Tournament & Competition

Reading the Field

Understand the field and format before you compete.

Why it matters

Knowing the shape of an event before you start — the format, the layout, how many rounds, who is in it — removes a whole category of surprise that otherwise eats attention during the golf. It also stops you playing the wrong strategy, which is easy to do when you do not know how the thing is scored.

How to do it

Read the format, the number of rounds and the layout before round one.
Know how the division works and what counts: points, cash, a cut, a final nine.
Play the course rather than the competitors, especially early. The field is not something you can influence.
Resist watching the leaderboard in the first round. There is nothing it can tell you that changes a good decision.
Know when and where you are starting, and what the hole assignments are, the day before.

Common mistakes

Playing to beat a specific person.You control your own score only. Playing the course is both more effective and considerably less stressful.

Checking the leaderboard constantly in round one.Early position tells you nothing and changes nothing. Leave it until it can actually affect a decision.

Learning the format on the first tee.Read it in advance. Strategy depends on how you are scored, and discovering that late means playing the first round wrong.

Key points

Know the layout and payout before round one.
Focus on your card, not the leaderboard, early.
Play the course, not the competitors.

The drill

Drill · Know the event cold — 1 written page before your next event: format, layout, times, division. Before your next tournament, write down the format, the layout, your start time and hole, the division and how it is scored. One page. Everything on it is something you would otherwise be working out on the day with attention you needed for golf.

Watch: Pre-Tournament Disc Golf Hole Strategy — Scott Stokely