| John Houck | |
| Birth Date: | 15 May 1960 |
| Birth Place: | Long Beach, California, United States |
| Occupation: | Disc golf course designer |
| Spouse: | Dee Leekha-Houck |
John Houck was born May 15, 1960, in Long Beach, California. He has designed more Championship disc golf courses than anyone living today. Since 1983, he has been devoted to the evolution and promotion of disc sports, including golf, ultimate, and freestyle, with a focus on the growth of disc golf since 1988.
Houck began his career in disc sports with back-to-back World Champion titles in Freestyle Frisbee for 1984 and 1985. In 1989 John founded the Circular Skies Over Texas tour, which was the largest regional disc sports tour in the country. He was Commissioner of the Professional Disc Golf Association from 1994 to 1996, and was President of the Disc Golf Foundation from 1998 till 2014. He was inducted to the Disc Golf Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Texas Hall of Fame in 2017.[1]
Houck was also inducted to the Freestyle Frisbee Hall of Fame in 2020 making him one of only three people who have held the honor of being a HOF member of two disc sports.
Houck was the Head of Course Design for the International Disc Golf Center for many years, and has designed or consulted on course designs for numerous world and national championships, with over 180 course designs, revisions, and consultations spanning his career. John Houck is also the creator of the PDGA Amateur World Doubles Championships. He created the first promotional global event for disc golf, World's Biggest Disc Golf Weekend(WBDGW), an international public event that was started in May 1991 and was active for 25 years. The event raised money for local, national and international non-profits while it introduced disc golf to people around the world. Houck's company, Circular Productions, held the event the first weekend in May every year and at its peak, the event was hosted by 130 cities around the world.
Houck is widely considered to be the premier course designer for disc golf, not strictly based on the quantity (solo designs), but also on quality of the courses he has designed. His designs span four decades and his older courses are a testimony to the evolution of the sport. His philosophy for course design includes the showcasing of natural land features and beauty that is unique to each property. He continues to innovate design and is teaching design through his workshops and course design articles in the PDGA magazine.
His course design was ranked #1 in the world by player reviews in 2021 and continuously in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015,2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019,[2] on the oldest and largest ranking platform for disc golf courses. Lakeside, Selah Ranch, Mt. Vernon, Texas, continues to rank #1 from 2012 thru March 2017. His course Harmony Bends at Strawn Park, Columbia, Mo is currently ranked #1 on DGCourseReview.com. He has designed the highest ranked course in Canada and the Canadian National Championships were hosted there in 2018 & 2019. In Texas, his designs fill the spots of #1, #2, #3 and #4th top ranked course in that state. Other states where his designs have the top ranking including Georgia, Missouri, Alabama, North Carolina, and New York.
The Admiral disc golf course in Semmes, Alabama was his 100th course and over 250 players from six states attended the sneak peek.[3] The course is getting much usage and hosted two Professional Disc Golf tournaments in the first month of opening.
He designed his first vineyard course in 2017, Flat Creek Vineyard Disc Golf Course, Marble Falls, Texas. This course has become a popular destination for disc golf players.
In 2021, John continued to design courses for private landowners and clients who want to enjoy his designs at their estate or ranch. He designed a course in Portola, California. He also designed some 9-hole recreation courses for members of HOA's to enjoy. He continues to design and work on three separate private venues will offer his world-class championship design complex in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Kentucky.
In 2021, John also started working on 2 private courses in Canada.
The first 100 disc golf courses (original version) were wholly designed by John Houck (some course designs are original and over 35 years old and others may have been modified by players/other designers):
Houck created and has hosted the PDGA Amateur World Doubles Championships each year for 16 years. From 2013-2016, this event wash held at Selah Ranch in Talco, Texas, the most highly ranked courses in the world. Prior to 2013, it was held on Houck's personal ranch and courses. From 2017-2019, the event was held on a total of four courses. These courses are at Selah Ranch and at Trey Deuce Ranch near Mt. Vernon, Texas.
In 1991, Houck created World's Biggest Disc Golf Weekend, an international disc golfing event that raises money for non-profit organizations. As of 2013,the event was taking place simultaneously in 15 countries and 135 cities. Headquartered in Austin, Texas in the first weekend in May, this event started in Zilker Park, Austin in 1991. Hundreds of thousands of people were introduced to the sport through this event in the 1990's and 2000 to 2012.
In November, 2010, the Circle R Disc Golf ranch hosted the Texas Teams Tournament with over 500 players and fans from across the state of Texas attending a three-day event that included disc golf, camping, and live music. Texas Teams Disc Golf Championships are non-sanctioned events and players compete for honor and not official titles. Special team awards for this event include the "spirit award" and the "best dressed team award". Created by Houck in 2000 to provide an event for players who share the love of the sport to simply enjoy the weekend with other disc golfers, the Texas Teams Tournament became the largest disc golf non-sanctioned team event in the world by 2010. It was held at Trey Texas Ranch near Mt. Vernon, Texas in 2019.