Control Techniques

[progprowl]

Anyone have any suggestions for controlling nerves in the following scenarios:
1. You bogie or worse and you're upset. Next hole you hit a tree, how do you get control and regroup? Typically when I bogie, I bogie or double bogie the next hole too and then the whole round falls apart. you go from even par to a plus three. Then you start over reaching to try and get birdies. When you should lay up, you go for the monster drive and hit the tree or long putt and you roll down the hill.
2. Big backup on a hole and your driving in front of 20-30 people. Sometimes I grip to hard and release late. How do you calm yourself?
3. How do you avoid psyching yourself out of that 15-20' that you know you could make with your eyes closed, but this one is for the round?

 

[sidewinder22]

Learn to take it one throw at a time. Forget what has happened the past holes and focus on the present situation. Take some deep breaths, count to 10, take a smoke break if you are steaming. Sometimes its better to just not think, say fuck it, and just throw.

 

[atl scott]

Learn to take it one throw at a time.

This is the best advice you can get. No matter how bad your last throw was, your next can be as good or bad as any shot you've ever thrown. A short memory is a good thing. Thinking about what could have been doesn't make a round better in the end. Disc golf is very much a game of percentages and chance. A great shot can end up terrible and that's okay.

That being said, sometimes you just play poorly. The last (non-sanctioned) tourney I played I was in the lead after 1 round and tied with the guy who ended up winning with 4 holes left. My 30' birdie putt hit the top and rolled 30 more feet into a creek. I was able to let it go and immediately throw my next drive into the creek. The next hole I took a 6. I can honestly say it wasn't because I was angry or thinking about my last shots. It was embarassing though and my worst string of holes ever. I really don't think there is any way I could have played better though. It's not like I wasn't trying.

 

[dangitboy]

Once you can grab ahold of this truth it will help with the nerves.

When you have a gallery watching you drive you must remember that they don't really care where your shot goes. They have seen the best shots and the worst shots so you aren't gonna throw a shot so great or so bad that it just amazes everyone. Also remember to play the hole like you would as if no one was there. Do not "go big" or change your normal game plan just to impress everyone b/c as I said before.....they don't really care anyway. Every golfer is focused on THEIR game, not YOURS!
When I realized this it helped me relax and play my game. When you relax, you can play your best.
Hope this helps.

 

[zensuit]

Once you can grab ahold of this truth it will help with the nerves.

When you have a gallery watching you drive you must remember that they don't really care where your shot goes. They have seen the best shots and the worst shots so you aren't gonna throw a shot so great or so bad that it just amazes everyone. Also remember to play the hole like you would as if no one was there. Do not "go big" or change your normal game plan just to impress everyone b/c as I said before.....they don't really care anyway. Every golfer is focused on THEIR game, not YOURS!
When I realized this it helped me relax and play my game. When you relax, you can play your best.
Hope this helps.

True That. In Ball golf it's always the first tee jitters at a tournament that kill scores.

One note, last round I had to throw in front of expert players. Threw a weak-ass drive off of a tree about 100 feet away. But then...threw a Blowfly II Hyzer about 175 feet through a dog leg right to the base of the basket. Par. Keep your head in the game and it all works out.

Z

 

[kpc2004]

i remember my first shot in front of a lot of people who were better than me when i first started playing...it was absolutly amazing, 325 footer within 10 feet of the basket and birdied, felt great. very next hole in front of the same people i double bogeyed a 375 footer in which they all got par or better lol

 

[Donovan]

Whether it is a drive, putt or an approach...I use the same solution to get my head right back in the game and forget about the bad shot or the nervous stuff.

In case you have not heard of the hoop aiming technique, here it is in short: Imagine hula-hoops in the air of your intended flight path. You aim to get your disc to go through the closest one and hope to work the shot to go through all of the hoops you imagined.

In most cases you may only have a few hoops imagined, but when I just had a really bad shot happen or feel the pressure, I just add a whole bunch more hoops. This not only gets me more focused, but it gets my mind off of everything else.

I hope this helps someone else.

 

[redsfan]

When things like this happen one should look to see how it relates in other sports, and how its fixed in other sports. Coming from a baseball background and still playing at a collegian level next year as a pitcher every pitch is important. This relates as all disc golf shots are important. Say a pitcher throws the two pitches at the knees on the black for strikes, then throws one down the middle and gets killed for a home run. No matter how u played the hole or 'pitch before' you can always throw your best shot ever or your worst shot ever. So more concentration is key when struggling because the mind is a powerful thing. If you can control your mind, you can control your disc

 

[Geoffro]

Imagine hula-hoops in the air of your intended flight path. You aim to get your disc to go through the closest one and hope to work the shot to go through all of the hoops you imagined.

I love this, Donovan - I'll try it my next time out!

However, knowing me, I'll end up with hula dancers inside of the hoops and the next thing I know my disc will be in the river.

 

[kpc2004]

I love this, Donovan - I'll try it my next time out!

i second that

 

[Lewis]

When I botch a hole and start to rage, I also find it tempting to try to get a stroke right back on the next hole. It would be a great stress relief if I could confidently teach the course not to mess with me, but in my opinion, this is like poking a bear in the eye with a sharp stick. It's preferable to play conservatively, work on following the bad hole with a couple of pars to regain confidence, and then if something lucky happens, so much the better. I'm not good enough to play for birdie on many holes, though, so if you're really good I can imagine it would be more tempting than it is for me.

 

[progprowl]

Donovan thanks for the technique. I used it when I practiced putting today and wow it helped. I don't know about how it will help me with nerves, but technique wise it was great.

Lewis526 that is exactly what I do. I think I'm like you and I average 2 birdies per round and 3-4bogies per round. I'm always fighting for even. If I make one extra bogey I do whatever I can to make it up and sometimes I think I stretch too far.

 

[BENFTS]

throwing with 15-30 people waiting sounds like morley. if you finish any course under par you should know that you can probably out play most of the folks on the course, just think of that.

 

[sidewinder22]

In poker its called "Tilt". Players on tilt often end up broke. Its better to take a break and fold some hands and come back when you cool off and ready to play good poker instead of crazy tilt poker. You lose a hand to a two outter on the river and you try to make it back up the next hand by moving all in on a bluff. Its just bad poker, or bad golf swinging for the fence with hazards around the corner. You might birdie that hole one out of ten times, but the other 9 times you end up in the water.

If you want nerves of steel, try swimming in a speedo in front of a few thousand people. This is where I learned to say, "fuck it". My performance got better after changing to this attitude because I was relaxed and learned to swim my own race. I didn't care if some guy started the race out in full sprint because I knew I had done the practice and would beat him the second half of the race.

 

[discflinger]

I love this, Donovan - I'll try it my next time out!

However, knowing me, I'll end up with hula dancers inside of the hoops and the next thing I know my disc will be in the river.

Aloha! Oohh!!

 

[Geoffro]

Excellent.

 

[SimonCarr]

the old count to 10 thing works really well.. or, just "3.... 2.... 1...." deep breath, then throw

 

[Ryan P.]

the one hole at a time thing is definitely the best advice i've ever heard. in my first tourney, i was ahead by one stroke after the first round. i was scared to lose. i bogeyed the first hole. we were tied. two holes later, i double bogeyed and he was up one. then i realized-hah, it doesn't matter. i could bogey every hole the rest of the round, and it wouldn't matter. i could birdie every hole and it wouldn't matter. disc golf is meant to be enjoyed. so enjoy it, one shot at a time. breathe in between strokes. enjoy this wonderful game created and play it well.

And also, this may sound silly at first, but lower your standards. If you get a bogey, that's ok. Even the pros get bogeys. look at the 08 USDGC hole 8 (whatever one is 888 feet). every other pro bogeyed it. some triple and even quadruple bogeyed it. But that didn't carry on to the next hole or even the next shot.

 

[Donovan]

As far as can suggest for high pressure situations like tournament play, I do have a suggestion. But let me state for the record, I still have not played in a disc golf tourney. I have however competed in many other sports.

I used to even teach ball golf, so here is how I see it translating to disc golf. Once you have a bad shot or you feel really heavy pressure, you have to go back to playing safe until you feel lose again. So, throw an accurate safe shot at about say 75% of your normal speed or switch to your always dependable disc for a shot or 2. You would do this to make sure you are in good shape and quickly build your confidence back up and forget about the bad stuff.

Keep in mind, if you have a 400' hole can be made in 3 many different ways. You can use 2 200' throws or a 300' and 100' throw and so on. Shoot for the birdies when the time and opportunity (risk/reward) is right. Going for it when you are tight or angry will hardly ever get you where you are wanting to be until you are REALLY ready to go for it.

 

[DiscChainBasket18]

I don't know why, but I love it when there's a bunch of people are watching me tee off. It's like I get to show off. But, I have gone down the 'anger slide' many times myself. It's like you miss one shot & everything turns to poop. I have a very difficult time getting over it (that slide is slippery). And if others in my group are hitting all their shots like it's nothing that really gets me going. Time going by is the only thing that works for me. Or humor. If someone hits a tree right off the tee, this will make me laugh & I will calm down.
I like to think about Tiger Wood's dad telling him that he would take him home if he got angry or whined & complained too much.