Mental Game

[jchoate7]

This past weekend I threw one of my best ever rounds and followed immediately by one of my worst ever rounds. I was playing in The Pine Tree Tussle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdZW_7fxspw). I am a 931 rated player and I was playing in advanced. The first round I threw a 52 (a 978 rated round and also tied for the hot round in advanced) and the second round I blew up and threw a 70 (an 844 rated round). I was trying to just focus on my game and not worry about other card mates and I even started discing down to help myself relax but nothing seemed to be helping. I'm taking the next week off of playing to clear my head. Do any of you have any hints/tips that help you to avoid such mental breakdowns?

 

[bradharris]

I go into every competitive round expecting to have one or two bad holes. That way, when I have a bad hole, I can brush it off and just say "that was the bad one" and not let it carry over to the next hole.

Kind of going along with that, I try to keep a forward focus. Don't worry about what already happened, good or bad. It can't change. All you can do is focus on playing as well as possible for the remainder of the round.

 

[RFrance]

This is a good read. http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Disc-Golf-Patrick-McCormick/dp/1502779331

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

I am a 931 rated player
...978 rated round
...844 rated round

978 + 844 / 2

911

You threw 20 points below your rating in 2 rounds in a "thickly spaced pine tree" tournament. Honest opinion is that unless your games excels in tight wooded courses, you did just fine.

http://www.heavydisc.com/2013/12/patience-now.html

Seriously, read that and assess if you're staying present or getting ahead of yourself (or getting tied up in past shots).

 

[Major Tomahawk]

Amnesia is a good thing to possess in disc golf.

Also, going into a tourney expecting bad things to happen is not a good plan.

Focus on the shot at hand, not the last hole or the next hole.

 

[DiscFifty]

978 + 844 / 2

911

You threw 20 points below your rating in 2 rounds in a "thickly spaced pine tree" tournament. Honest opinion is that unless your games excels in tight wooded courses, you did just fine.

http://www.heavydisc.com/2013/12/patience-now.html

Seriously, read that and assess if you're staying present or getting ahead of yourself (or getting tied up in past shots).

Yep. Good point.

 

[jchoate7]

This happened in the last tournament I played though. I shot really well the first time and landed on the first card and then sh.. the bed the rounds following. I don't know if it is because I am having to high of expectations for myself or what.

 

[rampazzo]

I'd pay attention to all of your scores, not just the last two. If you are consistently shooting your best round on the first round of the tournament then there might be some mental component but it also be fatigue. Not only physical but mental and emotional fatigue. Playing disc golf (or any sport for that matter) is a mental, physical, and emotional thing and each of those are things that can be negatively affected by fatigue. It is easy for a tired player to lose focus, make bad decisions, experience execution errors, and most likely to do all three.

If your issue really is that you persistently score your lowest rounds first, maybe take extra care that you are in good physical shape and take care to get plenty of rest, eat balanced meals, stay hydrated and energized throughout tournaments, and relax between holes.

 

[bradharris]

Also, pay attention to how your prep for round 1 vs round 2.

It may help to have a ~30 minute pre-round routine to help you get focused and loose. Get there early enough to go through your routine before the first round, and then at the break, eat lunch quickly enough to do the exact same routine before starting round 2.

A lot of people will go through a lot of warmup in the morning, but then use the lunch break to kick back and relax.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

Also, pay attention to how your prep for round 1 vs round 2.

It may help to have a ~30 minute pre-round routine to help you get focused and loose. Get there early enough to go through your routine before the first round, and then at the break, eat lunch quickly enough to do the exact same routine before starting round 2.

A lot of people will go through a lot of warmup in the morning, but then use the lunch break to kick back and relax.

Great point. We run out of steam and fall into bad habits when exhausted. If you really want to train for tournament golf - you'll need to play multiple rounds at tournament pace to really get used to that. Most people have a finite amount of mental and physical strength before we start talking ourselves into some stupid stuff. (forcing it)

Personally... I struggle with it and I imagine many people do.

 

[PWaggoner]

Prolly let the pressure get to you. Cant have any expectations of your game. Each throw is the only throw that matters.

And when your not throwing or watching think about other things. Whats for dinner, how many crayons your wife let your kids eat, etc.

If you try and focus for the 4-6 hrs of tourny play your going to burn out. After awhile fatique will set in, youll start throwing bad shots and then begin to concentrate instead of focusing.

Concentrate when your practicing to learn or change something and when your playing focus and flow. Let your body do what its practiced.

Another thing is to mentally control the flow of time, dont let yourself become rushed. Dont take to long overthinking simple things. I feel much better when i perceive that the round is proceeding at my pace. Used to really bother me rounds play so slowly. Now ive learned tricks like walking ahead to watch the group ahead hole out.

Also try and keep a sense of humor, golf is a weird game. Itll beat you up and then give your due. Its best to smile as much as possible. Good shots and bad.

Not the easiest thing to do, but i feel like the mental part of tournament play i excel at the most.

Oh and i like to eat as i play and not take a lunch. Just work on things that weren't working that well.

 

[4hcgoods]

I skipped over the responses so far, but reading the Golfer's Mind by Dr. Bob Rotella is the best thing I ever did for my mental game. For me, it was understanding that I had a self-image of who I was as a player: 900 rated, 325 driver, shaky outside of15'. By letting go of this self-image I started shooting in the 950s consistently, driving closer to 400, and hitting anything inside of 30'. Seriously, the Golfer's Mind is great if you can sub in disc golf terms while reading.

 

[Moify]

I read Zen and the Art of Disc Golf, myself. While the writing style was lacking, there were some interesting points made.

One of the thoughts that stuck with me was trying to approach every shot - even the ones where you have 30 trees in your face - as an opportunity to be creative and expand your game.

Once upon a time, I would pick up shi*ty drives out of frustration and never practice the "get out of trouble shots." When I started enjoying trying to escape these situations, my game got better. You can save par on so many holes with a good recovery shot. Mix in some short forehand rollers, turbo putts, or even some scoobies.

Every shot is different, so you can't expect the same result - especially not from yourself.

 

[Stardoggy]

A shot of Jack during the lunch break does me wonders.