970 rated plus advice?

[REDARMY]

Try this -- any of you. Take your local course scorecard and look at the distances. Work through the card with an imaginary player who has 100% accuracy up to 300 feet and 100% accuracy at 30' putts. Therefore, any hole up to 330' is a deuce, any hole up to 630 is a 3, any hole up to 930 is a 4...

You can also try this with a theoretical player who can only drive 250' and only makes putts 20' and in, but can do both 100% of the time.

Yes, this is a theoretical player, and we're not taking into effect uphill and downhill, trees, etc... but since any pro we're talking about can throw more than 300', I think this is a pretty good number. They will also make a lot of putts outside of 30', but for this exercise, we're using 300/30 at 100% as hard numbers. See what those players shoot and see how that compares to the SSA for whatever course you're looking at.

I looked quickly at three courses people would be familiar with -- Renny Gold, Delaveaga and Maple Hill -- and ran the numbers and compared them to tourney SSAs from big events in 2008.

* Renny Gold has an SSA of ~70, and playing 300/30, someone would shoot a 55 in that layout, about a 1085-rated round; playing 250/20, someone would shoot a 65 for a 1028-rated round.
* Delaveaga has an SSA of ~81 for 27 holes, and playing 300/30, someone would shoot a 66, about a 1091-rated round; playing 250/20, someone would shoot a 76 for a 1030-rated round.
* Maple Hill longs has an SSA of ~62.5, and playing 300/30, someone would shoot a 48, about a 1107-rated round; playing 250/20, someone would shoot a 54 for a 1062-rated round.

The theoretical, 300/30, mistake-free player above is averaging more than 50-rating-points higher than any golfer in the PDGA, and that's without landing any drive over 300-feet. The theoretical 250/20, mistake-free player is averaging ~a 1040 on those courses, which would be the 2nd-highest rating in the world right now. Definitely in the top 10 no matter how you slice it. So in theory, 250/20 could put you in the top 10 players in the world, as long as you can do everything right, every time, on pro-level courses.

Sure, driving farther helps, but accuracy and consistency are far more important to scoring well. I don't think not being able to reach 400' holes matters as long as you make sure you take ALL of the short birdies.

Test 300/30 or 250/20 with your local course scorecard, and see how that theoretical pro does against your best scores. And we know that ANY of us are capable of throwing 250/20... it's just a matter of doing it accurately, over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

awesome info.

thanks for sharing that. puts a few things in perspective imo...

 

[discpicable]

Try this -- any of you. Take your local course scorecard and look at the distances. Work through the card with an imaginary player who has 100% accuracy up to 300 feet and 100% accuracy at 30' putts. Therefore, any hole up to 330' is a deuce, any hole up to 630 is a 3, any hole up to 930 is a 4...

You can also try this with a theoretical player who can only drive 250' and only makes putts 20' and in, but can do both 100% of the time.

Yes, this is a theoretical player, and we're not taking into effect uphill and downhill, trees, etc... but since any pro we're talking about can throw more than 300', I think this is a pretty good number. They will also make a lot of putts outside of 30', but for this exercise, we're using 300/30 at 100% as hard numbers. See what those players shoot and see how that compares to the SSA for whatever course you're looking at.

I looked quickly at three courses people would be familiar with -- Renny Gold, Delaveaga and Maple Hill -- and ran the numbers and compared them to tourney SSAs from big events in 2008.

* Renny Gold has an SSA of ~70, and playing 300/30, someone would shoot a 55 in that layout, about a 1085-rated round; playing 250/20, someone would shoot a 65 for a 1028-rated round.
* Delaveaga has an SSA of ~81 for 27 holes, and playing 300/30, someone would shoot a 66, about a 1091-rated round; playing 250/20, someone would shoot a 76 for a 1030-rated round.
* Maple Hill longs has an SSA of ~62.5, and playing 300/30, someone would shoot a 48, about a 1107-rated round; playing 250/20, someone would shoot a 54 for a 1062-rated round.

The theoretical, 300/30, mistake-free player above is averaging more than 50-rating-points higher than any golfer in the PDGA, and that's without landing any drive over 300-feet. The theoretical 250/20, mistake-free player is averaging ~a 1040 on those courses, which would be the 2nd-highest rating in the world right now. Definitely in the top 10 no matter how you slice it. So in theory, 250/20 could put you in the top 10 players in the world, as long as you can do everything right, every time, on pro-level courses.

Sure, driving farther helps, but accuracy and consistency are far more important to scoring well. I don't think not being able to reach 400' holes matters as long as you make sure you take ALL of the short birdies.

Test 300/30 or 250/20 with your local course scorecard, and see how that theoretical pro does against your best scores. And we know that ANY of us are capable of throwing 250/20... it's just a matter of doing it accurately, over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

That just pumped me up! I've gotta get out and throw!!

 

[kpc2004]

i am reviving this thread from the depths of DGCR history because somehow i missed it when it was active, and just now read through everything and cant wait to go try out some of craigg and tim's helpful pointers. i really feel that some of the things they mentioned, no matter how simple they may be, will have a positive impact on my game. there have been many new members joining since this thread went inactive and i feel that many others can benefit from this info as well. i recommend starting at page 1 and reading the entire thing!

 

[Longliveguitar]

wow, i'm so glad you dug this thread up. My brain just totally went sponge mode on this thing. Craigg thanks so much for all the great info, i hope to put it to use this weekend on the course

 

[elevated plastic]

The best advice I can give is play for 3's in tourneys and take the 2's when they're there. Don't turn a missed birdie putt into a bogey. Consistency wins tourneys. I never really have the hot round in my division, but i'm always a couple off it and consistent each round. Let the other guy blow up and just play smart. The more tourneys you play the more comfortable you'll be in them. Every shot counts so play smart. Also always think about the next shot not the previous.

 

[1978]

Sorry, only 964 rated.
Advice I have received from worlds winners that hasn't been mentioned much.

NEVER take OB's. Stay focused and forget the last shot.

Something that helps me, I carry backups that I don't care about but I am comfortable with their flights. Helps me be more confident on the water carries if I dont have the pressure of a bad shot AND a lost favorite disc.

Play as many events as you can, and get comfortable taking the lead into the final round or charging from the back.

 

[j0atz]

Dang...im glad someone revived this thread as well. Good read.

 

[gwillim]

That's why I said "most" and not "all".

Can't hold back.
Here we go, from the top...

Felberg - average
Nikko - average/small
Climo - tall/thin
Doss - average/husky
anthon - average
Nodland - ??
Orum - tall/thin
Lundmark - average
Brinster - average
Meresma - ??
Rico - average
Shultz - tall
Kallstrom - average
Johansen - average
McCray - average
Ulibarri - average
Leiviska - average
McBeth - average
McCabe - small
Gurthie - average/husky
Nybo - ??
Jenkins - tall/husky
Lizotte - ??
Shwebby - tall
Sexton - average
Arthur - ??
Musick - average/thin
Owens - small
Koling - tall
Barsby - average
Crabtree - average
Schusterick -tall/thin


Ok, top 32 players in the world. Of those, I'm uncertain about 5. That leaves...

Tall = 7
Not Tall and thin = 20

P.S. My rating was in the 970s and 980s for a few years, so I feel qualified to make the above post. lol

 

[dreadlock86]

thanks for pulling this up KPC. and thanks to craigg!

 

[U_NICED_ME]

That just pumped me up! I've gotta get out and throw!!

I know....I've never heard it put quite like that before.

 

[Jax11]

More Distraction management

OK, so I've given you a visualization exercise, a breathing exercise, a couple basic attitude/awareness items, now I'd like to share a more general awareness exercise that might help you gather these things together to make practical use of them.

This could be called, "Identify and embrace your patterns".
Everybody has "a way" that they do things while they play golf. These are usually very simple things that they don't pay any attention to. But it's the simple things that you can use to your advantage – things that can be used to help you find your "groove" or "zone". You know what I'm taking about – everyone has had those days when they just groove on almost everything – it all seems to work seamlessly right? Maybe it lasts for a couple holes, or maybe it lasts all day. But figuring out how to find and stay in that zone is VERY elusive right? Well it doesn't have to be.

One key to finding that zone is to add cadence to your overall game. And this means doing things in a repetitive fashion. Make every facet of what you do, repeat over and over during your round, and things get more relaxed, and easier to reproduce.

Here's an example of a pattern I use. It has to do with how I approach my lie. As I get near my thrown disc, I set my bag down probably 10-15' behind my lie, walk up and mark the disc, and then take the disc back and set it on the bag. Then I take out the disc I'm going to use for the next shot. By setting my bag down in this way I have done a couple things. I have put it in a place where I don't have to move it again – it's not in my run up, or in my throwing motion – so I have eliminated it as a distraction. I have also provided a little piece of rhythm to my throwing process, set bag, step up to mark, identify necessary shot, step back, wait for my turn, step up and get set.

There are countless examples like this that you can use that add very subtle but influential rhythms to your game. The trick is, to start identifying the ones that might work for you, and to reproduce them (do them all the time). They can include; how you stand on the tee, a basic "mock" throw or warm up swing before a throw, where/how you set your bag down like in my example above, almost anything. Now don't get me wrong, these aren't things you should dwell on while you play. They are mechanisms to help you relax so that you can "let yourself play". Once you have identified and embraced your patterns – they should become second nature – stuff you just naturally "do". They will eventually become the things that identify your own personal style.

Just noticed this was an older post, thanks for reviving it.

Sorry to backtrack a page, but I found this post very interesting Craig. I played in a tournament this weekend. I just got a new ipod and I listen to music on a small portable speaker when I play alone. I figured because I enjoy that I would try wearing headphones for the tournament round.

I played awful that round. I could not execute my shots, I was fumbling to keep the earbuds in my ear, and on top of that I was dealing with gloves coming on and off in the cold weather. In trying to relax myself with music, I actually distracted myself.

Besides adding new distractions, the ipod also forced me to be asocial which took me out of my usual cadence. As a rec player in my first year of tournaments I enjoy the casual nature of the Rec division. I enjoy socializing, laughing, and getting to know the players on my card. With my music on it took that aspect out of my usual routine.

I went ipod-less the second round that tourney and ended up throwing a solid round that I felt much better about. I also came out of the round with a new friend in DGCR's own Worldscoolestguy.

So besides providing some personal experience with some of this advice, I am inclined to suggest that these tips should be practiced. Implementing different nuances into your game may actually have an ill effect at first. Kind of like the physical aspect of the game where you may have to take a step back to take three forwards.

Anyway thanks for all the advice! I will definitely be giving a lot of these tips a try in a practice round.

/ramble

 

[smyith]

^^^ ya you definitely played better that second round. still wish i hadnt told you about that flick shot on hole 12....lol.
you playing this weekend? Freeze Your Ace Off Open

 

[U_NICED_ME]

awesome info.

thanks for sharing that. puts a few things in perspective imo...

That worked for me, too, Red. Putting, placement, accuracy. and consistency. Distance becomes less signficant.

 

[CwAlbino]

I won't pretend I'm 970, because I don't know what rating I am. I know I've beaten 960 rated players, and my highest rated round was 996, I'm just not up on pdga atm (my rating is 864, lol). If I had to guess I'm 940+.

Anyway, what I want to say didn't come from me anyway.

One thing that was told to me though that has always helped me and continues to come up is:

"Par golf wins tournaments". In essence, it's exactly as others have said. Take your 2's where you can get them, it's turning those birdies into bogeys and double bogeys. Sometimes being conservative isn't always a bad idea.


From my experience, something that really helped me, was music. Rhythm.

I shot the hot round at Treasure Cove. The entire round I had one of my favorite songs stuck in my head. I would hum it or sing it quietly. It was a very upbeat, happy song. Hell, the name of the song is "It's a wonderful life" (BOTAR). I then proceeded to tank the next round. Not once was that song in my head. I got down on myself and the rhythm was lost. I was thinking far too much about past shots and not grooving to the course. Some people keep that rhythm going by ipods, or maybe it's not even music. Find something that keeps you happy and up-beat. After all, disc golf is a mental game.

 

[Frank Delicious]

The most important thing is to be naturally talented and coordinated. That really helps in any sport you attempt.

 

[GLong]

that and a good connection for steroids

 

[tom8658]

i've found that bovine growth hormone is much more effective at enhancing disc golf ability

side effects may include grazing on the fairways

 

[GLong]

and a desire to play constantly at hawk hollow

 

[dobbins66]

Learn to laugh at your bad shots - getting all pissed off will do nothing for your game.

Besides - if you don't laugh at your bad shots................how can I?

Above all else - this is supposed to be fun - and remember - you don't have fun because you're playing well, you play well, because you're having fun.

I completely agree with this! I am not 970 rated (950) and am a very poor example of how to properly practice & prepare. I play one round a week (usually local league or doubles) and then any tournaments I make it to on weekends. In a given round I may shoot 900-990, so I am far from consistent but I always manage to have a good time and never leave mad - but sometimes disappointed (See Tick or Treat 2010 - 3 OBs and a lost disc in a 4 hole span on some crazy bounces) in my performance.

I'm 44 and most people I play with regularly are younger than me. They usually practice more, Play more often and throw a lot farther but many of them also are more likely to lose their temper and let one bad hole ruin the next 4 or 5. Learn to keep your composure and it'll help as much as all the practice you can ever do. Do both and you'll kick my rear. I think I went to the Allen Iverson school of Prrracticee! My backhand is only good to about 200 ft (if that!)because I never bother to work on it.

Learn to laugh at yourself instead of kicking your bag & follow the practice habits mentioned but others (not mine).

 

[chrishysell]

play and have fun. I beat everyone who uses headphones. Those clowns already have issues if they are trying to eliminate their distractions.

Here is my biggest tip. Don't practice or warm up. Only play at tournaments. Buy a car with heated seats. You can sleep longer and arrive at the very last minute with your muscles already lose from the hot seat.

and enjoy yourself