Tfire25
Double Eagle Member
It was so fitting that "da crippler" liked this post. Coffee burns so freaking bad coming out of the nose. I have a meeting in an hour and now I have to go buy a new shirt dang it.
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How to defeat Ricky Wysocki
- Thread starter SD86
- Start date
It was so fitting that "da crippler" liked this post. Coffee burns so freaking bad coming out of the nose. I have a meeting in an hour and now I have to go buy a new shirt dang it.
joecoin
* Ace Member *
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2013
- Messages
- 2,335
Well, he seems to have every shot in the book pretty well mastered. That comes in handy in the woods.
corin_brown
Eagle Member
Yeah, all this "Rick's game is suited for the ball golf course, he's not as good in the woods" talk is straight BS. The facts bear this out. He's won everywhere.
Right now, I wouldn't bet against Rick in any tournament, on any course.
He has absolutely no weaknesses in his game, except maybe his turbo putt game.
And it's true that he does have all the shots, but Rick's mental game is what's creating this gap between him and the field. His mental game is stronger than anyone else's by a wide margin. And until someone can match his mental game, he's gonna run away with this season.
Rick is quite simply the best tournament disc golfer in the world. Full stop.
What's funny is this exact paragraph would have been true 18 months ago if you insert McBeth's name in place of Rick's. My point being that it's cyclical. Six months from now, a year from now, ten years from now, we'll be saying the same thing about whoever is the hot player then.
Rick's on top now, but he won't be forever. Someone else will emerge and unseat him before long. It will be fun to watch in the meantime, though.
tdschrock1
Double Eagle Member
My theory: Ricky has found his stride and is playing is own game while Paul pulled the 'Tiger Woods' and tried to perfect every part of his game (FH and long hole strategy).
I feel like we have only seen flashes of Paul in the 'flow state' where things are truly clicking. I would like to see Paul play loose and get amped up.
Ricky essentially plays tournaments with the same strategy from beginning to end and seems to post crazy scores without seeming to play overly aggressive (50'+ putts definitely help). Paul can play 'McBeast Mode' rounds where he can outplay Ricky, but this doesn't seem to last for a whole tournament. He often falls behind by a few strokes and has to play overly aggressive to try to catch up. Ricky's consistent 1060+ golf looks unaffected by what other players are doing.
I feel like we have only seen flashes of Paul in the 'flow state' where things are truly clicking. I would like to see Paul play loose and get amped up.
Ricky essentially plays tournaments with the same strategy from beginning to end and seems to post crazy scores without seeming to play overly aggressive (50'+ putts definitely help). Paul can play 'McBeast Mode' rounds where he can outplay Ricky, but this doesn't seem to last for a whole tournament. He often falls behind by a few strokes and has to play overly aggressive to try to catch up. Ricky's consistent 1060+ golf looks unaffected by what other players are doing.
Smigles
* Ace Member *
I dont know where Paul was exactly during the first rounds at GCC but he sure let Ricky get a big lead. Catching up 7 throws in the last round and still being 2 short means that Ricky had a 10+ throws lead earlier in the event. We saw great comebacks from Paul, just not quite enugh.
That just can't happen, just as you couldn't give Paul a 10 strokes lead back in 2014/2015.
Will be interesting to see how it develops once Paul manages to stay right with Ricky right from the start of an event.
That just can't happen, just as you couldn't give Paul a 10 strokes lead back in 2014/2015.
Will be interesting to see how it develops once Paul manages to stay right with Ricky right from the start of an event.
MonkeyGrass
Birdie Member
Take away his Harps? 
I dunno man, he's on FIYAH right now. His whole game is clicking and he's mentally solid top to bottom.
I think the only person who's gonna beat Ricky this year, is himself.
I dunno man, he's on FIYAH right now. His whole game is clicking and he's mentally solid top to bottom.
I think the only person who's gonna beat Ricky this year, is himself.
lyleoross
* Ace Member *
More importantly, will he recreate the Innova designated Grand Slam? And if he does, do we add him to the list of greats including:
Ken
Elain
Juliana
Val
Paul
And Possibly:
PP
Nate Doss
and all the master and grandmaster multiple champions I've left off?
Or does he have to win three or four Worlds first?
BTB - The notion that Ricky is gonna run through this year seems a reach at this point. He eked out a win at AO. And if Paul has two round fours instead of one, he loses this event (even sans the ace).
Yep, Ricky is the most consistent player with the best putting right now. It's a long season.
I hope he does it, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Ken
Elain
Juliana
Val
Paul
And Possibly:
PP
Nate Doss
and all the master and grandmaster multiple champions I've left off?
Or does he have to win three or four Worlds first?
BTB - The notion that Ricky is gonna run through this year seems a reach at this point. He eked out a win at AO. And if Paul has two round fours instead of one, he loses this event (even sans the ace).
Yep, Ricky is the most consistent player with the best putting right now. It's a long season.
I hope he does it, but I wouldn't bet on it.
lyleoross
* Ace Member *
I think it's less that Paul overly perfected his game than he is doing the "grow my brand thing." Ricky is going to work every day, day in and day out. Aray once pointed out to me that Ricky works harder than anyone, especially at those things he isn't good at. I'd have to say the result proves the point.
DG_Before_Breakfast
Double Eagle Member
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2012
- Messages
- 1,410
Ricky has really matured. Ever since he hit that long putt to win the Master's Cup it seems like his mental game is indomitable. He has an all around game that rivals anyone, and is now the best putter out of the circle. He is still young, but has been through the wars for years, and seen victory and defeat. That really helps him not fall apart when McBeast mode happens. Really glad for Ricky, but of course, in the interest of the game, I hope Paul, Eagle, Jeremy, and ??? step their games up for some tournaments this year and keep it interesting. I still have to believe some tournaments Ricky will have a down round or two, and another solid pro can have an epic set of rounds to win the tournament. Cam Todd winning that NT last year, shows anything is still possible with the top pros, so I hope that kind of thing keeps happening.
tdschrock1
Double Eagle Member
I personally do not question either player's work ethic, but I agree that Paul appears to be in a strange spot with his approach to the game. I can't quite put my finger on it...
lyleoross
* Ace Member *
Yeah, I wouldn't question Paul's work ethic either.
I think McBeth is more concerned about being an ambassador for the sport and less concerned with winning every tournament.
He has a big contract and disc royalties coming in, so money isn't an issue.
Meanwhile, I'm sure Wysocki doesn't get the same level of monetary support through his sponsors, so he has to win tournaments in that sense.
Add to that, McBeth getting exposure outside of our sport, perhaps he's changing his focus a bit.
Considering he already has a Grand Slam under his belt, and a few World's, USDGC, etc, what else does he need to win?
Not saying he doesn't have the drive to win anymore, just that sometimes your priorities change.
Especially if he wants to achieve his goal of retiring off disc golf and owning his own course.
He has a big contract and disc royalties coming in, so money isn't an issue.
Meanwhile, I'm sure Wysocki doesn't get the same level of monetary support through his sponsors, so he has to win tournaments in that sense.
Add to that, McBeth getting exposure outside of our sport, perhaps he's changing his focus a bit.
Considering he already has a Grand Slam under his belt, and a few World's, USDGC, etc, what else does he need to win?
Not saying he doesn't have the drive to win anymore, just that sometimes your priorities change.
Especially if he wants to achieve his goal of retiring off disc golf and owning his own course.
SD86
Banned
That'll work, too.
And then we'd be talking about a 1 stroke loss...getting closer!
SD86
Banned
Whoever said Ricky's putting is the best right now was spot-on, and that's part of it. But IMHO some of it is Paul's taking too many chances at times. At the Worlds last year, Paul had a lot of OBs from being too aggressive while trying to catch up. Ricky played a sold game plan the whole way, didn't take too many unreasonable chances, and gave nothing back to the field. Plod, plod, plod. Win, win, win.
So whoever said Paul should dial it back just a hair is right. Take risks, but don't be TOO chancy or panicky trying to catch up Be patient, choose your spots, strike at the opportune moment. (Hmm, sounds like my strategy at chess, but I digress).
And the occasional Ace with a Thunderbird doesn't hurt one's catchup chances...
CreemCheese
Double Eagle Member
I heard on one of the live streams he felt more comfortable/confident with it.
I think his back injury is still lingering.
As someone who has back issues of my own, it can be difficult to fully (if ever) recover.
They commented on that during the live broadcast, saying that Paul said he felt more comfortable with it at the moment. And if it was something he did mid-tournament or just for the last round, I'd argue it paid off given the ground he made up by shooting the hot score on Sunday. Even for players of his caliber, sometimes a glitch shows up and you don't really have the time or opportunity to figure it out and fix it mid-round/tournament. So you switch to something that's working better and ride it out.
I'm nowhere near Paul's level, but I've done the same thing to try to salvage or jump start a round. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It will be curious to see if he continues to straddle at the Memorial or if he's able to figure things out in the two days he's got to do it.
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