As an amateur player, I am always looking for different techniques or little adjustments I can make to improve my game. I’ve been playing for 5 years now and here are 5 things I’ve learned that have made a noticeable impact on my game.

1. Practice, Practice, Practice!

   I am one of those people that sits on the couch and watches hours upon hours of YouTube tutorials. That’s one way to learn techniques through observation, but I will never get better if I don’t put the skills I learned to practice. Over the last 5 years I realistically only hit the field to practice a handful of times. For the most part I’m out playing rounds with my brother and uncle. One thing I’ve learned when preparing for bigger tournaments is how much of a difference field work can make. Even if it’s just a day or two of practice the week leading into a tournament. This is where I work on some of the techniques I will be talking about next.

2. Keep it simple

   One player I recently started looking up to is Tristan Tanner. He looks like he barely walks down the tee pad before ripping a 500 plus foot shot. In my mind, a run up like his vs. a run up like James Conrad’s is going to be much more consistent. Disc golf is all about consistency which is why I’m adopting this strategy into my game. Everything from putting to driving, less moving parts and overall moving slower will help increase your consistency. This is what I work on in the field and on the putting green a majority of the time.

3. Angles Matter

   Do you ever watch disc golf and see the players hold their disc straight out in front of them while lining up a shot? This is where they’re looking at a few things such as a target out in the distance, but they’re also lining up the angle at which they want to release the disc. One epiphany I’ve had recently is really focusing on the angle of the disc. Not only when I’m aiming, but everything from the reach back to the follow through as well. I want to make sure that my shoulders and my arm follow through on the same plane that I want the angle of the disc to be released. I focus on keeping my shoulders parallel to the ground during my reach back and follow through to ensure the nose of the disc stays down and doesn’t fly away into the sun. When I throw a hyzer, I bend over at the waist to get the disc on a hyzer angle. When throwing an anhyzer, I just lean back at the waist and the disc is now on an anhyzer angle. My pull through is almost always just above my belly button and under my chest no matter what.

4. Use your imagination, draw a line!

   It might sound crazy, but I like to envision a line on the ground. Yes, on the ground! I draw a line that reaches from my target all the way back to where I’m standing. This comes after gaining a little experience because you’ll need to know how your disc typically flies. I account for the straight flight and the finish that just about every disc has at the end. Once I picture the line, I adjust my body so all of the momentum of my throw releases the disc on the line I want. I do this for both putting and throwing. With putting, it allows me to find a spot on the imaginary line to place my feet which adds consistency to my putting. Do this for every shot and it will help you hit your lines more often than not!

5. Commitment

   This might be the hardest skill in disc golf, especially in a tournament. An advantage I see in children and teens who play the sport is they commit to every shot no matter what. They’re fearless and rarely ever think about the consequences of a bad shot. They just walk up and throw the disc, relying more on muscle memory than mental memory. As we age, this tends to change. Now we walk up to every shot and try to implement all the skills we learned from top pros on YouTube. You think about every little detail, the angle, the height, the power, then you go to throw it and fluff it out of your hand! The putt dumps left before even coming close to the chains, the disc leaves your hand early and hits the first tree on the left. You didn’t commit! This is a skill that comes with practice. Resort back to tip #1… Practice, practice, practice! Once you get the muscle memory down in the field, the commitment just comes naturally.

I hope some of these tips help you in your game as they have in mine. Take some videos of yourselves out in the field trying to implement some of these techniques and be sure to share them on my Instagram or Facebook page!