Let's start with everyone's favorite - tell us a bit about yourself, what kind of guy are you?
I'm a 29-year-old sports fanatic. I used to play soccer for a long time, but constant injuries took away my motivation to continue. For the past 8 years, I've been dedicating my free time to playing disc golf.
Actually, soccer led me to disc golf because I played disc golf for the first time at a team event, and the rest is history, as they say.
You started your season with a team change, from Disctroyer to Kastaplast. What was behind this decision?
The beginning of this year was indeed somewhat tense because I can only look back at my time at Disctroyer with good memories. In sports, when an opportunity arises to take a step forward, you have to accept it. With Kastaplast, I saw the opportunity for further development and also internal competition within the brand, which motivates me.
You've finished in the TOP10 in both of this season's competitions, the Estonian Winter Championships and the Estonian Disc Golf Association (EDGL) Jõulumäe stage. Are you happy with the results?
If we look only at the positions I've achieved, then I could be satisfied, but in reality, I've fallen a bit short in both competitions. In the winter championships, I completely failed the first round and after the first day, I was in 53rd place. I had to quickly make improvements to my game, and in the end, I finished in 9th place. I was very proud of myself for climbing out of that hole.
At Jõulumäe, the first round was solid, but I wasted many opportunities. In the second round, my score got hurt badly on the 9th-10th hole, where there was a lot of bad luck. On the 10th hole, my opening throw went lost, and after that, I felt a bit hopeless, but once again, I managed to come off the course with a decent result, gritting my teeth.
There are definitely positive things to take away from the seasons first competitions, but at the same time, I know I need to improve a bit more to enjoy the game.
What are your plans for this season? Will you stay in Estonia or tour abroad as well?
This season, I see the EDGL Cup as strong training before I move on to compete in DGPT Europe events. I'll participate in 6 events (4 Elite and 2 Silver series).
What is your biggest goal for this year?
Since I haven't reached a rating of 1000 yet, I secretly want to achieve that. It's not the main goal because playing well will bring it sooner or later anyway. But competing in the DGPT Europe is the goal in itself for this year, to see where I actually stand compared to the world elite.
What are your top 3 favorite Kastaplast discs? Which discs from other brands would you compare them to?
1. Kastaplast Guld - A complete aircraft. Similar discs from other brands are Discmania DD3, L64 Ballista Pro.
2. Kastaplast Lots - A very good disc in the woods when you need to stay on the fairway but also get distance. Similar discs from other brands are Disctroyer Toonekurg, Discmania FD, L64 Saint Pro.
3. Kastaplast Göte - A very good mid-range disc with which you can play all the necessary lines. Similar discs from other brands are DD Truth, Discraft Buzzz, Discmania MD1.
What's one Kastaplast disc that all players should try?
There are many good discs, but for those who have a knack for throwing faster discs, it's Guld. For beginners, I would recommend the Falk.
What advice would you give to beginner players?
The first discs should be slower, up to speed 9. And don't forget to enjoy playing!