Paul Arden – Director of Competitions and PDGA Liaison

A founder and still the longest-serving board member of ADG, Paul Arden is the mastermind behind the ADG Tour and has been instrumental in the development of governance in the sport since the mid-noughties. Let’s hear from Paul

Q: How long have you played (DG) and how did you get introduced to the sport?
A: About 17 years since 2005. A friend found out about Disc Golf through VFDA (Victorian Flying Disc Association) and we played their object/lamppost course in the Fitzroy Gardens. A bit of Googling and we quickly found the now removed basket course on the Whittlesea Golf Club course, hooked ever since. First real disc, Innova XD.

Q: What is your favourite place to play in Australia and why?
A: Likely a tie between Poimena and Crater Lakes as the most beautiful and enjoyable. Closer to home I love Stony Creek Disc Golf Course because it’s less than 15 minutes from home and I can just empty my bag over and over going for aces.

Q: How did you come to be on the ADG Board? and what are the responsibilities of your position?
A: I was one of the founding board members of ADG, at a time where if you wanted to play Disc Golf you had to have a hand in organising things. I have been Director of Competitions and responsible for the ADG Tour since then.

Q: Look ahead five years – what is your vision for disc golf in Australia?
A: More courses, more tournaments, more players! The last two years has seen amazing growth of the sport to the point where we now have the ‘nice-to-have’ problems we talked about 15 years ago. Now we need to start working on ways to accommodate the huge demand for Disc Golf in Australia.

Q: Do you have any tips or advice for people thinking of getting involved in the admin/management side of disc golf?
A: Focus. Select an area you believe you can make a valuable contribution to and focus on that. There is a diverse set of requirements and more than likely there will be a way you can contribute, whether at a local level or nationally.

Thanks Paul

For a more detailed account of Paul’s life in Disc Golf have a look at the fireside chat interview we did in 2019 https://www.australiandiscgolf.com/paul-arden-a-chat…/