The Importance of Finding Your Playing Style

Have you ever felt like you have plateaued in disc golf? Have you ever felt like your skill set was unchangeable? You are not alone. Sure, you can develop various aspects of your game to develop your skill set. However, your playing style is much more important to your game as a whole. Your playing style is simply the manner in which you play the game. Vague, I know. But think of your playing style as the decision-making process by which you implement your skill set.

There are an infinite number of ways in which to attack the exact same course. However, the goal is still the same. Complete the round in as few strokes as possible. Why do some players with a lesser skill set continually beat players with a much greater skill set? The answer is they are confident in their playing style. Your playing style is the main contributor to how well you will perform on a course. Your playing style is highly personal and can vary on different courses. The main aspect is this; understand what you are good at and make decisions based on your strengths.

Your playing style blends two main factors; your skill set and personality. These two interweave as you line up shots and make disc selections. The intention is to keep emotional reactions out of the decision-making process and trust your skill set. This allows the player to enter that magical place we all love to feel; the flow state. That effortless place we enter on occasion where we sometimes feel like disc golf can be easy!

The most important aspect of this is mindfulness. This is certainly a buzzword these days but when utilized by its actual definition it yields great outcomes for our game. Mindful.org defines mindfulness as “The basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” Keep your awareness hovering over and around emotional reactions throughout your play to ensure your decision-making optimizes your playing style. To put it simply, throw shots that are within your skill set and avoid shots that are outside your skill set. Let’s take a look at how your personality contributes to all of this.

What’s Personality Got To Do With It?

Who you are as a person off the course defines many aspects of your playing style on the course. This is true for most players. Say you tend to play it safe in life and not take many chances. Guess what you’re going to do on a 50 foot downhill putt. You’ll most likely leave it short and then tap it in to mitigate higher scores. Say you tend to be more aggressive in life and take chances. Guess what, you’ll run that 50 foot downhill putt and deal with the consequences if you throw an air ball.

One wonderful aspect of disc golf is that you can experiment with your game. No matter what your personality or playing style, I challenge you to change your habits. Try various shots from the same lie that are all within your skill set. Take note of the first option you would tend to throw and which outcomes end up as the best shots. This simple tweak to your decision-making process can reap great rewards for your playing style in the long run. Do this in your next casual round and challenge yourself to see the course in a different light. The results will be two-fold:

1. 1) You will understand yourself and your game better.
2. 2) Your scores will lower in the long term.

By throwing shots that your mind has historically not allowed you to throw in certain situations you will learn about your tendencies. Maybe your reluctance to run that 50-footer is because you lack confidence in making a 20-foot comebacker. NOTICE THIS. We always play better when we are not making decisions based on fear. This could then take the form of running the putt with a floaty bid that minimizes the length of the comebacker but gives you a chance to make it. This is wise!

The main point of understanding your personality and thus your decision-making process on the course is to challenge your historical mental process. This will bring about a freshness to your game and contribute to expanding your horizons. How many players get to a certain skill level and plateau? I promise you this is not based on skill level.

Be Honest. What Are You Good At?

How many times have you regretted throwing a shot after knowing that it was probably not going to be successful?

Start right here. Make decisions based on what you are good at. So often I see players throw shots that are beyond their skill level and end up in awful positions that lead to a blow-up hole. All of these shots were based on an initial decision. For example, say you are a backhand dominant player with an inconsistent forehand that can be used in emergency situations. The basket is 300 feet out through a wooded fairway and a flex forehand would allow you to park the basket and a turnover backhand would allow you to land at 40 feet out. The competitive mind will tell you to throw the flex forehand to park the hole. However, the wise decision is to throw the turnover backhand because your risk factor of hitting a tree along the fairway is minimized. Throw the backhand! These types of decisions are made countless times throughout a round and the more you can match up your decision-making with your skill set the more successful you will become.

Bringing It All Together

Your playing style is highly personal and subjective. We are all multifaceted human beings bringing elaborate backgrounds with us to the course. This all contributes to our playing style. Remember that our playing style is a combination of our personality and our skill set. We then use mindfulness as the guide to our decision-making process. First thing is first, understand what you are good at and go from there. Disc golf has a way of opening its doors to those who are willing to be adaptable and grow in ways they never thought possible. Best of luck developing your style!