Getting Better at Disc Golf

 

Few people who play this sport don’t care if they improve their skills. Most of us would love to add a few more feet to our drive or increase our putting percentage. For those of us who play in leagues and tournaments, we would love to place higher and win more competitions. In fact, in a recent blog post, we learned that the number one thing that would motivate someone who doesn’t play tournaments to sign up for one, is if they were a better player. (Survey Results: Tournaments) One of the best ways to get better is with disc golf practicing. Whether we are improving enough to feel confident about playing in a tournament, or watching our PDGA rating climb high enough to step up to the next division, one of the more satisfying aspects of disc golf is to see improvement in our game.

Practice makes perfect?

To be clear, playing a round of disc golf is still practicing. The more you play, the better you will get. However, for this blog, when I say ‘disc golf practicing’ I am referring to field work and putting. From what I’ve seen and experienced, those will give your game the most rapid improvement. They take a little more discipline, because they aren’t as fun as playing a round. But, you will definitely see the most improvement with field work and putting practice.

 

Preparing to Practice

In this blog, I will talk about the best way to carve up your limited disc golf practice time, a couple of practice methods, and one aspect of practicing that I don’t feel is covered sufficiently, warming up. Most people, at the very least, try to get some practice throws and putts in before a league or tournament, if not some stretches. But, how many of us take the time to stretch before ripping some drives in a field or putting inside the circle? I believe that even before putting we should do some stretches. Although the risk for injury is practically nonexistent with putting, it is the consistency we are striving for.

Professional disc golfers suggest that we keep our routine consistent in practice and competition.  Do the same pre-throw or pre-putt routine. Have the same mental thoughts and affirmations run through our head. Try to get the same motion in practice that we use on the course. The point of practice is to get that consistency. And if that is our goal, our muscles should be stretched and warmed up for practice the same as when we compete. That isn’t always easy. Most of us have to squeeze in some practice time in our busy schedule. Who wants to use that time stretching?

Seth Munsey of disc golf strong commented on warming up before practicing. He said, “It is very important to warm your body up properly before engaging in any athletic movement.  This includes fieldwork and time spent around the practice basket. Warming up will help lower your risk of injury and allow you to tap into more of your athletic potential.”

5-10 Minutes

Seth also indicated that warm-up/stretching routines don’t need to be extensive. He said, “You can complete a warm-up in as little as 5 mins, although giving yourself up to 10 mins will help ensure you don’t feel rushed or stressed to speed it up or end up skipping exercises due to time constraints.” I will talk more about stretching and exercise in an upcoming blog.

 

Drive for Show?

Hopefully we can make time to properly warm up before practicing. But, then what? What is the best use of our limited practice time? I asked touring pro Dave Feldberg about the best way to split up your practice times. He recommends spending the most time practicing your drives. He says, “If you don’t get a look (at the basket), it doesn’t matter how well you putt”.

At home, he likes to work on his driving form with his ProPull trainer. Then he likes to take a bunch of drivers to a field to test their flight and prepare his bag for upcoming tournaments. He will choose his discs based on the flights he will need. For example, if he is facing a 400-foot hyzer shot, “I know that I should (use) my pink Emperor”. Throwing a variety of discs helps him keep his shaping ability honed.

To increase power and distance, Dave said he likes to, “throw 80 times, as hard as I can”. Throwing at max power repeatedly is something you would want to warm up for. And for most of us, that many repetitions is something we would need to work up to.

When I work on my driving, I really try to throw at fields I’m familiar with. Then I have landmarks such as trees or light poles to mark the distances and note my progress. It feels great when your disc finally lands beyond a tree that you’ve struggled to reach in the past!

Putt for Dough!

The next most important aspect of the game to work on, according to Dave, is putting. He said, “Driving and putting are much more important to scoring and they are something you can practice exactly what you will be facing.” In other words, with the exception of large elevation gains, the putting you do in practice translates very well to game play. You can practice straddle putts, turbo putts, and jump putts, and you will be seeing the same basic shot in a tournament.

There are many theories and techniques as to the most efficient ways to practice putting. The ones that resonate with me have a few things that I’m looking for in a practice routine. First, they need to include many, many opportunities for you to experience success. For most of us, if we picked a point 40 feet from the basket and let 10 discs fly, we would likely have more misses that hits. I think there are great psychological benefits to having a lot more hits than misses. Therefore, starting your practice closer to the basket, then slowly working your way out, will ensure that we end up with a lot more in the basket. The starting distance varies from person to person.

Starting at the 12-15 foot range and putting 3-4 discs until I can get all of them in the basket is a great place for me to start. Then I will move back a little and try again. If I miss, I move back up to the short position and start again. It can be frustrating to have to move to the closer spot, but I think that motivates me to focus more. Which brings me to the second thing I look for in a practice routine, replicating the pressure of playing in a tournament.

 

Practice Like You Compete

If you take a handful of putters in practice and just start putting from anywhere, you really don’t have much incentive to ‘try’ to make the shot. In a tournament, you have lots of incentive. Therefore, if you can create that feeling of pressure in your putting practice, it will feel familiar in a tournament setting. If you know that a miss in practice means having to start over, you are somewhat recreating the pressure of a tournament setting.

The third thing I like to do for disc golf putting practice is to work on the routine that you will use during an actual round of disc golf. Marking your lie. Either holding an extra disc or not, depending on what you do during a tournament. Taking the same amount of time that you would in a tournament to do your entire putting routine. You could even carry a bag around during this porting of your practice time. I don’t do that the entire putting practice time. Instead, I make a little time at the end of disc golf practice to focus on my entire routine.

For me, I like to scatter a dozen or so putters around the basket at a variety of lengths. Then, I’ll pick one at random and go through my entire putting routine. I’ll mark my lie if I am further than 6-8 feet from the basket, take my usual stance, check the grip on my putter, pick a link, and let the putter fly. Then, I’ll retrieve the disc and go to the disc that is furthest from where I started, and putt again.

Upshot Practice

For up-shot or approach practice, let’s look at the practices of Dave Feldberg. He said that the look at the basket you get in a tournament can vary greatly from hole to hole, depending on where you land. To prepare for that, he likes to choose a mold, then get a variety of flights for that mold. Dave said, “I carry multiple Sinus’s, one that goes left no matter what , one that goes somewhat left at the end, one that goes straight , and one that turns over.” Then, no matter the situation, he has a disc that has the flight he is looking for.

Dave also has four midrange discs and four fairway drivers with the same variety of flights. He said, “This way no matter what position I am in I have a disc that can make that shot. Sometimes I take a full run up and throw a Sinus, other times I stand still and softly throw a fairway driver. It depends on the condition, terrain, run up, and weather. ”

To practice, he recommends taking those discs to a field and keep throwing them until you are comfortable with how they fly. Then you have a variety of tools to cover the wide range of upshots you might face.

One other effective and productive way to practice approach shots is to play catch with someone using a putter. You get a lot of throws without having to retrieve discs. It’s a great way to get ready for leagues or tournaments.

Time to Practice Disc Golf!

Although field work and putting practice are not as fun as a round of disc golf, they are the mundane tools you need to improve your skills. So, get warmed up with some stretches, grab those discs, and hit the field/basket. Let us know about YOUR disc golf practicing routines in the comments.

Support Dave Feldberg by checking out his Stash on the Infinite Discs Site:

Dave’s Stash

Also, be sure to check out some good disc golf fitness routines and stretches from Seth Munsey’s site, Disc Golf Strong:

Disc Golf Strong

 

 

When I started playing disc golf about eight years ago, I pretty much only played casual or league rounds. I might have played in a ‘themed’ tournament, where your entry fee buys you a couple discs that you use in the tournament. But, I didn’t play in any sanctioned tournaments. That didn’t happen until the next year. After that, I was hooked on tournaments!

I can’t say it was the competition that made me want to keep playing tournaments, since I wasn’t very competitive. Part of the appeal was undoubtedly the players pack. Part if it was playing new courses. But, a very big part of my desire to play tournaments was for social reasons. It was fun to meet new players and get to know a wider family of disc golfers. I still love to reconnect with my disc golf family in other areas, either in person or on social media.  Some of which I have known since my first my first tournament year!

In this blog I will dive into the tournament section of the 2019 survey to find out who is playing tournaments and why, which tournaments are the most popular, and other aspects of tournaments covered in the survey. The timing is a bit unfortunate, since so many tournaments this year have been cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19. But, it will still be fun to see how we viewed tournaments in general last year.

 

Tournaments: Aye or Nay

The obvious place to start is to see how many of us attended disc golf tournaments of any kind last year. According to the survey results, of the nearly 7,000 responses we received, almost two-thirds of us attended at least one tournament in 2019. I suspect that if you are active enough in disc golf that you would take the time to fill out a survey, you are more likely to attend at least one tournament throughout the year. Even so, over one-third of us didn’t attend a single tournament last year. Here is the breakdown:

To Sanction or not to Sanction

For those who did attend a tournament, we also wanted to find out which tournaments people were attending. First, we asked if people attended a sanctioned tournament. Then we asked how many people attended unsanctioned tournaments. From there, we wanted to see how many attended ‘themed’ tournaments. Let’s check out the results.

A sanctioned tournament means that the tournament is sanctioned by the PDGA. Certain requirements have to be met to be sanctioned, and PDGA rules and guideline have to be followed. The rules are stricter, and typically the payouts are better than unsanctioned tournaments. A benefit to the participants is that they can see what their rating is compared to others at the tournament. Participants either need to be PDGA members, or purchase a $10 temporary membership. Some people like the more professional and consistent play of a sanctioned tournament. According to the survey, over half of us played in at least one sanctioned tournament in 2019.

Sanctioned Tournament Count

We also wanted to find out how many sanctioned tournaments individuals played last year. A majority of us played five or fewer. Quite a few lucky individuals played 12 or more sanctioned tournaments. Here are the numbers:

 

 

Next we asked about unsanctioned tournaments to find out how many were playing in them, what kind they were, and which themed tournaments they were playing. An unsanctioned tournament could be anything from local charity events, to themed tournaments, to night tournaments, or a variety of other events. The main thing is that these tournaments aren’t governed by the PDGA. As such, the rules tend to be looser and the payout structure different. Casual players tend to favor the more relaxed atmosphere of an unsanctioned tournament. Although more than half of us played an unsanctioned tournament, we played in more sanctioned tournaments than unsanctioned. Again, that might go back to the fact that if you are taking the survey, you are a little more serious than the casual player who doesn’t care about sanctioned tournaments. Here are the numbers:

Unsanctioned Tournament Count

A majority of us played in three or fewer unsanctioned tournaments in 2019, and a smaller percentage of us played in 12 or more unsanctioned tournaments.

Special Types of Tournaments

Among the many unsanctioned tournaments held around the world, one of the more popular ones are the themed tournaments. Various manufacturers sponsor those tournament. For the entrance fee, participants receive a couple of discs and some swag. Those discs must then be used to play in the tournament. It’s a great way to try new plastic, while getting to play in a tournament.

Topping the survey were the more generic event, Putting League, and the food-charity tournament, the Ice Bowl. Each of these tournaments had a third of the survey participants attend them. The Ice Bowl numbers are even more impressive because those tournaments are only held in January or February.

Nearly a third of us attended a Trilogy Challenge in 2019, helping it lead the Themed Tournament category. It almost had as many of us attend as the next two tournaments combined. Here is a list of the most popular special tournaments:

 

Why We Play in Tournaments

One of the more fascinating aspects of the survey was to explore what motivates people to play a tournament. Just like in life, we all have different things that motivate us to take action. Whether you are talking about choosing a job or political party, or how we will spend our free time. Different things drive us to choose the things we do. In the case of disc golf, we wanted to find out why people were willing to commit time and money to participate in a tournament. For the survey, we let people choose all that applied to them. Here is what we learned.

Not surprisingly, over three-fourths of us play tournaments for the competition. That is in our wiring. Even if we don’t think we can win our division, we still like to see how we stack up against the other competitors. It feels great to win, but can still feel good if we just beat some of our buddies. The second most popular reason people play in tournaments is also not surprising: For the fun of it! We are, after all, playing disc golf! It’s something we enjoy doing, so it only logical that we would enjoy doing that in a tournament. Two-thirds of us indicated that we play tournaments because they are fun. Here are the survey, including the rest of the survey options.

Despite having a variety of choices for why we would play in a tournament, nearly 5% of the people who indicated that they play tournaments do so for a single reason. Those people gave just three reasons: Competition, fun, and the social aspect of tournaments. Here is the exact count:

 

Why We DON’T Play Tournaments

Since we’ve talked about the reason people DID play in tournaments in 2019, it is also interesting to see what kept people away from tournaments. I have to say, these results surprised me. Having invited literally hundreds of people out to our local leagues, I thought I could have predicted the results of this question a little more accurately. Before getting into the results, let me also include that this question allowed for more than one answer.

Not Enough Hours in the Day

Surprisingly, the number one reason that people don’t play in tournaments is because of how long they take and/or the days they are played. To be specific, the answer reads, “Limited free time. I’m not available to play on weekends when tournaments are held.” While I would like to explore the time and date subjects separately, the bottom line is that people’s schedules don’t allow them to play. That could be because they work on weekends, or more likely because they DON’T work on weekends, so they need the weekends to take care of home/family needs. Over 40% chose that reason for not attending tournaments.

The number two reason is that people said they are not skilled enough to play in a tournament. That is what I thought would be the number one answer because I’ve heard similar remarks so often. Nearly a third of those who don’t play tournaments selected a lack of skill as the reason they don’t play. Here are the numbers:

Interestingly, the three least chosen answers are the ones that I hear the most. Even more reason that the results surprised me. Adding to the surprise was that over half of the people who answered the question only chose one reason they don’t play tournaments. Their answers were in line with the people who gave multiple reasons. Here are the results:

 

Things That Would Motivate People to Play Tournaments

Our final question in the tournament series was similar to the last one, but with some different answers. We asked people who didn’t play in tournaments what it would take for them to play. We included questions about enticements, such as free stuff, bigger winnings, and the option to play with friends. Turns out that playing with friends doesn’t mean as much as getting stuff! J

The top answers reconfirmed the previous answers. Other things that would get people to play tournaments include making shorter, less expensive tournaments, and getting the word out about the tournament in some non-traditional ways. Having said that, quite a few people said they have no desire to play tournaments.

 

Return to Normal?

Hopefully, tournament life will get back into full swing soon so that those of us who enjoy that aspect of our sport will be able to satisfy whatever reasons we have for playing. Until then, we will have to be content with whatever disc golf looks like for us at the moment. Whether that includes tournaments, casual rounds and leagues, or practicing at home, there are usually a variety of ways that we can satisfy our disc golf itch.

Lining up Your Putt

We’ve all missed putts in Disc Golf… some of us more than others. We got together with Zoe Andyke to learn how to line up our putt properly, and we thought you’d like to get in on the knowledge. Here’s a clinic that shows how to improve your disc golf putting form:

Let us know if you learned anything new!