The Spudkicker - Jared Person Q and A

I love getting to know more about people and that is even more so when it comes to people who are local to me. I recently found a few more people in my area that I did not know about and I am glad I found out about them. One of these hidden gems is Jared Person. Jared is a professional player who throws for Prodigy discs. He was an amazing person to talk to and deserves to be recognized! Enjoy!

1) How did you get your start into Disc Golf?

I was invited to play a round of disc golf by one of my best friends at Farragut State Park. I went out and grip locked every shot and had the time of my life taking seven and eights on every hole. After that I found out that there was a nine hole disc golf course right down the street from where I lived at the North Idaho College campus...I played there every single day until the day the course was pulled. I miss that course...a lot of good memories.

2) Who inspires you to continue to play?

My biggest inspiration is my wife...she has a pure joy for the game and watching her progress and get better inspires me to do the same. All players who are new to the game and experience that pure joy of watching their first hyzer flip drive or canning a jump putt for the first time...that's where the real spirit of the game lives and it is very inspiring.

3) What made you want to get the title of “pro “?

I have played pro since my first tournament...It was the Corbin Open and Jeremy Thornton was the TD...I had never played a tournament and when I went to sign up he asked, " Are you playing Open?" and I said , "Yeah." I figured since it was the Corbin "Open" he was asking if i was playing the tournament. I learned later that day about divisions...Needless to say I placed 5th, accepted cash and continued to play in the Open division from their on out, except for 3 tournaments in which I received a special exemption from the PDGA due a serious knee injury.

4) What’s it mean for you to be a hometown hero?

I don't think of myself as a hometown hero...I have yet to have a lot of success at majors...But I absolutely love being a Hometown pro...watching young players come up and start to kick my butt out there on the course is great and keeps that fire going to continue to improve.

5) Favorite Disc?

My favorite disc is a Pa3...my putter

6) Favorite Course?

.Farragut disc golf complex...all the courses out there

7) What’s it like to be on team prodigy?

Being apart of Team Prodigy is an amazing experience. My teammates are always supportive and are just all around amazing golfers and people...Having a company have your back and support your efforts is an amazing feeling and one I feel privileged to have... I have to mention if it wasn't for the support of Josh Fish and Nick Kynett with Team High Country I wouldn't have even been on the Prodigy Disc radar....They made sure i had everything I needed to succeed when I first started winning tournaments and seeing a future in Disc Golf . They have a large share in the responsibility of my recent success.

8) What can we expect from you in 2018?

I was sidelined a little last year with some wrist problems so I wasn't able to defend my 2016 Montana State Title.... in 2018 I plan on focusing a lot of my disc golf efforts in Montana and regaining the title...and of course competing in every local event my schedule allows.

9) What advice can you give to players who want to step up their game?

I would say just throw and throw and throw....Learn a hyzer and throw it till your arm falls off, learn an anhyzer and throw it until your neighbors are sick of you asking to get your discs out of their backyard, and putt until you fall asleep to the sweet sound of plastic hitting chains....I probably played 6 hours a day when I first started playing. If you play that much, its easy to just fall back on the muscle memory in a tournament and enjoy your rounds in a high stress situation. And the most important piece of advice is to just make sure you are having fun...even at a high level.

10) Do you have any pre-tournament rituals? If so, what are they and why?

About five minutes before they call 2 minutes I will go for a quick run....it gets my heart rate up and helps burn some of the extras adrenaline I have before a tournament.

11) Whats a good starter pack for anyone who hasn’t thrown Prodigy before?

It depends on the skill set....if you are a beginner I would recommend a ...D6, F5, M4, and Pa4.....a more advanced player I would recommend ...D2, F2, M2, Pa3....The prodigy system is easy to understand once its explained....The D stands for Distance Driver...The F is for Fairway Driver, the M is for Mid Range Driver...and the PA is for Putt and Approach...The numbers work as follows.,..The lower the number the more overstable is disc is....example...D1 is an overstable distance Driver...a D6 is a very Understable distance Driver....Those are kind of the 2 extremes of the scale...But as with any disc you have to try them out to see how they fit into your game.

12) What did you think you do to help grow the sport?

I remember when i first started playing i was always trying to be involved with getting new courses in the ground and a few years back i was blessed to have the Park Ranger Kieth Jones at Farragut invite Myself ()and I swooped up Jeremy Thornton) out their to design a new course that was eventually named Awol...I'm very proud to have been a part of that crew. In recent years i have focused more on my game then growing the sport, but that is something i'm looking to change in the coming year and together with The rest of Team High Country we are planning some exciting events that are going to focus on just that.

13) Is there anything else you would like people to know about you that they may not?

Before I was a serious disc golfer I played guitar in a local bluegrass band named the Spudpickers....pretty much the best Idaho bluegrass band name of all time :)

I would like to thank Jared for letting me interview him and ask him these questions as well as taking the time out of his day to answer them! If you would like to know more about him he is on various social media platforms! Look out for many more coming soon!

Picture credit goes to Jordan Castro