Top 10 World Champ Was Local Kid Shooting Trash Cans

David McCormack spends his days working in disc golf.

For over 30 years, McCormack has remained an active influence in the sport, from his youth as a world-ranked professional to his company that today boasts some of the sport’s elite apparel. Along the way, McCormack's "hobby" as a disc golf course designer has produced over 37 courses and spread his reputation outside the Midwest—nationwide.

It's a job that fills his days with countless tasks, from tracking the performances of his sponsored professionals, to coordinating with park directors for the next course installation, to blogging about the current state and future direction of disc golf.

Yet, of all the places McCormack could go when he needs a break from work, he goes golfing. With a ball.

“I can bring some of the same things I love about disc golf into ball golf,” McCormack said. “I’d say it’s fairly challenging, and the margin for error is quite a bit different. And that’s it, too; ball golf is different. I started playing disc golf when I was a little kid, so that just comes really natural to me.

“Now, disc golf doesn’t offer me that escape. Every time I go out to a park, I see something that reminds me of actual work.”

It’s the ultimate sacrifice. Hundreds of thousands around the Midwest—perhaps even you, if you’ve ever set foot on one of St. Louis’ courses—have had a few hours respite because of this man's work. McCormack's impact on disc golf, a sport that swaps balls for Frisbees and holes for chain baskets, is felt in nearly every facet of the game today. 

That’s not to say there wasn’t some playtime mixed in along the way.

For a while, playtime was all there was to disc golf. McCormack and a Frisbee became familiar with the trash cans around St. Thomas More church in Bel-Ridge as a second grader. (The church closed in 1999.)

But what kicked off the legend was his first design, as a 12-year-old: A par-two object course around his house. The addition of nine trees and signs eventually spilled beyond the neighbors’ yards, and then grew into a small neighborhood block. Then 18 objects were marked around the big block.

When Missouri’s first disc golf course hit St. Louis in 1979—Hazelwood’s White Birch Park, designed by the “Father of Disc Golf” Ed Headrick and featuring the now-traditional chain baskets—the only obstacle 15-year-old McCormack couldn’t throw a Frisbee around was how to cover eight miles on two wheels (a bike.)

That's when Endicott Park in St. John began providing hundreds of targets just a bike ride away. Officially established in 1996 and considered one of the backbone courses of St. Louis, Endicott unofficially started in 1980 with a can of spray paint and 18 special trees.

“We were used to throwing down six of my neighbor’s yards at a time, par fours,” McCormack said. “Then we started taking our bikes up (to Endicott) and playing around with a lot longer shots, with a lot of power, throwing to where we couldn’t see. We spray painted lines on trees with pruning sealer for 'holes,' at about the same heights as the baskets were in Hazelwood.”

Already crushing maximum distance with his arm, a driver’s license took care of the rest.

McCormack began to abuse the White Birch course, three rounds at a time, as well as ranging out regionally to courses such as Albert Oakland Park in Columbia.

By 1989, he had played 200 courses nationwide and won more than 25 tournaments in the fledgling Professional Disc Golf Association.

Continued success on road trips to all corners of the U.S., sometimes for prize offerings of just $500, ultimately led McCormack to become a top-10 disc golfer in world rankings.

His eventual retirement as a pro led him to branch out in several disc golf-related directions.

While he toured, Gateway Disc Sports was spawned from the trunk of his car, credited as the first company to market a durable disc golf bag toward professional players. Made out of material bought from the Federal Bag Company on Cherokee St. in St. Louis, the bags are today a common game accessory.

Gateway eventually expanded into golf discs, gaining worldwide professional acceptance with a straight-flying putter, the Wizard.

But McCormack's allure grew exponentially with his apparent unrivaled course design.

Contacts from his professional days landed his first commissioned design in 1999—acreage from Schroeder Park in Manchester and 18 baskets supplied by Discraft. 

Soon after, Sunset Hills and Ellisville followed suit and sought McCormack’s advice, producing the Watson Trail Park and Bluebird Park courses.

McCormack designs are now found all over the Midwest and as far as Pennsylvania and Georgia, but St. Louis has remained a natural epicenter.

Courses such as Jefferson Barracks in Mehlville, Sioux Passage in Florissant and Endicott have become nationally respected courses, and more are on the way.

McCormack is currently hatching an 18-hole course in Bridgeton’s Carrollton Park.

“My job has been to create recreation,” McCormack said. “To help people escape from reality for two hours, to generate some camaraderie.

“My biggest thrill is going back to a course that I designed and seeing a new path in between some basket and the next tee pad. I know how that path was created. When I come there and see that usage, that’s a personal gratification I take every time,” McCormack said.