Any advice for controlling emotions during a round?

[mostlynorwegian]

Hey guys,

This is my first post on here so if this isn't the place to post please let me know.

I have an incredibly hard time controlling my emotions, even when playing a casual round. I am extremely competitive, so any time am not playing well, make an error, etc it throws my whole round off. Something as simple as throwing OB on an early hole will put me in a bad mood for the entire round, and I HATE that I'm that guy who isn't fun to play with because I am just mad all the time.

If anyone has any tips or advice on what to do to reign your emotions back in on the course I would really appreciate it.

I'm going to paraphrase Jeff Grosso, because he was a prophet in this department. What you are doing is playing a game of throwing useless plastic toys. Accept that that is all you are doing while taking a hike and enjoying nature.
Field throw and begin to learn from your mistakes. Laugh when things go kablooey. Learn that failure is actually going to be the better teacher. Throw OB, and learn how to scramble. Pay attention to what causes your failure that got you into the scramble more so than what causes success. Learn from failure. Fail again. Fail better.

 

[BillFleming]

Know and accept that we do not have full control over what happens. We can do everything perfect, but once the disc leaves our hand things can go bad. Gravity sucks, wind blows, trees/bushes/rocks exist....it's just a piece of plastic trying to make its way to where we want it to go. Things happen to the disc on the way from our hand to the target and they aren't always good things. Relax...and work on the things that you can control - accept what you can't.

Sometimes you just have to say "Well sh!t....that didn't work out as planned" and move on to the next throw.

 

[autocrosscrx]

I've found planning my rounds helps a lot.

Maybe I'm a couple of shots worse than I'd like to be after 4 holes. Hole 5 is an S curve fairway hole just out of my range. Emotional player version of me wants to throw a Ballista and make the shot of my life. That might work out, but it is a low percentage shot. And I'm taking a 4 or 5 or worse if I miss. If I had laid out a plan where I'm throwing a Sol to keep it in the fairway on 5 and set up for an easy chip for a short par putt, I'm far more likely to stick to it.

 

[zontar]

While I don't think I am quite as "overly competitive" as I used to be, I've found that doing this can be a double-edged sword. I tend to subconsciously press harder to make up "lost ground" if I make early mistakes, which in turn leads to more.

That's why I've been working on combining the concepts of competing with par with lowering my expectations/keeping realistic expectations. My best rounds are usually when I'm not fixated on getting birdies or throwing the perfect shots, but when I am just trying to throw clean shots and focus on the positives. On the flip side, I still often follow those rounds up with some absolute stinkers. So who knows?

the cool thing about "lost ground" is getting it back. I get more satisfaction out of "saving" a clunky round than holding that ground from the beginning.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

The book ``Zen and the Art of Disc Golf'' has good advice for you. It's a matter of your perspective. If you want to change this aspect, then you need to find a different view angle on disc golf.

Someone gave me this as a gift. Good read.

 

[txmxer]

I've found planning my rounds helps a lot.

Maybe I'm a couple of shots worse than I'd like to be after 4 holes. Hole 5 is an S curve fairway hole just out of my range. Emotional player version of me wants to throw a Ballista and make the shot of my life. That might work out, but it is a low percentage shot. And I'm taking a 4 or 5 or worse if I miss. If I had laid out a plan where I'm throwing a Sol to keep it in the fairway on 5 and set up for an easy chip for a short par putt, I'm far more likely to stick to it.

This.

B
Way back machine. In my college days, I lived off campus and would have to drive in to school about 20 miles daily. It was a straight shot, so easy drive? Never always someone doing something stupid. I made a choice to view the drive as a chance to observe the stupidity. To predict the next dumb thing that would happen. It was like a game and my stress was way down.

This is different because you are manufacturing the stress. But, you can plan your round and your responses to bad throws. You'll have to practice this in a non-competitive environment. A solo round. Bottom line, if you don't have control in the moment, you have to eliminate the moment by having a prepared response. Then stick to that prepared response.

 

[EarthRocker]

Someone gave me this as a gift. Good read.

Same here. And the main takeaway, for me, is simple: Don't think about mechanics. At all. Pick your tiny spot* out on the line you want to hit, and then...Trust your mechanics. Period. We shouldn't be thinking too much out there, especially as we're beginning the motion. I know it's easier said than done sometimes, but most folks "know" how to throw. The point is to clear your mind of any stuff like, "Okay, kid, slight hyzer with 92% power here..."
Deep breath, clear head, and GO.

*Don't look at a certain tree. Look at a leaf on that tree. Or a spot of light/shadow on it. Narrow the focus to a laser beam instead of a flood light.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I focus on a single link when putting.

 

[The Shide]

It might sound crazy, but I have found playing Disc Golf Valley can be very much like playing a "real" round of DG.
So I've had to pull on the reins a couple of times after a shot didn't turn out the way I envisioned. Okay, more than a couple times, being honest.
When I started to notice this happening, it made me start to approach playing this video game in the same manner in which I play the real game. Which was helped by the very book that was mentioned above (Zen & the Art of DG), as well as a book called Zen Golf - Mastering the Mental Game.

 

[itsRudy]

If anyone has any tips or advice on what to do to reign your emotions back in on the course I would really appreciate it.

You ever play video games you got really good at? A lot of times, consciously or unconsciously, it's just breaking down the whole game into small little tasks to conquer.

Like any other part of your body, your mind is something that needs to be trained. It takes more energy to train it than let it do its thing.

There are two basic jobs during a disc golf round. Manager and athlete.

Between throws, you're the manager who has to select proper discs and realistic throws you know your body can do. The athlete's only job is to execute what is was trained to do between rounds on the field.

When you get emotional, start channeling that energy whittling down logically what failed. Did the manager fail with bad disc selection, expecting a throw his athlete didn't train for, or pushing his athlete to do too many holes that day? If it's bad disc selection, was it unrealistic expectations or just not knowing what a disc does?

Or did the athlete fail at execution, did he need more training? Does he need to readjust his aim? Does he need to train for anhyzer shots?

Or was it wind? That can be trained for. Pure chance or a bad break? Learn to scramble in the woods on inevitable bad shots. And sometime bad luck is just bad luck and nothing needs to be changed.

When you find the failure point, note it and figure out a way to fix it, either during or after the round.

 

[magictenor1]

try not playing lol