Slump

So, two weeks ago I shot my all time record low score of 73 at Tyler's winter league. It was awesome! And I thought that it was a start to improvement, however the following two weeks at league I shot 84 then 85. It is very discouraging and frustrating. And while the 73 score was during a fairly easy layout and the 84 and 85 scores were with a much tougher layout, I can't help but feeling like I am now operating in reverse. I know that my head is getting in the way of my throwing, but I am concerned that I am possibly trying too hard when it comes to driving and approaching. I have been shanking drives more often the past two weeks and hitting trees and brush more on approaches. However, I am happy with my putting. Surprising, I know! Anyone out there can sympathize or advise?

[Ben Calhoun]

Do not let it get to you no matter what. 6 years ago I completely lost the ability to make short putts, and I haven't got it back even though I play more than a round a day, and live on a course and sell discs for a living. I haven't let this stop me, just won a tournament today in fact, and then glow doubles after that.
Don't let it bring you down. You will get it back, and you'll improve in other areas in the meantime. Letting it go to your head only costs you strokes, it won't help you make the shots.

[nick young]

what you need to do is slow down a little. relax and on your drives dont try to throw really hard come across flat and smooth. i did the same thing a while ago just keep it smooth, let the disc do the work and youll be fine. also (as much as it hurts) maybe take a week off and give yourself a chance to take your mind off it and regroup.

[Boom Boom Dino]

Looks like the problem is that you're spending way too much time smooching and not enough time playing the game ... I mean how can yoou expect to drive with that hairy beast hanging all over you.

[Jamie 'gr8rocshot' Ruane]

Never use this word.....unless your referring to concrete !!!

[The FORCE]

Amen

[Marites Eldred]

This summer I would stand near this metal shed across from my house and throw out into an open field. When I was throwing into the open I would try reealllly hard and get okay distance. Then, surprisingly, I would try less hard to get distance when throwing back towards the shed and of course my discs would glide way longer and even ram into the shed (oops.) It didn't take long for me to realize it's not about tensing up and trying really hard to get good distance because staying centered, relaxed and focused helps a lot more (at least for me.)

[Joe Phipps]

agree 100%. Unless I'm trying to backhand my Boss, the harder I try the more I duff shots and get bad results. However, if I just take it easy with my wraith or Teerex I get much better results and distance.

[AK Discer]

Reminds me of when I first started playing, I used to shank my drives constantly...regardless of the disc I used. It was all because I was trying to thrown as hard as I could every drive. As I've played more and watched others, I just learned to relax and not try so hard. It is one thing to throw harder with control than it is just trying to throw as hard as you can with wreckless abandon. I guess learning that subtle difference is just experience.

If you're fatigued (even though you may not feel it) from playing sooo much consistently, you'll make a lot more errors without even realizing it sometimes. Also, taking time off to regroup, no matter how much you want to go play. One thing that helps me a lot is to read the articles on Disc Golf Review over and over and remember the fundamentals. Most of the time when your game is off it is because there is something wrong fundamentally or you've just played too much lately.

[mark ellis]

A slump can be any combination of physical and mental, and since we all have different minds and bodies, I'm not sure there is a universal solution. Sean Perkins mentions that taking time off might fix it and he is right, it might for some players. I think most players would have better results by practicing their way out of it.

For most of us, disc golf is our hobby, not our profession. It is a choice, not an obligation. We aren't burned out on it, just the opposite, we want more of it. And we would like LOTS more of the best parts of it: when we are playing at the top of our game.

If you have a day or a couple days off, would you like to relax, meditate and regroup or would you rather play as much as you can squeeze in? I think the answer to this question tells us if we are burned out or not.

In disc golf if our timing is just a hair off it can cause a bad result. And as we all know one bad shot can lead to others. A few bad shots can break down our confidence and welcome to the land of the slump. So how do you transport yourself away from this awful land? The solution is counter intuitive. Don't try to do more, instead try to do less. I don't mean try to do less like take a month off. Rather try to do less with your next shot.

Follow the psychology of a bad shot. You shank a shot. Rather than taking your medicine and laying up for an easy bogey you try for the miracle save earn a double bogey. So on the next hole, since you have to get those strokes back you try to throw the farthest, greatest drive of your life. This drive, of course, goes badly, putting you in a bigger hole, all of your own digging.

It is a natural inclination to try harder, to do the miraculous when faced with a problem. But if your timing was a bit off when you were trying to play your normal shots that same mis-timing is not likely to fix itself when you are trying to do too much.

So try the opposite. Don't try to be superhuman. Try to throw solid shots. Try to hit the middle of the fairway. Try to take an easy par. Now a par might not sound all that good to you. But compared to the bogeys you just cashed that put you into the slump it looks pretty good.

In a round when I get in a bad streak I try to dial it back. I just want to throw smooth, balanced, clean. If you can hit your line on a flat, controlled shot, very few bad things happen.

When you are practicing between rounds you should practice these shots, too: controlled, smooth, balanced. If you can hit your lines in practice you can hit them in rounds and tournaments as well.

Some of you may recall the name David Duvall. A few years ago he was the number 1 rated ball golfer in the world. I saw in the news this week that he is losing his tour card so he won't even be eligible to compete in the PGA Tour next year. What happened to him? Injury? Disease? Nope. He just lost his head. Nothing more than a slump he hasn't broken.

A slump can progress just like a disease if we let it. Anyone can have a bad shot or a bad round. Make sure it stops there.

[Rescue]

Sounds like the "yips" Starts in your head. The "yips" are a very real thing and hit people in all sports. I try a few things. One of them is a cadence. What I mean by that. Is I'll sing or talk a phrase in my head. For instace, on my drives. I might rhyme out... eanie...meanie...minnie...moe.. Sounds crazy, but it helps me with my timing. For putting. I'll move in as close to the basket untill I hit every putt. Another thing I do when my heads just not in it. Is I'll take some time off from playing and just go out to a field and practice for a few weeks.

[Disc-O Golf]

Go to an open field and throw your discs.
Warm up with putter shots, then throw mid-range and wrap it up with some drivers.
We used to call it "field work" but we are dropping the word work because it is more fun than work.
Go have some "Field Fun", build some skills and confidence and watch your disc golf scores improve.
You create belief in yourself by paying the price--by ACTION.
That means hard work, persistence and consistency.
Nothing takes the place of ACTION...
see GDisc.com for more info.

[4U2NV]

I hear what you are saying, I was shooting 890+ just about every round between feb and may at the end of may I played poorly in a tournament and went on a slump of shooting around 840 rounds for awhile. until july when I finally broke it and shot two rounds over 900. Thinking I broke the slump played a tournament the day after and shot two rounds around 770 where I couldn't hit a 5 foot putt to save my life and even had a literal drop-in somehow bounce out and roll 40 feet. Talk about a bad day of disc golf. Since then I have been shooting around 880 and feel like I am on the verge of getting my 900+ rounds back. I find the happier I am the better I play so I have been trying to stop getting on myself for silly errors.

Oh yea... and practice proper form and technique and that helps a lot!