Field Practice

How do YOU field practice? do you have a Routine, field games youv'e made up, practice situational shots, How long, How much, with or without a portable, where?
I have always heard field practice makes you better, but have heard little on how to do it.
Gaff

[ghstinshll]

I just have to overcome the physical part of it... My mental's fine, I'm just heavy & out of shape! LOL Oh well, family life first, someday the activity life will improve. ha!

[joe]

"how can you add a competitive feel to your practice?"

competitive is for the tournament, otherwise you probably aren't practicing. if you want to "push yourself" when practicing on the other hand, set up pre-determined areas around the basket for example with a different score the closer you get to the pin, then try backing yourself up farther and farther yet scoring higher. this helps tremendously with putting and approach game since it adds value to a putt and encourages sound technique and strategic thinking.

i consider my approach range to be pretty much anything inside 300ft and i'm pretty confident in getting up and down in two thanks to years of practice like that.

[Lisa Reisch]

Practice as you would play in a tourney

[ben taylor]

normally i go to a soccar park near my house and throw i mostly work on trying to get a pretty straight shot and then when i play i can work off of that straight shot and for putting i take the soccer goal post and mark about 1.5foot section about 3foot off the ground and try to hit the pole (i know it isnt exact but it helps)

[Shizzler]

I began practicing all wrong when I first started. I used to work just primarily on my drive. However, now a days, its a different story. When I want to practice when time permits, I take just my putter and approach disc and play on a course with just those two discs. Drive with my putter, and approach with the approach disc. Practice approaching from further out, and learning how to control a putter in the air.

After you can master those, you will definately see your drives go further. Drive for Flash, Putt for Cash.

[ghstinshll]

This is DEFINITELY true... After watching a 20 yr old kid named Quentin in Atlanta approach, I had a completely new view on approaching. I was already pretty decent, but saw how much more precise I could be!

[Chris Wojciechowski]

So that this makes sense I'm going to try to make a quick & dirty diagram of the sort of area I've chosen to practice.
a - means grass
a x means a tree
a || is a sidewalk
a X is a basket.

x----x---||----------
--------x-||----------
x---------||----------
----x-----||----------
x---------||----------
----x-----||----------
x-----x--||----------
----------||----------
----------||----------
----------||----------
============
-----X--------------

Basically I have chosen an area about 450 feet long by about 120 feet wide. I start at the end where my basket is and I throw big hyzers, low hyzers, low stable fade shots, etc. all right-hand-back-hand out. Backhand is my most reliable shot so I worry less about placement than about practicing getting certain lines perfected. This gives me about 15 discs, including putters and midranges (which I throw straight up the left side instead of hyzer along the right side), landed in various spots up the field from my basket.

Now, coming back I throw my putters backhand, same with the understable midranges, to work on just straight up shots. But with EVERYTHING else I throw forehand. I am less skilled with my forehand than my backhand, so the trees "force" me into certain lines, and I have to attempt to put my shots as close to the basket as possible. I get work on flex shots, forehand hyzers, turnover shots, etc.

Finally, the most important part of it, is where I take all of my putters, for me this means four because any more and I feel that the repetition of a long set creates unnecessary strain on your legs if you're properly using your legs to create weight shift when you putt. I use all of my putters on every single shot. Every forehand that came in, I take four putts from. Then I pick up the disc, put it by my bag, and go over to the WORST comebacker of the four. I take all four, regardless of if I made some of them, and I take all of the comebackers as straddle putts. If I miss these, I don't repeat. I move on to the next forehand lie in order to keep myself from dwelling on things and slipping into bad habits through frustration.

This gives me a full workout of every aspect of my game: up shots, backhand lines, forehands, putting, straddle putting.
Well, every aspect I really feel is worth working on daily. I do this for three sets. With my 15 discs it takes me around 25 minutes per set. Add in some warmup putting before, and some cool down putting after, and you've got a full hour and a half in.

And finally, you asked about learning to play with a competitive mindset: PLAY. FOR. MONEY. Get a partner of equivalent skill, and play every round for money that you can. If you are REALLY serious about improving and becoming a better competitor, you learn to take the wins and the losses, you learn to play for something that matters every hole... And the best part is that if you picked a partner of equivalent skill and competitive nature, you will both improve constantly in order to fend each other off.

In order of importance... the field work is more so. When I'm not doing regular field work I'm almost a 950 player, when I am doing regular field work I'm almost a 970 player. I did field work before any big tournaments this summer/fall and my rating in B-Tiers or higher was 967, my regular rating overall is only 947, if that says anything to you. But the constant competition is also important, because it got me from the 915 level to the 950 level, and my friend Jamie did the same over the period of time between May and late July, and we're both continuing to make strides (though since I do field work, I'm now up $34 on him right now hehe).


I hope that what I said helped, and wasn't too boring to read. The field I diagrammed is ideal for me, but there are probably HUNDREDS of ways you can do it, but since you asked how others did it, I figured I'd try to give you the best possible explanation of my routine. Have a great New Year Holiday.

[Jordan Mardis]

Great question Gaff, I have been researching this as well on the discussion forums like stickit and dgreview.

There is not one routine that works for everyone. I personally get bored with practice after an hour, sometimes less. I do like to separate my game into drive practice, mid/upshot practice, and putting. I take my two baskets out to an open field and separate them by whatever distance I am practicing - concentrating on accuracy on upshots, big d when i am practicing drives unless I am driving for accuracy, and of course putting from 100 in.

Chris Wojhecytehsnxtgeski's (no clue) routine above is a great start if you have the field with trees. I suggest finding the best, most mentally involved/stimulating routine you can from what is available on here and the other forums, and if at all possible, get another golfer out there with you. It will definitely make it more fun.

Jordan

[Chris Wojciechowski]

"Chris Wojhecytehsnxtgeski's"

I actually just type a W, jam my fingers into the keyboard, and then add a ski. It got me through Kindergarten. :D

[Oni Kinberg]

A few years ago I was told that a great way to improve was to throw in an open field to learn a new disc of throw and see where the throws landed. You then take that knowledge to to the course. This was an excellent tip for me when I was trying to perfect the flick. I was frustrated throwing into trees thinking I knew where the disc would land.

This is also an excellent way to approximately gauge distance since you can walk off the throws....assuming the courses are correctly measured.

Of ourse, it is more fun to play on a course and I rarely "field practice" unless I just bought a new disc.
O


Oni

[SLO]

i gots a course at my house and have a four or five hole route incorporates all aspects. One hole that is really just a driving range for big gun hyzers/s's. A tight tunnel shot for accuracy. A big FH riighht turn with OB all around. Then 250' approach basket back by the house and first tee in the route. usually will do the round using all diff discs then putt from 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 for a while.

[Michael Gaffney]

I think the field practice is helping, I threw in the trees in my neighborhood park to get ready for a wooded course tourney up in Payson, and won. I've been hitting a lot more long putts and been more accurate in my throws. Thanks for your input. I found some great stuff on Shwebs ZoneDriven blog too.
Gaff