A Gresham 18 year old is about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.
Dallas Garber graduated from Gresham High early so that he may join the Professional Disc Golf Association tour as a rookie.
That means in a few weeks he will pack up a 2025 Eddie Bauer RV alongside his father and hit the road. Along the way will be official professional events, as well as plenty of other local outings (the schedule crafted by the family is something of a logistics marvel).
“We will never be in the same spot more than two weeks,” Garber said.
“It is going to be interesting,” he added with a laugh. “I am used to the competition, but I think there will be some homesickness being out on the road for so long.”
The journey will be 37 events across 22 states, from February through November.
“Not everyone I talk to understand this, because it’s a sport a lot of people haven’t heard of,” Garber said. “College is the normal thing to do at my age. Instead I’m going on the road like a hippie to throw some discs.”
But those questions die down when you see him play. This isn’t some passing fad. Garber is talented, and he is poised to make his mark on the professional circuit. He already has tournament wins under his belt, and has the ranking to stick with this as long as he wants.
“If I am good enough I want this to be my life,” Garber said. “I want to play professionally for the next 15 to 17 years.”
The first stop may be the most special. In late February Garber will be at Oak Grove Disc Golf Course in Pasadena, California. That was the first-ever permanent course built in the world.
“It is pretty cool that I will be starting my professional journey at the place where disc golf began,” Garber said.
Disc Golf
For those who are unfamiliar with the sport, disc golf (aka frisbee golf) is played similarly to golf.
“You have a tee area and a target goal,” Garber said. “Most courses are Par 3, 4, or 5, and you are trying to get your disc into the target in the least amount of throws possible.”
The courses have players navigate trees and other obstacles. Courses are 9 to 18 holes. The sport is played in about 40 countries, and as of last year the Professional Disc Golf Association had 317,870 members.
The sport is also incredibly accessible. There are more than 16,000 disc golf courses around the world, with roughly 90% being free to play. That means no expensive tee times to deal with. The only cost is buying a couple discs, which Garber explains are very affordable.
“The community is also amazing,” he said. “When I first started playing so many people gifted me discs.”
And if you live locally, there are a ton of places to play. That includes Blue Lake; Rockwood Central Park; Vance Park; Rockwood Disc Golf Course; Donald Robertson Park; Dabney State Recreation Area; and Milo McIver.
“Go to a local shop, buy something used, and try it out,” Garber said. “It might take a few holes to get used to it, but I think everybody will enjoy disc golf if they put the time into it.”
Father-son beginning
This love, and professional aspirations, is rooted in family.
The first time Garber ever touched a disc was when his uncle gifted a starter set to him and his dad, Chad Garber, about seven years ago. The two played a few times, but it didn’t quite stick.
Then his dad had open heart surgery in August 2019. Upon recovery, his doctors recommended walking a couple miles every day to stay healthy.
“My dad and I are too competitive to just walk and do nothing else,” Garber said with a smile.
So they sought other things to do while being active. First they got swept up in the Pokémon GO craze (a free-to-play mobile game that had players use their phone’s GPS to find and catch Pokémon). But eventually they wanted something more active. That is when Garber remembered those discs that had been gathering dust in his bedroom.
The first course they played was at Blue Lake Regional Park — a location Garber considers his “home course” due to the thousands of hours he has spent training there. That familial competitiveness quickly took hold, with the duo at one point playing 257 days in a row (they had to do 9 holes for the day to count).
“Playing with my dad helped me get better — whether its sports or school I don’t allow myself to do anything that isn’t 100%,” Garber said.
Now his room is filled with hundreds of discs — think of it like golf clubs, there are differently designed discs for various situations. So you have a “driver” disc and a “putter” disc and everything in between.
There is a lot he loves about disc golf. Garber enjoys hiking and being out in nature, which is where the sport is played. Courses are often situated in unique, beautiful places — his favorite course in Oregon is at Milo McIver State Park, outside Estacada.
“With disc golf every hole is different, every course is different,” he said.
His eyes sparkle when he thinks about some of the courses he will get to experience during his year-long tour — Pickard Disc Golf Course in Iowa; Olympus Disc Golf Course in Florida. One aspect that many others overlook, but gets Garber excited, are all the different types of trees.
“I love seeing the different trees when I travel,” he explained. “In Florida they are smaller but densely clumped together. In the Dakotas they are tall and thin.”
Lofty goals
Garber always knew he was pretty good at disc golf. But it wasn’t something he ever imagined doing for a living until the first time he went to the Junior World Championships.
It was five years ago, and it was the first time it clicked how big the sport really is. The event had hundreds of athletes and sponsors, and thousands of fans.
“I saw this potential future before me,” Garber said.
So he dedicated himself to getting better, and kept climbing the local ladder. He went from amateur to pro, began winning events, making money, and never stopped.
“Everything I do now is about this sport,” he said.
He had to apply to receive is pro card via exemption, which is something that isn’t handed out willy nilly. To earn one you have to compete in at least six professional events in a single year, or 10 over your lifetime. But Garber and his parents were strategic about their approach. They wanted him to finish high school before diving into the world of professional sports, so the talented youngster made sure to avoid checking either of those boxes to make this his rookie year.
Sadly the pro card is more of an idea, rather than a physical thing. But there will be trading cards made of Garber (which his dad is already excited about collecting).
Garber has the chops to make this stick. His rating is 1026 — the top-rated players is 1059 (every 8-10 points is effectively a stroke). Garber is about 70th in the world ranking, and for the upcoming pro tour he is ranked in the middle of the pack.
He also has some big people in his corner. He is sponsored/coached by Scott Stokely, a hall of famer who started Stokely Discs and is a massive advocate for the sport. Garber describes it as an “old timer mentoring a young rookie.” Basically the AppleTV show “Stick,” but with disc golf.
All of that means Garber heads into his rookie season with some aspirational goals.
“I want to be the Rookie of the Year,” he said. “I want to finish in the top 30-40 rankings on the tour, win cash at half of my events, and get one Top-5 or podium finish.”
“I want to do good enough to be noticed,” Garber added.
Competition Schedule
Garber will be travelling all over the country for his professional disc golf debut. Here are the events:
February: DGPT Supreme Flight Open, Brooksville, Florida
March: Throw Down the Mountain XIV, Brooksville, Florida
March: DGPT Big Easy Open, New Orleans
March: North Carolina Championship, Rocky Mount, North Carolina
March: DGPT Queen City Classic, Charlotte, North Carolina
April: Dogwood Crosstown Classic, Charlotte, North Carolina
April: PDGA Champions Cup, Lynchburg, Virginia
April: DGPT Jonesboro Open, Jonesboro, Arkansas
April: DGPT Kansas City Wide Open, Kansas City
May: Waco Annual Charity Open, Waco, Texas
May: DGPT+ The Open at Austin, Austin, Texas
May: Santa Cruz Masters Cup, Santa Cruz, California
May: DGPT+ OTB Open, Stockton, California
May: Cascade Challenge, Shelton, Washington
June: DGPT+ NW Championship, Portland
July: Champions Landing Open, Emporia, Kansas
July: DGPT+ Ledgestone Open, Peoria, Illinois
Aug: DGPT Discmania Challenge, Indianola, Indiana
Aug: DGPT Preserve Doubles, Minneapolis
Aug: River City Open, Byron Center, Michigan
Aug: PDGA World Championships, Milford, Michigan
Sept: DGPT Open at Idlewild, Burlington, Kentucky
Sept: The Syracuse Open, Liverpool, New York
Sept: DGPT Playoffs GMC, Smuggs, Vermont
Sept: DGPT Playoffs MVP Open, Leicester, Maryland
Oct: Carolina Clash, Charlotte, North Carolina
Oct: Disc Golf Championships, Rock Hill, South Carolina
Oct: DGPT Championships, Lynchburg, Virginia
Oct: Down East Players Cup, Greenville, North Carolina
Oct: Hub City Halloween Open, Inman, South Carolina
Nov: Jomez Finael at Cactus Rock, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Nov: Las Vegas Challenge, Henderson, Nevada
