Disc Golf Fundamentals

As with all sports, a solid foundation built around the fundamentals is essential to be competitive and to improve your abilities. The best athletes in every sport always attribute their skills to consistently practicing the fundamentals. Disc golf should be no different, and any disc golf instructor will reinforce that.

With that in mind, I took a look at how golf’s fundamentals compare with disc golf’s fundamentals. The basics are about the same, here’s a rundown of some basic golf fundamentals, I think you will see how they are equally important in disc golf:

Pre Shot Routine
Grip
Stance
Alignment
Swing Path
Putting

Now, thinking about that list above, watch a pro disc golfer at a tournament, or even playing on your local course.

1. The pre shot routine may consist of envisioning the disc’s flight path, doing a practice throw without release from the tee pad, a stretch…it’s almost always the same routine. It is important to develop your own preshot routine so that you can visualize the discs flight path and desired landing area, mentally prepare for the shot, help ensure a smooth disc release and increase your concentration.

2. There are different grips recommended by different coaches, depending on your throwing style and distance from the goal, but the main thing to note is that you learn how to use these different grips to your advantage, depending on the situation. Blake at Disc Golf Review has written an amazing article about grip, which you can find here: http://www.discgolfreview.com/resources/articles/gripittoripit.shtml

3. Stance is another important fundamental. Pre-throw stance to your position at release and your follow through stance are all vitally important for increasing distance and accuracy in your throw. Just correcting a subtle nuance in your stance can make a huge difference in your game. The main difference here, between golf and disc golf, is that your stance changes as you actually run up the tee pad to release the disc, while you remain stationary in traditional golf. The added element of movement during release in disc golf, along with terrain changes (roots, dirt, concrete, etc) can make perfecting your stance a difficult task.

4. I often position myself or align myself with the target during my pre shot routine, but again, it is imperative you that you remain aligned during your rotation and release. Beginner disc golfers can have a very difficult time staying aligned while trying to gain enough momentum and power to launch a disc on a drive. I think you can see why this is such a critical fundamental.

5. Swing Path, as it is referred to in golf, is what I would call Release and Follow-Through. Great disc golfers have a certain, almost mechanical pattern when they launch a disc from the tee. Much of the power generated to get the disc to sail is generated in the torso during the drive and in the backswing. Another critical element of the swing path is the angel at which the disc is released. In most incidences, you want to try to keep your arms parallel to the ground. A great article on driving form can be found here: http://www.discgolfreview.com/resources/articles/drivingform.shtml

6. Last and certainly not least is putting. The bane of many disc golfer’s existence. If you don’t have a good short game, you will never be a great disc golfer. I always use the basketball analogy of the free throw shot because, in practice, basketball players spend hours just shooting free throws. I don’t think you could count the number of games that have been one with a free throw. They are vitally important. So the thought is, practice it until it is almost automatic. The same holds true with disc golf. Tim put up a great (albeit a bit boring) instructional video on putting, which was put together by Discraft. You can check out the video by going here: http://www.aadgonline.com/32/learn-to-putt-wussylearn-to-putt-wussy/

The old mantra, “practice makes perfect” holds some truth, but only if you are practicing with the right fundamentals. Using the right form and establishing a good foundation build around strong fundamentals, will not only help improve your game, it can prevent injuries too.