Played my 1st ever round today

[etdefender19]

If some sort of assessment helps you in enjoyment, then assess yourself against yourself. Enjoy the process of improvement. Everyone starts at different places, so there isn't one "typical" new disc golfer.

This. A hundred times this

 

[Chucker60]

The best thing for you to do right now is not worry about how well you are doing vs. anyone else, and just worry about how much you enjoy what you are doing. If some sort of assessment helps you in enjoyment, then assess yourself against yourself. Enjoy the process of improvement. Everyone starts at different places, so there isn't one "typical" new disc golfer.

It's also important to realize that both raw scores and scores relative to par will vary wildly based on what course you play, what tees you play, and what the conditions are. If you find a course that's close to you that is a par 54 (all par 3 holes) that has green or even red level tees, you'll find yourself scoring better...

I'm not really trying to compare myself to anyone, I just assume that most new novice players are going to start out with scores well over par like me. Assessing my game right now I think the best I could hope to shoot would be +18 to +20 considering how far I can throw. Until I am able to throw considerably further my best will probably be right around bogey golf.
If there are brand new players out there that start out shooting right around par or better I'd be totally shocked to hear that. My course is all par 3's and there are only 1 set of tee pads; the shortest hole is 156', longest hole is 390', avg hole is 280' or so.

 

[Rastnav]

I'm not really trying to compare myself to anyone, I just assume that most new novice players are going to start out with scores well over par like me. Assessing my game right now I think the best I could hope to shoot would be +18 to +20 considering how far I can throw. Until I am able to throw considerably further my best will probably be right around bogey golf.
If there are brand new players out there that start out shooting right around par or better I'd be totally shocked to hear that. My course is all par 3's and there are only 1 set of tee pads; the shortest hole is 156', longest hole is 390', avg hole is 280' or so.

Take a look at these PDGA Course Guidelines. Note that the guidelines for the green tees are what would be considered most appropriate for novice players, holes that are even as short as 100 feet and that might average as little as 140 feet for a par 54 layout. That's in a tournament, rather than casual play, but it gives you a sense of what a course that is optimal for a brand new player would look like.

To give you a specific example of what I was talking about, here is a course that is 5 minutes from my house and where I threw all of my early rounds, Cornwallis Road Park. The red tees there average 176 feet and the longest hole is ~225. If you have ever thrown a frisbee before, you can go out there and expect to get quite a few pars and maybe even a few birdies, even as a quite new player. Yeah, you'll still bogey half or more of the holes, but it won't feel like you can't even get to the basket in two shots.

The course you are playing, at ~5000 feet total with a par of 54, that's verging on an advanced, blue level, layout. You are absolutely correct that your off the tee distance, combined with your ability to throw where you intend to, means that you should not be expecting to get pars and birdies out there.

 

[Chucker60]

I'd probably play a shorter, easier course if there was one around here. The other 2 courses I know of are much longer & difficult and I'm avoiding them like the plague since the "short, easy course" is eating my lunch.
Most of the reviews I've read about the course I play call it "short", "good for beginners", "lots of variety", "pretty simple", "good amount of trees". It's clear that it is the short, easy course that beginners should start on.

 

[Chucker60]

Played a new (to me) course today; I found it easier despite being 900 feet longer & par 58. Most of the holes are what I think is considered 'wide open'. I ended up shooting 74 (+16) which are both PB's for me, and I made 4 pars which more than doubled how many I had in my first 2 rounds combined. This course had 1 hole with a wall in a semi-circle around the basket (RR ties stood up with a wire fence closing the gaps); and another hole was an Island green (both of which I found kinda goofy). Wasn't sure how to score the Island hole so after 2 misses I moved up & picked a random spot as a 'Drop Zone'; i ended up making a triple on that hole. This course also has 4 holes 500 ft or over which is a huge number to me; played them pretty well overall considering the longest hole on my main course is 390 ft.

 

[Skervoy]

A good and easy metric would be to always opt for the longest tee option and play vs par. This will normally be hard but not pro hard.

Also just by playing a few rounds you will definietly start to realise that sometimes throwing a shorter shot to a good landing zone is better that 40ft further and be completely pinched. Strategy is still important when new, almost more so since you can manipulate the throws as widely as someone more seasoned.

 

[EarthRocker]

I think you're coming along just fine, Chucker. A few pars here and there? Awesome. Next thing you know, it'll be a handful per round, or better. Then you'll get a nice birdie or two, and eventually, you'll be all pissed because you bogeyed a par 5 after having a birdie opportunity...
(I don't mention Aces because I played for over 20 years before I got one...If you happen get one tomorrow, say, well...you should just hang 'em up and pick up Pickleball. It'll all be downhill from there. )

 

[ChrisWoj]

It's a bunch of things honestly, but the biggest is probably distance. All the holes are par 3's and they're all less than 400 ft. It takes me 3 throws to get within a reasonable striking distance of the basket on the holes that are anymore than 300 ft; so on those holes my best score, if everything goes well, is going to be a bogey 4.
And I forgot to mention that I only have 3 discs (the Innova starter set) a Leopard, Shark, and Aviar - if that matters at all. They seem to fit my ability and came highly regarded on several videos I watched.

I like to tell players to build their shot from the hand backward. You can't tell a damn thing about how functional your footwork or your weight transfer are until you can release a disc correctly.

1. You want a FIRM grip. I tell people to grip EXTRA TIGHT and then relax their hand into a firm grip. As a brand new player - I recommend just for a brief moment, barely a second, grip the disc with all your might, and then bring it down to firm.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/dgr/resources/articles/gripittoripit.shtml - I recommend reading this, and then choosing the best of the grips for your hand conformation (I use Power Grip ver 1).

2. You want to focus on gripping as tightly as you can while still getting a CLEAN release. As noted in the article I linked - you want the disc oriented with your forearm. If your release is not clean, focus on keeping the disc on that orientation through the throw, and EXAGGERATING the hinge-motion at the wrist as you throw. You really want to feel that sensation of a hinge-motion.

Once the disc really feels like its ripping out of the hand and you're getting a consistent release with minimal wobble - it'll be time to really start incorporating proper upper body, torso, and leg/footwork into the throw. The feel of power and velocity will really start to come then because with a clean power transfer and minimal wobble you'll get the full transfer of any new form improvement into the disc's actualized flight.

 

[ChrisWoj]

Another note on grip - when practicing gripping tightly you'll often have a weird throw commonly called a "grip lock." A late release where the disc goes buzzing off with WAY more speed than you usually feel like you can throw a disc.

When you have a grip lock REMEMBER the sensation out of your hand. You want the sensation, but you want to bring it to accuracy. If you accidentally grip lock a throw the proper way to use it to learn is to remember the sensation, because that's the sensation you get when you have more velocity on your throw. The late release gives the arm more time to pick up speed. You want to find that same arm speed with accuracy.

 

[txmxer]

Another note on grip - when practicing gripping tightly you'll often have a weird throw commonly called a "grip lock." A late release where the disc goes buzzing off with WAY more speed than you usually feel like you can throw a disc.

When you have a grip lock REMEMBER the sensation out of your hand. You want the sensation, but you want to bring it to accuracy. If you accidentally grip lock a throw the proper way to use it to learn is to remember the sensation, because that's the sensation you get when you have more velocity on your throw. The late release gives the arm more time to pick up speed. You want to find that same arm speed with accuracy.

that never gets old. Better with sound though.

 

[itsRudy]

I played a Par 54 course that's 5100 ft; mostly wooded, wind was about 20 mph. My score was 81(+27) which I think is fairly decent for a total novice (my guesstimate is my round would be rated about 550). Started off poorly with double/triple/triple on my 1st three holes, played better after that and even made 2 pars. Really struggled on into the wind holes; threw my best tee shot 165' and it lead to my 1st ever par - totally fired me up.
Interested to hear thoughts from others that are actually good, experienced players on my score, etc.

5100ft sounds like an honest par 3, quite a bit harder than the average community course but nowhere near average State Park level yet. Wind sounds howling.

All in all, you did pretty good for a first time out, especially for a wooded course. I didn't start parring easier community courses I play a lot until last year, my 5th year in, although it wouldn't surprise me if you got a throwing distance advantage over me off the bat.

Nice work! :hfive: