I played Burnlaw Disc Golf course yesterday at the ‘Burnlaw Banger’ social tournament. We had 14 players in total, most of whom have been playing for approx 6 months or so. As the local pro I keep the tips flowing. On putting it’s so important to use the legs fully, especially on uphill putts. So often when a putt misses low and straight it’s due to lack of the legs being used. So follow this simple model which breaks the final part of the putting routine into 4 stages:
Down
By sitting down into a squat position (using the quads) it loads the whole body with energy and poise.
Up
From there raise the arm up to line up the exact point of release. For a short putt this will be on the pole. For a longer putt pitch the disc up on the exact required line (above and to the right of the target). With this, lift up the upper body slowly using the legs to get a feel of the amount of thrust required to make the putt count.
Down
Then draw the disc down on a perfectly straight line and load those quads up again by sitting back down into the squat position. This is all a slow and measured movement so far, combined with intense focus that transports the whole mind and body system into a lethal putting machine.
Up
Accelerate up to eject the disc out of the hand in a springy, spiderman-style, pop. At the same moment the back leg kicks back and all the weight is on the ball of the front foot. KAPAOW!
Summary
Focus on 4 basic things: Down, Up, Down, Up. I find that saying this in my head during the shot bypasses the conscious mind and enables the muscle memory to take over. This also helps to make every putt mean the same thing, whether it’s a birdie, par save or final putt of the round to take the win or make a new personal best (PB) score… down, up, down, up!
It’s pretty simple, but very effective. This tip made an impact on other players results yesterday. 11 out of 14 players broke their PBs and I hit 9 birdies to shoot a 9 under par 48, just one throw above from my PB for this course.
Watch it!
You can see a clip of my form in action very briefly on ‘Charlie O’Brien UK No.1 Junior Disc Golfer’ BBC Look North video from the gallery. Jump to 1 min 24 seconds to watch this down-up-down-up form. Here the initial ‘down, up’ appears to be combined, but since this was filmed I make an effort to execute this ‘down, up, down, up’ sequence with clear distinction at each stage. Dynamite.
Tags: Chris O'Brien, Disc Golf Putting
