This is the second in a three-part series celebrating the pageant and history of the PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Special thanks to Brian Hoeniger for contributions to this story. Pictured above: Ken Climo in "Disc Golf World News," 1991.

As the calendar turned from the 1980s to the 1990s, Zach Morris and the other kids at Bayside High became high schoolers, garage bands from Seattle achieved superstar status they pretended they weren’t interested in, and disc golf proved its staying power across North America, regions of Europe and a few Asia-Pacific countries.

Pro Worlds History 101: The Early Years »

Like foreshocks before an earthquake, the professional disc golfers that would shake the sport via their dominance had already arrived on the scene, but had yet to fully unleash their power. 

From the early 1990s through the early 2000s, professional disc golf would witness an ever increasing number of players, from new parts of the United States and eventually the world, become weekly contenders and even achieve “disc golf celebrity” status. 

But…

The PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships would be noteworthy due to their control by a single player in the MPO field, and by an exclusive club of multi-time champions in FPO.

Dominance: 1990-2006

In 1989, a skinny 19-year-old from Florida came out of nowhere to win the doubles event at the world championships in Iowa. In 1990, in Phoenix, he would win by a single stroke over Sam Grizzaffi. This victory would be Ken Climo’s closest margin of victory en route to 12 (!) world championships in 17 years, ending in 2006. From 1990 to 1998, Climo was undefeated at the world championships, with numbers 10, 11 and 12 coming in 2000, 2002 and 2006 respectively. 

It was dominance reminiscent of the New York Yankees of the late 1940s and 1950s, the Boston Celtics of the 1960s, or Tiger Woods in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But in Climo’s case, passionate fans did not follow along by radio, console televisions or cable sports channels. Instead, one had to witness Climo in person or try to get ahold of copies of grainy VHS tapes recapping the action.

Some of those tapes still exist. Whether the owner will part with them for any sum of money is a separate research project. However, if one were to secure a screening of a 1990s or early 2000s Worlds video, “Ken Climo” wouldn’t be the only name heard on a loop.

Canada-born Elaine King played in her first PDGA Pro Worlds in Tulsa, OK in 1985, finishing 15th. Over the next five years, King would finish 8th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd. 

Then in 1991, King went wire-to-wire in Dayton, OH, lapping the field by 10 strokes, to win her first world championship. She would win the next three as well.

King missed the world championships in 1995 (Becky Powell won) and took fourth in 1996 (Beth Tanner won) before reclaiming the crown in 1997 (by 25 strokes!) in Charlotte, N.C., capping off a run of five world titles in seven years.

In 1998, King would finish second… by 13 strokes… to Juliana Korver of Orange City, Iowa.

Korver turned professional during the 1995 season and had appeared in just two world championships as a pro before 1998’s breakthrough year. She would go on to win four titles in-a-row, and five within six years, enjoying margins of victory of 19, 11, 7, and 11.

Des Reading captured the title Korver missed, in 2002, and would win again in 2005. Then in 2006, playing a world championship hosted near the present-day International Disc Golf Center and home of the PDGA itself, Reading bested a field which included, yet again, both King and Korver, by nine strokes.

In the 17-year stretch from 1990 to 2006, King, Korver and Reading would account for 13 of 17 FPO world titles. Climo alone would claim 12 of 17 titles in the MPO division.

Knowing about these dominant performances throughout the era might earn a point on trivia night. But for those seeking more…

A Deeper Dive… in the words of Brian Hoeniger

Once again, (as in part one) we take a more detailed look at PDGA Pro Worlds History.  This time Brian Hoeniger, the executive director responsible for leading the PDGA through the turn of the century, highlights some of the professional disc golf world championships contested during this era. 

1990 - Phoenix, AZ

• MPO field - 180
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 16
• FPO winner - Amy Shiller

Contested at the famous Fountain Hills, as well as several other area courses including Shelly Sharpe, most agreed the 1990 edition of PDGA Pro Worlds was the best to-date. Eight rounds (eight!) were contested in beautiful, early October weather, with “Crazy” John Brooks leading much of the way in MPO, where players at 45-under-par missed the cut. Ken Climo surged into contention during the semifinals, then in the finals, Climo birdied a 410-foot par 3 – a lengthy hole in its day – to gain the stroke he needed and win his first world championship. In the FPO division, Amy Shiller cruised to a 19-stroke victory over Elaine King and the rest of the field.

1991 - Dayton, OH

• MPO field - 160
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 16
• FPO winner - Elaine King

1992 - Detroit, MI

• MPO field - 164
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 16
• FPO winner - Elaine King

1993 - Huntsville, AL

• MPO field - 136
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 16
• FPO winner - Elaine King

The 1993 PDGA Pro Worlds in Huntsville was one of the first years where players from outside the U.S. and Canada “arrived” on the scene. Fredrik Granåsen and Tomas Ekstrom – both from Sweden – finished in the top 10. The Swedish duo also won the doubles championship over a field of about 50 doubles teams. 

1994 - Port Arthur, TX

• MPO field - 151
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 25
• FPO winner - Elaine King

Elaine King pictured in "Disc Golf World News," 1994.

1995 - Port Arthur, TX

• MPO field - 114
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 18
• FPO winner - Becky Powell

John Houck – known to today’s audiences as a premier disc golf course designer – was the tournament director for the 1994 and 1995 world championships. Unsurprisingly, the “next-level” design of the championship courses is the most memorable aspect of these tournaments. The layouts were on “Pleasure Island,” which featured gulf views and some water in play. Par 5 holes were contested for the first time, making some members of the field the first to card “traditional” eagles in a world championship.

1996 - South Bend, IN

• MPO field - 160
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 30
• FPO winner - Beth Tanner

Ken Climo on the cover after his "unprecedented" seventh MPO world title. He would win five more.

1997 - Charlotte, NC

• MPO field - 164
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 27
• FPO winner - Elaine King

Portions of 1997 PDGA Pro Worlds were played at Winthrop University, over the same ground that now hosts USDGC. Just before the event began, Elaine King – who would go on to win by 25 strokes – was inducted into the Disc Golf Hall of Fame. 

In this era, players were permitted to request to be grouped with friends or travel partners. Player pools were not assigned by player rating. Due to weather in the Rock Hill, SC area, this grouping policy resulted in some players getting to play the Winthrop course in substantially better conditions than some fellow competitors with similar ratings. After 1997, player pools would be formed differently, to ensure – as much as possible – players of similar capability would compete directly with each other.

1998 - Cincinnati, OH

• MPO field - 179
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 29
• FPO winner - Juliana Korver

1999 - Rochester, NY

• MPO field - 173
• MPO winner - Ron Russell
• FPO field - 25
• FPO winner - Juliana Korver

2000 - Ann Arbor, MI

• MPO field - 238
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 26
• FPO winner - Juliana Korver

The 2000 event was the first of two professional-and-amateur joint world championships. The week featured six courses, and all players – professional and amateur, with the exception of young juniors – played the exact same tournament. Same tees, same basket placements. Additionally, the payout for professional players exceeded $92,000 – by far the largest payout to-date.

Also of note, the 2000 disc golf world championships served as a qualifier for the 2001 world games – the only time that disc golf was featured. Therefore, an increased number of players from outside North America participated. Jesper Lundmark of Sweden finished 3rd in MPO.

2001 - St. Paul, MN

• MPO field - 201
• MPO winner - Cameron Todd
• FPO field - 28
• FPO winner - Juliana Korver

Juliana Korver used to play disc golf. She still does, but she used to, too... (Credit: comedian Mitch Hedberg) ...and has won five world championships.

2002 - Houston, TX

• MPO field - 126
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 14
• FPO winner - Des Reading

Des Reading sinks the winning putt at the 2002 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships. 

2003 - Flagstaff, AZ

• MPO field - 150
• MPO winner - Barry Schultz
• FPO field - 22
• FPO winner - Juliana Korver

In the several years prior to 2003 PDGA Pro Worlds, the PDGA began taking a more administrative role in putting on the event. (In earlier years, local clubs handled all aspects of the events). The PDGA event team was put to the test in Flagstaff. The featured course for pro worlds was on the ski resort at Mt. Humphrey. There, during round one, a storm blew in, dropping the temperature into the 40s, with lightning and hail. It was an emergency situation never faced at a world championships, and the directors had to, first, ensure the safety of players, fans and staff. Then, players needed to be guided through the process of resuming following a suspension of play. It was a first for Pro Worlds.

On the same course, the finishing hole was nearly 900 feet, downhill. Elaine King, throwing a midrange disc, threw a tee shot that glanced off the basket, startling the group ahead which was putting. Bystanders called it the “greatest shot in disc golf” up until that point in hostory.

Markus Källström of Sweden finished 2nd in MPO (he would do so again in 2007). This is the highest finish ever by an international player in MPO at Pro Worlds.

2004 - Des Moines, IA

• MPO field - 154
• MPO winner - Barry Schultz
• FPO field - 26
• FPO winner - Birgitta Lagerholm

In 2004’s PDGA Pro Worlds, the FPO division was won by the only non-North American winner to-date. Birgitta Lagerholm of Sweden nearly lost a massive, 13 throw lead on the final day, but hung on to win by two over Des Reading.

2005 - Lehigh Valley, PA

• MPO field - 130
• MPO winner - Nate Doss
• FPO field - 24
• FPO winner - Des Reading

2006 - Augusta, GA

• MPO field - 125
• MPO winner - Ken Climo
• FPO field - 25
• FPO winner - Des Reading

In 2006, Des Reading went back-to-back for her second and third FPO world titles, while Ken Climo won his 12th and last MPO championship. 

“The Champ” era would give way to another era in PDGA Pro Worlds history… one populated by many players who continue to make their marks, and who will be competing in this year’s 2022 PDGA Pro Worlds in Emporia, KS.