A champion talks about the disc golf course at Winthrop, what he’ll do if he wins again

Most 17- and 18-year-olds are preparing to graduate from high school, starting college, or embarking on new jobs.

Not Gannon Buhr.

At just 17, Buhr became the youngest player ever to win the United States Disc Golf Tournament. He did it last year at Winthrop University.

“I wasn’t really in school that much, so I didn’t get into a lot of the things that people in school do,” Buhr said. “I feel like I’ve grown up a lot quicker than other people my age. But I’ve enjoyed every second of it. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Buhr, now 18, is back at Winthrop University this year to defend his title.

“Disc golf is all I’m caring about right now,” Buhr said. “If I need to go to college later, I will. But as of now, disc golf has been starting to pay a little bit better. And especially just for the tour itself, more money has been getting in every single year. So it’s allowing more people to have this be their main job. And it’s really exciting to see.”

Buhr made $25,000 last year. The payoff for this year’s tournament has not been announced.

Defending the crown

Buhr’s win didn’t come easy. He shot a tournament-low, 12-under 52 in the final round, overcoming a three-shot deficit.

“I was making my putts really good. I was also putting myself safe and in position on the par fours and par fives,” he said.

But to win again, Buhr says he’ll have to be better. There are more than 100 players competing in this year’s tournament, making it all the more challenging.

The key for Buhr will be to keep it simple. Take shots he knows he can hit and avoid those he can’t.

“A lot of people, I feel like, are going a little too aggressive. With as much out of bounds as there is out here, people are losing a lot of strokes going for shots that they probably shouldn’t be,” Buhr said.

“I think that’s something that I’ve done really well is going for the shots that I’m really good at for myself. But then there’s shots that maybe someone’s not as good at and they still go for it anyway. They can probably end up taking some big numbers.”

Navigating the course

Winthrop’s disc golf course is considered to be challenging. It has many narrow fairways, out-of-bounds areas, elevated baskets and water hazards.

Buhr has been a victim to the course’s difficulty. He said hole 12 creates a lot of problems because of the out of bounds area.

“If you throw out of bounds you go to a drop zone. And if you don’t get in bounds from there, you keep dethroning with a short penalty,” Buhr said. “A lot of people get out of position off the tee. Maybe they didn’t practice the drop zone shot that much in their practice rounds. And so, they’re not comfortable with how far the shot is because you actually can’t always see the basket from here.”

For Buhr, that’s why the practice rounds are critical.

“You just have to memorize the holes,” he said. “You have to know which discs to throw with which shots and how that’s going to work for yourself. And so, I think a lot of people like I said, on the holes that you have to re-throw without a bounce, those are the holes I’m probably playing a little bit safer.”

What a win would mean for him

Buhr said Friday that he is mentally worn out from competing for four straight days.

“You put so much mental energy into focusing so hard, especially at a course like, you really can’t get away with bad shots,” he said.

When it was all done, Buhr had a unique way of celebrating. The first thing he did after the win was head straight to the nearest McDonald’s.

If he can win again this year, he has another plan.

“If I win, I’m going to buy the Eiffel Tower Lego set with 10,000 pieces,” Buhr said. “I’m working on the Lego Titanic right now. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting my shot at that.”

How to keep up with the action

The disc golf tournament will be going on throughout the weekend at Winthrop University. Each day of the tournament will start at 10:15 a.m. and conclude between 5:30-7 p.m. For those who cannot attend, the tournament can be watched on the Disc Golf Network. To follow along with the leaderboard, go to usdgc.com.

This story was originally published October 6, 2023 at 3:29 PM.