Winter is upon us, and the opportunities to play disc golf in the northern part of the country are far and few in between.
Icy tee boxes, frozen baskets, and knee deep snow can all make for less-than-ideal conditions to complete an enjoyable round of disc golf.
If you're lucky enough to live in a warmer climate, then you will be less affected by this.
But, you'll still inevitably encounter rainy, miserable days that even the toughest of players wouldn't dare to bare and could find yourself in a situation similar to what we're in now:
Not being able to play disc golf outside
Thankfully, just because the weather doesn't want to cooperate doesn't mean that you can't work on improving your disc golf game.
How is this possible?
By simply taking your game indoors!
you may be asking yourself now,
How can I practice disc golf indoors?
In a perfect world, indoor disc golf courses would exist every where (maybe someday).
But, similar to ball golf, the amount of room needed for this to happen is nearly impossible to truly replicate an outdoor course.
So, instead of playing a round on the course, we must focus on the little things we can do indoors to improve our game.
With that being said,
Here are 7 ways that you can improve your disc golf skills inside.
And ultimately,
How you can practice disc golf indoors!
Let's dive in!
Setting up a basket inside anywhere that you have the space is a great way to hone skills when stuck inside
1. Disc Golf Putting Indoors
While there may not be enough room for playing a full round indoors, there are plenty of opportunities for putting indoors.
In order to work on your putting inside you simply need two things:
1. A basket
and
2. 10-40ft of space
That's it!
With both of those things, you can work on your short game day after day until the days get longer and the grass gets green, regardless of what it's doing outside.
Portable baskets such as the Battle Basket Pro by Viking Discs are great, affordable options for indoor putting! Click on the picture to check it out!
We have often said that improving your short game is one of the best ways to decrease your scores every round, so why not work on it when you can't get out on the course?
If you're in the market for a basket, you can check out THIS ARTICLE where we took a look at in our opinion, the 13 best budget friendly disc golf baskets that would not only be perfect for indoor use, but outdoor as well!
Or, you can shop all portable baskets and find one in your price range by clicking HERE
2. Putting Leagues
Piggy backing off #1,
If you don't have the room to putt indoors or don't own a basket, you can also consider joining an indoor putting league.
Putting leagues are a great way to have some competitive fun all winter long.
Simply gather a basket or two, make a set of rules that everyone can agree on, and start throwing while keeping score.
You can even rearrange the baskets to make a 9 hole "putting course" that has varying distances, obstacles, or other inherent challenges to up the ante.
To make things more competitive, you could even have a $5 buy-in per player to add to a prize pool at the end of the league.
If there aren't any putting leagues around you, then form one!
Chances are, there are several others players in the same predicament who would be interested in a casual disc golf league and wouldn't hesitate to join.
3. Practice your drives and mid-range game
While putting is probably the easiest and most fun thing to do inside, it is possible to practice your mid and long range game as well.
Unless you have access to a large indoor facility or dome that has the room to throw 300+ feet, you likely won't be letting discs fly long range when inside.
But, that doesn't mean you can't simulate it!
For just the price of a couple new discs, you can purchase a pop up net that would typically be used for softball or baseball applications and use it to throw full power drives into!
A softball or baseball net like this one or anything similar is perfect for some indoor disc golf practice!
Click on the picture to see the current price on Amazon!
It is good to take some time off in the off-season and give your arm a rest, but when the outdoor season is just around the corner, a net can be the perfect tool to get yourself and your arm back into disc golf shape.
While a net like this is perfect for indoor use in the off-season, it can also be used any time of the year!
Many players don't have wide open spaces to practice in at the drop of a hat, but a net could be taken outside anywhere to work on any aspect of your long range game.
We briefly mentioned arm strength and "shape," but you can also use a throwing net to work on technical parts of the game such as disc release angles.
As a DIY alternative, you could hang a blanket from your basement joists and throw your discs into that instead. It will stop your discs adequately with the drawbacks of being a bit more cumbersome and not usable outside.
4. Focus on form and technique
Throwing full power inside is about as much fun as it sounds, but sometimes it's important to remember the small things to get better and improve your technique.
And, there is no better time to focus on those small things than when you're forced inside or can't be out on the course.
When you're throwing with full speed and power, it can be difficult to focus on small things you might be doing incorrectly that are preventing you from getting the most out of your throws.
Back in my college days, I was a javelin thrower on the track and field team.
While it's true I had the most fun on days and practices that we did full throws, it's also true that I saw the biggest improvement in my form during dreaded indoor practices and technique days.
The same holds true for disc golf.
So what do you work on exactly?
Well, it can literally be anything. Simply pick a portion of your throw and rep it over and over.
This can be anything from the reach back, to your x-step, to your pull through, and more.
Using a large mirror or video to record your drills can also help to give you immediate feedback on what is or isn't improving and what aspect of your throw needs the most work.
Another tip to try is to watch videos of as many pro players as possible and identify what they do differently than you. Things to watch out for may include but are not limited to:
What body positions are they hitting?
When are they driving their back leg?
How far back are they reaching?
How is their follow through?
How do they approach certain shots?
Once you see what they are doing differently, try to replicate it during your practice sessions, both indoors and outdoors. You just might be surprised at how much more distance you get out of your throws.
It's important to remember that any improvement, big or small, will make you a better player.
Heck, even 10 ft. can mean the difference between a par and a birdie.
So slow down and focus on the small things just as often, if not more, than the big things.
Additionally, you could join our Form Check and Discussion Group on Facebook where you can upload your throwing form and get feedback on what to fix.
We also talk all things disc golf and do giveaways from time to time, so check it out!
5. Maintain general strength and fitness
It's important to always maintain your overall fitness level to the best of your ability.
Whether it's working on muscular strength and endurance or just overall cardiovascular conditioning, keeping up with your fitness year-round will certainly help your score on the disc golf course, too.
Improving your overall muscle strength will keep you in shape during the off-season and help you to get more power out of your throws, which goes hand-in-hand with improving your technique, as discussed in #4.
Staying in as great a physical shape as possible also means that you will be able to play for longer periods of time without experiencing fatigue.
It's especially important that you play hole 18 as well as hole 1 in order to keep your scores low, and playing more than 1 round in a day, such as during a tournament, can definitely take its toll.
You can minimize the effect of late round fatigue by staying as fit as possible.
6. Research new discs, bags and other gear
One fun way to occupy your time in the down part of the season is to take a look at all the new and even old discs that are on the market.
Sometime during the season you may have realized that you were missing something in your bag or you don't have a bag at all and want one for this season.
Now is the time to take your time and look at everything that is out on the market, research articles about what may be coming to market, and take a look at what interests you the most.
Even if you're not ready to buy because of the cost, you could start setting aside some money each month so that in the spring you can offset the upfront price some.
Maybe now is also the time for you to take a close look at different discs out there and see if any would go in your bag nicely and fill holes you discovered in your game.
Perhaps you really like a straight flying mid range but realized it turned over too much in headwinds, now would be the time to find one that is not necessarily a meat hook, but is more overstable than what you have now.
Taking a look at new gear is always fun regardless of your hobby, and disc golf is no exception. So use this downtime to shop and get ready for the next warm season.
7. Reflect and create new goals
Lastly, it's important to reflect on how your last season went and to determine for yourself what you want to work on for next year.
Perhaps you're a casual player who just likes to play for fun. Even so, maybe a goal you could make for yourself is to add 25 ft. to your average backhand distance on a drive, or increase your putting percentage by 10% at your maximum range.
Reflection and goal setting can keep you focused on specific tasks and keep you motivated to constantly be moving towards being a better disc golf player.
Reflect on what went right, what went wrong, and determine a clear path to keep to fixing what you need to fix.
Maybe your drives were really on point this season, but your upshot game was a weakness in scored rounds.
Maybe your approaches were good but you missed too many putts.
Maybe you realize you played too aggressively or too conservatively most of the time and it cost you strokes.
Regardless, by identifying these items in reflection now, you automatically can create new goals which in turn gives you direction in your field sessions and scored rounds.
Getting into a habit of yearly reflection can also boil over into monthly or weekly self examination so you're constantly picking up and working on the weakest link in your play.
Once you reflect, create clear attainable goals and make achieving them a point of emphasis this coming season.
And that completes our list!
Don't be down in the dumps about not being able to go outside to play disc golf and instead seize the moment by grabbing life by the horns!
Being forced to stay inside can be a great opportunity to improve a part of your disc golf game that you have been neglecting.
Imagine the feeling you'll get the next time you play and that drive off the tee box goes just a little bit farther and just a little bit straighter than it did last month,
Or you start making putts from 30 or 40 feet out with the accuracy you used to have at only 20 feet.
Which in turn leads to scores that are lower and lower.
Keep your mind on disc golf this winter and continue counting down the days until your next time out!
If you simply can't wait to play disc golf again and taking things indoors just isn't going to cut it, consider taking a road trip south this winter!
You can try some new courses and take a break from the cold weather altogether!
Happy Disc Golfing!
Click the banner below to shop for new gear at InfiniteDiscs.com!
*Some links are affiliate links, you can read our full affiliate disclosure on our home page*