CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi 16-year-old Waden Sides just announced he's going pro in disc golf after competing in the Junior Disc Golf World Championships MJ18 division.
"It's just the funnest game I play. That's the only reason I'm doing this because when I'm feeling that disc and just start feeling that plastic it just gives me an amazing feeling inside," Sides said. "Then when I can just see it start flying through the air, shaping shots, going through fairways it's just the greatest feeling for me."
Sides discovered disc golf during COVID, and since then he's already made a name for himself by finishing tied for second at 42-under par after 5.5 rounds at the Junior Disc Golf World Championships in Illinois.
"It was awesome. I had so many friends and family contact me through the entire event saying they saw me on coverage and saw some of the live scores," Sides said. "It was just awesome to be able to know I could do this for my hometown and represent."
The best part was experiencing the Major event with his 13-year-old brother Landen.
"We usually play a lot together. That was his first Major," Sides said. "I had one prior in Michigan, but it was really cool because we got to play the same courses so we were playing lot of practice rounds together messing around."
Landen competed in the MJ15 division. He finished 21 at 15-under par.
"It was an absolutely awesome thing because I started out with him completely starting out doing nothing," Landen Sides said. "Like being a sub-par disc golfers to being one of the greatest disc golfers I've ever seen in-person."
Waden takes pride in perfecting his putting.
"It's from 30 to about 50 feet, and the way you do it is you just put your fingers under the rim and you put one finger along the edge," Sides said. "You want to bring it to your body and go forwards."
This is just the beginning for Sides who just announced he is going pro, and he's ready to help the game go the distance.
"It was really cool to see at Junior Worlds how many kids there actually are in this game and how many different forms there are," Sides said.
The World Championships featured athletes from around 13 different countries.
Anyone interested in learning more about disc golf in the Coastal Bend can connect with Third Coast Disc Golf and Corpus Christi Disc Golfers on Facebook.
Upcoming Tournaments in the Coastal Bend
August 5 - Rudy Marinez Memorial Sinton Open at Rob and Bessie Welder Park
August 12 - 2nd Annual Rockport Open at Memorial Park
September 23-24 - The Riverside Rumble by ONESTAR Golf & Lucky ACE at Riverside Park in Victoria
October 14-15 - The West Guth Challenge by ONESTAR in Corpus Christi
November 18-19 - Third Coast Memorial at Live Oak Park in Ingleside
