Like many of us have experienced, we play disc golf once and instantly become hooked. That’s exactly what happened to Tony Shirley, one of the members of the Dynamic Discs team. Introduced to the sport by a ball golfing friend of his, Tony quickly latched on and has been winning tournaments left and right ever since. We wanted to learn a bit more about Tony’s game, his history with athletics, and why he’s so glad to be a part of the DD family.
Zero To Sixty On The Course
Tony didn’t really start playing many sports until his 30’s, and while he enjoyed softball, racquetball, and golf, it was disc golf that really caught his eye. He joined the PDGA in 2009 and played in 12 events during his first year. Quickly seeing wins in the Amateur division, he stepped up his game and competed, and cashed, in a handful of Open tournaments.2010 is when he really started to ramp things up and was also eligible to compete in the Masters division. Of the 22 sanctioned events that year, he cashed in all but six of them and proved himself to be a dominating force.
Maybe it’s his love of hyzer shots that helped in his success: “I live in Texas; that is the first thing we look for in Texas is the Hyzer” he said. Shirley also notes that a lot of his enjoyment with disc golf has to do with being sponsored. “Being [a] part of Dynamic Discs has been one of the greatest adventures of my life. It's not only a disc golf company, it's my family,” Tony proudly stated.
Overcoming Challenges
It hasn’t all been fun and games for Tony, as an injury required him to have elbow surgery on his throwing arm this year. How did he adapt? “I ended up learning how to play left-handed.” Not one to let a setback get in the way, the month of April brought him some promising results: “I played my first tournament after coming back from surgery and finished [in] second place playing pretty good golf.”Despite a heavy work schedule and the immense amount of time away from home it takes to be a touring player, Shirley remains a name to look out for amongst the Masters competitors. Every year he says he’s committed to improving his putting game, but with four wins under his belt this season, it sounds like he has things dialed in already.
The Man Behind The Discs
It’s always fun to get to know our team members on a deeper level, and Tony was quick to share about his family when asked about his life outside of disc golf. “I've been happily married for almost 23 years. I have four children and two beautiful grandchildren,” he said joyfully. An avid fly fisherman and kayaker, he’s open to just about any activity that allows him to be outdoors.Tony has a handful of events left in the 2017 season, and we wish him continued success with his game!
