Looking to lower your score on the Disc Golf Course? These are the top 5 things that helped me get my score down as I started playing disc golf. Check it out!
1. Practice Practice Practice
Like anything else, practice makes perfect, and disc golf is no different.
Regular practice will help literally every facet of your game. Your arm strength will improve, meaning longer shots off the tee box as well as your accuracy. Putting you in better position for approach shots to the basket.
Practice will also allow you test different shots on all you discs such as hyzer releases, anhyzer releases, flex shots, overhead throws, hyzer flips, and everything in between.
Playing a variety of courses will also put you in various situations that are sometimes difficult to replicate in regular practice and will give you the confidence and experience needed to lower those scores. If you don't have a course to practice on, go to an open field and just practice throwing.
Check out THIS article if you need help finding places to play and practice.
2. Become a Proficient Putter
In line with practice, I want to put an emphasis on putting practice. It could be argued that no other disc golf skill will lower your score more than being an excellent putter. Sure, throwing a disc far and accurate is very important, but I have often seen someone go from Par to Bogey or even Birdie to Bogey with poor putting.
Missing easy putts is a give in, but overshooting the basket, having a disc bounce or roll away on a missed putt, or having a poor upshot to the basket will all significantly increase you score.
Think about an 18 hole course, missing just 6 minimally to moderately difficult putts adds at least 6 strokes to your overall score!
As shown, its easy to see how missing one putt can lead to a second putt that is equally or more difficult!
3. Learn Your Bag
As you play and practice more and more, you'll find that your bag of discs will transform from a bag of "random discs" to a bag of discs with specific uses and purposes.
Initially, you will have very few discs and will often times choose a disc that is the most comfortable to you rather than the one that is best suited for the particular shot you're facing. The more you play, you will begin adding discs that fill voids in your games.
For example, all of my mid-ranges initially were overstable and had a reliable fade at the end. I found myself often needing a disc that I could throw farther than a putter but shorter than a control driver while maintaining a straight flight. None of my discs did this so I picked up a Discraft Buzzz and bagged it specifically for those shots.
As you gain experience, you will learn what the discs in your bag do best which allows you to take better throws on a more consistent basis.
As you learn your bag, you'll also find that you may not own a disc for shots you frequently take. This makes choosing a suitable one much easier because you can compare a new disc to discs you already own and use.
You have all these discs, make sure you take the time to learn what they do best!
4. Play Conservatively and Within Your Skill Level
There are always times to play more aggressive and test your own skills/boundaries, but playing conservatively is one way I have found to lower my round score.
Practice is a great time to take chances and shots that may be outside of your skill/ability level. It's also a great time to learn what your ability level actually is.
But when it comes to lowering your score when it matters the most such as in league play or tournaments, conservative play is key.
What does playing conservatively mean?
For me, being conservative means a variety of things. For one, I always try and take great shots off the tee, but I try and take shots that set me up for great second and third shots as well. Sometimes a riskier throw on any shot may be much better if it works out, but the safer throw will consistently work out better until your skill improves.
Second, conservative play means throwing a layup to the basket rather than making a run to the basket at a distance I'm not yet proficient at.
Many times, I have tried to make putts that were too far for my skill level rather than making a nice lay up shot that would allow me to just drop the disc in.
Long story short, I miss the shot and my disc rolls or I over shoot the basket so much that my second putt opportunity is longer than the first and I go from an easy par/birdie to bogey or even double bogey.
Playing conservative could also be described as playing smart, and learning to do both will help you lower those scores, especially as you improve your skills.
5. Play With Other Players, Especially More Experienced Ones!
Disc golf is a social sport and it will always be beneficial to you to network with any players, especially if they are open to mentoring you.
Playing with other players however has also helped lower my scores because of the help offered on the course and this help comes in a variety of ways.
Offering disc suggestions, tips on form improvement, and even hole/shot strategy has significantly helped me improve my game.
Watching other players play and go through their shot selection and execution processes have also helped me passively absorb knowledge on how to improve my game.
For instance, I have taken a shot on a hole then watched a more experienced player take a drastically different approach to the hole with a disc I would have never thought of and with great success.
If I feel that shot is something I could pull off as well (keeping tip #4 in mind of course and making sure it's within my reasonable skill level), I very well may try that same shot the next time I play the course.
And that's it! In the end, practice will always help you the most but next time you're out playing, try some of these tips and let us know if it helped you improve your score!
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