Pro disc golfers Nate Sexton, left, and Paul McBeth discuss a hole while playing a round at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
SABATTUS — Dozens of local disc golf players were in the middle of heated competition Saturday. Yet many of them stopped what they were doing and took a moment to watch a couple friends casually play.
That the two friends are two of the best professional disc golfers in the world might have had something to do with that.
Paul McBest and Nate Sexton brought their McBeast Challenge tournament to Sabattus Disc Golf, and that brought out more than 100 players from all over New England and beyond.
“We brought it to Sabattus because (owner Peter Ruby) has this great facility here, he’s got these awesome courses,” McBeth, nicknamed “McBeast,” said. “We had one in Maine last year, and we just felt like this would be a … perfect venue.”
The pair of Professional Disc Golf Association pros brought their challenge to Pleasant Hill Disc Golf in Scarborough last year. Sexton said the support they received from the disc golf community in Maine made them want to come back to the state.
McBeth got a first-hand look at Sabattus Disc Golf last fall when his fiancee, women’s pro Hannah Croke, played in the PDGA’s U.S. Women’s Championship at the course.
Sexton, who is newer to the facility, marveled at the pro shop, as well as the multiple courses Sabattus Disc Golf offers.
McBeth and Sexton got a chance to play the facility’s Falcon course themselves Saturday, and they played through while the tournament participants tackled both the Falcon and Hawk courses. At nearly every stop, the amateur players watched in amazement as the pros put their skills on display. One player told the pros that he was “psyched” that they came to Maine.
“We’re reaching fans, in a place like this, you’re a few hours from any kind of professional, national-level tournament. We’re reaching players that might otherwise never get to see the best players in the world,” Sexton said.
That was one of the main goals McBeth and Sexton had in creating the McBeast Challenge. Besides being an additional source of income and a marketing tool for sponsor Innova — a disc golf equipment company that whose products Sabattus Disc Golf carries heavily — the challenge allows the pros to visit courses that the PDGA tour doesn’t go to, as well as bringing in new fans to the sport. The challenge requires participants to use just three discs: The player’s choice between one of two Innova drivers, a specific Innova mid-range disc, and the player’s own putter.
McBeth said he estimates 30 to 40 percent of participants in various McBeast Challenges are playing in their first competitive tournament.
Sexton and McBeth have been playing for a while, however — Sexton, the No. 6 player in the world, has been a pro since 2004, while the third-ranked McBeth went pro in 2008.
Saturday’s round on Falcon was much more casual than any on the pro tour. They played a worst-shot format, with many more grins than groans.
Saturday’s event could be a bittersweet one for the pair. Not only did it bring to a close their third year of putting on the McBeast Challenge, but maybe the tournament itself as well.
“This could be the last McBeast Challenge that there ever is,” Sexton said. “It’s hard to say. We’re at different points in our lives.”
Sexton went on to say that the he and McBeth will continue to do events together in the future, but possibly in a different form. But the McBeast Challenge, if it is finished, was something “far bigger” than McBeth and Sexton could have ever anticipated, according to McBeast himself.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
Pro disc golfers Nate Sexton, far right, and Paul McBeth, middle, put on a clinic during their McBeast Challenge event at Sabattus Disc Golf on Saturday.
Pro disc golfer Nate Sexton, right, follows through on a throw while fellow pro Paul McBeth looks on while playing a round at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Pro disc golfers Nate Sexton, front, and Paul McBeth take a look a hole while playing a round at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Pro disc golfer Paul McBeth gets ready to throw while playing a round with fellow pro Nate Sexton at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Pro disc golfer Nate Sexton, far left, tracks his throw from the trees while playing a round with fellow pro Paul McBeth (not pictured) at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Pro disc golfer Nate Sexton follows through on a throw while playing a round with fellow pro Paul McBeth at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Pro disc golfer Paul McBeth tracks his throw while playing a round with fellow pro Nate Sexton at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Pro disc golfer Nate Sexton ftracks his throw while playing a round with fellow pro Paul McBeth at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Pro disc golfers Nate Sexton, left, and Paul McBeth track a throw while playing a round at Sabattus Disc Golf during their McBeast Challenge event on Saturday.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
