By Charlie Mead · Disc Golf Hall of Famer · INDIGO Foundation
Guest commentary written October 6, 2026. Republished with permission.
Today – INDIGO publishes a different sort of article. This is about Jonathan Poole. It is both a homage and my reflections on the man behind USDGC for the past 28 years!
Jonathan Poole
A personal homage – a personal reflection.
Jonathan Poole is one of those individuals that is, well, an individual. We don’t have to scratch very hard to find an intensely human being who gives focus and attention to all that he does.
Most of us know him as the Director of the United States Disc Golf Championship – a position he has occupied since its inception in October 1999. The history of the event is well documented – and all the innovations along the way are well marked.
One of those allowed my youngest son to play here in 2014. The Performance Flight was a truly MPO event – Paige Pierce won! Son James played well until the 17th – where, much like John E McCray that year, he failed the bale test.
What JP may not know is that tournament inspired a host of young players and TD’s across Europe to emulate what had seemed difficult but proved possible. To have an event that engaged as well as being played. The Performance Flight is long gone – but James, at 21, was able to compete with some of the current top professionals, including Isaac Robinson, Corey Ellis, Holly Finley and a certain Dave Dunipace, (co-founder of USDGC with Harold Duvall and JP) – and he beat them all!
The Spectator and Fan Element, the Music, the Vendor Village that is now a small town, EDGE, all the Childrens and Young peoples events – all the time and effort, all the sacrifices that TD’s of Major events make – all the wear and tear on family life – everything that every TD across the globe knows about; that has been JP’s experience ten-fold. And for 28 years. And his children and wife look entirely normal! Well, actually, more healthy and good looking than normal – there is clearly something about the dynamics in the Poole family that inspire each other and is different from the dysfunctional relationships that many of us TD’s have experienced in pursuit of similar success and happiness! – he says with a certain amount of tongue in cheek!!
This is what is known. This is the picture painted by his proposers in the World Disc Golf Hall of Fame that has him elected this year. Not just well deserved but by a margin that showed his worth to those of us able to vote. It may even be a tad later than expected – but that’s the nature of organisations that only have to wake up once a year !
The ceremony to welcome the five latest WHOFFER’S is this Friday – 9th Oct – in the Fan Tent. Come and celebrate JP’s election and all the work he has done for all these years. And celebrate with Jen, Carlos, Mark and Kevin too.
For a fuller history of USDGC: https://usdgc.com/tournament-history/
And that is the end of the JP story. He ‘does’ USDGC. That is not the beginning or even the middle though. For those of you that have been here, you know you will always want to come back. It is a ‘family’ reunion. It is the time of year when old friends reaquaint and new friendships are forged. When the dance floor is as important as the course; when experiences seem more intense, time is stretched out, place is altered. It is exactly like the first four day music festival you went to. That happens because JP has created an experience that is full of so much more – especially help, more staff, more volunteers – all of whom seem to know exactly what to do. More fun, more opportunity – for Amateurs in the Doubles, for spectators in the Distance events. And so it goes…..
The ‘cool’ JP is also the uber-organised JP, the fun JP, the music loving JP – and above all he wants you to share that experience. He believes USDGC should be holistic – not about the play. Only a few people ever win compared to those that tread Winthrop ground in competition week – we all win sat in the sun, listening to Jimi Hendrix, watching the fountain in the lake do its work with friends by our side.
We share a love of the same music – both Deadheads – both following the vagaries of vocal mismanagement that was Bobby Weir but who led the Dead with a dedication matched by his creative flair. JP and I both saw BW on his last tour – he in San Fran and I in London at the Albert Hall with the London Philharmonic and the Wolff Brothers. My first Grateful Dead gig was on their Europe ’72 Tour in the mud of Bickershaw. Fifty three years later I was able to say farewell to Bobby – and that is what mattered to JP as well – though neither of us knew it at the time.
That love of a band and the sound that strikes your own chord, extends to others – the genre becomes important too. Who’s Next – ? JP has given voice to many bands in the area over the years – both at USDGC and through Fresh and Now in North and South Carolina. And that is another of his strengths – bringing people together to share and show what can be done.
Justin Scoggins (Ohn), Jonathan Poole (Henna) and Mr Lehtomaki (Ilda)
It was a surprise to some when JP started caddying for Henna Blomroos. Not to those that knew him and what he believed in and wanted to achieve. There may not have been a manifesto; no public declaration; but there was an intent to bring Europe into the mainstream of American Disc Golf. Not forgetting that USDGC operates under the US Disc Golf brand, JP adopted a positive attitude to the potential of European women Disc Golfers playing in the USA. He not only caddied for Henna (still does) but has closely associated himself with Eveliina Salonen, Kristin Latt and others. A quick look at his Instagram and Facebook pages provides enough evidence of his commitment to diversify the women’s Disc Golf scene by his personal actions. Add to that his full support for the Throw Pink event and the clear message from #respectHERgame, then you can be in little doubt as to his commitment to getting things done for the betterment of the women’s game.
The idea of how to practically adjust USDGC to implement a principle did not come from JP alone – ideas that impact positively on many are rarely the work of one person or belief. It takes many influences, many experiences to forge a system in a way that delivers on a multi-faceted level. To grow, USDGC has to be commercially successful. Within that other aims can be achieved – like increasing the number of women who play disc golf and then compete at USDGC. That can’t be done at one event a year. It has to be a global, or at least a national process. No better at achieving that than Jussi Meresmaa. TD at the now iconic 2025 PDGA Worlds, he had led the Finnish charge with his Discmania brand and the installation of enough courses in Finland to produce the current and future crop of World Class Discs Golfers.
Jussi had shown through European Disc Golf Championships and the European Open that he could run a world class event. Why did it take so long to give him a World Championship – and why were so many surprised when it was regarded as the best ever – even by PDGA. We knew in Europe. Hundreds of Europeans knew that Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Czech Republic – all could put on a better show, a better experience, a more valued event than many they had experienced in the USA – including myself.
No surprise then that JP and Jussi, the two most accomplished, thoughtful and successful Tournament Directors Worldwide, should become great friends. The sharing of their visions made them both stronger in being able to deliver a world class product year after year. The combination of empathetic creativity with organisational and commercial nous helped each other grow in a place where light was finally let in and both have benefitted from each others experience. It is no coincidence that both Jussi and JP have been elected to the World Disc Golf Hall of Fame in consecutive years.
JP’s ability to work with pretty much anyone is an enviable trait – we all have those we would rather not have around – but he never forgets the bigger picture – this is all about Disc Golf and what you like doing in life . Never forget, there is Pickleball out there.
That ability to create, to deliver and to develop is clear to those that work with him. Solutions are only as good as they need to be – what is needed is more vision. And he finds it in his family, in his love of music, his dogs, his own sports, all the relationships within his sphere. He draws on them and he gives back.
I have found it difficult to finish this piece – on a personal level. The story has a long way to go after all. Then I found this. It is JP referring to Jussi – yet it could have been written by either of them – which says as much about JP as it does his friend.
“ Some friendships are born from a shared love of the game. Others are built through years of respect, challenge, and growth. With Jussi, it’s all of that and more. Standing here in Finland, at the 2025 PDGA Pro Disc Golf World Championships, I feel the weight of what this moment represents for the sport, the competitors and fans, and for one of its greatest visionaries.
I have watched you dream big, push boundaries, and pour your heart into building something truly world-class. You have elevated disc golf not just in Europe, but globally. To see you lead Worlds on your home soil is both fitting and profoundly inspiring. Thank you for your friendship, your fire, and your belief that this game can always be more.Congratulations, my friend, on making your dreams, and ours, come true. Respect.”
Charlie Mead · INDIGO Foundation · October 6, 2026
