Fountain Hills local disc golfers, David Taylor, Jr. and Marty Coplea, both brought home state championship titles after playing in some pretty extreme conditions Oct. 6-7 in Show Low. Taylor won the Pro Masters 40+ Division and Coplea finished on top of the Advanced Masters 50+ Division.

The event attracted nearly 200 disc golfers from across the state to compete for the prestigious titles in 17 different divisions from Open Pro to Novice and Junior Divisions. Participants faced some tough weather conditions while competing on four different courses during the two-day event.

On Saturday, winds were gusting from 25 to 40 mph, which can make it extremely difficult to throw discs down the fairway with accuracy. Mother Nature reserved her worst for the final round on Sunday, when it snowed during the front nine holes and then the snow turned to freezing rain on the back nine to further increase the difficulty for players. Just surviving the final round was an accomplishment on its own, according to participants.

Taylor is the President of the Fountain Hills Disc Golf Club (FHDGC) and Coplea is the public relations director. The club serves as a working partner with the Town of Fountain Hills on all disc golf course related issues and activities. They also work to improve and maintain the local disc golf courses at Fountain Park and the First Baptist Church. Additionally, club members put on free clinics for new or beginning disc golfers interested in learning more about the sport and improving their skills. More information on the FHDGC can be found on their website at discgolf.club or on their Facebook page at facebook.com/fhdgc.

Taylor was also just elected to the position of the Arizona State Coordination for the disc golf national governing body, the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA). In his new role, Taylor will work as the local liaison for the PDGA, work with local tournament directors and promote the sport around the state.

Coplea was recently selected to be a member of the Discraft Underground Team. Discraft (discraft.com) is the world leader in disc sports and also the long-time title sponsor of the world famous Memorial Championship event that is hosted out of Fountain Park each year in February.