Most disc golf enthusiasts will tell you that putting is the most essential skill to learn in the sport. As a beginner, managing to improve your putting skills can easily cut strokes off your game and eventually dominate the course.
But how do you improve your putting skills? In this article, we list basic tips for beginners that will help anyone improve their technique at putting. The tips can help those disc golfers who are just starting and want to learn the basic putting fundamentals and eventually improve their game.
Tip 1: Proper Stance
Having the proper stance is the most important fundamental that you want to learn when putting. The appropriate stance is about getting your base or athletic position to have that proper stance before you throw the disc.
If you are a beginner, remember that you need to turn away from the basket. Then, you need to offset your foot at the front and at the back. This position allows turning your hips a little bit which will allow you to have more arm swing.
With more arm swings, it will also allow you to get more momentum coming towards the basket. On the other hand, if you start your stance shallower with both of your feet close together, it will somehow prevent your arms from swinging, which can eventually affect the quality of your putt.
Always remember that with a wider stance, you will get more range of motion with a wider stance. So, there are two things that you will get with a broader stance: more momentum with your arms and more momentum with your weight shift coming forward for the longer putts to get that extra leverage.
Tip 2: Weight Shifting
How the weight shift in your body when you putt is essential as it generates the power source to help make high-quality putting. Before you putt, the weight must start over the heels. The weight must be in your back, and then finish the putt on your tippy toes.
Start with the weight on your heels, but you must follow through on your toes. You need your right foot to put up in the air to shift your weight, especially on longer putts. This action allows you to go forward while shifting your weight easily.
You do not need to use your arm to generate power when you putt it. All you have to do is go forward using your toes and then pop with your legs to get that leverage that will allow your putter to flow toward the basket.
Tip 3: Learn the Right Arm Swing
The proper arm swing is to stay on the plane. Meaning, you do not need to focus on your downswing, but you need to focus on how you come forward. When you extend your arm, it’s not like a driver where you need to follow through with your arm.
It is actually more of follow-through and stopping at the spot on the basket where you want to putt it. Most of the mistakes come from the disc golfer making a follow-through with their arms which could be better. The rule is to shake with the basket, which gives your arms a plane toward the basket.
Tip 4: The Proper Wrist Movement
The wrist movement is also essential as it engages heavily when you putt. Start with having the proper stance, proper bending on the knees, and doing the proper arm swing. Once it gets into the part of your putt where you need to use your wrist, make sure to engage your wrist, but you do not want to over-engage.
If you over-engage, it can cause you to follow through to the right or too early if you need to engage more. So, when your arms come forward, your arms give the line, and the wrist and fingers will give you the spin.
The proper wrist timing means the arms create the line while the wrists create the spin. So, when you come down with your stance, your arms are the pendulum that goes toward the basket. As soon as you go towards the basket, you will rely on your fingers and wrists to get the spin on the disc.
Tip 5: The Right Way to Aim
Always remember that when you aim small, you will miss small. That is one of the disc golf putting tips that you need to remember always when aiming. The key is to aim and lock in on the chain link and not care about the other things around the basket.
The goal is to aim and focus on the aiming point and let your muscle memory take over when you throw. So, when you putt it, stare at the chain link the entire way to hit your aiming point, which is the link.
The most important thing when you putt is to stare at the spot or your aiming point. But your target spot will also depend if there is wind when you throw the putt. You need to adjust to the type of wind you are dealing with and adjust accordingly with your aiming spot.
Conclusion
The putting tips for beginners that are listed in this article will help with your putting fundamentals and technique. The key is to spend more time on the course while trying to perfect your throw. Perfecting your putt takes work, but you keep practicing; improvement will undoubtedly come your way.