Still working the Numbers

Over the last two months I have taken the same approach to disc golf that I had with its relative of the clubbed variety. I was struggling to improve scoring, mostly with the short sticks. So, I spent less time on the range worrying about length off the tee and focused on getting into play, then I turned my attention to the putter and wedges. Voila. Trimmed at least 10 strokes from the scorecard. Time to grab some Flippin Discs and translate...

Working backwards

The adage goes, "Drive for show. Putt for dough." My drives in previous two PDGA events had been less than stellar overall. Some, were downright awful. It seemed like I was finding new form flaws each time out and trying to correct in between outings, or even rounds, to improve my technique. It was like the only thing that was improving was my inconsistency.

What made matters worse was that my putting was dreadful. I didn't realize just how awful I was until I connected my Udisc account to my PDGA Membership. I'll explain that later. The point is that I was having some success in my scramble game, but was coming up short (and long) when it mattered most, banging chains.

Good numbers

Ordinarily, I'll link to posts on social media, but let's keep it here today. These were my scorecards and stats from the King's Cup 14 in Kinston, North Carolina in January of this year. It was my first PDGA event, inside of six months after being introduced to the game.

Despite dropping  down through the rec division in agonizing fashion, I felt that I was doing alright. The putting numbers weren't too bad. I mean 82, 86, 72, 82 percent of putts made inside Circle 1 is decent. More importantly, notice the line under each hole, titled throw in. Lots of 5s in there, and that's not going to bode well for me.

The Inner Circle

Circle 1 is defined as the area extending 10 meters (about 33 feet) outward from the center of the basket, i.e the pole in the center of the chains. Your putting success is based on what you do with the putts inside that circle. In the above example, I'm making a fair amount of putts in C1...well, kinda.

The length of the putt is critical in how that score is calculated. When tracking stats in Udisc, the app requires you enter a range for putts made inside C1 and assigns the corresponding average distance, mainly to assist in you not having to walk off every single toss. So, for 0-11 feet, the app assigns you a 5 (feet), 11-22 gets a 16, and 22-33 gets a 27. Borderline random, but that's what you get for simplicity, and not wrecking the flow of your round.

I mentioned the 5s from those initial cards. There are 58 from the 72 total holes played. Tap-ins. Good, right? Hold on there...

When good numbers go bad

I can't remember when I attached my PDGA number to my Udisc account. But, apparently, when I did, a funny thing happened. X marked the spot, or more importantly, my C1, became a C1x.

A lonely 27 and a baker's dozen 16s, and my putting stats are circling the bowl, losing anywhere from 29 to 39 percentage points per round. Why is that? Tap ins don't count toward your stats. You're supposed to make those. It's the quintessential gimme...so to speak. Your stats are the by-product of the putts you make inside C1 from, basically 11 to 33 feet (but not in the 0-11 range) versus the putts you take. It's not looking good for me after the fact.

I was already working on my deficiencies putting after this. Really hit it hard with practice in April, and I still make about 500 practice putts a week in the C1 range, trying to really get solid from 20 to 30 feet. It worked well in my last tournament when I averaged about 78% in C1x, made some longer putts more consistently and came in 4th in Rec division. You can't hang with the big dogs if you putt like a puppy, am I right?

Numbers don't lie?

I am a very analytical person and I love numbers. Numbers give you insight, big picture stuff, and then you dial in. I try not to worry too much about distance at the moment. If I'm 240 or 290, just make it in the fairway. It the hole demands a longer distance, on the edge of my range, to say, get around a corner, just make the right play and be on the proper side of the fairway to give me a good shot.

My approaches are getting better. I'm learning my discs, especially my putters (I carry 4 now.) I'm also thinking about one of the things Nate said at the Sexton Shootout, about players in general.

He was pointing out the flaw in the statement, "I shot X today, but I'm better than that." He said, "No you're not. You're exactly that good today."

The numbers mean something. Better numbers cash and take home trophies. If you're as good as you can be that day, stay focused and positive, you can be the number you think you are. Maybe you can be a 798-rated player and shoot a 916-rated round. Who knows. Stay positive and work on your game.

Next on the tee

I just finished up a local weekly Match Play tournament. Oh, the tournament is still going on, but I'm out, so there's that to talk about. Plus, my brother is trying to convince me to play in a USDGC Doubles qualifier with him at one of our local courses. I probably won't need much convincing to get Team Flippin Discs out there.

There's always more numbers to talk about, even ones we've already talked about before, just in a different way.

Finally, 2019 Road Trip part II happens around the 4th of July. I'll be playing one course in Virginia and 4 more in Pennsylvania, including the one I played almost a year ago to the date we'll be there. It was my first round of disc golf and I expect a much better result this time out. Should be fun.

Make sure you stay tuned to my Facebook and Instragram accounts so you can keep up with me this summer. You can link to everything at flippindiscsgolf.com.

Until next our next round, make your numbers count and go throw some Flippin Discs!