How to Play Disc Golf

Tom Schot has lived in Santa Cruz most of his life. His love affair with Frisbees began in the early 70's while throwing Black Master Frisbees. His first experience at a major disc event was in 1974 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. That event inspired his vision for the World DiscGames.

Tom both designed his first disc golf course and produced his first tournament, "The Mulligan Open" at Cabrillo College. In 1977 he designed and installed 18 holes at the University of California in Santa Cruz. It was only a year later that Tom invited Ken Westerfield to help produce the "Santa Cruz Flying Disc Classic," an over-all tournament that became the first of nine World Disc Championships that would follow. Tom went through many hardships in those nine years, from dealing with TV (CBS) to accommodating competitors from all over the world. "My experience with disc sports, from designing and installing disc golf courses to producing world tournaments has prepared me fully for the World Disc Games. I have heard many players say, ‘The World Disc Championships were the best over-all tournaments ever produced'.

Tom founded the first Ultimate team in Santa Cruz and the Northern California Ultimate League in 1979. He has been passionately dedicated to this sport for the last 25 years. "In the 60's and 70's disc sports were just a fad. Now the fad has diminished into the birth of our sport.

Two of Tom’s greatest feats have been to design the world renowned Delaveaga Disc Golf Course and start the "Master's Cup Disc Golf Championships" which have been held annually in Santa Cruz for the past 17 years. In 1991, Tom won the PDGA Grand Master's World Championships and was inducted into the Disc Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.