Disc golf takes a lot of practice. It’s a game that, from the very beginning, makes you earn every bit of improvement on the course. And that’s just playing. Winning, or even a little bit of personal success, takes a lot more effort. Just ask the pros.
Today, though, I’m going to show you some of the absolute best character values that successful disc golfers share. Characteristics that have proven to be vital in life and in many different sports in years past. We’ll be talking about 9 of the absolute best characteristics of successful disc golfers. So what are those characteristics?
The 9 Characteristics of successful disc golfers
1. Extreme work ethic
2. High self-esteem
3. High self-confidence
4. Action-oriented
5. Passionate
6. Positive mindset
7. Balance
8. Definitive aim, vision, and purpose
9. All kinds of goals
What is success?
Okay, so, we all kind of know what success is. According to Google, success is “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” It’s also been defined as “the achievement of desired visions and planned goals.” So basically, crushing your goals.
What about success on the disc golf course?
Success on the disc golf course isn’t so different than success in life. You want to keep improving yourself and continuing to get better. But disc golf has many different ways to succeed and it’s up to whether you want to succeed in one way or another.
Some players are casual and feel success when they achieve a par score. Other players are beginners and feel that success when they simply throw their disc straight. And then there are pro players that find their success when they win the PDGA World Championship. Everybody’s success in this game is different. So follow these 9 characteristics so that you can find yours!
The 9 Characteristics of successful disc golfers
The following 9 characteristics are super important to your game when you play disc golf. Learn them all so that you can be as successful as possible.
1. Extreme work ethic
I put work ethic first because I believe it is the most important character value on this list. Why? Well, because hard work leads directly to success. It’s the reason I always stress practice, field work, drills, etc. in blog posts. Hard work gives you results.
Extreme work ethic is rare. If you possess this quality, you have the potential to be a phenominal disc golfer. But you have to practice your ass off and you have to study the game. Go harder than you ever have before. The harder you work, the more you can accomplish and the more successful you can be.
If you had just this one value in your game, you could be successful. A strong work ethic can help you develop every other characteristic on this list. Work hard and you will be successful on the disc golf course.
2. High self-esteem
High self-esteem is having a strong respect for yourself, believing that you can be successful, and knowing that you deserve that success. So how can we translate that to disc golf? Easy. You want success on the course? Believe that you deserve it. Believe that your skills on the course are good enough to make you successful.
Those players who have high self-esteem know that they can do anything with a disc that they set their mind to. They’ve got a positive image of their game and understand what it is they want to accomplish. Oh, and mistakes…yeah, these players simply shake them off. Mistakes on the course are just a part of the game, not who these players are. They get it, and if this is you, you will be successful in disc golf.
3. High self-confidence
Self confidence is high up on my list of character values because of how powerful an impact it can have as a disc golfer. This is similar to the last characteristic in that self-confidence is belief in yourself and that you can be successful no matter what happens. This kind of confidence allows you to accept good criticism from others and not take dumb criticism personally. That’s just a part of being a good player.
But confidence is really hard to develop, especially if you’re new to the game and you don’t have much confidence in yourself. This is where you have to put in work and forget about what others may think about you. Eventually, you gain a little bit of momentum and start to believe in yourself. Then you get better and your confidence grows more. That inspires you and motivates you, just like it did for me.
Over time, the cycle of improvement and growing self-confidence gets to a point where you know two things: you’re d*mn good at disc golf and confident as hell.
4. Action-oriented
A disc golfer who is action-oriented stands a really good chance of being successful on the course. Those that are action-oriented are the ones that just seem to always go for it. They’re the doers. The players who don’t just talk a big game, but show you how it’s done. These people don’t just talk about getting better. They go put in work to get where they want to be.
If you want to be successful in disc golf, you have to take action.
5. Passionate
Passion for disc golf is an absolute must for those looking to be successful. I mean, we play a super fun game. For those looking to be competitive and play at a higher level, the amount of intensity and practice required is extreme. So you have to make sure that your love of the game stays. A lot of the time, if you have a passion for something, it’s awesome when you get to do that thing as a hobby or personal activity. But when it comes time to amp it up, do it competitively, or work at it, it doesn’t stay fun anymore.
No, you have to be able find some middle ground. You have to be passionate and be able to have fun, but be serious and toward your success in disc golf.
6. Positive mindset
Positivity is a hugely important characteristic in disc golf because of how dramatic of a game it can be. Things can change in a moment’s notice. Your absolute beast of a 450 foot drive can clip a tiny twig, redirect off another tree, and fall 75 feet in front of you. You can be in first place in a tournament and have rain roll in and destroy your score.
It all happens. But maintaining a positive mindset can help. And it doesn’t have to be bubbly happy with rainbows and all that bs. Instead, check out the following quick examples of a positive mindset on the course:
• You try to make the best out of all situations including bad shots, poor strategizing, and those situations that may be negative.
• You don’t let anything bad bother you. You continue playing and try to do better on the next hole.
• You are an overall positive person, you expect to do well, and you’re fun to be around because you cheer others on to do their best.
You don’t have to be happy all the time, but being a positive person can have a huge affect on your disc golf game.
7. Balance
Another fantastic characteristic to have as a player is balance. By balance I mean being a balanced, well-rounded player. The ability to understand and comprehend the many different parts of disc golf. Kind of like a “Jack of all trades,” but having a firm grasp on every part of the game.
If you really want to be a successful disc golfer, you need to learn putting, approaching, driving, the mental game, the rules of the game, etiquette, sportsmanship, all of the character values from this post, and much more.
The successful disc golfer has an expertise about him or her. Having studied the game, both physically and mentally, allowing excellence and success to come naturally.
8. Definitive aim, vision, and purpose
Having a definitive aim, a vision, or a purpose in disc golf is something special and not something a lot of disc golfers possess. To be successful in this game, you’ve got to know what exactly you want or where exactly you want to go.
Understanding this principle allows for something special to happen: when you know exactly what you want, that definitive aim, this allows you to stick to your goals much better. When you find that aim in disc golf, don’t let it go.
9. All kinds of goals
Last, but not least, we’ve got goals. If you’ve got a definitive aim, vision or purpose in disc golf, you need goals to get you there. Honestly, if you just want to get better in disc golf, you need goals because of how important they are.
Goals are important for a ton of reasons including: forcing you to learn other skills like discipline and consistency, keeping you accountable, showing you what you really want to accomplish, and because they can directly lead to you becoming a successful disc golfer.
How do I achieve these goals?
Goals are not always easy to reach. First, they have to be clear, specific, and written.
Like we said earlier, you have to know what you want. That needs to be clear. Then you need to figure out the specific goal that can get you there and make sure to write it down. Put your goals down on paper and solidify them in your mind. Once you do that, you’ll be that much closer to achieving them.
You can also set goals a few different ways. How you do this is completely up to you.
1. Big, medium, and small goals: small goals are easy to accomplish, medium goals are a bit tougher, and big goals may take you awhile.
Example: Small – I want to make all my putts from 15 feet out. Medium – I want to improve my distance past 300 feet. Big – I want to win my first tournament this year.
2. Daily, monthly, and yearly goals: setting goals you want to accomplish in times increments. Setting goals this way forces you to move a little bit quicker.
Example: What drills can I crush today? How can I improve my game this month? How can I win a tournament this year?
3. Yearly goals with steps: this is how I like to write out my goals for disc golf goals (and all life goals in general). You can interchange big, medium, small, daily, monthly, and yearly with this. Simply write out your goal, then write every possible thing that you can think of that will help you reach that specific goal
Example: Yearly – I want to win my first disc golf tournament this year. Now I put down everything I can think of to help me win this year.
• Increase drive distance to 300+ feet
• Work on getting approach shots closer to the basket
• Practice putting from 15 and 30 feet out
• Condense bag with discs I throw the best like the Dynamic Discs Sheriff (link to InfiniteDiscs.com).
• Learn all PDGA rules by heart to prepare for tournaments
4. S.M.A.R.T. goals: There’s also another way to set goals for yourself. It’s called setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. S.M.A.R.T. stands for the following: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. Some think that, in order to achieve goals, your goals have to be within those parameters. For more on this, check out the post below.
For our comprehensive goals post, check out, “11 Powerful Reasons Why Goals Are Important in Disc Golf.” That post rocks.
Overall
Disc golf requires a lot from you if you want to be a good player. The 9 characteristics we talked about in this post are some of the best character values to not just help you out on the course, but in life as well. It takes every bit of work ethic, high self-esteem, confidence, action, passion, positivity, balance, aim, and goal-setting to become an elite and successful disc golfer. All of the pros practice these values often, and if you want to get to that level, you have to learn these characteristics and implement them into your own game. Thanks for reading, disc golfers.
Awesome job!
If you’ve gotten this far, you must really want to learn more about disc golf! Got questions? Check out our FAQ page here. We’ve got tons of answers for you.
If you’re interested in more of what we have to say about the sport, check out some of our best mental disc golf posts below.
The 7 Best Mental Disc Golf Tips to Crush it on the Course
11 Ways Patience Will Help You Win in Disc Golf
11 Powerful Reasons Why Goals Are Important in Disc Golf
All of these posts are our absolute best resources for players looking to get ahead in their mental game.
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9 Weird Tricks to Improve Your Disc Golf Game (Forever)
101 Disc Golf Tips to Take Your Game to the Next Level
The 50 Best Disc Golf Drills to Change Your Game Forever
Grab a copy of our book…
If you’re a beginner, don’t forget to grab a copy of our book, “The Disc Golf Player’s Manual,” so that you can get access to some of the best disc golf information possible. We crunched together over 180 pages of everything imaginable with the hope of making you into a great player. Don’t miss out!