Pretty New Player Teaching Brand New Player

[jakeandthewizard]

I wasn't sure where to post this so if it's in the wrong spot feel free to move as needed. I was wondering what everyone's take on teaching brand new players is. I've been playing for about 8 months now and am taking my wife to play tomorrow. She has probably thrown a disc about a dozen times and played 3 holes with a Dragon. I've been seeing a lot of "learn the game with a putter" on here so the questions I have are these. Do I take her to a field first to throw all the discs I have and let her choose what to play with? Or do we play an all putter round? What do you guys think?

 

[turso]

well, femmes are quite finicky to start with, you might scare her away from the sport if you don't let her choose the disc she wants, but the putter is the best choice to start learning to throw with.

There's nothing wrong with new player teaching a brand new one as long as the new player knows the theory and knows what the throw SHOULD look like even if oneself could not replicate it. I suggest you guys start at a field though, takes away the stress of getting the disc to certain target and focuses more on the throwing technique itself.

 

[eky81]

Just make it fun. At this point that is way more important than what disc she uses. If she doesn't have fun she won't go back out with you again. My wife uses a shark and a wizard for just about everything at this point. But she is having fun and still going to the course with me.

PS. I'm a little farther north. I play riverpark most of the time. But if you ever want to hook up for a round let me know.

 

[Widdershins]

Jakee,
The problem is not that your student is a new player, the problem is that your student is your wife. Assuming your marital relationship (and by extension your happiness) is more important than her disc golf game, have someone else act as her teacher. Thereafter only give her advice when you are asked for it.

 

[jnecessary]

A couple tips on playing/teaching your wife...

Don't rush it and don't push her too much. If she is anything like my wife it is more about spending time with you and having fun walking in a park than it is about pars and birdies. Just keep that in mind and make it fun for her and she will want to keep playing.

One other thing, try not to belittle the fact that she is a she or that she is a noob. I hear friends play with their SOs and say things like "girl par is 5." That is silly, do you think Val or Des go to a course and play a different par because they are girls?

The most important thing is what Mark said. Try to only offer advice when she wants it, over teaching will put an end to the fun in a hurry.

 

[AciDBatH666]

I got my ex out there a little. Started out with a putter in a field then moved up to a couple of light weight drivers to show her how stability of a disc works and how to use something overstable to her advantage. Then I played doubles with her so she could 1) feel important by helping the team out and 2) so she wouldn't get frustrated by having to take 10 shots to get out of the woods.

She enjoyed it, and I got her some light weight plastic and did some dyes that she wanted on em. I didn't offer too much advice because I didn't want to confuse her. It's hard to hold back sometimes tho when you know she's making a poor disc selection. But I let her do what she wanted. In doubles it never really mattered because I could always make the shot up and play it safe.

 

[JoshEpoo]

I let my girl pick a disc that feels good. I have a huge box of dx junkers I've found over the years and she picked a really beat up stingray that's workable for her in her distance range (<175').

She's not interested in getting good at disc golf and I'm not interested in teaching her so we just go out and have fun. I bring a putter, she takes her disc, and we play a course that doesn't get much traffic while we're there. If you're just looking to get some fun time in with the wife then, like Mark and others have said, don't look to actually teach her anything unless she expresses an interest in learning.

 

[jakeandthewizard]

Thanks for all the great advice guys. eky8, I'm definitely interested but it will be a little while I think. The reason I ask is she HAS already expressed an interest to learn/get better. I wouldn't dream of telling my wife she NEEDS to get better at anything. Some of the guys I play with are close friends of hers too going back years and she wants to get up to around their skill level before she comes out with the whole group. She doesn't care about scores or winning, more about keeping up and not having people waiting on her. Not that anyone would care in the slightest. It's all just fun to us but I can see where she's coming from. I think that's pretty understandable. Personally I don't care if she throws <80 ft forever as long as she's still having fun and coming out to spend time with me doing what I love to do best. Thanks again!

 

[HeartlessCynic]

Take her to a store that has a decent selection and let her feel up all of the molds that could be appropriate for her. The store probably won't have a lot of really low weight discs so remember what had a good feel and look for the low weights online.

 

[JoshEpoo]

Your woman shouldn't be worried about making people wait (though she will be, of course). New players are often faster than experienced players. They don't throw their disc out of sight so you never have to hunt for a lost disc, they don't take much time to set up their shot, and they're not concerned with throwing order. A large group of beginners can be faster than a group of two or three pros if they play by "run and gun" rules.

 

[jakeandthewizard]

True enough. Well we went out and did some field work (about 20 mins) where she just threw what she thought felt good and until she felt comfortable. Seems like she threw everything I have at least once. Then we played a glorious 18 holes! She ended up playing with a beat up 147g DX Viking for most shots and putting with a light, beat DX Aviar. We had a great time. No keeping score, just enjoying the beautiful day hucking some discs! It was awesome! We had the entire course to ourselves. I think she liked that we were alone more than anything. No kids to keep track of and no one to make her feel like she wasn't throwing well enough or far enough. Great day.

 

[AciDBatH666]

Now see if you can convince her to enter a tournament. Then she can enter the am field with a pool of maybe 2 people and get a plaque and cash. And when she cashes out with more plastic than she knows what to do with, she'll start to get you free plastic.
WIN!

 

[DookieHyzer]

I have three kids and they are learning to play as well, 2 daughters 10 & 12 and a 15 year old son. I call them Noobs and make fun of them for not being able to throw a 175g destroyer 400'. Just kidding....I took them to DTW and had the nice lady (Helped them to see a lady disc golfer) bring out the 150 class box and had them pick out some nice colored discs. They each picked an Aviar putter, a Stingray, and XL. They work hard on improving and I help them when they ask, but most of all it is important that they play ready golf and have as much fun as they want. When they get frustrated, maybe they just have a nice walk as dads caddy for the round. Some of the best talks with my youngest have been when she is just walking with me. Good for you Jakee.

 

[sunspot]

What is she doing out of the kitchen?

Come on, do you want someone who can play better than you at a sport that you like to play or do you want someone who can make the best pork chops on Earth?

 

[sunspot]

the above poster is a jerk.

Back in the day my wife and I would throw a disc back and forth just goofing off. I would then tell her to get back in the kitchen and make me some pork chops.

 

[tushamajig131]

first post on dgr after a looong time...feels good to be back

anyway, i had a similar conundrum a while ago with my gf when we were in california. my situation was a little different in the sense that my lady WANTS to be the best at everything she does so her frustration set in quickly. encouraging words, and simple fixes to errors (only when asked for) resulted in her bagging a handful of pars towards the end of our round. then, much to my surprise, she asked if there were any other courses near our hotel so we could go out for another round. although we havent made it out for another round since, im sure that the next time we have an opportunity to go, she will be willing to and will continue to improve.

its nice to share the things we love with the people we love