Beginner Disc Golf Tips 1: Play for par (for now)

Introduction:

We all want birdies. Let's face it, getting birdies is fun and the ultimate goal of the sport of disc golf. But is going for birdies too early in your playing career actually hurting your game?

If you are a player with a MAX distance throw of 250 feet, you are not going to birdie that 389-foot par 3 at your local course. Beginner mindsets often dictate that since the hole is far, I should try and throw my disc as far as possible. Accuracy suffers during max distance shots (even if that max distance is 250 feet). A beginner is way more likely to shank it into the woods on a max distance shot than hit the fairway. As a beginner, you have to accept that no matter how hard you try, your 250 max distance is not getting you to 389 feet. So what do you do? Play for par!

Change Your Mindset

If you can't reach a par 3 basket in one shot with your current distance, you have to change the way you play. A good beginner disc golf tip is to play within your game. This means to focus on the skills you do have, not the ones you wish you had. So let's imagine again that your max-distance is 250 feet and you are at that 389-foot par 3. Instead of trying to chuck it out there as far as you can, you have to attack the hole differently. You can get there in two 190-foot shots (at about 75% power), or even three 130-foot shots to avoid double bogey. A lot of disc golf is played with controlled shots in that 30%-75% power range. The way to consistently get birdies is to raise your controlled distance.

Disc Golfer hitting the fairway

A successful disc golf shot is a combination of distance and control. You HAVE to practice both, or you will find yourself hitting the first available tree, or scrambling from the deep woods on your tee shots. If you keep focusing on controlled shots on the course, and max distance in the field, you will get distance creep over time. We all want to find that secret sauce to gain 150 feet of distance overnight, but in reality, driving distance increases gradually over time ( there are of course exceptions). A great beginner tip is that your distance goals should be to turn those controlled 130-foot shots into 150-foot shots, etc. A more controlled game plan like this is also simply more fun. You will spend less time looking for your discs in the woods and more time playing disc golf. Successfully hitting your lines and puring gaps is satisfying no matter your distance. Also, limiting "luck" on the course, "twice or its luck" applies to tee shots as well as putts.

Beginner Drill: Find your max controlled distance

1. Set up 3 targets in a field at 30% , 50%, and 75% of your max distance. (It Doesn't matter what the target is as long as you can see it)

2. Start with the 30% target and try to get your shots within about 20 feet of the target.

3. If you can get it within 20 feet of the target the majority of the time move up to the 50% target

4. If you can get with 20 feet most of the time at 50% move up to 75%

5. Once you find your comfortable, controllable distance, set that as your benchmark to work on during fieldwork sessions.

In conclusion, distance without accuracy isn't worth much on the course. Practice your controlled distance, and before you know it, those birdies will come!