Disc Golf And Guitar

With late summer upon us once again, one of the things on my mind right now is how to get out and disc golf as much as I can before the inevitable winter closes in. Not only do I want to get in as many rounds as possible, but I also want to really put in the practice that will help me get up to a playing level I can be comfortable with. All this thinking about practicing disc golf has also led me to think about just how similar practicing and playing jazz guitar is to disc golf. From mastering fundamental techniques to performing under pressure, there really is a lot in common between these two seemingly very different activities! I thought I'd share some of these observations with you all.

Fundamentals

It all starts here. I remember thinking that disc golf had to be easy enough; its nothing more than throwing a Frisbee at a basket. How wrong I was! I soon realized that, just like playing guitar on a decent level, to compete well with others, disc golf needs to be practiced from the ground up. Whereas on the guitar I'll practice things like chords, triads, arpeggios, and scales, with disc golf my fundamentals routine consists of the basic types of shots: putting, approach shots, and different types of drives. This is the kind of stuff that I return to day after day. The old cliche about laying a solid foundation couldn't be more correct.

Situational Practice

I first came up with this term when I really got interested in disc golf. Basically, it means taking my discs out and creating little situations that I may encounter on a round. For example, I often go to a wooded are of a park and practice throwing different shots around certain trees or other obstacles. Or I might spend some time throwing a tomahawk type shot over an obstacle. What I'm trying to do here is get as much experience with the possibilities of playing around that I can. You are always going to end up with some terrible shots that land in the worst possible area for a decent throw. This is where you learn to deal with that situation among many others. On the jazz guitar, this is the equivalent of playing over certain chords or chord progressions so that you have material at your disposal to use whenever you need it. Its a matter of becoming familiar with the possibilities so that the possibilities don't become overwhelming when they come up in a round or performance.

Courses and Tunes

This analogy is very appropriate for a comparison between golf and guitar. Unlike most sports, where the playing area is generally consistent, golf presents players with the challenge of vastly differing holes and courses. Though they can be very different, each course also will have many things in common with other courses you've played, such as dogleg holes and certain obstacles. This is also true with tunes we play on the guitar (or any instrument for that matter). Each one is unique, but each also shares many similarities with others, such as specific types of chord progressions that recur quite often. This is where that "situational" practice really comes into play for both things.

Tournaments and Performances

Here is where all that work has to come together. We do all that practice so that the pressure of performance doesn't cause us to fail. For my case in disc golf, this doesn't mean tournaments at the moment, but rounds with friends. Similarly, with guitar this could mean a full on performance in front of an audience nor just performing a tune or two for a friend or loved one. In either case, the hard work has been done so we can let go and just plain do. And that's just what we have to let happen.


This kind of thing can also be practiced. With my guitar playing, I'll often record audio or a video to check my progress on a tune. It's a powerful practice tool. When that little record light is on, so is the pressure to perform. I know something is not really ready until I can produce a decent recording of it played all the way through. On the disc golf course, things are not as easy. What I try to do in that case is imagine I am in a round or tournament and block everything except my next shot out of my mind. Focusing only on the shot at hand seems to work quite well both as a practice tool as well as during actual rounds.

As you can see, disc golf and guitar playing have quite a bit in common! I think its safe to say that many things we desire to get better at also share many similarities. We can't just buy a guitar or walk onto a golf course for the first time and expect to be any good. Likewise, you aren't going to get into a good career just thinking about it! Its all in how and what we practice and work on to improve ourselves as we move toward our goals. In the end, to use another old cliche, you will reap what you sow.