Putting
Confidence is the most important component. Practice mostly shots you typically make, and putt to make it on others. Putting sessions should be about 15 minutes. Focus time should be 2-4 seconds.
- Check for wind
- Visualize, verbalize, and audibilize success. I’m making this putt.
- Practice full motion
- Pull disc forward and pop wrist open (don’t spin/hinge more when trying to add power). Follow through straight and reach forward with fingers outstretched to your link, holding pose and focus on your link
- Hold your putter at the release point pre-shot, take 2 sec to aim, drop arm slowly
- Deep breath first! Breathe in at windup, out on putt
- Still head and chin up
- If not feeling confident, step back and reset, breathe.
- Weight forward after release, hold and pick up next disc
Backhand
- Relax the arm — it’s whip!
- Right foot plant on toe angles back and rotates/shifts to heel
- Plant to the left of your target when throwing for power, not straight/
- Align your body with release line, not necessarily the basket
- Pull back as far as possible on exactly the line you’ll throw it on – no further
- Wrist in straight line with arm, not cocked.
- For hyzer or anhyzer, angle body like a hula hoop through follow-through
- Think of smashing elbow into the disc Paige is holding while thrusting hip forward (not up). Hips thrust forward first, then around after release.
Approach
- Play catch from 80-150 feet in warm-up
- Envision the line
- Align body with intended flight path, not necessarilythe basket
- Follow through!!
- Eyes on basket all the way
- Nose up for touch– Keep wrist above elbow
Forehand: Feel the weight of disc pulling on fingers in wind-up before snapping. Finish with palm to sky. On short forehands, keep arm and palm up through entire motion. Video
THINGS TO TRY OUT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wRZ_kPxfI
- In putting practice: Try separating pinky from rim, Keep wrist cocked.
- Push putts
- BACKHAND: For more RPM, grip tighter and let disc rip itself out of hand, rather than opening hand
- Try experimenting with thumb position–near edge= more RPMTo turn L and go far, throw understandable disc!
Play “Dice” game: randomly choose:
- 20’ in front of/behind tee pad, left-handed, forehand, kneel, stretch, putter…
Cheap disc storage: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vesken-shelf-unit-black-30450807/
- Play within your game
- RPM’s matter
- Have molds for cold, wet weather of key discs: one straight driver, one understable…
Notes on Mental Game
Plan ahead to avoid potential problems, then focus on success
Always reinforce positive mentality. Purge negative thoughts.
Joe Parent: “As you walk between shots, maintain an upright posture, shoulders back, taking full breaths. No matter how you’ve been playing, maintaining a confident posture will make you feel more positive.”
“It takes practice and patience to break habits like negative self-talk. Find something good about every shot, about every round, to replace the habit of complaining or criticizing.”
“Make a commitment to finding a way to enjoy yourself regardless of how you’re scoring. Shift your focus from performance to learning. Stay true to that commitment and there won’t be any such thing as a bad round.
“Preparation is the first stage of the PAR Approach. The key factors in preparation are the three C’s: Clarity, Commitment, and Composure. Clarity is having a vivid image of the shot you intend, both the target and the path the ball will take to get there. Commitment is free from second-guessing, doubt or hesitation. Composure is being calm and focused, poised and at ease. -ZEN GOLF: Mastering The Mental Game
Notes from Golf is not a game of perfect by Bob Rotella
A person with great dreams can achieve great things.
A person without large dreams consigns himself to mediocrity
People by and large become what they think about themselves (and live or play up or down to expectations)
P. 39 Plan ahead to avoid potential problems, then focus on success (fear inhibits performance– balance beam example)
P 69. The foundation of consistency is a sound pre-shot routine. Have a “trigger” that start your pre-shot routine and create a bubble of focus around yourself.
Pick a small, precise target.
P 75 If you take a practice swing thinking about form, take another not thinking about it.
More than half of practice should be in “trusting” mode, more like 80% pre-tourney and 100% in tourney warm-up
P114 No matter what happens with a shot, accept it. Acceptance is the last step in a sound routine
The first thing to do is throw away your expectations when you step onto the course and just play. It’s difficult to do. But I have never worked with a golfer who could play close to his potential uness he shed his expectations before starting.
Expectations are great if you can find them to long-range considerations. but expectations can hurt you if they are focused on the results of a particular whole or round.
A great shot is a thing of beauty, Savor and celebrate it. It will make the game more enjoyable. It will help make the memory of good shots stronger– improving confidence.
P 152 Play every meaningful round with a game plan and plan each hole. What is the goal? Stick to the plan.
Scouting a new course: is your goal a birdie or par? Note your preferred disc from the tea, intended Landing areas, and Hazards to avoid.
“The smaller the target, the sharper the athlete’s focus, the better his concentration, and the better the results.”
191 A successful round is when you can say “I had my mind where it was supposed to be on every shot and I played my game plan.”
When a golfer is in the right frame of mind, he’s confident that he can produce the shot he sees with his mind’s eye. He trusts that the skills he has ingrained through practice are going to work for him if he just lets them and doesn’t try to guide or steer the ball. But at the same time, part of his thinking is acceptance of whatever happens to the golf ball once he hits it. He knows that because he’s a human being, not every shot will come off the way he intends it.
“Putt to make it.”
“If you’re going to be a victim of the first few holes, you don’t have a prayer. You’re like a puppet.
“It will try to send the ball in the direction of the last thing you look at or think about. If that happens to be a pond, you can find yourself in severe trouble. So if you’re preparing to hit an approach shot over water, or a pitch over a bunker to a pin, it’s important that you have an established habit of focusing your mind firmly on your target.”
In tough conditions, stay patient and let others beat themselves.
Whenever you feel stress levels rising, inhale twice through your nose, exhale fully for 6-8 seconds and re-focus on what you need to do.
Not only does our mind affect our body, but our body also sends messages to our minds. As you walk between shots, maintain an upright posture, shoulders back, taking full breaths. No matter how you’ve been playing, maintaining a confident posture will make you feel more positive.”
Notes from Mastering Golf’s Mental Game by Michael Lardon
P63 Make a plan to have fun playing tournaments and play will be better.
P69 Vary your practice rounds try playing with just 2 or 3 discs, pick different tee locations, practics rollers, etc
P 77 drop your frustration with a hole like you would a hot coal because it will hurt you. if you get agitated oh, watch your speed. Don’t speed up. stop and breathe
P80 also, calm yourself after a great shot before teeing off. when you need to calm yourself put your hand on your belly breathe in through your nose for a count of 4 hold and then exhale for a count of 8. Just as practicing your Strokes improves your form, working on your breathing improved your ability to handle anxiety.
P88 Think about one simple thing to clear the mind. E.g. “reach for the link” or “pop”
Substitute a calm, neutral thought to push out any stressful one.
P132 Begin with the image of disc sitting where you want it to land Now rewind to your release.
148 Have short-term, mid-term and long-term goals.
180 Three elements of every shot: 1. Calculate (assess potential hazards, winds, determine your objective). 2. Visalize, audibilize in your mind. 3. Execute. 4. Accept the result
When you change your mind you need to leave time for two things to happen. first, your mind has to be comfortable with the new idea. clear away any lingering thoughts about the old plan. you need to be committed to the new one. however, commitment isn’t only experienced in the thinking mind. it’s also felt in the body. your body has to feel comfortable with the new plan.
When it’s time to execute a shot, turn off the thinking mind. picture a clear image of the disc traveling to the Target, then let the intuitive mind take over. Plan with your head then play from your heart.
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Use low glide in headwind.
In headwind, disc will fade later and less. Beware of any disc that can turn and crash upwind before any fade. Consider a faster disc.
In tailwind, choose slower disc.
Right to left wind, throw big anhyzer for distance
Crosswind approach shots, cut into the windMVP Uplink, understandable mid-range 5.0/5.0/-3.0/0.5