The 14th edition of the international disc golf tournament Drava Forester took place from Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1, 2026, with additional activities beginning on Wednesday, October 28.
The tournament brought together 64 players from nine countries – Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Finland, Iceland, Serbia, Switzerland, Estonia and the United States.
The tournament was organized by Lagoda Disc Golf, with the support of the City of Varaždin, and the area around Arena Varaždin once again served as the event's main venue.
Unlike previous editions, which often enjoyed sunshine and exceptionally pleasant weather for late October, this year's Drava Forester took place in somewhat less favorable conditions. There was less sunshine than usual, the wind blew through much of the competition, and some activities took place in the rain or under the threat of rain. Nevertheless, the weather did not significantly disrupt the tournament, and participants were generally able to play all three rounds as planned.
Tournament schedule
Below is the schedule originally planned for this year's Drava Forester. Some activities, including the special final, did not take place because of the weather forecast and illness among the organizers.
Arrival and opening activities
The program began on Wednesday, October 28, as the first participants arrived in Varaždin for a welcome dinner at Restaurant Garestin.
Thursday was dedicated to course practice, participants' arrival, the official tournament opening and the players' meeting.
The official program was followed by the traditional team-building games, featuring 37 players divided into seven teams, with participants from different countries and clubs. The teams competed in seven different games, with very close results.
The winning team scored 44 points and consisted of Bjarni Þór Breiðfjörð Bjarnason, Stanislaus Amann, Antonio Grigić, Branimir Mihalinec and Doris Wiesbauer.
Just one point behind (43) was the second-place team of Primož Belčič, Sauli Sumen, Lisa Ulbing and Tinu Schär, while third place, with 39 points, went to Luce, Ari Penttala, Neno Šobak, Eric Osterwinter, Aleksandar Bato Sudžuković and Peter Pichler.
Course layout
The tournament took place on a temporary disc golf course around Arena Varaždin, with two layouts – long and short.
The long layout, measuring 2,049 meters with a par of 61, was played by MPO competitors, while the shorter layout was used by FPO and White division players.
The White division was open to anyone wishing to play the shorter layout, regardless of age or gender.
Tournament merchandise
A new feature this year allowed participants to choose and preorder tournament merchandise according to their preferences, rather than everyone receiving the same package.
The selection included three types of hoodies – Premium Hoodie, Sherpa Hoodie and College Hoodie, as well as performance and cotton T-shirts in men's and women's styles, ceramic mugs, sports towels, neck warmers and fleece gloves.
Clothing was available in various colors and sizes, featuring the special Drava Forester 2026 design.
Day 1 – Friday, October 30
The first competition day marked the beginning of the tournament's three-day sporting program.
The best MPO score came from Philo Brathwaite from the United States, who completed the first round in 53 throws, or -8 relative to par. Stanislaus Amann and Jani Ketonen followed with 55 throws each (-6).
In FPO, the best performance came from Danica Pajtak at +3, while in the White division the strongest start came from Peter Schwartz at +3.
In the afternoon, after the first competition round, the opening round of the traditional Lagoda Team Gametook place. In this team event, three players play nine holes together under rules designed for a more relaxed competition and social experience.
Players Party
Friday evening was reserved for the traditional Drava Forester Players Party, this year featuring the colors pink, petrol and silver, chosen at the previous year's tournament.
The party began with a pizza dinner, included in every participant's entry fee, at Medina Škrinja.
The evening's main attraction was the traditional Model Contest, the search for the Drava Forester Model, where humor, audience interaction and various talents count alongside appearance and style.
This year's finalists were Lisa, Conny, Maja and Wolfgang.
After a question-and-answer round and a showcase of their talents and skills, the title of Drava Forester Model 2026 award went to Wolfgang Steinmetz.
As the new Model, Wolfgang was invited to choose the colors for the next edition. He selected white and violet, while the organizers later added coral red as the third color for Drava Forester 2027.
Day 2 – Saturday, October 31
Saturday brought the second competition round and another day of battles for the leading positions.
The best MPO round was played by Japi Pistokoski from Finland, whose 52 throws (-9) marked the lowest single-round score of the entire tournament (PDGA round rating of 1032). Jani Ketonen followed at -6 and Erkka Leivo at -5.
Among the FPO players who completed the tournament, the best round was played by Danica Pajtak at +4, ahead of Katerina Zbytovska (+5) and Jasmina Nikolić (+7). A particularly notable performance came from Raphaela Narath, who played only the second round and therefore did not finish in the overall standings, but recorded +1, worth 883 PDGA rating points.
After the main competition, the second and final round of the Lagoda Team Game.
The event featured 10 teams, with victory going to Team Yatzy, consisting of Ari Penttala, Erkka Leivo and Sauli Sumen, with a total score of +2.
Second place was shared by No Name Yet (Blaž Petrović, Gašper Arzenšek and Andrej Kozic) and Black Cats (Aleksandar Bato Sudžuković, Philo Brathwaite and Danica Pajtak), both finishing at +5.
Saturday evening began with dinner at Restaurant Bedem, where participants enjoyed a generous buffet.
After dinner, everyone got into their Halloween costumes, and the festivities continued with a Halloween party at P4 and Medina Škrinja.
Day 3 – Sunday, November 1
The final competition day featured the third round, which decided the final standings in all three divisions.
Unlike previous editions, this year there was no traditional Drava Forester final on six special holes in front of Arena Varaždin. Due to the unfavorable weather forecast, the organizers decided to cancel the final, so the winners were determined by the results of the three regular competition rounds.
This year's event also had a somewhat reduced side program, as illness among the organizers meant that some traditional activities did not take place – Park It! Contest, 3 Consecutive Putts, the large raffle at the Players Party and several other activities.
Main tournament results
The winner of the 14th Drava Forester in the MPO division was Philo Brathwaite from the United States, with a total score of -20 (average tournament round rating of 1,012) , marking his sixth victory in Varaždin in seven appearances.
Philo played a remarkably consistent tournament, shooting -8, -4 and -8, and finished five throws ahead of runner-up Japi Pistokoski from Finland (-15). Third place was shared by Erkka Leivo from Finland and Stanislaus Amann from Austria, both at -12.
In the FPO division the winner was Katerina Zbytovska with a total score of +13 (average round rating of 841), ahead of Jasmina Nikolić (+18) and Danica Pajtak (+20). Katerina played her best round on the final day, securing victory with a +2.
In the White division, for players who preferred the short layout, the clear winner was Peter Schwartz with a score of +1. Second place was shared by Tomo Belčič, Wolfgang Steinmetz and Ronald Geider, all at +19.
Full results are available on the official PDGA tournament page.
Over Achiever and Rookie of the Year
Two special awards were also presented at the closing ceremony.
The Over Achiever 2026 award went to Doris Wiesbauer from Austria, whose average round rating during the tournament was an impressive 52.33 points above her current PDGA rating.
This award goes to the player with the largest positive difference between their average tournament round rating and their current PDGA rating, regardless of division or final placing. To qualify, players must have an active PDGA membership and at least 20 previously recorded rounds.
Second place went to Bjarni Þór Breiðfjörð Bjarnason (+34), third to Tomo Belčič (+33.67), while fourth place was shared by Zoran Krečar and Neno Šobak (+26.33).
The Rookie of the Year 2026 award went to Bjarni Þór Breiðfjörð Bjarnason from Iceland, who stood out among players taking part in Drava Forester for the first time.
This award is not based on results in the main PDGA competition, but on participation in side activities, socializing with other players and contributing to the tournament atmosphere.
Bjarni received free entry with the Full Package for Drava Forester 2027, while the main tournament winners received free entry and accommodation for the next edition.
Raffle and farewell dinner
At the end of the tournament, there was also a raffle for all participants, with around ten different prizes awarded.
The tournament officially concluded on Sunday evening with a farewell dinner at Restaurant Garestin, where participants enjoyed each other's company and several rounds of the social deduction game Mafia to round off another edition of Drava Forester.
Special thanks go to the City of Varaždin for supporting the tournament and the development of disc golf in Varaždin.
Looking ahead to Drava Forester 2027
The next, 15th edition of Drava Forester, will take place from Wednesday, October 27 to Sunday, October 31, 2027.
The plan is to continue the international disc golf tournament format, combining three competition rounds with a range of additional sporting, tourist and social activities.
The program will begin on Wednesday with participants' arrival and a welcome dinner, while Thursday will be reserved for practice, the official opening and team-building games.
The main tournament will run from Friday to Sunday, alongside the traditional Team Game and Players Party, while the Halloween party on Sunday, October 31 will be the tournament's closing event.
The colors of Drava Forester 2027 will be white, violet and coral red.
