Rising Star: Lexi Marx
Disc golf is one of those amazing things in life that only takes a second to learn, but a lifetime to master. The incessant need to strive to improve never fades as we pursue the unobtainable goal: perfection. There is always something to learn, there is always a part of your game that can improve, and there is always that one shot you could have executed a bit better. I think this is why we love tournaments. It provides us a venue to not only challenge ourselves, but to test our mettle with similarly skilled players. An arena in which we can compete with others while battling ourselves. And every so often, we put it all together and play an epic round, and that is what happened to a rising young star in Illinois.
Lexi Marx is only 24 years young. Hailing from Lasalle – Peru, IL area, she’s only been playing disc golf for three years. She says, “I have always known about disc golf. My uncle, Eric Marx has played professionally for years but I never thought it would be a huge part of my life like it is now. There were some local courses where I went to college down at Illinois State University, and as everyone probably has, we started with the Dick’s sporting goods starter pack and then the rest is history.”
Lexi is a lifelong athlete which has helped her transition to disc golf. “I’m a former basketball player and I played all 4 years in high school and then went on to play at the local community college, IVCC. I coach basketball now, so I still get in the gym, but I don’t play competitively anymore”, Lexi says. So, at the end of the 2021 season, she entered her first tournament, the Illinois Valley Challenge, and then another shortly after that, the Walnut Open. In both events she took first in the FA3 division. Fast forward to 2023 and Lexi has already played in 17 events and has already racked up 10 first place finishes in the FA1 division.
Her most notable performance just happened at the 41st Illinois State Disc Golf Championships. In round one, Lexi shot lights out to finish -13 at the Canyons modified original 18 layout. Her efforts yielded a 997 rated round and allowed her to coast to another round after a very conservative round 2. Her score prompted her fellow Discraft Underground teammate, Erin Havok, to message Lexi asking what she had for breakfast, which led to an epic meme. Lexi says, “My response was ‘half and un-toasted pop tart to be exact’. Shelia Callahan from Dellwood Disc Golf decided to make the wonderful meme of me and my brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tart. The disc golf community is absolutely amazing, and I look forward to seeing them all every tournament. So, if there’s anything you take away from the interview, if you want 997 rated golf, you can hit up your local grocery store for some pop tarts.”
All memes aside, according to Lexi, she was just firing on all cylinders. She recalls, “I was getting off the tee exactly how I wanted 90% of the round. It felt like I was executing the exact shot and line I was going for. I was also putting well. Mentally, I’ve been trying to focus on a ‘one shot at a time’ approach and focus strictly on that shot. I think this mentality has helped my game. I used to find myself counting birdies on holes I hadn’t even played yet. I know that if I execute the shot, the birdie will be there.” As we all know, disc golf is 90% mental, and 10% mental. To find that ‘zen’ balance of mind and body on the course confirmed everything Lexi has been working towards. “Although I know I’m capable of a lot in this sport, it’s still an awesome feeling putting all my skills together in one round and shooting a 997”, she says. “I really go out to each course with a ‘me against me’ mindset and try to shoot the best round of golf that I can. Well, she certainly proved that she has the skillset and mindset to get it done when it matters most.
Naturally, I had to ask her about the possibility of going pro. Lexi is optimistic on this subject. She says, “I will be going Pro either by the end of this year or early next year. I feel like if I continue getting better and working hard in the off season, the sky is the limit. I’ve gained a lot of distance this year and have dialed my putting stroke in where I feel very confident in that. I’m really looking forward to what disc golf is going to look like for me in the future.” If she can tap into the same energy she found at States, then we can all expect to see her on live coverage very soon. Thank you, Lexi, for sharing your journey, we’ll be keeping our eyes on you as your embark on your meteoric rise in the sport.
