Disc golf: This shot will make (or break) your next tournament

I don’t read every piece Green Splatter publishes …

I know, I know – lame sauce.

I do read most of them, but shockingly, I have a life outside of my word processor. Regardless, last week, I stumbled across this piece – Lucas wrote it back in early April. If you want to read it, great. If not, the basic premise of it is that first-time tournament participants would be wise to play for par. Like, they should go out of their way to do it – the fewer mistakes, the better.

I agree with him.

It did get me thinking about what I consider to be great, easy-to-follow tournament advice, though. And not just for newbie competitors, but for somewhat-seasoned golfers, as well as experienced players. I toyed around with a few different ideas, thinking of what might work …

Then I stumbled across THIS tweet from Allen Risley:

Chris Brophy, an MP50 Pro that works at Innova told me “Practice the 22-footers. Those are the ones that you probably feel you should make all the time (but don’t)”. I added the (but don’t).

— Allen Risley (@rizbee) July 26, 2022

There it is.

I’ve always had this article in me, but Allen’s tweet brought it out …

Make your 22-foot putts.

Here’s my reality:

• I make 95% of my 12-foot putts.
• I don’t expect to make my 30-foot putts.
• I FEEL like I should make ALL of my 22-foot putts.

And it’s because I “feel” like I should make them, that – naturally, when I don’t – the most damage occurs. It gets to me. It eats at my mind. They’re the shots I think back on when, after a tournament, I have that conversation with myself where I say, “Yeah, I shot a three-over, but if I convert those six C1X bids I missed, I’m three-under and in the cash. Also, the teepads sucked.”

When you’re comfortable from 22 feet, you’re making the putts a good portion of the amateur field isn’t. Furthermore, the boost in confidence oozes into other parts of your game. It’s no coincidence that, when I putt well, my drives and approaches seem to fall into place, too.

Best of all, you’ll score more …

[Queue the JomezPro StarFrame Jingle]

I get that it’s fun to practice 30-foot putts. Edge-of-circle, C2 “steppers” are cool, too. But for most of us, making those in a tournament is a bonus. It’s the 22-foot stuff that matters most.

Set up your practice basket. Grab a fat stack of putters. Starting banging from 22 feet.

Do that and see if your tournament finishes don’t IMMEDIATELY improve …

Spoiler Alert: They will.

Have anything to add? Take to Twitter to let us know – we’ll actually (for real) get back to you.

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