Story time …
Back in high school, I remember attending a party on a Friday night with a few friends. It wasn’t quite as intense as Hollywood would lead you to believe, but there were no parents, loud music and plenty of underage drinking. I wasn’t into that scene, so I sat down on a couch to relax.
Seated on the other side of the coffee table was a girl I didn’t recognize. She might’ve gone to a different school – I don’t remember. I also don’t remember much of what we talked about, but I do recall her doing something I’d never seen before – she plugged her nose while drinking.
I asked her about it. She told me she did it because she didn’t like the taste of beer. Naturally, I stated the obvious, letting her know she didn’t have to drink – nobody would care.
Her response?
THIS is the part I remember …
“Everybody does it. I’ll learn to love it.”
With respect to “internet distance,” don’t be that girl …
Yes, everybody does it – but YOU don’t have to.
Discussed within the digital realm, internet distance is the built-in embellishment of how far a disc golfer can throw. Not everybody takes part, but hiding behind a screen, without any kind of accountability in place, it’s assumed the vast majority of “keyword warriors” stretch the truth.
Oftentimes, the 500-foot claim is a straight-up lie – no ifs, ands or buts about it. Other times, there’s a hint of truth to what’s stated, but the important stuff is left out. For example, personally, I’ve thrown a 525-foot bomb. If you threaten me with Chinese water torture, however, you’ll discover it was with a 145-gram Star Wraith, aided by a 25 mph tailwind and downhill.
Oh! And one more tiny detail …
I didn’t actually measure it – I walked it off.
See what I mean?
Here’s what determines TRUE distance:
- Factor No. 1 – Can you hit it consistently?
- Factor No. 2 – Can you throw it on a golf line?
- Factor No. 3 – Can you do it now if called upon?
- Factor No. 4 – Can you prove it with a measurement?
To date, it still boggles my mind how many people claim they can huck a Dagger 300 feet on Twitter. Is it impossible to accomplish such a feat? Of course not. But take the majority of those people to a football field to see if they can go end zone to end zone, and they can’t …
The person this hurts most is the guy (or gal) getting loose with the truth.
When you’re not honest with yourself, it’s that much harder to improve. I mean, before you can learn anything, you’ve first got to convince yourself you’re not Superman with a ZÜCA. And speaking of that ZÜCA, it’s likely loaded with pop-top Star Destroyers and Z-Line Forces …
That’s NOT helping.
Lying is for losers – don’t do it.
David Wiggins Jr. is one of the farthest-throwing disc golfers on the planet. And because of it, he sometimes appears in cool YouTube videos – but that’s really about it. Remember, friends …
Distance isn’t the be-all and end-all of the disc golf experience.
Throw as far as you can. Then, finesse your way to solid finishes.
Have anything to add? Take to Twitter to let us know – we’ll actually (for real) get back to you.
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