Winter is in full swing and for much of the disc golf world, this means cold temperatures, cutting winds, and no shortage of snow, ice, and sleet.
If you’re lucky enough to live in a place that offers year round disc golf, then the thought of an “off-season” is probably placed far in the back of your mind. So get out there and play!
For my self and many others however, winter weather means that any hope of playing quality disc golf is at a yearly low, so we’re stuck dreaming about warmer days and praying for any break in the weather to get back out on the course as soon as possible.
The bad news is there will be few days where you’ll be disc golfing in “good” weather for the next few months.
The good news however is that there is hope for those of you who wish to actually get better at disc golf this winter, rather than spending the first few weeks of the next season to shake off the rust and get back into the swing of things.
In this article, I’m going to talk about 5 ways that you can actually improve your disc golf game this winter and be prepared as ever for your next disc golf season!
Let’s get into it!
5 Ways To Get Better At Disc Golf Inside!
1. Practice Your Putting!
Arguably no other aspect of your game will lower scores than putting.
You know it, I know it, we all know it.
But if we are honest with ourselves, how much time do we dedicate to improving our putting abilities beyond a couple of minutes here and there each day?
In talking with several pros and aspiring pros, I was shocked to learn that many, if not all of them toss upwards of 100-200 THOUSAND practice putts per year!
That averages out to around 500 putts PER DAY!
An insane number, but one that seems necessary if you want to be a serious disc golfer.
While everyone putts at a difference pace, and distance will change the time needed per putt, this averages out to approximately 30-45 minutes of putting, each and every day.
To putt inside, all you’ll need is a portable practice basket of some type and at least 20-25ft of space.
More distance is better, and less distance will work, but having at least 20 feet or so is ideal as this is probably the range that many players struggle being 90% accurate at.
If you need some suggestions on the best portable baskets that won’t break the bank, I suggest you check out THIS ARTICLE where we dive into all the best options.
Indoor putting can take place in a variety of places, such as gymnasiums, gyms, or even your basement! All you need is a portable basket and a desire to get better!
Although it may be difficult to practice outside the circle when inside, unless you have a large space or gym to use, getting confident inside the circle can improve both your short and long range putting game.
When you are very confident within 33ft of the basket, you’ll be less afraid of running those 50-60ft putts or longer and having a roll away rather than laying up and taking the easy putt.
This is because those 25 foot roll aways are less scary when your confidence at that range is through the roof.
Putting practice isn’t always the most fun thing to do, especially when by yourself, so teaming up with your disc golf friends and practicing together can make this much more enjoyable.
Especially when you add games or a league into the mix!
Having others watch you can also allow you to get used to the nerves associated with making big putts when others are watching, like during live rounds.
Regardless if you're close or far, solo or with friends, make sure you find time to get those putts in this winter!
2. Throw Into A Net
While putting should be top priority for players in the offseason, improving your form and maintaining arm strength also ranks high on the list.
If you're like me, you won't have access to warm temps or an indoor facility that is 100 yards long, but that doesn't mean that you have to give up throwing for the colder months.
Several products exist on the market that are made for catching soccer balls, softballs, golf balls, and more, and all are excellent disc catchers as well!
These indoor nets take up very little space when stored away or set up and can be set up in mere minutes.
If you don't have the funds for an indoor net, hanging an old blanket from your garage or basement rafters can also work extremely well as an alternative.
Having a net to throw into suck as this one is a great way to keep that throwing arm in shape this off-season and to work on your form! Click on the picture to check it out!
I wouldn't go crazy all winter throwing as it is good to give your arm some rest, but dedicating some time each week to work on full throws can really pay off in your form improvement.
However, what I wouldn't do is throw and throw without any feedback from video, a coach, or friends. The last thing you want to do is reinforce bad habits over creating good ones.
Use these practice sessions to focus on elements of your form and release angles since you can't see how far your discs are traveling anyways.
As you near your season, you can gradually use your net to improve your arm strength, which helps prevent early season soreness and even injury for the coming months.
The nice part is that once the warm seasons are here, you may still not have a great place to go throw, so you can continue to use your net indoors or even outdoors in lieu of driving to your nearest practice area.
3. Drills For Form Improvement
Similar to #2, the offseason is quite possibly the best time of the year to also do form related drills.
If you have a net to throw into, great! But you don't necessarily need to throw anything to work on form and sometimes this is actually the best way to improve.
Back when I was in college on the track team as a javelin thrower, we couldn't throw indoors during the winter for obvious reasons.
So how did we improve?
We drilled....all. Winter. Long.
It was long and boring, but my form saw the biggest improvement each year between fall and spring during the winter months when I never even touched a javelin.
Instead of throwing and worrying about how far the javelin was going, we would work on our general conditioning, but more importantly, individual elements of our form that we struggled with.
Bringing this back to the disc golf world, you may be struggling with rounding for example. Spend this off season performing reach back and walk through drills just repping a proper reach back and pull through.
Say your foot work is the problem. Set up tape or cones and fix it.
Literally any part of your form can be broken down into simpler movements and repped before you ultimately put it all back together again.
This is when you can then work on timing.
You can do all of this work, and never actually touch a disc, but come time for your next outdoor throwing session, you'll be amazed at how much muscle memory you'll have from these valuable indoor sessions.
Try to commit to 2-3 practice sessions each week to see improvement.
You don't need to know specific drills, although they do help, but simply doing repetitions of the form element you want to fix will work.
Filming these sessions can also give you feedback to see if what you're working on is correct.
If all else fails, hire a disc golf coach and use their assistance in these offseason sessions.
4. Film Yourself Throwing, and Watch Disc Golf
Unless you have someone watching you each session, or are in front of a mirror, it is very difficult to know for sure if what you're doing is right.
This also applies to putting form, as you can film yourself putting to look for any imperfections that could be affecting accuracy, consistency, or both.
So film often!
Moving on, be a fan of the sport and watch disc golf as much as you have time for!
I can't tell you how much I've learned just by watching the pros play.
Obviously I can't always replicate the incredible feats that they're doing, but, it often gives me insight as to how they're approaching a hole, a shot, or a situation.
For instance, one thing I have picked up the most on is just how often pros use flex shots when on the course.
From both off the tee and in approach shots, scrambling and unobstructed, the pros regularly flex over-stable discs to create lines that many of us don't see.
I also like to see the types of discs pros are using thanks in part to coverage such as Jomez Media. I have been amazed at how often pro players grab putters and mid-ranges in situations most of us would grab drivers.
This is partly due to the distance they can throw putters, but in many instances I've seen a disc I bag be used for a shot that I would have never dreamt of trying with that particular disc.
This opens up shot opportunities to me that I may someday need in a similar situation.
So study the pros, study their approach, and apply it to your game as necessary.
5. Fitness
Because disc golf is a sport, if you want to improve you cannot neglect your overall fitness. This includes but is not limited to strength, mobility, and flexibility. The great part is not only will you see improvement in your ability, but it can prevent injury as well!
Often times, I see players requesting form review, when their problem isn’t necessarily form related at all. They may be simply unable to hit certain positions because they lack movement in a joint or their thoracic spine areas.
Improving your core strength and stability should be a staple of any disc golf fitness regime!
If you don’t have the mobility to reach back properly, drilling to fix it will never work and you will only become more and more frustrated. So adding some mobility drills to your practice routine may pay off more than actually throwing.
An overall improvement in your fitness level is never a bad thing, and certainly will help improve your stamina if nothing else. Disc golf requires a lot of focus over many rounds in tournament, and if you’re fatigued just from being on your feet a lot and walking, your form will be the first thing to break down after your focus.
Seth Munsey over at Disc Golf Strong has put together a ton of great disc golf related workouts for you to check out, and you can do so by CLICKING HERE!
Bonus Tip
As an added bonus tip, the off season is also a great time to reassess your bag and to figure out what it could be missing.
Examine your bag, figure out what discs you use a lot of, and which ones you seldom use.
Ask yourself why they’re not used and research whether or not a better option could be out there. Sometimes you may not use a disc because it always seems to fade out more than you’d like.
You could continue to bag it, but maybe that brand offers a disc with similar speed, glide, and turn, but with less fade. Any time you’re able to add a disc you’ll use and drop a disc you don’t is a time when you’re improving.
If you exclusively bag a specific brand, stay up to date on new releases to see if that disc is one that can fill a hole/slot that you potentially need.
Don’t limit yourself to discs either. Maybe you need a larger bag to bag more discs as your skill level has improved or perhaps you want to pick up a new piece of gear like a tripod seat to use at tournaments.
Think outside the box, and be creative in thinking about all the ways you could be improving your overall game.
And those are our tips! Regardless of which you find yourself doing most of, trying to improve in any was is never a bad thing, and it certainly beats sitting around waiting to play your next round.
So stay busy this winter, improve those skills in any way possible, and as always,
Stay Inside the Circle!
Happy Disc Golfing!
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