Category: DeLaBlahg

Controlling emotions key to improving focus and consistency in disc golf

by frisbeebrain, posted in DaLearning Curve, DeLaBlahg, disc golf instruction, instruction

Golf (disc and otherwise) is a game where those who can excel in focusing on the shot at hand and consistently execute the same good mechanics get the best results. Coordination, skill, and strength are important as well, but without focus and consistency all they produce are great shots- not great rounds.

After playing disc golf for more than 15 years,  in 2005 I finally learned that an even temperament is one of the keys to achieving both. In fact, when I made controlling my emotions while playing disc golf a priority, my game hit an important turning point. I had won numerous tournaments in the Advanced division, but after moving up to Open I hit a drought of several years when I hardly ever even finished in the cash in sanctioned events. The players in the Open division  – at least the good ones – just didn’t make many mistakes. I realized that taking the next step in my evolution as a player wasn’t so much about throwing farther or getting more birdies. It was about making good decisions (called ‘game management’), and not letting one mistake turn into a snowball of superfluous strokes. That in turn led me to the realization that I needed to get better at maintaining my focus for an entire round. After all, being 8 under par after 15 holes isn’t worth much if you give back four of those hard-earned strokes in the last three holes. (And no one cares to hear about how you were tearing it up until . . . ) Here’s where controlling emotions comes in.

Proper execution requires focusing on one thing, and one thing only- planning and executing the shot at hand. You can’t do that if your mind is filled with other things, and one sure-fire way to fill your mind with other things is to get all worked up. If you yell at yourself and go through all kinds of wild gesticulations when you screw up, the thoughts associated with that outburst stick in the front of your brain like glue. It’s hard to instantly dial back into your game focus, which is required if you just hit the tree three feet in front of you and it’s your turn again. Or if you sail a putt way past the basket and ‘it’s still you.’ But golf doesn’t have a reputation as a frustrating game for no reason, and that’s often what’s required.

The other side of the coin is over exuberance. Getting super pumped up can (and more often than not does) have the same effect on one’s game. Just because the wild emotions are of the positive variety rather than negative, they still need to be controlled and kept in check. Anything that prevents you from focusing on the immediate task at hand is detrimental.

So how does a person given to strong emotions control them on the disc golf course? It’s not easy, and certainly not something that you can change right away just because you want to. Like everything else in the game, it takes practice. But if you make it a priority you will get better at it. Here are a few of the keys that helped me:

  • Every shot your throw should be a learning experience. When things don’t go your way, take a philosophical approach to it and ask yourself why. This is not to be confused with looking up at the heavens and screaming “Why?! Why?! Why?!”
  • Remind yourself that the last shot – horrible or amazing – is over. All that matters is the next shot.
  • Make self control a sort of competition within yourself. Even if you’re feeling like you want to explode, or do a Tiger Woods-ian fist-pump, don’t let it show on the outside. Pretty soon you’ll be able to restrain those emotions on the inside as well.

If you need more incentive to make better emotional control on the course the next part of your game you work on, I’ve got a couple additional benefits. First, no one likes to play with someone who throws tantrums (if you think people don’t care that you’re yelling as long as you’re yelling at yourself, think again) OR someone who loudly celebrates each of his own shots. Second, from a competitive point of view, if you play like Dr. Spock and react with the same nonchalance when you get a bad kick and roll out-of-bounds as when you can a 60-foot birdie putt, it can be unnerving to your competitors. And enjoying the sight of your adversaries getting unnerved isn’t a crime. Just don’t let it show.

Putting technique borrowed from ball golf

by frisbeebrain, posted in DaLearning Curve, DeLaBlahg, disc golf instruction, instruction, putting

Watch some ball golf of TV, and pay attention to the players’ pre-shot routines on the putting green. After lining up their putts and going through any other particular aspect of his or her routine, each and every player will stand next to the ball but not close quite close enough to strike it. They then practice their putting strokes several times by swinging the club back and forth like a pendulum, coming as close to actually hitting the ball as they dare. When they’re ready to execute the actual putt, they take a small last step up to the ball, then usually go for it pretty quickly after that so as not to lose the elusive ‘touch’ required for that particular putt which the practice strokes hopefully provided.

While watching a player go through this one day and realizing the likely purpose for it (lock in the tempo and line, and establish a rhythm) I began to ponder how this exercise could be best translated to disc golf. Doing so would be huge for me personally, as most of my missed putts seem to come from a lack of ‘feel’ for the required power and tempo.

And then it hit me. Disc golfers try to emulate this practice, but because of the primary difference between our sports – ball golfers hit a ball with clubs, while we throw discs –  it is rarely done in such a way that enables us to reap the same benefits.

In disc golf, it’s common to see a player hold a putter out in front of them at eye level, ostensibly to determine the line and release point he wants. Many players will also go through a few practice ‘strokes’ as well, but most often they make two common mistakes that make the exercise pointless:

  1. Holding the disc during practice strokes means you can’t simulate one of the most important aspects- the complete follow-through. Stretching your entire arm and even fingertips toward the basket as the disc is released is crucial to good form (just look at a picture of any top pro to see what I mean), and you can’t do this while still holding on to your disc. This previous post describes a practice routine specifically designed to improve follow-through.
  2. Unless your practice strokes simulate the exact speed and motion you intend to use for your actual putt, they won’t do anything to help you establish the correct power and tempo. Once again, if you’re holding onto your disc during practice strokes this is near impossible, as well as very risky since it counts as a stroke if the disc slips out of your hand.

With all this in mind, I developed a method for disc golf putting practice strokes that borrows as much as possible from ball golf, in order to preserve the benefits of establishing the needed tempo and touch – as well as line and release point – right before the putt. Since this kind of stuff is hard to describe with words alone, I threw together a quick video tutorial demonstrating what I mean. Go ahead and watch it now, or read my description of the process first then watch it afterward. Either way, give it a try. Since putting this routine into practice, my putting is much, much more consistent. It’s been especially effective at eliminating those frustrating misses where the disc falls just short on putts inside the circle, when in the past I simply failed to use enough armspeed, and those where the line was off-target. Here’s the routine:

  1. Address your lie as you normally would, taking your normal comfortable stance.
  2. Transfer your putter to your non-throwing hand.
  3. Pick a specific link of chain in the basket to aim at, and lock your eyes on that link.
  4. While visualizing the putt you intend to make, and with an empty throwing hand, go through the exact motion required to make that putt. Pay particular attention to your armspeed, your line, the involvement of the rest of your body, and your follow-through. I exhale through my mouth at the end of each stroke just as I do on my actual putt, as this helps me exaggerate my follow-through.
  5. After whatever number of these practice strokes it takes for me to feel all elements are firmly established into a rhythm, I quickly transfer the disc to my throwing hand and execute the putt. As I transfer the disc to my throwing hand I’m only thinking two things: keep my eyes focused on my target link, and replicate the motion I established during the practice strokes.

You may be thinking that the difference of practicing your stroke without a disc in your hand and executing the actual shot would throw you off, due to the weight of the disc, but it really doesn’t. Try it, and see for yourself. As with anything else, it may take a little time to become a comfortable part of your game, but it should not take long. I noticed the benefits of establishing my line and tempo almost immediately. And after awhile I noticed an additional benefit for my mental game as well: By reducing the thoughts I want in my head right before releasing the disc to only two – focus eyes on the target link and replicate the established line sand tempo – it’s easier to keep distracting thoughts out of my head.

If you didn’t click the earlier link to watch the video tutorial that illustrates this technique, here it is. Let me know if this technique for preparing to putt works for you as well as it works for me.

Be A Sponge, Part 2: Pay Attention to Detail

by frisbeebrain, posted in DaLearning Curve, DeLaBlahg, disc golf, disc golf instruction, frisbee golf, instruction

DaLearning Curve, the School of Disc Golf’s instructional blog, has coined and often comes back to several themes. ‘Disc Golf in a Vaccuum’, for instance. ‘Be a sponge’ is another. This is a return to the ‘sponge’ theme.

The previous post under this heading (‘Want to Play Better: Be a Sponge‘) didn’t focus on the absorbent characteristics of a sponge, but rather the practice of ‘wringing out’ every bit of talent and knowledge one already possesses to maximize performance. In a nutshell, everyone will make errors in execution at one time or another, and that is unavoidable. It happens less to better, more consistent players, but it happens. However, mental errors are much more systemic and easier to avoid or even practically eliminate with the proper mindset. It’s worth the read if you haven’t seen it yet.

This post, however, goes back to the absorbent nature of the sponge, with three specific suggestions on how to soak up new information that can help you improve.

  1. Observe and learn from players that are much better than you
  2. Observe your own game from a detached, analytical viewpoint
  3. Listen to your body

Observe and learn from players that are much better than you

The key to this bit of advice is the fact that ‘players’ is plural. Don’t just pick one player whose game you admire and try to emulate him. He may have an unconventional style that doesn’t work for most other people (like Nate Doss’ putting technique), or maybe his physical capabilities exceed yours. Instead, observe all players whose games you admire, and try to identify traits and habits that they have in common. For instance, nearly all top players do several things exactly the same when it comes to putting, like following through in an exaggerated way. If you pay attention, you’ll also notice something about players who do well because they are consistent as well as talented: they keep their emotions in check. Players who show great abilities in stretches but rarely win in the end, on the other hand, tend to get really excited when good things happen and throw tantrums or berate themselves when bad things occur. See if you can observe these trends and others when you’re on the course, and absorb the meaning of the correlations.

Observe your own game from a detached, analytical viewpoint

There are more formal and less formal ways to do this. On the formal side, consider keeping score during all your rounds for a few months as you would in a tournament, hole by hole. Compile the scores on basic spreadsheets- one for each course you regularly play. After you’ve got 20 or so rounds compiled for a given course, do some basic math to see what your average score looks like on each hole. Examine the trends you see in the numbers, then compare the proven reality of those results with the preconceived notions with which you approach each hole. For instance, you may see that after playing a given par 3 hole 20 times, you recorded three birdies, 9 pars, 6 bogies, and two double bogies. That means that your scoring average for that hole was 3.35, well over par. If your strategy on that particular hole is to play for a birdie off the tee, you’re likely hurting your scoring chances just by making an unwise decision. You only had three birdies in the past 20 tries, after all, while during the same span collecting six bogies and two doubles! Armed with information like this, you can improve your scoring simply by remembering that that hole is a deceptive trap, changing your strategy on the tee to one that aims for a routine par rather than a not-so-realistic birdie attempt.

The best way to explain the less formal way of observing and analyzing your own game is to provide a recent personal example. On hole 23 at DeLa a couple days ago, I decided to swing my lefty drive out wide to the right side pin placement, around the large oak in the middle. As I watched the result, my initial reaction was that it went too straight and long, and would likely hit trees before being able to finish it’s hyzer skip to the right. I was happily surprised to see that the disc had indeed gotten close to the basket, ending up 20 feet below the cage. Rather than just appreciating my good fortune, hitting the putt for birdie and moving on, I asked myself why. In asking that question, I realized that recent clearing work done the hole had removed the trees and brush I would have hit in the past, and I further concluded that this change makes the outside route the clear choice for me in the future. If you’re constantly asking yourself questions on the course and trying to learn things, you’re bound to improve merely by expanding your knowledge base. Plus, it’s a good way to make even bad-scoring rounds productive.

Listen to your body

You’ve heard that phrase before, but what does it really mean? Obviously it is not to be taken literally. The creaking sound in my back doesn’t tell me much besides the fact that I am indeed getting older. Listening to your body simply means paying close attention to how it feels. No, this isn’t a ‘get in touch with your feelings’ kind of thing either. Just be really aware of what it feels like to, for instance, stretch your hand out toward the basket while following through on a putt. Think about how you can feel that stretch all the way from your shoulder through your fingertips.

Muscle memory results from repeating a motion again and again. Do something enough times and your body eventually is able to replicate the motion in a a more automatic, natural way. By active awareness of how your body feels when you putt or throw the right way, you’ll speed up the process of muscle memory.

disc golf vs. ball golf: each has a case

by frisbeebrain, posted in DeLaBlahg, Disc vs. Ball

Why (ball) golf is better than disc golf, reason #17
There is something poetic and dramatic about the differences between a driver and a putter in golf. To someone that had no idea what either was used for, they would scarcely resemble implements used for the same purpose- to strike a small white ball. One is typically much longer, with a large bulbous head on the other end of what is obviously the end meant to grip with ones hands. The putter, on the other hand, is shorter, with a smaller head at the end. And as different as the clubs are, the swings they are designed for are more different still.

When one looks to ‘drive’ a golf ball, a full effort is usually employed. The big backswing, the (hopefully) audible whoosh and whack, and the dramatic follow through all contrast beautifully with a putt on a fast green in golf. The operation requires the nerves and steady hand of a bomb-diffuser. When the club strikes the ball, it makes a quiet little click and sends the ball rolling toward a hole not much bigger than itself. Certainly dramatic contrasted with blasting that same ball through a wide open space.

Disc golf possesses many of the most important attributes of golf – risk/reward chief among them – but the differences between a putter and driver are immediately discernible only to the learned eye. They are both roughly the same weight and diameter.

Although a drive in disc golf usually involves more movement of the feet and a faster arm-whip, the contrast between that and a putt is relatively minor.

The best way to sum it up is this: Ball golf players get to whack their projectiles more than twice as far as disc golfers can throw theirs, and yet completing the hole is a far more delicate operation. The contrast between driver and putter, whack and tap, is one of the things that makes golf great, and that contrast barely exists in disc golf.

Why disc golf is better than (ball) golf, Reason #33
Everyone knows that disc golf is “easy to learn, yet hard to master.” But simply saying that disc golf is better because it is easier to play than golf is painting with too broad a stroke. There are many unique advantages that fall under this umbrella, only one of which is the following:

Two things combine to make a person’s first attempt at disc golf an almost guaranteed more enjoyable, less stressful experience than playing ball golf on a course for the first time.

  • Disc golf courses are much less formal environments, with none of the rules and almost none of the social mores of even a public golf course, much less a private one.
  • Not much compares to having multiple sets of eyes on you as you swing and miss at a golf ball sitting on a tee. In disc golf, that’s guaranteed not to happen! About the only thing that would compare is throwing the disc 180 degrees in the wrong direction (which I’ve seen). But that’s rare, and in disc golf no one seems to care.

Day Four on the DL

by frisbeebrain, posted in DeLaBlahg, disc golf

DL being the Disabled List, for those who don’t follow baseball.

I put myself on the disc golf DL four days ago, after shoulder pain of unusual intensity and resonance, and haven’t thrown a disc since (Well, that’s not true. I threw two putts from 15 feet today to test the water, and didn’t like the results). I feel forced to sheepishly admit that, having grown accustomed to throwing discs throughout the day, every day, I think I’m now going through withdrawals.

It’s bad enough having to remind myself that I can’t play every time the urge pops up. I also have to lay off putting at home, and I have a basket right between my house and office. Every time I walk between the two and see the basket, I realize it has been way longer than normal since I’ve thrown a disc.

One of the unique appeals of disc golf

by frisbeebrain, posted in DeLaBlahg, Disc vs. Ball

My preference when playing disc golf is to play with one or two other players, but I don’t mind a foursome or sometimes a fivesome. Anything more than that though, in my opinion is too much. In fact, I’d rather play alone than in a large herd, and I often do just that.

Today, in fact, I opted to get a quick round in at nearby Black Mouse rather than not play at all. And while out there, I realized that disc golf (or to specify, disc golf at DeLaveaga) is kind of like a good hike combined with a great sporting interest. I’ve heard ball golf described as ‘A Good Walk Spoiled,’ or something like that. I know that quote is a tongue-in-cheek thing, but it still stands in sharp contrast to how I genuinely feel about disc golf:

“Disc golf is a good hike made better”.

Baskets on the move

by frisbeebrain, posted in DeLaBlahg, DeLaveaga

It’s July 8th in Santa Cruz . . . do you know where the baskets at DDGC are?

After a bunch of recent placement changes, here’s the current layout (with changed holes in red):

1- Long left
2- Short right
3-
4-Long
5 – Short
6- Short
7- Short
8-
8a- Right
9-
10- Long
11-Short left
12- Island
13-Long
14- Semi-short left
15- Short
16- Left
17- Closed
18- Long left
19- Short
20- Straight
21-
22-
23- Classic Right
24- Short
25- Long
26- Short
26a-
27- Semi-long

At first glance this layout should provide the opportunity for lower scores than the previous setup. Holes 6, 7, 14 and 20 all become much more birdy-able, and most of the other changes make for shorter holes as well. But if my two rounds since the change are any indication, scores may not drop much if any.

For starters, hole 1 in the long left is really tough now. Not only does the drive require decent length and accuracy on a steady uphill slope. With the downed tree rootball now blocking the right side of the green and tree trunks on the right, up-shots are challenging as well unless you really get your drive up there. Good luck!

Visualization, Water, and Aces

by frisbeebrain, posted in DaLearning Curve, DeLaBlahg, instruction

Good round this morning. Ended up -5 at DeLa with seven birdies, two bogies, and a par on 13. I even passed toughest point (13) in the quest for a bogie-free round before throwing two bad shots in a row on 16. My special moment (there is almost always at least one in a round at DeLa) today came on 26, when I was able to tap into the ‘whole other level’ of visualization on my birdie putt (more like an uphill, around-the-tree throw-putt). I actually saw a sort of red streak that started at my lie, went throught the basket, and continued on past and out of sight. It was a low-percentage chance, but I knew it was going in before it even left my hand. If anyone ever learns how to tap into thaqt level of visualization on every shot, they will be hard to beat.

Water Hazards
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that water hazards that cause a player to lost a disc forever are ridiculous? I mean, it’s not like ball golf where all you lose is a ball. In disc golf, the disc is like the ball AND the club for a stick-golfer. And what kind of sense would it make for someone to risk losing their favorite 5-wood? If it’s a stream where you can easily retrieve your disc, that’s a different matter. But designers should resist the temptation of placing baskets near the edge of lakes or deep rivers.

Aces
I’ve ranted on this before, but I believe we do the whole ace-thing backwards in disc golf. If someone cards an ace, that person should count their lucky stars (they are almost always an accident, if we’re honest with ourselves) and buy the people in his/group a drink. The ace is reward enough itself!

Disc Golf on Maui

by frisbeebrain, posted in DeLaBlahg, disc golf courses, Maui, Poli Poli

I don’t have time to write all I’ll eventually want to write about this great disc golfing experience, but I do want to at least share the pictures I took with those who read DeLa Blahg.

The people that get to play this course regularly are to be envied. The scenery is incredible, the terrain varied, the design varied and interesting, and best of all, it’s isolated. And the homemade ‘tire-baskets do a great job catching discs.

If you’re like me and love playing disc golf courses wherever your travels take you, you’ll love Poli Poli- if you can find it. It’s the perfect combo of beauty, challenge, and uniqueness (ocean views, quirky baskets and surreal orange-lichen covered trees).

Now check out these pics:

http://frisbeebrain.shutterfly.com/polipoliinmaui

stream of consciousness

by frisbeebrain, posted in DeLaBlahg, DeLaveaga, Jack Tupp

played Dela today, with Alan. we started on Hole 7, and right from the get-go i was agitated. it’s such a common emotion for me when i’ve been out of town for a few days, looking forward to playing, and feeling fully deserving of some disc golf. it seems that at such times I also expect to birdie every hole (except those I ace), and that doesn’t always happen.

In this case, I noticed right away that for some reason my release was a little off, and it resulted in me scrapin’ by to be at par until hole 13, then +3 afterward. It was one of those holes. I ended up -1, and considering the sometimes windy conditions and medium-difficult layout, that’s not so bad for 28 holes at DeLa. But the philosophical discoveries on this day prevailed.

First of all, on hole 18 I had to admit (sheepishly) that part of my frustation was due to the fact that Alan was beating me by six strokes. Even though we (as opposed to the years past) make a point of being less competitive, it’s still there. we both know it. And that makes the frustration all the more acute. Anyway, I mentioned to him then that I needed t0 take my own advice and enjoy the other aspects of the experience when the scoring part isn’t there, and that helped. Even though I didn’t get another birdie until 21 I did end up doing better by caring less about the score. Once I focused on the nice (but windy) day, and all the other things I had to be happy about, I played better. Imagine that.