As I previously mentioned, my buddies and I started a tradition of holding a little disc golf tournament on Independence Day. This, the second year, we decided it would be pretty cool to start the tradition of a traveling trophy. Something that could pass from winner to winner each year.
I got together with one of my handy friends, Lee, and set off to build an epic disc golf trophy. We both envisioned something huge. Something so large you could hold it over your head like the Stanley Cup. Something very disc golf, like a functional mini basket. But it needed to be big. Since the competition is always on the Fourth of July, we opted to make it extremely patriotic too. We were going for something that would make a statement. It needed to get the reaction of “you’re not putting that in the living room” from your wife. That’s what we were setting out to do and I’m pretty sure we succeeded. Here’s the process of building an epic disc golf trophy.
To start we were considering various materials. Since we wanted it to be durable and last for years, it had to be something sturdy. We wanted to be able to pick up the trophy in celebration. We ended up with a combination of wood and metal pipe.
We started with cutting out some circles. We figured one for the top and bottom of the basket would work well. We’d secure them together with a small metal pipe. We bought some chain, trimmed it to size and hooked it into the top of the basket with eye hooks and wire. The bottom of the chains were attached to a metal ring that fit around the pipe. The final piece of the basket, was some cut-to-size chicken wire fencing. We stapled it on after paint.
For the base pole, we used a larger pipe so the basket could stand on top of the trophy base. To make sure it was a really sturdy trophy, we attached the pipe all the way through the box used as the base.
As we started building, the trophy grew bigger than we even intended. It was getting big so instead of a couple, stepped boxes on the base we stuck to just one. The big box was meant to give a sturdy base and allow for a place to add each year’s winner on an engraved plate.
We got the trophy built, sanded down and then came time for paint. Like I mentioned, we thought tying in a patriotic theme would work well for an annual Fourth of July tournament. I thought a blue base, with stars and a striped red and white top would be perfect.
To start we sprayed the entire thing with primer and then a coat of white paint. After that dried, I placed on some star stickers I cut out on a friend’s Cricut. Then I painted over those stars with blue, let them dry overnight and then peeled of the stickers. This left perfectly sharp looking white stars. The stripes were a similar process, but with painters tape to create sharp lines. We left the silver of the metal pipes and chains for a little shimmer and contrast.
The whole thing really came together and it looks amazing. I’m so happy I won it this year. I have it in my office, and now I can appreciate it each and every day. Did I mention it is a functional mini basket too?
What do you think? Have you ever tackled creating a trophy of your own?
The event has now become an annual staple of our Independence Day get-together. The 2013 tournament was a major upgrade. This year we had two portable 
The competition was actually very close. Three or four of us were in it until almost the end. In fact, the difference between first and second place was only a stroke. The full results are posted on 
The best part of winning? The fancy new trophy. My buddy, Lee, and I built this thing from scratch. We gave it a patriot look and created a base where each year’s winner will be added. I documented the whole trophy making experience, so check back for that story soon.
