06/08/2026
The 8th member of the North Carolina Disc Golf Hall of Fame and 1st member of the class of 2026 is Larry Leonard, #3832.
Alaric Bruce, known by his nickname of Larry, is one of if not the best player to ever live in North Carolina. Dominating the 90s and early 2000s, Leonard is regarded as one of the best players to ever live and could be the best player ever to never win a major at any level.
Born in Memphis, TN, Leonard’s family relocated to Raleigh in the 1960s. While a student in the 80s at East Carolina, Leonard discovered the game at the campus course and joined the PDGA in 1987. A natural athlete who excelled at ping pong, basketball, and golf, Disc Golf came naturally to Larry. He never played amateur and turned professional officially in his second ever event, the 1987 Dogwood Crosstown Classic. His first win, coming full circle, was in 1991 back at ECU where he opened with a tournament best 39 – the best round of any player that weekend by 4. After two more wins in 1992, Larry began a streak in February of 1993 that shows the greatness of his game.
Finishing 10th at the Florida Triple Crown 3 on February 28, 1993, Leonard would go on to cash in 147 consecutive events in Singles play– a streak that finally ended in April of 2000 over 7 years later. After that minor stumble to end the streak, he would go on to cash 91 of his next 93 events into March of 2003. This means over the course of a decade spanning 240 events, Larry did not get a check at the end of the event only 3 times.
His most notable of his 6 A tier wins came in 1998 where he defeated Ken Climo – in Climos’ prime – at the Disc Golf Journal Greater Peoria Open. With this win, Leonard was featured on the cover of Disc Golf Magazine. And it wasn’t just A tiers - within that cash streak included multiple high finishes in major championships.
Larry’s finishes in world championships during this stretch is also just as mind blowing. 27th in 1992, 7th in 1993, 21st in 1995, 25th in 1996, 15th in 1997 and 1998, 9th in 2000, 19th in 2001 and 18th in 2002. Larry began playing Masters at the Worlds highlighted by a runner up finish in 2005 and never finishing worse than 6th in 5 starts. It wasn’t just the worlds where Larry was accomplished – he became a household name at the United States Disc Golf Championship.
In 1999 he finished 23rd, 11th in 2000, 3rd in 2001 and 2002, 24th in 2003, and 4th in 2004. His two podium finishes and his three top 4 finishes are the most of any North Carolinian of all time.
Perhaps what made Leonard so mesmerizing to watch was his incredible unique throwing style and his almost automatic putt. Using an Aero, Leonard became known as the best putter of all time and would go entire events without missing inside 40 feet. The old saying was Larry couldn't throw 400 foot but he would always birdie a 450 foot hole. When asked how to putt better, he showed his whit and humor and would answer “throw it closer to the basket.”
The stories of his putts and rounds became legends amongst North Carolinians and no where did Larry shine more than in Winston Salem. A multiple time champion of the Horizons Classic, Leonard once had an entire tournament there with 68 birdies and 4 pars shooting a -17 37 all four rounds. In 1992 when the event was 5 rounds, Leonard’s score was in the 30s each of the 5 rounds. In a practice round one time Larry shot a 34 – yes that is 16 birdies and 2 aces and a score of -20.
As Larry got older, he retired from playing and continued to support his favorite team – Duke basketball – and loved to garden.
Larry is the first and to date only member of the Hall of Fame to be unanimously elected.
Larry passed away on June 16, 2024 at the age of 61. Larry is survived by his sister, Lisa, brother Andrew and his life time disc golf travel partner and best friend, Walter Haney.
