I’m no sleep specialist …
But I’ve stayed at a Holiday Inn Express before.
That’s gotta count for something.
Have you ever had one of those nights where your mind can’t help but focus on anything and everything except sleep? Play more rounds of disc golf, and they might well disappear.
How?
I’ll tell you.
Full disclosure: This is NOT my tip …
This comes courtesy of Fletch, perhaps the most devout Green Splatter reader in the history of this blog. Seriously, take to the bottom of just about any article on the site, and you’re likely to see a few of Fletch’s words. And no, that’s not his real name: The internet sucks – I get it.
From Fletch:
“This is an old ball-golf trick my grandpa taught me. He’d say to go back to the last round you played and try to recall every shot you took. Play the round again in your head. ‘I bet you don’t make it to the turn,’ he’d say. I’ve added this sleep aid to my nighttime routine – it works.”
But for disc golf.
Duh.
As someone with a neurotic, overactive mind, as well as a five-month-old, I gave this a whirl a couple of nights back, using my latest round at a nearby pitch-and-putt for the mental journey.
Hole one is 215 feet. I threw a Champion Color Glow Roc3 off the tee, as there’s a low ceiling that requires navigating. It came out of my hand a touch too strong, meaning it didn’t hyzer towards the basket as heavily as I’d hoped. I clanked the 35-footer and tapped in a par.
Onto the next one.
Hole two.
Hole three.
Hole fou …
*** Sawing Logs ***
According to Fletch, though he’s accomplished the feat, making it through 18 holes before drifting off to sleep is a rarity. Throw-by-throw, on those rare nights when he does make it through an entire round, he’ll play it again mentally, but force himself to use different discs.
This cat loves disc golf.
Should you find yourself in a similar situation, to add an extra layer of intrigue to Grandpa Sandman’s secret sleep formula, visualize playing your home course – but with different pin locations. Random discs. Unique lines. And, of course, as you’re the god of this game …
Smash an ace.
Counting sheep is for pickleballers.
Replay a round of disc golf in your head like a man.
Sweet dreams, Rip Van Winkle.
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Wow Fletch is right! Reading this article about put me to sleep LOL! J/K!
Seriously though this seems like a great idea, plus may even help on the course strategy if you start to see a pattern of shots that didn’t work or perhaps you’ll have a new idea of a line you hadn’t tried.
Disc golf and Green Splatter are good for the mind! Also where did the name come from? Seems more appropriate for paintball then disc golf.
Fletch’ll send me article ideas from time to time …
They’re always great!
This one needed to be turned into an article.
No, it’s not the BEST sleep advice out there, but hey …
It’s cheaper than medication.
Also, I purchased the “Green Splatter” domain a number of years ago for a different project I had in mind.
I sat on it. And sat on it. And sat on it.
When I decided to launch a disc golf publication, I figured it was good enough – that’s really the only reason.
As for what that “different project” was, I’ll keep that a secret …
For now.
Thanks for reading, Andy!
Everyone knows the benefits to visualization in athletics, but us hacks don’t have time or discipline to actually do it. Who’s got time to micro manage their rounds shot by shot? You do when you’re laying in bed.
If you play the same course over and over, it can definitely help improve your scores
I need to find the Jon Rahm article on how he reviews his rounds. We can use it to.
Great concept. I struggle turning my mind off for sleep, too. My variation is to walk through the holes of a new course I’m designing. Some nights I imagine each tee and approach shot as the hole was designed. Some nights my forehand is feeling better or some other shot in my bag, so I favor it instead. Definitely calms me.
Hey, that’s a great idea, too.
Do you have a specific piece of property in mind when doing this?
Great post! You had me laughing after two sentences but this is seriously solid advice! I’ve played a round in my head, but it was a “what I need to do to play my best round” round. I will have to try playing this afternoon’s round in my head tonight. Thanks Fletch!
That’s a great idea, too, Kurt!
Thanks for the tip 🙂
Did this last night, after an unusually bad game yesterday. Go through each hole, each throw, think through how I can change it up or improve the outcome next time I play. Different release, different disc, etc. Just visualizing each hole and each throw, yeah… I never make it past the first few holes. May not actually improve the game but it’s a happy zen way to drift off.
Take what you can get, right?
Glad it worked for you!
Yes Ken! Love it. I’m convinced you will play the first few holes better next time you’re out there hucking! Maybe you need to start at the fifth hole tonight.
Good to know I’m not the only one. I’ve seriously never heard this verbalized before, but I’ve been doing something similar for about a year.
For me, I specifically think about my next upcoming tournament(even if it’s weeks away)…I play all 18 tee shots in my mind, start to finish of flight.
Does it truly help my game?…not sure, but I think “yes”. By the time of the tournament, I’ve mentally played each hole multiple times.
Regardless, it does help me fall asleep…and falling asleep while interacting with my favorite sport is a great thing! Kudos to Fletch and Lucas.
It’s been interesting to read so many people’s “versions” of this method …
Just like you said: Disc golfers do this, without even knowing that it’s a “thing” to do.
Very cool!