Disc golf: Try this (simple) mental trick for improving your putt

I used to think the mental side of disc golf was all hocus-pocus.

Or in other words, that none of it was real.

If you’re good at disc golf, it’s because your body knows what it’s doing. And if you suck at disc golf, it’s because your body’s not capable of coming through when it counts. According to my then-view of the game, blaming poor play on the brain was little more than a good excuse.

Then I started to take my putting more seriously …

I was wrong.

En route to improving my putt, the mental tip that helped most came from something a buddy shared with me years ago. Since then, I’ve heard it from a number of other disc golfers, too. So, no – it’s not a secret. But because it’s discussed all the time, it has a proven track record …

It works.

Next time your putt’s in the dumpster, do this …

Play catch with the basket.

That’s it.

That’s all there is to it.

In my experience, this is a high-level mental hack for circle-one duties. It’s good for 75- to 150-foot approaches, too. Think about it: Before the start of a tournament, when you bust out your Sonic, Glitch or Polecat to play catch with a friend, without fail, you do the following:

• Stop thinking. You simply go through the motions – and it works.
• Hit the right speed. You don’t want to take anybody’s head off or anything.
• Toss at the ideal height. You’re not throwing to Shaq. And if you were, you’d adjust.

Can you relate?

Here’s what’s funny about all this to me …

Even with a slow-flying golf disc, a game of catch almost always happens at a distance greater than 33 feet – the edge of circle one. Should you bring your game somewhere inside of 33 feet, it’d become comically simple. Without any effort whatsoever, throw after throw, you’re going to hit your partner right in the chest. Switch flesh and blood out for a disc-golf target, though?

You’re missing regularly.

Proof enough putting IS mental.

The C1X solution to a weak brain?

Stop putting. Start playing catch.

Your brain won’t know the difference.

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