5.23.12
Sweat breaks across his brow despite the chill from the Pacific wind. He grunts as he moves the large branch of eucalyptus into place. Stepping back, he sizes up his next move with the same expression used to size up a 60′ death putt. The erosion wall is nearly complete, but it’s only a small piece of the 2012 Master Plan for Golden Gate Park DGC that has been spearheaded by Patrick Brown and backed by the leadership of the SFDGC.
As groups of recreational players play through remarks on the changes are overheard. The grass is coming in nicely on hole one, the steep hillside separating hole twelve and hole fourteen has been landscaped, and the sleeves for the pin placements have been re-secured. The backbreaking labor of maintaining one of the most played courses in America is showing, and it’s just in time for tournament season.
Enter Patrick Brown: A touring pro that has played all over the country, with wins at 19 of the 28 tournaments he entered in 2011. Golden Gate Park is where it all started for him in the winter of 2003. As any disc golfer knows, your local community becomes your family, and San Francisco is no different. Living just down the street, the course in Marx Meadow is literally his backyard – and the other disc golfers his brothers and sisters.
Growing up in the game was tough, and Patrick credits that to being surrounded by talented mentors like Hunt Hyde and Dave Hanning. However, soon enough Patrick was making his SF family proud, being crowned the California Amateur State Champion in 2008 and tying for 4th place at the United States Amateur Disc Golf Championships that same year. He quickly won his way to an Innova sponsorship in 2010 after a blistering -17 round at the US Masters, taking the legendary Barry Schultz to a playoff and placing ahead of many of his future teammates including Ken Climo, Phil Arthur, and Jay Reading.
