Article written by: Michelle Springett – DGPT Communications Coordinator

The 2023 Dynamic Discs starts tomorrow, June 16th! If you want all the pertinent details on watching the tournament live, check out the Disc Golf Pro Tour event page. We sat down with the pros and tournament staff to hear about what’s on their minds headed into another DGPT Elite Event. You can watch the full Press Conference here or below via the DGPT Youtube Channel. Here is what we learned…

Kristin Tattar –

In the past, Tattar has been focused and consumed by winning rather than living life. This season she has been focusing more on enjoying the whole experience and taking in what the United States offers. Recently, Tattar has checked out some beautiful lakes and small towns as she’s been going from event to event. Plus, she spent this last weekend playing, staying, and practicing with Catrina Allen and Adam Hannum. Tattar said she was truly grateful to them for sharing some of the costs accompanying being on the road and mentioned having some great times with her fellow disc golfers. Terry Miller asked her how she felt since the last time Tattar was in Emporia, and she was crowned world champion. She stated, “If I’m on Tour, I just travel to the next place. Eyes on the prize, and practicing and developing a game plan.” When returning, she said she hasn’t gotten that emotional and aims to stay within the moment this weekend.

Tattar also said that she is amazed at all of the European tournaments and is struggling to keep her eyes on everything at once. She is also very excited to see many European players and some Estonians winning. Another Estonian, Marianne Must, won last weekend in Croatia at the PDGA Euro Tour Pro Forester presented by Vall Tours. Tattar also stated that she is proud and excited to be alive during this era of disc golf. We share this sentiment with Kristin!

Ricky Wysocki –

Last weekend we didn’t see Ricky Wysocki on the course to compete in the Zoo Town Open; he said that he wanted to take one of the tournaments off because upcoming on his schedule he has the Dynamic Discs Open, Des Moines Challenge, and the Preserve Championship. These are all long weeks of back-to-back disc golf for him, and he wanted to ensure he had at least one week of rest. Wysocki says that his wrist is feeling 100% and that he’s back to feeling healthy overall, but is still waiting to see his game catch up to his health and is seeing major improvements. 

His wrist health and knee health have both taken a hit in previous tournaments due to his battle with Lyme Disease. Some of the catalysts for Lyme Disease flare-ups can include stress, travel, and exhaustion. Wysocki has been combating these flare-ups with ice baths, supplements, and staying hydrated. Plus, he points out that disc golf may not be a high-impact sport like football, but repetitive movements and motions, like throwing and putting repeatedly, can stress out the joints. Wysocki continues to work on stretching before and after a round to prevent injuries.

Valerie Mandujano –

Valerie Mandujano feels great to be back playing on tour. Mandujano rolled her left ankle about six months ago and tore two ligaments. She feels that her ankle is about 85% back to health because there is still inflammation, so she must be super careful with it. Mandujano stated that she chose to come back this week because she got the okay to play a month ago from her doctor, and she needed to practice and get some reps in before returning.

Not being able to play wasn’t great for her, but she was able to step back and really start cherishing disc golf again. Mandujano also mentioned missing being able to walk with Mason Ford (her husband) and Alexis Mandujano (her sister) during rounds. She also emphasized that this weekend she isn’t trying to set goals and expectations for herself and just be able to value that she is able to play and walk. During the interview, Mandujano also told Sarah Hokom that she’s watched almost every tournament this season so far to keep up with what’s been happening on the course.

Paige Shue –

This weekend is a homecoming of sorts for Paige Shue. The 1X PDGA Pro World Champion spent a few years in college in Kansas, and her parents still live there! Both she and her husband play professionally, and her parents or someone will always help come to help out with their daughter Savannah during their rounds. Or she and her husband, Grady Shue, will alternate which tournaments they play in. They did not do the west coast swing because it would have been too difficult with their young daughter, and traveling that far can be difficult in general. Shue played closer to home in some local tournaments these past couple of weeks during the West Coast Swing of the tour. Now she plans to attack the tour’s mid-west swing as hard as possible.

Paige Shue lining up her shot at the 2023 Waco Open. Photo: DGPT/Kevin Huver.

Carter Ahrens –

Carter Ahrens is 15 years old and wrapped up his sophomore year of high school just this week.  Ahrens said he is playing well, and being in the spotlight recently feels good. Ahrens had averaged a 1032 disc golf rating at the Portland Open. Ahrens’ also had the hottest round at the Portland Open with a rating of 1062, and 3 out of 4 of the best rounds of disc golf he’s ever played have been in the last month. Ahrens’s also mentioned that playing with some of the best players has challenged him to shoot better. Playing a practice round with Ricky Wysocki has also helped, with Wysocki providing some coaching to him this week. Ahrens’ biggest takeaway from the practice round was playing safer. He normally plays as aggressively as possible. Relying on his power for easy birdies. Ahren’s long-term goal is to finish high school online and then play disc golf full-time.

The 2023 Dynamic Discs Open kicks off tomorrow, June 16th! Tune into the Disc Golf Network to catch all the action and follow scores on UDisc Live. Can’t watch live? Catch all the lead card action on JomezPro’s YouTube channel for next-day post-produced coverage!