Pensacola brings pro disc golf tournament to downtown, along with sport icon Paige Pierce

Woods McCue was only 10 days old when his parents took him out on a disc golf course for the first time.

Now, Woods, who just turned 12, is organizing disc golf tournaments with his father, Nik McCue, with help from his pal Paige Pierce, the five-time Professional Disc Golf Association World Champion who now lives in Pensacola. He's also one of the top junior disc golfers in the world, finishing 9th in his age group at the 2023 PDGA Junior Disc Golf World Championships in Peoria, Illinois, this summer.

Woods and Nik McCue, along with Pierce, are hosting an urban disc golf tournament on Oct. 22 on a temporary course under the interstate at Hollice T. Williams Park in downtown Pensacola. The event is sanctioned by the PDGA and though there are numerous tournaments in Northwest Florida through the year and even this month - the Panhandle Open takes place Oct. 7 and the Lumberjack Launch on Oct. 21, both at the Gator Links course in Milton - this is the first downtown disc golf tournament in Pensacola.

The event emerged after Woods and his father hosted similar family-friendly tournaments at other courses, including Hitzman Park on Langley Avenue and the University of Florida IFAS Extension Escambia County course on Stefani Road. Also, Pierce was a vendor at the May opening of the Blake Doyle Skatepark in downtown Pensacola - Pierce is sponsored by Discraft, which offers a line of Pierce discs - and was inspired by what she experienced.

"When I came out for the skate park opening there were so many families out enjoying the outdoors," said Pierce, who has not played since July when she suffered a season-ending ankle injury at a practice round before a tournament in Norway. The injury required emergency surgery in Norway. "I think having a tournament downtown will bring more eyes to disc golf. I think it's perfect for growing the sport in Pensacola."

There will be a temporary nine-hole course that will be installed on the park property and the course will be played twice during the 18-hole tournament. Woods, Nik McCue and Pierce are designing the layout.

"We've been throwing little events trying to get more kids and families and beginners involved," said Nik McCue, who has played disc golf for about 20 years. "Paige, through an unfortunate event, found herself around Pensacola at this time of year when she would normally be out on tour. She reached out to the (Emerald Coast Disc Golf Club) and said she wanted to get involved with some cool local projects." (One of those projects was a cleanup/fixup day at the Gator Links course at Pensacola State College's Milton campus.)

In addition to the tournament, they will be putting on games and challenges throughout the day and there will be a Page Pierce meet-and-greet event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Dig deeper: Florida Panhandle disc golf team looking to explode onto the scene at Junior World's Championship

For tournament information, including registration, go to Park League Fall Flex In The City (2023, Park League DG - Nik McCue) · Disc Golf Scene.

For the McCues, disc golf has become a passion and a bonding experience. The couple also has a younger daughter, Marigold.

"Woods was 10 days old the first time he went out," Nik McCue said. "His mom (Leah) and I took him out to Pirate's Cove (another course at PSC Milton campus). It was the first outing with him after he was born, and we pushed him around in a stroller. We missed every single putt, but it was such a special moment, and we didn't know it would lead to this."

"This" is Wood's obsession with disc golf that was crystalized when he and his father, along with friends, gathered around the television to watch long-haired James Conrad throw in a 247-feet miracle shot to force a playoff on the final hole of regulation play at the 2021 PDGA Pro World Championship. Conrad would win the sudden death playoff and the shot is now referred in disc golf circles as "The Holy Shot" - there has even been a "Holy Shot" documentary film made.

"That's when I really got into it'' said Woods, who sports the same long-locked hairstyle as Conrad. "I watched James Conrad and the Holy Shot and wanted to be just like him."

Woods, a sixth-grade student at Brown Barge Middle School, practices continuously and usually throws between 100 to 200 putts each day at the baskets he has in his yard at home. He doesn't hit the courses as often during the school year, but does play every weekend and is well-known and respected in the local disc golf community.

"He's pretty amazing,'' said Pierce, who began playing at age 4, tagging along with her father. "He's dedicated too, which is key. He has his eyes and focus on disc golf."

His focus doesn't keep him from dreaming big.

"I want to be a junior world champion and I want to go on (the professional) tour before I'm 18,'' he said. "I want to win an Elite Series event and be World Champion."

For Nik McCue, he's just enjoying the time.

"It's priceless,'' he said of the bonding experience of walking through wooded courses hanging out with your son. "I couldn't imagine anything better."

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Pensacola PDGA disc golf tourney comes to downtown