I'd shoot myself in the head, but it'd probably take 7 shots

[some call me...tim?]

OK, so this could probably fit into the "how to get out of a slump" thread, but I feel like I've taken my slump into such epic proportions it goes past slump-dom now, it just goes to straight out suckitude.

A quick history of how I got here...

This year has been the first that I've been playing seriously (at least on a competitive level) and have played a good number of tournaments. I've been playing MA2, doing well sometimes, not so hot others, but all around fairly decent.

Event 1. About a month ago, I played in a little summer solstice tourney, and played in Open, just because it was only a few bucks more, non-sanctioned, and figured I'd learn something from guys that were better than me. Two things happened here: 1. I played pretty solidly and ended up coming in 4th in a field of 16--guys that I know can shoot lights out on any given day; and 2. I got SO much shit when I told guys on my card that I played MA2, they made me seriously consider moving up to MA1 in sanctioned tourneys.

Event 2. Later, I played another small acepot at a different course, and shot kinda so-so...+2 after chundering the last few holes for the round. It wasn't great, but it was still somewhat competitive, and something I felt I could improve upon when I was focused. Signed up for the next PDGA event that day, which is on my home course, and stepped up to MA1.

Event 3. Then another tournament, non-sanctioned, all for fun. Played MA1 in that, but being that it was a just-for-fun tourney (at least in my mind) I took advantage of the lack of regulations concerning beverages, and so played pretty sloppily, especially towards the end of the day. I ended up next to last place, but didn't really care...I had fun.

Event 4. Another weekly acepot, same as Event 2. Started off strong, was -3 at one point, and then fell apart, my score snowballing to a +10 by the end of the day. It was embarrassing, and the worst score I'd ever shot there. Oh well, shake it off, everyone has bad rounds now and then.

Event 5. Same weekly acepot as 2 & 4. Not wanting a repeat performance of 4, I went into it with high hopes. Well, long story short, I shattered my worst round performance with aplomb. I don't even know what I finished at...I didn't want to know my score. All I can say is there were far more bogies (with a couple 5's and a 6 thrown in) than pars or birdies. Like I say...I don't know what I finished at, but I'd guess it was somewhere between +15 -+20. It sucked horribly, to say the least.

The few people on this board who know me, know that I'm generally a mellow guy and can laugh off bad rounds most of the time. But right now, I'm out of sorts. In the span of a month, I've gone from playing fairly respectably, to playing at rec level. To make matters worse, the aforementioned PDGA event on my home course is just a few days away now...I already figured I was playing above my skill level by entering in MA1, but now I feel like MA2 would be way above my ability. It's like I plateaued briefly there for a while, but now I've reached the other end of the plateau and have tumbled back down to where I first started.

To say I'm feeling discouraged would be the understatement of the year. A sampling of thoughts that have run through my head in the last few days: "I'll never play serious tournaments again"; "I wonder how much money I could sell my discs and bag for?"; "Screw this game, it was fun for a few years, but now it's over, time for a new hobby." With all of these thoughts, part of my brain says they're an over-the-top reaction, but another part of my brain says "maybe those thoughts aren't so outlandish after all...."

I guess the whole point of this post is, I'm wondering if anyone else has been in similar circumstances, and if so, what they've done mentally to recover. Like I say, what I'm feeling now is way more intense than just a slump. If a normal slump would be a trough, what I'm feeling now is a friggin' ravine. I'm planning on heading out to the course today, but its totally a testament to my willpower. Part of me really wonders if I want to keep playing this game, and I'm hoping that something will convince me I do. In other times, I've forced myself to play, had some good shots and felt it was all worth it...with what's happening recently though, when I've forced myself to play, I've just had worse play and dug myself deeper into my hole. Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit trepidacious about the upcoming tourney, and if it weren't my home course, I'd seriously consider not showing up. As it is, if I perform anything like I have lately, I'll almost definitely pack up and take my first DNF.

Sorry for the long, woeful post, but I'm hoping someone out there has been in a similar situation and has managed to get back on track and back to enjoying the game. I've done some of the stuff mentioned in the "slump" thread, all to no avail. Honestly, if someone said "been there, done that, just hang it up now and take up knitting," I might just do that. :? Again, sorry for the verbosity, and thanks in advance for any words of wisdom.

 

[MDR_3000]

This sounds like exactly what I'm going through right now. Except I'm just airballing putts from 10' and in. It's rather sad. I was real close to throwing my entire bag in a lake, then off to burn the rest of my discs a couple days ago.

Latest tournament 21st place in Open

I wish I knew how to help you and myself. I hoping stopping playing/practicing so much during the week will help. If all else fails I might just seek out an old fashioned "slump-buster"

 

[trogdor1]

Getting in a slump is one thing.

The problem here is the non-enjoyment of the game. :roll:

My advice would be take a break from tournaments and organized play. When you go out, stop thinking. What got you hooked on the game?

Scenery?
Aesthetics of an S curve?
Sound of the Chains?
People who play?

Focus on those things, not on improving. Don't go out to "work on your game," but go out and PLAY Disc Golf!

Play Ript, find a buddy and create your own mandos (the stupider, the better) When's the last time you had to putt with your eyes closed?


Then, when you enjoy the game again, go ahead and start PRACTICING again.

My 2 cents.

 

[J-Man]

Ask yourself why you got into this game; was it for the sheer joy of seeing a beautiful annie land close to the pin? To be in a park trying to thread the needle with an awsome low level S turn? To share some time with friends walking through a park early in the morning as the day wakes up? Or was it to put yourself into a situation where you are forced to degrade yourself because of your perception of someone elses skills? These are hard questions to ask one's self let alone find answers for. In most cases it is a combination of the two, but if the competitive approach is spoiling your love of the game, the shot, and the chance to connect with friends you might want to take a break from the competitive level for a while and re-discover the reasons you came to this game. It will sound corny but, seek the middle of the road rather than the extreams on either side. And remember to have some fun out there.
Peace
J

 

[Hoey1]

well you've got a nomination for best thread subject.
What is par for shooting your self in the head? anyway...

Tides go in and out, streaks come and go, and soundwaves go up and down. Point is, I bet you'll come out of it soon. Try throwing shorter? So that hopefully you can throw more consistently. Don't forget a fluid motion, and remember to follow thru

 

[Parks]

well you've got a nomination for best thread subject.
What is par for shooting your self in the head? anyway...

Truthfully, the par is 1, but in the end everyone eventually wins.

Tim, I'd say play in the coming tourney, and if you do badly just take a break. Every time I take a week or two off, I come back loving the game. Of course, I haven't taken a week off since January, but YMMV

You're a pretty chill guy, just go out and have fun next time you play. Stop practicing for a while.

 

[Jerry r]

Expectations are a killer in golf. I invariably do poorly when I start to think about how I'm going to do instead of what I'm doing right now.
Whether it's on a single hole started with a good drive, and you are already to mark down the bird..........and then 3 putt.
Start off the round with a couple birds and are ready to set your presonal best..........double, double, triple etc.
Playing great ready to tear it up at the tourney......choke.

I'd recommend not playing before the tourney, accepting the fact you're going to play not so great. You'll probably relax and surprise yourself.

If you do decide to quit playing (really hope you don't), keep posting. I enjoy your posts.

 

[Will Aubrey]

When I am in a slump I usually go play an easy course and that generally restores my confidence.

I agree about expectations. I only play ball golf once or twice a year. But when I play I consider every hole a par 6. It keeps me in good shape mentally and my final raw score reflects that.

 

[TROTTER]

I just came out of my slump, which included even thinking about not playing the courses anymore and just field throwing...

I had some real horrible league rounds and then... I didn't.

It just happend.

 

[matchu]

MDR3000 that is where I am at, air ball, the last tourney I was in I almost left after the first round,but I drove someone there that was doing good so I stayed andshot better second round. I wasgoing to throw my bag away. ended up leaving my bag accidently and have not seen it since.

 

[thatdirtykid]

Expectations are a killer in golf. I invariably do poorly when I start to think about how I'm going to do instead of what I'm doing right now.
Whether it's on a single hole started with a good drive, and you are already to mark down the bird..........and then 3 putt.
Start off the round with a couple birds and are ready to set your presonal best..........double, double, triple etc.
Playing great ready to tear it up at the tourney......choke.

I'd recommend not playing before the tourney, accepting the fact you're going to play not so great. You'll probably relax and surprise yourself.

If you do decide to quit playing (really hope you don't), keep posting. I enjoy your posts.

this has been a problem for me lately. Take my last two tourneys. Close to the lead in final round, then play my worst round of the tourney (still 3rd place for both). I guess I dont play well knowing who I need to beat and such.

 

[Barbikes]

Tim,
You have been playing for a while so you obviously must enjoy something about disc golf. Let me tell the top 10 reasons that I play.

1. There's just something about the way a disc looks when it flys. When I'm playing in a group I find I get sorta close to the same satisfaction just watching someone else rip off a good throw compared to when I throw.
2. Walking the course and playing is good exercise.
3. DG courses are outside. When I play I'm out in nature.
4. No fees at any Seattle area course. Play is free.
5. I can discreetly imbibe.
6. Age doesn't matter. Disc Golf is a sport you can do 2 to 92 year old.
7. Other disc golfers tend to be cool people.
8. The challenges are infinite. Even Ken Climo wishes he was better.
9. Great excuse to travel! Worldwide!
10. Women find your disc golf addiction irresistable and cannot contain themselves around you.

Now you may have noticed that none of my top 10 reasons say anything about competition. (By the way I have not reaped the rewards of reason number ten yet!)

I lurk at ODSA. So let's see: Your parents have visited. You've been bustin' your ass getting Terrace Creek ready for the tournament. You've been playin' Thursdays at Lakewood.
Whoa! You're carrying a load!
I've never played a tournament but If I was in you I wouldn't throw a disc tomorrow
I would play a practice round at Terrace on Friday and then I'd do your usual pre-tournament warm-up early Sat AM

Hey, maybe you'll have the best tournament result that you have ever had and maybe you won't!

If you don't get the result you want then take some time off until you can't stand it any longer and even losing a disc in that huge tree/bush at number two at SeaTac wouldn't matter and then go out and enjoy the game.

As has been mentioned I too would miss your posts if you totally bailed.
So - Don't Bail!

PS: Have you played Crystal Mountain Yet? You should!!! Nothing else like it in WA!!! A major workout!!! You thought 17 at Terrace was long? Not!!! Great Eats and Brew at the Snorting Elk Lodge.

 

[Brostie]

Tim I know exactly how you feel. I went from having a respectable and well aimed backhand, to over the course of 3 weeks not being able to hit my line with the intended angle if my life was the wager. On a course I had been getting +5 and +6 on the previous week, I shot a +22 at my league, not to mention I was with the winner for the Am bracket who shot a +2.

One thing I've been trying is setting smaller goals for myself every round instead of just "beat my buddy that I'm playing with today." Like focusing just on trying to release the disc nose down or flat on my drives. Or making sure I turn my head to look back at my line. Just work on little goals. Not to mention the advice that has helped me most that I heard somewhere on these forums, "Play for the 3's and the 2's will come." Just try and stick with it. The true test of a man isn't how many hits he can take, its how many hits he can take and still get back up.

Edit:

10. Women find your disc golf addiction irresistable and cannot contain themselves around you.

Word.

 

[some call me...tim?]

hehe, thanks for the advice and support everyone. I think the cold truth is that I couldn't quit this game if I wanted to, it's most likely embedded in me for the rest of my life at some level. As to my reasons for playing, they ARE largely for the reasons you guys outlined, watching the discs fly, enjoying good company, being outdoors, etc. Unless I have money riding on the round in some form, I rarely keep score, I'm just out there for the enjoyment of the game.

The more I think about it, I think the thing that really has bummed me out is the fact that a round of disc golf had the exact opposite effect that it's supposed to. Usually, I get bummed if I don't have an opportunity to go out and play for a few days...like I'll find myself in a foul mood for no particular reason and then I'll realize "Oh yeah, I guess I haven't thrown in a while." Playing that last acepot was quite the contrary though...I showed up, stoked to play (as Barbikes mentioned, my parents were visiting so I haven't had as much opportunity to play lately), I couldn't pull my shit together for the vast majority of the round, and ended up leaving the course in a worse mood than when I showed up. It's an incredibly defeating feeling when that which is supposed to make you happy, in fact makes you angry. Stupid addictions.

I WAS largely going out there just to have fun, it was just where my buddies happened to be and it was only $7 so why not. But instead of seeing those cool S curves, I was watching short, fast flights into trees and bushes and no-brainer putts not even hitting metal. I suppose part of my poor play could be attributed to the stuff that I had going on, but really, I have no excuse for the levels of fecaltude I pulled out.

But you know what? Screw it. I'm going to keep on playing, and hopefully hold it together somewhat for this tournament. I honestly don't care if I end up DFL in my division, so long as I'm somewhat in line with the rest of the field. And if I'm not? Well, I guess it's time for a break from any kind of serious competition. There's no way I can shake this game. (But I really DO hope to never shoot that poorly ever again).

BTW, I have considered the option of the slump buster, but I'm afraid that with the way my aim has been lately, I might find my S curve in the most wrong way possible! :lol:

 

[mark12b]

i think you just gotta hang in there and take it as easy as you can this weekend... 8) take advantage of the slow tournament play to sit down and enjoy our beautiful little course... . throw your favorite discs as much as possible... remember to focus on the line rather than the technique (this is a killer for me: the worse i do the more i tend to focus on my technique, which messes up the throw, etc.) -- your body already knows these holes, get the brain out of the way!

 

[Euphoric Nightmare]

I'd shoot myself in the head, but it'd probably take 7 shots

Well, if all else fails...

just make sure you use a revolver. :wink:

 

[lamb]

I suggest you quit the game. I'll PM you with my address so you can send my all your discs.

 

[masterbeato]

This is my opinion, and hopefully it helps. I have slumps myself and i'm not saying I don't, everyone does, even the best pros in the world, but they know how to figure out whats going wrong within a couple holes. The days where I find that i'm really on is when the pressure starts building because i start thinking about everything way to much. I start missing putts and tweezing drives. One day I played a tournament, the best I ever shot. I stayed solid the entire round I only missed 1 putt I should have made, but who makes 30 footers all the time??? But anyways, I noticed that all I was doing the entire time was I was not thinking about anything at all, just like if I was playing a rec round or in a field for practice all I was doing was I got in the focus zone, picked my focal point, and forgot everything and just threw.

Same with putting, all I did was line my body up with the basket and fired away a total of about 5 seconds. That's how I have been throwing lately and I have to say that its working for me. I'm a spaz so if I take too much time on a shot I start tweezing out and I miss everything. It's a matter of finding a routine thats simple, and locks you into the shot.

 

[some call me...tim?]

Just an update for anyone who's curious, I played the tournament this weekend and as was feared, I'm still very much mired in my chunderous abyss. I shot +11 my first round and +8 my second (yes, these are the worst rounds I've shot here in any kind of tournament play), firmly securing my place as DFL, except for one guy that didn't show up for the second round. I wouldn't feel SO bad about finishing DFL in MA1, but my score would also have put me on the bottom card had I played MA2. And on my home course, no less. I decided not to show up for the 3rd round today...its shitty, rainy weather and I didn't particularly need to embarrass myself further. All of my friends seem to be doing pretty well in their rounds, and I'm really happy for them, but it sure doesn't help me feel better about my abilities. Kinda like hearing that your buddies are headed on a kickass roadtrip, but don't have any room left in the car.

Leading up to this weekend, I shot a "just for fun" round Thursday with no thoughts of score or tournament or anything, and yeah, it was fun. Friday night, I played our weekly casual doubles tournament, which of course coincided with the real tournament. Didn't really have much of a choice in playing this, as I'm the guy that runs it. Cool thing was that we had lots of good players show up and my partner turned out to be one of the better MA1 players and he gave me some helpful advice. We ended up tying for 1st, but it was in no way due to my contributions. And then, of course, came the weekend....

Throughout the day, my friends tried to give me encouragement in hopes of pulling me up to what my abilities should be, but to no avail. The conversations went pretty much like this:

After a bad hole: "Shake it off man, shake it off."
"Shake what off? I'm already done thinking about it." Which was true, I was playing just on a hole-by-hole basis, I really didn't let the bad holes (which there were plenty) enter my mind.

"I've been playing with a clear head lately, and its really been helping my round."
"I'm playing completely sober today."
"Oh."

"You're a good player, man. You can shoot well on this course any day."
"If you said that a few weeks ago, I'd agree with you."

"Don't be nervous, just have fun in your round."
"I'm actually not nervous, and I'm having fun."

The last part was definitely true. I still had something of the tournament jitters, but by and large, I was less shaky than I have been in other tourneys. And I really DID have fun, I was playing with really cool guys, especially in my first round, and when I had a bad hole, I was doing a lot more laughing than moaning. I don't mean to say that I wasn't taking the rounds seriously, I didn't get into the "ahhh, screw it, nothing matters at this point" mentality. I really was trying to shoot every hole as well as I could.

I feel like it was an accomplishment to keep a smile on my face through all of that, but nonetheless, I'm putting on a few pounds from all the humble pie I've been eating. I'm glad to have the tournament behind me, and now it's time for some rehabilitation. I don't know what all that will entail, but probably backing off of the weekly events and playing a bunch of 1 disc rounds. The next big tourney is about a month away, and at the toughest course in the state. Maybe I'll play it, maybe I won't...I'll have to see if I can actually pull myself together.

 

[zealot]

well, if you can keep ur head like that all u gotta do is do a couple of those one-disc or mid-ranges only rounds... u know you have the game so just keep having fun and take your time on your shots!