Cranbrook disc golfer Ben Loggains has, for the second time, taken down the win at Falcons Flight, a large A-Tier tournament located at the Aspen Meadows disc golf courses near Sundre, Alta.
Loggains won the event in 2021, getting his first A-Tier win in dramatic fashion, defeating his friend and fellow Cranbrook disc golfer, Canada’s number-one rated player Casey Hanemayer, by a single stroke.
READ MORE: Cranbrook’s Loggains and Hanemayer take first, second at Alberta disc golf tournament
This year, Loggains won in more resounding fashion, pulling ahead of Vancouver’s Miguel Alvarado, who took second, by six strokes and finished seven stokes clear of Hanemayer, who took third.
“I think Aspen Meadows is a thrower’s course which always suits my style,” Loggains said. “Aggressive throws are rewarded and mistakes are punished which puts more emphasis on that part of the game.
“A second A-Tier win isn’t something I really anticipated. When I won this event two years ago I kind of thought it was just a lightning in a bottle situation. So to back it up with an even better performance this time and set the tournament record feels pretty good. It just proved to myself that I deserved it.”
This win comes hot on the heels of another win for Loggains, at the 2023 Copcan Deerborne Gutshot: NADGT Canada Exclusive - Presented by Grip6, in Elkford, B.C. This time coming ahead by two shots over Lethbridge’s Noah Higgins and three strokes ahead of Hanemayer. That said, Loggains wasn’t necessarily expecting to take down Falcon’s Flight this year.
“I really had no expectations,” he said. “I’ve been playing really well lately, but also struggling with shoulder and hand injuries so I had no idea what to expect. I was just truly grateful to be there.”
After his first win in 2021, Loggains finished around the middle of the pack at the 2022 event, finishing tied for 27th, with Hanemayer taking the win that year.
What made this particular win all the more special was that it was the first year of the tournament’s history that took place without its founder Ron “Rudy” Falconer present. Falconer dedicated 25 years of his life to the sport of disc golf and in 2008 he purchased land near Sundre and fulfilled his dream of creating his own world-class disc golf facility.
Falconer passed away on Monday, Sept. 5 following a long battle with cancer.
“I obviously knew Rudy for quite a long time and remember when him building the course was just an idea,” Loggains said. “It’s wild to see what it has become and with him passing last year how much the people he inspired have pushed the event to another level.”
Loggains said he now has his sights set on the Kootenay Up and Down, an annual B-Tier tournament, this year held from Sept. 22 to 24 at the Cranbrook and Wycliffe disc golf courses.
“It’s always a good chance to host players from all over Canada and parts of the U.S. and show off our great courses here in Cranbrook,” Loggains explained. “We have made some exciting upgrades to the Wycliffe course with short tees for armature players and some course routing to make it smoother for tournament play, so I can’t wait for folks from out of town to experience that.
“Wycliffe was just ranked as the number-three course in Canada prior to the changes, so as a club we’re really feeling proud.”
Looking ahead, Loggains said he and Hanemayer have been invited to compete for Team Canada at the Pan-Am games in November.
“I would really like to make that trip and try to snag a medal for Canada,” he said.
Falcons Flight 14 was filmed by Invermere-based Parked Pro, so watch for coverage on their YouTube channel: youtube.com/@parkedpro
paul.rodgers@kimberleybulletin
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