Beginner Disc Golf tip 2: Don't Retee, Scramble!

When playing a casual round solo or with friends, it is tempting to rethrow your tee shot to make a "better shot". It seems like a good opportunity to practice tee shots, which it can be, but it robs you of practicing scramble shots. A good compromise is to do player "A" and player "B" when playing a solo round. This means you are playing as two separate "players" during your round and, therefore, are always teeing off twice. This gives you two opportunities to practice each type of shot on each hole including scrambles.

What is a scramble shot and why should you practice it?

A scramble shot is a recovery shot from an errant drive or shot. Oftentimes, it requires using novel shot shapes to get out of the woods and back on the fairway. Depending on your round, you will find yourself scrambling on a number of holes. A successful scramble saves par, and an unsuccessful scramble leads to a bogey or worse. Practicing scrambling will save you lots of strokes as a beginner. Being proficient in as many of these different types of throws as possible gives you the most options.

Here is a basic beginner guide video to different scramble shots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BAznZhqI8Y

Wooded disc golf course

Basic Strategy: Risk vs Reward

When scrambling, you have two main goals; the first is to get back to the fairway, and the second is to advance your position toward the target as much as possible. Getting back to the fairway has to be your number one goal. If your scramble fails to make it "out of jail" and into the fairway, then your scramble has failed. Your second consideration should be to make forward progress, but not at the expense of getting back to the fairway. When assessing your scramble, you must determine risk vs. reward. Throwing your disc at a wall of trees and "hoping" it will sneak through rarely works out. Sometimes, as much as it hurts, you just have to pitch out to the fairway and not gain any forward distance. Having a wide variety of shot options can help lower risks and find openings.

Begin with a flick:

I would recommend having some sort of serviceable forehand flick to start off with. When I'm talking about a flick, I'm talking about a short-range forehand that uses mainly your arm and wrist to get speed and spin. This type of scramble is useful when you are working with limited space and a backhand is not possible. This type of scramble comes up at least once a round, and getting decent at this type of shot can save you strokes. All you need to get started is some sort of overstable approach disc and a little practice.