Jeffrey Homburg

There are extremely few examples of what a "founding father" in disc sports resembles, and Jeffrey's body of work in Oklahoma, and around the nation, is a shining example of what a HOF resume should look like; decades of playing, volunteering, and planting courses. Of the handful of men that started everything in Oklahoma, Jeff is, without a doubt, one of the most critical pieces of the puzzle that got disc sports started in the Sooner state.

To help highlight his career, and give you a starting glimpse of the importance of his work, Jeff founded the Norman Pro/Am, and the course was designed by himself and Ed Headrick back in 1978.

Jeff “Hummer Thumber” Homburg

PDGA#: 1025

HOME REGION: Tucson, Arizona (helped develop disc golf in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arizona, and Iowa while living in these states)

AFFILIATIONS, MEMBERSHIPS:

• PDGA member (since 1979)
• Tucson Chain Lightning Disc Golf Club member (since 1993)
• Chair, PDGA Technical Standards Committee (since 1989)
• Course pro, Northeast Lions Park, Norman, OK (1978-81)
• Course pro, Highland Road Park, Baton Rouge, LA (1987-88)
• Course pro, Santa Cruz Riverpark, Tucson, AZ (1989-1993)
• PDGA Eagle Club (awarded by PDGA in 2006)

GOLF ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Taught college-accredited Frisbee skills classes (1978-1980)
• PDGA Volunteer of the Year in 1994
• Inducted into the Oklahoma Flying Disc Hall of Fame in 1996
• Inducted into the Disc Golf Hall of Fame in 2012

TOURNAMENTS WON (selected wins):

Open (50+ wins total):

• 1978 Oklahoma State Champion, Tulsa, OK
• 1979 Central State Regional Champion (AR, KS, MO, NE, & OK), Lawrence, KS
• 1981 Central State Regional Champion (AR, KS, MO, NE, & OK), Lawrence, KS
• 1980 Oklahoma State Champion, Norman, OK
• 1982 Norman Pro-Am, Norman, OK
• 1982 Southern National Champion, New Orleans, LA
• 1982 Southeast Regional Champion, Huntsville, AL
• 1982 Red River Disc Golf Classic, Shrevesport, LA
• 1983 Mississippi State Champion, Hattiesburg, MS
• 1983 Waterloo Disc Golf Classic, Austin, TX
• 1987 Park Pete Open, Austin, TX
• 1989 Louisiana State Champion
• 1989 New Mexico State Champion, Albuquerque, NM
• 1996 Des Moines Open, Des Moines, IA

Masters (60+ wins total):

• 1992 Fantasy Fling, Las Vegas, NV
• 1994 Bob West Memorial, Scottsdale, AZ
• 1995 Disc Golf Journal Vegas Jackpot
• 1996 Mighty Shunganunga Open, Topeka, KS
• 1996 Oklahoma State Champion, Tulsa, OK
• 2006 Tumbleweed Open, Tucson, AZ
• 2007 Tumbleweed Open, Tucson, AZ

Grandmasters:

• 2007 New Mexico State Champion, Cloudcroft, NM

TOURNAMENTS RUN:

• 1979 & 1980 Norman Pro-Am, Norman, OK (founded)
• 1980 Oklahoma Flying Disc Championships, Norman, OK (founded)
• 1986 & 1987 Capital City Open, Baton Rouge, LA (founded)
• 1989 Louisiana State Championship, Baton Rouge, LA (founded)
• 1989-1993 Tumbleweed Open, Tucson, AZ (founded)
• 1999 Am Worlds, assistant course director, Rosedale Park, Kansas City, MO
• 2005 Am Worlds, course director, Little America course, Flagstaff, AZ

COURSES DESIGNED: Northeast Lions Park, Norman, OK; Highland Road Park, Baton Rouge, LA; Marana Rock Disc Golf Course, Marana, AZ; Santa Cruz Riverpark (long course), Tucson, AZ; Maxwell City Park, Maxwell, IA; assisted with many others.

MENTORS: Jack Fouts, Ricky McCurley (the Texas Rocket)

PROTEGES: Chris Sprague, Pete Johnson, Mickey Beitel, Dan Bent, and many others

STATEMENT OF PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS:

I adhere to the “Most fun wins” philosophy”. If I’m not enjoying what I’m doing, then it’s time to find something else to do, and that goes for every endeavor in life. As a disc golf competitor I always aimed to win, but not at all costs, as I find it more important to be respectful of others and show good sportsmanship. At this time I don’t have any serious goals in disc golf competition, as my international work in my job has caused me to scale back my time in tournament play. But I plan to keep playing for fun and I aim to continue serving as the Chair of the PDGA Technical Standards Committee for the foreseeable future. I enjoy the challenges of helping to create and further develop technical standards for discs and targets, and it’s fun to work with the different equipment manufacturers in our sport. My position as the TSC Chair provides important opportunities to help further the development of the disc golf both in the U.S. and worldwide. It is particularly gratifying to see our sport expand to far reaches of the globe.

BIRTH YEAR: 1957

PLACE OF BIRTH: Oklahoma City

HOMETOWN: Tucson, AZ

FAMILY: Mother and two sisters in my immediate family, and I was married in March, 2013.

HOW AND WHEN BEGAN PLAYING DISC GOLF: I first played disc golf in the 1977 Oklahoma State Championships, winning the Overalls and placing 2nd in disc golf, my first time ever to play disc golf!. Before then I began playing Guts in 1972 at the age of 15 in McKinley Park in Oklahoma City. I loved playing catch and other disc sports so much that I decided to start up a Frisbee Club at the University of Oklahoma in 1977. Jack Fouts, another student at OU who was experienced in Frisbee competitions, came to the first club meeting and talked me into playing in the 1977 Oklahoma State Championships that he would soon be directing. After this early success, I quickly became addicted to playing disc golf, spending much of my free time playing catch and other disc sports, and the rest is history!

HOBBIES, TALENTS, INTEREST:

Camping, photography, chess

Jeff currently works as an archaeologist and soil scientist in North America, Africa, and Asia. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in anthropology and a Ph.D. in soil science. Jeff has worked for a private archaeological consulting firm in Tucson since 1988 and is an adjunct professor in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. Jeff has authored 100+ publications, including books, monographs, and refereed journal articles.

FUN QUOTES:

"I was both the overall and disc golf champ at the 1978 Oklahoma States. The disc golf course for the 1978 states was an object course on the campus of the University of Tulsa. I recall one crazy hole that involved having to ring a bell that was ~15 ft off the ground."

“I remember playing at Riverside Park in the Tri-Tulsa Open in the late 1980s. I was first on the tee about midway through the round when the TD blew the foghorn and called the players back in due to a tornado landing within a mile of the course. A few seconds before the foghorn blew I had teed off, with my shot being abruptly redirected out of bounds into the street at a right angle right by an unbelievable gust of wind from the tornado. Fortunately for me the PDGA rule back then was that you could re-tee rather than the current rule requiring you to mark your lie first before returning to tournament central from the course. In effect, the old rule saved me at least two strokes, because when I returned to re-tee, I parked the hole and carded a birdie.”

PDGA Hall of Fame Bio