Mechan-x

From Alphadictionary.com

Mechanics-
the branch of physics concerned with the motion of bodies in a frame of reference
the technical aspects of doing something; "a mechanism of social control"; "mechanisms of communication"; "the mechanics of prose style"

So for those that are not in the know, weekly there is a random draw doubles tournament in Hillsboro every Tuesday. I play this tournament as often as possible and really love taking this weekly opportunity to pick up tips and work on my game.

So go back one week. I was fortunately paired up with a wonderful player who has the gift of observation. He watched my throws and helped me with simple mechanics that I was missing. He noted very simply that my wrist was not turning much and therefore not generating much snap. A few holes later I find myself throwing about 20ft further than I had done before. His simple approach of explaining how he could tell and what I could do to correct it were just what I needed. We managed a -8 on 18 holes. This was a first for me shooting so low. It felt great.

Fast forward five days to Sisters Oregon. I finished my first round of 27 holes of disc golf and was throwing on hole 2 with my friend Bob. Another friend was watching on and again I was given advice that would help my game. Another observation noted that I was not reaching far back on my throws. I was barely reaching as far as my other shoulder and would release. I began to reach back further and felt much better about my throws. My distance increased some even though I lost a small bit of control.

Seeing as I had never played the course in Sisters I had no frame of reference to see the improvement or not. The discs were flying very different in the higher altitude and I had no frame of reference to work from. So then comes Tuesday, I headed out to Orchard for my weekly dose of doubles. From the get go my game was on. I was hitting putts, driving further than I had before, and was clearing all mandos that lay before me. I was literally throwing about 40ft further than I had before in my life. I was even beginning to throw better than I had with my right arm. It was no huge stretch but it felt damn good. I had no muscle pain or fatigue just a sense of self satisfaction.

After reading the above I wanted to say thank you to Ryan and Jason. Each of you stepped outside of your own game to watch me throw and offer honest and helpful advice. The reason I still throw even when I face the threat of DFL is because of people like the two of you.