The Flight Diary

When Austin Turner hit the pro circuit, he was speculated to be one of the best left handed players the game had seen since Devan Owens. When an unexpected injury put him in a tough position he seemingly disappeared from the scene for a couple years. In 2021 he's made a comeback and is sporting a much healthier body and mind. 

In a world where most of the best players are starting to back away from playing every week, Andrew Presnell is busier than ever and is having the time of his life doing it. As someone who also left a good job to hit the road for disc golf, I genuinely enjoyed hearing his own tale of throwing caution to the wind and molding his life around the thing he loves most.

PS - This was a Zoom interview and we had a little issue with audio leveling. Apologies in advance about the sound quality.

I have always looked up to Sarah for committing to the forehand dominant play style for so long, something that's not easy to do. I had little knowledge of who she was beyond being a major champion, so this conversation was very much me asking questions out of sheer curiosity. Enjoy!

One of my best friends, Walter Faro, sits down with me to turn the tables and hear my story that lead to me to where I am in the disc golf world today. It's been a long, winding road, but I'm so grateful to be where I am in this life. 

To support the show: patreon.com/theflightdiary

Chandler Fry sits down with me to talk about his early days as a junior disc golfer and his journey to making the game his career. 

The newest PDGA member to win a National Tour event sits down to talk about his journey to becoming a professional disc golfer, and how  regrets from his basketball days drive him to not take this new opportunity for granted. 

Andrew Zimmern is a four-time James Beard award-winning TV personality, chef, writer, teacher, social justice advocate, and an enormous fan of everything disc golf. He claims the sport has saved his life, and when I sat with him in his Minneapolis office, he explained how.

Ben Callaway has become a household name on the 2021 Disc Golf Pro Tour, but the road to becoming a full time touring professional was far from easy. At age 34 he finally got a chance to chase his dream.  

Full time touring professional and all around fantastic human being Missy Gannon sits down to explain how she went from a dead end job to the creating lifestyle of her dreams and becoming one of the best FPO players on the planet. 

2017 U.S. Disc Golf Champion and one of the leading voices in disc golf, Nate Sexton is on the show this week to talk about his upbringing in the PNW, and his unconventional approach to creating his own career path in the disc golf world.

A thoughtful and fun discussion with the 2018 World Disc Golf champion and fifteen year road warrior, Greg Barsby. Listen as he sheds light on his come up and the early landscape of tour golf. 

This episode is special. When it comes to understanding where disc golf is today, history and context are extremely important. Today, Juliana Korver paints that landscape for us and illustrates how she remains one of the most talented individuals to ever touch flying disc.

Nathan Queen, one of the top rated left handed players on the planet, shares his disc golf story. From dirt biking as a kid, to notching top ten finishes at the biggest events disc golf has to offer, Nathan gives plenty of insight about how he got to where he is today as a touring professional. 

Chris Clemons gets personal as he talks books, self-actualization and the 2019 USDGC. 

This week, Discraft's team captain Paul Ulibarri uses this year's USDGC to explain his vision for the future of course design and long-distance throwers in the sport. 

 One of the most entertaining and talented players in the game of disc golf, Simon Lizotte, sits down to discuss his roots, his rise, burnout and more. 

Casey White got one of the elusive 2020 USDGC spots this year, partially due to a putting epiphany he recently had that changed the way he thinks about the short game. 

Thomas Earhart, the #1 rated player in Illinois, noticed something interesting about Eagle McMahon's driving strategy during the 2020 Memorial Championships. Could a new school of thought in the pro field be evolving right in front of us?

You may have seen him chucking mini's with Simon Lizotte or hitting 600 ft aces on YouTube, but Casey White's disc golf journey has been unfolding since he was a young teenager. With a recent signing to Discmania, Casey is living his disc golf dream and isn't slowing down any time soon. 

AJ Risley is heading back to California for the season in the midst of dealing with a chronic wrist injury. It's been painful for him, physically and emotionally. Hear about his mindset as he prepares to get to the bottom of it once and for all. 

Texas native Nate Perkins has been a competitor his entire life. Hear the full story about his journey into the world of professional disc golf on this episode of The Flight Diary. 

Welcome back Uli! My old Co-Host Paul Ulibarri joins me for an episode about his come up in the world of disc golf. From turning down college scholarships to taking buses to NT events, his answers to the never ending "how bad do you want it" questions are incredibly inspiring. 

Multiple world record holder Lloyd Weema has a unique story to tell and a different perspective on the sport of disc golf. 

What's on the mind of one of the all time greatest woods players? Michael Johansen opens up about his long career in disc golf, his love affair with the Comet, and the cycles he's witnessed the sport go through during the two decades he's been playing the game. 

With all the recent buzz about ultimate players beginning to enter the disc golf world, I called one of the best combo ultimate/disc golf athletes in the world to hear his story. Andrew shared his journey transitioning into disc golf after finishing his ultimate career and shared why touring full time would "drive him crazy".  

After making some lame excuses for why I didn't make any new episodes this past winter, I open up the 2020 season with a pilot a new segment called "Rabbit Holes" where my goal is to capture the weird theories that touring professional disc golfers develop during their years on the road. Whether it's about equipment, athletic development, or the future of the sport itself, here's to hoping we can find something unexpected hidden deep within the minds of our sports best players.

In this particular segment I rant about how new "beginner friendly" discs can potentially cause some seriously bad habits in the players they're marketed towards. 

At the 2019 USDGC I had the pleasure of sitting down with former World Putting Champion and infamous scramble master Matt Bell to talk about the similarities between the disc golf and surfing communities, his philosophy behind the "run everything" mindset, and how he's gotten to where he's currently at in the game. 

Shortly after interviewing Seppo Paju at the Green Mountain Championships I was able to sit down with Joel Freeman to figure out where this man of many talents went from an aspiring singer, actor, and dancer to a full time professional disc golfer who found a way to pay off his college debt through his new career path. Joel displays immense self awareness in this episode and his straight forward, no-nonsense method of self-talk and goal setting was extremely inspiring to listen to. 

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Seppo Paju at the Green Mountain Championships to talk about his upbringing in a "frisbee family", his undeniable passion for throwing a disc, and what types of shots still impress him after all these years. 

With the 2019 World Championships approaching, I sat down with Kevin Jones to dig into how it only took 2 years for him to go from a 978 rated ex-football player to a threat to win every event he signs up for. 

With my trusty sidekick AJ Risley, I sit down with Eric Oakley before the 2019 Pro World Championships to talk about his choice to never play an amateur event, his experiences touring as a 951 rated Open player, and why none of his shortcomings seemed to discourage him along his journey towards making a career out of the game he loves. 

P.S. I drop the F-Bomb twice, my bad. 

*AJ REQUESTED FOR THIS EPISODE TO BE RELEASED COMPLETELY UNEDITED*

Originally recorded 3 weeks ago, AJ Risley joined me before a practice round at DGLO to talk about his journey from being a 980 rated touring player fighting to just make the cash line, to becoming a serious contender to win some of disc golf's biggest events. 

With Uli back in Arizona for surgery/rehab for his ACL, the podcast will take a slightly different path for future episodes. Jordan Castro joins me after a hot finish at the Beaver State Fling to discuss his inspiring weight loss journey and how his hard work has given him a high level of discipline that's helped him keep a level head and propel him to the tops of leaderboards on tour. 

In the second episode of The Buzzz with Uli & Bearhart, we talk about what it means to be clutch, how we all have it within us regardless of skill level, and what it takes to hone in that coveted clutch factor that's widely praised throughout the sports world. 

In the pilot episode of The Buzzz, we talk about the proper mindset for making form changes and what can happen when it's not approached in the right way. Be on the lookout for our Patreon page when Episode 2 comes out! 

Let us know what topics you'd like you hear us talk about in the future!