Just how bad am I?

[sillybizz]

Stop worrying about your scores!

It's more important in the beginning to learn different skills. Learn Backhand, Forehand, Overhand (thumbers and tomahawks), learn rollers (BH and FH), etc. Learn skills for the long term don't worry about throwing far or playing well right now.

Everything takes time and practice.

 

[DiscFifty]

yep..as others said...don't play for scores at this point. But perhaps play for accuracy and distance. Take your putter out and just practice throwing it level, straight, etc. With that in mind, I'm a 50+ year old player and have been playing for about 2.7 years now. I was STOKED when I first started shooting 6's on each hole, then 5's & 4's. My first all bogie round (4's) was suweet! Now days, that same course I started playing at I can shoot 9-13 down all day long.

Don't hurry it...take your time and learn good mechanics early on, as others have found out, it's amazing what happens when it "clicks". One day you just realized you par'd that crazy hole that you thought you never would....and it was easy.

 

[Drewford]

When I started playing I got 8s and 10s on every hole and I was happy when I threw the disc farther than 50 feet. Your doing fine. Just keep at it.

 

[DavidSauls]

I started playing with a group of fellow newbies, so scores were important. We were trying to beat each other. I still remember those scores and, by later standards, they were pretty terrible. But there's something to be said for setting a low baseline to make your inevitable rise more impressive.

My progress was a bit of a ratchet. Big improvement, then at a plateau for a while, then a big jump, then another plateau. Putting was a huge part of it, of course; once I could reliably make 15-footers, I could go for 30-footers and not fear the comeback.

 

[Timeetyo]

My progress was a bit of a ratchet. Big improvement, then at a plateau for a while, then a big jump, then another plateau. Putting was a huge part of it, of course; once I could reliably make 15-footers, I could go for 30-footers and not fear the comeback.

This is definitely a part of the "fun" of the learning curve. After the initial phase where I was dropping strokes almost every time I've now hit a bit of a plateau score wise. I am still slowly shaving strokes off, but it is coming much, much slower now. What gets frustrating about it is that I have gained a ton of skill since then but it isn't showing up on the scorecard. I started to get a bit frustrated on it until I start breaking it down by hole. Take a 300' par 3 for example. When throwing wildly 150' and putting like crap, it is easy to see scores dropping as you gain distance and consistency. But...when if you are at 200' driving consistently, putting consistently from 15'....you usually get a 3 after a 200' drive, 100' upshot, short putt. But getting that score to a chance of a 2 means I'd have to add 75' (accurately) to my drive and move putting out from 15' to 25'. Needless to say that change takes a LOT longer to achieve.

This exact thing happened to me last week. I revisited a course I had played once ~3 weeks ago. I knew I had played well for me at the time, but I expected to shave a few strokes off as I've added 50-75' to my drives and a few feet to my putting. The problem is, most holes are 330-350...and my drives max out 250-270....so most holes were still drive, approach, hope for 3. I went in expecting to improve on my score and shot exactly the same even though I know I am playing much better....just not enough to shave those strokes yet.

But....the good thing is....once I can get that next bit of distance I can look forward to the potential of dropping scores on a lot more holes. There are a few that are *just* out of range now and I'm on the fringe of hitting them. Only will take a bit of time and some luck.

 

[The Mad Cow]

a moment of clarity for me now....
in the beginning, it's not about how far you throw.
it's not about " keeping up " with the people you are throwing with....
it's ALL about where your shot lands... and how close it landed to where you WANTED it to.
a long drive LOOKS good, but a bogey is still a bogey... a par is still a par.... and a birdie is something
i will see one of these days
if you break it down like that.... you will always KNOW where you stand.

 

[blackcatsmith]

If it's any consolation- I still play for that feeling of a throw well executed... nothing like it.

 

[Tee1]

If it's any consolation- I still play for that feeling of a throw well executed... nothing like it.

This. And watching that drive that you finally hit just right and knowing how good it feels as soon as it leaves your hand. I just simply enjoy watching my discs fly and being out in nature. I never write my score down although i do collect scorecards from the courses i play as momentos. If i'm playing good and having a hot round i'll keep track just to see if i can beat my personal bests but usually after the end of a round if someone asks what i shot i have to do a mental rundown to figure out my score. Keeping track of my score is just an added distraction that i don't need.

 

[Timeetyo]

If it's any consolation- I still play for that feeling of a throw well executed... nothing like it.

I'm way to ocd to not keep score, but this is definitely it. Had this happen yesterday playing from the longs at my local course. On one short & wooded par 5 I absolutely nailed the line I wanted 100% from start to finish. Hyzer flip up, slight late turn back to the right of the tunnel, fade back to dead center. I could probably sit there with a stack of discs and not hit it like that again. (sadly...I screwed up my next shot and ended up with a par on it...but oh well).