North Park
He's played beautiful courses across multiple states, but if he gets to choose where he's playing, it's probably North Park.
TEAM BASKET CASE
MICHAEL
SHORT
Fort Worth, Texas
Disc golfer since 2021, forehand-first competitor, league organizer and one of the founding parents of DFW Basket Cases.
PLAYER SNAPSHOT
BY THE NUMBERS.
PDGA#201681
PLAYING SINCE2021
HOME COURSENorth Park
Amateur Player
PLAYING SINCEJune 2021
DIVISIONMA3
THROWSRight-Handed
OFF THE TEEForehand
HOW IT STARTED
LITTLE BROTHER.
BIG PROBLEM.
Michael found disc golf in June 2021 while visiting his brother in Florida after COVID travel restrictions had started lifting.
Looking for something they could actually go do, his brother suggested disc golf.
Michael's response was simple: "What's disc golf?"
That was enough to start the problem, because Michael cannot let his little brother be better than him at anything.
THE GAME
WHAT'S IN MICHAEL'S HEAD.
2022 Calvin Heimburg Halo Destroyer
A Jonesboro Open Destroyer that's been in the bag since he started throwing Destroyers — and will probably stay there long after it should be retired.
MVP / Axiom & Innova
MVP and Axiom through roughly 8-speed. Innova when it's time to go faster.
Forehand Off The Tee
The goal is to put the drive within a few feet of where he wants it. After that, he's making it up as he goes.
Everything.
Backyard putting between two baskets. Field work on a football field. Measured throws. Constant repetition. There's always something to improve.
Better Than Yesterday.
The goal hasn't changed since 2021: play better than his brother and play better than he did yesterday.
FAVORITE HOLE
TOO MANY
TO PICK ONE.
There isn't one.
Michael has played too many great holes, thrown too many memorable shots and visited too many different courses to point at a single hole and call it his favorite.
THE MEMORY THAT STUCK
FLAGSTAFF.
MASTERS WORLDS.
Michael's favorite tournament experience was the 2023 Masters Worlds in Flagstaff, Arizona.
The tournament itself set the standard for how he looks at Masters Worlds. But one of the most memorable moments happened before competition even started.
During a practice round, a woman from the group ahead came over and started giving him advice about his putting.
Michael had no idea who she was.
He later found out it was Ohn Scoggins.
The lessons stuck, and they're still part of his putting game today.
FAVORITE ACES
SAME SHOT.
DIFFERENT MOMENTS.
MEGA CTP
About 220 Feet
Michael's two favorite aces came from the same temporary tee back to the same practice basket.
The first came on the final shot of league with roughly 30 people gathered under the awning behind the basket. When it hit chains, the entire crowd erupted.
The second came during a sanctioned tournament using that same shot as the tournament CTP.
This time, his wife and son were there to watch him hit it.
They're his favorites not because of the distance, but because of who was there to see them.
WHY DISC GOLF?
PRESSURE.
AND FUN.
The Pressure.
Michael likes the pressure of competitive golf. It changes his mindset and gives him a reason to step up and attempt things he didn't think he could do.
A little pressure tends to make him focus rather than crumble.
Just Play.
Go out with a group of people and have fun. Sometimes the score matters. Sometimes nobody even bothers keeping one.
Play badly. Laugh at each other. Laugh with each other. Keep throwing.
OFF THE COURSE
FRUSTRATION
IS FUEL.
Michael works hard, and he gets frustrated. The important part is what happens next.
He doesn't let the frustration define how he feels about the work. He uses it as a reason to work harder.
Today he's a school bus driver — something most Basket Cases already know, because league schedules have to leave enough time for him to get the kids home first.
Before that came IT, physical security and managing people in quick-service restaurants.
Each of those jobs contributed something to how he approaches people, problems and running Basket Cases today.
WHAT DOES BEING A BASKET CASE MEAN?
MORE THAN
DISC GOLF.
— Michael Short
Being a Basket Case is personal for Michael. He and Amber Montijo are the founding parents of DFW Basket Cases.
Before Basket Cases, they had taken over a smaller league called Fly High Tribe. When North Park was going to close for almost a year while the other half of the park was remodeled, they decided it was time for something new.
They wanted to move away from the stigma attached to the previous group and build something fresh: an inclusive place where everyone was welcome.
Pay in or don't. Volunteer time or effort. Come hang out. Play well. Play badly. None of that changes whether you belong.
To Michael, Basket Cases means, to an extent, what family should mean:You're accepted, you're there, and everybody is welcome all the time.