What helped lower your score the most?

[DougCrawford]

Two things contribute about equally for me-

1. Putting. Even if it's hitting shorter ones, it just feels good being able to hole out. Consistently making putts makes me a lot more confident in addition to lowering the score.

2. Learning to throw putters and mids effectively. I rarely reach for a fairway driver anymore, and there aren't a whole lot of courses where I even bring distance drivers. Longest I ever really have to throw on a woody Charlotte course is 350-375. Most are 325 or less, which is mid/putter duty. I'm staying in the fairway more, I'm loving shaping shots with my angle and not just the disc.

Those 2 changes took me from averaging about 6-8 over par, to averaging 2-4 under, with a personal best of -14 on a shorter course(Bailey Rd) or a -10(12 birds, 2 bogeys)at Dry Creek from the longs

 

[Teamkiller]

Working on hyzer approaches instead of straight shots, they are much easier for me to range consistently. Second to that, putting practice and finding a putting style I can get a clean release with no wobble.

 

[freshprincebellaire]

Field work is the key.

If you park every hole, who cares about practice putting.

 

[ohtobediscing]

Getting paired with the local club ace for random draw doubles. Went from a personal-best (on that course) of -7 to -17. Yowza!

1. Time---it takes some.
2. Knowing your discs.
3. Playing tough, varied courses.
4. Patience and mental calmness. Ignore the yips and fanbois yapping.
5. Putting, yes---but also drives and approaches.

 

[sumo21]

I don't have the distance that a lot of players have but I've shaved 3-4 strokes from putting. To be more specific, putting from 20-35 feet. Anything under 20 is almost a gimme, 90% ish. For me, over 35 is an approach shot. And if you work on your putts that are between gimme and approach range, you'll be getting scores. Also, you'll be extending your range, which will shave another stroke or two off your score.

 

[Keller]

1 - Playing with better players
2 - Putting
3 - Endless field work from 250ft in. I don't have a big arm, most of the guys I play with can out drive me, but where I catch up is up-shots.
4 - Following "The How to build a Bag" thread advise and disced down for a while. I still don't carry any high-speed drivers. Gotta know my limitations and work within them.
5 - Bought a Comet and stuck with it.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

I won't re-write what other's have said (and putting will always win), but these things are vital:

1. Play with the best players you can find as often as possible. If you have to pay to play with local pros, do it. If you have a coach in your area, do it. I'd prefer to lose every casual round and learn something. What I've learned from great players is too long to list - but needless to say that when you start to see what's possible, it changes your expectations of yourself.

2. get hyzer. -SW22

3. I throw the most OS and least glide disc I can. If I can get a gator 285', then that's what I'm throwing. It's consistent in wind and is going to the ground. Sure, a putter or a comet is beautiful as it's slowly tracking to the basket, but if I want to score well, I throw the brick and make my easy putt. Is this dumbing down the game? Yep, it's boring lawn darts - but I have placed 1st or 2nd at all but 1 weekly tags match I've played this summer and I do attribute OS discs to my lowered score. (We don't have many trees in Denver)

 

[tomte]

What helped lower your score the most?

Not counting helped most.
Not trying to get birdies on every hole with huge drives helped a lot too.
Other than that - putting practice and playing/practicing with understable and slow discs.

 

[corin_brown]

When I began looking at tournament rounds in a colder, more analytical way, my scores and ratings improved.

When I began thinking of my tournament rounds this way, I began applying what I knew about my own current disc golf abilities to my shot strategy on every shot. I ended up calming down, focusing more, avoiding risk, playing more conservatively and scoring better. And playing a tournament round became much more enjoyable when I played this way. My rounds took on a problem-solving aspect to it, which I find quite enjoyable

And when I say I score better, my best round didn't get much better. The difference was that I had far fewer terrible rounds. My scoring became much more consistent with less variation.

I stopped trying to play unrealistic +1000-rated rounds and focused on playing fewer -850-rated rounds.

 

[DiscFifty]

3. I throw the most OS and least glide disc I can. If I can get a gator 285', then that's what I'm throwing. It's consistent in wind and is going to the ground. Sure, a putter or a comet is beautiful as it's slowly tracking to the basket, but if I want to score well, I throw the brick and make my easy putt. Is this dumbing down the game? Yep, it's boring lawn darts - but I have placed 1st or 2nd at all but 1 weekly tags match I've played this summer and I do attribute OS discs to my lowered score. (We don't have many trees in Denver)

hmm..interesting. Sounds like you prefer to throw something harder with a predictable flight path compared to something with more glide and less control, is that correct? Thx.

 

[HyzerUniBomber]

hmm..interesting. Sounds like you prefer to throw something harder with a predictable flight path compared to something with more glide and less control, is that correct? Thx.

Exactly... but not "harder"... with more power. Never throw a disc hard.

It's nice knowing that I can mash on a gator and regardless of wind, it's coming to back down.

 

[paranoid70]

I would say more than just practicing putting, but really concentrating on putting. I realized after many years of playing you need to focus and concentrate if you want to be consistent.

 

[Keller]

3. I throw the most OS and least glide disc I can. If I can get a gator 285', then that's what I'm throwing. It's consistent in wind and is going to the ground. Sure, a putter or a comet is beautiful as it's slowly tracking to the basket, but if I want to score well, I throw the brick and make my easy putt. Is this dumbing down the game? Yep, it's boring lawn darts - but I have placed 1st or 2nd at all but 1 weekly tags match I've played this summer and I do attribute OS discs to my lowered score. (We don't have many trees in Denver)

Not a bad plan (for a treeless environment). I recently watched a tourney video from somewhere in northern California with Niko and others and the whole round was nothing but a hyzer fest and it does seem to work. Wouldn't work in the woods of the east though.

It's a shot I've been working on a lot this year because there is always a few definite hyzer lines that I had previously tended to overlook.

 

[DiscFifty]

Exactly... but not "harder"... with more power. Never throw a disc hard.

It's nice knowing that I can mash on a gator and regardless of wind, it's coming to back down.

Nice. Thx!

 

[Dan Ensor]

A good assessment of my abilities has probably kept strokes from being added more than anything.

 

[AzteC]

Easily, being confident when putting lowered my scores. Just start out knowing you are going to make every putt inside 20 feet. Which soon turns into 25. Then even when you stand up to putts from 30-40, you know you have at least a good chance of making a solid run at the basket. Getting to that point was practicing EVERY day on the practice basket at around 25 feet and I dont really vary that distance much. I go out to the circle somtimes, but the majority of my practice putting happens a couple feet inside the circle.

 

[AndyJB]

Putting in my backyard. Period.
I tried lots of different types of putting, but spin putting always felt most natural for me. Useable distance has never been an issue for me, nor was course management until I got close to the basket. There were times in tournaments when I would take triple bogeys even with a drive and upshot putting me within 30 feet.

My average at the local short course was about dead even par before I got a decent backyard basket. My average now, according to the Infinite Discs app, is 5 under. 7 or 8 under is a regular thing there for me, and its all because nailing putts from 20 feet and in is almost automatic.

 

[HarkeyPuck]

When I cheat my scores are usually lower

 

[ChiCubs]

mastering upshots and stronger putting definitely helped lower my scores. we will all have an errant drive off the tee but the upshots, approach shots can always get you out of a jam. i practice upshots from 225 feet to 100 feet and work to master anny lines, hyzer lines, stable lines. my Rocs and Mako get strong workouts as does my Shark and my Stingrays. My Champ Banshee gets a workout with flick shots. I find myself dropping upshots/approach shots 10 feet or closer to the pin with solid consistency on the course. Every once in a while i will put a little more power than I should but those fault shots are fading more every round. It takes me back to when I was a kid outside of Chicago..me and my buddy Eddie used to put our bikes anywhere from 125 feet to 75 feet apart and for hours we would throw a Whammo 150g (or 160g) and aim for one another's bikes. We had a point system and everything. It was a blast. Anyway, it was during that time I learned how to carve lines, get fades and glides working, etc. I truly think those times helped push my game on the course to where it is today. Great stuff.

 

[tstack10]

I would have to agree that practicing and gaining confidence putting. I've gained about 50/75 ft distance in last few years but not playing much and practicing my scores aren't close to what they were when I had the practice in confidence.


So I should go practice too