Effective Ways to Practice Disc Golf

Disc golf has become more and more popular in the past decade and this is not surprising because almost anyone can play the sport. Similar to other sports, disc golf requires skill and the amount of practice you put in will determine how good you will be at this sport. What is the best way to practice disc golf?

Working and practicing the game a few times every week is the best way to improve your game. However, if you want to rise to the level of competing in tournaments, you need to practice every day. By doing this, you can be a great disc golfer in a short time. If you only practice every week, you can still learn how to play it but your skill will likely be mediocre.

What to Do Before You Practice Disc Golf

To maximize your performance, there are several things that you need to do before starting practice. They include:

1.      Create a Plan

Having a plan is the best way to make sure that your practice is good and efficient. You can include the duration of your practice and what you need to focus on.

2.      Create Goals

Setting goals is very crucial in practicing disc golf. You will not improve if you do not set clear goals. If you want to develop in this sport, you need to think of your short-term and long-term goals. 

For long-term goals, they can be obtained after a few years. Your short-term goals can be the goals you want to achieve in your next practice session. Your sessions will be more effective and efficient if you have a plan and goals to work with. 

3.      Practice As If You Are in a Competition

If you want to be good at disc golf or other sports, you need to practice as if you are competing. Sometimes, you do not take your practices seriously and end up making a mess. It is best to be serious in your practice and aim to beat your previous best performance or score. 

For instance, if you miss during practice, make sure that you start over just like you would in a tournament. Also, during your golf disc putting practice, make sure that you use the same time like in a competition.

Disc Golf Practice Drills to Improve Your Putting

If you want to improve your disc golf game, then you need to know how to improve your putting. This involves doing some putting practice drills. Here are some drills that you can do.

·         Field Goals or Laces Out Drill

When doing this drill, your goal should be to create all your field goals. In case you are not familiar with a field goal, it is basically a group of vertical posts on a football field. This is used by kickers who are trying to kick a football to get it through the posts.

When practicing disc golf, you will utilize them to boost your distance and accuracy. You will only need putters and mid-range discs for this practice. Drivers are not recommended because they can be thrown at a distance too far on the football field you will be practicing on. 

Get your discs and begin on the 50-yard line or 60 yards or 180 feet away from the field goal. Aim to throw the discs from the middle and through the posts. After you succeed in doing this consistently, you can move 10 yards back to the opposite side 40-yard line or 210 feet away from the field goal.

Continue moving back until you reach the opposite side of the field goal post. You can greatly improve your disc golf skills if you can master these throws

·         Beto Drills

One of the most well-known drills in disc golf is the Beto drill. Created by Dan Beto, doing this drill can help beginners to learn how to properly drive and create distance in games. 

·         Overload Drill

This is another disc golf practice drill that can help you improve your putting. To do this drill, stand at a comfortable distance and attempt two putts. If they both go in, step back and try four putts. Keep doing this and see if the putts go in. If they don’t, move forward and increase your putting by two.

How to Practice Approaching Effectively

Having a consistent practice routine will help you improve your game in no time. Here are methods that can help you practice disc golf effectively.

·         The Approach 21 Game

This is a super enjoyable way to practice disc golf. Someone chooses where the disc will be placed from around 50 to 150 feet from the basket in every round. This person is also responsible for choosing the shot all the players will use. 

This is how the scoring works:

  • A made basket- 4 points
  • Hitting the basket or above- 3 points
  • Making the putt from the approach shot- 2 points
  • Missing the putt but hitting the chains- 1 point
  • Missing the putt- 0 points

The first player to accumulate 21 points is the winner.

·         Hip Mobility Drill

The hip mobility drill can help to improve the flexibility of your lower body. This can also help you to improve your performance in approaching putts and shots around obstacles. 

·         The Landing Zone Approach Drill

This drill requires you to mark a landing area of your basket in an open field. You need to determine the distances depending on the distances in your game. The next thing you need to do is to throw all the discs and get as close as possible to the landing area you marked. 

You begin the first round with the discs at a hyzer angle. For the second round, you will use a straight angle and an anhyzer angle for the third round. If you choose to practice more, you can change to using a sidearm for all the angles. 

·         The Fun Drill

This is a fun way to hone the approach. You basically go to a course that has a lot of woods and obstacles. The place should be challenging for you. You can try the path there and try weird or difficult shots. This can help improve your mentality. You can try various throws and angles to make you focus better once you are in the field. 

You can think that throwing seems fun before doing it. When you imagine and tell this to yourself all the time, it will help you mentally when you need to do a difficult shot in a real game. You will not be thinking negatively when you are in a competitive game and need to make a challenging shot. You will see this kind of shot as something fun. 

Why Practice is Important in Disc Golf

Are you wondering why you should consistently practice disc golf? Here is why.

1.      For Repetition and Better Muscle Memory 

Repetition or doing repeated movements is the key to practicing disc golf. Slowly, you will see improvements in your performance over time. Then, these movements will become natural for you mentally and physically. 

This results in better muscle memory. Muscle memory is your skill in reproducing actions easily after practicing them consistently. Put simply, when you do something, again and again, you become better at it.

2.      Consistency

Seeing improvements does not happen overnight; it can take months or years before you see them. Therefore, even if you practice disc golf every day for 1 month and do not do any practice for more than 10 months, you can expect your performance to be bad. Nevertheless, if you are consistent in your practice 3 days a week for 1 year, you will be 10 times better in your games.

3.      Doing Experiments

When you practice, you will most likely discover and experiment with different discs, shoes, grips, and throw types among many others. Practicing allows you to discover the throws, techniques, and equipment that are ideal for you. 

How Frequently Should Disc Golf Be Ideally Practiced

It is recommended that you practice the game every day. Daily practices are highly recommended if you are planning to be a competitive disc golf player. You might be wondering why practice needs to be done every day. The best disc golf players across the globe are not only passionate but also practice regularly to improve themselves in the sport. 

It cannot be stressed enough the importance of practicing. You just need to remember not to burn yourself out. The decision is entirely up to you on how skillful you want to be. Nonetheless, it is true that the more you practice, the better you will become. 

However, it is recommendable to create a routine or schedule on the days or weeks you want to practice disc golf. Having a routine will prevent you from feeling burnt out after practice. You do not need to do boring practices for a long period.

Doing a quick practice for 20 to 30 minutes every day can help with your performance. The ideal thing to do is to create a good practice schedule by writing it and following it. 

Conclusion

Finally, you understand some of the best ways to practice disc golf. When doing your disc golf practice, concentrate more on your techniques, aims, accuracy, and form more than the distance. This way, you will develop your skills more easily and better enjoy the sport. Consistent practice is the way to be good at disc golf.