One of many questions about the Mental Game

[Putt for D'oh]

So... I've always thought I had a pretty good mental game when it came to sports, BUT... i've never played ball golf, and other non-reactionary sports like pool or darts have always been beer games more akin to fishing so the mental side wasn't too much an issue.

I've been working on the mental game for DG, which is far and away my biggest hurdle. Doing the books and trying out things and integrating into other parts of my life... putting is still at times woeful.

For this particular question though. Today I was playing a casual round for my self. I'm throwing one drive on some holes, trying a second drive to see a different line or different disc, or proving to myself I can make a good drive if I shank the first one, then using 3 putters and keeping score off of the 1st drive no matter what, and 1st putt no matter what.
I'm having an up and down game. Every birdie is countered by a 3 putt bogey or really bad drive when I try again and pure the second attempt.
So, walking between 14 and 15 I get a text from my daughter. I need to get home, not a super rush but need to stop multi-drives and multi-putts.
I PARK, 15, 16, 17 and have a perfectly shaped even if short drive on 18 which is generally out of reach for me, but make an easy par.

So... for people that maybe do this sort of thing, plan on throwing extra drives casually sometimes, do you think there might be a bit of a mental hang-up when you step on the teepad expecting to throw more than one disc? I'm wondering when I step up to putt also knowing i'm going to putt 3 times if that same thing might be happening?

Thoughts?

 

[Jay Dub]

I think sometimes we over think this. Here's why I say that.

Years ago I went to a local tournament and my new girlfriend decided she wanted to walk along with me. That made me a bit nervous because she had never seen me play golf. Turned out I won that day, my only real tournament win. I think what happened was her being there and me being a bit nervous about her there took the edge off my disc golf mental game and filled it instead with the anxiety of her there. Not a lot but enough to make me play more by instinct than I usually do.

I think that text from your daughter did the same thing to you. It directed some of your concentration to home and that small amount had you playing more by instinct than you were the holes prior.

My best rounds, looking back, are mostly when I'm relaxed and not over thinking the game. I throw multiple shots also on solo rounds and when I do I think more about my technique than when I just play a round of golf.

 

[DiscFifty]

Practice anyway you want, but I've heard something like this time and time again: "During a tournament, it's ok to think about your shot walking up to your lie or the tee, but once you step up to throw stop thinking about anything and just throw. The more you think about the shot in those final moments leading up to to the throw, the more likely you are to have a bad throw." And I agree with Jay ^^^, my best rounds are when I stop overthinking everything and just throw.

But...I'm also a big believer you have to train your mind to experience the subliminal mental stress of tournament play. I've experienced this and have seen friends experience this: "Why do I play so much better in casual rounds?" Limiting those relaxed casual rounds with friends and playing more weekly paid minis will help with adjusting to a tournament mindset.

 

[scooby snack]

IMO, giving yourself mulligans isn't a good way to improve your mental game, even if your keeping score with your 1st throw and putt. This is just practice for making a better 2nd or 3rd shot

Instead, practice like you're playing a tournament, and make each shot count. A big part of the mental game is not letting mistakes affect your play.

 

[Suspect]

I realize when my drives are off my putts are way better. I'm too focused on my drives that when I am around the basket I am already pissed at the hole. I don't care. If only I can drive AND putt well haha.

 

[Putt for D'oh]

IMO, giving yourself mulligans isn't a good way to improve your mental game, even if your keeping score with your 1st throw and putt. This is just practice for making a better 2nd or 3rd shot

Instead, practice like you're playing a tournament, and make each shot count. A big part of the mental game is not letting mistakes affect your play.

I kinda think there are two sides to this coin. The mulligan can be a confidence builder and hopefully something I can put in my positive mental bank. I KNOW I can make this shot, and when in practice I do hit it even if it is the second shot I can take that confidence into a competitive round. For me a good example of this is several months ago I was playing a casual round with a friend and we usually don't compete but keep score... unless things go bad then we just throw... or one keeps their score the other is just along. A few of the big holes we can watch the disc fly will throw a few drives, and only random mulligans otherwise. On a hole (16 I coincidentally parked in my OP round) I smacked a tree, just missed the line by a few feet. The hole is short but steep uphill with a few trees that create a sometimes difficult ceiling. Under the trees but get up the hill. The straight shot at the basket has a much narrower vertical window, a hyzer line to the right of the offending tree has a larger vertical window but narrower left-right gap. I was going for the right gap. I said "one more, I know I can hit that gap" I did and got a skip-mulligan-ace (which he signed "not a real ace") BUT that point is as many times as I've hit that tree or the ones too far right, the image I have to tee this hole? The Mullie-Ace.

The other part really is that a lot of my second drives aren't strictly mulligans to improve. Sometimes its a good birdie look on the first drive I just want a different line. High over trees or a low skip, or a hyzerflip or big OS flex shot. My second shot is not always better. Or a need to feel good, more of a "I wonder if I can make this work"

On the practicing good 2nd or 3rd shot mentality though I kind of thought this is where my head was going, just on a more subconscious level, but probably more along the lines of what Jay Dub said. Too much thinking early even when I thought I wasn't then when the distraction of being on the clock but still finishing the round came up I was TRULY not thinking just throwing.

 

[biscoe]

I think sometimes we over think this. Here's why I say that.

Years ago I went to a local tournament and my new girlfriend decided she wanted to walk along with me. That made me a bit nervous because she had never seen me play golf. Turned out I won that day, my only real tournament win. I think what happened was her being there and me being a bit nervous about her there took the edge off my disc golf mental game and filled it instead with the anxiety of her there. Not a lot but enough to make me play more by instinct than I usually do.

I think that text from your daughter did the same thing to you. It directed some of your concentration to home and that small amount had you playing more by instinct than you were the holes prior.

My best rounds, looking back, are mostly when I'm relaxed and not over thinking the game. I throw multiple shots also on solo rounds and when I do I think more about my technique than when I just play a round of golf.

I agree- distractions can be helpful if you are someone who tends to dwell on your own mistakes too much (which I most certainly am). I do a fair bit of looking for arrowheads on courses and my game is often much better for it. Thinking is for practice, doing is for events.

 

[Golden Tuna]

Every mind is different. So, every person will prepare somewhat differently. I use the following process, but that does not mean it will work for you.

I generally prefer field work for training purposes - learning the how the discs fly with different angles in different conditions. Same applies with putting, I will putt at all 4 sides of the basket to get practice in different (wind) conditions.

When I play 18 holes, I generally play as if I were playing a tournament round, with two exceptions:
1. 2 off the top - just for fun
2. I'll putt 2-3 putts from every approach (if within circle 2). Extra putting practice never hurts...

I know a lot of people love Cali rounds or mulligans to throw extra shots. But, I think you're just lying to yourself if you think you can shoot the same with & without extra, free shots.... I prefer to play by tournament standards because it forces me to focus on the importance of each individual shot, instead of knowing I have a Cali in my back pocket....

 

[chevis]

there are all kinds of ways to practice & all of them are doing more good than sitting on your keyboard

 

[biscoe]

there are all kinds of ways to practice & all of them are doing more good than sitting on your keyboard

nah... bad practice is often worse than doing nothing

 

[Casey 1988]

IMO, giving yourself mulligans isn't a good way to improve your mental game, even if your keeping score with your 1st throw and putt. This is just practice for making a better 2nd or 3rd shot

Instead, practice like you're playing a tournament, and make each shot count. A big part of the mental game is not letting mistakes affect your play.

What I have done before when playing is purposely do a bad first, second, or third shot to see if I can make it out of the spot where I want to try something in practice.

 

[UhhNegative]

If you are going to throw two shots off the tee, approach them the exact same way. Take your time on the second one just as much as the first. It doesn't help to just speed through the second one and not focus.

 

[ru4por]

There are tons of books and information on this. Outside of basic eye hand coordination and practice, the mental game is pretty important. But, I do agree with Jay Dub, we overthink this sometimes.

I simply try to "quiet my mind", giving me a chance to focus on the task at hand. Outside distractions don't bother me, but if work sucked, or the wife is pissed....I can struggle to focus in on the task. Once I can quiet my mind, I spent a couple seconds visualizing the shot (successful shot) and a couple quick mental reminders that trip me up often. (Keep my head up, follow though....).

This is the same routine I use for darts, bowling, swat and disc golf putting, pool, cornhole.... It works pretty well for all of them. Honestly, all of this is pretty hard work and is helped with practice. Practice like you play, casual play like you play in tournaments.

There are times that the effort is too much. I found this true in darts. I played steel tip leagues for decades and often I just could not let the work day go. It was just too much effort. It was easier to mail it in and grab another cold malty beverage.

 

[Putt for D'oh]

If you are going to throw two shots off the tee, approach them the exact same way. Take your time on the second one just as much as the first. It doesn't help to just speed through the second one and not focus.

That makes sense and I can see where I mess up with this. I've really had to work on doing the whole routine start to finish as SW laid out somewhere. One legged swings at the front of the box, feeling and visualizing then backing up to the back of the box, deep full breath and throw. There are many times I feel kinda silly going through the whole thing, or short shots I just feel comfortable with to step up loosen my shoulders and send it.

Your post does make me think though. I *think* i am just tossing discs casually, but in my head I'm almost NEVER that casual. Always thinking improvement and practice. hmmmmm...

There are tons of books and information on this. Outside of basic eye hand coordination and practice, the mental game is pretty important. But, I do agree with Jay Dub, we overthink this sometimes.

I didn't worry too much about the mental game on my drives, a bit on my upshots and my putting got me looking at the books. Have Golf is not a game of Perfect and Zen Golf... as well as Zen and the Art of Disc Golf (I would give this one a pass, I see what the guy tried to do but just re-associate the other two ball golf books into DG for ourselves this book is a big miss) and though it was putting I felt I needed help (and still do *sigh*) those books helped a TON with the rest of my game. I still can get really inconsistent and bad shots happen but I don't normally have an entire round of bad throws now, but when I look at the scores I could post if nothing else but my 20' and in putts got better? I'd jump to MP40 right away.

As I said in the OP i've never considered my weakness in a sport to be the mental side but whollly crap my putting.....

But what brought about the thread is really that because of those books, because of the putting woes I've really thought more and more about my mental approach to every shot. Which.. consequently got me thinking about this particular case and wondering as much what got my drives near perfect from an ok round to why was the round only ok before that?

 

[UhhNegative]

Putting is 90% mental once your mechanics are down. Maybe post some putting videos and let us see if you are doing anything glaringly wrong.

Do you make more putts in practice than in a round?

 

[ILUVSMGS18]

I realize when my drives are off my putts are way better. I'm too focused on my drives that when I am around the basket I am already pissed at the hole. I don't care. If only I can drive AND putt well haha.

Yup. My approach and putts usually go hand in hand with each other. The combination is usually the opposite of my driving though. When I'm on with my putts and approaches and my drives are going anywhere but where I want them to, I force myself to throw either a trusty mid or putter off the tee.

 

[Putt for D'oh]

Putting is 90% mental once your mechanics are down. Maybe post some putting videos and let us see if you are doing anything glaringly wrong.

Do you make more putts in practice than in a round?

Oh... my putting problems are 100% mental. Yes I make way more putts in practice, although I can lose focus and be 50% from 20' I can also get in a groove and nail 20/20 that feel effortless.

In a round? Even casual I think i'm 30% from C1X - ish and only about 60% from inside, like 8'-12' maybe better than 60% in a casual round.
My last tournament was unsanctioned single round, and I had a good day for me putting. The way I described it the day of is that my birdie misses were mediocre drives rather than bad putts and I made everything from the gimmie distance, I think of that is ~12' and in. Most competitive rounds I will have 1 or 3 misses from very short. BUT... a lot of those makes were not super confident and some seemed more lucky than good they stayed in the basket.

I hadn't really thought of filming my putting, just because I've been told by some pretty good players off and on that I look good or smooth putting, VS a couple years ago where I KNOW it was all herky jerky spastic. But there is a difference in feeling from practice to playing.
Interesting in one chapter in Zen Golf he talks about the mind-body being a feedback loop, and the apparent physical changes that can occur in the body from negative mind.

Seems maybe what would help is a video comparison to practice putting vs putting during play. To see what might be different. It definitely feels different. Like my shoulder locks up and I can't feel the disc. Most of my changes in practice have to do with some kind of cue to focus on that I can take onto the course to keep in the correct mind set and be repeatable.

Most recently, and it came to me on the course after I missed a pretty short birdie putt, then picked up my driver (star eagle) and effortlessly putted a laser into the heart of the basket. Reflecting on what was going on in my mind when I threw the driver I recall feeling the rim, actually focusing on how it felt with a putting grip compared to my regular grip, AND that I actively tried to spin the disc and how much different that is than a normal BH throw. When I got home I tired to put my mind in that same place with putting into my practice basket with putters and it DID seem to help... i haven't had a chance to go to the course yet, and there have been a lot of things I thought were giant breakthroughs in practice that haven't really amounted to much on the course.

Just as a note, basically all of last year and a bit beyond my big problem was missing low. Best summed up by a kid I'd played with a bunch working out of town, during a doubles round I had missed several short ones in a row and he whispers to his partner (I don't think I was supposed to hear but did) 'he's got a good putt but its like he's afraid of the disc".
The problem would be short and straight online. But then when I tried to put more on the putt I would airball right.
I had a big revelation and help last winter playing in a marksman league. The big help was that in that format I was actually not that bad, in fact better than average which was a bit of a surprise. For a while it carried over to the course and my average score dropped considerably... but then I just lost it again late spring and I'm back to the struggles.

 

[Casey 1988]

If you are going to throw two shots off the tee, approach them the exact same way. Take your time on the second one just as much as the first. It doesn't help to just speed through the second one and not focus.

I was meaning treat the round like a tournament when scoring but fly discs on those shots to spots I would not normally play, like odd spots on the hole.

 

[Casey 1988]

Oh... my putting problems are 100% mental. Yes I make way more putts in practice, although I can lose focus and be 50% from 20' I can also get in a groove and nail 20/20 that feel effortless.

In a round? Even casual I think i'm 30% from C1X - ish and only about 60% from inside, like 8'-12' maybe better than 60% in a casual round.
My last tournament was unsanctioned single round, and I had a good day for me putting. The way I described it the day of is that my birdie misses were mediocre drives rather than bad putts and I made everything from the gimmie distance, I think of that is ~12' and in. Most competitive rounds I will have 1 or 3 misses from very short. BUT... a lot of those makes were not super confident and some seemed more lucky than good they stayed in the basket.

I hadn't really thought of filming my putting, just because I've been told by some pretty good players off and on that I look good or smooth putting, VS a couple years ago where I KNOW it was all herky jerky spastic. But there is a difference in feeling from practice to playing.
Interesting in one chapter in Zen Golf he talks about the mind-body being a feedback loop, and the apparent physical changes that can occur in the body from negative mind.

Seems maybe what would help is a video comparison to practice putting vs putting during play. To see what might be different. It definitely feels different. Like my shoulder locks up and I can't feel the disc. Most of my changes in practice have to do with some kind of cue to focus on that I can take onto the course to keep in the correct mind set and be repeatable.

Most recently, and it came to me on the course after I missed a pretty short birdie putt, then picked up my driver (star eagle) and effortlessly putted a laser into the heart of the basket. Reflecting on what was going on in my mind when I threw the driver I recall feeling the rim, actually focusing on how it felt with a putting grip compared to my regular grip, AND that I actively tried to spin the disc and how much different that is than a normal BH throw. When I got home I tired to put my mind in that same place with putting into my practice basket with putters and it DID seem to help... i haven't had a chance to go to the course yet, and there have been a lot of things I thought were giant breakthroughs in practice that haven't really amounted to much on the course.

Just as a note, basically all of last year and a bit beyond my big problem was missing low. Best summed up by a kid I'd played with a bunch working out of town, during a doubles round I had missed several short ones in a row and he whispers to his partner (I don't think I was supposed to hear but did) 'he's got a good putt but its like he's afraid of the disc".
The problem would be short and straight online. But then when I tried to put more on the putt I would airball right.
I had a big revelation and help last winter playing in a marksman league. The big help was that in that format I was actually not that bad, in fact better than average which was a bit of a surprise. For a while it carried over to the course and my average score dropped considerably... but then I just lost it again late spring and I'm back to the struggles.

I am the exact opposite but then I use an Innova Skillshot for practice and when going to a course I make more putts from about 20 feet then I do in practice. most of this is just due to using a basket that is similar size to a regular basket just smaller. I do not a Marksman/Bulls-eye or I might do a putt that would never make it on a regular basket. Now for a another reason I miss more in practice then on a course is I use 4 putters when putting in practice as most pro players say no more then 3-5 putters or you will just pick up putter and try again not really focusing on the why you are missing.

 

[DiscFifty]

What I have done before when playing is purposely do a bad first, second, or third shot to see if I can make it out of the spot where I want to try something in practice.

I read where that is not a good idea because the odds of those shots actually happening are fairly low. A better approach on tough holes imop is to simply take 3 drives off the tee using a driver, mid, putter and play them all out. That should give you enough discovery to help learn the hole.