The "Best" way to learn?

[DiscGolfFev]

I am about 8 months in the sport. I am lucky to live few minutes from a course so I go two or three times a week and practicing putting at home. Watched tons of Youtube videos and taped myself few times. I can drive about 260 now, that is up from 180 when I started.

My question is, does everyone learn by themselves? What I mean is this. I love how you can nerd out with this game, always learning little bit here and there and trying things and see improvement over time. On the other hand, I play with some semi-pro people regularly and people give me little tips here and there but almost never did someone say, hey I can see you are trying to learn, here are few things I see you are struggling with that you can do this and that to work on, here are some drills. E.g. I struggle with nose up, people point that out to me but nobody explains it to me on what could be causing it (wrist angle). Danny Lindahl's one video on YT cleared a lot of things up for me.

For that matter, Youtube material is usually episodic, i.e. three tips for a better backhand, work on your brace, etc.

Is this the way everyone learns? Self study? I guess I wish there is either more coaching or some 10 video series on YT that goes in depth on things in a systematic way. If you know such channels/playlists, please share.

Not whining, just wondering about the process of going from beginner to intermediate. Thanks.

 

[seedlings]

Sounds like you're doing it. Learning. The best way is to learn from others who have 'been there'. The disc golf form is similar enough to other sports that there can be familiarity, yet disc golf is different enough that we need coaching. Head over to the "Technique and Strategy" section and start reading, watching and copying.

I started in June 2020, so we're about the same experience. I've been a madman reading watching and copying, and I can throw 7 speeds 325' give or take. Max driver is around 450, but 375 is more realistic on the course.

Here's a very helpful discussion:
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114639

 

[DiscGolfFev]

Thanks for the helpful reply! I didn't play sports much growing up so it is more of an uphill for me I'd imagine. Congrats on the great arm speed/form that would take to get that distance.

 

[seedlings]

Thanks for the helpful reply! I didn't play sports much growing up so it is more of an uphill for me I'd imagine. Congrats on the great arm speed/form that would take to get that distance.

Mostly throw straight into trees... but thanks.

 

[GripEnemy]

Ignore the "brag" so to speak I'm about to post. And yes I'm mostly self taught.

I'm one of those "not quite pro" players and to me I hate giving unsolicited advice. Maybe a comment here or there but otherwise I feel condescending or something? I don't know.

Have you tried asking the people you play with for tips? Any time someone asks me to dissect their disc selection/shot choice/mechanics I'm more than happy to oblige, but without their consent I feel like a jerk just throwing it out there. Perhaps your buddies feel the same way?

Just a thought:thmbup:

 

[DiscGolfFev]

Thanks! That is a good point, I thought of that as I wrote. Ultimately we all should have a learning orientation. I have definitely been on both sides of that. My natural tendency is to give people tips, especially people I know just getting started. Most of the time it is welcomed. Sometimes it is not, so I learned to tune it down unless it is clearly a teaching situation. I've been on the other end where I didn't ask for help and people gave me advice and I tried my best to listen but it can be a bit annoying, which further informed me to keep my own mouth shut

That balance aside, what I was really asking is if it is clearly understood I want advice, what systematic way is there to teach disc golf? I think most people are not prepared to teach systematically. I just need to realize great player doesn't automatically translates to great teacher and teaching well takes a lot of effort/thought. Which I guess why this forum and youtube is invaluable. It is interesting to see some of the people I already follow on YT is also here.

Someone else in this post responded with the big list of videos, this is about as close as to what I was thinking. Now I need to look through them and arrange them by subjects and analyze myself and get to work: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119328

 

[txmxer]

Not sure if I missed something but there are pros that offer lessons. I think you can even get video/ remote lessons.

Of course you can film yourself and get lots of opinions here.

 

[BillFleming]

Two years in....I learned by myself, by watching videos, by others giving me suggestions/advice. Now I'm doing what I wish I had done in the beginning...I will be getting lessons.

Learning on your own or by watching videos is good; but you'll have a hard time noticing if you are doing anything wrong...and if you do happen to figure what you are doing wrong, it can be hard to correct it.

Learning from suggestions/advice from others....this is good as they can give you feedback on how you are doing.

Lessons...this is the best. The instructor can give you immediate feedback and can work on specific issues.

Personally, I wish I had gotten lessons from the start.

 

[dmoore1998]

Going off by yourself is almost definitely not the "best" way to learn. It's just readily accessible.

I honestly can't imagine a scenario where I would say to anyone "I see you're trying to learn, let me give you some tips" about anything. It would be hard for anyone to know where you draw the line from "great that's helpful" to "stop criticizing me". The first step is asking for help and making it clear you'd like help on things going forward.

There are probably also plenty of people who can tell you that you're having an issue "like nose up" without having had the time to closely study everything you're doing to determine why. As an example, I'm an avid golfer, I can tell you a dozen things you might be doing to slice the ball. If we're playing a casual round and I'm not closely studying you though, I can't tell you which is the actual reason. If you ask me for help, I'll try to watch closely and help you out. I'm not about to stand right in front of you and death-stare your swing without you having asked for help though.

I'm no expert on disc golf, but I play with plenty of people who throw HORRENDOUSLY. Like hold the disc in front of them and flick their wrist, it goes up and hyzers hard every time. I could have them throwing 5x as far as they do now in 5 minutes, because they are athletic and will understand. I'm not saying a word to them, if they want help they'll ask. For now, I assume they're having a good time hanging out and doing what they want. To me, it's no different than telling someone how to drive...yeah some people might love hearing it, most want you to mind your own business.

 

[Ahildy13]

I bookmarked this page a while ago
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117477

 

[raceface59]

It's a fantastic sport. I've only been playing since September (then winter hit) and I read the incredible Garu bag thread and got indispensable tips from the sages on here about choosing the correct discs to learn with. So YESTERDAY.......I had the itch to buy a shiny new disc and figured that LATER ON I would be good enough to throw a Firebird. I bought a 150 gram and figured that it wouldn't hurt TOO bad if i gave it a test throw or two before I tucked it away for later. I ripped that thing further than Ive ever thrown a disc before, used it for the entire afternoon and birdied two fairly long holes. Maybe I was just over enthusiastic but I thought that I wasn't supposed to throw a Firebird yet. It was definitely a WTF moment lol. Yes there are solid guidelines to follow, but the ignorance of experimentation can teach you in weird ways.

 

[zontar]

It's a fantastic sport. I've only been playing since September (then winter hit) and I read the incredible Garu bag thread and got indispensable tips from the sages on here about choosing the correct discs to learn with. So YESTERDAY.......I had the itch to buy a shiny new disc and figured that LATER ON I would be good enough to throw a Firebird. I bought a 150 gram and figured that it wouldn't hurt TOO bad if i gave it a test throw or two before I tucked it away for later. I ripped that thing further than Ive ever thrown a disc before, used it for the entire afternoon and birdied two fairly long holes. Maybe I was just over enthusiastic but I thought that I wasn't supposed to throw a Firebird yet. It was definitely a WTF moment lol. Yes there are solid guidelines to follow, but the ignorance of experimentation can teach you in weird ways.

150g rocks.

 

[raceface59]

Also, by spending yesterday throwing a Firebird, Thunderbird, Teebird and Leopard, I learned that playing to the fade of a disc is where my results really started to get better.

 

[Shankapotamus]

Loopghost has a nice series on backhand form. He's a great teacher.

 

[CalHon]

I just go out and play! I know I'm not doing it right, but it's fun anyway So far my best distance throw is overhand. I used to play outfield way back in high school. The standard frisbee throw is my weakest. Sidearm is inconsistent to say the least, but I might have the most potential with that style of throw. As much as can be expected from an overweight middle aged guy anyway!

 

[Blobfish]

My students often ask the same question.
I assign homework for one reason only: to practice what we are learning. It's not really different than a music teacher assigning sections of pieces to practice and master before the next lesson.
In the case of this game, there are many bits and pieces you pick up here and there which kind of reflects the episodic nature of the videos you reference. There are basic techniques to get down, sure, and some people need more scaffolding on putting it all together than others. And Sidewinder has a slew of videos to help on any individual segment. But the pathway to learning this game is very student centered and guided.
For example, if a new player says, "My putting sucks what should I do?" The most likely useful answer is "you need more reps with a style that feels good to you" As in, if you want to improve consistency, use a consistent style and get a ton of reps on it.

The basics are few in this game, but you can fine-tune forever... kind of like how Danny Lindahl made this video where he lumped all of the shots into 9 categories: . The basics are there, but effecting the throws you want takes a lot of fine tuning with a lot of reps.

I have learned lots by watching cardmates as well. Good players sometimes hit lines I never noticed before... like throwing a big spike hyzer over a dense group of trees instead of trying to get through them on the fairway? Or speaking of trees, I started this game thinking that a mako3 was all I needed because it was laser straight and I could just point and shoot it anywhere... which was great until I played courses with fairways that looked like plinko games. While I was hitting tree after tree, I watched the others flex firebirds and flicks right through the forest, weaving in and out with consistency on lines I never would have noticed because I was so convinced that straight is the shortest pathway and must be best.

Anyway, IMHO, this game is best learned by having the attitude of wanting to learn and lots of field work to get reps on particular areas you'd like to improve.

 

[DiscGolfFev]

Thank you all, broke 300 today

Thank you all for the replies. sorry I haven't seen them for awhile.

Bit of a good news, I threw a Beast over 300 today, not consistent by any means (usually about 260) but hey I will take it, it was one of my goals this year.

I started 7 months ago and played a lot since. I live overseas right now so I don't have access to paid training/lessons. I am over 40 so my expectations are realistic. I know my #1 problem is I am not engaging my hips and bracing. Watching loopghost a lot.

I understand not everyone wants advice and it could get annoying but personally I rather people give me advice than not. I do ask for advice and I had people who give me advice without asking (so that is how that feels) but it was appreciated when I remind myself he is trying to help me and it give me a chance to work on my humility.

As little as I know, I brought a lot of people to the course and introduced them to the sport. About 90% of people I invite have never heard of disc golf before and teaching them a bit to get started seems natural and considerate. If I know people had some experience I try not to say anything. If they are beating me I sure don't have anything to teach them, if I am beating them I am not going to ruin that.