Why there’s no such thing as luck in disc golf

Writing about Paul McBeth’s perceived luck is one thing …

Today, I want to talk about my own.

You see, I’ve noticed something about myself on a disc golf course I don’t like much:

• Excuse No. 1 – “I’ve been one inch off all day today.”
• Excuse No. 2 – “If that tree weren’t there, I’d be parked.”
• Excuse No. 3 – “I’m a few good birdie putts away from a PR.”

No, I didn’t outright mention “luck” in any of the above examples, but if I were to expand the list, it’d appear multiple times. The more I’ve thought about it, though, the more I’ve realized that there’s really NEVER a valid reason to lean on a lack of “luck” for poor performance …

I’m even including this:

Here’s why …

I’m in control.

And I’m not saying this in some sort of metaphoric, Tony Robbins kind of a way, either …

Literally, MY fingertips are the last thing that touches MY disc when it leaves MY hand. This is the case 100% of the time. Wind, rules, officials, flippy discs and shoddy baskets: You can loop in as many “unlucky” factors as you please, but it’s you that’s driving the disc in question.

So yeah, that “phantom limb” you’re going on about?

It was YOU that set your disc’s collision course.

Now I get that something as uncertain as a chipmunk deciding when to grab a bite to eat might seem like it falls into the “unlucky” category. But just as everybody plays the same course with the same teepads on the same day, everybody must also account for “unpredictability,” as well.

It will always exist.

Obviously, in the precise moment it rears its ugly head, you can’t account for unpredictability. But the way you take back control of what you’ll want to blame on an ancient Indian burial ground is to, leading up to something sucky, own your shots, reactions and mental game.

As convenient (and sometimes comforting) as it is to play the role of the helpless victim when things go wrong, your play BEFORE an untimely break is more than enough to make up for it.

What happens after matters, too.

The best golfers in the pro game spend ZERO time dwelling on what’s out of their control. Seriously, why else do you think guys like McBeth and Wysocki are never out of a tournament? And even when they’re (likely) beyond taking an event down, course records are rarely safe.

They seem lucky, but they’re not …

They just know how to bounce back.

Contrast that with the likes of a less-experienced disc golfer like Eveliina Salonen. She’s young; she’ll get there. But for now, she’s a headcase – the difference in mental aptitude is astounding.

As far as more gifted disc golfers than I’ll ever be have told me in the past, the first step in getting over the “Universe-is-against-me” mentality is the most crucial, but also the hardest …

Self-accountability.

Get there, and you’ll be lightyears ahead of the rest.

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