In the beginning...

Today is Independence Day. I will be spending some of the day with my family doing traditional stuff like barbeque and fireworks. But the more important thing is that at 6:30 tomorrow morning, I begin the roadtrip to the 2013 PDGA Amateur World Championships in Emporia, Kansas!

This blog is going to describe this journey as 5 intrepid souls turn a mini van into a clown car and travel 700 miles from Houston, TX to Kansas. I hope you enjoy the journey with us and I hope to entertain you with stories, disc golf hints, tournament observations etc.

My main preparation for Worlds this year besides playing a lot of rounds has been dedicated putting practice. I marked out 6 lines radiating out from my practice basket with marks every 3 feet from 12 feet to 30 feet.  I carried 5 discs and had to make all 5 shots at the marks from 12, 15 and 18 before I could move on. I tried various versions of putting at all the marks but the following seemed to help the most as it varied distances and was somewhat entertaining.

1. Pick one of the lines
2. At each distance on the line, putt 5 discs
1. Distances 12,15,18,21 - You must make all 5 before mobing on
2. Distances 24,27,30,33 - You must make 4 of 5 before moving on
3. If you miss any putts finish the set of 5 and then start over from the same mark
3. Repeat on every line. I have 5 lines marked out and with 5 putters this often gives me several hundred practice putts

Note: Putt out all misses from where they land. This forces you to practice a lot of random distances. Often I see people only practicing from 25-30 feet and then wondering why they have trouble with 10 footers in a tournament. By having to make all your misses you are getting other distances in as well.

I can feel a definite improvement in my rhythm and consistency in my putting game over the last month as I added this practice to my week. For me putting is about tempo and rhythm. The  more putts I do even from shorter distances the more I lock that rhythm in and can knock those putts down in a tournament.  Another interesting side effect is that I am a lot more confident from longer distances knowing that I will have no problem knocking down a miss that is 20' from the basket. You stop worrying about making sure your miss is leaning against the pole and start concentrating on making some of those long putts!

Tomorrow is the big day so I am off to pack. Hope you enjoy the ride with us!