John Houck

John Houck
Born (1960-05-15) May 15, 1960
Long Beach, California, USA
Occupation Disc Golf Course Designer
Spouse(s) Dee Leekha-Houck

John Houck was born May 15, 1960 in Long Beach, California. He has designed more Championship disc golf courses than anyone living today. Since 1983, he has been devoted to the evolution and promotion of disc sports, including golf, ultimate, and freestyle, with a focus on the growth of disc golf since 1988.

Career overview

John Houck began his career in disc sports with back-to-back World Champion titles in Freestyle Frisbee for 1984 and 1985. In 1989 John founded the Circular Skies Over Texas tour, which was the largest regional disc sports tour in the country. He was Commissioner of the Professional Disc Golf Association <www.pdga.com> from 1994 to 1996, and was President of the Disc Golf Foundation from 1998 till 2014. He was inducted to the Disc Golf Hall of Fame in 1998 <http://www.pdga.com/DGHOF/1998/john-houck>. John is the Head of Course Design for the International Disc Golf Center, and has designed or consulted on course designs for numerous world and national tournaments, with over 130 course designs, revisions, and consultations spanning his career. John Houck is also the Founder of the annual World's Biggest Disc Golf Weekend, <www.WBDGW.com>, an international public event that was started in May 1991. The event raised money for local, national and international non-profits while it introduced disc golf to people around the world. Houck's company, Circular Productions, held the event first weekend in May every year and at its peak, the event was hosted by 130 cities around the world.

Houck is widely considered to be the premier course designer for disc golf based on the quantity (solo designs) and quality of the courses he has designed. His philosophy for course design includes the showcasing of natural land features and beauty that is unique to each property.

His course design has ranked #1 in the world by player reviews in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 according to <dgcoursereview.com>, the oldest and largest ranking platform for disc golf courses. Lakeside, Selah Ranch, Mt. Vernon, Texas, continues to rank #1 in 2016.

Disc Golf courses

The following disc golf courses were wholly designed by John Houck:

  1. Cedar Glades County Park, Hot Springs, AR
  2. Rose Hill South Championship, Kamloops, BC CANADA
  3. Rose Hill North Championship, Kamloops, BC CANADA
  4. Bonita Rec Center, Bonita Springs, FL
  5. International Disc Golf Center South Course, Augusta, GA
  6. Hobbs Farm, Carrollton, GA
  7. Fox River Park, Ottawa, IL
  8. Garland Scout Ranch, Stonewall, LA
  9. South Pasture, State Forest, Nantucket Island, MA
  10. Strawn Park, Columbia, MO
  11. St. John's College, Santa Fe, NM
  12. Rock Ridge Park, Pittsboro, NC
  13. Hillcrest Farms, Prince Edward Island
  14. Cain Championship, Athens TX
  15. Cain Park, Athens, TX
  16. Pinnacle Country Club Championship, Athens TX
  17. Aqua Fest Championship, Austin TX
  18. Austin Ridge Bible Church, Austin TX
  19. Bartholomew Championship, Austin TX
  20. Searight Alternate, Austin, TX
  21. Searight Park, Austin, TX
  22. Slaughter Creek Metro Park, Austin, TX
  23. Southwest Trails, Austin, TX
  24. Zilker Championship, Austin TX
  25. Zilker Park Original, Austin, TX
  26. Zilker Park South, Austin, TX
  27. MetCenter, Austin, TX
  28. City Lake Park, Boerne, TX
  29. Guadalupe River Resort Ranch, Boerne, TX
  30. Austins Colony Park, Bryan, TX
  31. Camelot Park, Bryan, TX
  32. Greenbelt Championship, Carrollton TX
  33. Brushy Creek Trail, Cedar Park, TX
  34. Williamson County Park, Cedar Park, TX
  35. City Park, Clute, TX
  36. Research Park, College Station, TX
  37. Wolf Pen Creek DGC, College Station, TX
  38. Andrew Brown East/West, Coppell, TX
  39. West Guth Park, Corpus Christi, TX
  40. Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, TX
  41. Edinburg City DG Course, Edinburg, TX
  42. Eagle Ranch DGC, Fort Worth, TX
  43. South Z. Boas Park, Fort Worth, TX
  44. Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
  45. Rivery Park, Georgetown, TX
  46. San Gabriel Park, Georgetown, TX
  47. Gonzales City DG Course, Gonzales, TX
  48. Dixie Land Park, Harlingen TX
  49. Quatro Hermanas Ranch, Henly, TX
  50. Live Oak Park, Ingleside, TX
  51. Schreiner University, Kerrville TX
  52. Steeplechase Park, Kyle, TX
  53. Lago Vista Resort Temporary, Lago Vista TX
  54. Original Live Oak, Live Oak, TX
  55. Live Oak Lake Course, Live Oak, TX
  56. Live Oak Hill Course, Live Oak, TX
  57. Live Oak East Course, Live Oak, TX
  58. Westside Park, Marble Falls, TX
  59. Wilson Creek Park, McKinney, TX
  60. Wilson Creek Temporary, McKinney TX
  61. Trey Deuce, Mt. Vernon, TX
  62. Texas Twist, Mt. Vernon, TX
  63. Prince Solms Park, New Braunfels, TX
  64. Tournament Temporary, New Braunfels TX
  65. Berry's Treasure, Port Arthur, TX
  66. Circle R Ranch, Port Arthur, TX
  67. The Ponderosa, Port Arthur, TX
  68. Moody's Disc Country Club, Red Rock, TX
  69. Harry Myers Park, Rockwall, TX
  70. Cat Hollow, Round Rock, TX
  71. Old Settlers Park, Round Rock, TX
  72. Old Settlers South, Round Rock, TX
  73. Inwood Hollow, San Antonio, TX
  74. Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
  75. Greytown Park, San Antonio, TX
  76. Colorado River DGC, San Saba, TX
  77. Meandering Greenbelt DGC, San Saba, TX
  78. Strawbale Field DGC, San Saba, TX
  79. City Park, Seymour TX
  80. Selah Ranch Lakeside, Talco, TX
  81. Selah Ranch Creekside, Talco, TX
  82. South Temple Community Park, Temple, TX
  83. Riverside Park, Victoria, TX
  84. Cameron Park, Waco, TX
  85. Cameron Park Temporary, Waco, TX
  86. Greenbelt Park, Wells Branch, TX
  87. Rolling Meadow DGC, Wimberley, TX
  88. Circ Hill DGC, Wimberley, TX
  89. Frost Valley YMCA, Claryville, NY
  90. McCord Park, Little Elm, TX
  91. Woodway Park, Woodway, TX
  92. Dry Creek Greenbelt, Cheyenne, WY
  93. Tall Firs DGC, Monroe, WA

Disc sports events

PDGA Amateur World Doubles Championships

Houck created and hosted the PDGA Amateur World Doubles Championships each year for 15 years. From 2013-2015, this event was held at Selah Ranch in Talco, Texas, the most highly ranked courses in the world. Prior to 2013, it was held on Houck's personal ranch and courses.

World's Biggest Disc Golf Weekend

In 1991, Houck created World's Biggest Disc Golf Weekend, an international disc golfing event that raises money for non-profit organizations. As of 2013,the event was taking place simultaneously in 15 countries and 135 cities. Headquartered in Austin, Texas in the first weekend in May, this event started in Zilker Park.

Texas Teams

In November, 2011, the Circle R Disc Golf ranch hosted the Texas Teams Tournament with over 500 players and fans from across the state of Texas attending a three-day event that included disc golf, camping, and live music. Texas Teams Disc Golf Championships are non-sanctioned events and players compete for honor and not official titles. Special team awards for this event include the "spirit award" and the "best dressed team award". Created by Houck in 2000 to provide an event for players who share the love of the sport to simply enjoy the weekend with other disc golfers, the Texas Teams Tournament became the largest disc golf team event in the world. It is now run by Straight Line Discs at Selah Ranch each fall.

Disc sports media

Awards and Distinctions

References

  1. ↑ PDGA Disc Golfer Magazine
  2. ↑ Heinsville.com AFO Live Stream
  3. ↑ Freestyle Players Association, Freestyle Tournament Results, 1985 FPA World Championships
  4. ↑ PDGA Board of Directors - Historical List
  5. ↑ Disc Golf Hall of Fame
  6. ↑ DGCDwiki
  7. ↑ Disc Golf Foundation
  8. ↑ Circular Productions, About
  9. ↑ HouckDesign, John's Bio
  10. ↑ Millennium Golf Discs, About Us
  11. ↑ DG Course Review, Top Ranked Courses Listing

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 16, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.