By Dee Leekha-Houck
Paul Wright and John Houck, Tall Firs Disc Golf Course, Monroe, WA, August 2013,
We are delighted to announce that Team HouckDesign is growing. Before the end of the year, we will be adding four new designers. Today, I’d like to announce that Paul Wright of the Seattle, WA area is now a part of Team Houck. He was always a part of our team in some ways. Now it’s official.
John and I first met Paul at our ranch, Circle R Disc Golf Ranch, in Wimberley in 2008 when came out to compete at the Amateur World Doubles Championships which John has been hosting and running as the TD since 1990’s. It was calledf National Doubles for some years.
Paul stood out as someone exceptional to me. Why? First, because he took the time to come up to me and introduce himself and tell me who he was and where he had traveled from to come play at an event we were hosting. Secondly, Paul is very gracious and very pleasant in conversation. He has the ability to instantly connect with people. He is also very intuitive and compassionate, and I knew this was a “good person”. I invited him and his doubles partner to join us for dinner that night with our volunteers. I served up steaks and baked potatoes Texas Ranch style for the then tournament “Houck Team”.
Paul won the World Championship that year at our disc golf ranch which hosted 2 World- class course designs. That was his first World Championship title. Since then, Paul won World Championships three more times on at Selah Ranch, Mt. Vernon, Texas, which also hosted 2 of our course designs . Those courses were ranked #1 and #2 in the world since they debuted and for 6 years. We ran the PDGA Amateur World Doubles Championships there for several years. Needless to say, our admiration and fondness for Paul grew each time we met him.
Paul asked John if he needed any help when John was designing Tall Firs Disc Golf course in Monroe, WA – true to his nature without thought of any personal gain and simply giving. John typically likes working alone, but he invited Paul to help him with marking and staking on the last day we were there. The guys worked and Pam, Paul's wife, and I enjoyed time walking the beautiful golf course, helping out, and getting to know each other. That was the start of a friendship for all four of us.
Dee Leekha-Houck and Pam Wright, Tall Firs Disc Golf Course, Monroe, WA, August 2013.
We have since watched Paul win more World Championships and serve our industry in multiple ways by volunteering for tournaments, designs, etc. He volunteers with the the local disc golf club, the PDGA and the Paul McBeth Foundation.
We recently visited Paul and Pam at their home and discussed about Paul officially joining our team. We didn't realize it at that time, but it had been exactly 10 years since we met them at Tall Firs Disc Golf Course, in Monroe, WA where we worked together on a course for the first time!
John, Dee, Paul and Pam, August, 2023
Again, we are delighted to announce and welcome Paul Wright to our design team.
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