Tag: dis golf

Some disc golf tips have nothing to do with playing better

by frisbeebrain, posted in disc golf, disc golf instruction, instruction

After a couple decades playing disc golf, DeLaBlagh has confirmed a few basic tenets related to the duller – as opposed to the finer – points of the game. These observations have nothing to do with playing the game, or at least not directly. But they can make your overall experience more enjoyable.

Minimizing lost discs

  • The golf disc industry thrives on the fact that people seem to really care about what color disc they throw, or what is stamped on the discs they throw. Players seem to really like multi-colored or tie-die discs in particular, and those discs tend to cost the most, too. But they are among the likeliest to be lost, because the variegated patterns are the hardest to spot when obscured in bushes and groundcover- even if the colors in the disc are bright. It’s a cruel fact that the discs with the appearance you find most attractive are often the easiest to lose.
  • Seemingly much more obvious is the fact that black discs and dark green discs tend to get lost more often as well. Seems like a no-brainer, but people still buy them, and manufacturers are happy to supply them. We’re not saying there’s a conspiracy here, just good ‘ol capitalism. And don’t think it’s OK because the discs you have that are black or green are putters. Those can get lost too, especially when it’s getting dark out.
  • Bottom line: if your goal is to lose as few discs as possible, throw solid, bright colors, and put your name and some type of contact info on them in large, bold print. If your main objective is to hold onto those discs you come to know well and trust, appearance shouldn’t be part of the equation.

Rashes, Bites and Burns
We’re based in Santa Cruz, and used to view our year-round disc golf outings as a chance to work on our tans. But the flip side to our temperate weather are the nasty perils of poison oak and wasps that build nests in the ground, practically invisible until it’s too late. We’ve long since given up wearing shorts on the courses around here. We usually wear long, thin nylon ‘shell’ pants that provide protection against the evil that lurks just off the fairways while adding little or no discomfort on hot days. Full shoes are a no-brainer.

Although we don’t really get excited about courses in grassy parks with no hazards to worry about, it’s nice to be able to dress lightly when playing disc golf once in awhile. But in all other cases, why risk it? A personal best round is quickly ruined when the indiscriminate nature of, uh, nature strikes. Remember the Father on Caddyshack?

Pro Worlds recap- NorCal shines

by frisbeebrain, posted in 2011 Pro Worlds, disc golf, Nor Cal

Haven’t had the energy yet since the last day of the event to look at all the numbers, but one stat jumps off the page. Of the eight people crowned World Champion of disc golf on Saturday, 6 come from and live in Northern California. Only two of them call any of the Worlds courses home (Nate Doss and Jon Baldwin, DeLaveaga), and Nate is on tour and away from DeLa most of the season. And he doesn’t play much in the off-season. It wasn’t a Santa Cruz thing so much as a NorCal thing.

My conclusion here is twofold, and both are points I’ve made in this space before.

  1. Northern California has more concentrated disc golf talent than anywhere else in the world, and it’s not very close.
  2. The courses in NorCal present challenges most disc golfers – even most top pros – just don’t see very often.

I won’t spend much time on the superior player angle as I’ve done that before. Suffice it to say that in addition to dominating the winner’s podium, the two other players that provided the biggest threat to Doss are from NorCal as well: Derek Billings, who led for the first two days and shot a -18 in the opening round, and Josh Anthon, the greatest player to not yet win a major.

As far as the courses go, it seems that most top players are conditioned by typical disc golf courses to play ultra-aggressive golf. Rarely do they get themselves into trouble that results in more than one bogey stroke at other courses. Bad drives usually result in settling for par rather than deciding how to minimize the damage. Not so at most NorCal courses, nearly all of which combine sloping, rugged terrain, dense foliage and challenging layouts.

To those tempted to say that the NorCal players had an advantage from being familiar with the courses, my response is qualified agreement. NorCal players are privileged to learn playing a form of the game much closer to traditional golf than what most others experience. Game management is of the utmost importance, and it is this trait more than any other that made the difference at the 2011 Pro Worlds.

The 27-hole round is also something that requires adjustment, and perhaps those that have played tournament rounds at DeLaveaga were better-prepared in that way as well. If your mind is conditioned to maintain focus for 18 holes, and then you have to another 1.5 hours . . . . that’s when mistakes and errors of judgement happen.

I know somewhere, someone who knows Tom Schot and his PT Barnam ways well believes Tom just pulled off the Hustle of his great career. But those that know Tom really well know that’s silly. He doesn’t care who wins so long as the world hears about it and it advances the sport.

Which Worlds course will be talked about years from now?

by frisbeebrain, posted in 2011 Pro Worlds, DeLaveaga, disc golf

Maybe the headline of this entry should have had a qualifier related to DeLaveaga. Those that have never played DeLa may lean in the direction of the iconic Santa Cruz course because of its long storied stature and the fact that she still deserves her reputation and still requires a 1000-rated round to shoot par.

Those that have played DeLa in past Masters Cups or other events may choose to go another way, though. They may remember which of the three other, much newer courses provided the greatest tournament challenge. That remains to be seen, of course, but DeLaBlahg can provide a small bit of insight from the perspective of a local.

First of all, generalizations that hold true for all four courses: The combination of trees, slanted and non-grassy fairways and variable winds adds up to difficult pars if you don’t place your drive where it needs to be. But for the most part, the length of the holes is reasonable- not long just to make the hole a tough par 3 or 4- or 5 (Pinto Lake, Hole 11, 1280 feet). These courses have plenty of other factors adding to the challenge.

Ryan Ranch
Ryan Ranch is so beautiful right now, so dialed in with the sweet teesigns and basket toppers, it reminds us a femme fatale-type assassin. Many of the baskets are close enough to craggy brush and trees that you’ll find yourself straddle-putting often. The winds can get up pretty good since it’s mostly exposed. It’s long enough that if you arm can get fatigued at the end of a long day, you’ll do well to monitor your performance closely and adjust accordingly during the last 9 holes here- just like at the other 27-hole layouts.

CSUMB Oaks
The likeliest of the four courses to have wind be a major factor. If the wind is up in a major way, play to minimize the damage. It’s tough because the direction changes so often, with the course being the closest to the Pacific Ocean. But this course isn’t a birdie-fest on the calmest of days, so unless you’re in the Open division and vying for a top spot, lots o’ pars are good here too.

Pinto Lake
Tom Schot’s attempt to match his achievement at DeLaveaga is mostly successful at Pinto Lake. You may not like a couple of the holes that have thread-narrow dirt roads for part or all of the fairways (we don’t) but they are exacting and everyone has to play them. Most of the holes have yellow OB rope left, right, and in some case behind the pin. Make sure you know where that rope is on every shot. Especially on the meadow (upper) holes, which look so wide-open and innocuous after the first 4 holes, the OB can creep up on you very easily- especially if there is any wind to speak of.

The guess here is that Pinto Lake will stand out from the three courses not called DeLaveaga. It has the significant advantage of being the location for the semi-finals and finals, after all. It’s the only course the top divisions will play more than once. But that’s the only reason we cast our vote for Pinto Lake. The other courses are epic as well, and they’re all tough, technical, long, and a big departure from the courses most competitors play regularly. We like to envision conversations years from now among people who played the 2011 Pro Worlds, spirited debates about which course ended up being pivotal in XXXX XXXXXX being crowned World Champion.

Be aware of the lake on the one hole where it actually comes into play (14).

Poison oak, next week’s weather, and fashion choices

by frisbeebrain, posted in 2011 Pro Worlds, disc golf

Everything that has been posted on the Worlds site and various Facebook pages so far about treating poison oak is more or less correct. Wash thoroughly with soap and/or use Worlds sponsor Zanfel or Technu. The sooner you do it, the better in terms of severity and prevention of spreading. But wouldn’t it be better to prevent exposure in the first place?

One of the main things you can do to lessen exposure is simply wear long pants. The weather is supposed to be quite mild during the 2011 Worlds, with highs on the hottest course (Pinto Lake) possibly never even reaching 80 degrees. Remember, too, that Northern California has very low humidity.  Getting a tan isn’t worth it if it means also experiencing Poison Oak, which is many times more potent than Poison Ivy. And it’ll be overcast most of the time anyway.

  • DeLaBlahg packs a travel size/trial size pack of ‘Wet Wipes’ in our disc golf bag for times when we know we’ve contacted the vile weed. Immediate cleansing with the wipes seems to neutralize the toxic oils. Read it somewhere, and it’s always worked for us.
  • As you keep your eye out for the leafy poison oak plants on the ground, don’t forget that the gnarliest (literally) plants are the vines that climb trees. They don’t have many leaves, but if you get scratched by one and it breaks the skin, look out. To be safe, steer clear of any dry, brittle-looking vines you see creeping up trees.

Tidbits on the Worlds courses; local TV news coverage

by frisbeebrain, posted in 2011 Pro Worlds, DeLaveaga, Nor Cal, Touring Pros

DeLaBlahg accompanied Nate Doss and Valarie Jenkins to a local TV Station early this morning, then joined them for a practice round at Pinto Lake. The live segment with the local morning news co-anchors went well, and clips should be re-posted on the Worlds homepage and Facebook page as soon as the station makes them available. For now, here is the first segment as captured by the Discmasters camera on the camera on the action.

The morning news team, which is small and amazingly capable, ended up doing two segments that were both a couple minutes in length. Review of the entire show later in the day on DVR showed that they even plugged the disc golf segments twice as teasers beforehand- although the repeated called it ‘Frolf’ until we corrected them during a break. In both segments, co-anchors Colleen Chen and Tamara Berg toss putters toward an orange powder-coated DGA basket and ask Val and Nate questions. After receiving some basic instruction both showed improvement. The sound cut out some on the live broadcast during the second segment, but not enough to ruin it. That’s important, because according to the show’s producer they get a bunch of viewers right at the end, tuning in for the CBS Early Show which follows it.

Nate Doss and Valarie Jenkins with Colleen Chen of KION News

We’re hoping to get more coverage on KION/FOX 35 before the end of the tournament, so stay tuned.

Course Notes- Pinto Lake
Headed to check out a couple of the Worlds courses after the TV studio shoot. After a stop at Ryan Ranch to check out the new tee signs, benches, and ‘basket-toppers‘(all looking incredible), we headed to Pinto Lake.

Volunteers were hard at work laying out what will be the words ‘2011 Pro Worlds’ in 80-foot tall letters, along with a correspondingly large KEEN logo on the course’s 1200-foot hole, #11. It’ll be so big it will cover most of that long fairway and be visible from 30,000 feet. When it’s done, cameras in airplanes and/or helicopters will hopefully capture some images we can share.

The rest of the course is looking great – even better than great – but for those heading out to practice for the Worlds, a few important notes:

  • The yellow OB rope that will be put down on the first five holes and holes 14-18 should be there in the next couple days (by Wednesday August 3rd). Until then, pay attention to hole maps and look for the low-protruding 4 x 4 posts that define most of the OB right now.
  • Watch out for yellowjackets on holes 10 and 12, in both cases within 50 feet of the basket.
  • Even though this also should change in the next day or two, hole 12A doesn’t have a basket (it has a tone-pole, much of a tee (two markings on the ground) or signage (none) as of Monday August 1st around Noon. Here’s how to get there and then on to Hole 13: After completing hole 12, walk back up the hill along the OB line to the right, to keep safe from being hit by drives on 12. When you get to the tee for 12, you’ll see the tee for 12A not far behind it. After finishing 12A, walk down to a trail on the right that cuts across toward Hole 13.
  • Hole 18’s basket will be moved from it’s normal position about 75 feet longer, into the open grassy area short of the restrooms. There is a stake to mark where the basket will be- hopefully in, you guessed it . . . a coupla days. Max. There was already plenty to polish up in the next few days, and that sign is gonna be huge.

The ‘Worldwide Broadcast TV Premier’ of DiscmastersTV

by frisbeebrain, posted in Avery Jenkins, Discmasters, media, Nate Doss, Valarie Jenkins

So here’s the lowdown on the TV show: We’ve got the first episode complete and online on our YouTube channel here. We have enough footage already for the first four episodes, but will be shooting more soon.

We now also know when the show will air on local Santa Cruz cable. If you’re interested in helping it get aired in a different community, let me know. Here are the initial Santa Cruz show times:

+    Sat    05/21/11    03:00 PM    Channel 27/73
+    Fri    05/20/11    08:30 PM    Channel 27/73
+    Thu    05/19/11    06:30 PM    Channel 27/73
+    Tue    05/17/11    01:00 PM    Channel 27/73
+    Mon    05/16/11    09:00 PM    Channel 27/73

Future episodes feature Nikko Locastro, GreGory Barby, Jon Baldwin, Shasta Criss, and a bunch of other local and Pro players. Enjoy!

The Memorial via DiscGolfPlanet.tv

by frisbeebrain, posted in media, National Tour, Touring Pros

Practice makes perfect. Well, lots and lots and lots of practice, plus talent, makes almost perfect. But practice does equal improvement, and the more live broadcasts DiscGolfPlanet.tv gets under its belt, the better it gets at it.

For the Memorial this week, I noticed that the announcers (David Greenwell, Crazy John Brooks, and the ‘Disc Golf Guy) are getting more comfortable and less repetitive, graphics were added to show hole layouts and player names, and the camera work is much more sophisticated. For their next big step forward I’d like to see some form of instant replay. I hate to admit it, but I craved it most in a Nascar-type moment, when a spotter was hit in the head by a Garret Guthrie drive. The guy got up and seemed okay, so I don’t feel too bad wanting to see it again. But instant replay would be a big deal for an ace or some other type of spectacular shot.

  • Another sign that the pro Tour is growing up is the fact that no one gets more than two or three NT wins in the Open division in a single season anymore. The days of a few elite players traveling the country and hoarding all the wins is over. As Greenwell pointed out on the broadcast, until the last few holes six players were within a couple strokes of the lead, and another three or four of the top-ranked players (Nate Doss, The Champ, #1 ranked Dave Feldberg, Avery Jenkins) were not among them
  • Josh Anton must hate pars. He’s a birdie machine, and it seems the only time he’s not carding birdies he’s taking bogey strokes because he can’t stand the idea of not birdying. If he learns how to mix in a dash more discretion into his game, he’ll be THE player to beat.
  • Props to my homie Nate Doss for keeping his cool after the first hole today. He had clawed back to only two shots off the lead after trailing by seven after the first round, and five after the second. The he took at snowman 8 on the first, and dug a hole he just couldn’t climb out of. Still, he showed the poise for which he is known, beating the rest of the group over the final 17 holes and not showing any frustration.
  • The last time I played the Memorial was 2003, and at the time I thought it was bush league that an NT event would be played on a course with grass teepads. I know that Fountain Hills now has those round cement pads, but I still saw the players teeing off grass again today on one temp hole. And I still say it’s bush.

Disc Review: the Vibram Ascent fairway driver

by frisbeebrain, posted in disc reviews, Vibram

A few weeks ago I wrote a blahg entry about the fact that a major corporation (Vibram) outside of disc sports had begun marketing golf discs in earnest, and the significance of their entire line being made from rubber rather than a plastic compound. It was sort of a disc review-preview in advance of the individual disc reviews, and if you haven’t read it yet you can check it out here. Now, as promised, here is the first of four disc reviews I’ll provide (they sent me an example of each of their first four models- hopefully I’ll get to review their new mid-range and long range driver soon as well).

The Ascent is Vibram’s first driver- their first non-putter, in fact. After throwing it a bunch over the past two months I can say two things right off the bat:

  1. It is indeed very grippy and very, very durable, just as advertised, and as a result extremely reliable as well.
  2. I like it so much it’s earned a spot in my bag.

I’m looking forward to testing their new long-range driver called the ‘Trek’ when it comes out to see how it differs from the Ascent, which Vibram classifies as a ‘fairway driver’. A serious injury has forced me to permanently re-shape my game in acknowledgment of reduced power, but I get pretty much the same distance with the Ascent as with the other overstable drivers in my bag right now (FLX Surge, Star Katana, Star Destroyer). So in the distance sense, for me anyway, it’s as good as any other driver I throw. But I can see how it might be considered a fairway driver in the control sense, like when a ball golfer uses a three wood rather than a driver to keep the ball on the fairway or hit the green of a par 5 from 250 yards.

First of all – and I don’t know if it’s the unique properties of their rubber compound but will assume that’s the case – this disc can be thrown with all kinds of turnover angle and power and will still hyzer out at the end of its flight for me. (With my Katana this isn’t the case; it seems to have a point of no return where it gives up the ghost and just keeps turnin’.) But what’s really nice is that even though I don’t have a great deal of power or armspeed any more (if I ever did), the overstable qualities of the Ascent don’t translate to a disc that immediately cuts to the hyzer side, depriving me of distance in a relatively straight line. It has nice carry for such a stable disc.

Another fairway driver quality of the Ascent is related to the rubber from which it’s made. The disc Vibram sent me to review is made from their medium-range X-Link compound (not firm, not soft, but juuuuust right. Just like baby bear and Goldlocks prefer!) It’s not floppy by any means, but grippier than anything but the floppiest plastic putters. I’ve noticed that my Ascent will skip some – when it should – but it comes to rest pretty quickly. This quality has comes in handy on long holes when I’ve had 300-plus feet to the basket on a second shot from the fairway, like certain holes at Pinto Lake.

I may be getting away from the Ascent review and back to a discussion of Vibram’s X-Link rubber compound, but here’s an interesting tidbit that Vibram’s Steve Dodge shared with me to wrap it up for now. You can throw an Ascent your hardest at a brick wall 10, 20, 50 times, until it’s dented and warped to the point of uselessness, then put it in the microwave for two minutes and it comes out good as new! I’d try it myself, but I need to save my arm for throws that count. Plus, I’ve grown attached to my one and only Ascent!

Check back soon for reviews of the Summit, Ridge, and VP putters.

Mind control in disc golf- first step: thinking about what you’re thinking about

by frisbeebrain, posted in disc golf instruction, instruction

How many times has any of the following happened to you?

  • You miss badly on a tricky and/or risky putt, and almost immediately after it leaves your hand you realize that although you thought you had decided to go for it, the disc comes out weak and unsure- maybe wobbling more than usual and way too low.
  • You hit a tree right after you made not hitting the tree your primary focus
  • You catch yourself thinking about your overall score, and the impact your last throw had or your next throw will have on your score, even as it’s your turn and you’re seconds away from executing that next throw

I’ve been guilty of all three. Many, many times.

And there are plenty other similar scenarios that play out over the course of any given round of disc golf, but they all have as their root cause one of two basic deficiencies – and usually a combination of both.

  1. An inability to step outside ourselves and think about what we’re thinking about. Huh?! Consider the first bullet point above. Often when that happens to me I’ll say something like this to no one in particular: “I tried to go for that, but my body didn’t agree,” or “my body didn’t let me”. And that’s really what it feels like; like my body – knowing better than my brain – refused to obey the command. In reality though, I was doubting the decision to go for it the entire time, but didn’t consciously recognize those thoughts because I wanted to go for it, ‘cuz I wanted to make it.
  2. Lack of a full appreciation of how much of an impact #1 has on a competitive round of disc golf, or lack of a plan to develop that type of mental focus.

Here’s the deal: We constantly have thoughts floating through our brains, and unless we train ourselves to monitor those thoughts most of them sneak under the radar of our self awareness. It’s like when one of your shoes comes untied as you step onto the teepad. If you don’t notice it, you’ll go right on with the scissor-step run-up to your drive and possibly trip over the errant shoelace, providing comic relief for your group and likely a disastrous result for you. Errant thoughts are just like errant shoelaces, and the trick is to learn how to be aware of them. Because once you’re aware of them, you can deal with them. Being aware of one’s shoelaces is easy- just look down at your feet before stepping on the pad (or wear Velcro shoes). Being aware of errant thoughts, though, requires a little (lot!) more effort and practice.

Just like the rest of your game, developing this awareness requires consistent practice. You will see results over time, but you must keep up the practice to keep seeing the results. So how do you practice something so vague and difficult to define? The good news (especially for those of you who hate being told the most useful practice always takes place off the course) is this is something you can practice on the course during rounds. In fact, this type of mental focus is hard to practice effectively any other way. The best way to develop this particular type of mental focus is to develop a pre-shot routine and then practice replicating it without fail whenever you play holes on the course.

Everyone that has one uses a slightly different pre-shot routine, and covering all the different types would make for another lengthy blog entry altogether. I’ll try to ask some top players about theirs in the near future and post ’em here. For now, it’s enough to know that most include a couple main components: the clear separation and repeated order of the different steps of the routine; and visualization. Both of these elements are important, because they make it easier to identify a rogue thought (see the bullets at the beginning of this entry) and replace it with the one that will give you the best chance at success.First, the steps and the order, then a few words on visualization:

  1. Assessing the situation- This step can (and should) begin as soon as the disc stops moving after your last shot. Begin considering all the factors that will help you decide what to do on your next shot (obstacles, slope, wind, odds of execution and risk/reward for your various options, etc.) and think of nothing else. A big mistake many players make is not making a conscious and focused effort to begin this step as soon as possible, then having to rush through it when it’s their turn to throw.
  2. Making a decision- Most of the heavy lifting has been done in step 1; the most important aspect of this step is to recognize the point at which you’ve made up your mind and not allow any second-guessing after that point. If you wait until it’s your turn to throw to consider all this, you’ll combine steps 1 and 2, and probably 3 as well. as you don’t want thoughts from any of these steps crossing over into the other steps. That’s when good thoughts go rogue!
  3. Execution- It’s this final part of the process where most personal idiosyncrasies can be found. It might be exactly three deep breaths before stepping up to the mini, it might be one practice stroke without the disc in hand. These are known as mechanisms that help a player tune into herself/himself and tune out distractions. But at some point in this step, visualizing the exact shot you want to throw (with a successful result) is mysteriously but amazingly effective.

Visualization
Much has been written and said about visualization, but for the purpose of this blog entry I’ll just say one thing: It helps to block out the rogue thoughts that you don’t want in your head right before you throw. It’s pretty simple, actually. If you’re thinking about something constructive, you can’t be thinking about something destructive at the same time.

If you develop a routine along these guidelines, and stay faithful to it, it’ll make it easier to identify these harmful or at best distracting thoughts so you can step back from your shot and replace them with the proper thoughts according to where you’re at in your routine. After working on it for a little while, you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll be at thinking about what your thinking about. You’ll become much more aware, more often, when your thoughts are straying away from where you want them to be. And that sense of self-awareness will help you get to the next level, no matter where your game is at now.