Anhyzer. Overstable. Mando. Ace. You probably have no idea what those words mean. Because if you found this post, you’re most likely a brand new disc golfer. If so, welcome to the disc golf!
There are hundreds of thousands of players around the world who were all where you are right now: brand new, interested, and confused. That’s completely okay.
I just want to start out by saying that disc golf is tough. It’s one of those sports that looks easy because it’s only frisbee golf, right? Wrong. Disc golf requires a lot of practice, hard work, discipline, and dedication to really become an advanced player. But how long does it really take to learn all of this stuff. Good question. Here’s your answer:
How long does it take to learn disc golf?
While you can learn how to play disc golf in only a few rounds (say 2-4 rounds), it takes years and hundreds of hours of playing time, practice, and knowledge to truly master the sport.
But just because it might take serious effort to master disc golf, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn how to play. Like I said just a second ago, it only takes a few rounds to really learn the rules. Aside from that, the sport is super inexpensive, almost all courses are free to play, and you can go play the game with friends or completely alone if you want to. All of that makes learning this sport so unbelievably awesome.
So why does it take so long to master?
There are a couple of reasons why disc golf is tough at first and why it’s hard to master.
Steep learning curve
When you first start out, you will be really bad. I mean, like hitting-the-first-tree-6-feet-in-front-of-you bad. It only takes a few rounds to learn the game but it take a bunch of rounds to really start doing well on the course (at least 20-25 rounds or more).
But once you start improving, you’ll notice that as long as you keep consistently playing, you’ll get better and better much faster than when you first started.
Many different throws: backhand, forehand, specialty throws
Another reason why mastering the sport is so hard is because there are a variety of throws to learn and they all take patience and dedication to learn properly.
A lot of different parts to the game: driving, approaching, putting, miscellaneous
There are also many different parts of disc golf to learn well. Driving, approaching, and putting are just the tip of the iceberg.
A bunch of different discs to learn: beginner discs
But wait…there’s more! On top of learning different throws and different parts of the game, there are thousands and thousands of different discs in various types of plastics, stability levels, and skill levels. Finding a few that work for you is often a challenge in itself.
A lot of rules to follow(if you want to be competitive)
You can casually play disc golf your entire life and not have to worry about the majority of rules on the course. But if you’re growing in your competitive spirit, you will have to start learning all of the Official Rules of Disc Golf (link to PDGA.com). And yes, there are a lot of them.
If you want to learn disc golf
With all that being said, if you’re still interested in learning how to play disc golf, I strongly encourage you to check out the following 4 posts here on my site ⬇️.
“How Many Discs Do You Need to Play Disc Golf?”
“Disc Golf 101: A Step By Step Beginner’s Guide.”
“37 Best Disc Golf Discs for Beginners (You Need These).”
“101 Disc Golf Tips to Take Your Game to the Next Level.”
Those 4 posts are at the core of what you need to learn as a beginner in disc golf. For more, check out my short tips list below.
7 tips to start to improve your disc golf game fast
1. Play with just a putter
There are a ton of tips to help you improve on the disc golf course (as you can see by my 101 disc golf tips list above). But this tip is my go-to for true brand new players like yourself. I want you to start out with just a putter and steadily work yourself up to the higher-level discs over time. Mid-range discs are okay to use as well as long as they’re beginner mid-range discs. Skip the drivers completely. They are way too hard to throw for new players.
Starting with just a putter, or a putt-and-approach as they’re sometimes called, is one of the quickest and easiest ways to start improving on the disc golf course. These discs are easy to throw, fly mostly straight, and allow you to work on other parts of your game like form and technique. You won’t get much distance on your throws but the distance will come with time and patience.
Try using only putters for at least your first month of play. That will let you learn the game with easy discs. If you want 3 of the best putters for beginners, check out the 3 recommendations below ⬇️.
- Dynamic Discs Judge: if you read any of my posts that include the judge, you’ll see my love for it. I’ve got a prime burst Judge that really lays down the law (I’m so sorry about this pun…)on the course. Grab one here on InfiniteDiscs.com.
- Innova Aviar: one of the most popular discs in the world to date. An easy, very forgiving disc for beginners and a phenominally accurate approach/short drive disc for more advanced players. Grab one here on InfiniteDiscs.com.
- Infinite Discs Tomb: a really nice complement to the Infinite Discs lineup and a similar feel to the Judge. This disc wins in my book. Grab one here on InfiniteDiscs.com.
2. Daily Practice
Another really simple concept to understand is that you need to practice your disc golf game a lot in the beginning if you really want to improve your game. If you’re serious about disc golf, take it one step further and practice something every single day. This is another way to really get better quickly but most people don’t do this. You don’t have to go to the course every day but you should do something for at least 15-20 minutes every day to improve your disc golf game.
You need to develop a routine for this. But before you do that, you need to get some practice equipment. Here are my recommendations:
- Practice basket: a personal practice basket is one of the best ways to practice putting at home. Check out my page on the best practice baskets here.
- Practice net: a large net to throw your discs into is ideal. I’ve got this one from Amazon here in my garage. I’ve got hooks on it so I can easily put it up and take it down. This can help with your basic throwing practice.
- ProPull disc golf trainer: this awesome resistance band trainer allows you to use a real disc with a band attached to “increase acceleration in the exact angles and positions related to your individual throwing motion,” states InfiniteDiscs.com. you can get one here on Amazon.
Now that you have all of that equipment, I would set up a simple daily log of what you’re going to practice. It can be as easy as working on a different part of your game every day. Monday Putting, Tuesday Driving, Wednesday Workout, Thursday Approach, Friday Field Work, and a Saturday Round. Then I would rest on Sunday or skip Saturday and play on Sunday.
Then take that off day and learn something online. You can learn disc golf terminology in my post here. You can learn some PDGA rules. Read an FAQ article on the site here. Or anything you want to up your knowledge in disc golf. Just Google a question and one of our articles will probably pop up there in the search results.
3. 10X your putting
NBA great Kobe Bryant was known to practice hundreds of free throws before basketball practice. NBA great Michael Jordan did the same after practice. Because of relentless practice, they got better and better. When you want to 10X your putting, you have to be willing to work 10 times as hard.
By 10X, I mean you want to improve your skill by 10 times to be 10 times better than you are now. But again, you’ve got to work for it. Those basketball players above didn’t become champions by picking up a basketball once a week. They focused their life around it for decades and became two of the greatest players to ever play the game.
To 10X your putting, you need to work with your personal practice basket, play rounds and emphasize your putting, and work on various putting drills. You already know how to do the first two things. To find some awesome putting drills, check out my post on it here.
4. Technique is key
Learning and understanding technique is the single the most important concept to learn in disc golf. Poor technique equals poor performance. If you’re technique sucks, your score will suck. But technique is tough and takes time to thoroughly learn. Check out my technique post here.
5. Mental game is important
Your mindset on the course can make or break your rounds. There’s way too much to the mental side of disc golf for me to try to explain in this short post. Check out my mental disc golf tips post here.
6. Stretch, exercise, and recover
Stretch, Exercise, Stretch some more, and Recover. This is the exact four step process that you should use every time you want to play a round of disc golf.
- Step 1 – Stretch: before you play you want to do some light stretching to help you warm up faster. This can help your already warmed up body flex and bend better during the early parts of your round and can lead to better scores.
- Step 2 – Exercise: either on or off the course, exercise is good for you. But for this, we’ll talk about the actual disc golf round. That can be great exercise depending on your energy level and how fast you play. I call my rounds my “disc golf workout.”
- Step 3 – Stretch some more: after any workout, you should do some light stretching to help your body get increased blood flow to different parts of your body. That will help you recover and heal.
- Step 4 – Recovery: this is when you let your body recover and heal from your workout. Drink lots of water, eat right, get enough sleep, maybe get a protein shake, and don’t workout again for at least a full 24 hours. That will help you get back to peak performance so that you can play or workout again without injuring yourself.
Check out the following posts below to help you stretch, exercise, and recover ⬇️.
“The 17 Best Disc Golf Stretches to Improve Your Game.”
“The 12 Best Disc Golf Exercises to Keep You Fit.”
“11 Step Plan to Recover After a Disc Golf Workout.”
7. Once you start getting better, consolidate your discs
This last tip is actually really easy and can benefit you tremendously as a disc golfer. As you get better, don’t buy a ton of discs to use. Keep your bag at no more than 10-12 discs. If you have more than this in your bag, consolidate it down to 10-12 discs. Make these the 10-12 that you throw well and that you love to throw the most. Doing this will help you master those 12 discs and help you improve your game pretty quickly. Throwing 20+ discs is not a good idea and will guarantee that you don’t ever get good with a few of them.
So let’s get out on the course!
So there you have it. I’ve given you some of the best advice that you can possibly get as a new disc golfer. Now it’s up to you on whether you want to use that advice to become an awesome disc golfer! If that’s you, let’s go get out on the course and play!
Thanks for reading, disc golfers.
Related Content
“How Much Does it (Actually) Cost to Play Disc Golf?”
“Disc Golf is Hard (But Here’s How You Master it).”
Don’t forget to check out the book
Before you go, don’t forget to check out the best beginner disc golf book on the planet, “The Disc Golf Player’s Manual.” This ebook is packed with over 200+ pages of the best tips, tricks, and advice for new players. Grab one here on my site.