Interview with Scott Martin
South Lyon, Michigan
PDGA #5560

The announcement of your retirement is one of the biggest stories of the season. Can you tell us a little more about what had to be an extremely difficult decision?

This was a very difficult decision. As most people in the disc golf community know, I have been working for the same company for about ten years now. The last couple years, I have been waiting for a certain position to open up inside our company. Well, that finally happened and I could not turn it down. I am transferring over to the Chicago area for this new position. This position will take more of my time so unfortunately I will not have time to keep up with tournaments, not to mention any practice time.

The other factor as most in the Pro field that have played with me know, I have been playing with two herniated discs in my lower back for about two years now. Even if I did not take this new job, my doctor wanted me to take the summer off anyway. So hence the decision to go ahead and announce my retirement. Who’s to say that you may see me out on the course in a year or two out playing recreationally, but it is extremely doubtful you will see me at tourneys unless it is to spectate.

You are one of the best left handed disc golfers we’ve seen. Who gets your vote as the best lefty you’ve ever played with?

Boy, that’s a tough one. I guess I would have to give the edge to Joe Mela at the moment. He has the best all around game right now. My favorite lefty though to watch throw is definitely Craig Leyva. I love watching him crush it a mile.

It’s always great to see you and your wife together each fall at the US Championship. She has obviously been very supportive of your efforts to travel and compete. How have you two worked together to minimize the stress on the family?

She has been great from the very beginning when it came to my golf career. She has been very supportive. I think the biggest thing that has helped with this is the job that I have. With my job, I travel quite a bit. She is used to me being gone a ton. So, the golf was like another work trip when she did not go with me. She did love coming down to Rock Hill each year. She was disappointed last year because she could not make it down because of lack of vacation time.

What is your favorite disc golf memory?

There have been so many, like winning the Am Worlds in 1992, 3rd at the Pro Worlds in Cincinnati where I played 7 of the 8 rounds with Kenny (Climo) and Scott Stokely in ‘98, winning my first super tour in Toronto, four Top 5 finishes at the USDGC, the list goes on. But I would have to say my favorite memory has to be my 1st ten years playing and traveling with my brother Tim. I showed him the game after I had played my first summer. Smart, huh. Good thing I had a year head start on him. Once we found out about tournaments, you couldn’t keep us off the road.

We traveled as am’s and pro’s together from 1989-1997. ( I turned pro in fall of 92, Tim in spring of 93) We traveled to a few different World Championships together and also went down to Round Rock Texas for the National Doubles. We did this our last Am year (3rd place) and our first Pro year (can’t remember where we finished for some reason!)(Our first experience with Whippets and Vipers.)

The memory that I will never forget was when we were driving back from Round Rock in 93. At the time, we lived in Peoria IL. About 17 hours from Round Rock. We took off directly following the awards ceremony to make the long drive. I drove until we got just out of Texas. Tim took over through Oklahoma. Thank God it was Oklahoma and not something like Colorado. I suddenly wake up in the passenger seat zooming across the median in the middle of the highway. Luckily it was very level and all grass. Tim woke up the same time I did. He immediately pulled the wheel back to the right and up onto the highway going the correct direction. He continued directly to the shoulder, got out of my truck, and walked around to my side. I got out, jumped in the driver seat and we took off. He didn’t say a word for about 15 minutes. Our hearts were both pumping a little faster than normal. Needless to say, I had enough of an adrenaline rush to keep me awake the rest of the way to IL.

You and Jay Matthes (Jay Bird Discs) go back many years. Jay is loved by many, many people around the country. How much has that relationship meant to you over the years?

Jay is the greatest. He started sponsoring my brother and I when we started coming up to Lansing for the In Flight Open for the first time back about 1994. Since then, Jay and I have become pretty close friends on and off the course. He has been great over the years whenever I need anything at all. The dyed discs he creates are the best I’ve seen out on the courses. He has been doing it for so long that he has the most unique designs. I love watching them fly.

I was very glad that the last tourney I decided to play ended up being in Lansing. I asked Jay if he would caddy for me for the weekend. It just happened to be a two day tourney. Jay caddied the three rounds and then the final nine hole finals. If he had not have done this, my back would not have been able to survive the weekend. Many thanks again to Jay for this. Jay and I will always stay in touch but I will miss getting to see him every other weekend at tourneys.

Tell us about the one golf disc that you’ve had the greatest emotional attachment over the years.

That is a very easy question. I would not say there is one specific disc per say as to a certain type of disc. The Roc has been my favorite all around disc since being given one my second year playing the game. If I had to walk around a course with one disc, it would always be a Roc. This has been the most dependable disc ever to end up in my bag. At any given time you will find 4-5 Rocs in my bag/cart. I always have them in different stages. From a brand new one to a very beat one. I love this disc for everything from short shots inside 200 feet ( I know most guys like the Aviar) all the way up to about 330-340 feet. The majority of my aces have been with Rocs. I would recommend a Roc for all new players. Once you can control it, you can control any other disc.

What’s the best advice you can offer new players for handling their emotions during competition?

Another easy one. Unfortunately, I did not figure this out until after turning pro and playing with a ton of great players. DO NOT worry about the last shot. No matter how much you want, you can’t do anything to change that last shot. Once the shot is done, make sure you realize what you did, but then move on to the next shot. That next shot is the most important shot of the day. The more you dwell on a bad shot, and even a great shot once in a while, the more likely you are to be distracted from the shot at hand. Once I got this through my head, I became a lot more relaxed and able to concentrate on my shots more.

Any words of wisdom for those who aspire to make a living playing disc golf?

For those who can endure the pressures of the road at this stage in our game, all the power to them. I would have loved to have had that opportunity, but unfortunately the money in the game right now, did not justify quiting my job. If you have the resources to make a shot at it on the road, I would highly recommend it. I will cherish forever the friendships I have made all over the world through this wonderful game. I think I could go to almost any state and even a couple different countries and find a friend I have met through golf somewhere. Good luck to all that aspire to this.

Scott, I’d just like to close by saying that you have been among the most courteous and professional pro golfers I have ever known. The tour needs more players like you. I know many people, myself included, will miss seeing you on the course. We wish the best of success down the road.

Thank you very much for the compliments. I always try to represent Innova in a positive way. Everyone at Innova has been great to me since joining the team. I’m not sure if Dana would have been okay with me playing for as long as I have without their support.

To all the players out there who I did not have the chance to see this year, I want to say thanks to all of you for all the great rounds of golf and all the great friendships through the years. I have many great memories from the last 20 years of golf that will stay with me forever. Hopefully I will run into you at some time or another. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to play again as a grand master. Come on Worlds 2016! Until then, thanks again to everyone and if anyone would like to email me, you can get my email from Jonathan.