The Professional Disc Golf Association has unveiled its slate of 2025 championship hosts with six sites throughout the United States and for the first time, the world championships will be headed out of the U.S. and into another country.
The world championships will be in Nokia and Tampere, Finland, for the first time that it goes to Europe. The proposed courses are The Beast in Nokia, which has hosted past European Open champions, and the Tampere Disc Golf Center in Tampere. The European Open will not be hosted by Finland in 2025 and instead will go to Tallinn, Estonia at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.
“Bringing the PDGA World Championships to Finland has been my goal for over a decade,” said European Open Director Jussi Meresmaa. “To facilitate that, we have developed the European Open in Nokia as a premier annual major event and created a new championship level course to Tampere. Combining those two has given us an opportunity to bid for the most prestigious disc golf event in the world. I can’t describe how excited and proud I am to be able to arrange the first ever PDGA Worlds in Europe.”
Other sites announced were Columbia, Missouri, to host the Amateur World Championships; Twin Cities, Minnesota, to host the Masters World Championships; Emporia, Kansas, to host the Junior World Championship; Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, to host the Women’s World Championship; Ruidoso, New Mexico, to host the Tim Selinske U.S. Masters Championship; and Appling, Georgia, to host the PDGA Champions Cup.
Discover Eastern Wisconsin Disc Golf and the Lakeshore Ladies Disc Golf Corporation submitted the winning bid to host the women’s championship, which will be held at four courses — Silver Creek Park, Indian Creek Park, Lower Cato Falls Park, and Rollin Ridge Disc Golf Course.
“We are absolutely ecstatic to be bringing the U.S. Women’s Disc Golf Championship to our area,” said Lindsey Krause, president of Lakeshore Ladies Disc Golf Corp. “This tournament is projected to bring more than 300 competitors, along with caddies, camera crews, event staff and an abundance of spectators. The tournament will also be broadcast live on the Disc Golf Network. We have a beautiful disc golf community here, locally, that I cannot wait to show the world.”
Both Rollin Ridge and Silver Creek Park are designated by UDisc as being in the top 100 courses in the world, as well as two of the top five courses in Wisconsin. Competitors and guests will be encouraged to participate in events around the area leading up to and during the tournament.
“Our enthusiastic crew has been working since 2020 on bringing the US Women’s Disc Golf Championships to the eastern coast of Wisconsin, now it’s time to really get to work,” Tournament Director and Discover Eastern Wisconsin Disc Golf founder Jim Van Lanen said.
The COMO Disc Golf Club, city of Columbia, Columbia CVB, Columbia Sports Commission and the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department worked to land the amateur world championship. The Harmony Bends Championship Disc Golf Course at Strawn Park, the Upper and Lower Courses at Albert-Oakland Park, Indian Hills DGC, the Joseph C. Miller DGC and the Dam Course at Binder Park may be utilized during the event. Columbia has hosted the long-running Mid-America Open and the 2021 Tim Selinske United States Masters Disc Golf Championship.
“Our tournament team, the City of Columbia CVB/Columbia Sports Commission and the city’s Parks and Recreation department are excited to welcome the best amateurs in the world to Columbia in 2025,” said tournament representative Joe Douglass. “We know that our city can give the participants the experience that they deserve and look forward to seeing players showcase and test their skills at Harmony Bends and other local courses.”