Today over at Circle C, the crew from Armory Discs hosted a PDGA C-Tier.

Armory is run by two life long friends, Nick and Dustin, out of College Station. These guys are absolute grinders and have been great supports of Mint over the years.

I asked them to answer a few questions for today's blog.

• What was the first course you played? How long ago?

• Dustin 

• Mo-Ranch Disc Golf Course on my bachelor party in 2015. Weird place and time to have my first round but it was with some of my best friends so I didn’t care. I don’t remember much about the round other than we sucked and we had fun.

• Nick

• The first course I ever played was River Grove Park in Kingwood, which looked a lot different in 2015. It had been absolutely pouring down rain and started coming down again in the middle of our round. That combined with our max distance drives of about 120 feet should have been a recipe for disaster, but my brothers and I absolutely fell in love and have been playing ever since.

• What is the one disc everyone needs to try once in their life? Why?

• Dustin: 

• Gstar leopard, the most neutral flying fairway I've thrown. It’s slept on because of it’s DX counterpart and being a “beginner” disc. Has tons of glide and workable for pretty much anyone. I sell a TON in the shop because it’s inexpensive and I love it so much. The Hex and Bullet are close seconds but the scoffing (and the shock when they are wrong) I get when I suggest the Leopard makes it my winner.

• Nick

• I’m not sure if you can really call yourself a disc golfer if you haven’t had a go at a max weight Star Destroyer at some point… it seems to be a rite of passage to start with one when you first begin playing, realize very quickly that you have no business throwing it, then slowly work your way back to it after months or years of honing in your form. Whether you end up bagging one or not is a completely different story obviously, but you’ve got to give it a crack at some point.

• What inspired you all to start Armory? Where did the name come from?

• Dustin: 

• Nick and I have talked about starting a business together since we were 10 years old. I was living in College Station working for a church without a local shop and I thought that was wild. So, I called Nick and said essentially, “I think that disc golf shop idea could work here. I’m driving to Austin tomorrow to buy some used discs, you want to do it?!” Our hope with the Armory has always been to fulfill the needs we see around us and provide the community what we wished it had. “Be the change you want to see in the world” Thus, Armory Disc Golf was formed!

• Nick

• During the Covid boom I was selling some discs in my spare time out of my apartment in Dallas as a side hustle while I was finishing my masters. I had been playing disc golf for about 7 years at that point, was very active in the DFW disc golf tournament scene (which is absolutely popping), and in general loved the game. I’ve always been a “deep dive” kind of guy and was opinionated on things I wanted to see in the disc golf scene as a player. Dustin called me one afternoon and we got to talking about it all, including how I eventually wanted to open up a pro shop and course in the north Houston area. But whereas I want to design the plane (so to speak), Dustin likes to launch off cliffs and figure it out on the way down, so a couple days later he called me up and said he realized that College Station (where he was living) was a great spot to get started. He had begun moving pieces to get Armory Disc Golf up and rolling and asked if I wanted to jump in with him. To continue that analogy, we just began flying by the seat of our pants and have been very blessed to get to where we’re at today. I have always enjoyed mythology and fantasy and tossed a couple ideas around concerning the name, but Dustin had the idea for “Armory Disc Golf” with the idea that it’s where you come to equip yourself for everything you need to play.

• What can you tell everyone about the Throwing Down the Gauntlet Series?

• Dustin

• We run the most extensive amateur focused tour in Texas. Last year we had over 70 events between Feb and September. For 2025 I’m at 60 with more going on the schedule over the next couple of weeks. The Series consist of multi day B tiers, 2 round shotguns, 1 round shotguns and 1 round flexes across 7 “regions”. Our focus has been on Ams because that is the life blood of disc golf. The pro scene can only give our sport so much growth but if you can get the general population hooked I think we can make it to the next level. Similar to all the backyard games and leagues in other sports have allowed the major league counterparts to grow and become such a big deal.

• Nick

• Throwing Down the Gauntlet has been largely based around answering the question “What would I want to see in a disc golf tournament as a player?” and then more or less just going and doing whatever that thing is. We were just dudes that love disc golf and everything we do has started organically from the ground up- I think that translates to our events. The whole Armory DG crew gets legitimately so excited to follow along with the storylines and competition between players throughout the year (and from year to year as players progress), and the community of players that join us for these events are absolutely second to none in all of disc golf. It is a massive undertaking but we enjoy rolling up to different parts of the state and getting to see good friends and great disc golf.

• If you haven’t been a part of Throwing Down the Gauntlet, the 30,000ft view is that it is a tournament series that incorporates events from flex starts to multi day B Tiers (that also function as stand alone tournaments). Players earn points for how they perform at each event and at the end of the year we have an invite-only Championship with over $10,000 added cash and prizes. This year we have added a team aspect, which has been really fun as people across the state unite with each other and against each other in friendly trash talk and competition.
• We would love for you to join us in the fun and banter in our TDTG Facebook community or out on the course!

• What is your favorite course in Texas?

• Dustin

• This is tough… I am a sentimental guy so none of these are “the best” but they all have a soft spot in my heart. McClain in San Antonio because that’s where I cut my teeth. McDade in Conroe because that was Nick and I’s course while we were living in different cities. If pressed to pick one, John E. Hejl in Caldwell. It was a course Nick and I designed from the ground up. The City had a vision to have a Championship level course with an awkward chunk of land and I feel like we did a dang good job. Something about having a dream, developing a vision for it then bringing it to life just hits. A big bonus is it’s actually really good and rates REALLY well across all skill levels.

• Nick

• Well hopefully it’s the one that we’re putting in the ground in College Station in the next year or two. For now I think it’s tough to decide between Circle C in Austin and The Beast in Waco, though I’m leaning slightly towards the latter. I’m from the woods of southeast Texas and so being able to throw down wooded fairways has always been my favorite type of disc golf. That being said, there are some incredible courses in Texas that I’ve still yet to play and I’m very excited about the prospect of my opinion on that changing. We’ve TD’d events in some amazing places that I’ve never played a full round at- The Hideaway, Roy G, and Sprinkle Valley in Austin are at the top of that list.

• How many rounds a week do you get to play?

• Dustin

• Ha! I try to get 1 a week minimum but can sometimes squeeze in 2 or 3 but usually 1. Typically it's either our clubs Wednesday mini or Sunday league.

• Nick

• Dustin and I like to joke that we get to pretend that we play disc golf. I typically play about a round per week, though I’m actively trying to bump that number back up. My oldest kids are getting to the age where they can handle sticking it out for a full round, which has been incredibly fun and a great opportunity to get out more.

• If you had $100 dollars to build a bag with, what 5 discs are you buying?

• Dustin

• 300 pa3, Axiom hex, champ firebird, destroyer/wraith, and a wildcard suregrip Gateway Warspear

• Nick

• You’re going to get to see how much Dustin and I rub off on each other with our musings and opinions on discs (which we enjoy ranking in different categories). I would go with a Prodigy PA3, a Pro pig (like the stiff Ricky Pro, NOT R Pro), an orange 2020 Sexton Firebird, a Star Destroyer, and (I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’ve seen the light and you’ve gotta trust me on this one) a GStar Leopard. I’m mainly going with the strategy of “Basket to the right, me throw forehand. Basket to the left, me throw backhand” and leaning on a bit more stable stuff. Looking at that list is kind of funny to me because I have a very mixed bag but from this it looks like I’m an Innova guy.

• Is there anything else you'd like to say?

• Dustin

• Disc golf is fun, keep it that way. The vast majority of us don’t have to rely on our skillset to eat. The reason most of us started playing was because we enjoyed being outside, hanging out with friends and throwing frisbees. Don’t forget that. After all, you’re an adult playing with fancy kids toys. 

• Nick

• We tell people all the time that we’re incredibly blessed to be a part of the disc golf community and we genuinely mean it. We’re very thankful for being able to do what we do and for all the people that make it possible across the whole spectrum of the disc golf world. And for anyone pondering joining us for TDTG this year, join the Steel Legion and let’s win this thing.

Make sure to check out Armory Discs if you have some time.

Until tomorrow!