Competition sharpens your skills!Years ago a tiny 9 hole course named Hellyer, created in a forgotten flood plane, got cleaned up and a course was put in. It offered winds and elevation change and obstacles to throw around. In those days when Ken Climo was the perennial world champion, interested new players picked up an Eagle and started throwing. The competition sharpened skills and a bond of community created something unique. As players started moving outside our valley and entered tournaments they got noticed! People did not only notice the players for reaching the podium, they also realized how tight and proud this group was. As their names were called, a choirs of voices cried out in unison "HELLYER!" The competition today is just as fierce, resulting in more and more players showing that San Jose is a force to be noticed.
San Jose has grown, we have more courses, more talented players letting their game do their talking, and just as much pride in our roots, and the courses that we play! Team San Jose 2016
This website highlights some of the players whose game and character contribute to San Jose's Disc Golf culture. These players compete at a consistent high level effectively raising their peers game as well. They have been chosen to represent Silicon Valley in the first ever Norcal Team Challenge at Ryan Ranch in Monterey (November 5-6 2016) against 11 other clubs. Click here for more on the team...
|
Hellyer Crew!
Old school reunion!
Touring to play
Years ago we had to travel quite far for tournaments... Now there are plenty around San Jose, still many of us still travel to compete...
Eric Stachnick at Penn Valley in the rain with San Jose legend Manuel Fernandez
Milo outside of Portland!
San Francisco Safari (before their permanent course went in 2001)
Cris-t-luv, Jeff Munch, Ted Steibert, Doug Werner, Eric Stachnick at Dela
Jack Lu and Nick Sorich.
Eric Stachnick, DJ Ellis, Robert Jerez, Rob Ryan at Zepher during King of the Lake 2016 (Zephyr Cove)
Tim Messer New Year round at Tahoe Vista, it was about 16 degrees.
Daisy Chains
Nick Maffei, Dylan Evans, Sias Elmore, Dean Darrah, Stevo Henkis at the Good Neighbor Open 2015.
Click here to read about some of the teams adventures...
|
Thanks to those who built us to this point!
Bill Sherman
There are so many people who have built up San Jose's Disc Golf community. Many have carried the weight of organizing competition, running weekly and monthly events, all of whom helped to form the community we all benefit from. However, without the drive and vision of Bill Sherman fewer people outside our valley would know what we have. Hall of Famer Jim Challas (PDGA # 160) layed out a beast of a course in La Raza, but it was Bill Sherman fresh from experiencing the larger venue of the worlds competition that got the drive to bring attention to what San Jose had to offer. Bill listen to everyone who gave multiple reasons why we could not get a PDGA sanctioned event in San Jose and set out to prove it could be done! Bill not only got us sanctioned tournaments, but he also brought in many of the pro's he met to raise the level of competition. We all knew what we had (arguably the toughest 9 hole course ever made) but it was because of the vision and drive of Bill Sherman putting on the Silicon Valley Classic that we know what our course is rated, and that others took notice of it! Thanks Bill!
One of Bill's many Aces, I have witnessed quite a few!
One of the perks of playing with Bill Sherman, the ambassador, is getting to also play with some of the incredible people he knows. On this day it was Terry "The Disc Golf Guy" Miller.
SVDGC's favorite artist and former board member Jef Wind in the middle!
2011 Worlds
Manuel Fernandez
A discussion about professional disc golfers coming out of San Jose would be incomplete without acknowledging Manuel Fernandez. From the time he hit the scene in the late 1990's he dominated the competition with his smooth throwing style and consistent putting. There are notorious stories about how blessed this guy seems to be. Even a shot that seems destined to be off target somehow will hit a tree and get redirected to end up under the basket. If you were playing during his time in San Jose you measured your worth against his standard of excellence. Some of us can claim victory over this guy in a given round, but if we are honest those rounds were the exception, since he beat us all most days! His level of play lifts us all, and his generous and friendly personality make it a joy to play with him! He now hails from another spot, but he is still in Norcal and still taking out his competition with a smile and his solid play!
Worlds 2011: Stan Pratt, Nick Garcia, Evan Sjostrom, Doug Werner, Bill Sherman, James Wood, with Manuel Fernandez in front.
Manuel Fernandez taking down his first ever Ice Bowl at Sierra College in Truckee, it snowed about 8 inches the night before the tournament. He aced hole 8 and took down open!
The Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club (SVDGC)
There has been one consistent force in the club since the first course Hellyer was put in the ground in 1997: Jim Challas. Jim has been a part of the disc golf culture since it began and he was inducted into the PDGA Hall of Fame for his many contributions to the sport over the years. He proposed the cone hole in the late 70's as the sport was looking for something other than the forth tree from the right as a target. He competed and cashed in the famous $10,000 Rose Bowl event Whamo put on, and he has overseen the development and growth of everything disc golf in Silicon Valley for the last 20 years! We the pros are so thankful for your dedication, vision, and generosity. We all benefit from the courses like La Raza which you designed, and the time you spend making sure our courses are insured, maintained and ready for use. Jim is always giving back by growing the sport with introductions to the game, and countless hours spent speaking to city and county officials to give us a voice for our place in the valley. Thank you
We also want to thank everyone who volunteers their time and energy in course clean up, running events and inviting new people to play our courses. It takes a village and without the awesome community we all help to create, none of this would be possible!
We also want to thank everyone who volunteers their time and energy in course clean up, running events and inviting new people to play our courses. It takes a village and without the awesome community we all help to create, none of this would be possible!