Ben RutherfordPDGA#33997 Intermediate Division
Began playing disc golf:
My freshman year at CSU Monterey Bay - 1998 , a couple business majors built a course on the campus with help from Steady Ed himself. A few friends and I went down with Frisbees when we heard about the course. After a few holes and quite a few throws, we met up with some other disc golfers and learned the difference between a Frisbee and a disc. I went and bought my first disc that week. In 1999, I took a Disc Golf course the college offered. The class was taught by Dr. Stancil Johnson (PDGA #9.) I also was able to meet Steady Ed at a lecture that year.
First Disc: Yellow Typhoon and a white Aviar. I still have my Aviar.
Favorite Morley Field Hole: Hole 7. The fact that you have to throw a different shot for each of the pin placements makes this hole probably the most challenging hole on the course. Morley Field Aces: 3 Aces at Morley Field on holes 9-B, 11-C and 15-A.
Favorite Disc: Champion Leopard. My first Morley ace was with this disc. It is a great turnover disc and works well as a roller. I never play a round without one in my bag.
Favorite Driver: Pro Wraith or Champion Orc…too tough to decide between the two.
Favorite Midrange: Either a Z Buzzz or an Ontario Roc but a Gator will also be a mainstay in my bag.
Favorite Putter: The JK Aviar is definitely the one.
“In My Bag”: Star Xcaliber, Pro Destroyer, Pro Wraith, Champion Beast, Champion Orc, Champion Firebird (2), Champion Leopard, Star & Champion Gator, Z & Pro-D Buzzz, Star Ontario Roc, Soft Wizard, JK Aviar
Tourney wins and / or Top 6 finishes (not necessarily from Morley): 2007 Sun Valley Open Recreational 4th Place 2007 SoCal Championships Recreational 6th Place 2008 Ice Bowl in Paradise Recreational 5th Place 2008 Sun Valley Open Intermediate 5th Place
Favorite DG Website: I am always on the PDGA website. I look up the statistics of players I have played against or will play in the future. The amount of information that can be found is amazing. I post quite a bit on discgolfersR.us as well. It’s cool being able to put pictures of my disc golf road trips for others to see.
Favorite Pro Player: My favorite touring pro to watch would either be Dave Feldberg or Barry Schultz. Feldberg is fun to hang out with off the course as well. I don’t have a favorite Morley Pro because they’re all cool to play with. Watching two pros, Big D and Roper, battle for a place on Team San Diego for the 2008 Southwest Team Tournament was probably one of the best battles I have ever seen.
Tips for other players that have helped you: Teeing off: Don't spin on your plant foot. Putting: when inside the circle, focus on a link and reduce your body motion as much as possible. Don't get stuck playing one course over and over again. Explore other regions and what they have to offer to the game. And try to remember it is just a game. Have fun with it.