2018 will certainly be one of Bohdan Bílek’s most memorable years in disc golf. Bílek, 18-years-old, is another example of a disc golfer who’s name you might not know today, but you will be seeing for years to come if his success this season is any indication.
Bílek, from Nový Jičín, Czech Republic, is took home the Czech Championship in the MJ18 division last weekend and also claimed this year’s MJ18 European Championship in August. On top of that, he’s a three-time MJ18 Central European Champion.
With his strong resume in tow, Bílek is the latest member of Team Discmania and will be making his team debut at this week’s United States Disc Golf Championship.
We talked with Bilek about his history in disc golf and not only his first trip to the USDGC, but his first trip outside of Europe.
What’s your favorite thing to do that doesn’t involve disc golf?
I like to just hang out with my friends, listening to almost every genre of music and I like to play pool.
Tell us a bit about your home town… What’s it like? What’s your home course like?
I live in the small town Nový Jičín with population around 30,000. I think it's probably the most disc golf involved city in Czech Republic.
Our club has almost 40 active players and we organize 3-4 tournaments every year. One is a really small tournament in a park with very easy 12 holes. It’s always fun to play though. We organize an event there in the Winter and another in the Summer.
At the beginning of Fall we build probably the prettiest 18-hole course in Czech Republic—after Konopiště of course. It's called Moravian Open and this year I won my first Czech Championship there.
I'm training on a course called Bocheta DiscGolfPark, it's a beginner friendly 9-hole course but there is a lot of space for big drives and we also have some elevation there.
You won the European Championships in MJ18 division, congrats! What’s the next big title for you?
The European title is the biggest title I have at the moment. I'm also a three-time Central European Champion and a fresh Czech Champion (MJ18) so I will be happy if I could come back to win it again, which will not be easy because next year I will play in MPO.
I would like to travel around the Europe more so I can maybe get some new titles. I will probably take the first opportunity to become a pro because I'm 18 and there is nothing holding me back any more.
This is your first trip to the USDGC. How are you feeling? What are your expectations going to the event?
I really just want to enjoy it as much as possible and have fun. It's my dream and I don't wanna ruin it with any negativity. It will be my first time in the US and also first time outside of Europe. I'm really looking forward to meeting new people, but also meet my favorite pros.
I would also just like to say something about our Czech disc golf community. When I got my spot to the USDGC in August I was almost sure that I couldn't go there because it seemed impossible to get the money in such a small period of time.
So we asked our disc golf community through the Czech Disc Golf Association to get funding for my USDGC trip. We didn't expect much and the response broke our expectations. People sent me more money than I could ever expect and it blew my mind… It still does. Those people made my dream become reality and I’m so thankful for them.
What’s the Discmania disc that helped you to reinvent your game?
Definitely the Discmania MD3. I have multiple of them in my bag. I love to throw it on almost any line but especially on tunnel shots. I can also throw it pretty far.