Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2022/09/27/theres-a-new-holy-shot-commemorative-tee-pad-at-the-fort/
Disc golfers who have dreamed about emulating James Conrad’s throw-in at the 2021 World Championships to force a playoff with Paul McBeth now have an opportunity to actually do so.
The Fort disc golf course now has a permanent tee pad and commemorative plaque at the exact spot where Conrad threw in an Envy from 247 feet away from the basket. Cody Nebeker, the owner of the pro shop Disctracted on site at The Fort, worked with Fort Buenaventura State Park to pour a concrete pad to forever cement Conrad’s throw in history.
The tee pad at the site of James Conrad’s Holy Shot. Photo: Disctracted.
“Being in the pro shop, I’d always get questions like, ‘Hey, where’s the spot? Where did James throw from?'” said Nebeker. Eventually, rangers from the Parks Department saw that disc golfers were looking around on the ground and inquired about what they were doing. When they heard that the players were looking for the location of Conrad’s Holy Shot, they were convinced that a memorial made sense.
Under the tee pad is buried a time capsule, filled with mementos from the tournament, including a commemorative Envy1, the Jomez T-shirt, stickers, VIP and spectator badges from Worlds, and more.
The hole 18 pin position from Worlds was a temporary layout that the normal course didn’t feature. But with the new tee pad in the ground, the plan is to keep the basket from Worlds there permanently, giving everyone the chance to try throwing it in.
The time capsule under the tee pad. Photo: Disctracted.
Players can opt to play the original hole 18 or try their luck from the gold tees and throw over the water towards the Worlds basket. They’ll just have to be careful. “As long as things go well and fishermen aren’t getting discs thrown at them a lot, the parks department is going to let us keep [the basket] in,” said Nebeker.
Since Worlds, there has been a big uptick in course traffic, with out-of-towners coming to see the course and stand on Conrad’s hallowed ground, said Nebeker.
He’ll never forget the moment either. He was 30′ from the basket when Conrad’s shot found chains. “I was thinking to myself how amazing the whole [Worlds] experience was, and here it was coming to an end. And then that happened, and it blew it out of the water even more,” he said.
“I had people asking for Envy’s the next day.”
not the one James threw in ↩