Disc golf: Smashing a putt from the drop zone is underrated

I’m an emotional disc golfer.

That’s partly why I’m not a good one.

Think about it: The game’s best are even-keeled like none other – nothing phases them. James Conrad’s name comes to mind. Calvin Heimburg’s another great example. In the case of the latter, very rarely do his outward expressions give an idea of what’s going on in his head.

Vinny could nail a 75-foot jump putt to take down a tourney, and he’d walk it in like nothing happened. Conversely, nuclear warfare could break out in Leicester near Maple Hill, and he’d somehow manage to pierce a near-impossible gap with his Champion Eagle while yawning. 

But again …

That’s not me.

This is why draining a putt from the drop zone (DZ) is such a big deal for a mental midget like myself. If you’re new to the game, a drop zone is a pre-determined place to throw your next shot, following an out-of-bounds (OB) throw. Though not always the case, they frequently appear on island holes, as it’s hard to take a meter with a penalty stroke from a totally submerged disc.

Assuming you’ve gone OB off the tee and are headed for the drop zone to either putt (or throw) your third shot, bogey is all but guaranteed – sometimes even double-bogey. It’s immediately after making this kind of mistake that my cupcake of a brain starts to transmit all the wrong messages. Here’s a snapshot of the harsh, internal dialogue going on within my dome …

The Scene: There’s a stock, 225-foot hyzer with nothing in the way but an OB line.

Perhaps you can relate:

• “Finally, an easy par-three. I’ll take the birdie, please and thank you.”
• “I can’t believe I screwed up the easiest hole on the course with an OB toss.”
• “Well, this tournament’s a wash. I don’t care, anyway. I’m just here to have fun.”
• “Okay, the best way for me to save face is to lay-up this DZ putt for a tap-in bogey.”

Up and down.

Such is my mental state.

It’s because of this that when I forgo my better judgment, as well as conventional wisdom, and run the stupid putt, only to miraculously make it, I’m on cloud nine – I’ve got all the confidence in the world. Inside, I might as well be Sir Ken Climo with a 10-footer for a 13th World Title.

Listen, I get it’s hard to top the round-resurrecting power of an improbable birdie, lucky throw-in, unexpected eagle or random ace, but not nearly enough is said about the magic of an unlikely par save, especially when it comes by way of an incredible putt from the drop zone.

And don’t think for one second this level of DZ excitement is limited exclusively to the amateur ranks of disc golf, either. Seriously, Victorian-era blouse and all, watch Sai Ananda connect from 95 feet over water from a drop zone with a baby-flex putt (or throw-in) in Emporia, Kansas:

Sai Ananda from the drop zone (95 ft)! 😮 pic.twitter.com/wpXBhgIAZC

— Disc Golf Pro Tour (@DiscGolfProTour) June 16, 2023

* Note: For a full-blown YouTube compilation of successful drop-zone makes, click here.

Depending on your ability to putt from distance and the dangers lurking near the pin, the all-out DZ run might NOT be the best idea for your bid at nabbing another tournament title. But if you’re feeling yourself or have nothing to lose, pull a Steph Curry: Go for it from deep.

Without question, the drop-zone par save is one of disc golf’s most underrated highs.

I’ll take another hit.

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