A Day of Firsts (newbie milestones)

[IchLebeErneut]

This is no first ace or under-par post, but I'm just so happy about these milestones, I wanted to share their stories somewhere. Before I jump in, I want to preface by saying that I've been playing since late March of this year, I never threw a Frisbee before disc golf (that I can remember), and I'm a 20-something female with a noodle arm who couldn't backhand more than 50ft in the beginning.

First Birdie
While waiting for a few friends to arrive for a round today, I decided to practice a few holes. One of the holes I played was a dog-leg right about 50ft off the tee and then about a hundred feet to the basket (Hole 7 at Apex Nature Park, if you know it). My drive was perfectly straight (a drive I would have taken on almost any other hole...) and landed over 50ft away from the pin at the bottom of the hill. I planned on a little upshot, because this noob cannot putt more than 20ft, let alone uphill. All I had to do was throw a soft backhand around the two medium sized trees about 20ft in front of me. Simple right? Well, I missed my line, the disc slipped through the 4ft gap between the trees, floated onward, and snuck over the rim of the basket. It didn't touch a single chain link, just landed quietly inside. It was the most ridiculous thing to watch. And best part? It's the very same hole I first made par on too.

RHBH Distance
I had hoped the birdie boded well for the round. It indeed did not. I felt humiliated almost the entire time. My friends, who I introduced to disc golf less than two months ago, can outdrive me even when their discs fade and crash hard. I try to remind myself that they're guys and they've played ultimate for a couple years, so realistically they have more experience. But it's just so freaking difficult to remember when I've put in so many hours of practice to improve my form and theirs is pretty terrible, and they still outdrive me. They don't rub it in at all, by the way. They're supportive and kind. It's just my competitive side manifesting in an unwanted way. Anyways, when I got home, I was so frustrated and unhappy with how I played, I went out to the nearby field to practice. And practice I did, for nearly two hours. Film drive, watch drive, analyze, adjust, repeat. Finally, as purple twilight descended, everything clicked together. My 152g yellow Valkyrie sailed over the field in a lovely straight line and nestled in the brown grass on the opposite side. Over 200ft. An unexpected first. I needed that drive tonight. I needed to prove to myself that I can even when it feels like I can't.

RHFH Distance
I recently found the perfect forehand grip for me, something I'm extremely happy about because I'm a natural at forehand and I've been anxious to utilize it more. The little bit of forehand practice I did tonight was focused on finding a comfortable follow-through and increasing speed. I tried using the x-step to get my hips loaded and increase torque. It added so much power and bettered my timing. It also helped with my follow-through. My back leg doesn't ram into my front anymore but instead comes alongside and I turn, like with backhand follow-through. No discomfort at all; it's fantastic! With this newfound power, I threw the Valk (or Jade, don't remember which) and discovered it landed over 150ft away, my new forehand record. Finally, I feel like I could use forehand for drives and not just upshots. Woohoo!

Final Thought
I practiced so much today, I have my first disc golf blister!


TL;DR
First birdie on a 185ft dog-leg hole with a 50ft uphill approach shot.
First time driving 200ft backhand.
First time driving 150ft forehand.
First disc golf blister.

 

[jeffmonty]

Welcome to the site! Looks like you've caught the bug big-time just like we all have here. Keep up the good work and check out the technique and form forums on here for some great videos that will help you improve your game. Good luck!

 

[Ericf]

Great post!!! And congrats on the milestones except maybe the blister..... It's nice to hear these stories cause it reminds you how much fun disc golf is.

Keep practing and there will be many more to come. Don't worry and people outdriving you now. Find discs that work for your armspeed and keep working on your form and you can be outdriving them soon.

 

[Moose33]

This is cool, keep writing these down, it will be fun to see your progression!

Also let me know if you join the broken bone while disc golfing club! It's an elite group lol.

 

[Tripper]

:thmbup:Congrats on your well deserved accomplishments. I must say I am impressed you are going to Apex for practice. There are a few holes on that course that frustrate really good players I know. I see you tried out Buckhorn as well. A brave soul you are. You are certainly challenging yourself. A local course not on your list is Cedar Hills in Raleigh. It is a friendly course when you are just starting out. Complete with baseball field you can practice on. Not too long, good variety of holes and if you get off the fairway, the rough is very sparse.

Keep slinging.

 

[zontar]

welcome and great post! you'll continue to chalk up great milestones as you keep playing. if you're playing a LOT, they'll come faster. good luck and have fun!

 

[knettles]

I may not be telling you anything you don't already know, but remember that distance comes from form, not power. Take a look at the likes of Page Pierce to see what I mean. Those guys may be able to strong arm it now to drive farther, but with practice and good form you eventually could throw far as well. Even with a noodle arm. Glad to hear you're enjoying it, keep it up!

 

[IchLebeErneut]

Thank you everyone!! It's fun to share the joy.

:thmbup:Congrats on your well deserved accomplishments. I must say I am impressed you are going to Apex for practice. There are a few holes on that course that frustrate really good players I know. I see you tried out Buckhorn as well. A brave soul you are. You are certainly challenging yourself. A local course not on your list is Cedar Hills in Raleigh. It is a friendly course when you are just starting out. Complete with baseball field you can practice on. Not too long, good variety of holes and if you get off the fairway, the rough is very sparse.

I do indeed like a challenge. The first course I ever played was the Sportsplex in Athens, AL, a 6500ft/60par, so difficult holes were my standard from the get-go. Apex is a good bit shorter, but all the trees make up for it. Buckhorn though... It's so beautiful and challenging, but I think I'm only going to return to it when I don't have a 99.998% chance of losing my discs. Those over-the-water drives terrify me right now haha

I've been meaning to check out Cedar Hills sometime, just haven't had the opportunity quite yet. Thanks for the reminder!

I may not be telling you anything you don't already know, but remember that distance comes from form, not power. Take a look at the likes of Paige Pierce to see what I mean. Those guys may be able to strong arm it now to drive farther, but with practice and good form you eventually could throw far as well. Even with a noodle arm. Glad to hear you're enjoying it, keep it up!

I remember that just a few weeks in, I was watching footage of Simon Lizotte's distance world record and thought, "There is no way he's muscling that. It has to be form." I've been studying and attempting to copy the top pros ever since. Of course, now I know that he and others like Eagle McMahon have the advantage of enormous wingspans, but Paige, like you mentioned, still proves the point. She's smaller than me but can still absolutely crush it. She's definitely my inspiration.