snappyfingers
* Ace Member *
Xanax
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Taking the edge off on tournament day.
- Thread starter DiscFifty
- Start date
Star Shark
* Ace Member *
Get out there a bit early.... Throw some pracitce putts to loosen up. When you're feeling with that is good, throw some practice drives to make sure your timing is there. After that, You've got at least 36 holes to work through. It'd be likes printing all out for the first 400m of a 10k race. Being hyped doesn't do you any good. I tend to use this mantra. Relax, Focus, Throw. Take it shot by shot. Don't get ahead of yourself.
Really good stuff, thank you for the comments. :clap: I've had plenty of pdga tournaments and still have the excess adrenaline tournament day, so the experience has helped but not cured it.
When possible I try to get in 30-60min warm up before tee off, but due to timing, social interactions, it doesn't happen all the time. But (over) thinking about it... lol.. I think it's my mental game than needs to calm down more than anything else.
For me it's not about winning or losing it's about the personal challenge of increasing my pdga rating. I.....absolutely.....hate playing below my abilities, it's just sooo frustrating to play a hole and get a bogie and then look back and think.. "$%^& I could have thrown a #$%^ putter and taken an easy par!!!"
I'm not a drinking man, but I am starting to seriously consider the wine suggestion. Perhaps a shot wouldn't hurt? I'm also a musician (drummer) and have performed in front of 1000's and also on tv, never had time to overthink anything so no problems there. lol..
When possible I try to get in 30-60min warm up before tee off, but due to timing, social interactions, it doesn't happen all the time. But (over) thinking about it... lol.. I think it's my mental game than needs to calm down more than anything else.
For me it's not about winning or losing it's about the personal challenge of increasing my pdga rating. I.....absolutely.....hate playing below my abilities, it's just sooo frustrating to play a hole and get a bogie and then look back and think.. "$%^& I could have thrown a #$%^ putter and taken an easy par!!!"
I'm not a drinking man, but I am starting to seriously consider the wine suggestion. Perhaps a shot wouldn't hurt? I'm also a musician (drummer) and have performed in front of 1000's and also on tv, never had time to overthink anything so no problems there. lol..
the more tournaments your play, the less that feeling is there. play more tournaments with less time between and it will calm you down. its when i practice for months leading up to a tourney that it gets nervous. at least for me.
corin_brown
Eagle Member
I feel ya.
The mental aspect of disc golf is one of the biggest allures of this whole sport for me. I've only ever played team sports before I competed in disc golf tournaments. The mental games I play with myself during a tournament are as intense as the actual action on the course, and there's nothing like that going on in basketball or soccer or hockey, etc. I find it to be exhilarating.
I've only been playing tournaments a little while, but I've learned a few techniques that help me scrub much of the inevitable mental volatility out of my rounds. The most important one is this:
The odds of executing any shot NEVER improves with negative thinking.
There are very few immutable laws in disc golf but this one I just stated is one of the biggest. This does not mean that positive thinking guarantees all shot execution, but the odds are better with positive thinking than with negative thinking. Someone very wise posted last year in one of the better putting threads here a great mantra that he used for putting mentality. He said that when you're planning to putt, "decide that you are a good putter. Decide that your putt will go in." I love that and I stole that. That's what positive thinking on the course boils down to. Thinking this way doesn't guarantee success on every shot but any other kind of thinking guarantees lower odds of success over the course of a round or a tournament.
Pfft, I just sandbag in Rec. so that even if I'm playing poorly I'll still be competitive so the nervousness is never there. :|
(I just listen to music while I play and try to field throw pre-round to get into a rhythm)
(I just listen to music while I play and try to field throw pre-round to get into a rhythm)
Lots of good things mentioned here that I do. A good night's sleep and warming up. I have a stretching routine that I like to do as well.
I like to end my warmup routine with some practice puts. It seems to help me feel more prepared for the round if I end my pre round mini putting session with three or so made putts. They can even just be 17 footers. Just hitting some chains a few times in a row gives me confidence.
Then during the player's meeting or when I'm walking towards my first hole I like to eat a granola bar. For some reason putting a little something in my stomach right before the start of the round seems to keep down the butterflies.
Some things I like to tell myself before and during the round. The first is that I've paid my money to play. It would be stupid for me to pay my money and spend my time being in this place and not have a good time. So I might as well have a good time no matter what happens.
The other thing I tell myself (and others have mentioned this), is I only have control over the shot that I have in front of me. The shot that just happened is over. If I'm doing well I carry that confidence over to my next shot but I don't think about the previous shot whether it was good or bad. Stay in the moment.
If it is a beautiful weather day I also like to tell myself that it would be stupid of me to get down on myself or get nervous and waist being outside on a beautiful day.
If it is a bad weather day I tell myself that it is a bad weather day for everyone. Then I look for the guy that is complaining about the weather and I tell myself that I'm going to give myself an advantage over that guy and everyone else suffering by not letting the bad weather affect my attitude.
I like to end my warmup routine with some practice puts. It seems to help me feel more prepared for the round if I end my pre round mini putting session with three or so made putts. They can even just be 17 footers. Just hitting some chains a few times in a row gives me confidence.
Then during the player's meeting or when I'm walking towards my first hole I like to eat a granola bar. For some reason putting a little something in my stomach right before the start of the round seems to keep down the butterflies.
Some things I like to tell myself before and during the round. The first is that I've paid my money to play. It would be stupid for me to pay my money and spend my time being in this place and not have a good time. So I might as well have a good time no matter what happens.
The other thing I tell myself (and others have mentioned this), is I only have control over the shot that I have in front of me. The shot that just happened is over. If I'm doing well I carry that confidence over to my next shot but I don't think about the previous shot whether it was good or bad. Stay in the moment.
If it is a beautiful weather day I also like to tell myself that it would be stupid of me to get down on myself or get nervous and waist being outside on a beautiful day.
If it is a bad weather day I tell myself that it is a bad weather day for everyone. Then I look for the guy that is complaining about the weather and I tell myself that I'm going to give myself an advantage over that guy and everyone else suffering by not letting the bad weather affect my attitude.
corin_brown
Eagle Member
Two excellent points up there^.
First: Before you play any tournament, determine what you need to accomplish in order to have a good time. That's different for everyone. Ask a top pro that question and they will probably say that they want to win every tournament they enter, otherwise they're miserable. That's good and right. I want pros to compete that hard, it's their job. But for an am duffer like me, my goals are more basic. I just want to participate in a good competition. By paying to play in a tournament, I have agreed to compete as hard as I can against the rest of the players in my division, as they have agreed to compete as hard as they can against me. All I can do is control how hard I compete. And as long as I have competed as hard as I could have, I have always been satisfied at the end, no matter what my result was. What else can I do? Any self-sabotage that I do during a round will destroy my ability to compete at the level I had agreed to by entering a particular tournament. So, by having a poor mental game, I'm not only letting down myself and hurting my odds of performing well, I'm also letting down my competitors because they're not getting my best game. The best, most satisfying contests are always when the competitors are going at it, full bore. Just think of any of the Suoer Bowls the Patriots have been in since 2001 - always tight contests, always down to the wire, nobody giving an inch.
Second: Focus on the shot in front of you. So important. I try to consider any single tournament shot or throw through this perspective: any single shot is just one of usually 100+ shots of that particular tournament and, depending on how many tournaments you play, one of 2500+ shots you will play in an entire season of tournaments. Ascribe the correct importance of any single shot you have to make or have made. A big part of this concept is really understanding what goes into scoring lower at disc golf. For me, scoring lower means throwing fewer penalty strokes and making the putts I should make. The odds of doing either of those things goes way down if I'm stewing about a bad throw I just made on the previous shot. Negative thinking can turn one OB throw into two or three OB throws right after. It can turn a 4 into a 6 or higher. For me, scoring lower means making a bad tee shot and turning that hole into a bogey instead of a double or triple. That takes forgetting bad shots.
ThomasOrion
* Ace Member *
I think the best prep is
1) A good nights sleep
2) Eat a healthy dinner / Healthy Breakfast (EAT BREAKFAST!)
3) STRETCH. 30 second holds each, Arms, Legs, back. Jumping jacks, loosen up
4) Water, drink water the day before and the day of. Then later toss in a Gatorade or other drink
5) Relax. Its just a day of disc golf with your buddies. Stay calm and think your shot through, know what you can make
6) Have fun
7) Concentrate/focus, but dont forget #6
8) Don't over-practice-putt right before. Toss about 5-10 just to get loose.
1) A good nights sleep
2) Eat a healthy dinner / Healthy Breakfast (EAT BREAKFAST!)
3) STRETCH. 30 second holds each, Arms, Legs, back. Jumping jacks, loosen up
4) Water, drink water the day before and the day of. Then later toss in a Gatorade or other drink
5) Relax. Its just a day of disc golf with your buddies. Stay calm and think your shot through, know what you can make
6) Have fun
7) Concentrate/focus, but dont forget #6
8) Don't over-practice-putt right before. Toss about 5-10 just to get loose.
I like to figure out where a quiet place on the course to warm-up. Somewhere away from the main lot but easy enough to get back to for players meeting. If the course is packed bring your own course. I always travel with 2 machlites in the trunk #DgAnywhere and use google maps before hand to figure out a good place to warm up.
I try to plan the finish of any warm-up. dont let the 2 minute warning dictate when you should finish, being in control goes a long way even on the small things.
I try to plan the finish of any warm-up. dont let the 2 minute warning dictate when you should finish, being in control goes a long way even on the small things.
#1) Read the Zen Book. A short easy read, and Amazon kindle is the quickest way to go. Get the app on your smart device and download it.
#2) I used to find it hard to relax and I'd press a lot. That's when I started listening to music. Not the head-banging or gangsta stuff, but nice easy listening stuff that could keep my attention but be soothing. A sort of ARay's favs. Anything that bring back other positive memories and thoughts so as my mind is off DG between shots. You'd be surprised mow much that can calm you on game day.
#3) If I get to play some holes before the round, I always choose the difference-maker holes -- the true par 4s, the 30-40% of-the-people-get-birdie holes. I skip the must get birds and the no-scoring spread par 3s.
Last edited:
KDFrosty
Eagle Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2012
- Messages
- 529
^This.
But I enjoy the edgy jitters before a tournament starts. I even try to increase them by getting pumped up to some music (metal, in my case). Those jitters just kinda help me feel super focused.
This is big. Thinking positively on every shot. And it's mentioned in the Zen book. Remember the answer to the question, "who's the best putter in the world?"
Ron Convers says that the must important mental skill a player can have is a short memory. There's only one shot that you absolutely have to execute ... and it's the next one.
Star Shark
* Ace Member *
Barry likes to listen to Pink Floyd during tourneys.
PRkilla
Bogey Member
Go decaf! 
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2012
- Messages
- 2,411
THIS ^^^ I need to learn and apply.
^ Great read and an easy one.
If you can find out which hole you're starting on, go out and tee off on it several times. Getting a good drive from the first tee box will do wonders for your confidence! I also like to make time for putting (10-15 minutes tops) and midrange shots. I seldom rip big drives before a tourney but I would recommend getting your shot game practice in before tee time. Best of luck to you and keep us posted on any developments!
mcBeth?
also xanax
Since you took that question out of context, you got the answer wrong. Go back to the context and try again. I am talking about a specific moment in time.
^^^ yes. good suggestion.
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