Brad Schick

As crazy as it seems, I have been playing disc golf for about 30 years now. I first picked up a disc when my father took me and my older brother out to Blendon Woods Metro Park. At the time I was twelve years old and joined the PDGA soon after. I played in some juniors tournaments early on and then moved up to the amateur divisions for a couple years. In 1995, I was 17 and decided it was time to play with the best players and made the move in to the Open division. 

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Since that time, I have played in over 600 PDGA tournaments and have come out on top in 183 of those events. While I was never able to quit my day job and go out on tour, I did manage to hit the road hard and play across the country and up in to Canada a bit. In the late 90's, I was fortunate enough to pick up Discraft as a sponsor and have stayed with them since. Their support over the years has been outstanding and I am thrilled to see where things are headed into 2020 and beyond. 

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As I mentioned previously, disc golf was never a full time job for me but instead a hobby that could pay for the weekend expenses when I played well. Back in the mid-2000's I was playing a lot of events (averaging almost 30), but never could get that big win. In 2007 I almost broke through to win one of the most important tournaments to me, the Brent Hambrick Memorial. I finished 2nd place that year and lost by just one stroke to Dave Feldberg. That event really showed me that I could compete with the best of the best. Looking back at that year, I beat Ken Climo, Avery Jenkins, Barry Schultz, and many other top players that I looked up to for years. 

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I took that 2nd place finish in 2007 into the following year on a mission to get that big win. It just so happened to come at the Brent Hambrick Memorial which once again was a National Tour event. Dave, Avery, Barry and some up and comer named Paul McBeth were all there that year as well. I won by a single stroke and I remember that last 15 foot putt like it was yesterday. I almost couldn't get the disc out of my hand I was so nervous. I went on that year to finish 14th at the United States Disc Golf Championships and arguably had one of my best years in disc golf. 

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The year 2018 was a very memorable one for me as well. I was inducted in to the Ohio Disc Golf Hall of Fame which was great honor and after years of mostly playing tournaments, I decided to host my own tournament. It was a lot of fun and with the help of others, it turned out to be a great success. I am now going on the third year of hosting my local B tier and my second year of helping to TD the Brent Hambrick Am event. 

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In 2021, I was able to snag my first PDGA major at the Tim Selinski US Masters Championships in Columbia, MO. After a solid 5th place finish at the World Championships, I knew I had a chance to get the win at the second major. It came down to the last hole, at one of the most epic courses in the US, Harmony Bends. I was tied with Dave Feldberg and after a circles edge putt, I saved a par and won by a single stroke. What a memory for sure!

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Fast forward one year to 2022, and I was able to repeat my US Masters Championship in the Quad Cities! Having two of my closest Ohio friends, and Discraft teammates, finish in the top four with me was amazing. 

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My plan as we head into 2023 is to continue to play 25+ events and to continue to grow the sport here locally as much as I can.  I hope to do a few more clinics with local clubs, and it would be great to get involved with some local schools a bit more. That's the plan, please stay tuned and thank you all for the support over the years. I have to give a huge shout out to my amazing wife who has been nothing but supportive for the last 20 years....thank you!!

 

Brad Schick

PDGA #7992