Emma Hanley
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Emma Rose Hanley
How long been playing disc golf?
I was born into a disc golfing family on a disc golf course in Cherry Grove, OR. My dad started playing in 1975 or so, back when it was still called frisbee golf, so in some ways I've been playing all my life. The first full round of golf I remember playing was when I was 9 years old, but I really got into it in college, so that makes it about 15 years that I've been playing on a regular basis, but only 3 years that i have been competing in PDGA sanctioned events.
What tournaments have you played in?
I've played in most of the tournaments that are run here in oregon: the beaver state fling, rose city open, willamette open, calapooia classic, great northwest open, eugene celebration, and the oregon disc golf championships, and of course, the chick flick. i also play the stumptown slosh series in the wintertime, which is a series of one day events run throughout the wintertime. my first PDGA event was a slosh at horning's hideout in 2010... it was the middle of january and it didn't stop raining the entire time. of course i was hooked (oh, right, and i won... that might have had something to do with it). outside of oregon i played the aloha sushi classic in walla walla, wa and was lucky enough to make the trip down to Santa Cruz last summer to compete in the PDGA World Championships. i have also played a few nonsanctioned events, most notably those run by a local club called Disc Golf or Die. my favorite of these was the DGOD Derby which took place on the 9 hole ball golf course in the center of the Portland Meadows racetrack. pretty cool getting to watch the racehorses out for their warmup in the morning... and for a girl scared of heights, pretty frightening to have to tee off on the first hole from two stories up on the outside of the stands onto an island green about 60 feet across... i did it, tho, with no crying or vomiting...
What's your favorite disc?
This is a tricky question. I love them all so much. I love my putter, a 175g r-pro aviar, and my x-d which i use for approach shots and putting in the wind because my short game is my bread and butter and what makes me able to really compete with the big arm girls. each disc is so important to my game it makes it hard to choose just one that is my favorite. they each have their moments. i have about 20 discs in my bag right now and over the course of a 2 day tournament i will use every one of them. a newer disc to my bag is a 162g star t-bird. i'll call this my favorite disc for now. it doesn't go super far but it is incredibly easy to throw and very predictable.
What's your favorite disc golf course in Portland?
Riverbend Disc Golf Course at Milo McIver State Park and home of the Beaver State Fling. This is in fact my favorite disc golf course that I have ever played anywhere. i am also very fond of Stubb Stewart state park out near Vernonia. this is my neck of the woods making it the closest course to my little shack in the mountains and it is a very technical course which makes it fun for me to play with the guys. because it's not all about distance it evens the playing field and makes it so i can compete with them a little bit more.
What's the funniest thing that has happened to you while playing disc golf.
Funny things don't really happen that often in disc golf... at least not that don't involve my bare bottom, and frankly i think cindy took care of the bare bottom story.
Do you have a blog or any other sites where people can follow you?
Other than the Next Adventure website where i will be blogging about tournaments you can track some of the other things i'm involved with by liking the PDGA Women's Committee facebook page as i am the northwest representative for the women's committee.
