DeChambeau told Seth that it was the second time in his life that he was playing disc golf. It was a new activity he took up to distract himself from his day job.
The two groups got together at 2:30 p.m. and DeChambeau and his two friends spent the next 90 minutes playing with Straughn and the two boys.
“My first thought was, ‘Keep calm,’ said Seth Straughn. “It was surreal because you’d expect these guys to appear larger than life on TV, but they weren’t. He was kind enough to take pictures with us, but over time it was like chatting with anyone else. He was really cool.
“He seemed like the type of guy who was just trying to relax and have fun. As a father, the fact that he enjoyed the boys’ company and had a good time with Parker meant a lot to him. I will be a fan of his forever now. “
He was impressed that DeChambeau’s group stayed with them even after they skipped ahead of the large group in front of them. It would have been a perfect opportunity for DeChambeau’s group to break away on their own.
“He’s been doing quite a bit with the boys,” said Seth Straughn. “I was able to give Bryson some pointers on what felt weird, giving him tips on how to play better golf when it’s a different kind of golf.”
As a beginner, DeChambeau struggled to repeat his long tees on the disc golf course, but Seth said DeChambeau improved over the course of the round. After the round, they went to an empty tee and worked on DeChambeau’s tees.
“I saw a bit of his competitive spirit,” said Straughn. “After we finished, we worked to get it off the tee. We emptied my whole pocket. He has definitely started to take it up. “