1000 RATED: Since you originally came from the Kalamazoo, MI area, your World Championship win this year was a great achievement. Winning by 14 at -100 with an average round rating of 1049.8 is very impressive. What was the experience like for you, and what kind of mental and physical preparation did you do before the 2008 tournament?

DAVE: Well, it was a great experience being able to play in front of my friends and family back where I learned. It was a great opportunity to get the support you need to win a world title. For preparation, what I did was I came a week early and I played each course one day at a time and took my time on each course. By the time everybody showed up to town for worlds I had played every course once - plus I had played Cold Brook and Oshtemo many times when I used to live in Kalamazoo. So I felt really comfortable on the courses and I didn’t ever have to second guess my shot. I knew what I was going to throw the moment I walked every hole during the Championship, and I think that’s really helpful when it comes to coming through in the pressure moments.

1000 RATED: Nikko Locastro was making a run for it early on at World’s. Though still young, he’s obviously a very talented player. Tell us a little about playing with Nikko during those rounds - what did you see from him that you were impressed with? For some of the younger or newer players of the sport, anything he could do to improve his still developing skills?

DAVE: You know, playing with Nikko was interesting, I’ve had some time with him before the World’s where he’s definitely had that young, out of control behavior. But he really came to the World’s with a different attitude. One of the things that impressed me the most was that he came with an attitude where he wasn’t going to blow up as easy. Maybe the second or third round we played together I noticed that even though he hadn’t made his best shots on some holes he didn’t freak out. I found that to be very helpful for his game and his ability to score well. I also noticed that his putting had come along a little better. For the younger players - he was really making a lot of nice putts, and he was making a lot of push putts, which I find to be one of the more important things to becoming a quality player - you know, being able to make push putts like Ken Climo and Barry Schultz. So his style has the push putt style, and for three or four rounds I don’t think his putter touched the ground.

For his shot making abilities, I’d say the thing that impressed me most is that he’s able to throw an inside out shot short distance. I think a lot of players can do that in an open field, but it’s one of the shots that I have that I usually make a stroke on most players with - and that’s throwing under a 330 foot shot with hyzer, having it turn through a gap, and then turn over to get to a pin. That’s something he could do, and every time I did it he would match me with that shot. So I found that quite impressive, and that’s something from frisbee skills that a lot of the players don’t learn because their discs are too overstable when they buy them.

He is still fidgety though - he didn’t bug me so much - maybe once or twice throughout the week, but he bothered other players including Markus Kallstrom. He moved around a lot, and I think he has a hard time standing still. You know, that just comes from being young, I think. Players had to reset a couple times when he was moving or he’d cross the lie when he shouldn’t have. I think he was trying to do the right thing, but he just doesn’t know what the right thing is yet.

A lot of people are down on Nikko a lot, and I’m going to say that that’s wrong - you know, all of us started somewhere - we we’re all out of line at some point when we we’re younger, and I think they’re just jealous they don’t have the skills he has at his age. I think that he’s coming along - I think he still needs more polishing - he needs a mentor. He needs somebody like a Climo - or somebody like me even who would be willing to take him under his wing - and someone who he respects enough where he’ll allow that to happen. Because right now, he kind of has that cocky edge like - I’m great, I can throw any shot you can throw, how are you going to help me? So he definitely needs to realize that he hasn’t learned everything, and there are things to be learned from everybody. So if he can find himself a mentor he has the opportunity to be great. Plus, he has started to throw all three brands of of discs - so he was throwing Gateway, Discraft and Innova during the tournament.

Overall - I think he’s a good talent - he impressed me - though I think he was peaking a bit, you know - having some great rounds. I knew it would be impressive if he’d held on and made the finals. Everyone kept saying he was a shoe-in - I just know how it goes, and I tried to explain it to him. He kept saying to me, “I can’t wait to play in the finals with you,” when we we’re playing together, but I told him to keep his goals reasonable - and I’ve been telling him this for years - “make a reasonable goal and achieve it.” I explained that many times I’ve been winning the World’s in the fourth round - matter of fact 3 times. Each one of those World’s I did not make the finals.

He ended up tied for 10th place and I was happy for him - I know he was unhappy with his finish because people always look at what could have been, but overall he finished 10th in the world and I think that’s a great improvement for him. So I think he’s on his way, he just needs to take smaller steps - he’s going to get there - but if you take two big steps sometimes you skip stuff and you don’t get what you need when you make it to the top.

1000 RATED: Ken Climo has twice won both the World’s and USDGC in the same year. The only other person to accomplish this was Barry Schultz in 2003. You already have one USDGC win under your belt - have you thought about this - is it a personal goal to win this “double crown” of sorts - both World’s and USDGC in the same year?

DAVE: It is a goal, but I haven’t looked at it like that. The goal for me is to hold what would be considered a “grand slam” - just like in other sports where you have four major majors. We have the Japan Open, USDGC, World’s and the Players Cup. So if I can win USDGC I could be holding all four titles at once. That’s one of my big things and I don’t know what people would call it - I would call it the “Borg Slam” - but I want to do something they haven’t done. I know that sounds cocky in a way, but I want to do something above them, and right now winning that title is something that no one has ever done. The fact is, having all four of those majors at once would be an accomplishment - and that’s what my goal is.

1000 RATED: Will you be taking any time off before USDGC and how early will you be there to practice?

DAVE: I took this last weekend off, but I will be playing 3 tournaments before the US Open. I’m going to play the Utah Challenge next weekend - it’s a big A-tier. Then I’m going to play my local B-tier in Eugene - they have a B-tier that I never get to play and this year I’m going to be home - so I’m going to play it. And then I’m going to play the Augusta Classic in Georgia just because I want to go visit some friends - Kevin McCoy and Courtney Peavey. I’ll go see their coffee shop and then go to the IDGC and play the tournament. Then I’ll fly home, and 6 days later I’m going to fly to the USDGC and I’ll be there on the Wednesday before the tournament starts. Avery and I are going to play the US doubles Championships on Saturday and Sunday - we’re paired up - they have this new US doubles Championships they’re going to have. The top 24 players get to pick who they want to play with - should be a great time and a big turnout.

1000 RATED: Your rating is currently 1039, the highest it has ever been, as well as the current best in the sport. 10 years ago at this time, you were rated 926, and it actually took you another 3 years and 75 tournaments later to reach the 1000 rated mark. Can you tell our readers about how you developed your game over that timeframe; what type of practice and training best helped you refine your skillset, as well as who you played or practiced with that helped you gain confidence the most during your rise to the top?

DAVE: In terms of moving from 926 to 1000, what happened with that was just exposing myself to the game. Being at all of those 75 tournaments that it took for me to get there, being around the players who are the best - seeing what they do - trying to mimic it. Being out there.

Exposing yourself is the most important thing - playing the tournaments and getting the all experience you can. A lot of people would say to go out and play against people in your division and learn to get a win. Instead, I came across some top players. Al Schack, Javier Kowalski, and Todd Branch were the big pro’s when I was in Michigan, and I would see them playing finals events. What happens is a lot of Ams decide after they’re done - maybe they didn’t play so well - they just leave. I found the most important thing was to stay and see the pro’s, even though people say “oh, I’ve seen it, they’re going to just birdie every hole.” No, no, no, - It’s not about what they shoot, it’s how they shoot it. A prime example I’ll give you is on the original hole #5 at Cold Brook Park. It’s about a 310 foot tunnel shot where it’s kind of a blind anhyzer - as I was learning to play I would try to throw over the top with my driver all the time and crash the trees to get a birdie putt. I could never even dream of making that tunnel and I couldn’t figure out how you get get a disc to do that. Javier Kowalski came to that hole during a final 9 - and he pulled out a Roc. At the time I just couldn’t even fathom that. In my mind I’m like, he’s throwing a Roc? This is never going to work. He almost threw it with hyzer away from the target - and that really blew my mind. What is he doing? Then, it slowly did this flip, but not like a quick-flip anhyzer - like this half-hyzer half-straight flip and it moved to the right but it was still at hyzer angle. And it allowed me to see - it opened my mind up to that how you throw the disc was more important than just throwing it. Also, learning about angles and release and about how clean the disc had to be.

What he was doing was throwing a controlled golf shot, and so it taught me that learning how to throw with more control and with better angles is better then power. Even though I realized that, I didn’t take it at first and I kept going - I thought power was the way to go. I started charging with power, and learning how to do 360’s, and I spin putted - I thought that it was easy to spin the disc and make long putts.

How I got to be 1000: I went on tour with the Winnie crew - Al and Todd - and they exposed me - Al Schack kind of taught me his way of doing things. He would make me go out in the wind - 60 mile an hour wind days - we’d step out of the motor home on a Tuesday and he’d say, “we’re going to play.” I’d say, “What? Alright.” I’d go to reach for my golf bag, and Al would tell me I wasn’t allowed to use any of those discs. He’d point to a pile of lost and found discs we kept for people in a box. He’d say, “See that pile of discs right there? You get ONE.” So I’d pick some beat up disc and he’d take me out and we’d have to play that whole round in 60 mile an hour winds.

1000 RATED: So, Al Schack is your Mr. Miyagi…

DAVE: Yeah - he would try to teach me that I could do it. In my mind and in most players minds you think you can’t throw a beat up Innova driver - that is normally a roller - into a 60 mile an hour headwind. In your mind you just can’t fathom it works and he forced me to see it, because he could do it. He showed me what was possible with a disc. I think that opened me up a lot and got me to that 1000 rated mark - the experience of the tournaments, Todd’s help with mental preparation and Al’s technique. It allowed me to get to the 1000 rating but I couldn’t break through. I really wanted to be a top player.

It changes when you get to a certain level - for me maybe it was around 1000, maybe it was around 990 - but I decided that to be the best at anything you have to do it similar to the way the best do it. If it’s ball golf you have to have that picture perfect swing. If it’s basketball, now you have to be able to dunk and block shots - you can’t just be a great shooter anymore. I knew that the best player at the time was Ken Climo. I went down to Florida to see the 2000 Millennium Phish show, and we were staying at a hotel in Clearwater. I met Climo once during a tournament - Al and Todd introduced me to him. I’m a straight to the point kind of guy, and I was with my buddy who played disc golf also, and neither of us had a phone. So we called Ken Climo from the phone book. He was like, “Hello, this is Ken,” or whatever - and I said “Ken Climo, you remember me - I’ve Dave Feldberg - I’m kind of with the Winnie crew?” Ken says, “Oh, yeah, how are you doing - how’s it going?” So I say, “I’m within shout, and it’s just $20 a man at your local course - I got my partner, bring yours.” I sort of called him out, but he honored us and showed up to the course with his partner. After about 9 holes we were only 1 stroke back - kinda hangin’. And then he destroyed us on the back 9 and I don’t know how much they beat us by, but - they beat us. So, we gave them our $20 each and he invited us back to the house - and then I just kind of became friends with him and I kind of stayed there with him and another friend for a few months during the winter in Florida.

He taught me a lot of things - he’s not the kind of guy who teaches you things like you would think though. Like, “Hey - go out and do this; hold your hand like this, make sure your foot is like this.” No, we’d just go out and play and I would just ask him lots of questions. “How are you getting your wrist to do this, etc…” But, I couldn’t accept the push putt, and the push putt is how all of the great players have always done it. I saw Cameron Todd doing it - you know - he came from nobody to World Champion with his push putt - Barry Schultz was push putting - Ken Climo, all the greats. So I had to learn it. He showed it to me, and I took it to Innova. We spent the rest of the next winter at Innova, and I took everything I had learned - I was about 1008 or 1010 in 2001, and I what I call “spin putted” still. So I did everything he taught me, except for the push putt, and I got to be about 30th in the world. It still wasn’t enough for me - I knew I could get there - I could throw the shots, I just couldn’t make all of the putts.

I went to Innova and I told them I wanted to be part of the Champion team. Todd, Avery and I worked at the factory and we parked our motor home in the back of the factory - so when I told them I wanted to be a part of Team Champion - which was a big honor back then - they told me to go win me a Super Tour. “You win a Super Tour event and we’ll put you on there.” Back then, a Super Tour was as big as an NT. I spent the whole rest of the next winter in the factory; on my break time and after work working out, going to this gym, eating well and putting - and learning this push put. Man I sucked at it. I couldn’t make anything. It took me two months before I could make 30 footers. I stuck with it and I stuck with it in the factory daily - and then I went out to the first Super Tour of the year (MaceMan Lewisville Open) and won it by 1 stroke over Todd Branch, as well as Barry Schultz in the lead group. When I came back that weekend, Innova said, “you’re on Team Champion.”

My point with this; right away, 4 months practice and and all of a sudden I’m winning tournaments with this push putt. I had to make a couple of 20-25 footers down the stretch - with pressure on - and they just kind of went in and I was like, “Man this is easy - I can do this. This is something I can replicate.” So I just stuck with it - and I think that was the crucial turn. Then my rating just started going up around 5 points every now and then. I was doing everything right, but I still couldn’t break through when the conditions were bad. My consistency was off.

So I get to 2002 and I go up against Climo back in his town at the Sarasota Super Tour - I’m playing against Kenny - and I’ve got him beat going into the final round. Of course, with my new push putt he’s taught me. I’m feeling pretty confident. But, it’s really windy - all of the holes go left a little bit and I’m throwing Banshees and Firebirds and nothing will go left. He’s throwing TL’s and Leopards and they’re all hyzering right to the pin on every hole. I’m just losing my mind, and I almost want to quit the sport - I’m never going to beat this guy - I’m just not good enough. I sit down after taking second place - Champ walks by me at the end of the event and says, “Keep your head up.” I say, “Champ, man, I’m out there throwing Banshees and Firebirds and I can’t even get them left enough. You’re throwing TL’s and your getting left of the basket. I just can’t do it.” And he says, “you’re not doing it right.” My ears kind of poked up - I always like an opportunity to learn something. And he said, “You’re throwing stalls, not hyzers. When you learn to thrown hyzer, it’ll go left for you - I promise.”

What he was saying to me was that I was doing what most players do when they’re learning. I was taking a stable disc out and trying to throw it out to the right and make it hyzer in. What does a disc want to do when it’s overstable? It’s mission is to go out and find the ground - so the reason it hyzers is because it’s going out and then the nose dips and it wants to hit the ground. If it’s windy, you’ll throw it out and it won’t go to the right because it’s stable, but the wind will just keep it there and it will just drop out left. It will be good; it didn’t turn OB or anything, but it didn’t really go in there like you would want it to do when it’s not windy. When you take a Tee-bird like disc or an Eagle that’s mid-stability, you throw it with hyzer, and what happens is it goes through the wind and it’s TRYING to hyzer - as it tries to flatten up because it’s less stable - the stuff that most people throw - it goes forward and as along you give enough hyzer where it never gets past flat, the disc will then try to go forward as it finishes instead of just hitting the ground, and it will dramatically hyzer further.

I started teaching this in my class - I would stand at the top of this hill and I would ask someone to give me their most stable disc. Someone would give me their Firebird out of their bag - I’d throw it on that exact same line and it would hyzer pretty hard left. Then, with a DX Valkyrie - I’d throw it with the same line - it looks the same in the air, but finishes 75 feet left of the Firebird. It doesn’t seem to make sense to the class, but it’s what I call understanding stability. There’s no way you can get to the top of the game with a 1030 rating unless you understand stability.

1000 RATED: Can you offer any other specific tips to players who are trying to raise their level of play?

DAVE: I’ll give you two main tips:

Find a playing partner. For me it’s Avery Jenkins. Someone who is at your level or maybe better then you at the time. You push each other - you try and compete against each other - competition is what raises the level of play. So you push each other and maybe you get 5th the next weekend and he gets 6th - well then he’s pushing next weekend and he get’s 8th and you get 11th - now you’re thinking I’ve got to get him the next weekend. You’re both learning at the same time and when you go in as a team like that you go a lot further then you do when you try to do it all by yourself.

My other tip would be on how to practice. This is real important and I think people just say go out to a course a lot. When people say go out to a field, I believe that too, but what I believe is - if you’re practicing for what you’re going to do in the tournament, then practice what you’re going to do in the tournament. If you’re in the open field, and that weekend you’re going to throw hole #1 with a 380 foot Eagle hyzer down there, and on hole #2 you’re going to throw a sidearm. Then you go out to the field and you act like you’re on hole #1. Pull out that Eagle and you try and throw it 380 feet on the same hyzer line you are going to throw. When you walk up to you disc, pick it up and walk like your going to the next tee-pad. Reach down in your your bag, grab your Firebird or Tee-bird or whatever for your sidearm - and you practice that exact swing that you want to use when you get to the course that weekend. That’s what people don’t do - they just go out to a field and they practice hyzers and anhyzers - and it helps their throwing, but it doesn’t help them develop the shot they are trying to shape.

Right now, I’m shaping shots for the US Open. I did it yesterday. I’m at the course, but I’m not playing the course right now - I’m out there thinking, ok, when I get to hole #1 I have to throw this Roc - so I’m trying to get this Roc perfectly at the right shape right now so it doesn’t hyzer and doesn’t turn over - and I’m getting used to throwing it at the speed that it takes for hole #1. I’m already practicing my roller for hole #2. By the time I get to to the US Open I will have played the course 5 or 10 times in the field down the street from my house.

1000 RATED: For players who are just learning, what types of shots are they missing? What types of shots are they forcing?

DAVE: You need to have both kinds of putts. You should be able to throw a spin putt, and you should be able to push putt. Whenever the situation calls for it, you use which one is best. If it’s a tailwind 30 footer, you use your push putt. With a one-knee head wind 35 footer out of the bush, you switch to your spin putt. You don’t have to think and be all nervous about it - you’re confident with both. That’s one shot that most players are missing, and the ability to throw a disc straight. A lot of people can throw a disc straight for a while but they finish left and right pretty hard. To be able to throw a disc that goes straight at different distances and lands straight and flat - because of all of the different surfaces we land on - is real important.

I think people are forcing trying to make too many long shots that they are not capable of making - and they think I’m making these shots or Kenny is - we’re not making 80 foot putts. Maybe one a month or something. What we’re all making is 30 foot putts, and they need to stop forcing 60-80 foot looks and try to concentrate on making 25 footers. That’s the most important thing - even though it gets boring and it’s not as exciting in the yard. That is what people are forcing - attempting to make shots when they don’t have them. When they’re in the woods, and they try and force a 300 foot turnover sidearm out to get to the pin - they end up taking 2 strokes because it goes into the woods. All they had to do was pitch out, throw up to the pin and take their par. You have to learn to concede. Players are forcing the shots and forcing stability. They’re trying to take a brand new disc and flex it - that’s not the way to go. Players need to learn how to break a disc in, and learn how many different angles they can throw it at with hyzer - and what different flights they’ll get with that. Forcing discs out of the box is really hurting the players because they’re throwing similar shots to us top players, but they’re not finishing close enough to the basket where they can make them consistently.

1000 RATED: You’ve played a ton of courses during your career. In your opinion, what are some of your favorites and why? Also, what are some of your least favorites and why?

DAVE: Some of my favorite courses I’ve played are the ball golf disc golf courses. Not necessarily Fly18 or anybody in particular, but just anywhere where they’ve taken a ball golf course and made it into a disc golf course also. I find those the most relaxing - you get to ride around on carts - it’s beautifully landscaped land. People treat you with more respect. It just feels like your playing golf more - so those are my favorite types of courses. In terms of well known courses, Japan has a ball golf disc golf course - that’s why I love it so much. Winthrop Gold at the US Open is really great because it’s similar to a ball golf course but it’s just for disc golf. One of my favorite gems in the rough though is Hammond Ranch in Humboldt California up in the mountains. It’s one of the most beautiful courses - up at the top of the peak of a mountain where there’s lots of plateaus - there’s no big mountain shots where you have a lot of fluke or craziness, but it’s like a US Open length but up on a mountain with lots of natural woods and water. It’s unbelievable - I love it up there. I’d say the best course still in my mind that you play in National Tours is Milo McIver state park in Oregon. That’s where we have the Beaver State National Tour - it used to be an old ball golf course that overgrew 20 years ago and then the counties took it over and it’s just beautiful - just a beautiful arrangement of woods and open shots and rollers and hyzers and every type of shot you’ll have to throw there.

My least favorite types of courses - unfortunately people won’t like this - I love to play on mountains; they’re the funnest place to place disc golf. However, for playing in competition, I don’t like mountains because they are very fluky. You have to change your bag. You’re not throwing the same discs you were throwing because of the stability - you land on rocks - you land on the sides of hills. The predictability is very hard to figure out and whether or not you throw a great shot sometimes you may not be rewarded. Those I find to be my least favorite to play in competition. Besides that I like most courses - I just don’t like a course where I feel like I’m shooting 10 under and I’m losing ground. So I don’t prefer a bunch of short birdie courses because I feel like if I shoot a good round I should be near the top. Some places you go and shoot 30 under for the weekend you’re not even in the top 5. I don’t like that usually. I like to have more of a par 4 mixture. I don’t want the extreme where it’s par 4 par 5 - par 72 overall - that’s a little extreme.

I think we made the mistake in disc golf trying to copy ball golf where they have 10 par 4’s, 4 par 5’s, and 4 par 3’s. I think the best disc golf course would be 6 par 3’s, 6 par 4’s, and 6 par 5’s. In that sense we could start our own formula similar to theirs. I guess I don’t have any least favorite courses at all though - anywhere there’s a basket, there’s an opportunity to score.

1000 RATED: You had a wonderful opportunity to promote disc golf last year by appearing on the Conan O’brien show during the 50th anniversary of the frisbee. Nailing what seemed like a couple of 70 footers from the stage, you had the San Fransisco crowd going wild at one point. Can you tell us a little about that experience - what it was like to be on stage and meet Conan, how did you feel after hitting those putts, etc?

DAVE: Being on the Conan show was an experience I will never forget. What sticks out in my mind is the professionalism. They picked me up in a limo - they put me up at the Ritz Carlton top floor with an executive suite where I could come out of my room at 3 in the morning and say, “I’ll take a bowl of raspberries,” and they’d be waiting at my feet. So, it was unbelievable the type of respect I got for the show - it was the first time in disc golf I felt like a true star. I got my own dressing room - It was real. It wasn’t like they just put me on there as a gimmick, they treated me like a real guest.

And meeting Conan - the guy was spectacular - he’s in his own world. He’s super tall and he has 5 or 6 “yes” men around him - when he says anything they just laugh. I think it helps his confidence or something, but as real as he looks on the show - that’s how he acts in person. He’s crazy and fun - and he loves to play the guitar. When it’s not his turn to be on the stage he just sits around and plays his guitar - he’s a really nice guy.

On stage, I made some sidearms - I made some stuff I didn’t plan on making. I was using a DGA softie: A blunt edge soft DGA disc which is not even what I use. I didn’t get a chance to learn with them or anything, but I just got lucky and made some shots. The experience on stage was so fast - they kept telling me it would be fast even though it was 6 minutes. It was so fast I couldn’t even believe it - I couldn’t do half the stuff we had planned to do, and making those shots in the crowd was exciting, but the crowd kind of got in the way and I think I could have made a couple more if the crown hadn’t hit it…

1000 RATED:Yeah, they started to grab them.

DAVE: Right, they got a little excited. So that was a little different, but just being able to come through - I’ve been in other situations where they’ve had me do big demonstrations and I missed some shots - and it’s kind of embarrassing. But that time I just came through and I made the shots and showed the crowd how to play the game.

And then he had a spit through - which I thought was the best part of the show because he got to feel what it was like to make it, and then on his next shot he got to feel what it was to make it and not stay in. He didn’t have the right speed or control. So he got to feel the up of disc golf and the down part all in one moment and it showed that emotion through the show and I think that was the best part.

1000 RATED: A great deal of young or new disc golfers are starting to look up to players like you, Nate Doss, Avery Jenkins, and the like. While Climo is still “the champ” and will always be revered and looked up to, what do you think it brings to the sport to have this new breed of hot prospects at the top of their game every week, and how do you feel to be a part of this group?

DAVE: I feel that helps the sport big time. I think that it shows the young players out there that hey, you can make goals and achieve them. They could look at a guy like me - maybe not the Avery Jenkins type - but they can look at guys like me and Nate Doss and they can say, “hey they’re athletic” (we played some college sports and stuff) “but they’re not Michael Jordanesque you know?” You can look at guys like us and say “hey, those guys set some goals, they practiced and they’re achieving them.” And that’s something those young players can do if they take the time and dedication and put forth that it takes to do it. I think that teaches those players a lot about goals and achieving them - and what you can do in this world. And realize that anything you put your mind to you can do if you just believe. People don’t believe - they say, “I want to do it” and they practice but they don’t actually visualize and believe that they can do it.

Being a part of this group - they’re all my best friends - it’s something that I hope to have for the rest of my life. This group of friends that know we were the best at one point - and we traveled together and we have stories to tell. Maybe we can teach together down the road and help promote the sport in other ways. Hopefully they can all stick with it and realize when it’s not their time to be the best anymore, that there’s still a reason to give time to the sport and root for the kids who are playing the best - and let’s take it to that next level. That’s what I hope we can do as a group.

1000 RATED: Think about who you like to compete with that pushes you, who drives you to play better, who you’d like to beat, and who makes the round fun. In this sense, what would be your ultimate foursome on a leadercard.

DAVE: Who I like to compete against and who gives me the biggest push: Jesper Lundmark - he somehow pushes me to my level and makes me nervous, and a lot of times I can’t come through and beat him. He’s one of the players that can give it to me a lot of times when I’m not focused.

Play better: Avery Jenkins - Avery is the player who - when I wake up in the morning and I see him on the cover of a magazine, I say to myself, “I want to be on the cover of the next magazine.” I make it a goal and it’s always been a goal of mine my whole career to try and do my best to beat Avery, and Avery vice versa, in a friendly manner though. We love each other and we’re best friends, but you’ve got to have somebody to push you and now I’ve upped the bar and now it’s his turn to up the bar. Look for big things from Avery soon, I think.

Who I’d like to beat the most: Can we make this one a weird one? Almost like a three headed monster of sorts? When one of these three players are in my group, I realize I have to crush, in a way. That would be Doss, Climo, and Schultz. When one of those three is in my group, I know I have to bring my A game, and when I’m not bringing my A game - they can feel it, and they bring their A game and they put me down.

Who makes the round the most fun for me: Definitely Brad Schick. I nominated him for the sportsmanship award last year. I don’t know what it is - but I never have a bad time when I’m playing with him. I think my average when I’m playing with him is 1050 or something. The guy just puts me in a good mood, so having him around is important.

1000 RATED: We ask this question to everyone, who is your favorite 1000 rated player and why?

DAVE: Dave Greenwell, because he was one of the players early on that I haven’t mentioned, that really went out of his way to help me. He taught me some principles about life - like cleaning up after yourself and your things - how important it is to do a little extra work to make people feel better when you are staying with them. He just taught me some life lessons and stuff - and he’s always there supporting me, he’s always taking me out to dinners, he’s telling me that I’m going to have it in me. You know, “Just keep trying - you got it.”

He kind of reminds me of me - his name is Dave - he’s got dark hair. He’s got style, and people respect him. When he carries himself he’s never disrespectful in public - he’s a gentleman. My girlfriend, Melody King - who is going to be my wife - she loves him just from hanging out with him. She thinks he’s a great guy. He knows how to treat people, and man he’s a genuine guy. He’s the real Ken Climo before there was Ken Climo, and I hope we don’t forget him in the long run.