Pro Disc Golf Stats (MPO): Who Was Best In 2022?

Alex Williamson avatar
Alex WilliamsonWriter, Editor
Nov 3, 2022 • 10 min read
Five male pro disc golfers transposed onto a blue background
Top row, left to right: Andrew Marwede and Paul McBeth. Bottom row left to right: Eagle McMahon, Gannon Buhr, and Ricky Wysocki. All photos: Disc Golf Pro Tour

As in previous years, UDisc is using the first few weeks of pro disc golf's offseason to dig into the stats from the world's most prestigious tournaments and shine a light on the most impressive and interesting takeaways. Since all of the world's top pro tournaments were scored with UDisc Live in 2022, there's a lot to talk about, and it'll take a series of posts throughout the next couple of weeks to cover it all.

If you're interested in learning things like 2022's best putters, highest birdie rates, longest bogey-free streaks in MPO, and a lot more, you've come to the right place.

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BEST OF THE BEST IN 2022 PRO DISC GOLF: MPO

In this section you'll find out which MPO players were top five in some of the most important (or just plain interesting) stats from 2022 pro disc golf.

Keep in mind that all stats are just from tournaments scored with UDisc Live. Though this included the vast majority of the the world's most prestigious events and tournaments in 2022, it doesn't include every competition a pro disc golfer may have played.

Jump to any stat's top five by clicking it below:

Biggest Jumps in Disc Golf World Ranking: MPO 2022

World Ranking Improvement in 2022
Name Initial 2022 Ranking
Final 2022 Ranking
▲ 81 Jake Hebenheimer 118 37
▲ 62 Tristan Tanner 112 50
▲ 54 Gavin Babcock 98 44
▲ 43 Aaron Gossage 69 26
▲ 36 Kristian Kuoksa 90 54

Congrats to these players for moving the farthest up in the world of MPO in 2022!

See all of disc golf's MPO World Rankings here.

Best Putters in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name C1X % Putter
C1X Putts Made C1X Putts Attempted
1 Andrew Marwede 92.0% DGA Stone Steady BL 655 712
2 Leo Piironen 90.5% Discmania P2 114 126
3 Paul McBeth 90.2% Discraft Special Blend Luna 582 645
4 Eagle McMahon 89.8% Discmania Rainmaker 167 186
5 Mikael Räsänen 89.6% Discmania Rainmaker 120 134

Andrew Marwede's 92% is the new record for single-season C1X putting percentage in the UDisc Live era. The previous record was Corey Ellis' 90.3% from 2021.

Not only did Marwede earn the new record in 2022, he did it attempting over 400 more putts than Ellis did during his record-setting season.

What's C1X?

C1X stands for Circle 1X.

Circle 1 (C1) is any point within 10 meters (about 33 feet) of the basket. At this range, a player has to maintain balance behind their lie (i.e., can't jump or step putt).

C1X refers to all putts between 10 and 3.3 meters (about 11 feet). We assume pros will make nearly 100% of putts within 3.3 meters, so C1X eXcludes these tap-ins, providing a clearer picture of putting skill.

Best C2 Putters in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name C2% Putter
C2 Putts Made C2 Putts Attempted
1 Cameron Messerschmidt 38.9% Gateway Wizard 37 95
2 Andrew Marwede 38.2% DGA Stone Steady BL 137 359
3 Gannon Buhr 37.3% Prodigy 350G PA3 171 459
4 Corey Ellis 35.2% Discraft Challenger 134 381
5 Eagle McMahon 35.0% Discmania Rainmaker 35 100

This isn't Washingtonian Cameron Messerschmidt's first time atop UDisc Live's season-long C2 putting stats. He led the field from long range in 2019, too.

It's also good to see 2021's C1X and C2 leader Corey Ellis up in the top five in this category along with some familiar faces from 2022's top C1X putters.

What's C2?

C2 stands for Circle 2, which is anything outside of 10 meters (about 33 feet) from the basket up to 20 meters (about 66 feet).

Highest Birdie Rates in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Birdie or Better %
Birdie or Better Total Holes Played
1 Eagle McMahon 50.4% 175 347
2 Paul McBeth 45.9% 567 1,258
3 Ricky Wysocki 45.5% 520 1,171
4 Calvin Heimburg 45.4% 579 1,286
5 Gannon Buhr 44.2% 608 1,379

No real surprises here. You're not going to win top-tier disc golf tournaments without a ton of birdies, and every one of the players above is a well-known juggernaut. Every player in this top five won at least one Elite Series or Major event in 2022.

We should also mention these are actually "birdie or better" rates as they includes eagles and aces, too.

Lowest Bogey Rates in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Bogey %
Bogey Total Holes Played
1 Gannon Buhr 8.1% 111 1,379
2 Chris Dickerson 8.2% 84 1,026
3 Paul McBeth 8.4% 105 1,258
4 Matt Orum 9.0% 83 918
5 Ricky Wysocki 9.2% 108 1,171

The bogey totals include all sorts of bogeys – single, double, triple, and so on.

Like with the highest birdie rates, no names in this list should come as a shock. All of these players had strong seasons, with only Matt Orum never finding the top of the podium at an Elite Series or Major event.

Most Eagles in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Eagle Total
1 Ezra Aderhold 19
2 Ricky Wysocki 13
3 Paul McBeth 12
T4 Calvin Heimburg 10
T4 Aaron Gossage 10

This top five is filled with players who can whip a disc 500 feet/152 meters or more if they want to, and taking out the big guns paid off for them more than any other players last season.

What's an Eagle?

When a player completes a hole in two fewer strokes than par (hole-in-one on a par 3, two strokes on a par 4, or three on a par 5), they get an eagle.

Most Throw-Ins in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Throw-In Total
1 Paul McBeth 17
2 Aaron Gossage 13
T3 Ricky Wysocki 11
T3 Luke Humphries 11
T3 Kevin Jones 11
T3 Chandler Kramer 11
T3 Jeremy Koling 11

A throw-in happens when a player gets their disc in the basket with a throw from outside C2 (outside 20 meters/65.6 feet). Paul McBeth outdid everyone else with his throw-in total in 2022, and one of those hits from downtown was essential to his sixth World Championship title.

Take a look at McBeth draining one from around 70 feet/21 meters to give himself a consequential birdie on the penultimate hole of the last round at 2022 Worlds:

Best Fairway Hit Rates in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Fairway Hit Rate
Fairway Hits
Drive Throws
1 Teemu Lampainen 80.00% 256 320
2 Jake Lauber 77.56% 363 468
3 Chris Dickerson 76.24% 828 1,026
4 Cale Leiviska 75.81% 370 488
5 Isaac Robinson 75.75% 812 1,072

Fairway hits definitely make life easier for a player, but it's interesting to note that no player in the top five of 2022 birdie rates made this list (Gannon Buhr came closest, ranking 7th in fairway hit rate).

What's a Fairway Hit?

Here's how we define a fairway hit:

  • Fairway Hits stats only cover players' first shots (i.e., tee shots) on par 3s and 4s.
  • On a par 3, a player's drive has to come to rest within C2 to count as a fairway hit.
  • On a par 4, the player's first shot needs to be in the fairway (e.g., not in the woods, OB, or in a hazard) or in C2.
  • On a par 5, a player can earn 0, 1, or 2 fairway hits. If a player's first shot lands in the fairway, it counts as a fairway hit (if it miraculously landed within C2, that would also count). A player's second shot can land in the fairway or within C2 and count as a fairway hit.

Best Scramble Rates in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Scramble Rate
Successful Scrambles Scramble Attempts
1 Ricky Wysocki 64.0% 163 255
2 Daniel Davidsson 62.9% 90 143
3 Gannon Buhr 62.8% 164 261
4 Michael Johansen 61.5% 40 65
5 Chris Dickerson 59.5% 113 190

There are two names in this top five that are likely to surprise most fans.

Though Daniel Davidsson is currently in the World Rankings' top 100, you'd have to be a follower of European disc golf to know him. A 2021 Junior European Champion, Davidsson's biggest claim to fame in 2022 was a win at the Copenhagen Open, which was part of the European Pro Tour.

Michael Johansen is someone who'll be most familiar to long-time pro disc golf fans as he's been very good for a very long time. Never much of a tourer and now over 40, Johansen doesn't compete in MPO at elite events as often as he once did. Still, he made a name for himself by having some of the best touch the game has ever seen, and it seems like that skillset is still serving him well on the occasions when he finds himself off the fairway.

What's a Scramble?

The scramble stat tracks a player's ability to recover from an off-target drive and avoid carding a bogey. If a player ever throws OB or off the fairway and still earns par or better on a hole, they've successfully scrambled.

Best Bounce Back Rates in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Bounce Back Rate
Successful Bounce Backs
Bounce Back Chances
1 Onni Arminen 58.0% 30 52
2 Gannon Buhr 48.3% 56 116
3 Kyle Klein 48.0% 73 152
4 Ricky Wysocki 46.6% 55 118
5 Matt Orum 46.5% 40 86

A player successfully "bounces back" when they card a birdie or better after getting bogey or worse on the previous hole. That means every bogey a player gets means another chance to bounce back.

Finn Onni Arminen is a young player just getting going in Europe's pro scene, but he can take a lot of pride in the resilience he showed in the face of disappointment as it landed him the top spot in bounce backs on UDisc Live in 2022.

Highest Precise Power Index (PPI) in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name PPI
Holes Counted in PPI
1 Calvin Heimburg 44.2 335
2 Albert Tamm 44.0 333
3 Ricky Wysocki 42.9 298
4 Oskari Vikström 41.9 91
5 Jake Hebenheimer 41.4 226

We unveiled the precise power index (PPI) near the end of the 2022 season, but it was applied to all tournaments in 2022 (and before). In the most basic terms (and with some caveats), PPI shows how accurately an MPO player was on holes where they threw 400 feet/122 meters or more (distance threshold is lower for FPO). Higher PPIs equal better accuracy at distance.

You can get more info on PPI in our post introducing the stat.

Most Impressive Distance Shots in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Hole Distance
Where Drive From Tee Landed
Hole - Round - Tournament
1 Austin Hannum 631 feet/192 meters Circle 1 - Parked WACO - Rd. 1 - Hole 2
2 Emerson Keith 620 feet/189 meters Circle 1 - Parked Green Mountain Championship - Rd. 3 - Hole 11
T3 Linus Carlsson 615 feet/188 meters Circle 1 - Parked Portland Open - Rd. 4 - Hole 8
T3 Kevin Jones 615 feet/188 meters Circle 1 - Parked Portland Open - Rd. 3 - Hole 8
5 Ezra Aderhold 606 feet/185 meters Circle 1 - Parked Ledgestone Open - Rd. 4 - Hole 16

Getting a disc to travel over 600 feet/182 meters is a feat in its own right, but doing that with pinpoint accuracy is close to miraculous. What these five athletes did almost defies the imagination.

We identified these shots as the most impressive long-range throws of the year thanks to our new Precise Power Index stat.

Most Active Pro Disc Golfers: MPO 2022

Rank Name Holes Tracked Equivalent in 18-Hole Rounds Best 2022 Elite Series or Major Finish
1 Chandler Kramer 1,440 81 5th - European Open
T2 Kevin Jones 1,404 78 3rd - European Open
& T3rd - Des Moines Challenge
T2 Thomas Gilbert 1,404 78 T10th - Las Vegas Challenge and Jonesboro Open
T2 Albert Tamm 1,404 78 T6th - Des Moines Challenge
5 Gannon Buhr 1,390 77.2 1st - U.S. Disc Golf Championship

These athletes competed on more holes at tournaments with elite fields than any other MPO players in 2022.

LONGEST STREAKS & BEST LONG-RANGE SHOTS IN PRO DISC GOLF: 2022 

While season-long stats show which players stayed consistent, everyone loves seeing a short burst of something spectacular. In this section we tell you which MPO competitors maintained impressive streaks.

Jump to any stat's top five by clicking it below:

Keep in mind that the streaks mentioned here are just for events scored with UDisc Live and don't include tournaments these competitors might have played between the sport's most elite competitions.

Longest Birdie Streaks in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Rank Name Birdie Streak
Streak Start Streak End
T1 Ben Callaway 10 2022 Worlds - Rd. 3 - Hole 17 2022 Worlds - Rd. 4 - Hole 8
T1 Isaac Robinson 10 Green Mountain Championship - Rd. 1 - Hole 13 Green Mountain Championship - Rd. 2 - Hole 4
T1 Ricky Wysocki 10 2022 Worlds - Rd. 3 - Hole 6 2022 Worlds - Rd. 3 - Hole 16

For most disc golfers, getting 10 birdies over the course of an entire tournament on the courses the pros face would be a big ask, so stringing together 10 birdies in a row on these demanding tracks is superhero level stuff. Get these guys some capes and leotards.

So you know, these could be "birdie or better" streaks, but none of these players carded an eagle during their streaks.

Longest Bogey-Free Streaks in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

Many of us feel excited to turn in a single bogey-free round during a tournament. So let's take a second to marvel at how everyone above kept their scorecards squeaky clean for the equivalent of at least four 18-hole rounds while playing some of the most challenging layouts on the planet at disc golf's most prestigious tournaments.

Seriously. Just...wow.

We should also mention here that Aaron Gossage was oh-so-close to a streak of over 100 bogey-free holes. The one slip-up that stopped it from happening isn't something he'll soon forget, though. It did, after all, cost him a world title.

Yes, Gossage didn't top this list due to his bogey on the first playoff hole at the 2022 World Championships, the ever-treacherous island hole 16 at Emporia Country Club. Incredibly, he had a streak of 53 bogey-free holes before that moment and soldiered on to a streak of 48 after. Still, his single big mistake allowed Paul McBeth to claim his sixth world title and denied Gossage a career-defining win.

Longest Streaks With No Missed C1 Putts in Pro Disc Golf: MPO 2022

These streaks could include makes from tap-in range, C1X, C2, and throw-ins (including aces). A miss from C2 didn't break the streak.

Thanks to Everyone!

Nothing you see above would have been possible without the amazing volunteers who scored and tracked stats for the pros throughout 2022, or UDisc Live's partners.

We want to extend a huge "Thank You" to them all.

And if you like what you saw here, keep an eye out for upcoming posts exploring pro disc golf's hardest and easiest holes in 2022. Or, better yet, subscribe to our Release Point newsletter and never miss any post we put out.

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