Senior Designer
Dennis Byrne, PDGA #5556
Dennis Byrne and I go back until at least the early 1990’s, when he was the director of the World’s Biggest Disc Golf Weekend in Indianapolis -- a global event I started in 1991 to grow the sport. His involvement in disc golf goes back to the ‘80’s when, in his words, he was “was a participant in the first two PDGA Amateur World Championships and staff for the next three.” In 1993 he became the Administrator of the PDGA, and his encouragement was one of the key reasons I decided to run for Commissioner at that time (which was the highest position in the PDGA at that time). He was also one of the main movers and shakers in our sport back in those days, and people have always known him as a likeable and dedicated DG kind of guy.
Dennis Byrne (red circle) and other Attendees of the 3DG-CON Inaugural Disc Golf Course Design Conference, Nov. 2022. Austin, Texas
When it comes to design, he has now designed more than 30 courses in Indiana. And where he’s really distinguished himself has been in the area of accessible design. In 2022, at the 3DiscGolf course designers’ conference, Dee Leekha-Houck invited him to present a session on courses for disabled and blind players. That presentation was a big eye-opener for everyone there. He said that he started down the design road with “a very special course at the Indiana School for the Blind and Vision Impaired, and an ADA compliant course that I designed and built for Carmel Parks and Recreation.” Since that conference, he has been the go-to source for us – and for many other designers – for anyone who wants to better understand that important and growing part of our sport.
John, Dee & Dennis in Indiana in 2024
It's great to be working with Dennis again, and we’re looking forward to doing the whole range of courses, from the smallest to the biggest and greatest. We share a passion for providing fun and enjoyable disc golf experiences for anyone, of any skill level, who wants to play disc golf -- including those with disabilities. So happy that with Dennis on the team, we will now be able to offer every client adaptive courses of all types.
So proud of our team and all the great designers who are dedicated to serving and uplifting our sport. -- John Houck
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