Pro Vs. Avg Joe- Skill Gap

[throwfromthewoods]

One thing we're all forgetting is how easy it is to birdie 17 holes.

It's that 18th hole that I birdie that separates me from the rest.

[PMcBeth]

Originally Posted by New013

It's not just strength with athletes like Lebron. It's superior coordination, muscle memory, flexibility, hand eye coordination... They're born gifted athletes, no offense to any pro but they're not dealing with a systematic worldwide grouping of high caliber athletes in to disc golf like major sports are.

If every kid in America grew up playing disc golf like the major sports then the top would look a lot differently, especially if the money/fame incentive existed.

Disc golf is still growing, we've yet to see it played at it's highest capability.

Golf has the only BILLION dollar athlete....... Where are those "high caliber athletes?" You could walk past a golfer and not realize he is #1 in the world.

[mj20300]

Originally Posted by New013

It's not just strength with athletes like Lebron. It's superior coordination, muscle memory, flexibility, hand eye coordination... They're born gifted athletes, no offense to any pro but they're not dealing with a systematic worldwide grouping of high caliber athletes in to disc golf like major sports are.

If every kid in America grew up playing disc golf like the major sports then the top would look a lot differently, especially if the money/fame incentive existed.

Disc golf is still growing, we've yet to see it played at it's highest capability.

agreed

[Ted Bratton]

The gap is not quite as big as more established sports where pros get paid hundreds of thousands or even millions to perform, but it would be if that were the case.

[mj20300]

Originally Posted by PMcBeth

Golf has the only BILLION dollar athlete....... Where are those "high caliber athletes?" You could walk past a golfer and not realize he is #1 in the world.

its the hand eye coordination they have that puts them in a high level style athletics.

[PMcBeth]

Originally Posted by mj20300

its the hand eye coordination they have that puts them in a high level style athletics.

I can hit a 90+ mph fastball so my hand eye coordination is pretty close to theirs.

[Three Putt]

Originally Posted by Ted Bratton

The gap is not quite as big as more established sports where pros get paid hundreds of thousands or even millions to perform, but it would be if that were the case.

A lot of that is perception, though. When the Lissaman brothers were kicking my ass they were working a seasonal construction job to raise enough cash to get back on the road. As good as they were at disc golf, I wouldn’t have traded my on-salary-with-benefits life with them for anything. If they were making seven figures and had driven up in a Bently, you bet your ass I would have wanted to trade places with them.

[BrotherDave]

Originally Posted by PMcBeth

That or if we are both in a troble around the same bush.. I may have a shot to get out of trouble which others may take 2 or 3 shots to escape from.

Originally Posted by mj20300

this is more to the point!!!!!!! I know that paul and i can save a par or still birdie a hole from complete crap that would take a good adv player 3 shots to get out of

Slight thread drift but was this particular skill (getting out of trouble) one of the most important in determining who was successful at the latest World's?

I remember after that tourney there was a bunch of discussion on whether or not Charlotte's courses were championship caliber b/c Avery Jenkins complained about them being too wooded.

[New013]

I'm not saying these guys playing other sports could just take over disc golf cuz they couldn't. I'm saying when athletes like that start growing up playing the game and the incentive is there to make then focus all of their time and training on disc golf you'll see it played at another level.

Look what tiger did to golf, he brought the element of athleticism and strength training in to the sport that didn't exist before. They literally had to rethink golf courses in an attempt to level the playing field.

[smyith]

Originally Posted by General Scales

I can say this is hands down one of the more interesting reads on DGCR right now. I have played with some very high rated disc golfers and I can say that the gap I noticed existing between them and myself was focus. It was strictly mental. A high rated disc golfer can take that frustrating circumstance of a disc cutting through chains on a birdie or even par putt and forget about it. They can take that Iron Leaf instance and immediately leave it behind. That is something that a lot of us can't do. I've started working on this a lot of over the past year and it definitely helps. I just got done listening to Golf Is Not A Game of Perfect and I can say that the mechanics of disc golf are just a part of what needs to be in line to shoot well. The bigger component of it is being able to be mentally strong enough to use those mechanics in the appropriate way.

This right here. in all honesty my skill hasn't improved that much as far as distance and shot variance in the last 4 years. i have improved my consistency some. but the big difference in my game and why i finally had multiple rounds this year 950+ is because I have finally gained the ability to stay focused for the majority of the round. And the difference between my 980 rounds and my 900 rounds is how long I kept my mental game in check. the Pros in any sport are better than the average player mainly because of mental game. any game/sport is 100% mental 10% physical.
and skill shots are probably the other major component. hardly ever do you see a top pro walk up to a shot and be baffled on how to get to the hole....they are more analyzing which shot has the higher percentage of getting to the basket. where most of us avg joes are thinking about how to just get down the fairway with a descent look.
or like mentioned above by MJ, put a ADV and Pro deep in the schule and see who gets out first and consistently.
focus and skill sets are much higher with pros and are what seperate the avg from the pro.
and i disagree. I dont think anyone could just pick up a frisbee and be a pro dger within a few years. theres alot of natural aptitude that is required. in other words there is a reason some of us are attracted to a sport like this...and ultimately you can say we all have a certain appreciation for flight....and the top end pros have a natural aptitude for manipulating that flight.