The School of Disc Golf recently hosted an unusual and exciting teambuilding event for a group of tech leaders from startup accelerator YCombinator. While we typically use our private venue in Santa Cruz, or an established disc golf course elsewhere in the Bay Area, this particular outing presented a unique set of circumstances that required us to pivot.
The putting contest in Golden Gate Park revealed some true natural talent.
Navigating the Grateful Dead and Golden Gate Park
YCombinator requested that the event take place in Golden Gate Park, which normally wouldn’t be an issue as the park has a great course. However, on the scheduled day, the usual course was closed due to a Grateful Dead festival. With such a big show also taking place in San Francisco all weekend, the park was buzzing.
To accommodate, we enlisted the help of Bill’s Flying Discs and set up a short, pop-up disc golf course in a less-populated section of Golden Gate Park, in the Panhandle. Despite the unpredictable circumstances, strong winds, and an increasing stream of “Deadheads”, the event was a resounding success.
The YCombinator Effect
A major reason for the event’s triumph was the exceptional group of participants: Founders with YCombinator. They all displayed the common traits found in tech entrepreneurs: a mix of curiosity, engagement, and charisma. All 13 individuals present truly embraced the experience. The video below shows several of them doing an excellent job mimicking the technique demonstrated moments before.
tech leaders embrace TECHDISC’s smart disc & App
A highlight for the group, particularly the engineers, was the integration of TECHDISC into the experience. They were highly engaged, asking great questions about disc flight. We even referred them to Chapter 11 of “The Disc Golf Revolution,” where Dr. John Hernlund, PhD explains that a flying disc has six degrees of freedom, significantly more than a sphere (ball), which only has two!
Participants then had their throws measured and mapped in the TECHDISC app, allowing them to see how different metrics acted as “knobs and levers” for controlling disc flight.
Even with a very tight schedule, the group’s enthusiasm was evident as they insisted on staying 10 minutes past their deadline. The competition had been switched from focusing on the fastest throw as measured by TECHDISC to the furthest throw, and they were quickly trying to adjust their technique to achieve flatter releases.
The event was a resounding success, proving that even with unexpected challenges, a great group and a passion for learning (and disc golf!) can make for an unforgettable teambuilding experience.
I teach and coach all aspects of disc golf, and my favorite clients are the ones who will leave no stone unturned in their quest to reach their full disc golf potential. Although they all eagerly absorb and attempt to follow my instruction, part of leaving no stone unturned is a burning desire to know why, in addition to what.
Any type of scientific or mathematic corroboration that supports a theory I present or results I claim to see are treated like an unmistakable trail of breadcrumbs on the road to progress.
For example, when I started using TECHDISC to work with my clients.
It’s one thing to announce a breakthrough based on my observation, and quite another to show them that their RPM just jumped from 750 to 950 after a suggested tweak.
My clients trust me, but that doesn’t stop the hungry and inquisitive ones from seeking out, let’s say, confirming sources. This led Brett – perhaps the hungriest among them – to seek out more info on my teachings about the mental side of the game, the importance of eye contact, visualization, and other less talked-about aspects of competitive disc golf.
Brett put his faith in me, and he’s gotten great results. He’s very happy. But it was not quite enough for him to see that something worked; he wanted to know why, reasoning that a better understanding will result in better implementation.
I agree! That’s why I’m excited to share with you results of some research he did into disc golf and neuroscience, with the help of AI. I will also add my own corroborating thoughts, and link to past posts and videos where I introduced the same concepts, minus the neuroscience, over the past 18 years. Brett’s data was broken into four sections, so I am going to write 4 blog posts – starting with this one – covering each of the 18 nuggets he unearthed. Thanks Brett!
Part 1: Sharpening Your Aim, Focus, and Execution in Disc Golf
In disc golf, every throw counts, and the difference between success and failure on any given throw often comes down to mental preparation and execution. Drawing on neuroscience, here are four powerful techniques to enhance your aiming, focus, and overall shot execution.
Target Lock (Motor Priming)
What to do: Before putting, stare intently at a single chain link or a tiny spot on the pole itself. Then keep staring at that link until the disc is well out of your hand. Keeping your head stationary helps with this as well, like a camera on a tripod.
The same applies to all throws. If you have trouble gauging how far an upshot is and how hard to throw, try keeping your eyes locked on the whole time, if possible. Same with drives. Your eyes should be on the target except for the fraction of a second it takes to get your torso loaded for the throw, and even then they should be straining to reconnect with the target.
In this seven-part sequence of Paul McBeth driving, you’ll see that on in image 4 do his eyes leave the target, and even then they are as close as his neck will allow.
Why it works: This technique effectively primes your motor cortex, preparing your body for the precise movement required. It helps to subconsciously align your body towards your intended target. You can definitely notice this during a putt, where your eye contact will sometimes cause a steering or power adjustment at the very last millisecond.
I’ve been talking about this one a lot lately, so having bigger words to sound more convincing should speed things up. It seems I did involve science in this post back in 2023, but I’d since forgotten all the details!
Brain system involved: This process engages the visual-motor loop and the premotor cortex, which is crucial for planning and executing voluntary movements.
Breath Control (4–6 Breathing)
What to do: Prior to making key throws, practice a specific breathing pattern: inhale for 4 seconds, then exhale for 6 seconds. Or inhale for six, hold for 7, and exhale for 8. Try both!
When we say “key throws,” we really mean high pressure throws, and this exercise is proven to help when the moment threatens to be too big for us. We may not know we’re tightening up until it’s too late, so think of this as a worthwhile, quick, and simple preventative measure. Use your own competitive history as a guide, like the guy who takes a pill to prevent heartburn before he eats three chili dogs with extra onions. He lived and learned, and can we.
I touched on this subject, sort of, back in 2016, in this post about dealing with pressure putts. I didn’t mention the breathing technique or any other physiological solution, but my technique of removing all context and thinking of only the physical action likely produces a similar calming effect. But this breathing technique is certainly easier to implement.
Why it works: This controlled breathing technique is designed to activate your Vagus nerve, which plays a significant role in regulating internal organ functions. This activation helps to lower your heart rate and, in turn, stabilize your mechanics for a smoother throw.
In other words, it can help you get out of your own way and putt the same with the match on the line as you do in your back yard.
Brain system involved: The effectiveness of this method lies in its ability to influence the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body’s “rest and digest” functions, promoting a calm state.
Time Dilation via Intentional Slowdown
What to do: Consciously slow down your movements both immediately before (but mind that 30-second rule) and after taking your shots.
Have you ever reflected after a disastrous hole that things seemed to move at a faster speed as they unraveled, or said to someone “I don’t know what I was thinking!”
If it helps you slow down, do like Happy Gilmour and go to your Happy Place.
Why it works: By deliberately slowing your pace, you create an opportunity for your brain to engage more deeply in decision-making. This prevents rushed or reactive movements.
Brain system involved: This technique leverages the prefrontal cortex’s ability to override limbic reactivity. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functions like planning and decision-making, while the limbic system is associated with emotional responses.
I’m pretty sure this is what I was thinking when I posted Mind Control in Disc Golf back in 2021. I didn’t know prefrontal cortex trumps limbic reactivity back then, but from experience I knew we have the ability to anticipate and prepare for emotional spikes
Visualization + Execution (Mental Rehearsal)
What to do: Before physically throwing, vividly picture your entire throw in your mind with as much detail as possible.
This can work using your normal viewpoint (through your own eyes), and also by viewing yourself from an outside-the-body perspective. For instance, I currently first visualize the path want the disc to take, then visualize my body displaying the appropriate mix of balance, power, and timing during the throw, complete with the full follow-through.
I found one blog post from back in 2009 with visualization in the title, and it gives a short first-person (me) account of how powerful this technique can be. Here’s another personal testimony: My biggest margin of victory in a PDGA event (7 strokes, 10 strokes? I forget) was in 1998 at the San Francisco Safari. I used deep visualization on every throw, and I’ve never been so mentally spent after a round.
Why it works: Mental rehearsal is incredibly powerful because it activates the very same neural pathways in your brain that would be used during the actual physical action. This helps to pre-program your body for success.
Brain system involved: Key brain regions involved in this process are the motor cortex (responsible for planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements) and the cerebellum (which plays a role in motor control, coordination, and precision).
Give these tips some thought, and let me know if they help. Part 2 in this series will focus on Skill Learning and Efficient Practice.
Are you looking to take your disc golf game to the next level? The School of Disc Golf is excited to announce a new tool designed to help you do just that: the SAGA Test!
DGPT player Sintija Klezberga took the SAGA test and learned that she was losing strokes by using a run-up when it wasn’t needed, among other things.
Here at School of Disc Golf, we believe in our motto: Discere Ludere Melius – Latin for “Learn to Play Better”. That’s why disc golf author and instructor Jack “Tupp” Trageser developed the Self-Administered Gap Analysis (SAGA) test. This innovative tool is designed to help disc golfers of all skill levels pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. By identifying both the easiest and most impactful opportunities for improvement, the SAGA test can help you see real progress on the course.
Shown here are a few sample questions from the SAGA test, which covers all aspects of competitive disc golf including decision-making, throwing ability, and emotional control
The SAGA test was initially created to quickly cover all bases when coaching Latvian FPO player Sintija Klezberga remotely as she prepared for her first DGPT Elite events. It proved to be enormously helpful in establishing a foundation for her training, and since then, other School of Disc Golf clients have benefitted from it as well. Now, we’re excited to open it up to the public!
Keep in mind that the test and process for analyzing results are both still in Beta mode.
So, how can the SAGA test help you play better disc golf? By answering a wide-ranging list of questions about all aspects of your competitive disc golf play using a simple 1-5 rating system, you’ll gain clarity on the areas you need to address.
It’s not rocket science, just a simple Google Form.
But the SAGA test is more than just self-reflection. We encourage you to share the link with your playing buddies and ask them to complete the questionnaire about you. Their answers, especially the surprising ones, can reveal potential blind spots in your game that you might be overlooking. As we say, “If you give yourself a 4 on one question and your friends all give you 2’s and 1’s, that there is a red flag, my friend”.
Once you complete the test, your results will be e-mailed to you automatically, but to get a comparison of your self-assessment to your friends’ feedback — the potentially more impactful info — you’ll need to contact us and request it. We’re not that automated yet.
We’ve got another episode of the School of Disc Golf Crib Notes vlog series, where we share simple (sometimes easy, sometimes not) tips that can make a big difference in your disc golf game. Today’s topic is all about a radical concept that just might deliver your next Big Moment: Ignoring the score.
Have you ever felt the pressure mounting as you get closer to finishing a round with a personal best score? Maybe it’s beating your older brother for the first time after years of trying. Or the flip side, where early-round mistakes or bad breaks make you uber-aware of exactly how many birdies you need to get back to par.
These common experiences can be a major distraction, bad enough to turn some players off to competitive play for good.
Here’s the thing: when you start thinking about your overall score, you’re setting yourself up for potential failure. The mind must be fully focused on the task and nothing else. This isn’t just for disc golf. In all sports, or even in situations where precise execution is critical — like a bomb-defusing specialist, as an extreme example — focusing on the task at hand and not the potential outcome, is paramount. You can’t do that while also thinking about the ramifications of failure, or even what’s for lunch. And worst of all, you cannot do it while also thinking about the SCORE!
If you don’t want your round to blow up in your face, that is. Ha. Haha.
Moving on . . .
The core object of golf is to score the lowest you can on each individual hole. Tracking the total score over a certain number of holes is merely a construct created so we humans could scratch our competitive itch.
Therefore, except for rare exceptions, ignore the score!
This might seem counter-intuitive, but disc golf is no different than other endeavors in this regard. Think of a tightrope walker focusing on their next step, not the potential fall. Or a surgeon concentrating on the procedure, rather than the potential consequences. When it comes to performance, the mind needs to be singularly focused.
So, how do you train yourself to ignore the score? Just like you can teach your body to throw further, you can teach your mind not to dwell on your total score. It takes time and effort to change a habit.
I remember the day I became determined to accomplish this feat. At first, I noticed that I was thinking about the wrong thing only after the disc left my hand. The next step had me noticing this just before the disc left my hand, too late to stop the throw. After that, there was a stage where I realized in plenty of time that I was thinking about the wrong things but couldn’t stop myself from throwing anyway.
Finally, finally, I reached the point where I was not only better at thinking about the right things at the start of my routine; I was also better at identifying distracting thoughts and replacing them with the right ones. Sometimes a reset is required.
Just so you know, this is not like riding a bike— learn once and you’re good. Controlling these types of thoughts is like weight training. Slack off and you get weaker. I know this first-hand.
The mind needs to be fully focused on the task at hand, and nothing else.
Episode #001 of Crib Notes explains one of several methods I’ve used to help clients past the broader obstacle of thinking about anything but mechanics when it comes time to execute the shot. You can watch the short vid, but here’s the crux: When it comes to the ongoing cycle of assessment, planning, and execution during a round, divide yourself into two halves.
Player 1 does all the assessing and planning, while Player 2 focuses solely on execution, free from any second guesses or fear. But knowing the score does NEITHER OF THEM any good. Knowing the score easily leads to Player 2 tightening up; that much should be obvious by now.
The knowledge is just as dangerous to Player 1. They might make risky, pressing decisions based on the context of that moment in the round rather than characteristics of the hole, current weather conditions, and a carefully considered game plan. This reasoning even extends to not knowing the number of throws during a hole. How does knowing whether you’re lying 2 or 3 help you decide between the narrow gap straight or the wider opening 60 degrees left of the target? How can it help you execute the shot?
You can try our Player 1/Player 2 routine, or come up with one of your own. It’s just relatable packaging for the age-old challenge of being present and not tense in the moments that matter most. This will allow your mind to focus on your mechanics, which leads to better results.
There are exceptions to the policy, of course. If you’re playing an event that uses the match-play format, you need to know the score. If it’s down to the last hole or two and circumstances might dictate a different play than normal, you might want to know the score. Then again, like my buddy Assaf when he won his first PDGA event, you might stick with the “Ignorance is Bliss” mantra to the end.
However you choose to employ it, having the developed ability to “Ignore the Score” will help you to stay present, focus on each shot, and allow your training to shine through. It will prevent you from sabotaging a great round because you are too worried about getting a new personal best!
Ready to Get Better at Disc Golf, One Shiny Nugget at a Time?
Check out the ongoing School of Disc Golf Crib Notes video series on YouTube, and be sure to follow us on YouTube and Instagram for more great disc golf tips and inspiration!
Happy FrisbeeGolf Friday to ya! Here in Santa Cruz, today kicks off the Amateur version of the Masters Cup, one of the longest-running tournaments in disc golf on one of the sport’s most storied courses.
Paul McBeth at the 2016 Masters Cup. Photo courtesy of Innova.
This event (the professional version, taking place next weekend) was part of every iteration of disc golf’s professional tour— PDGA Supertour, PDGA National Tour, and then the Disc Golf Pro Tour. After 2022, when tickets sold for $20+ and media passes were required, the DGPT eliminated the Masters Cup from its schedule, opting for venues better suited for spectator attendance and strong cell signals to accommodate a smooth live broadcast.
As I note in my book (written when the DGPT and now-defunct Disc Golf World Tour were brand new), we have a catch-22 quandary with disc golf as a spectator sport. The most exciting and interesting disc golf happens when players are required to navigate objects a good part of the time. DGPT CEO Jeff Spring must consider two sides of the equation, though: the product itself, and the packaging and presentation of that product.
Jack Tupp’s media pass for the 2022 Masters Cup.
Last weekend, disc golf’s first Major (with a capital “M”) event of 2024 took place in Morton, IL, on a very wooded course. One major point of discussion after it concluded thrillingly was the venue’s role in producing exciting action. Another was the fact that newly employed technology makes broadcasting in wooded locations much more doable than even last year.
My hope (and belief) is that improved tech and a demand to see top players take on technical courses get the Masters Cup back in the DGPT shuffle. We want more of this!
Disc Golf Tech
Have you tried using a rangefinder in disc golf yet? Bushnell is a leading optics company that first embraced the sport of disc golf around 10 years ago. They designed a rangefinder specifically for disc golf and are one of the Disc Golf Pro Tour’s most recognizable sponsors from outside the disc golf world.
If you know all about rangefinders and are considering buying one, Bushnell is having a sale on their website for the next couple of weeks. $154.99 is a good price for what the Edge Disc Golf Rangefinder delivers, and as I like to mention often, we’re fortunate to play a very inexpensive sport, leaving funds available for cool gadgets and tools like rangefinders, disc golf shoes, and smart disc training devices.
If you’re not yet familiar with rangefinders, watch the video on the Edge product page. I love it because it’s accurate, super easy to use, and displays distance in feet or meters, user’s choice. I can’t say how many times I’ve assumed I had 160 feet to the hole and threw the exact shot I wanted only to see it come up 40 feet short because, in reality, the target was 200 feet away. Now I check the distance with my Edge rangefinder and trust it rather than my faulty eyes.
The newest model also includes “Z-Mode,” enabling disc golfers to know the exact elevation change between their lie and the target. This feature is possibly an even bigger game-changer than knowing accurate distance. How many times have you failed to notice a subtle uphill slope that sneakily requires a 200-foot effort to execute a 140-foot upshot?
The Bushnell Edge will feed you accurate and useful data about the shot you’re facing in the moment, which is great, but there’s more! Regular use will also help you better understand your own capabilities (and limits). Knowing how far it is between here and there isn’t very useful for decision-making until you’re also familiar with how far you can throw each disc, in each situation. Train and play with a rangefinder, and that will happen!
In the News
Stuff Made Here is a YouTube channel with more than 4 million subscribers. They created what the host referred to as “Basically a Disc Golf Bazooka.” Obviously this thing isn’t ready for production and, haha, not PDGA legal. But as one commenter points out, maybe it or something like it can be used to assign disc flight numbers based on actual science.
In Australia, a similar story of grassroots disc golf growth unfolds. Good on ya, Dean O’Loughlin and the Horsham Rural City Council! Thanks to Innova, another new course will be unveiled at the upcoming FLoydFest in Check, VA.
Tip of the Week
I was working with a client yesterday on driving, and for a break and change of pace, we played a few holes. On the green I noted the lack of spin on his putts made it hard for him to achieve much range. I showed him a simple way to generate spin while still maintaining straight line discipline. I wrote this post 11 years ago, but it still holds up and at least one guy is going to be hitting more putts now because of it.
If you have a question, or comment, or whatever, hit me up! Until next time, remember: “Aim with your Body, Throw with your Body.”
This post is one of a series that explains terminology unique to — or at least originated by — School of Disc Golf. Each term in the series was created by me, many spontaneously during a private lesson as I searched for a new way to explain something to a client.
Think Different
For the first one in the series, I picked a biggie. Those who are familiar with Three Paths to Better Disc Golf know one of those paths involves having a predetermined philosophical approach to the game. Broad concepts a player can use to guide smaller decisions and lead to their best chance to score well.
When I wrote that book I was thinking mainly of strategic concepts, but with thousands more hours of hands-on disc golf instruction under my belt since then, I realize it applies to technique and mechanics as well. Perhaps more so.
“Arm Brain” is a term I use to describe an incorrect mechanical approach most people instinctively take to backhand driving in disc golf. In the same way that early science before Copernicus thought the earth was the center of the universe, most players treat their arm as the core of their drive.
It isn’t, of course. I use other terms in my lessons, like Nucleus, Center Pole Position. Asymmetric Timing, and 180-to-Zero to explain the difference between throwing with the entire body vs. throwing with arm only— why the literal throwing arm plays a relatively minor role in determining whether a player has a figurative Big Arm.
How arm brain came to be
One day during a 1-on-1 lesson, I noticed how my client was successfully achieving the timing and balance we wanted during drills, throwing with the right muscles from the right position, and achieving the results I promised would come. However, a trend developed where after a good throw he would often follow it up with one that were complete mis-throws.
The author with a client in Santa Cruz, CA.
After the pattern became clear, I asked him to describe his thoughts as he set up for the next throw after an especially successful effort. Each time, he described watching the good drive fly, feeling excited about the accomplishment, and wanting to see if he could throw the next drive even further.
Since Sports Psychology 101 is based on “Focus on what you’re trying to do, not what you’re wanting to accomplish” I figured his thoughts had triggered the muscle memory from thousands of Frisbee throws. To explain my thoughts, I mused that he had allowed Arm Brain to enter the realm, kind of like saying Beatlejuice one too many times.
The teaching point was this: It is always a good idea to focus on what’s right in front of you in sports, especially when you’re working on developing a new skill. Thinking about the new mechanics in particular helps prevent “Arm Brain” from jumping in and saying “I can do that!” when you think only of intended results.
Arm Brain can also rear his head at much later stages, as well, in times of mental and physical fatigue or wandering focus. Good driving form takes some work, and if you’re not focused on executing that work Arm Brain can jump in and say “Let me handle this one. It’ll be easier.”
predetermining factors of arm brain
Since that lesson when I made up the term, I broadened the use to describe a related group of reasons why some people have a hard time learning the unique mechanics that are key to throwing as far and accurately as one’s peers Here’s a quick run-down of those reasons:
Familiarity with tossing a Frisbee- Think of the stance you assume to play catch with a Frisbee. Your brain is likely very familiar with that stance and the action that follows, and comfortable with its ability to execute that action
The “Big Arm” label- This popular misnomer only reinforces the other reasons
Proximity to the hand- The hand is important because it holds the disc, right? Therefore focus should be on the thing connected to the hand— or so goes the logic.
Eyes on target- The same power-sapping position that is comfortable and familiar for a Frisbee toss is also the posture that provides a clear view of the target with both eyes before throwing— something that isn’t possible at the beginning of a proper full-power drive.
Frisbee tossing involves the hand, wrist, and arm. Driving in disc golf starts with the body’s largest muscles.
how to outsmart and outwit arm brain
You gotta know he’s lurking. You gotta know how to spot him. And you gotta know how to deflect and defeat him.
If you had to work to learn proper driving technique (or are still in the process) vs. it coming naturally right away (and sometimes even then), Arm Brain is lurking. Don’t doubt it.
If you catch yourself thinking about wants and needs rather than mechanics as you set up for shots, and your throws start to lack their normal explosiveness and carry, Arm Brain has likely infiltrated your camp. The best way to banish him is to purposefully focus on elements of your mechanics that most starkly contrast a Frisbee throw, things I focus on in sessions with my clients.
One of my favorite mantras to banish Arm Brain is “Aim with the Body, Throw with the Body,” another unique School of Disc Golf term phrase. Maybe we’ll cover that one next!
Hello there, this is Jack Tupp, Owner and lead instructor at School of Disc Golf.
Part of my 2023 disc golf summer was spent familiarizing myself with an amazing piece of technology called TECHDISC. I’ve already used it with several clients and have now fully incorporated it into both types of lessons we offer; in-person and virtual.
Here is a brief summary of what TECHDISC is and what it does:
TECHDISC is the name of the company, as well as the company’s flagship (and only) product
The product, which sells for $299, is a piece of hardware; a small rubberized puck that is precisely and permanently attached to a disc at their factory. Customers can choose the disc type and weight.
The puck contains sensors that track the disc’s speed, spin rate, launch rate, hyzer angle, and wobble rate upon release
The data collected by the puck is transmitted via Bluetooth to the user’s phone, tablet, or laptop, where it is displayed numerically and graphically and also stored securely in the user’s account on TECHDISC servers
The software platform also enables users to label and sort throws to gain additional insights
So far, TECHDISC has been so popular they’ve gone through several cycles of preorders. In other words, they can’t make ’em fast enough!
I’m working on a more comprehensive review of TECHDISC to be posted soon, but after extensive use of the tool and platform over the last few months these are my impressions of how TECHDISC can be used to improve one’s disc golf game— and how we’ll be using it at School of Disc Golf moving forward.
techdisc in school of disc golf private lessons
Using TECHDISC with clients hasn’t changed what I teach in lessons, nor has it altered how I teach. At least not very much. But it has supercharged both in two ways I noticed right away.
A big part of my private lessons — especially with newer players — is explaining how to generate arm speed and spin, and how to control the direction and trajectory of the disc. In other words, how to throw further and “straighter.” Before TECHDISC, my methods produced consistent results, but quite often success is delayed, at least for a time, by the fact that adopting proper technique can feel strange.
I would explain mechanical changes and drills to a client, and together we’d assess their throws using my eyes and experience and the client’s feel. But trusting that new feel can take time. Having the quantification and scientific measurement of TECHDISC, however, is powerfully different. It provides an irrefutable level of confirmation — positive or negative — to both student and teacher. Numbers don’t lie, as they say.
Speaking of numbers, the other instant win using TECHDISC with new disc golfers involves explaining the differences between discs, flight numbers, and how to select the correct disc for each circumstance— and why that answer changes depending on a wide range of factors. TECHDISC includes a flight simulator that allows us to see how tweaking throw characteristics (and also disc characteristics) changes the flight of a disc.
The Flight Simulator lets users adjust both disc and throw characteristics, then use the 3D Throw Viewer to see how each change affects the flight of the disc.
Having a hands-on tool that lets someone change disc and throw numbers to create hyzer flip and forced flex shot lines that end up in the same place communicates important info in a much more memorable way.
using techdisc IN virtual lessons
We have developed an excellent methodology over the years to serve those who can’t make it to Santa Cruz, but as with everything else, communicating via Zoom and email and texts is a little less effective than being in the same location.
The most important thing for me in using it as a training tool is that it accurately reflects adjustments a client makes over the course of our work together. It does.
The concrete metrics of TECHDISC permit no message distortion— they are what they are. Clients know exactly where they stand in terms of speed and spin, and they gain a proper understanding of less intuitive factors like nose angle, hyzer angle, and launch angle. As an instructor, knowing the exact numbers for each throw I see on a video call makes an even bigger difference than when using it with an in-person client. I may misinterpret something I see, especially when it’s on a screen and the angle is bad, but I can trust the numbers.
I’ll go into more detail soon in a full review, but I’ve used my TECHDISC enough by now to know it is consistent from throw to throw. The most important thing for me in using it as a training tool is that it accurately reflects adjustments a client makes over the course of our work together. It does. When my clients own their own TECHDISC, they can share their throw data between sessions, and I can trust that data. It provides scientific data that confirms when they do X, the results are Y. Over time, even more patterns and trends will emerge, especially if they take full advantage of the tagging feature.
TECHDISC automatically sorts throws by type and release angle, and lets you manually label and sort in numerous other ways.
using techdisc on your own
You can of course use a TECHDISC on your own. At the very least you’ll have the coolest disc golf gadget around, one-upping the rangefinder crowd. If you expect the ability to capture and slice and dice all that data to translate into lower scores, though, that will largely depend on your ability to figure things out on your own. If you’ve had success in the past watching YouTube videos and implementing changes, and you understand technical disc golf terminology, TECHDISC should provide you with all the benefits described above.
If, however, you’re on the other end of the spectrum (many of my current clients tell me they found my website after trying and failing to watch videos and develop on their own), please remember that TECHDISC is a measurement tool combined with good database tools. It won’t tell you how to change those numbers. But, hey, that’s what me and my fellow disc golf instructors are for, right?
Contact us if you’d like to schedule a TECHDISC-powered lesson or have a question, or book online directly to reserve a date and time right now.
MC Flow was not a hip-hop artist, nor a pioneering disc golfer from the early ’80s. He was a psychologist, and no one has ever referred to him by that name except me, in this post.
While researching my book, Three Paths to Better Disc Golf, I learned that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the person credited with the concept of Flow. In the context of athletic performance and contemporary language, “In the Zone” may be the more familiar term for this state of being.
I read yesterday that Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced chik-sent-mee-hai-ee) died on October 20th, a great loss to the academic community. After learning some new things about his teaching and having had a few years to reflect since mentioning him in the book, I decided to once again bring him to the attention of disc golfers who seek the elusive but wholly available nexus of optimized performance and enriched experience on the course.
Csikszentmihalyi was best known to academics who study psychology for his larger body of work exploring happiness and creativity. His codification of the ideal state of productivity, production, and engagement (flow) was his greatest contribution to the larger world’s understanding of the human experience.
Although the concept of flow applies to any long term endeavor that a person wishes to undertake and ultimately master, athletic competition provides the ideal vessel to understand, witness, and hopefully experience this elusive state.
When you think of an athlete being “In the Zone,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me it’s a basketball player who is making the right decision at every juncture, making every shot no matter how difficult. When this is happening, we’ll also hear phrases like “automatic,” “unconscious,” and “out of her mind.”
As I have come to understand it, though, flow isn’t a trance-like state where we’re either in it or we’re not- a plane of existence we may be lucky to stumble into once or twice in our lives. It is a target at which to aim, and much like aiming for one center link of a basket, even coming close usually produces positive results.
Csikszentmihalyi (aka MC Flow) used flow to describe a person being in a state of complete absorption with whatever they are doing, of being so involved in an activity that nothing else exists. In an interview with Wired magazine he explained it as “”being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away,” he said. “Time flies.”
If he had stopped there, this insight would still have been fascinating, but not very useful to those of us obsessed with optimizing performance. But thankfully he didn’t stop there.
The actionable crux of MC Flow’s hypothesis is a roadmap on how to get there. To achieve a flow state, he said, a balance must be struck between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer. If the task is too easy or too difficult, flow cannot occur as both skill level and challenge level must be matched and high; if skill and challenge are low and matched, then apathy results. If the challenge level is high and the skill level is low, the result is anxiety.
This brings me to the main new thing I learned about MC Flow’s hypotheses yesterday, and how it supports my concept of Disc Golf in a Vacuum.
Csikszentmihalyi believed that autotelic personality – in which a person performs acts because they are intrinsically rewarding, rather than to achieve external goals – is a trait possessed by individuals who can learn to enjoy situations that most other people would find miserable. According to the Wikipedia entry on the man and his work, “Research has shown that aspects associated with the autotelic personality include curiosity, persistence, and humility.”
When I had the mountaintop (Top of the World at DeLaveaga DGC, to be specific) epiphany that led to me formulating my own hypothesis on optimizing both enjoyment and performance in disc golf, I was zeroing in on some of the same general ideas as MC Flow. My big personal discovery had three parts:
Immersing myself in the selection, planning, execution, and then evaluation of a shot, solely for the sake of doing so (the intrinsic reward) rather than as a step to achieving a low score on my round that day (an external goal) is the richest, most gratifying way to experience disc golf
Remaining in or close to this state for an entire round almost always results in optimized execution and therefore optimized scoring
Despite being wholly absorbed in each shot as it happens, I’ve found I am much better equipped to go back after the round, often many hours later, and relive the whole round
Csikszentmihalyi listed several conditions for flow, and others have taken it upon themselves to flesh out his hypothesis even further. If you’re interested in the broader topic I encourage you to hop onto Google and dig in. As it pertains to athletic endeavors, and specifically disc golf, I’ll focus on just one: You must be at the balance between the perceived challenges of the task at hand and your own perceived skills.
The first chart in this post may make it seem like you need to be at the far end of both the challenge and skill side of the equation in order to experience flow, but this is not the case. The two simply need to be in balance. Other charts illustrating flow reference the term flow channel, and indicate that we merely needs to be redirecting ourselves into this ideal mix of challenge and skill. It’s not the only condition needed to achieve flow, but it’s seemingly the most important one.
In disc golf terms, this presents different directives depending on who you are and where you’re at with your game.
Less experienced and less skilled players can usually move toward the flow channel by simply being realistic about their capabilities and acting accordingly. When presented with a hole that “requires” a drive you don’t have – whether in terms of distance or shot shape – don’t take the bait. Figure out an alternative you CAN execute that gets you closer to the hole, even if it is unconventional. Remember, it’s all about finding that equal ratio of skill and challenge so you can stay balanced on the line between boredom and anxiety.
If you’re a skilled player wanting to get into the flow more, ask yourself if you’re at least on some subconscious level experiencing boredom. Maybe you’ve already determined what you can and can’t do on the course and have stuck to your comfort zone for too long. According to Csikszentmihalyi, you can’t remain in both the comfort zone and the flow channel for very long.
For example, even the most backhand-dominant players admit that certain upshots call for a forehand. If you’re in such a situation, consider upping the challenge part of the equation. It’ll probably cause you to veer quickly from boredom to anxiety – as the curvy line on the diagram indicates – but it’ll keep you moving toward your maximum mix of challenge and skill, Stay mindful of this mix and you’ll stay in or near the flow state most of the time. Any hey, that’s what practice is for, right? Working on skills in a less pressurized environment.
According to Csikszentmihalyi, you can’t remain in both the comfort zone and the flow channel for very long.
I started writing today to pay tribute to the man who explained being “in the zone” in scientific terms. When I returned home after that horrible USDGC performance in 2009 and discovered the transformative experience of truly focusing on abstract execution for its own sake, I knew I couldn’t have been the first to put it into words.
While I still think that in the highly-charged atmosphere of competitive sports the “focus on what you’re trying to do, not what you’re hoping to achieve” maxim is the key, MC Flow gave us much more. He gifted us with an excellent blueprint for using psychological tools to maximize our potential.
The key to achieving a goal is to have a plan. A blueprint for success. This is as true for improving athletic performance, including disc golf putting, as anything else.
In the first half of 2020, thousands of competitive-minded disc golfers asked themselves a question in response to closed courses and cancelled tournaments due to the quarantine: “What can I do to make disc golf downtime profitable in terms of lower scores in the future?” Many of us present ourselves with a similar personal challenge each offseason — or at least we should.
If I were to conduct a poll asking that question, the most popular answer would almost certainly be “work on my putting.” Missed putts feel like missed opportunities, more than any other aspect of the game. Three-putting from 35 feet feels like self destruction in a competitive round, and missing a 20-footer after an incredible drive can be soul-crushing. Converting a few misses into makes each round is the quickest way to shave strokes from your score.
If you want that payoff at the end, however, you need to think beyond simply “getting in your rep’s” each day. Twenty putts from 10 different stations is great for conditioning, but to achieve a noticeable, lasting breakthrough you’ll have to dig deeper. This project is about thinking as well as putting.
In other words, you need a blueprint.
The first step is to conduct some critical analysis. Think of your putting game as a boat that is taking on water. You know there are leaks, and you know they can be plugged: you just have to find them.
Finding the Leaks
Step 1: Think back to missed putts in past rounds and try to identify any trends. For instance, do you regularly miss short putts left or right? Does your percentage of made putts go way down when there is more at stake? Do your missed putts all too often end up even further from the basket? Does it seem like you get more than your share of spit-outs? Make a list of what you think are your biggest leaks, then grab some discs and head for your nearest basket.
Step 2: Before you start putting, remind yourself that you’re going to take that same analyst’s approach at the end of the session. Take putts from a variety of distances (and inclines, if possible) without putting from the same place twice in a row. Take your time with each putt, as if you were playing a round. After misses, make quick mental observations so you can recall them later, then let them go and focus on the next putt. When you’re done, add to or refine the list you started earlier.
Step 3: Now contact a couple disc golf buddies, preferably ones you play with regularly. Ask them for their honest input. What are your putting strengths and weaknesses? What are your costliest chronic mistakes on the green? Do you let emotions get in the way, and if so, which ones — Fear? Anxiety? Anger? Use your friends’ answers to add to your list, then rank the items based on severity (how much of an issue is this for you personally) and impact (how many strokes is it costing you per round).
You’re now almost ready to start the hands-on part of this project, but the last bit of preparation is crucial. You need to create a plan of action to address each specific issue on your list. It’s easier said than done, but you need to know the cause of each leak so you can figure out the best way to address it.
Plugging the Leaks
You may feel stumped at this point. If you knew the cause of all those frustrating missed short putts you’d have fixed the problem yourself by now, right? While I don’t have the space here to address every issue, I’ll cover a few common ones and link to some resources that go into more detail. But remember, the main point is to take a systematic and purposeful approach to make significant improvements to your putting game. Okay, onto plugging some common leaks!
Left/Right Misses
First up: a tendency to miss even short putts left or right. This is usually due to horizontal movement of hand and disc during the putt, which makes it difficult to consistently release the disc directly at the target.
The reason this tip works so well is simple. A disc pulled back and then propelled along a straight line will begin its flight heading in the exact direction at which that line points.
If you’re interested to learn more about the importance of straight-line putting and how to retrain yourself, you can read up on that here.
Short Putts
If you tend to miss too many putts in general, the above issue is only one of several possible causes. The other common physical cause for demoralizing unforced errors such as missed short putts is a lack of follow-through. This sometimes happens because we mistakenly believe short putts only require a soft toss. It is important to always complete your putting motion, regardless of length. For help incorporating proper follow-through, check out this post.
The most common reason for missing short putts has nothing to do with technical flaws. It’s simply a lack of focus on the task at hand. If the putt is practically a gimme, it’s easy to take it for granted and begin thinking about the next hole. Or perhaps the hole went badly and you’re eager to get it over with and move on. The best way to eliminate these completely avoidable mistakes is to establish a specific putting routine and stick to it, no matter how short the putt. If you’re doing it at 30 feet, you should also be doing it at 10. There are even more causes of missed short putts and how to eliminate them here.
Pressure Putts
Do your putting percentages go down as the stakes go up? Pressure putts can undermine even the best players and in a variety of different ways. Stress and anxiety are known to be performance inhibitors in all sports, causing the body to tighten up and lose necessary fluidity. Sometimes it’s as simple as being distracted, thinking about how important the putt is when you should be thinking about aim or line or follow-through.
I’ve found that the best way to combat both is to stick to your routine, and make sure the routine includes thinking about the right things before and during the putt. This is straight out of Sports Psychology 101, and I sum it up thusly: Think about what you’re trying to do, NOT what you’re hoping to accomplish. I’ve talked about handling pressure, and proper ‘shot-thinking” in the past.
Here are the most common of those systematic issues:
Putting Too Hard
When you fire bullet-putts at the basket, all kinds of things can go wrong. If you miss entirely, the disc is now moving away from the basket at full speed. If you hit the top or the cage, the disc still has plenty of energy and momentum to travel away from the basket. And sometimes accurate putts that would stay in the basket if thrown at a more reasonable speed use that excess, superfluous energy to escape the grasp of the chains.
To avoid long comeback putts (which often turn into three-putts or worse), use only enough velocity to hit the link of chain you’re aiming at with sufficient energy to push that link toward the pole. Except on short putts, the speed of the disc should not be the same when it arrives at the target as when it left your hand.
The key to doing this is to use arc. The longer the putt, the greater the arc. This enables you to get the disc to arrive at the target with only the necessary amount of speed. As a bonus, the arc means that on longer putts the disc will be moving downward (toward the ground) at the end of its flight, which will usually help it come to a stop sooner.
The next two causes of chronic three-putting have nothing to do with technique. One stems from flawed decision making and the other a lack of focus.
Lack of Risk/Reward Concession
The object of golf is to complete each hole in the fewest strokes possible. Your decision to go for it boldly or go for it carefully or lay it up should be dictated by the answer you ask yourself: What are my odds of executing this shot successfully and what is the worst possible consequence if I miss?
Don’t confuse confidence with a blissful ignorance of things like odds and risk. If you know your chances of making a birdie putt from 50 feet are low and you’re playing a round where score counts, it makes sense to lay up and play for par. If you have the skill to go for it with enough finesse that a miss will result in a putt you make almost every time, that’s a different story. The key is knowing your limitations. Otherwise, you’re burning up three strokes to complete the hole from 50 feet.
Lack of Focus
As mentioned earlier, one of the best ways to maintain focus is to develop a routine and stick to it. This means going through the same steps every time regardless of how routine the throw or short the putt. The repetition will ensure that you don’t forget to do it in important or stressful situations. All routines different in little ways, but have the same critical elements in common. This is helpful in understanding the necessary basic components.
your blueprint
If you agree that working on your putting is a good way to achieve real score improvement, don’t just commit to an amount of time or putts each day. Use the below formula to create a customized blueprint to work smarter and succeed.
Identify your putting ‘leaks’ (WHERE is the leak?)
List possible causes for each leak. (WHY does it leak?)
Find changes or adjustments to try based on each cause until you find the one that works (What MIGHT plug the leak? What WILL plug the leak?)
Practice putting purposefully, plugging one leak at a time
Disc golf is a game of skill. Players with superior skills generally end up with superior scores. But no one is immune to the occasional twist of fate. Stuff happens- even to the best and most cautious players. At least once in every round you play, after the disc leaves your hand, it takes an expected and unplanned skip, roll, or bounce that gives you a different result than what you think you “deserved.”
These are The Breaks, and if you play competitively you know they’re a (sometimes big) part of the game. While you have no control over The Breaks, how you react to them is completely up to you. What’s more, your mindset and resulting play after a bad break often impact your final score more than the break itself. Read on for three and a half insights that will hopefully keep the bad breaks from breaking you.
#1. Don’t infuse them with mystical power
It doesn’t matter how you ended up behind the tree. Focus on making the putt!
Some use the term “luck” when referring to this aspect of the game, as in “bad luck” or “lucky break.” I’m not superstitious, but even if I was I think I’d still prefer the word arbitrary. It’s tough enough to overcome unexpected and undeserved difficulties; if I embrace the belief that some cosmic force is working against me I’ve just given myself an excuse to stop trying. Who am I to overcome a Cosmic Force?
I choose to believe that all breaks are arbitrary and that they even out over time. I also see disc golf in many ways as emblematic of life. And sometimes life, as we all know, isn’t fair.
#2. Acknowledge good breaks, too
It’s human nature to acknowledge bad breaks more than good breaks. We get both, but we might look past the good ones for egotistical reasons. Taking credit comes much more naturally for most of us than taking blame.
Try to fight this tendency. If you recognize the breaks that benefit your score as readily as the breaks that hurt, it’ll benefit your game in a couple ways. First of all, it’ll help you accept that both good and bad breaks happen, that they’re just a part of the game. You’ll be less likely to think the forces of the universe are aligned against you.
An awareness of good breaks can also help keep you grounded. I played the 23-hole winter layout of my home course, DeLaveaga DGC, a couple days ago and shot an 11-under par with 14 birdies. The praise from others at the course had me feeling pretty darn good, but on reflection, it could have easily been 5- or 6-under. I pulled my drive on hole 8 toward OB, and would have gone in the road if the throw sailed six inches higher. Instead, the barrier of logs funneled a bad drive toward the green, and I barely eked a 40-foot downhill putt into the cage for a chain-less birdie. Several other putts that could have gone either way went in, and a couple other less-than-stellar drives resulted not in the potential bogey trouble or routine upshots they warranted but birdie looks. On top of all that, I missed four putts inside the circle! I don’t want to let a good final result — which I believe to have been positively affected by breaks in my favor — let me overlook the many mistakes I made.
#2.5. Accept good breaks without apology
This extension of point number two is a reminder not to go overboard with humility and self-flagellation. It is healthy to acknowledge good breaks because doing so will help you accept that, just like in life, you get things both good and bad that you don’t deserve. That in turn will help you take things in stride when the bad breaks inevitably come. But don’t take it too far. Golf is a game of imperfection, and we need to hold onto all the genuine confidence we can muster.
When you get an incredibly good kick that results in a birdie, own it. You shouldn’t feel you didn’t “deserve” it, nor should you express embarrassment to others in the group. Recognize it as just one more part of the arbitrary flow of breaks, good and bad, that helps make our game the emotional roller coaster that it is.
#3. Let it go
When bad breaks happen at particularly bad times, it just might help to hear that hit song from the original Frozen movie in your head.
Let’s say you throw a perfect drive on a technical par 3 with the basket perched precariously atop a steep wooded slope. Maybe you even hear some distant cheering from players on another hole. Then, upon reaching the green, you find that you ended up OB, 90 feet from the basket. You’re on your third shot with 20 trees to negotiate.
It doesn’t matter how you got here. This is your current reality.
When bad breaks happen at particularly bad times, it just might help to hear that hit song from the original Frozen movie in your head.
Let’s say you throw a perfect drive on a technical par 3 with the basket perched precariously atop a steep wooded slope. Maybe you even hear some distant cheering from players on another hole. Then, upon reaching the green, you find that you ended up OB, 90 feet from the basket. You’re on your third shot with 20 trees to negotiate.
It doesn’t matter how you got here. This is your current reality.
Whether you hit the pole with an epic drive and tragically rolled to where you are now, or shanked your drive mightily, it just doesn’t matter. Either way, the best way to proceed is to let it go. All that matters is what you do next.
This one is really the key to dealing with bad breaks, and it’s part of Sports Psychology 101. Ignore the past, and for the moment ignore the future as well. Focusing only on the shot at hand gives you the best chance to execute.
This is something that is hard to do in the moment, so plan ahead. Before your next round, when emotions are not ruling the mental roost, take the time to fully accept and internalize the fact that the only rational, constructive reaction to a bad break is to instantly move past it. The next time disaster strikes, you may feel like expressing your anger, frustration, and disappointment, but you’ll know that putting it behind you and focusing on your next shot is the more sensible reaction.
The only rational, constructive reaction to a bad break is to instantly move past it. Let it go. Put it behind you and focus on your next shot.
Whether you hit the pole with an epic drive and tragically rolled to where you are now, or shanked your drive mightily, it just doesn’t matter. Either way, the best way to proceed is to let it go. All that matters is what you do next.
This one is really the key to dealing with bad breaks, and it’s part of Sports Psychology 101. Ignore the past, and for the moment ignore the future as well. Focusing only on the shot at hand gives you the best chance to execute.
This is something that is hard to do in the moment, so plan ahead. Before your next round, when emotions are not ruling the mental roost, take the time to fully accept and internalize the fact that the only rational, constructive reaction to a bad break is to instantly move past it. The next time disaster strikes, you may feel like expressing your anger, frustration, and disappointment, but you’ll know that putting it behind you and focusing on your next shot is the more sensible reaction.
A big part of the mental side of disc golf is developing an ability to override feelings and emotions with knowledge and planning. The observations above will hopefully help in this particular scenario. When bad breaks come your way — and they will — treat them more like a slight detour on your road to a successful round, rather than a land mine.
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