How do you practice?

[DallaS]

I have a basket I move around and putt in the backyard daily. Love PP360.
I also go to football fields to practice form and distance. I also like to practice on the course throwing several drives, approches and putts per hole. This can be hard on the busy courses. What I did was look up or find a less popular course. W.O. Harrington is fairly close to my house and a pretty simple course with a 2 rating. Has 9 holes and natural tee boxes.Find these less popular courses for practice. Hardly anyone out there.

 

[jesus]

You should practice hitting your lines. If you just throw at a target, you aren't really helping yourself as much as you could. Jack Nichlaus used to talk about an imaginary line that he would trace from the hole, all the way back to the teebox (ball golf player, but the concept translates). He'd pick a target off of the teebox and commit to hitting that line. If you know what your discs will do, all you have to do is hit your line and let the disc do the rest.

IE: If you are at a 350 ft hole with a soft fade to the right at the end, pick a point in the fairway to aim at and let the disc do the work from there, your job is to get the disc to that point, at the right speed. It's easier to hit a spot at 100 ft than it is to hit one at 350. When you get good at this, you can hit all sorts of different lines, which helps you play better on courses that you are not familiar with. When you know what your discs will do and you are confident in your ability to hit your lines, you will be a much better player.

If you don't practice in a field and choose to practice on a course, don't make the same shot for every hole, everytime you play. Try different lines and practice that way. Versatility is key.

 

[FRIZZLE TOSSLER]

You should practice hitting your lines. If you just throw at a target, you aren't really helping yourself as much as you could. Jack Nichlaus used to talk about an imaginary line that he would trace from the hole, all the way back to the teebox (ball golf player, but the concept translates). He'd pick a target off of the teebox and commit to hitting that line. If you know what your discs will do, all you have to do is hit your line and let the disc do the rest.

IE: If you are at a 350 ft hole with a soft fade to the right at the end, pick a point in the fairway to aim at and let the disc do the work from there, your job is to get the disc to that point, at the right speed. It's easier to hit a spot at 100 ft than it is to hit one at 350. When you get good at this, you can hit all sorts of different lines, which helps you play better on courses that you are not familiar with. When you know what your discs will do and you are confident in your ability to hit your lines, you will be a much better player.

If you don't practice in a field and choose to practice on a course, don't make the same shot for every hole, everytime you play. Try different lines and practice that way. Versatility is key.

VERY sound advice.. couldn't have said it any better myself. Thanks Jesus

 

[sumner420]

I drive at a rugby pitch at the college where I work.
Not as kool as a football field but the lines do help judge distance.
usually I back hand, stand still from one end- out into the field, aiming at the other upright,
Then I collect discs and toss back where I was, but, this time forehand.
If I'm feeling a bit frisky, I may practice my (bad rollers), which take a long time to collect, or give a thumber/tommy volley-These are way more consistant(depending on the disc tossed), but, I rarely see improvemnet in my range or accuracy- I'm stalled at about 80 to 100, very controlled throw though- I learned this toss by praticing over the backstops at a baseball field, so my line is super high but not too long.
After a warmup of sorts I will try for full power drives, I toss everything as if it were a driver, sometimes with some interesting results...my XD outdriving my whole rack of drivers for example.
After this gather(the full power is ALL over the place) I will try to shoot my way back- as if putting to the upright-taking a second shot or third for the errant discs, old school object target golf.
For my putt practice days I usaully drive over to the course at H.C.C. and although it kills me to go to a course and not play it, I practice putting at a variety of baskets with different elevations and obstacles sorrounding them, I bring 5 discs to putt, Aviar, Roc, Polecat, XD, and a Wolf. which may be an issue...but I can't seem to bring myself to buy 5 putters all the same.
so thats my deal.
Just my two cents...

 

[flash86]

I do a lot of practice with my mid-ranges. Helps with form for driving and builds confidence for when I do have a bad drive or catch some bad luck. I have a 5' PVC with a flag attached to it that I use as a target. I plant that thing in the middle of the park and will shoot at it from various distances and angles. If I am feeling more motivated, I will mark off a 20' circle around the flag with cones to see if I am hitting my "confidence zone". In just a few weeks, this has really improved my up-and-down game.

 

[SomeChump]

Some of the things I've done to practice include:

1) Get to know my discs, especially a new one, by playing an entire round with it. You can do this by just carrying the disc if it is a mid-range or a putter. If a driver, you can just throw it off every tee, or if you don't want to "sacrifice the round" you can throw it as a second shot off the tees.

2) Go to the football field. I use this to work on my max distance and to get to know the distances on my discs. Sometimes I take surveying flags and recreate holes at local courses that I'm having trouble with (must go left of this flag and right of that one for instance.) I also empty my bag throwing all anhyzer throws, pick them up and empty it throwing all hyzer throws. Then I throw into the wind trying to determine how much hyzer to put on each disc to throw it straight (hyzer-flip) and then throw with the wind at my back trying to figure out which discs work for a flex shot and how much anhyzer I have to put on them. You can then throw with a right to left crosswind and a left to right cross wind. If you're trying to learn a forehand or a tomahawk or whatever, start at the football field. Plus, you put a lot less wear on your discs doing this than smacking into trees at the course.

3) Putt. Perfect Putt 360 is nice. But I've come up with a handful of other games to work on other aspects of my putting. Such as how to go for it from 50 feet without leaving too big of a come-back putt. You can attach a score to any game you want. PP360 talks about a "pro version". Well, I made a Barney version. The distances are 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, and 20 and I throw 5 from each spot. Very quick and helps me eliminate embarrassing misses. 20 footers are becoming gimmees for me.

4) When I'm alone I throw multiple discs. Sometimes 4 or 5 off the tee and then I just keep track of my score playing the first one. Usually I'm trying to hit several different lines. I might throw an unstable driver on an anhyzer line, a stable one on a hyzer line, a fairway driver as a worm burner, and a "roc down the middle." Or I'll try to throw a bunch of discs on the same line. You quickly learn which lines at a course and which discs are high-percentage for you and which are not. If I really blow an approach or a putt I might throw a second one too. I might stop at a really unique basket (downhill putt, or straddle putt, or a basket on a hill) in the middle of the round and throw 10 or 20 putts at it. I play a lot during the day on weekdays and rarely have someone come through when I'm doing this.

5) I try to play with other people I don't know when I can get them to let me join their group. They don't know it, but I'm pretending I'm in a tournament with them. Helps you deal with tournament pressure. If they're pretty good, I also often learn some new lines or other techniques. If nothing else, they inspire me to practice more.

6) I make up object courses at local parks. New lines. New distances. A lot easier than traveling out of the local area to new courses. Plus I can go to the park around the corner, play 18, and be back in an hour. I've got a half hour drive to my nearest real course. Plus, this way I can throw my discs into ponds, which my local park has but none of the local courses do.

 

[SomeChump]

. It is also very impt. to count how many discs u start w/ @ the beginning.... man, I've lost dozens of discs emptying my bag and not realizing I'm missing somethin' till its too late.... before I "learned" to count....

I still can't figure out where I left that TeeRex.

 

[sidewinding]

Don't just throw drivers on the football field. Throw everything you own. Then you will see the range of each disc which will really come in handy later on the course. If you can throw a Roc 240 max and you come up to a 240' hole then there you go. If you can throw an Aviar 200' then you will know what to throw on those 200' holes. If you are carrying a few different molds in your bag and they always land in the same spot on the football field, then get rid of the overlapping molds. Also throw in some big sweeping hyzers and anhyzers on the football field. Don't just throw low flat bombs all day long.

 

[A.Mutt]

behind my place is a very large retirement living complex and more specifically lots of field space. What I love the most is the fact that in the field next to my place there are two large clusters of trees that mimic a lot of the shots I need to take at the wooded holes around here.

 

[mashnut]

Don't just throw drivers on the football field. Throw everything you own. Then you will see the range of each disc which will really come in handy later on the course. If you can throw a Roc 240 max and you come up to a 240' hole then there you go. If you can throw an Aviar 200' then you will know what to throw on those 200' holes. If you are carrying a few different molds in your bag and they always land in the same spot on the football field, then get rid of the overlapping molds. Also throw in some big sweeping hyzers and anhyzers on the football field. Don't just throw low flat bombs all day long.

I think this is great advice. I recently spent a few days out on a football field doing this, and it really made me rethink how I make a disc selection on the course. Now that I have a better idea of what discs I throw accurately at what lengths, I feel much more confident about which disc to pull out on each shot.

 

[amcarlson83]

FOR THE SOCCER FIELD PRACTIC..ER(?) WHO DOESN'T HAVE A BASKET/OTHER TARGET:

When I am practicing on a soccer field I use the white circle in the middle of the field as my mid-range target. This actually helped my approach game significantly, because I began visualizing a white circle around the basket when I would play.

I used to aim for the basket (3 feet above the ground), which seemed reasonable in the beginning, but since I don't have a sniper's aim, the flight line would be where I wanted it, but it would land "too far" away. It was one of those Capt. Obvious moments that took me until year three to figure out.

Drives on a Soccer field, I aim for the goals (couple people said that one already)

 

[cc0049]

I spend most of my time, when I do field practice, throwing my mid range discs. Throwing my mids well translates to throwing my drivers well.

 

[trifocal]

I practice a walk up/ x step for long fairway shots. Place a mini, put my right foot 6" behind it and then take 3 steps backwards beginning with the right foot. When I get there a bring my left foot near my right foot and then move back about another foot. The extra foot allows for the little studder step I have.
I like to walk into a long shot if I can and this routine has helped me improve my overall footwork and get me safely behind my mini marker for a clean throw.

 

[craigg]

Field work is good.
I take a bag of 20-30 discs, stack them into their various types (do a quick count to make sure you collect all that you throw) and start with a "loosening up" set. Not trying to throw hard - just doing some stretching and basic footwork/rhythm practice - all these throws are your basic easy line drives. Not going for D - just for nice smooth release, and generally trying to hit the same spot (that spot is wherever the first disc landed).
After collecting and laying them out again, I choose a target. The field I usually go to has a backstop, and two soccer goals. Choosing the target is based on what the wind is doing.
If I'm using the soccer goals, I do one of 3 things.
I choose one of the posts as THE target
I try and fly THROUGH the target
I try and land BEHIND the target
If I'm using the ball field it's sort of the same thing
I try and land on one side or the other of one of the baseline fences
Or I try and throw to one of the bases

Using a single target can actually provide a pretty wide variety of practice shots. especially with a soccer/football goal. As you can combine your approach to each task with vaious shot types (this is especially good for roller practice.)

 

[billnchristy]

I need to get out to a field for sure. I am getting pretty confident in my putting game from playing pp360 and just taking various shots.

15' is the new 10'
20' is the new 15'
etc.

The only one I am not consistently over 50% on is 30'

Definitely need to work on the driving/midrange game.

 

[Donovan]

Putting: I try to use the PP360, but I prefer the Pozzy's Putting Game. I really think getting penalized for missing the comeback putt is a realistic part of the game. I also like to throw 20 foot putts before playing. Long putting has no purpose for me before a game. Confidence and consistency is the key for me.

Approaching: I not only pick an object to hit, but I tactually pick the tiniest part of an object to aim at. SO if it is a tree, it is a certain leaf or not on the tree I am trying to hit. Just like in putting and driving, I am a firm believer in aiming at the smallest thing I can possibly see. Aim Small-Miss Small

Driving: In the field, I gather and throw like discs and at the target. Then gather another set and so on. Work on the flight paths until I start to zone in on them. Sometimes I will do some distance work, but throwing more than 90%seems a bit pointless for me. Accuracy and Flight Path is the key for me.

Mental: I visualize shots in my mind before throwing them. If I can't see it proper mentally first, I don't throw.