schedule allows her to travel all over the state to play disc golf, and she’s a passionate advocate for maintaining the integrity of this great sport.

Nicki immediately giggles when I ask her to describe her golf game. She says, “I’ve never been good at taking instruction”, and so through observation and repetition she developed her own style. She is prominently a backhand player, but she has all the throws in her arsenal. She leans heavily on the hyzer for most her tee shots, but she prides herself on her approach game. “My drives are strong, for sure, but I feel like I have more fun when I’m using my mid ranges and throwing upshots”, Nicki says. They say that tournaments are won or lost on the second shot, but not for Nicki. She says, “No, they are lost on the putts for me. I lose tournaments because of the putts I miss.” I think we can all relate to that problem.

It's clear she has a great passion for this game, and so I asked her what keeps her coming back to the sport. She says, “Disc golf itself! I love that I can play by myself, I love that I can meet new people everywhere that I go, I love that I can meet up with my friends, and we can turn into a mob. And I love that I’m only competing with myself. It’s not even that it’s competitive, it’s more like I come out after a horrible day, and I’ll swear and scream and play, and people will look at me, and I’ll say, ‘I love this sport, it’s great, I came here to de-stress and wind down.” Like so many of us, disc golf is her therapy.

Nicki is a vocal player, and a self-proclaimed ‘talker’, and she’s not afraid to express herself, even when it may be an unpopular opinion such as the idea of ‘slowing the growth of disc golf. Nicki says, “It is an unpopular opinion, in some circles, but I know a lot of circles where this idea is very popular. The exponential growth we have seen in disc golf is great. But now everyone and their mother is playing, and the courses are overflowed with newbs that don’t know the game: They find discs and don’t try to return them, they throw on you when you’re still on a hole. They cat-call you for being a girl, and they don’t let you play through. I mean, we have had this in the past, but it got better, and now it’s happening again because of all the jerks, and I get it, there’s more coverage and I love that more people are loving the sport. But these new players need to learn etiquette; text the number on the back of a found disc, never throw on a player, boy or girl, and absolutely DO NOT catcall or try to hit on me on the course.” Listen boys, the disc golf course is NOT the place for this kind of behavior. “I often play alone, and that is not an invitation for you to come hit on me”, Nicki says. “It’s outrageous, I once had a guy send me a nude after he found my disc, disgusting. Or I have had guys call me and ask me out on a date weeks after returning a disc, that is unacceptable.” You can certainly see why slowing the growth has its merits when misogyny and ignorance are running rampant in the sport. As men, we need to do better.

At the same time there is an explosive growth of women playing disc golf. Nicki says, “It’s been huge! It’s been fun playing and meeting more women in the sport. However, we have our own issues as we grow, and working through those can be a challenge. Cheating, name calling, the ‘cattiness’, all of that still exists, and we have to work through these growing pains too”. With all the growth we have seen in the last few years, it’s important to remember that disc golf is barely in its adolescence. We must learn to respect each other as we respect the game if we want to have lasting success in the world.  

Finally, I asked Nicki about her advice to the beginner: Here she is very passionate. She says, “It doesn’t matter how many strokes you throw, just get out there and play. If somebody says they don’t want to play with you because you throw too many shots, you don’t want to play with them anyway. Any real disc golfer will be accepting and patient, and they’ll want to help you improve your game. Surround yourself with those players and you’ll find your passion for this game like I have.” Wise words indeed. It is important to remember we all have our beginnings, and while this game only takes a minute to learn, it takes a lifetime to master. Thank you Nicki for sharing your thoughts for the blog, keep being amazing, and keep working on that forehand!