Tourney play and keeping a good attitude, when others are causing the issue!!!!

I have been playing for about 12 years, playing leagues about 8, and playing in tourney's about 3. My question revolves around how too keep yourself motivated when playing: when someone in your group is driving you banana's. I have been playing in am 2 for the past 2 years, but I have a tough time with difficult people. Maybe it's just me not liking people in general, but I can't stop it from happening. It can be any number of things, someone not knowing the rules, a person yammering about everything in their head aloud, to tossing a disc 12 feet to their bag before taking a putt, flipping a disc, or taking 29.6 seconds to pick a disc and throw, or talking all the way up till someone throws ....etc. etc. etc. Maybe i should see a shrink about getting some Prozac to calm the nerves, or pick up another medicinal habit that runs rampant on tour.

This has been happening a lot more lately, and I would like to say that it was me projecting my bad game on someone else, but I have been bothered by people even when I am having a decent round. I have won a tourney and it happened during that tourney......Please help I really don't want to take the Prozac or the other alternative route to fix this problem. Mind you I am not always the most tactful person when bringing something up to the individual that is doing it, and if I do that usually throws my round to shreds for about the next 6-7 holes.

[Donny Olow]

Try to relax and kindly mention it to the person to Shut Up !!

[Duh]

Put on your Ipod & worry about your own game. Overpower the negative energy with some good tunes; that's what I hafta do, sometimes. I've been playing in tournies for awhile, but never had much competition until recently. Now that there are more girls showing up at tournaments, I'm realizing that not all disc golfers are cool. If you run across a bad seed & can't deal with them, ignore them; especially if you can't be polite; like you said, don't want your own game to go downhill.
It is OK to call someone on the rules. You may want to have a PDGA rulebook handy to back it up tho.

I recently played in a tournament where one of the girls started whining before the round even started; she really ticked me off. The first day, I could handle it, but my game seemed to be sucking up her negative attitude. The next day, all I wanted to do was come back & beat her. Halfway through one of the rounds, she copped an attitude with me. I had to do some breathing exercises to calm myself down. I put on my Ipod (of course, with my fav. song blaring). Then I parred the next hole with a 50 foot putt! I did come back to beat her, but I'm still of the opinion that she needs to be hi-fived in the face a couple times. Some people just plain suck. Not much we can do for them, but we can rise above.

[Donny Olow]

Thats the Best I have heard today " Some people just plain suck. Not much we can do for them, but we can rise above."

[Rescue]

PTSD? also anger is depression turned inward. Not trying to be funny at all. Just have a little backround in it. The good thing is you see the problem. Now the part that's hard is going to talk to some one about it.
I wish you the best of luck!

[mark ellis]

My problem is rarely with other people. My problem is usually with me.

When I conclude someone is purposely trying to mess with me, it is easy to erect the mental wall and once that mental wall goes up, nothing they can do will bother me. My profession and past sports have trained me to handle the in-your-face conflicts. The reality is few folks try to mess with me. Maybe they know it won't work so they don't try. Maybe they just pick on easier targets.

The oblivious fools bother me more than I should let them. I can tell that the things they do which irritate me are not malicious, it is just the way they are. They don't know the rules, they don't know the etiquette, they are absorbed in their own little world and they often have no idea they are obnoxious to others. These folks, if we looked at it logically, are more to be pitied than disliked. I am working at getting better at spending no emotion on them. Maybe writing this will act as therapy.

Nah, the real mental problem I face I can view in the mirror. The guy who occupies my brain can get in a bad mood, sometimes with just bad luck, and stew in his own funk for far too long.

The game should be fun. I need to find a way to make it more fun more often. That is why I love beginners to game who can delight in the occasional good shot. I can play well for an hour, throw one ridiculous shot and be pissed.

So to Patrick, who started this thread, I would say, come play with me. Once you see how crotchety I am you might view yourself as happy and well adjusted.

[Chuck Kennedy]

Here and there you hear the same comment in video clips from the top pros that they strive to play their game and simply the play the course that's presented to them, not the other players. The course to be played is not just the lengths, elevation, hazards and foliage but the sun, the rain and the wind that day. Sometimes that wind includes the words and sounds of players in the group, but you can still just see it as "wind." Just like you might have to wait for a squirrel to move out of the way before throwing, if you see he takes 29.6 seconds to do so, I'm not sure you would get as upset as you seem to get when a player takes that long to choose their shot. Try to process the other players' actions in your group simply as part of the terrain and elements you must overcome that day to master each hole and see if that helps neutralize the emotional component for you.

[Steve Belliveau]

I'm with Chuck, make your distractions haze into the backround,focus on your next shot.I have found the people who are distracting are also easily distacted by natural factors(wind, birds, other sounds)

[Russell Gore]

Yeah, you need a xanax or prozac or something. I'm just messing with you!!! Chuck and Mark have got it right. you have got to quit worrying about everyone and everything else. Your there to play not to worry about all of the other elements. Start wearing a walkman/mp3 player. Do something!!!
I too don't generally like a lot of people, but I have learned to FOCUS, and block out all of the bad stuff. If someone doesn't know the rules, kindly let them know that they are violating a rule. If they are taking too long, find a bird or any other animal in sight and watch it. If they talk too much don't pay them any attention, but if they are talking while you are throwing let them know they are breaking a rule, or better yet learn to ignore it. I play regularly with a 12 year old. I could play through a rock concert and wouldn't think twice about the noise.
I get a kick out of people like you and I see this same thing all the time. Just this past weekend we were walking back after the round and several of the local pro's were about 300 ft away on a hole. One of them was getting ready to putt and absolutely had a cow because we didn't stop walking. The funny thing about this is we were on a walking path that several thousand people use daily. None of those people ever stop because a disc golfer is throwing. So I later started calling him Drama King, which really got under his skin. I think it pretty much ruined his weekend. Yet I sit back and laugh it off!!!! Life is too short to worry about silly crap!!!!!!!

[ROBEY the one.]

i drink because i also dont like most people. :)

[Patrick]

Fair enough, thanks for the input