winter disc golf goals
Tips and Advice

Winter Disc Golf – Benefits and Goals

I love playing disc golf in the winter.  Primarily because we rarely encounter more than one or two other groups and the course is customarily quiet.  That does bring up the question though, why are there no other disc golfers on the course?

Yeah, I get it.  Cold.  Discs don’t fly as far.  Wind.  Snow.  Cold.  Well, I believe winter disc golf has many benefits that outweigh the discomfort of the cold.  Over the past couple months we’ve written about various aspects of winter disc golf, and this post will focus on benefits and managing your goals while throwing in the cold.  If you’re already a year-round disc golfer then you can probably relate to most of these.

 

winter disc golf benefitsMuscle Memory

Simple concept, if you don’t play in the winter then you’ll be rusty in the Spring.  Even just going through the motions will help you stay loose as long as you’re going through the right motions.

Adaptability

Learn to play through as many conditions as you can, this includes cold, wind, and snow.  This will teach you about many different aspects of your game and will help you round out your disc golf game in general.  This will also give you an advantage next time you’re playing in a tournament and the wind suddenly picks up or an unexpected rain cloud douses the field.

Perseverance

I get it, I’m starting to sound like a motivation poster.  Seriously though, after you’ve played through zero degree wind chills or a couple feet of snow, the rest of the season will feel like paradise.  It’s basically the concept of overtraining.  For example, if you’re planning to run a 3 mile race, you may train for 6 or 9 miles so that the 3 mile run feels easy. 

Bragging Rights

This may be contrary to our disc golf values, so don’t be arrogant, but there is a sense of satisfaction that comes with telling your peers that you played through the winter.  Even on the day that with sub-zero temperatures.

 

I just laid out a number of winter disc golf benefits, but are your goals properly aligned?  We’ve talked about goals in the past and we truly believe that managing your goals and expectations will help you achieve the maximum benefit of anything in life, including a disc golf round.  Here are my primary goals when throwing through the cold, but I’m sure this list doesn’t come close to exhausting the possibilities.

 

Form Improvement

That’s an odd goal to list for winter disc golf, isn’t it?  I can’t throw as far and I’m bundled up with extra clothing!  Yes, that’s exactly the point!  Since you know you won’t be able to throw as far, focus on your form so that you’ll be in prime shape when the Spring arrives.  Plus, if you can perfect your form under all those extra layers of material, then you should have no problem as you shed those layers… just be careful not to develop bad habits from puffy jackets.

snowy disc golf tee padAccuracy

This is closely related to the benefit of adaptability.  You already know that distance is difficult to work on in the winter, so why not focus on improving your accuracy during the sub-optimal conditions .  Similar to perfecting form beneath layers of clothes, improving accuracy through cold wind will pay off immensely when the weather becomes more mild.

Meditation

As I said, the course is usually quiet.   It’s also beautiful covered in snow or frost.  This is a good opportunity to escape the daily clamor.

Fun

Yep, now I really sound like a motivational poster.  We love disc golf and I don’t think I need to explain further.

Do you have goals or benefits that we didn’t cover?  Please share them with us, and then share this post with your fellow disc golfers who aren’t sure about playing through the winter!

 

Check out other winter articles:

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