Macie Velediaz promoted to the Supreme Team on Dynamic Discs | Contract update
Alexander Williamson
2022 marked her first season on tour full-time, and Macie racked up six top 10 showings at Disc Golf Pro Tour (DGPT) events, including podium finishes at the Music City Open and Des Moines Challenge
Additionally, she defended her state title to become Tennessee's back-to-back FPO champion. She even got a head start on 2023 by winning the first event of the DGPT's wrap-around season at Lake Marshall in late October.
Dynamic Discs is proud that Macie reached those milestones as part of our team, and we're excited to announce that Macie and Dynamic Discs agreed to a new, one-year contract and her promotion to our Supreme Team.
"Macie is a phenomenal ambassador for the sport," said Jesse Arzola, Competitive Disc Golf Manager for Dynamic Discs. "Her continuous growth has been incredible to witness. We look forward to our continued partnership with her and can't wait for her to keep flexing on the course!"
To mark the occasion, we want to help the disc golf world get to know Macie better. Below you can learn how she got into the sport, her most significant accomplishments, and her goals for the coming season.
A native of Morristown, Tennessee, Macie started playing disc golf as a junior in high school with her then-boyfriend, now-husband Jaime. He was on the course daily, and Macie thought it'd be way more interesting to play along than just tag along.
She quickly became as equally obsessed with disc golf as her partner.
"Once I started playing, I didn't want to stop," Macie said. "I could see myself improving every time I went out, and [that] kept me in the sport."
After honing her skills in one of the country's best small towns for disc golf over two years, Macie's ambitions grew.
"I started dreaming about becoming a pro in 2018," Macie recalled. "By this point I had played some tournaments and did well. After seeing Paige and Catrina battling it out, I started to think that could be me one day."
In 2019, Macie competed solely in the FPO division and built up experience at regional B and C-Tier events. Though the fields at many events were small, it's still remarkable that she won 11 of the 14 tournaments she played.
In 2020, Macie joined Team Dynamic Discs, and it was a perfect fit from day one.
"The people at Dynamic became a family to me fast," Macie said. "If I ever had an issue, they were always on top of it and ready to help."
In 2020, when COVID-19 made the world stand still, Macie again stayed to play close to home. She did, however, dip her toes into a much bigger pond by playing in the DGPT's Idlewild Open and the Women's National Championship (WNC), which ran alongside the MPO-only U.S. Disc Golf Championship in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
She finished sixth at the 2020 WNC in a field primarily comprised of the world's best FPO competitors. Her performance showed everyone she could keep up with the planet's elite women disc golfers.
In 2021, Macie kept up that pace. She took fourth at the DGPT's Jonesboro Open in mid-April, where she found herself right where she envisioned—battling it out with Paige and Catrina.
At her next tournament stop, she earned a spot on the podium for the first time at an Elite Series event that could not be more fitting—the Dynamic Discs Open.
2021 was also the year Macie earned her first Tennessee State Disc Golf Championship title.
We covered the highlights of Macie's 2022 season at the top of this post, but one of Macie's most significant accomplishments last year came from reflection rather than competition.
"My first year on the road was tough at the beginning," she admits. "I didn't know how to deal with not playing well at every event. In 2021, I played five National Tour events and did well. So going into 2022, I thought I [would] do even better at those events—and that wasn't the case. I [learned] that the tour is mostly about keeping your mental state right and being able to forget. I started doing that in the middle of the season. And that's when I started playing like me again."
And playing like Macie Velediaz means getting wins.
In her last event at the Lake Marshall Open, she earned her first victory at a DGPT tournament—beating both former World Champion Sarah Hokom and multiple-time DGPT Elite Series winner Natalie Ryan by nine strokes.
"Winning my first DGPT is something I still can't put into words," Macie says. "I have been dreaming of that since I started playing, and to know that Dynamic believed in me from the beginning meant everything. Also, shaving Zach [Melton]'s head was the icing on top."
Macie has plenty she wants to work on in the offseason. On the physical side, she feels like her backhand approaches could be sharper, and there are a few kinks in her form to iron out. Mentally, she hopes to become more resilient and forward-thinking.
"My goal is to go out there and not worry so much about making mistakes," Macie explained. "Just going out there and trying my best—that's all that will matter."
She knows progress can be challenging, but she works to make it happen.
Extending her relationship with a company she trusts and whose equipment she loves only makes that dedication easier.
"My mindset for this off-season is: 'What are the best players in the world doing right now?'" Macie said. "If I want to be the best, I [must] practice like the best. Having Dynamic motivates me even more, and knowing they have my back will push me harder."