Community Education Sports

Gig Harbor student hits disc golf pro tour, studies on the go

Posted on August 21st, 2024 By: Christina T Henry

Disc golf may not be an Olympic sport yet, but when (if) that happens, Carter Ahrens, 17, will be one to watch as a potential U.S. team member.

Ahrens, of Gig Harbor, is spending 2024 on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, which dad Chuck explains is the top tier of competition in the sport. One of the youngest players on the tour, he’s going up against professionals who’ve been at it for years. And he’s turning heads.

Ahrens has played in tournaments and tour events across the U.S. and beyond. So far this year, he’s attended 17 events, from Florida to British Columbia. With all that time on the road, he manages to stay on track toward his high school diploma as a student with Washington Virtual Academies, a program of Omak School District in north-central Washington.

“With the support of WAVA and his family, Carter continues to excel both academically and athletically, proving that with determination and the right support system, anything is possible,” said Virginia Chavez, a WAVA publicist.

Carter Ahrens, 17, of Gig Harbor is one of the youngest players on the 2024 Disc Golf Pro Tour. He went pro in 2021 and had a breakout year in 2023, earning him a sponsorship with Lone Star Disc Golf of Conroe, Texas. His career tournament earnings total more than $16,000. Disc Golf Pro Tour

A promising young star

Ahrens has been playing disc golf since he was 7. A babysitter introduced him and his brother Tyler to the sport.

“He brought me and my brother out every day for two summers,” Ahrens said. “Then there’s this random guy that thought we were really good at a young age, and he said, ‘There’s a tournament out here.” Carter took first and Tyler second in the tournament. “So, then we just loved it ever since,” he said.

Ahrens crushed the competition left and right in junior divisions of the Professional Disc Golf Association, which oversees junior (under 18), amateur and pro play. At 12, he broke the under-13 age-group world record for distance held by the illustrious David Wiggins Jr., throwing the disc 624 feet, 11 inches.

In 2019, at age 12, Ahrens represented the U.S. in the World Team Disc Golf Championships in the Eastern European nation of Estonia. The U.S. team placed 14^th out of 17. “The scenery was amazing,” Ahrens said.

Tyler Ahrens, who is 20 months older than Carter, is a freshman at Boise State and will play disc golf for his school.

Carter Ahrens of Gig Harbor competes on the Disc Golf Pro Tour while pursuing his diploma through Washington Virtual Acadameies. Photo by Christina T. Henry

About the sport

The person considered the “father of disc golf” is “Steady” Ed Headrick, who patented the Frisbee in 1966 as an employee of Wham-O, according to an article posted by the PDGA. Headrick in 1975 patented the Disc Golf Pole Hole, a chain draped basket, which is the basis of all disc golf targets today.

The question of who played the first game of disc golf, however, remains unsettled. Reports of golf played with a flying disc pop up in different areas of the country in the late 1960s and ‘70s. Seeing interest in the fledgling sport on the rise, Headrick in 1975 installed the first official disc golf course in Pasadena, California. He founded the PDGA in 1976.

Unlike the original Frisbee, today’s disc golf discs are smaller and more compact. As in golf, there are nine-hole, 18-hole and even some larger courses. Unlike golf, the equipment needed is simple and relatively cheap: a disc, a carry bag that doesn’t have to be fancy, and some chalk for your hands. Unlike golf, there are no hefty greens fees. Most courses are free. It’s played year ’round, even in the snow and rain.

Carter Ahrens, 17, of Gig Harbor is one of the youngest players on the 2024 Disc Golf Pro Tour. Ahrens holds several records, including the U13 world distance record. At 12, he threw the disc 624 feet and 11 inches. Photo by Disc Golf Pro Tour

‘A bigger catapult’

Ahrens says it doesn’t take strength to throw the disc far. “You just have to be lanky,” he said (and he is). “So, there’s a ton of super-tall people on the tour since they have the long winds. It’s basically just a bigger catapult.”

Ahrens routinely throws drives longer than 600 feet. His fastest throw ever clocked in at 81 miles per hour. Besides speed and distance, he has placement skills. Videos on his social media profile show him threading the disc through a long column of trees and throwing a distance shot where the disc goes nearly out of sight, banking at the last minute to land cozied up to the basket.

Like golf, however, the short game requires finesse. “You can’t throw it too hard into the basket or it’s going to just come straight back out,” he said.

Ahrens practices relentlessly, not because he feels driven by external pressures, but because he enjoys throwing and wants to become the best he can be. Sometimes his parents have to get him to chill.

Like golf, disc golf is also a head game.

“You basically can’t be too emotional,” Ahrens said. “I’ve just been working on the mental part of disc golf since I’ve showed that I’ve got the skills, and I just need to be better mentally.”

Road to the pro tour

Ahrens turned pro in 2021, when he was 15, and had a breakout year in 2023, earning him a spot on the 2024 touring team representing Lone Star Disc Golf of Conroe, Texas.

The first tournament that propelled him forward last year was the Beaver State Fling in Oregon.

Carter Ahrens, 17, of Gig Harbor is one of the youngest players on the 2024 Disc Golf Pro Tour. He’s played in 17 tournaments so far in 2024. His parents Chuck and Anna Ahrens tag team taking him to events all over the U.S. and in Canada. Photo by Disc Golf Pro Tour

“I played pretty good,” Ahrens recalls. He was hovering among the top 20. “Then I shot the hot round, which means the best round of the tournament in the third day. That bumped me all the way up to fifth place.” That round set a course record.

Ahrens finished 15^th out of more than 100 players at the Portland Open shortly afterward. “Those two tournaments basically got my name out there,” he said.

Ahrens had interviews with the Disc Golf Network, which offers video coverage of high-profile events. The buzz was building.

Landing a sponsorship

Dad Chuck, acting as his manager, put out feelers for Ahrens as to what the future might hold career-wise. Still just 16, his combination of youth plus skills seemed promising.

“In the whole world right now, there’s probably five, maybe 10 people that look like him. So, trying to put a value on that was hard,” Chuck said. “So, I reached out to one of the players that are currently on Lone Star, and then when I asked him questions, he was like, ‘Hey, would you consider coming here?’”

Ahrens landed a one-year sponsorship with Lone Star (subject to a non-disclosure agreement). The deal includes a salary, which covers his travel, promotion and a cut of sales from discs and other merchandise featuring Ahrens’ name or logo. He’s even got his own trading cards, which are a big hit when he does clinics for school kids.

In turn, Ahrens does promotional posts and videos featuring Lone Star. His dad, also his publicist, helps him maintain an active presence on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Separate from the sponsorship, his career tournament winnings total more than $16,000. And consider this: Some pros at the top of their game earn six figures annually, according to Chuck Ahrens.

The future looks bright, but first … graduate high school.

Education on the go

Several years ago, when Ahrens started attending more tournaments out of the region, he began struggling to keep up in school simply due to logistics. Teachers couldn’t always give him work to complete in advance.

During the pandemic, Peninsula School District offered online classes through Henderson Bay High School, and that worked well. By 2021, however, the district had scaled back its virtual instruction offerings. Around the same time, Ahrens was diagnosed with dyslexia.

It was then the family learned about Washington Virtual Academies. WAVA is a K-12 public school open to all Washington residents. It is operated within Omak School District but instruction by Washington-certified teachers is conducted entirely online.

Students and staff come from all corners of the state. Enrollment last year was more than 4,400. WAVA is ideal for students who need flexibility because of extracurricular activities, work or family responsibilities, said Hailey Chamberlain, WAVA community engagement specialist.

“WAVA has been amazing for Carter for many reasons,” said his mom, Anna Ahrens. “As Carter travels and competes, he has appreciated the flexibility and being able to complete his work when it’s best for his schedule.”

Ahrens gets accommodations for his dyslexia, like extra time on tests, and he’s thriving in the online environment. He typically completes a day’s work in about three hours, leaving plenty of time to practice, travel and play in events on the road. Ahrens doesn’t miss all the social aspects of traditional high school because he has strong network of friends on the disc golf circuit.

What the future holds

Chuck and Anna Ahrens are fortunate that their jobs allow flexibility to travel with Carter to tournaments. The couple tag team travel duties. And they’re there to support their son whether he’s had a hard day on the course or celebrating a big win.

Their philosophy, according to Chuck, is to provide him with the opportunity and let him do with it what he will.

Ahrens, for all his success to date, is low-key and humble, matter-of-fact about his wins, focused on his game not to please with world but himself.

“Basically, I’m just trying to get as far in disc golf as I can,” he said. “If that’s, like, becoming the best, one of the best in the world, then I’ll do that.”